by Tenaya Jayne
“Wanna take the girls out again tonight?”
“Can’t. Gotta stay out of the public eye for a while after that shit last night.”
“I’ve got some great stuff. I’ll bring it over. We can have a private party with Erin and Melina.”
“No. Mel’s busy, and I want to be alone with Erin. I’m done using, anyway.”
Kendrick was quiet for a second. “Good for you. Going clean. I should, too. I know it.”
“I’m sorry, but I need to go. Erin will be here soon, and I’m not ready for her.”
“You’re so whipped. Not that I blame you. I’d reform for her, too. Okay. You’re going to have to tell me how you swung her one of these days,” Kendrick said.
Maddox half smiled. “One of these days, I will. Later.”
He ended the call and headed to the shower. He got clean, dressed, and decided it was time to start making dinner. The sun was about to set. Surely Erin would be back soon. He was about to message her when his watch pinged. It was Mel.
I wish I could see your face. Mind you that’s all I would want to see, but still, I know it’s going to be priceless.
What are you on about?
You’ll see as soon as Erin gets there.
Oh, hell. What have you been doing?
You’ll see. I’m totally snickering over here. Just FYI.
Hmm…he narrowed his eyes at his watch. What was going on? He was about message Erin, but she messaged him first.
Sit down. Now.
He snorted, going to the living room and sat down on the couch. What was she doing? The lights cut off. His eyebrows shot up. His bedroom door cracked. Haze and floating lights filled the space around him. Then Erin came out.
He almost dropped dead in a mix of shock and lust. She had her hair in pigtails, a pleated mini skirt that barely covered her ass, and a button-up shirt tied in a knot right under her breasts. He stood up but she put her hands on his chest and shoved him back down on the couch.
“Erin?”
She put her finger over her lips in a shushing motion and tapped her watch. Music filled the house. She smiled wickedly and winked at him as she started to dance.
“Oh my gosh!” he said, putting his hands over his mouth.
Erin moved like a dancer right out of a hip-hop music video. He watched, trapped and helpless. Had he died and gone to bad girl heaven? Over and over, she moved in ways that made him want to whimper and beg. Her gaze snagged on his and there was so much there. So much power and she wielded it over him without mercy.
Finally, when he felt he couldn’t breathe anymore, she grabbed his hand and pulled him to his feet, but she didn’t stop dancing. He put his hands on her and moved with her. The dirtiest dirty dancing had nothing on them. But she had total control. And she moved him where and how she wanted him.
“I think you broke me,” he panted as they crashed on the bed a good while later.
She laughed, taking her pigtails out, letting her hair down. Sweat glistened beautifully all over her naked body.
He swallowed and worked to catch his breath. “I don’t know what I did to deserve all that, but you have to tell me, so I can make a habit of it. Where did you learn that stuff anyway?”
She blushed. “Well, there was this one book in the castle library.”
“Oh man, it’s probably the same book I snuck out of there when I was thirteen.”
She leaned on one arm and looked down at him. “Were those your notes on page forty-seven?”
He laughed and covered his face. “Yes.”
She drilled her finger into his ribs. He caught her against him and kissed her. He smoothed the hair away from her face.
“You are more than any fantasy I’ve ever had. What possessed you to do this?”
“I did this for me. To own you in a way no one else ever has. I wanted to give you something that I knew none of your memories could compare to. I want to be queen… Was I successful?”
“Unequivocally,” he said seriously.
“That’s good, cause I think I pulled my hamstring.”
“I will carry you everywhere you need to go until it’s better.”
“Where could I possibly need to go?” she smiled, gesturing to his bed.
“Where, indeed.”
She put her hand over his heart, her expression sobering, and she trembled. “I love you, Maddox.”
“Oh, Erin…I love you, too.”
She smiled. “I said it first.”
“I thought it first,” he countered.
"No, you didn't. I've loved you since you first left a flower on my doorstep."
He let out a heavy breath and closed his eyes, taking her lips. This kiss was devastating, and it held the world of his heart inside it. His love for her, the pain, the passion…and now the joy.
He moved his lips to her neck. "I want to mark you."
Her whole body purred. "I want that, too."
"When? What kind of a ceremony do you want?"
"Hmm…Give me some time to think about it." She yawned. "We can talk about it again tomorrow."
Erin smiled as she fell asleep fantasizing about their marking ceremony.
Voices woke Maddox. Very familiar voices coming from the living room. He shook Erin gently. She squinted at him.
“What?” she asked.
“We need our own place, like yesterday.”
She rubbed her eyes. “Oh?”
“My parents are home.”
She gasped and sat up, grabbing at the blanket to cover herself. “Where are my clothes?”
He pointed at the door. Her eyes widened, and her cheeks turned pink.
“Oh no. That bad school girl outfit is out there, ah, and my lingerie…Are your parents out there right now?”
He nodded.
“Well, I’m going to make a good first impression,” she groaned.
He chuckled.
“It’s not funny!”
“Well, you can laugh or cry, babe. Put something on. I’m going to go talk to them. Come out when you’re decent.”
He tossed one of his shirts at her before finding one for himself and putting it on over his pajama pants. He winked at her as he went to face the music.
“Hey! You’re back! Great!”
Standing in the middle of his and Erin’s discarded clothes, his mother and father gave him stony looks. His mom picked up Erin’s black lace bra and raised her eyebrows, giving him that hawk look.
He held his hands up before his parents imploded. “She’s my destined life mate.”
That took all the wind from their sails. Their faces shifted from indignation to happiness. They both grabbed him and pulled him into a group hug.
“Oh, congratulations!” Forest said.
“Where is she?” Syrus asked.
“Umm…she’s in my room, feeling embarrassed…I have a lot to tell you guys.”
“I should expect so,” Forest said. “I want to know all about how you and her found each other.”
“Well, there’s that, but then there’s some other stuff. Really bad stuff. This is going to take a while.”
Erin poked her head out of his room, her cheeks still beautifully pink. He held his hand out for her. She came toward him wearing his shirt, a pair of his boxers, and a sheepish expression. He tucked her under his arm.
“This is Erin.”
“Hi,” her voice was shy.
Forest reached for her and pulled her away from him and into a hug. “Erin,” she said quietly.
Maddox watched, amazed as his mom looked into his mate’s eyes. The two women seemed to connect immediately on some mystic female level.
“I…I can’t tell you what an honor it is to meet you,” Erin said to her.
She shook her head. “The honor is mine. And now so are you. My new daughter.”
They clung to each other and cried, making him confused. His dad clapped him on the shoulder, smirking.
“Don’t ask them why they’re crying,” he told M
addox sagely. “It’s a good sign… So, did she knock the stupid out of you?”
“Absolutely. At least some of it. I have a feeling she’s not done.”
“They never are, son.”
His dad moved forward and grabbed Erin’s hand. “My turn,” he told Forest. “Erin.”
“Sir.” She looked up at him nervously.
“Welcome to the family.”
“Thank you. I really look forward to getting to know you both, but I think I should go home and, um, get dressed first.”
His mother chuckled and handed Erin the clothes Maddox had happily removed from her last night. She wadded it all up, tucked it under her arm, blushed brighter, and headed to his room. He followed her and closed the door.
“Oh my gosh,” she breathed. “I’ll be back in a little bit.”
“Don’t take too long, and don’t even think about getting rid of that stuff,” he pointed to the naughty clothes under her arm.
She smiled wickedly. “Wouldn’t dream of it.”
She kissed him and went through the portal on the wall. Now he had to tell his parents all the ugly news.
Nineteen
Forest sat on the couch and listened as Maddox told her and Syrus all about what happened while they were away. She scanned through the media as he talked, looking over all that he said. She needed to talk to Redge and Kindel to get the full picture of the situation and whatever information Maddox didn’t know about, and she was sure there was plenty.
She wanted to cry and pitch a fit like anyone would whose son was being framed for terrible crimes, but she needed to keep her head cool. She was Hailemarris. If she felt she really needed to lose control, she’d go see Rahaxeris to do it. Her father always let her storm, and then he brought her focus back sharp.
She looked at Syrus. “We weren’t supposed to be back yet. I think we should keep it quiet we’re in Regia.”
“I agree.”
“Erin couldn’t have come into our lives at a better time.”
“Why do you say that?” Maddox asked.
“Because I can’t be your mom right now. I can’t look at this problem as your mother. I have to look at it from a cold, removed place. But it makes it easier on me knowing your heart is being cared for. I know you’re a grown man, but you’ll always be my baby. I can’t coddle you. I can’t give you any favor. The public will cry corruption harder than they already are if I do.”
He nodded. “Sure, I get it…Thanks, Mom. I love you so much.”
She pulled him into a tight hug and lingered. The feel of him, the way he smelled, he was her only son, and she would rip the world open for him. But he wasn’t hers the same way anymore now. He belonged to Erin. She was grateful and sad at the same time. But best of all, he was Maddox again, and not the shell he’d become to face the public. They would get through this darkness and find the real source of it.
Forest sent for Kindel and Redge. They arrived together an hour later.
“How was your vacation?” Kindel asked.
“Super. I’ll tell you about it later. Give me everything you have.”
They laid their files out on the table for Forest to look at and waited silently. She scoured through all of it twice, then she sat back and crossed her arms over her chest.
“The whole damn thing is political,” she said.
“For sure,” Redge agreed.
“So who’s behind it?”
“I’ve been searching,” Kindel said. “Whoever is behind it has no ties to my usual informants. The murderer is a puppet, we know that much. The fabricated story leaked to the media was done with the dead girl’s watch. I stopped the first attempt. I still don’t know how they got it through after that.”
Forest pursed her lips. “The dust used on the second body is illegal and seriously expensive. There’s a deep pocket behind this. Are there assassins in play?”
“No. We haven’t ruled assassination attempts out, but I think they just want you out of the way. Discredited,” Redge said.
“So who’s on your list?” she asked.
Both Redge and Kindel rattled off names on their suspect list. She didn’t doubt them, but none of the names they mentioned seemed to catch in her mind as a real possibility.
“Are you going in?” Redge asked.
“Yes. But no one is to know I’m back. I’ll be ghosting around Fortress invisible for a while, until I step in something. X, Fluffy, and Ena are the only others who can know I’m there. No one else. Spread it around you’ve had word from me and I’ll be back next week. Hopefully, that will push an action we can catch.”
They stood and tucked their files under their arms before leaving. Syrus put his hands on her shoulders. She stood and let him hang on to her a for moment.
“What do you need from me?” he asked.
She smiled. “Make me something rich for dinner. I’ll be home late.”
“Is that all?”
“Help Maddox figure out what he needs to do so we can get him moved out ASAP. Sharing a roof with a newly mated couple is a little too much for me.”
He chuckled. “Truth. Hey, you know that means we’ll be alone again.”
“Sounds good,” she kissed him, turned invisible, and used her portal ring to go to Fortress.
“Dad, I’m back…for a few minutes anyway!” Erin called from her bedroom, searching through her dresser, trying to decide what she should wear.
“Dad?”
No answer. Something moved behind her. She turned, her nose and eyes burning as dust was thrown in her face. She fell. The room vibrated, colors melting into one another. A shadow grabbed her with gloved hands and hoisted her up as she fell unconscious.
Kendrick dropped the note on her bed, closed the portal, and set a charge on the end of it. The charge sparked, swirled in a circle for a second, and then exploded, destroying her end of the portal altogether. Maddox wasn’t coming that way again. He smashed the end of the bridge he brought and took Erin out of there while his small window of time was still open.
Maddox paced. What was taking Erin so long? She should have been back by now. Was she obsessing over her appearance? How much time did she feel she needed to primp? Was she just still nervous about being around his parents?
His heart sought hers, trying to read it. Nothing. He felt nothing as if she was asleep. He smirked. They hadn’t slept that much last night. Maybe she did need a nap. Still, he needed to check on her. He tried to go through the portal. It let him through a foot and then he hit a black wall. It wasn’t just shut, it was broken.
He backed up, his heart in his throat. He grabbed his sword off the wall, touched his wrist, and opened a portal to her room. Something smelled weird. He blinked and coughed, covering his mouth and nose with his shirt collar. It was some type of hallucinogen in the air.
His eyes fell on the note.
I hate you, Maddox. I’d rather be dead than mated to you.
The handwriting was a dead ringer for his own.
“Erin!” he yelled, rushing out of her room.
He slipped and fell in a pool of blood next to a body. He scrambled up, looking down at Jaris. His wrists were cut, and like the girls, Maddox had been carved on his arm. He ran to the other room. Nathan was on his face on the floor, his head bleeding.
He rushed to him and turned him over. He was still alive, barely.
“Where’s Erin?” Maddox shouted.
“I don’t know,” Nathan hissed. “Leave me. Go find her.”
He tried to focus on her. She was alive, but still, he felt nothing from her. She must be drugged. A pulse like a sphere of energy formed in his chest directly over his heart. He went down on his knees, unable to breathe. Erin had been taken. They were going to kill her.
A spark lit inside the sphere. A spark of power ignited by rage. Rage distilled, hate purified. The power inhaled, pulling down into a pinprick that stabbed his heart. Then it exhaled, breaking the sphere in his chest. The shards raced through his veins to his h
ands and into his head, bursting out of his eyes.
Maddox got to his feet. He held his hands out—they were charged. He was like his father. He could weaponize his rage, and it had transformed him. He’d bypassed becoming a master and jumped straight into becoming a mage. Gold electricity slithered along his fingers, through his hands, and up his forearms. Maybe he couldn’t be a living elemental like Tesla, and maybe he couldn’t heal or strike people dead with lightning like his father…but whatever the extent of this new power was, he was about to learn. He closed his eyes, focusing his whole being on finding her.