The crowd and Misty laughed as he read out some of the truly creative guesses. Her favourite was the idea that he was starting a monkey sanctuary in the Serengeti. He would look adorable covered in baby monkeys.
She sipped at a glass of orange juice and enjoyed the party. The sight of the security officers around her in the doorways and the edges of the room made her feel better. If someone had told her nine years ago that she would feel secure surrounded by wolverines, she would have called them crazy.
When Samuel was at her side again, they had to field questions about the ring and that sparked another wave of squealing.
The party continued long into the night, and Misty lost her ability to keep her eyes open somewhere along the line. She retreated to her office and curled up on the sofa.
She rested for half an hour before the taste of fey magic woke her up.
Larion sat on her desk and stared at her. “You are not lying.”
“I am not. I am really pregnant and Samuel is the father. Also, my friend Keeda let me know that it was a girl. She’s a seer, and she knew I was pregnant before I did.”
Misty propped her head on one arm and glared at him. “Was there something that you wanted or did you just want to interrupt my sleep?”
He cocked his head. “You don’t fear me.”
“Nope.”
“And you can sense fey energy.”
“A lot of shifters can. They just don’t advertise it. It lets them avoid you.” She yawned.
“Are you all right?” He seemed very concerned for a stranger.
“Of course I am. I am just dealing with my beast being ticked off because my baby is too large to shift around. I am not a very big beast.”
“What kind of creature are you?” He looked curious and leaned forward.
“I am a shifter. What kind of a jackass are you that you are harassing what will be your mother-in-law? It is a dangerous game you are playing.”
He blinked and leaned back before laughing. “I dine with the president and you threaten me?”
“Why not? My baby, my choice. She will be born a shifter and will need our training to come through puberty without flying apart. She needs her parents. Both her parents. All you can do is annoy me.”
He smiled. “I would like to offer you protection. Not all of my kind will agree to what I have accepted as fact.”
“What is the deal with you waiting two decades for a mate? You are exceptionally good looking. If you want a half-breed child, you can easily find one amongst humans.”
He cocked his head. “You really don’t know?”
“Nope.”
“The fey are dying. There are less of us every year. More and more are just surrendering to oblivion. There is no future for us, no striving and no children. We need magic to breed, and the world is giving all its magic to the shifters and humans. Our time may have come, but I am willing to change the face of the fey and blend it with the magic of the shifters.”
“Why not the mages?”
He grimaced. “Shifters are less susceptible to the glamours and seductions of the fey. To have a mate, one must be on equal footing, and being able to bespell one’s mate is not a good foundation for a match.”
“What about the lifespans?”
“A balance can be reached; it has been done before. Half the fey’s life can be handed over to the mate with the sharing of magic flowing both ways. The mages have begun to use this in their own wedding rituals.”
Misty sat up, acknowledging that she would have no nap tonight. “Why are you really here?”
He cocked his head. “You have good instincts.”
“I do, now spill.”
He grimaced at her indelicacy. “There is a fey faction that is working to capture some of the magic that the shifters can access so easily. I cannot say more than that.”
“Then why tell me?”
“So that when it happens, you will be able to step into action. I get the feeling that you are a woman who will not hesitate to tell your folk what is going on.”
She cocked her head, “So you are telling me that when it happens, I will know.”
He beamed. “Precisely.”
He disappeared in the next instant, and her senses told her he was gone.
Samuel came in from his spot in the doorway where he had been standing for three minutes. “What was that about?”
Misty frowned. “I think he was warning me about something that his people are planning. I don’t know why he can’t stop it if he is the king.”
Samuel sat next to her on the couch and pulled her into his lap. “Do you always listen to your clan leader?”
“Of course not. I would never have gotten the nerve to go to school if I had listened to my mother.”
“Your mother is your clan leader?”
She giggled and leaned against his chest. “My dad tried, but mom ran right over him. It was a case of her human kicking his beast in the ego. He got over it.”
“Wise man.”
“I think so. We will be meeting my family tomorrow. How about yours?”
He chuckled. “I am still putting that off for a while. I haven’t forgiven them for rifling through your history.”
“Forgive them; they want what’s best for you, and I am more than willing to sign a pre-nup.”
“No, you are not. I am not willing to give you one. This is an equal partnership whether you like it or not.” He nuzzled her cheek.
She smelled alcohol on his breath. “You are drunk.”
“Tipsy. Glad you are driving, though.”
She snickered and struggled to her feet, which was made more difficult by his arms around her waist. “Come on, furball. Let’s get you to bed.”
She hoisted him to his feet, and they left the dwindling party for her car. Three of the wolverines followed them out, and once she was inside her car with Samuel grinning next to her, she felt a lot better.
The day had been freaky, and she wanted nothing more than a good night’s sleep in the arms of the man she loved.
Misty was lying next to Samuel when she woke and reached for her phone. “Sorry about the time, Randal. Keep an eye on the tethers to the Crossroads, I think something is happening.”
“Fine. I will tell Dira Montrose. Satisfied?”
Misty yawned. “I suppose so. Night, Randal.”
“Work on your phone etiquette.”
She smiled and hung up.
Creeping back into Samuel’s embrace, she relaxed for the first time in weeks.
“Feel better?” He mumbled it against her shoulder.
“Much.”
“Good. Get some sleep.” He kissed her skin and they drifted off.
Tomorrow, she would have to deal with the elf warding their house against intruders. It was annoying and the magic felt weird.
Author’s Note
Things are getting weird at the Crossroads. The fey are coming; the fey are coming! Look for them in 2015.
There wasn’t enough sugar glider in this instalment; they are so darn cute, I wish I could have written some sugar glider adventures. Ah well. There is always another book.
Zenina Masters
About the Author
Viola Grace (aka Zenina Masters) is a Canadian sci-fi/paranormal romance writer with ambitions to keep writing for the rest of her life. She specializes in short stories because the thrill of discovery, of all those firsts, is what keeps her writing.
An artist who enjoys a story that catches you up, whirls you around and sets you down with a smile on your face is all she endeavours to be. She prefers to leave the drama to those who are better suited to it, she always goes for the cheap laugh.
Listening to readers has gotten her this far, and with her 300th short story looming before the end of 2014, she will continue to listen in the future.
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