Falling Into Faerie After

by Mercedes Jade

  Loren knew a remarkable number of good swear words in English for a Fae, which was a strange thought to ponder before I face-planted. Priorities.

  When he tried to tighten up his arms, I dug my feet into the ground and twisted as I fell, torquing myself free. I landed on one knee and a shoulder, not quite able to get my arms free in time to catch my head from smacking into the hard ground. It was the last hit that brought stars and tears to my eyes as I rolled onto my back.

  “Ouch-fuck-dammit-ouch,” I muttered, snaking my escape on my back over dirt and tree roots.

  Loren grabbed me by the front of my shirt, two-fisting it and yanking me up to pin my back to the tree this time. His thigh went between mine to hold me there as his hands grabbed my fists before they could do more than pound his shoulders a couple times. He brought my wrists over my head and held them in place against the tree with one of his own big hands manacling me again.

  This time he could see my anger as I hissed at him.

  “Hmm... kitten, I told you that’s not how you purr. Do you want to try this again?” he teased, calm despite his quickly swelling nose. Deep brown eyes sparkled with amusement and contrasted with his thick, white blonde hair that hung flawlessly in place, as if he just had it styled. I wondered if it was glamour that gave him perfect hair or if he was born in possession of the ying-yang to my messy black mane.

  “Mmph,” I complained as Loren smashed my mouth against his own, kissing my response away. I knew it would piss him off and that Kheelan had warned me once already about biting Loren but I did it anyway, giving his bottom lip a good nip with my unglamoured baby fangs.

  His brown eyes widened and then narrowed as he leaned nearer, crowding me impossibly closer as his tongue came out to lick my mouth while I latched onto him. Surprised, I released him, but he boldly kissed me despite the bloody lip. He groaned again as he plunged his tongue into my mouth, seemingly unafraid of me nipping that appendage. His pelvis pressed against me with further hard evidence that he wasn’t discouraged by my bite at all.

  It was wrong, so very wrong, but my body didn’t pay attention to my usually dependable common sense. I moaned into his kiss, my fangs swelling in my mouth, so sensitive every time his tongue brushed against them. Swallowing his reciprocal moan, I thrust my breasts up against his chest, feeling my nipples bud and ache to be squeezed, craving the pleasurable pressure his clever fingers had shown me before.

  Kheelan would have had my shirt up and bra down, wicked teeth punishing me for every little infraction he perceived, which the aforementioned biting Loren’s lip would have definitely counted. He probably would have threatened to spank my bare bottom for the repeat offence and this time he wouldn’t leave it up to Loren to go easy on me.

  “Evie-baby?”

  My whole body tensed as Matthew called my name from somewhere close. I had known my mother would send one of the twins after me. Loren reacted fast, ripping his mouth off of mine and releasing my hands so he was free to reach for his weapons.

  “It’s my brother,” I furiously whispered, batting the hand reaching for his bow. “Don’t look here,” I quickly suggested.

  Cold magic enveloped us both between one breath and the next. I hadn’t even heard him whisper the incantation.

  “Not me, boy.”

  He narrowed his eyes at me again. I was thankful it was Loren and not Kheelan, knowing I was pushing male Fae buttons with every word out of my mouth. Even Loren looked close to exploding and he had seemed like a playful flirt the last time we met, although now his quick temper may be partly due to the interruption of his cuddle time. I could still feel his hard inches pressed up against my thigh. My own libido was fired up.

  “You are coming with me,” Loren informed me. He grabbed my right hand with his left, leaving his other hand free for his whip, just hovering over his hip like a gunslinger waiting to draw. I hated that vicious weapon.

  “The only one leaving is you. Aeric will have your head if he hears you took part in kidnapping me, again,” I lied, pulling out the one name I thought Loren would fear, or at least respect. Aeric was supposed to be his future, all-powerful Light Fae King. Personally, I preferred to call Aeric other things.

  “Eve! Where are you?” Jackson yelled, much louder than his twin. He had dropped the ‘baby’ from my nickname and that wasn’t something he often did before the kidnapping. His voice sounded a worried kind of angry, like the way parents shout at their children moments after pulling their hand away from a hot stove. Even if I popped up in front of him right this moment, he was sure to lecture me half the night for disappearing.

  “I’m over here,” I shouted, trying to tug my hand out of Loren’s hold. I hoped that once we weren’t touching the glamour Loren had cast would drop from me and make me visible again.

  “Are you inviting me to your home?” Loren asked, twisting his body and leaning so he could lick behind my neck. I felt his teeth latch on and hold a moment later.

  He was Marking me. I could have fought it, but I knew this process only took a few seconds and my permission wasn’t really needed. It didn’t mean I was going to let him get away with stealing a Mark. As soon as he let go, I pivoted and wrapped my arms around him in a big hug, squeezing and whispering his name.

  He tensed.

  “Loren. Oh Loren,” I seductively whispered, my voice so quiet that he had to bend down a little to hear me. I wrapped my hands around his big biceps, annoyingly impressed despite trying to focus on more important things like revenge and escape. “I need you,” I added with a squeeze of those gym-worthy pipes, sneakily bending my right knee and rearing my leg back.

  I waited for Loren to wrap his muscled arms around me and sweep me off my feet. If he peeled me off of him, I would be embarrassed and too off balanced to deliver the blow I planned in retaliation.

  “Evie-baby, we can’t see you,” Matthew said, much closer.

  “Can you pull the glamour off of just me so I can speak with my brothers?” I asked, giving him a soft, pleading look I hadn’t even known I had inside me. Of course, it was faked.

  I didn’t wait for his answer, still looking in his brown eyes while I nailed him right between the legs. The magic dropped off of me with him bending over, hands spasming on my arms. I felt a tiny sliver of guilt as I twisted out of his grip and headed towards my brothers. It really was a dick-girl move.

  I nearly tripped over my own bow, quickly picking it up. This wasn’t supposed to leave my reach.

  “Cuddlekins. Sweetkins. I got lost,” I shouted, taking off. Both of their golden heads popped up around the big oak with their worried gazes lasering in on me. “I was practicing archery and it got dark so fast. I guess I lost track of time,” I explained, giving a careless shrug.

  Matthew’s chocolate eyes narrowed and Jackson looked me up and down. Why couldn’t my brothers accept my klutzy sister excuse and move on? They knew me too well and finding out I had lied about the Fae and my involvement with them until I was in actual, serious danger had made them question everything I told them now.

  Jackson grabbed my hand. I almost yanked it away in response to the other grab-happy Fae behind me, but I suppressed the reflex. This was my family.

  “You only get to call me cuddlekins when you stop locking us out of your room,” Jackson said with as much pout as an eighteen year old, six-foot tall football player could manage, which was none. The gruff voice kind of ruined it. His hold on my hand was gentle despite his annoyance.

  Surprising both of us, I tightened my grip on his hand and pulled him into a quick hug.

  “Want to sleep over? We could have the dark hot chocolate and watch Labyrinth,” I offered.

  Now Loren would know I had bodyguards, or at least witnesses.

  “With marshmallows? I saw mom bought the tiny ones and we still have some of the chocolate-coated ones,” Matthew said, sounding interested. He had a sweet tooth usually kept in denial.

  “Can we watch something made this century?” Jackson answer
ed, not quite ready to drop the terrible pout. He did hug me back.

  “Oh, do you mean something made after you babies were born? Should we try some episodes of the Powerpuff Girls, or do you guys just want to watch Frozen again?” I said, giving Jackson’s hand another squeeze as I tugged him towards the house.

  “I thought you were lost?” Jackson whispered sharply behind me.

  I forced myself to continue walking, stumbling a bit over a root. “Well, your loud voices came from that direction, so that has to be the way home,” I retorted, tugging Jackson harder.

  I chanced a quick glance back to see the argumentative expression on Jackson’s face and to check if Loren was anywhere to be seen. It really was dark now, but the forest looked empty behind the twins. Thankfully, Loren had been scared off and I could relax for the rest of tonight. Tomorrow, I would have to enact my plan since the Fae had found me. I was lucky that I had been able to avoid them this long.

  Matthew came up behind me and gave me a backwards hug.

  “Seriously?” I muttered, squirming in his hold. “I was still in our backyard, technically,” I reminded them.

  “If cuddles are back on, then I want mine, too,” he whined. Jackson might not be able to pull off pouting but Matthew managed whining fine. He was the sweeter one.

  I tripped again and both twins held onto me tighter. “This is ridiculous,” I muttered.

  “Do you want to piggyback?” Jackson suggested.

  “If it gets me home to hot chocolate faster, then yes,” I agreed. He turned around and Matthew gave me a boost, for which I reminded him I had plenty of experience mounting before I could think wiser of bringing up horses.

  “Do you think Orin is okay?” Matthew said. It wasn’t the first time he had asked.

  I sighed against Jackson’s back, figuring he didn’t really need an answer. If the twins found out that Orin had popped my cherry while they were sleeping, they would either kill him or clap him on the back. What they wouldn’t do is keep on bringing up the topic of what happened to my mind-reading, magical unicorn that I left behind in the strange Faerie woods. The twins had their one-night stands and should be able to relate.

  “Are you sure none of them have been looking for you at your apartment?” Jackson grumbled, gruff voice strained. I suddenly remembered that I was in my Fae form still, making me bigger than usual.

  “They dropped off the face of this earth, er realm,” I said, closing my eyes to focus on refreezing my snowflake. I whispered my nursery rhyme and let the magic wash over me.

  “What the...” Jackson complained, hands shifting to hold my changing form.

  “Forgot to put my human back on,” I admitted.

  “Don’t talk about yourself that way,” Matthew ordered me. “You’re human, just with something extra,” he said.

  “Do you prefer mutant? Crossbreed?” I snarked, resting my head on Jackson’s shoulder.

  “I thought the Fae called you a Halfling. It’s kind of cute,” Jackson commented.

  “Cute?” I repeated, nearly spitting that foul word out. “Like my pointy ears and how about my baby fangs when I chew your face off?”

  “Like a rabid chipmunk? Still cute, Evie-baby,” Matthew said with a laugh.

  “Bite me,” I told him.

  “I’d rather tickle you... in the middle of the night... on your cute, little toes,” Matthew threatened. He really would and Jackson, no doubt, would help him.

  “I’ll curse you with my evil, dark magic,” I warned them. More likely, I would kick them and plead for mercy but it was the implied revenge that counted.

  Jackson pretended to shiver. “I always told dad you were a Wicked Witch of a sister,” he shared.

  “The green skin was the first hint, and those ruby shoes. Where did you get them, under a house?” Matthew added.

  “I thought you didn’t watch movies older than you,” I snapped back at them.

  “We read books,” Matthew drawled out real slow.

  That little turd. I was never going to live down dropping out of high school. I hadn’t actually read the book to know if he was telling the truth of making it up just to poke fun at me.

  “I’ll make you watch the Wizard of Oz tonight, my pretties,” I crackled at them. “The vile Munchkins and Tin Man and Scaredy Lion and the Scarecrow, too.”

  “I call snack choice if you get to pick the movie,” Matthew said.

  “No granola,” Jackson said. He meant nothing that could be remotely labelled healthy although the sugars and fats that could be packed in some of those mixes were worse than junk food.

  “Put me down before we get to the house or else mom is gonna freak and think I broke something,” I said.

  The long strides of the twins had carried us to the edge of the forested ravine surrounding the backyard. I could see the outside lights on and the outline of someone peeking out the kitchen window.

  “I could tell mom you sprained your ankle,” Jackson offered.

  He wasn’t ready to let me down yet. It reminded me of when Falin insisted on carrying me all the way to my car and buckling me inside before he would let me go after a failed attempt to run away. Jackson used to trust me unquestioningly. It was going to take more than moving back home for a few weeks to establish that bond between us again.

  “She hasn’t caught sight of us yet,” I said. “Let me down and I’ll tell her I lost track of time. I want to go ahead and take a quick shower before movie night.”

  “I thought Jack was wearing his lucky socks. Was that you?” Matthew teased, taking a loud sniff. He pulled back, likely a bit surprised at my sweaty odour.

  I had been doing more training than archery out there, pushing my new, longer-limbed body to find out its limits. No Fae were going to chase me down easily, although I obviously had to work harder at the hand-to-hand.

  “Get off,” Jackson said, bending down on one knee. “The clock is ticking, Evie-baby, and we’re coming in with snacks in T minus thirty minutes.”

  I smiled hearing him add back the ‘baby’ part of the twin’s nickname for me again. He was also being pretty generous with the shower time, which meant he was giving me enough time to indulge in my deep, soaker tub if I wanted to really relax. Matthew would probably offer to massage me during the movie, too.

  “Welcome back,” my mother greeted us, opening the back sliding door. “Do we need to start packing a compass for you, Eve?” she asked me.

  “Maybe I should wear a watch,” I said, sheepishly.

  Mom was holding two mugs of hot chocolate that she handed to the twins. I looked over her shoulder to the counter for mine.

  “I drank yours,” my mother said, moving aside so the rest of us could enter the house.

  “What?” I exclaimed. “Who makes hot chocolate for someone and then drinks it herself?”

  She reached for a bottle of water with condensation fogging the sides and handed that to me. “You were running in the woods again,” she said, not really asking a question.

  I leaned my bow against the kitchen island and accepted the bottle, rolling it over my face and appreciating the coolness. “You were the one that always bugged me to start running again,” I reminded her and opened the bottle to take a generous swig. It hit my stomach like ice, cooling me from the inside out.

  “You don’t even like the outdoors. The one time I took you camping, there was a baby racoon that got into the corn cobs we threw in the fire. When you saw it sitting there and eating after you came back from the washroom, you screamed so loud it woke up everyone around us and then you threw your flashlight at the poor thing.”

  I drank water. The twins didn’t know me then, but I had been a more typical girly girl when I was younger. I had grown up fast once I found out about mom’s disease. Nowadays, I would still throw the flashlight, but I wouldn’t bother screaming and I would be sure to knock out that rabies carrying, thieving, freaky glowy-eyes monster with one hit.

  “We went camping once,” I finally comm
ented after half finishing my bottle. “How do you know I don’t dream of sleeping under the stars?”

  “We have a big backyard and plenty of woods. Go camp,” my mother dared. She arched an eyebrow at me, which was the signal of her bullshit meter going off.

  She knew I didn’t even like to go out to the car if it was parked on our driveway instead of the lighted garage because our drive was kind of secluded, a tree lined circle that blocked the streetlights. The sound of the wind in the trees or a stray animal knocking over a garbage pail would send me running back into the house.

  “Maybe I’m developing a new love of the outdoors from my dad’s side,” I suddenly said.

  “Unless they have wifi, dad hates camping,” Matthew commented, spooning out the last of his marshmallows from his hot chocolate.

  I had meant my biological dad but I felt mean saying it. All the probing I had done with my mom since my return hadn’t revealed anything. There was no point forcing an awkward conversation in front of the twins. I didn’t even know what had gotten into me, asking so impetuously. It had to be stress and fatigue messing with my judgement.

  “We have a movie night planned,” said Jackson.

  “Yeah, we were going to make snacks while Evie-baby washed off the forest,” Matthew agreed.

  Both twins finished their mugs of hot chocolate and walked over to the sink to clean them up. They must have cooled off partly for them to swig them like I had the icy water.

  “I want something chocolate,” I demanded, letting a bit of childish jealousy into my voice.

  “I suppose we could whip up some quick chocolate-drizzled, cashew popcorn,” my mother said. “Grab a bar of the dark Godiva and some milk chocolate chips from the top shelf, please.”

  Matthew hopped onto the counter with one hand. My mother was banned from getting anything from the top cupboards ever since a bad fall had worried us all that her Huntington’s Disease was progressing and resulted in a couple weeks of her being forced to use a walker.