by Jo Penn
“That is their reasoning, brother. Sometimes I find it easier to deal with Renegades. They are mostly creatures and will come directly for you or sneak and attack. They do not create weapons against creatures, they use their creature given weapons. Humans such as Hunters think to destroy economically, emotionally.”
“Did you locate us using my tracking device?” Mac asked wearily.
Great, he had Hunters after him for his accounting knowledge. Didn’t that just suck?
“They didn’t cover their tracks very well.” Eber strode into the room. “It was easy to search them out, but yes, we used the tracking device as this was the quickest way to retrieve you, Bruno, and the wolf shifter.”
“Did she make it?” Mac asked.
“No. Rest, now, Mac.” Lacy soothed. “I saw Finn the other day, and he said everything was going to change for you very soon.”
Mac groaned. “You went to a seer? For what? To find me a mate?”
“You bet your ass I did.” Lacy huffed.
Lacy was never one to give up. She was fighting to keep Mac alive and as healthy as possible, living a full life. Mac had attempted a number of times to talk to his sister about him dying, but she refused to accept that there was no cure, only treatment for his form of cancer, so, in reality, it was only a matter of time. After a while, he stopped trying. Like all his siblings, none of them would listen. They wouldn’t face what was going to happen until they had to and Mac could understand that. Today though, he was starting to face the possibility, and there was a dull ache inside him for something he couldn’t figure out. His skin still itched. His mind drifted to a cheerfully accented voice.
Macario closed his eyes and saw, briefly, a flash of dark eyes and a bright, happy smile.
Chapter Three
The Village was one of the oldest parts of Milson City and close to the center. Most who resided here were either filthy rich with inherited property, or were part of a guild or other paranormal group.
It truly was a beautiful place, and Fale was falling in love with it. He’d spent a lot of time here over the last eight days and found a café he adored, a small theater that put on plays once a month with huge wait-lists to get in, and he loved looking at all the gorgeous, huge, homes.
He had seen Mac a few times, once more at the day spa where the man asked for another masseuse instead of Fale, which didn’t do much for his self-esteem and confidence. The other time was at a restaurant near the Aston Estate.
Today he wandered by a café and did a double take, pausing and stepping back to discreetly look through the large bay windows.
Inside was Mac. With his hair slicked back in a smooth style and dressed to impress, Mac was seated across from a very attractive woman who was smiling in a way that could only be termed lascivious. They looked very intimate holding hands lightly and sharing a desert, even with Mac’s ever-present bodyguards not far away.
Feelings unlike he’d ever felt before flamed to life inside Fale. He staggered under the weight of them, stumbling a few steps and leaned heavily against the side of the building gasping for breath. What was he going to do? He needed to try and figure out what to do about the situation he’d placed himself in.
Nothing, right? He couldn’t do anything. Rubbing the heel of one hand against his eyes to stop the tears that threatened to fall, he shook his head, disagreeing with himself. He needed advice, but from whom? And right this minute, for he couldn’t stand the fact Mac was in there potentially setting up a time to fuck someone else. It was wrong, Fale couldn’t let it happen.
Knowing he’d messed everything up spectacularly and was about to make the situation even worse, but not able to think of anyway else to fix it, Fale sucked in a shuddering breath and straightened, ready to go into the restaurant and make a scene if he had to.
Fale suddenly became aware he wasn’t alone and was, in fact, surrounded on three sides and being watched closely.
Blinking up at the three creatures, he knew he’d paled under his dusky complexion and had an excellent reason to. One creature was a gargoyle, a frigging big one, too, well over six and a half feet. He’d be gorgeous if he weren’t so menacing and directing a deep, intimidating scowl toward Fale like he was evil incarnated.
“I’ve been watching you, fae. I’m giving you a warning, only one, after that you pay the consequences of not listening to me and being a dumb little shit. Stay the fuck away from Macario. Don’t watch him, don’t try and be his masseuse, don’t go near him. We clear, or do I make this a permanent memory in your brain by…hells, why are you crying?” The huge Gargoyle grimaced, holding up his hands and stepping back. “Look, I didn’t touch you, no need to cry—crap.”
“S-s-sorry…I-I…” Fale hugged himself, hunching over, sorry he was making the gargoyle uncomfortable as he didn’t like others to be uncomfortable, and also thinking it might set the creature off again and actually punch him. If that happened, Fale would break like a twig. “I-I’ll try t-t-o stop…”
He just cried harder. Man, he was so embarrassed! He drew in deeply and tried to stop the tears.
“Oh man.” The gargoyle sighed, grabbed hold of Fale’s arm, and began moving him along the pavement. “Tobias, I want Mac home now. Don’t take any of his shit.”
“If he fights me? He’s doing that a lot lately.” The big creature next to them opened a car door. “He’s antsy.”
“Yeah, cuff him if necessary. He wants to push, we push back. Les, you’re with me.”
Tossed into the back of a big black car, literally, Fale bounced across the seats, and when he frantically tried to climb back out, the door was slammed shut in his face. As soon as the gargoyle and another guy got in the front of the car he cautiously leaned forward, one hand anxiously running through his longish dark hair and brushing away the last of the tears. The shock of being snarled at by the gargoyle and tossed in the car snapped him out of his crying fit.
“Sit back and put your seatbelt on.” The gargoyle growled. “Don’t make me come back there, kid.”
Shuddering at the thought, Fale did what he was told. “P-please d-don’t let Mac go with that woman.”
“Now come on, youngun, you have to forget about Mac. You’re young, infatuations happen. It doesn’t do you any good to stalk him, or anyone for that matter, and you’re not good at it either. We’ve been watching you for eight days. I’m taking you back to your guild, they’ll get you some help.”
Fale whimpered but stuck his knuckle into his mouth. It wouldn’t do any good to tell the gargoyle, would it? Who was this creature anyway? He’d seen the large man with Mac a few times but wasn’t sure of who he was. And was he actually taking Fale to the Morgan guild, or to a deserted forest and a shallow grave? Thinking of that had Fale shaking in his new shoes, ones his trainer made Fale buy since she said he couldn’t wear beach sandals everywhere. He was in the city now, not Tahiti.
Twenty minutes later they arrived at Minstral, the fae guild. As they passed through the gates, Fale used both hands to make sure any remnants of tears were gone and tried to fix his slightly waved dark brown hair that had come out of the band he wore it in earlier.
“Who are you?” he ventured as the vehicle pulled up in a visitor park outside the large main building.
The massive creature got out of the car, opened Fale’s door, and gestured him out.
“Eber Aston. Youngun, you shouldn’t be wandering around the city by yourself. You’re barely out of your teens, you haven’t got all your magic yet, and you’re not street savvy.” Eber Aston caught hold of Fale’s arm and marched him to the front doors, nodding at a few fae who looked them over curiously. “Here to see Lieutenant Visij. Eber Aston.”
The fae receptionist went wide eyed and nodded vigorously. “Of course, sir…straight away!”
While she rushed to make calls, Eber just stood there not releasing Fale, who was beginning to feel pretty low from all the attention they were attracting. He realized a few things, also. Eber was an Aston—t
hat must make him some relation of Mac’s. Which could mean Eber might help Fale, or make things tough and much worse. Fale had to take a chance though, right? He wasn’t getting anywhere on his own but constantly in trouble lately, and he ached, really ached deep inside, which was making him feel ill.
“H-he’s my mate,” Fale whispered.
Sharp golden eyes whipped to Fale. “What?”
“M-Mac, he’s…well, mine.”
For a moment he braced himself for disbelief and if not a tongue lashing, something far worse by the look on the creature’s face. But then Eber’s expression changed abruptly, and Fale very nearly fell over in surprise.
The creature looked pleased, immensely so.
“Well fuck, youngun, why didn’t you say so?”
“Oh, ah, we-ll…he’s human—”
“So what? You’ve got a bias against humans?” Eber Aston snarled fiercely.
“Nooo!” Fale began shaking.
“Shit, okay, calm down. I don’t want you peeing your pants. Geez, you’re as bad as Blazh, I’ll remember that. Visij, we need a private place to talk.”
“Of course, Eber. Follow me.” Second Visij led them to a room off the main entrance. “May I ask why you are holding one of my fae youths like that?”
“Sure. He was stalking one of my siblings.”
“I wasn’t! Oh…hmm, well, I guess, maybe?”
Eber Aston smirked and pushed Fale surprisingly gently into one of the armchairs in a large sitting room. Visij closed the door and took a seat across from him. Prince Caspar’s second, the guild’s lieutenant, was a very powerful fae and lenient without being a pushover. Fale had immediately liked Visij when they met. Though there must be a substantial age difference between them, Visij hadn’t treated Fale like a little kid and didn’t dismiss Fale when he had asked questions upon arriving at the guild.
“Were you stalking Eber Aston’s sibling…” Visij frowned. “Fale, right?”
“Yes.” Fale nodded, ringing his hands. “We only met once, I didn’t think you’d remember me.”
“I’ve just sent an e-mail asking that you come meet with me tomorrow. I wished to know how you were settling in. I have reports from your supervisor at work that you looked gaunt and haven’t been happy like you were the first few weeks. Also, your trainer said you’ve lost weight and were unmotivated. This is a great concern, Fale. And now to hear you’ve been stalking? I think we will need to have a few sessions with the counselors. It is a big adjustment to move guilds, especially at your age.”
Fale was wide-eyed and panicked. They might send him back to Tahiti and make him leave Mac! “I-I can explain! Please don’t send me back!”
“No one is sending you back unless that is something you truly want, Fale. Please tell me why you would be stalking one of Eber’s siblings. I assure you that is not wise.”
Fale looked worriedly at Eber Aston and got a sharp nod.
“Tell him. From the beginning, I want to hear this properly, too.”
“Oh…well, you see, a few weeks ago when I was at work o-one of Mr. Aston’s brothers came in—”
“River? Everyone falls head over heels for that one,” Visij said with a gentle smile.
“Ah, n-o, he seems nice.” Nicer than Eber that was for sure. “River had Marin as a masseuse. I r-recognised Mac as my…mate.”
Visij blinked, repeatedly. “What was that now, kid?”
“I did! I know it’s supposed to be hard for a young fae to recognize their mate, but he was just there! Right in front of me, clear as anything and I got the tingling and a cramp in my left arm and a sharp pain in my head and wanted to vomit in my mouth a little.”
“That sounds like a crappy mate recognition,” Eber smirked.
“Yeah, we lucked out.” Visij smiled, leaning forward. “That’s good, Fale, excellent. Congratulations. I and the guild are very happy for you. To find your mate is a wondrous event. What happened when you told—crap, Mac? As in, Macario?”
“Yes.” Fale frowned, then shrugged, not sure of Visij’s reaction. “I…didn’t tell him.”
“Why the hell not?” Eber snapped, then seeing Fale’s trembling, sighed heavily, took a deep breath, and gave a scary but reassuring smile. “It’s okay, calm down. Now tell me why you wouldn’t immediately lay claim to Mac? That is the paranormal way. We find our mate, we don’t hesitate. We stake our claim. In your case, I understand you wouldn’t have tried to do more than tell Mac, and hells, my brother wouldn’t have allowed anything more than that, but he knows the laws and despite being a frigging—” Eber took a deep breath, released and smirked. “Why, Fale?”
Fale worried his bottom lip, nodding. “Err, yeah, well, Mac said he wanted to leave and go to Hawaii and seemed really steamed about it. And he didn’t show any signs of the mate pull, either. So I got confused and worried and it just all seemed not to work! I didn’t know what to do—”
“Calm down,” Eber ordered, firmly but with a quality that had Fale listening, wide-eyed, and calming down.
“You’re good at that. Young faes can be a bit…sensitive.” Visij cleared his throat. “Fale, why didn’t you speak to your trainer? Seek guidance and support?”
“B-because I didn’t claim Mac like I was supposed to.” Fale hung his head. “I didn’t want to tie him to me if he’d be unhappy, but I couldn’t stay away. Every time I saw him, he was with someone else…”
Visij rose and moved behind Fale. With a touch on the back of his head and a few gentle words, Fale felt a little better and blew his nose with a tissue from the box Visij placed on the stand beside his chair.
“How do we handle this, Eber?”
“Well, we have the youngun’s belongings packed up, and I take him home to his mate.” Eber grinned in a purely scheming way and rubbed his hands together. “Oh yeah, this is going to be perfect. I was sure my brother would end up with some creature that’d try to take him away from us and dominate him, which would never work with Macario, probably end in a blood bath to be truthful. Mac’s got much more lion in him than most realize. But you, Fale, you’re exactly what my brother needs.”
Fale blinked. “I am?”
“Yep. Now listen up. You belong to an Aston that makes you one, also. Family. We protect our own, which means you live at the Estate and fall under our jurisdiction. Yeah, Lacy is going to smother you with sisterly love.”
Visij grinned and patted Fale’s shoulder. “That’s fair, and it’s not like I’m going to take you and Vicus on, Eber. Fale is to return here four times a week for training and development, also to socialize with his own kind. Young fae don’t do well without good strong backing and Fale is still developing his magic. His prominent skill, or gift as other paranormals term it, requires refinement and is not entirely reached yet. I’ll send you Fale’s dossier.” Visij nodded, face thoughtful. “Though fae rarely mate when young, when they do, their magic and skill, if they haven’t got it fully already, is brought on. Old scriptures say we are designed that way so as to be able to protect our mate and family.”
Fale gaped. The guild was just giving him away? He didn’t get a say in anything? He cleared his throat then grimaced when Eber snapped those sharp golden eyes in his direction and pinned him with a look. Fale may be sensitive and, at times, a little emotional, but he could say how he felt and what he thought when the time called for it. Right now might not be a good time though.
“You’re going to protest, right? Be offended you don’t get a say? That’s fine, get it all out of your system or sulk, whichever, I’ve seen it all before and dealt with it. You’ll learn. I’ll have River speak to you about the laws governing youths, and Emile can lay out the mateship laws to you. Any particular rules for fae youths, Visij?”
Fale blinked as he was easily dismissed. Yeah, probably for the better anyway…maybe.
“A few.” Visij moved over to a table where a computer sat and talked as he did something on it. “A bit similar to gargoyles, wolves, and felines, but add in mag
ic user. Has to have supervision, guidance, training, yadda yadda yadda.” Visij scooped up some papers he printed and shoved them in a folder, which he carried back and handed to Eber. “I will forward the dossier and a full brief after we finish here. He’s a good kid, Eber, you’re lucky to have him join your family. We were pleased to have Fale join our guild, we see a lot of potential, but mostly he has a good nature, a mix of fun and sensitivity. He can be timid though, so take care.”
“Will do.”
“You think I have potential, sir?” Wow, Fale was stunned.
Sure, his parents thought the world of him, so did his aunts, uncles, grandparents, and some of his old teachers and friends, which made Fale feel special and pretty great. He was just stunned and pretty stoked that Lieutenant Visij had even noticed him, let alone thought he had potential.
Visij smiled. “I do—Luka, we’re busy here.”
A sexy wolf shifter strolled in, smiling a cheeky grin. “Hey, Eber, thought I saw you arrive. Poker tomorrow night?”
“No, my wolf, you are barred from poker for two weeks.” Prince Caspar of the fae strolled in and inclined his head to Eber. “Eber. Anything I am required for, Vis?”
“No, but to make you aware, Fale Taucher will be relocating to the Aston Estate.”
“What? Why? No, he is far too young to be going anywhere, and from information I just received, Fale has not been reporting in when he should. Considering I personally guaranteed his parents I would see to his training and safety, we will be revisiting the rules, youngun.”
Fale quaked a bit in his shoes. “S-sorry, Your H-Highness—”
“He found his mate, and there have been a few issues.” Visij summarized. “Said mate is one of the Aston’s.”
Prince Caspar’s mate, Luka Charmers, a specially gifted wolf in what way Fale had no clue as he wasn’t privy to the inner circle confidential information, was said to be good hearted and notoriously cheeky. Now, he grinned widely.
“Yeah? And who’s that?”