Fader: Book One, Reverse Harem (Fader Clans 1)

by A. M Martin

  She leans on her hand looking at the King. Who, in turn, seems on the verge of his death bed.

  “Does she not speak?” The Nymph whispers, his voice pulling Shay's eyes back to his shocking pale blue ones.

  Jay chuckled, “She can speak when she wants to. I am guessing she has nothing to say to you all.”

  “I say we get introductions out of the way. We know you three more or less.” Jay waves a dismissive hand at the three wolves, “What about you, blue boy?”

  Shay says to her brother, who chuckles out loud.

  “My name is Azul.”

  Jay points a finger at the Breather.

  “Killion.”

  Jay links to his sister.

 

  “Blane.” The Vampir snaps out.

  “Oooh, feisty, I like that,” Jay smirks.

  “Now, what do you want?” Jay’s voice turns to steel as he gazes around at the seated men.

  The tension in the room thickens, strained looks are shared, and Shay’s foot shakes underneath the table – the only sign something is bothering her.

  < You feel that?>

  Shay flicks her golden gaze to her brother but stays quiet. She sensed it alright. A shimmer in the air, dread that even frightened her.

  A throat clears. Shay flicks her eyes to Calum, an amused smile pulling at her lips as she looks at the hazy image of his wolf as it lays down with its black paws across its snout. Even the wolf is embarrassed and upset about what the man is getting ready to say.

  “We would like...’ He pauses, and looks at the other men seated, but when no else speaks he sighs and glances at Shay. “We are dying,” he states, looking at her expectantly.

  Shay looks at each head of the Clans seating at the table. Shay’s not stupid, she knows what he means by the ‘we’ but Shay’s Shay.

  Her eyes flick to her twin, they both have the same look. Warryness.

  “Well,” Jay taps his knuckle on the table, “You don’t look like you’re dying.” He states turning his eyes to Calum. “Neither do they,” Jay smirks, flicking his fingers in the direction of the Clan Heads. He nods towards the King, “He does though.” Jay says, cocking his head sideways.

  Two growls rent the air. The menace in the growls has Shay narrowing her eyes on Calum and Asher. Will they ever learn? She clicks her tongue. The sound is quiet, but they hear her all the same. The growls go silent as they look at her, as everyone in the room stares at Shay.

  Her voice comes out soft, “The clans are dying.” She looks at the Clan Heads. Their grave looks do not bother her. “How is that our problem?” She questions, her head tilting to the side, honey-colored hair falling upon her slim shoulder.

  “You are Faders.” Azul, the light blue nymph, whispers.

  “And?” Jay snarls, glaring at him.

  “Your people are dying, and you could help.” Blane snarls.

  Jay’s out of his seat and standing, within seconds of Blane’s snarled words. Shay hums softly laying her small hand on her twin’s forearm. He doesn’t sit back down but remains quiet. A blessing, usually Jay’s mouth runs away with him.

  “My people?” Shay questions. Her voice changes as something deadly and wicked takes the quiet, innocent voice of the wee girl they’d all heard earlier.

  Eyebrows are raised. Frowns pulling at lips.

 

  She ignores the warning tone in her twin's voice.

  She slowly pushes her chair back, all eyes on the girl who stands from her seat, something is off about her now. Something... not Fader. Something other.

  The Breather, Killion, nods, watching the young girl with interest.

  Shay’s nails lengthen as she leans forward, both hands upon the glossy table, “What have my people ever done for me, hmm?” She looks around at the Clan Heads. The men who sent the hunters and everything in-between after her small family. The men who had been chasing her down like a criminal for nineteen years. The men who had inadvertently caused her father’s death.

  Shay clicks her nails on the tabletop, “Your people. Your people have done nothing for me or mine.” Shay whispers, “Why would I even consider helping your people?”

  “Shay, don’t,” Jay says, pleading with his twin.

  Her head turns to the right, looking at her twin, seeing the desperate look in his ocean blue eyes.

  Shay breathes out deep then sits down, her twin following slowly after her.

  They all watch with the stink of fear in the air as the creature slowly slides back into Shay and in her place, is a girl. Just a girl.

  “What makes you think I can help?” She questions, her voice soft and innocent once more.

  Eight

  SHAY

  IT’S SILENT IN THE stone room. Shay waits, her patience running thin.

  Her eyes snap to Asher as he stands so fast his chair is rolling across the stone floor, “Thay wat ye to mate with all th’ princes!” Asher snarls, his skin vibrating with tension and anger.

  It’s quiet as Shay’s heart knocks in her chest. He can’t be serious, can he? They can’t be serious? Her eyes are wide and full of shock. She knew something like this would happen. Females are a hot commodity. Especially ones that are fertile. If the rumors the twins heard when they were on the run are accurate, no births have happened in the last sixteen years. It’d only make sense that they’d want females to mate. But to mate with four males not only that but males from different clans is unheard of and why her? Why choose her for this, because of the stupid birthmark upon her flesh?

  Shay jerks as her twin leans back in his seat laughing full belly laughs that start to change his skin to a deep red.

  She reaches over and pinches Jay’s side, hard. He squeals giving her a dirty look.

  A throat clears. “Not necessarily all of the princes,” Killion says, correcting Blane, “Of course you can choose.”

  Shay scoffs, “Like I have a choice.”

  Calum looks offended, “Of course you do.”

  “Really?” Shay snarls, the creature creeping into her voice once more, “If I want to leave, then we can go?”

  There’s a strained silence.

  “That’s what I thought...” Shay whispers, looking at the table.

  “You’ve been blessed.” A harsh voice rumbles out.

  Shay jerks her head, looking at the Head of The Wolf Clan. The old King hasn’t spoken, not once since the twins walked in on this comical meeting.

  “You’ve been blessed by the Gods, girl, and you scoff at it.” His eyes flash.

  Shay cocks her head looking at him.

  “The Wolf God, Fenrir, has blessed you with not only his strength and leadership but with his fertility in this time of need. And you scoff. How your mother and father would be ashamed of you.”

  Jay stood, his blue eyes flickering over his twin. The others look at the boy and realize that his wide eyes and tense body that Zander made a significant mistake.

  Shay sits eerily still, her gaze on the table top slowly starts to glow a gold color.

  She slowly stands, her head still down. The others rise as well, preparing for something, what they don’t know, but their senses were screaming at them that something was not right.

  “Shay.” Jay pleads.

  Her head comes up with an enraged scream as her power lashes out, slamming the men hard up against the stone wall, holding them there in a bone-crushing grip.

  The only ones not touched by Shay’s rage is her twin, and the King.

  Her nails bite into her palms as blood starts to slowly drip onto the floor.

  “Ashamed?” Her voice is steel.

  “Shay.” Jay reaches for her only to be stopped by her snarl. He holds his hands up in the air then looks towards the King’s two sons. They snarl and howl pinned to the wall by Shay’s rage.

  “I’m sorry,” Jay says, looking sadly at the princes who stop their struggle for a second.

  Shay c
licks her tongue as she strides around the table towards the King still seated in his chair. The click of her heels upon the stone floor rings out as the men against the wall fall silent, watching her.

  “Ashamed they might be but not of me.” She states, still prowling towards the old wolf.

  “Ashamed of you? Yes. Ashamed of them? Yes. Ashamed of how our people have turned out? Most definitely.” She stops in front of the King, her eyes nothing but pools of liquid gold now. “Ashamed of me? No. Ashamed of Jay? No.”

  The King just looks at the creature before him.

  “My mother died giving birth to us. My father died running from YOU!” She roars, her power slamming out and into the men held up against the wall. “We haven’t lived normal lives because of me, because of what I mean to you. Because of this damn symbol on my skin.” She whispers peering at the King. Gold light upon his withered face.

  Shay leans in close, “You should be the one who is ashamed.”

  Her hand moves lightning fast. Her claws slip easily into the King’s flesh as she grabs hold of his heart, warm and beating against her palm.

  “Are you so sure you want me to be the one to mate with your son? To bond his life to mine?” Her head cocks to the side.

  The King smiles, confusion lighting up Shay’s mind, “You’re perfect.” The King gasps out.

  Shay stills, looking at the sincere look in the old wolf’s eyes.

  Her hand slowly pulls out of his chest, leaving a hole, his blood soaking his shirt in seconds. She backs up away from the King as her power lifts from the room, disappearing as if nothing has happened. The men drop to the floor with groans.

  Calum and Asher rush forward as Shay backs away from the King.

  “TOM!” Calum screams as he picks up his father and rushes from the room with Asher at his side.

  Shay still stands there looking at the King’s blood pooling on the stone floor, slipping between the cracks.

  “Damn,” Blane mutters from the other side of the room.

  “Shay.” Her twin questions.

 

 

 

  “I’m famished. Where’s the kitchen?” Jay asks looking at the three men left in the room, who stare at them wide-eyed and tense.

  “Never mind. We can find it.” Jay says, gripping Shay’s hand and leading them out of the room.

  She’d had his heart gripped in her hand. It would have taken nothing to pull it out of his chest. Why did she not do it? Why did he smile? The look in his eyes as she held his beating heart in her grip... he looked at her like she was his savior. Shay’s taken many lives in the blink of an eye, never once stopping the way she did in there. Never once feeling guilty about it. She feels guilty now. Why? Why couldn’t she do it?

  “You think they’ve got Wonder Bread?”

  “Huh?” Shay asks, blinking her eyes.

  “Wonder Bread. You think they have any?”

  “I don’t know, Jay?” Shay sighs sitting down on the steel counter.

  She looks around. This doesn’t look like the same kitchen she came through when she was looking for Jay. It’s smaller and more modern, with a fridge, microwave, and an oven.

  “Not Wonder Bread, but it’ll do,” Jay mutters to himself.

  Shay smiles softly watching her twin as he cuts off four slices of bread from the loaf. She jumps down from the countertop and smears peanut butter on two slices and marshmallow fluff on the other two.

  “Fluffernutters?” She asks as she places a peanut butter slice and marshmallow slice together.

  Jay shrugs, grabbing his own fluffernutter, “It’s your comfort food.” He takes a big bite, groaning with a grimace from the taste.

  Shay chuckles, taking her own bite. It’s silent in the small kitchen while the twins eat their fluffernutters.

  “What do you think?” Shay mumbles around her last bite of the sandwich.

  “I think you’re going to be hated and envied. Shay, do you understand what they are asking of you?”

  Shay nods her head. She understands. “I’ll be a Queen.”

  Jay scoffs, “Not just a Queen. The Queen with a harem of kings at your side.”

  Shay blinks her golden eyes at her twin, “You don’t believe they were serious, do you?”

  Jay chuckles, cleaning up their mess, “They are dead serious. You might have to find a new wolf after that little incident, but they meant what they said.”

  Jay tosses the towel onto the countertop, “Let’s go see if they have a pool or something. I want to go swimming.” Jay says, putting his arm around his twin’s shoulder.

  “You’re so weird sometimes.” Shay chuckles.

  “What a pair we make, huh sis?” Jay laughs, hugging his twin to his side as they leave the kitchen.

  A Queen. A Harem of Kings. Can Shay really do this? Does she even have a choice in the matter?

  Nine

  SHAY

  SHAY SNEEZES FOR THE fifth time, looking at her twin questionably. She knows he’s not the smartest Fader in the lands but still, could he be this delusional? She thinks, looking around the basement the twins find themselves in.

  “Jay, I don’t think a pool would be in here,” Shay states, looking at the tower of boxes off to her right.

  “You never know,” Jay says somewhere in the labyrinth of boxes and discarded furniture.

  “Jay, come on.” Shay whines, sneezing again. All this dusty air is wrecking her sinuses.

  “Alright,” Jay mumbles, rounding a corner of clutter.

  Shay smirks at her twin, “It looks like you rolled around with the pigs we saw outside.” Jay’s covered in dirt, it’s smeared along his cheek and neck. His white t-shirt is ruined.

  A low male chuckle has Shay’s back snapping straight, her other coming to the surface as she twists around. Jay moves to her side, growls vibrating from her twin’s chest.

  Shay’s golden gaze narrows on a man leaning up against the wall. Shay doesn’t know what to think. Her head tilts to the side, looking at the lean male. He has shocking bright red hair, shaved on the sides, longer on the top, that falls across his forehead, with arching brows the same color as his hair. His eyes are a rusty brown, and he has a narrow nose, with sharp cheekbones and thin lips.

  He smiles. “The famous Silverton twins. My, my, you don’t look very twin-like.”

  Shay snarls, wanting to rip his throat out. She hates it when people comment their twin looks.

  “Who are you?” Jay askes, arms crossing over his chest.

  “Bane, at your service.” He bows, his rusty eyes focusing on Shay.

  Shay elbows her twin in the side as he chuckles.

  “Who’s service?” Shay questions, a nervous flutter in her stomach.

  Shay watches as Bane strained up into a standing position, a cocky smile gracing his lips. He crosses his arms, Shay watches as his lean muscles bunch from the movement.

  “Yours, of course, Tars.”

  Shay blinks. Tars what in the hell is Tars? Shay stares at him, and he just smiles, his eyes taking on a red glow the longer they keep eye contact. Shay can’t figure out how he’d snuck up on them without her knowing it. The implications of it bothers Shay. Who else can sneak up on them? Attack without the twins knowing? Shays claws lengthen at the thought.

  Bane’s hands drop to his side, his head bowing in a submissive way. Without looking at the twins, he says, “I know where you can find a pool.”

  “Really?” Jay questions.

  “Yes,” Bane answers, not looking at Shay. That makes her want to snarl, and she hasn’t an idea why.

  Bane turns on booted feet, his stride sure and full of importance.

  The twins look at each other, Jay shrugs his shoulder before following Bane.

  Shay bites her lips, staring after the two? What about Bane bothers Shay? She can’t put a claw on it, but she follows uneasily.

  “I THOUGHT YOU SAID it was a pool?” Jay mumbles, staring at the large lake.r />
  Shay chuckles at her brother. Jay loves to swim if it’s a swimming pool, anything else and he has an unnatural fear of something grabbing him and taking him underwater.

  “It looks clean,” Shay says casually, looking out at the blue lake.

  “It is.”

  Shay’s spine stiffens as Bane comes to stand beside her, his spiced wine scent invading her nose, his heat pressing on her body.

  “Can you even swim?” Shay snarls, moving away from his invading heat.

  Bane chuckles, the sound of it sending cold chills across Shay’s skin. “Yes. I can.”

  “But...”

  “I’m a fire nymph, but water won’t hurt me.”

  Shay nods reluctantly walking closer to the white sandy shore. Nymphs are a mystery to Shay, but common sense wants to argue that being made of fire somewhat wouldn’t be able to go into the water, right? She shakes her head, looking at her twin.

  “I’m out,” Jay says tossing his hands in the air. “You stay,” Jay states turning around going back towards the manor.

  Shay’s at a loss for words. Her twin just left her!!

 

 

 

  Butterflies swarm Shay’s stomach the further her twin walks way, now just a spot in the distance and growing smaller by the second.

  She huffs, turning back towards the lake ignoring the heated male at her back.

  “I can leave.”

  Shay bites her lip at the heated voice of Bane. She wants to tell him ‘yes, leave,’ but that would make Shay weak, and she’s anything but weak. She just has poor social skills.

  She shakes her head ‘no.’

  She’s not weak, nor will she be thought of as fragile.

  Shay pulls her shirt over her head, tossing it to the ground. A strangled gasp has her looking over at her shoulder at Bane’s wide eyes.

  “What?” She watches as his throat moves.

  “It’s not just a rumor.”

  Shay scoffs, dragging her pants down her long, lean legs and stepping out of them.

  “Of course not. Do you think I would have kept running if it wasn’t true?”