by J. L. Madore
He looks at the four of us, frowning when we don’t join him. “C’mon, you guys. Toast my brother. I’m sure my parents are toasting him tonight. The son who should’ve been king.”
Hawk curses under his breath. “You had a littermate?”
Nakotah nods, his head bobbing. “Come see.”
“Brant, help him,” I say, setting my glass down.
“I’ve got him,” Brant says, directing our wolf and keeping him from hurting himself.
He leads us down the hall to a closed-door at the back of the house. When he places his hand on the door, magic snaps in the air and the door unlocks. Kotah fusses with the handle for a bit before Jaxx leans in and opens the way.
From what I can tell from the light seeping in from the hall, the locked room is little bigger than a bathroom and almost as sterile. White marble covers the walls and floors smattered with black plaques with engraved silver plates.
“This is your family mausoleum,” Hawk says, approaching the pedestal in the center of the space. Made of black marble it rises from the floor in a smooth cylinder and has a concave bowl at the top with an old-fashioned wick of an oil lamp in the center. Hawk lights the wick and the room glows with the glow of the reflected flame. “Should we be in here?”
Jaxx takes my hand and leans close beside me. “Traditionally, wildlings don’t share their dead outside of the family. It is believed that to speak of lost loved ones pulls them from the second phase of their destiny and tethers them between lives. To ensure success in the afterlife, it’s best to release them.”
“That’s sad.” Riley is on my mind all the time. Missing her hurts but refusing to think about her or talk about her sounds so much worse.
I release Jaxx’s hand and go to Kotah. He’s brushing his fingers over a plaque on the far wall and I slide in against his side and read it aloud. “Naquilla Northwood, a male of such worth, the Powers could not wait to claim him for their own.”
Hawk squeezes my shoulder and speaks quietly. “That’s a common inscription for wildlings who die at birth.”
“Except he didn’t die,” Kotah says, his gaze haunted. “My parents kept him alive in their hearts as the perfect son my whole life.” He holds up his glass and chinks it against the plaque. “To you, my brother. The male they believe would’ve made the perfect Fae Prime.”
“Oh, my sweet wolf,” I say, stepping in front of him and wrapping my arms around him. “You are not a consolation prize. You’re the grand prize.”
“Yeah,” Brant says, curling around us both. “Fuck ’em if they don’t see it, buddy.”
Jaxx joins the group hug. “Seriously. Fuck them.”
Hawk reaches past my ear toward Kotah’s shoulder. “You can’t pick the family you’re born too—I know that as bitterly as you—but you can pick who becomes your family. Fuck them. You have us now.”
As his hand squeezes Kotah’s arm, I gasp. A surge of energy lights up my cells and bursts out of me and into them. As our connection strengthens, so too does our power. I’m not sure how I know it but I do. My phoenix lets off a cry of triumph in my head and the growls and purr of my mates tell me they feel it too. It’s the first time all five of us have come into contact.
It’s the power of our quint aligning.
It’s happening.
Hawk
I’m drawn down the stairs in the morning by all the succulent smells of a home-cooked breakfast. Funny. Sleep and I have never been amicable, so I’m accustomed to being the first to rise and shine. I am the proverbial early bird that got all the worms. Not this morning. I find Kotah in the kitchen with Jaxx’s mom, the two of them whipping up a lumberjack’s feast.
“Morning,” I say, sliding onto one of the stools at the breakfast bar.
“Good morning,” Maggie says, bright as the rising sun. “What’ll you have, dear?”
“Just coffee, thanks. Black.”
Maggie—a blonde cyclone of southern strength—gives me a placating gaze and fills a plate. “Nonsense. I won’t have my boys heading off to face the world without a full stomach.”
It doesn’t escape my attention that I have been assimilated as one of her boys. It irked me at the welcome dinner at the Bastion. It bothers me far less now. Reading personalities is my superpower. I know, without trying, resistance is futile.
If I am truly one of her flock, I can at least pride myself in being the black sheep.
Kotah slides a steaming mug of java across the island countertop and brushes my hand when I reach for it. His fingers linger on mine and his soothing touch creeps under my skin.
Today I make a concerted effort not to react and pull away.
As an omega, it’s in the very nature of his genetics to need to soothe others. I can’t bring myself to deny him that small comfort after yesterday. If caring for us helps him deal with the prime thing, I can bear the momentary contact.
More so, after our magical mate power-up last night in the Northwood mausoleum, it’s obvious that connecting with the other mates is essential to us reaching our full potential.
Still, I keep it brief. I break the connection under the guise of needing that first hit of caffeine and offer him a smile. “So, what’s your plan from here?”
Kotah nicks a piece of bacon off my plate and leans on the island. “I’m still a guardian, aren’t I?”
“As far as I’m concerned, yes.”
“Do you consider your duties to Calli and the realm more important than your title and business responsibilities?”
The bottom of the ceramic mug clinks against the granite countertop as I swallow. “Not more important but certainly more immediate. I’d like to think I’m learning to juggle both.”
Kotah grabs a glass of orange juice and takes a sip. “Then that’s what I plan to do too. Lukas shouldn’t be out there tracking down our bad guys. The universe entrusted us to handle it. It’s time we get back to what’s important.”
“I doubt it will be that easy.”
He rests on his elbows on the counter and leans toward me. “The way I see it, you can help me get up to speed on how to live two lives of responsibility. Keyla can fill me in on what to expect from the palace side of things and you can help me balance it.”
Is he serious? “Being the king of the fae realm is a fuck-ton more—”
“Language, dear.”
I take in the arched brow of my self-proclaimed Mama-in-law and blink. Okaaay, my life has truly flipped on its ass if I have a mother to answer to. I haven’t had one since I was five. I rub the tight spot in my chest and bury that down deep.
“My apologies, Maggie,” I say, before returning my attention to Kotah. “Being the king of the fae realm is exceedingly more involved than running a corporation.”
Kotah shrugs. “But I’m not the fae prime yet and I refuse to give my father one minute more of my freedom than he’s already demanded of me. While he lives—I live. My life. My terms. I need you to help me.”
I pick up my utensils and start in on my plate. “All right, then I’ll clean my plate and then make the arrangements. Have you spoken to your sister about this? If you intend for her to accompany us, she can stay in the background and flag anything you need to know from the palace, but I’ll have to hire a couple of security men to—”
“Count me in,” Doc says, joining us. “I’ve got tactical training and can guard the princess.”
I catch the possessive flash in the bear’s gaze. So, it’s like that is it? “All right. I’ll assign you as her shadow and give you two men to watch your backs.”
Doc nods and steps into the work area of the feast. “Morning, Maggie,” he says, kissing her cheek. “Everything smells wonderful. I’m surprised Brant hasn’t already…”
“Already what?” Brant says, leading the way as he, Jaxx, and Calli descend the stairs. “Careful what you say, brother. My feelings are tender when my tummy’s rumbly.”
Jaxx and Calli are both fresh from the shower and share a private smile. Ha. I c
laimed shower with Calli so thoroughly yesterday I’m sure she thought about me while she was in there with him. Suck it, jaguar.
Calli’s gaze meets mine and the heat in those emerald gems triggers my cock to harden on sight.
And so begins another day with my mates.
The plus side… the kid gets all the morning love he needs to shake off last night.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
Kotah
I lean close to the mirror and smile at my reflection. “It’s perfect, ladies.” Having never worn a concealer foundation before, the fact that Calli and Keyla were able to cover the prime tattoo this effectively boggles my mind.
“I’m amazed it healed and doesn’t hurt,” Calli says.
“I’m amazed that humans don’t use a healing seal,” Keyla adds. “They seriously wait days and weeks for their tattoos to scab over? That’s barbaric.”
Calli laughs. “It’s not exactly barbaric. It’s annoying and uncomfortable, at most. Humans don’t have access to magical balms. They have to tough it out.”
I pull back but can’t straighten with three of us wedged into the plane’s washroom. “Okay, Keyla, out so we can all get out. This room isn’t big enough for the three of us and we’ll be landing soon.”
Keyla exits and Calli and I have enough room to turn and follow. Before we leave the adjoining stateroom, I catch Calli’s wrist and pull her back. When Keyla turns, I give my sister a wave and slide the pocket door shut.
Calli arches a brow as I seal us in together. “Something on your mind, wolf?”
I nod and claim her lips. Like always, Calli welcomes my hungers. She meets my kiss, and arches into my touch as I slide my hand under her top and up her ribs. “I wanted to thank you for yesterday. I would’ve lost my mind if you hadn’t kept me sane. I needed you more than I realized, and you were right there with me the whole time. No one has ever been my champion before. You can’t know how much that means to me.”
With her arms extended over my shoulders, she toys with my braid at the back of my neck. “You’re welcome. You deserve a champion. I’m sorry I couldn’t do more.”
My wolf growls, prowling forward. “There’s something more you can do now if you’re up for it.”
As her attention turns from affection to sex, a ring of flame lights up around the green of her irises. Her phoenix is gaining strength. Soon, she’ll be able to set the mythical bird free to soar. “What do you have in mind? Should we pull the couches down into a bed?”
“Sadly, no. I wish this was about us getting naked.”
Calli sobers. “Then, what is it about?”
“Brant,” I say. Her expression tightens and that’s exactly why I feel I must step in. “My love, our bear may seem like an impenetrable tank of a male, but he’s hurting. He feels your frustration and disapproval and it cuts him deeply.”
She steps back and sits on the sofa. “I am disappointed. I won’t lie about it. He chose to go after Hawk and undermine the relationship we’re building, a relationship I made very clear is a priority to me. I asked you three to drop your animosity toward him and give our broody bird a chance. He lied right to my face and said he would.”
I kneel on the ground before her. “I don’t think he lied to you—at least not in his mind. As he followed the evidence of a serious crime, he worried for your safety as well as the success of our mission as guardians. If you believed someone was a danger to me, is there anything you wouldn’t do or say to ascertain if that threat was imminent? Would you allow yourself to be talked out of digging further?”
I know I have her on that one because my phoenix mate would never stop if she thought any of us was in danger.
“Just talk to him, Chigua. Not about his mistake, but about how despite it, you accept who he is. He’s feeling very unsure of himself right now. He’s the only one of us not claimed—”
“—That was his choice,” she says. “I’ve invited him to join us a bunch of times.”
“I know, but he yearns for a bit of quiet time with you—to be at ease with one another—like our afternoon at the waterfall. Remember how peaceful it was for just the two of us to soak up the sun and be together?”
The warmth of her smile fills my soul. “It will stand out as one of the most magical moments of my life. I look forward to returning and maybe we can finish what we started.”
My cock, already hard because of our nearness, pulses behind the fabric of my jeans. “I’ll make it sure it happens, but this moment is for our bear. Please, take a moment to assure him of his place in your heart. On the outside he’s a mountain of a male and indestructible, on the inside, he’s a teddy bear.”
She nods and squeezes my hand. “Got it.”
When I stand before her, she pulls me forward and playfully presses her mouth against the front of my jeans, nipping at the ridge of my cock. “You sure there’s nothing I can do for you before we land?”
I laugh. “I love where your mind is and yes, as soon as our day is our own once more, I’ll take you up on that offer and return the sexual favor. Right now, Brant’s pain is pressing on my heart. Ease him and you ease me as well.”
“Okay, why don’t you send him back.”
I leave Calli, pass Doc and Keyla in the back-lounge, and head straight through to the leather seating area around the small table in the forward cabin. Jaxx, Hawk, and Brant seem to be finished pouring over their maps and plans and are sharing a drink and a bit of quiet conversation.
When I claim the empty seat, the three of them instinctively look back the way I came for our mate. “She’s in the aft stateroom. Brant, perhaps you could go spend a few minutes with her before we land.”
His brow pulls tight. “Am I in trouble?”
“No, but I suggested that you two might benefit from a bit of mate fence-mending.”
He rakes his fingers over his skull and through the loose waves of his thick brown hair. “Yeah, I suppose we could.” He rises and gently touches the skin on my right cheekbone. “The girls did a good job covering that up, but you know it doesn’t matter to us, right? You’re just Kotah, our wolf, to us.”
My heart stumbles behind my ribs. I press my cheek further into his touch and smile. “And thank the Powers for that. Like I told Hawk earlier. I know who I am and who I want to be. My life. My terms. Thank you for saying it though.”
Calli
I sit on the edge of the plush couch and for some stupid reason, I’m nervous. I asked Brant a few days ago if I was screwing things up with him and he assured me I wasn’t. I’m not so sure. If Brant’s unease is strong enough that Kotah senses it than I should’ve realized it too and set it right. Maybe I’m not doing as well with this quint mating thing as I thought. It’s a lot of balls to keep in the air.
I roll my eyes at myself, considering their balls. I’ve now seen each of them naked and while Brant and I haven’t had the pleasure of anything beyond a few kisses and me tugging on his cock for a brief moment, there’s so much more I want to explore with him.
“Knock. Knock.” Brant fills the frame of a normal-sized door frame, so the opening in the airplane doesn’t begin to fit him. He turns a bit sideways and ducks into the stateroom to join me. “Kotah says I’ve been called to the principal’s office.”
I’m about to deny that when he waves away my reaction.
“Nah, I’m kidding. He said that maybe we need a few minutes alone to mend fences.”
I shift over on the couch and pat the cushion beside me. When he sits, I climb into his lap and hug him. We sit like that, just holding on, for a long, silent moment. Kotah’s right. I feel Brant’s tension ease the longer I hold on. I am screwing this up.
“I’m sorry, Bear.”
I start to pull back so that I can look at him, but he holds me in place. I’m not a small girl by any stretch of the imagination but tucked under Brant’s chin and encircled by the banded muscles of his massive arms, I feel downright petite.
“You have nothing to be sorry for, bea
utiful.”
“No. I do.” I kiss the bottom of his jaw and look up at him. I’m accustomed to seeing Hawk’s emotions guarded against me, but seeing Brant’s defenses up hurts me deeply. Of anyone, he is the most open and easy-going. I thought we’d patched that up after his accident.
“Kotah asked me a few minutes ago, what I would do if I genuinely thought someone, even someone close to me, was plotting to do him and others harm. My answer was simple. There’s nothing I wouldn’t do or say to find out the truth. And, until I knew the whole truth, I would take every precaution to keep everyone safe. I’m sorry for being angry when that’s what you were faced with.”
He pulls me close again and holds on. “I’m sorry too. I got caught up in not liking Hawk and when everything pointed to him being a rotten apple, I believed my own worst fears instead of searching for another explanation. The guy can be a real prick, but he’s passionate about the fae community thriving.”
I squeeze him extra tight and he lets me pull back. Shifting in his lap, I straddle him on the couch and cup his broad jaw in both my hands. “We’ll figure out who’s manipulating the fae behind the scenes and we’ll find those kids. Because of you, we know to look for them. You did good, Bear. You’re going to make a wonderful FCO investigator.”
I press my lips to his and sigh into the contact. Make love not war is such good advice. It’s so much better to be on this side of a disagreement.
“Hey, guys,” Hawk says, from the lounge on the other side of the doorway. “We’re beginning our descent. Everyone should buckle up.”
I give Brant another hug and then pull back. “I guess we should take our seats and join the others, yeah?”
Brant nods. “Yeah.”
The two of us take our seats at the front and Kotah takes my hand. He sends a rush of healing energy into our connection and my cells light up. I glance at his piece of the phoenix crystal hanging around his neck and thank the Powers for our wolf. He is our calming essence. He is our foundation. He is our spirit.
“I love you, sweet prince.”
No matter what happens in the battles to come or within the quint or with him having to take up the mantel as the Fae Prime. Whatever the magic of the fae universe throws at us, we’ll be stronger and ready to face it together because of our beloved omega prince, our wolf, our soul.