The Tattoo of the Elf [The Triplet Mermen Trilogy]

by Casper Graham

  Baltic shrugged. “True, but I’m not exaggerating. This elf will make Ed appear rather small by comparison.”

  Caspian whistled under his breath. “Damn. What’s his name?”

  Baltic blushed in embarrassment. “I don’t know.”

  Drake laughed. “Only you, Balt. Why didn’t you ask him?”

  “I…” Baltic trailed off, hesitating for seconds longer than he meant to. “I don’t think he will be interested in someone like me.”

  Caspian rolled his eyes. “Why not? You’re a great guy. Besides, you’re good-looking enough. I know you’re not as gorgeous as me, but nobody can be as sexy as me. You shouldn’t feel ashamed about your looks. You need to stop comparing yourself to me. I’m the epitome of perfection after all.”

  Drake chortled. “Are you even listening to yourself? We’re identical triplets. Well, almost. We have different eye colors, but that’s the only difference among us.”

  “I’m still better-looking than either of you,” Caspian insisted while snuggling closer to Baltic. “Don’t be jealous of me.”

  Baltic chuckled in amusement. “Whatever. Anyway, I think the elf may like me. Probably.”

  Drake grinned, obviously excited. “That’s awesome.”

  Baltic nodded. “I don’t know. He doesn’t know about me turning into…you know.”

  Caspian wrapped one arm around Baltic. “A siren.”

  “Yeah.”

  Drake leaned his head on Baltic’s shoulder before speaking up. “You won’t know unless you give it a chance.”

  Baltic inhaled and exhaled deeply a couple of times before responding. “You’re right, but I don’t know his name.”

  Caspian sat up straight. “You can always return to the library around the same time as earlier today.”

  “Doesn’t that reek of desperation?”

  “You like him, don’t you?” Caspian retorted, and Baltic nodded.

  Drake gave a gentle pat on Baltic’s thigh. “It’s worth a try. Any progress is a wonderful improvement.”

  “I know.” Then, Baltic decided to change the topic of conversation. “What about you and Ed?”

  Drake’s cheeks reddened immediately. “I…I think we’re going to mate.”

  Caspian beamed widely. “That’s great.”

  Drake didn’t seem delighted, though. “What about you and Balt?”

  Baltic was confused by the question. “What do you mean?”

  “Once Ed and I are mated, we will be living together. I’m worried about you and Cas alone in this house.”

  Caspian chortled at Drake. “We’re triplets, but we can’t be joined at the hips for eternity. Balt and I will be fine. I can take care of my baby brother on my own.”

  Baltic was a little irritated at being reminded of his status as the youngest of the triplets, but he was more concerned about Drake holding back from mating because of him. “If you feel Ed is the right match for you, you should go for it, Dray.”

  “Are you both sure you’ll be okay?”

  Caspian snorted. “Yes.”

  Drake didn’t utter another word for several seconds. Baltic waited patiently for Drake to say something, which his brother eventually did.

  “If you’re both sure, then Ed and I will go ahead and proceed with the mating stage.”

  “Yes!” Caspian and Baltic exclaimed at the same time.

  “I’ll probably move in with Ed, but my fortune-telling business is still downstairs.” After that, Drake turned toward Caspian. “I’m not going to stop feeding Balt a little bit of my blood each day. We’ve agreed to share the responsibility until Balt is completely cured.”

  “I’m cool with that.”

  Baltic gently squeezed Drake’s shoulder in gratitude. “Thanks. You’re the best brother ever.”

  Caspian’s eyes widened. “Excuse me. What am I? Chopped liver?”

  Baltic laughed. “You’re an amazing brother, too.”

  Caspian leaned back against the couch. “That’s better.”

  The three of them were quiet afterward, but Baltic broke the silence a few moments later. “I’ll head to the library tomorrow.”

  Drake smiled at him. “Don’t forget to ask for his name.”

  “I won’t.”

  “Great.”

  The three of them remained on the couch for another thirty minutes or so before heading downstairs because they had their respective businesses to handle. Baltic didn’t have as many yoga students attending his classes in the later part of the afternoon as he had between seven in the morning and twelve noon, but he was busy enough to keep his mind off the elf. He yearned to meet up with the elf again the next day. A small voice inside him was telling him that he should be more realistic. The elf might not even be a regular patron of the public library, but Baltic was determined to hang on to the probability of seeing the elf again, either the next day or as soon as possible, no matter how tiny the likelihood might be. After all, hope was all he had at the moment.

  Chapter 3

  Jefferson didn’t think anything was amiss when he was standing inside the chamber, which was located in a separate dimension from the mortal realm, and informing the five council members about the sorcerer who had recently attacked a pack of werewolves with magic without any provocation from the victims. A sorcerer didn’t fall neatly under the jurisdiction of any particular member of the council, but magic and werewolves were involved in his reporting. As a result, Tarragon, the fairy in charge of the spiritual element and the beings associated with it, took charge of the meeting.

  “I’m granting you the right to hunt down this sorcerer and do everything in your power to stop him,” Tarragon spoke up the moment Jefferson completed with the disclosure of whatever details he had managed to obtain from the werewolves. “Not only are we running the risks of exposing the supernatural beings to the ordinary mortals, but most importantly, we can’t allow this sorcerer to assault anyone at random.”

  Jefferson bowed at Tarragon before doing the same to the other council members. When there was nothing else forthcoming from the council, he stepped back and turned around, heading toward the gigantic double doors of the chamber. He couldn’t shimmer away from within the chamber because the magical ward didn’t permit anyone to enter or exit through magical means. He had just shut the doors behind him when they were opened once again. Miranda, an ancient, alluring, and powerful mermaid, who was in charge of the water element and the beings associated with it, stared at him in silence for a moment before addressing him.

  “Jefferson.”

  He dipped his head down respectfully. “Council.”

  “You’re an elf. The elves have always been on the side of the light, have they not?”

  “Of course.”

  “So, why do I smell a lingering trace of siren’s magic on you?”

  He was astounded to hear that. “I’ve not interacted with any siren. It’s frowned upon for a light being such as myself to be in contact with a creature of darkness like the sirens.”

  Miranda was quiet for a moment. Jefferson stared her straight in the eye. There was something cold and callous about her eternal youth and beauty that he didn’t like. However, as one of the hunters who had sworn to protect all supernatural beings, which included the members of the council, he never harped on the issue and how uncomfortable he was around Miranda.

  “Well, you should pay more attention to your surroundings then. The scent is very faint and a little strange, but I’m certain you’ve been marked by a siren.”

  Jefferson stiffened in anger, but he forced a smile at Miranda. “I’ll be more cautious in the future. Thank you for your concern and advice. I’ll take it into consideration.”

  He waited until Miranda turned around and re-entered the chamber before expelling a loud breath and calling upon his magic. He needed to get away from this dimension as fast as possible. Miranda gave him the creeps, as always. There was something weird with Miranda, and his magic, being sentient as it was, hated he
r. Whenever she was in close proximity to him, he would always feel his magic bursting rather close to the surface. It was as if it wanted to shield him from her and also annihilate her at the same time. He trusted his magic. It wouldn’t be so defensive unless there was a valid reason behind it.

  Unfortunately, he had no idea what was wrong with Miranda. His best friends, Gavin and Edwin, also disliked her, but they had different reasons than him. In any case, he couldn’t do anything about Miranda without any concrete proof. She was both a member of the council and a supernatural being. He would be hunted down and punished if he made the wrong move toward her. Hence, he decided to put his suspicion of Miranda to the back of his mind as he walked into his house to plan the next course of action he was supposed to take. He had a sorcerer to track down. In order to do that, he would have to pay the man’s victims a visit, which would include the pack of werewolves.

  He decided to start on the werewolves since they had come to him for a cure. They would be less wary of him, and he was hoping he could inquire further about the sorcerer. He hadn’t obtained the sorcerer’s description when he talked to the werewolves because a small part of him suspected it was the usual fights between one supernatural being and another. He might be a hunter and protector of supernatural beings, but his duty didn’t include babysitting them and resolving their petty arguments. Besides, werewolves were very territorial. They were also easily angered. He had thought the alpha wasn’t being totally truthful about her pack being assaulted by an insane sorcerer. Now, he realized the situation was much worse than he expected.

  Cecil greeted him moments after he arrived near to the house where she and her pack resided in. “Jefferson.”

  “Cecil, I’m here on official council business. May we talk in private? With your betas, too, if you prefer it.”

  Cecil nodded at him and beckoned him to follow her into the house. The house was located on a massive piece of land. He was aware Cecil was one of the wealthiest werewolves in the world. Thus, he wasn’t astonished to discover how luxurious the house was even from the outside looking in. He wasn’t disappointed when he finally viewed the inside of the house. There were rare and valuable antiques, sculptures, and paintings everywhere. The house itself was tastefully decorated, though. However, he wasn’t here for fun and pleasure. He had a job to do. He waited until he was invited to sit on the couch and for Cecil to take the single one before he smiled at alpha and also the beta werewolves standing behind her.

  “We may not be close, Jeff, but we’ve known each other for hundreds of years. What’s going on?”

  He started explaining about the sorcerer and a few of the man’s crazy rampages toward various supernatural beings. He could feel Cecil’s fury the longer she listened to him, but he admired her outwardly calm demeanor. When he was finished, he requested for her help.

  “I need to know what he looks like at least. Gavin Barton, I’m not sure if you still remember him, gave weird descriptions based on the information he had collected from all the victims.”

  Cecil seemed to be pondering something for a few seconds before responding. “Of course I remember Gavin. He’s the water dragon shifter. Anyway, my betas and I, as werewolves, tend to rely more on our sense of smell than sight. We were able to ignore the unreliable visions of the sorcerer in his various forms and zeroed in on his scent instead. No matter how powerful the sorcerer is, his magic will always have the same scent. That was how we succeeded in getting away with only one of my betas being severely wounded in the battle. Am I right in guessing that some of the other supernatural beings aren’t as fortunate?”

  He heaved out a sigh before confirming Cecil’s hunch. “The vampires are fine. They’re the living undead, and since that sorcerer seemed to prefer mental magic, it bounced right off the vampires. After all, vampires live through blood, which is controlled by their hearts and not their brains. The magic governing them is different. The centaurs aren’t as lucky. Neither are the nymphs, giants, and gnomes. Last thing I heard, several healers from various elf communities have volunteered to help the victims.”

  Cecil tapped her right index finger over and over again on her thigh before speaking up. “I don’t know how to describe the smell of magic to you, though. It’s a werewolf thing, but this is an emergency. I want this sorcerer to be caught and punished, so I’ll break protocols just this once. I’m giving you permission to use your magic to delve into my mind to extract the olfactory sensations of the sorcerer’s magic and incorporate them into yours.”

  Jefferson wasn’t surprised when the beta werewolves growled and protested. He knew the betas would be extremely protective of their alpha, but he was quite astonished when one of them refused to back down even when Cecil ordered him to do so.

  “Clive, I’m your alpha. You need to listen to me.”

  Clive snarled louder. “No, alpha. My job is to ensure your safety. You can discipline me later, but I’m not allowing an outsider to harm you.”

  Jefferson expected for Cecil to chastise the beta immediately, but he was taken aback when the alpha’s expression softened instead. “Oh, Clive, my child. I’ll be fine. I’m not denying it will be quite uncomfortable for the intrusive magic to seep into my mind, but Jeff is one of my oldest friends. I trust him.”

  Jefferson knew Cecil didn’t have a mate yet, so it was impossible for her to have a biological child. After all, werewolves would never procreate outside of their mating bonds. Then again, Cecil was close to a thousand years old. Most supernatural beings would probably be babies and children in her eyes. Then, Jefferson focused on Clive, noting the warring emotions on the young werewolf’s face until it eventually settled on grudging agreement and a furious glare at him.

  “If anything happens to my alpha, elf or not, I’ll skin you alive.”

  Jefferson was more amused than frightened, but he nodded in acknowledgment. “I promise you Cecil will be all right.”

  “Fine.”

  He got up on his feet and approached Cecil before grinning at her. “May I?”

  “Yes, Jeff.”

  “Please think of the scent of the sorcerer’s magic and bring it to the front of your mind. Do your best to clear out everything else. I don’t want to be scarred for life, especially if you have something intimate and private that you don’t wish to share.”

  Cecil smirked at him before nodding. He placed one hand at the top of Cecil’s head, shut his eyes, and released his magic. He remained true to his word. He didn’t touch on some of the more brilliant memories inside Cecil’s mind. They weren’t what he was searching for. He traveled deeper until something stood out to him. It wasn’t shining brightly at all, but he could sense Cecil’s alpha werewolf magic nudging him toward it. He was prepared for all kinds of things, but the thing he encountered was horrible. There was an unbearable stench to it. It also felt slimy and disgusting. He detected his magic recoiling from it in an instant. Fortunately, his magic had tasted enough of whatever that thing was to not require a second round. He pulled back from Cecil’s mind in a hurry and opened his eyes. He noticed Cecil snickering at him.

  “Terrible, isn’t it?”

  He grimaced at Cecil before returning to his previous seat on the couch. “That’s an understatement.”

  “What’s your next step, Jeff?”

  “I’ll have to check in with the other victims. I need to collect as much information as I can. Then, I’ll go from there. Before I leave, there’s something I’m wondering about.”

  “What is it?”

  “Why are you so sure that the sorcerer is a male? I mean, he could have transformed himself from a woman into a man.”

  “Scent,” Cecil simply replied, and Jefferson continued to stare at the alpha werewolf in confusion. “It doesn’t matter what form you’re in. I don’t care what magic you employ. Men will always smell different from women.”

  Jefferson laughed in amusement. “Men are muskier?”

  Cecil rolled her eyes while the beta werewolves chu
ckled loudly. “That’s such a shallow way of describing one person’s odor. When someone is born, he or she carries a unique identifier that will proclaim who he or she really is inside. That’s one of the reasons why, in the werewolf societies at least, we don’t care who ends up leading the pack. You can be cis male or female. Or trans. You can even be gay, lesbian, or bisexual. The sexual organs you have between your legs don’t make a difference to us werewolves. What we look at in our alpha is more than just the primary gender. It’s so much deeper than that. I can’t describe scent any better than that. It’s too complicated.”

  Jefferson bowed his head. “It is indeed. Every supernatural group has its own customs and cultures. Anyway, I think this is it for the time being. Thank you for your assistance.”

  “Certainly. Please keep me updated. If possible, I want to be present when you execute that son of a bitch for hurting my beta and causing so much pain to my pack.”

  Jefferson nodded. “I will let you know. You have my word.”

  Moments later, he bade farewell to the pack of werewolves, feeling relieved when he noticed Clive wasn’t as hostile as before. It was time for him to move on to the next victims of the sorcerers. He had to take care of this matter as soon as possible. There was no time to waste.

  * * * *

  Baltic was disappointed when he didn’t get to meet up with the attractive elf at the library even though he waited for more than an hour for the man to appear. In the end, he decided to leave the library and went to a nearby coffee shop instead. He could have stopped at Edwin’s bakery. After all, Edwin might become his brother-in-law sooner or later. He had no doubt Edwin would welcome him at the bakery, but he didn’t feel comfortable going there, especially since he was pining away for the elf and feeling rather envious of Drake for having discovered his future mate in Edwin. Seeing Edwin would simply amplify the loneliness inside him because that phoenix shifter would be a reminder of what he might not ever have, which was a mate of his own.

  He purchased the most complicated-sounding beverage on the menu, along with a large slice of cake that seemed to have way too much colorful cream cheese at the sides. He wasn’t worried about his weight or his figure, though. He was still a supernatural being, so he knew his extremely high metabolism would burn off any excess fats from his body before they could pile up. Besides, he loved sugary, sweet stuff. Desserts would always be his go-to comfort food when he was feeling down in the dumps. He was also relieved when he noted several empty tables in the coffee shop. He could have his choice of seats anywhere in the establishment, so he decided to sit at a secluded corner. Once he was comfortable, he began to sip on his cold beverage, which was topped off with a ton of whipped cream, before using the fork to cut a small piece of the cake and bringing it close to his mouth. It was delicious, and he felt a little bit better inside.