Wolves and Roses

by Christina Bauer

  Knox looks up as I approach. “You look great. I’ve got a cab waiting downstairs.”

  “I think I know how to confront my aunties.”

  “I’m game.”

  So, I share my plan. My pulse speeds up as I explain things, mostly because the plan involves Knox waiting outside my auntie’s door, and I know he’s a protective type. But he’s totally down with the scheme and even calls me a genius. One of these days, I’ll stop blushing my face off when he compliments me.

  Knox takes my hand as we leave the LeCharme building. He keeps holding it in the cab and when we get out at my aunties’ building. He even holds my hand while we take the elevator to my aunties’ penthouse. A dozen questions run through my mind at once. Does this mean that we’re still mated? I know next to nothing about werewolf culture. Being mated is a big deal, but I’m not sure you can hold someone to a proclamation made while they were about to be killed by a sociopath undead mummy-zombie.

  My chest tightens. Suddenly, it’s like I can’t pull in enough breath.

  I gesture to the door. “This is it.”

  Knox cups my face with his hands. “You’re nervous.”

  I nod quickly. Yes, yes, yes.

  “About your aunties or me?”

  There’s no point lying to a werewolf. “Both.”

  “Bry, you’ve got nothing to worry about when it comes to us, yeah?”

  I start babbling again and am totally powerless to stop it. “But there were all those dresses in your apartment, and lots of them were torn. You must have gone to some of those parties.” I realize I’m speaking so fast, all my words tumble together. Still can’t stop myself, though. “Just because you said you were my mate in a battle doesn’t mean you have to stick to it. And sure, you were my first kiss, but that doesn’t mean—”

  “Whoa. Stop right there. Believe me, you’ve nothing to worry about when it comes to us.” He leans in and gently brushes his lips across mine. “We’ll talk more later, yeah?”

  “Yeah.”

  Knox takes in a deep breath. “Now, you smell more settled. You ready for this?”

  “As I’ll ever be.” Actually, I’m totally not ready for this conversation. I’ve spent a lot of my precious prep-time worrying about how Jules got turned into charcoal and what’s happening between Knox and me.

  Denial much?

  Now, I have to face my aunties—and possibly the most powerful fairy queen of them all—and confront them about scheming with Jules. Oh, well. Maybe it was best to avoid those thoughts until now. Just starting to contemplate that level of betrayal, I want to race back into the elevator and never see them again.

  Best to just get this over with. I straighten my shoulders and push the intercom buzzer.

  Mirabelle’s voice crackles over the intercom by the door. “Just come in, whoever you are. The door’s open, and the party’s started.” I can hear voices babbling and music blaring at full volume. The intercom goes silent.

  I close my eyes and focus. I’ve always had good hearing, but after I had my first shift with Jules, it seems like everything is super-loud. And now, I need that skill more than ever before. From what I heard over the intercom, the party is in full swing, and it isn’t even midnight yet. What I need to know now is if a certain fairy is in attendance. There will be no way to miss her voice if she is.

  A nasal screech echoes through the door. “And yet again, I win another battle of riddles!” An odd chorus of voices breaks out into cheers. The sound is a mix between a growl and the twitter of birds. Those are definitely fairies.

  My stomach drops to my toes. And Queen Nyxa is with them. Damn.

  I press my hands to my face and force my breathing to slow. This is a disaster. The whole reason we sped over here was to avoid seeing Nyxa in the first place.

  Knox moves to stand at my side. He whispers in my ear. “The queen is there, yeah?”

  “Yup.” I make sure to pop the “p” on the “Yup.”

  “No worries. We’re fine. You planned for this, and your scheme is brilliant. Now, I’ll just wait out here and listen for you to call my name.” He tugs on his ear. “Wolf hearing, right? This will work.”

  I grip my hands tightly at my waist. “Or we could run. I’ve always wanted an assumed identity.” As the words leave my mouth, I realize I’m definitely half serious.

  “Not a chance. You just fought Jules and a few hundred undead losers.”

  I raise my pointer finger. “I’m not really sure how he died.” For some reason, it feels very important to make that point clear.

  “I got that. But you still won. And you can do this, too. I believe in you.”

  With those words, I’m ready to pull up my big-girl panties and face things head-on. I grip the handle and push open the door.

  I step down the small entrance hallway and into the main living room. It’s like stepping into a funky chic high-end department store circa 1960. We have these egg-shaped chairs and fur-covered couches. The lamps remind me of silver spiders. The rugs are beyond plush. Oh yes, and everything is in different shades of green, yellow, and pink. That’s all the work of Lauralei and Fanna, of course.

  The place is packed with partygoers. All of them are fae. There are tall willowy types with blue skin and limbs as thin as reeds. Young curvy types with pink skin and wings to match. And little pixies zip around the air with their bright green bodies, dark wings, and pointed teeth. They all join a frenzy of movement they like to call dancing. I think of it more as a magical mosh pit. The scent of dandelion wine hits me smack in the face. Yipes. Fairies get absolutely toasted on anything to do with dandelions. And based on the number of glasses filled with yellow liquid in this room? These fairies are all well on their way to being plastered.

  Lauralei and Fanna stand in the center of the room in their matching yellow Chanel suits, sipping their yellow drinks from wide martini glasses. Today, they remind me of a cross between flamingoes and Big Bird. Mirabelle waits nearby in another red muu muu thing. And in the center of this trio stands Queen Nyxa. She’s hard to miss, considering how she’s seven feet tall with orange skin and moss-green hair. A crown of bluebells sits atop her head. The flowers are the same shade as her floor-length gown and over-large eyes. The moment I set foot in the living room, her gaze locks on me.

  “Bryar Rose.” When the queen addresses me, the entire chamber falls silent. “You have arrived.”

  “Yes.” I’m pretty happy with how calm and level my voice sounds now. “And I have great news for you all.”

  My aunties grin from ear to ear. Mirabelle bobs happily on the balls of her feet, a movement that makes her muu muu puff out into a muffin shape.

  They think they know what my news is. But they have no idea.

  Lauralei steps forward and raises her glass. “Let me guess. You have fulfilled your—”

  “No!” I’m even happier with my loud exclamation here, because it shuts Lauralei right up. “I want to announce this news in a special way…by holding a battle of riddles with Queen Nyxa.”

  The smiles melt away from all three of my aunties. “What?” asks Lauralei. “I forbid it.”

  Nyxa rounds on Lauralei. “Who are you to forbid me anything?” She grins so sweetly, you’d hardly think she was the kind of fairy who killed servants for fun. But she is. “I should very much like to engage Bryar Rose in a battle of riddles.”

  I curtsy. “Thank-you.”

  “What is the prize?” asks Nyxa slowly.

  “The winner can request any boon she wants of the other, and I’ll go first.”

  Please, let me go first.

  “Absolutely not. I am queen here, and I set the rules. I shall ask you first.” She taps her chin with one long orange finger. “Let me think…”

  My heart starts beating so loudly, I can actually hear my pulse in my ears. I’ve watched Nyxa play these riddle games for years. Usually, she always starts off with an easy question. Otherwise, she says the game is over too quickly.

  “I h
ave it.” Nyxa claps her hands. “Why is a raven like a writing desk?”

  I could cheer, I am so excited for this question. It’s a real stumper, but not for me. It’s from Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, after all. I give Nyxa my best grin. “Ask the Mad Hatter.”

  Now, I’m not a hundred percent sure that’s the right answer, but based on how Nyxa is gritting her teeth right now? I’m pretty sure I nailed it. “Fine,” she says quickly. “Ask your question.”

  I swallow past the knot of worry in my throat. Nyxa is a massively powerful fairy, and this is a huge gamble. She won’t like losing. “Who has my heart?”

  Nyxa tips her head back and laughs. “Why, that’s easy. Jules, the leader of the Denarii. I’m sure he’s captured it both in the metaphorical and physical sense by now, yes?” She makes a slurping noise as she drinks, which is number one, unnecessary and number two, totally disgusting.

  “Not exactly.” I pull back the wide neckline of my sweater to show the unmarked skin on my shoulder. “As you can see, my heart is still where it’s always been.” I cup my hand by my mouth. “Knox, we’re ready for you now.”

  The door slams open, and Knox strides into the room. He’s all messy black hair, leather pants, big boots, and attitude. I’ve always noted how his presence fills up a room. Now, I’m thinking that’s his alpha warden vibe. Even though the room is filled with obnoxious fairies, suddenly it’s like there is only him and me. I can’t help it; I stare at his full mouth. Dark bristle lines his chin. I want nothing more than to rub my fingertips over his skin.

  Knox’s eyes glow golden with werewolf power. An electric sense of connection seems to fill the air between us. Before I know what’s happening, his heavy arms are around me, and he’s pulled me against his firm body. I don’t need any more invitation than that. I lean in and kiss him, hard.

  I don’t know how long things go on like that, but no one says a word. Eventually, Knox breaks the kiss. “When you told me about your plan, you didn’t say the exact words of your riddle.” He leans his forehead against mine. “Is that true?”

  “Yes, Knox. You hold my loving heart.” I can’t stop smiling like a fool.

  “Glad to hear it. You have mine too, yeah?”

  “Yeah.”

  Nyxa’s voice takes on a nasal shriek. “Where is Jules? It’s this thing’s eighteenth birthday.” She points a long finger at me. Evidently, I’m considered a “thing” in her vocabulary. “She was supposed to marry Jules! What’s going on?”

  I fold my arms over my chest. “That’s the precise question I was going to ask my aunties. Jules is dead. I will never marry him.”

  “What?” ask my aunties in unison.

  “And since I won the battle of riddles, I will now name my prize. From now on, my aunties must tell me the truth. Make it happen, Nyxa.”

  Nyxa sniffs. “Fairies don’t lie.”

  “You don’t tell the full truth, either.”

  Nyxa fans her chest with her hand. “This party is boring me to death. I should be going. In fact, it’s beyond time everyone left.”

  “But what about my wish?”

  “I’ll grant it…someday. Come find me, and we’ll talk.” She raises her arms, and the room fills with the silver light of fairy dust. When the air clears, the only ones left are my aunties, Knox, and me.

  Go find her? Finding fairies is impossible unless they want to be found or you have their real name and can summon them. Leave it to a fairy to weasel out of a bargain.

  My aunties stalk toward me, and they do not look happy. Moving in unison, they all raise their arms and summon fairy dust to them. My body freezes with fear. My aunties don’t crack out magic often, but when they do? Look out.

  I straighten my back and firm up my resolve. After all, this was the situation I’d hoped for in the first place, right? That my aunties would be here alone so I could confront them? Getting Nyxa out of the way was just phase one of my plan.

  But now that I see my aunties conjuring up magic against Knox and me? I think about all the times they wiped my nose and changed my diapers. They conjured me dinners and tucked me in at night.

  Now that it comes to it, I don’t know if I can fight them, after all.

  My aunties lower their arms. Long, thin branches burst out of the floor and wrap around Knox.

  Not me. Knox.

  The thorns dig into his skin. The copper scent of blood fills the air. Rage corkscrews up my spine.

  “Jules can’t be dead!” Lauralei is shrieking now. “It’s all this werewolf’s fault. He’s lying to her.”

  Suddenly, different memories fill my mind. Mirabelle telling me I’m a failure and worthless. Fanna handing me Predator’s Bane and making me thank her for it. Lauralei inviting me to a birthday party to celebrate my own murder.

  And now? Torturing my mate. What little shred of affection I kept for these three ladies vanishes under the fires of my rage.

  A voice roars with rage inside my head. “Attack!” It’s my wolf speaking to me again.

  Once again, I agree with her.

  Before I know what’s happening, my wolf form tears out of my body. It’s agony as my limbs realign. Sinews tear, and bone stretches. My great white wolf faces down my aunties. My muzzle trembles as I snarl with rage. “Set. Him. Loose.”

  I don’t know what surprises them more—the fact that I’m a wolf or that I talk. Either way, the three of them only stare dumbfounded at me. I stalk over to Knox. The thorny branches they’ve tied him with have silver bark. Something about it is forcing him to stay in his human form. I raise my front paw, claws extended. With a flash of talons, I slice through the cords that bind him.

  Knox steps free. Within seconds, his own wolf bursts from his skin. His eyes flare with golden light as he approaches my aunties. “That wasn’t smart.”

  “He t-t-t-alks,” stutters Mirabelle.

  “They both talk,” adds Fanna.

  Lauralei raises her arms. “We need more thorns, I see.” A fresh cloud of fairy dust sparkles around her hands.

  Fresh fury courses through my veins. If I live to be a thousand, I never want to see those damned Sleeping Beauty thorns again. I reach deep within me to the place where Colonel Mallory locked up my magic. This time, I do find it.

  So I set it loose.

  Leaning back my head, I let out a howl. Silver fairy dust surrounds my entire wolf, growing thicker and stronger as my howl grows. Knox adds his voice into the mix, and I can feel his alpha power giving me hope and strength. By the time I finish my howl, the mist is so thick, it’s almost a liquid. I lower my head, and the fairy dust speeds off to my aunties, growing larger as it flies forward.

  My magic slams into my aunties, knocking them onto their backs. I lower my voice to a rumble. I have no idea how to cast a spell, but I know what I want to happen here. “No more magic for you.”

  The fairy dust I sent over encompasses the three women, twisting round their bodies like small cyclones. Within seconds, their skin begins to glow. Somehow, I know that’s their power—their fairy dust—being drawn out of them. Their bodies shine more and more brightly until the room is bathed in silver light.

  After that, the light disappears. From the bottom of my soul, I know their powers are gone as well.

  Lauralei scrambles to sit upright. She raises her hands, staring at them like she’s never seen them before. Her voice comes out a rough whisper. “What did you do to my powers?”

  “I can’t pull any fairy dust,” whines Fanna.

  “Nor me,” adds Mirabelle.

  Knox gives me a quick look. I still don’t know him too well, but I can tell that he’s wondering what I did to their powers, too.

  I wish I knew. I reach into my soul to find my lockbox of power, and it’s closed down tightly once more. Why can I access it sometimes but not others? I shake my head. There must be some kind of logic to it, but that’s something to wonder about another day. Preferably when I have a fully translated Book of Magic in front of me.
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  Right now, I have to deal with my aunties.

  Still in my wolf form, I stalk up to Lauralei. “I want some questions answered.”

  Lauralei’s face creases into a simpering smile. “You wouldn’t hurt your aunties, would you?”

  Wolf-Knox stalks forward. “She might not, but I definitely will. Answer her questions.” All three of my aunties gasp in terror. I’m not sure what it says about me as a person, but I find it a super-satisfying sight.

  Lauralei quickly recovers, though. The next thing I see, she’s done gasping and is lifting her chin instead. “Never.”

  Mirabelle scrambles to stand. “I’ll answer.”

  “Don’t you dare,” scolds Lauralei.

  I stalk around them slowly. “Listen to me closely. I know Philpot was really Jules, the leader of the evil Denarii. You set me up to become his zombie bride.”

  Lauralei pales. “Don’t talk nonsense.” I must be getting more werewolf-y, because I can smell her lie like it was last week’s garbage.

  “I’m not playing this game anymore. You’re going to tell me what happened with Jules, why you did it, and who my parents really are. Otherwise, things are going to get ugly.”

  Wolf-Knox scrapes the floor with his four-inch long claws. “Give me an excuse to make it ugly. Please.”

  Mirabelle waddles forward. “Jules approached us years ago. He asked us to do little things in exchange for magical tokens. Then, he said he had one last favor to ask of us before he gave us fairy magic beyond our wildest dreams. We didn’t have a lot of power to begin with. That lured us in.”

  Mirabelle’s words smell like truth. Even more importantly, they fit with what I know of Jules. He was always trying to put together deals, even when he was pretending to be a hedge fund manager.

  “Go on,” orders Knox.

  “When we agreed to this final deal with Jules, we had no idea that he would bring us a baby. All the other favors were finished in an hour or so.”

  Mirabelle’s words knock the breath out of me. No wonder Lauralei and Fanna acted like I was such a burden. They were expecting a few hours of work in return for a ton of magical power. Instead, they got almost eighteen years of me. A sour feeling settles into my stomach. There’s nothing like knowing you’re unwanted to ruin your day.