Credo Quia Absurdum

by Sophie Martin

  “I…I can’t tell you,” the witch said. Doug took a threatening step closer, and the man added quickly in a panicked voice. “No, no, wait! I seriously can’t. She’s gonna kill me!”

  “Yeah,” Doug lisped slowly through his sharpened and protruding teeth, “and if you don’t tell us, I am definitely not going to kill you.” He emphasized the word by licking his lips.

  “Oh, shit! Please, don’t! I don’t know who she is, okay? She simply showed up one day, and my boss looked terrified of her. My boss told me to do exactly what she says. I don’t know who she is!” He screamed the last part.

  Jason still measured him with his stony look before Tim said, “He’s telling the truth.” There was certainty in the pixie’s voice.

  “Fair enough,” Jason drawled. “Tell us about your boss, then. If he knows her then he can lead us to her.”

  “You’re out of your minds,” the witch whispered, looking terrified. “You’re abso-fucking-lutely insane. She’s a bloody fey, mate. She’s too powerful to go against!”

  “Well, that is interesting information,” Jason said blankly. The lack of inflection in his voice caused a cold shiver to run down more than one person’s back. The witch looked properly horrified.

  “Who the hell are you people?” the witch whispered, suddenly realising there was no fear in those gathered around him. “Do you know what kind of power she has? She could kill you all with just a lift of her finger.”

  “Well…” Joel stood up from where he was leaning against a wall and walked closer to the man. He leaned forward and spoke softly, looking the man straight into the eyes. “I’ll let you on a little secret. We. Don’t. Care. You see the men gathered around here?” The witch swallowed loudly and nodded almost involuntarily.

  Joel grinned and continued. “Well, you know, we’ve got a demon here. Frankly, I’ve got no idea what he can do that you’re so scared of him, but I don’t care. He belongs to our pack and we trust him. You also know we’ve got Morton who, according to our demon friend, is a very powerful witch. Then, there are my mate and his twin brother. You haven’t seen even the fraction of their power. Nope, sorry, to be exact, they haven’t used any power during the fight. They just fought like humans would. And believe me, my mate packs boatloads of power within his sexy little body. Then there is Tyler.” Joel directed a pointed glance at the tiger sprawled on the floor and flicking the tip of his tail lazily. The tiger yawned, looking uninterested, but Joel knew the shifter was showing off his powerful jaws and sharp fangs on purpose.

  “I don’t think I need to explain to you about shifters, hmm? Suffice it to say that Ty was really disappointed when he was not allowed to eat any of you punks.” Joel laughed softly. “In my opinion, it is good he didn’t. He could have gotten really bad indigestion from it. Dominic”—Joel tilted his head at his grim-looking cousin—”is Jiminy’s mate, and an alpha wolf. He forced your two mangy wolves to shift with just one command. He didn’t even need to shift to do so. And let me tell you, the process of their shift looked gruesome, like something from a horror movie.”

  Joel paused and smirked. The witch was getting whiter than a sheet. “Toren is my mate’s big brother. He’s also the heir to fey throne. You want to speak about fey power? Ask Toren how he found the battle.”

  The fey answered the indirect question with a smirk. “It was refreshing, though I wouldn’t call it a battle. More like a little skirmish or a brawl. Still, I didn’t get to use any real power, so…” He shrugged and never finished the sentence, letting it hang in the air for a moment.

  Joel went on. “And he isn’t even the most powerful of us. You say your scary boss could kill us with her little finger. Well, we’ve got someone here who could end the world and kill everyone on the planet with just his words. How’s that for power?” Joel finished, seeing how petrified the witch now was. He’d made his point. He turned back and went to embrace his mate.

  “Your boss should never have attacked us. Before, we were investigating the disappearances of paranormals, and we were willing to let proper authorities deal with it,” Jason said evenly, without a hint of anger. He was simply stating facts. “Now, she made it personal. She forced our hand, and she’s already lost, she simply doesn’t realise it yet.” He finished talking and turned his back on the man sitting speechless in the middle of his kitchen. “Now, what should we do about these people in my newly enlarged basement? Any ideas, anyone?”

  Doug approached him and whispered something in the alpha’s ear, too low to be heard by anyone else. Jason looked at him and seemed to consider whatever had been said. Finally, he nodded. Before they could implement whatever plan they cooked up, Joel had a sudden idea.

  “You!” he barked at the witch. “What does she look like? Your fey boss?”

  “She’s tall, with long, golden-blonde hair, and sky-blue eyes. She’s built like a movie star, with big breasts and voluptuous hips. She uses her looks to get what she wants,” the man said without hesitation.

  “Shit!” Joel swore under his breath.

  “What’s wrong, sweetheart?” Tim asked in concern.

  “I know her. It’s Bradshaw’s fucking mistress!” His hands fisted involuntarily.

  * * * *

  “Well, that’s a shocker,” Tim said, not looking bothered. “We considered it briefly, remember?”

  “Well yeah, but I never really thought…I mean, fuck! She was right under my nose the whole time! How did I not spot her?” Joel was extremely frustrated. He almost missed Doug dragging the witch back downstairs.

  “It’s not your fault, Joel. You did find out that somebody was framing Bradshaw. You simply didn’t have enough time to find out who it was. You would have eventually, I’m sure of that,” Tim said, squeezing his mate’s shoulder. Dom approached his cousin, too.

  “Listen to your mate, cousin. He’s right,” Dom said evenly.

  “Yeah, there’s no point crying over spilt milk,” Jimmy added. “We need to concentrate on what to do next.” The pixie nodded as if trying to reinforce what he said. Joel smiled at him. His new brother-in-law was cute. Well, not as cute as Joel’s mate, but cute nonetheless. Tim lifted his eyebrows at Joel as if he somehow read his mate’s thoughts. Joel simply smiled at him and hugged him close. Before they could discuss it any further, the front door opened.

  “Hey, guys, are you here?” Toby’s voice called from the hallway.

  Toby came into the kitchen and shot a quick glance at Tyler’s naked form. Joel looked to the side. Somehow, he hadn’t noticed Tyler changing back to his human form. Toby’s only reaction was raising his brows. Ty grimaced but didn’t say anything. Jason, who was leaving the room, showed off his teeth in a grin and waved his hand. Suddenly, Ty was dressed again.

  “You all wouldn’t believe what happened to me today!” said Toby, shrugging his bag off and putting it on the table then taking a seat. “So, I was coming back from school, cutting it through that park, you know?”

  “Toby!” Tyler said with exasperation. “How many times have we discussed this? It’s not safe for you to go through this park alone!”

  “Yeah, I know, I know, it’s poorly lit, lots of dark spots, bunches of trees and bushes where someone could mug me, stab me, or do any number of awful things to me and no one would be the wiser. I know, Ty, but the lessons run late, and I knew we were having a party from your text and wanted to get home early, so I took a shortcut. Anyway, I was going through one of those dark, barely-lit places, and there was this woman. She was tall, blond, really pretty, and really elegant. She stood there, leaning against a tree, and she asked me if I had a lighter. I told her I didn’t smoke, and she said it was okay. Then she asked me if I was Toby. So I was like, where did she know my name, right? And then she says she has some unfinished business with Jason and I was gonna help her finish it.” Toby ignored the sudden tension in the room and kept talking as if nothing happened.

  “Then, next thing I know, she’s doing this strange thing with inner ligh
t, like Toren did, and then she says”—Toby changed his voice to imitate a woman’s—”‘Now, you’re gonna come with me, little human, and serve me.’ I looked at her like she was crazy and said, ‘Sorry, lady, you’re really pretty, but you’re not my type, you know? You don’t have the right equipment.’ So then she does this, like, gasp of shock and repeats, ‘You’re gonna be my slave, human.’ So I’m getting pretty annoyed, right? I tell her, ‘Lady, I’m done being people’s slave. Been there, done that, got a T-shirt.’ So she’s like, ‘Watch my light and obey me, human.’” Toby used a deep, scary voice to imitate the woman’s tone. “And I’m like ‘Listen, lady, you’ve got pretty light, but I’ve seen prettier,’ right? ‘Oh, and I’m not human!’ I added.”

  Toby took a deep breath and continued.

  “And then she gets, like, this really scary expression and her face doesn’t look so pretty anymore, so I knew she was gonna do something nasty next. You know, I heard all about this fey magic, and I thought ‘Uh-oh, now I’m in trouble.’ So, when she started muttering under her breath and waving her hands next to each other, and a ball of luminescent air appeared between them, I knew I was going to regret going through that park.

  “She said, ‘Since I’m not able to take Jason’s little toy with me, I’m gonna destroy it.’ It was pretty clear then that, pretty as she might be, the woman was off her rocker. I wanted to run, but she was blocking my way and turning to run back I’d be in the open. So, I braced myself for what was coming and waited for my end, but the strangest thing happened. When that ball she threw at me touched my stomach, it kind of bounced off of me. Like a rubber ball, you know? It turned on her and hit her smack-dab in the midsection. She fell down, started screaming like crazy, and I ran past her. When I looked behind to check if she was chasing me, she glowed, pulling some other magic trick. The air shimmered in front of her, and she crawled into it on all fours from where she fell and disappeared.” Toby finished and crossed his arms over his chest. “So, anyone want to tell me what the fuck is going on? Why are crazy ladies trying to spell me into being their slave?”

  “Um, honey,” Tyler said in a placating tone, “I don’t think there are any more crazy ladies out there, just this one. See, we discovered today that the person leading the whole trafficking operation was a female fey who posed as Bradshaw’s mistress. It was probably her.”

  “And just how did you discover that?” Toby’s voice was dangerously quiet.

  “Um, from one of the people we captured when they attacked and tried to kill us off?” Tyler sounded rather unsure of the statement. Joel knew that both Ty and Jason were completely wrapped around the young man’s pinkie finger, but it was funny as hell to witness it.

  “They what?” Toby jumped to his feet and instantly rushed Tyler, his eyes showing true concern. “Oh my god, Ty! Are you and Jay-Jay okay?” He started running his hands all over his mate to check him for any injuries.

  “Yeah, we’re all right. I’ll tell you all about how we kicked their asses. For now, know that we won, nobody on our side was hurt, and we already got rid of all those morons. Apparently, Doug has some connections in the Demon Realm. They were more than happy to get them out of our hair. It seems that demons feed on the emotions of other paranormals, and since it’s not always with consent of said paranormals, there is a shortage of volunteers to go feed the hungry in the Demon Realm.” Tyler grinned, showing some of his tiger in that smile. “So we volunteered these guys. They weren’t happy, but they shouldn’t have attacked us in the first place. Doug said his friends won’t torture these guys. Much.” He grinned again at Toby’s scowl. “No, seriously, if the little bastards stay obedient, they’ll be right as rain. They’ll have to earn their keep, true, but the demons won’t hurt them while harvesting emotions.”

  “Okay, but you’ll have to tell me the whole story.”

  “We will, but right now, let’s celebrate.”

  “Yeah.” Toby beamed as he turned to Tim and Joel cuddling on one of the chairs. “Congratulations, guys, I’m so happy for you!”

  “Thanks, Toby. I owe you my life and my happiness. If you hadn’t helped to find me when I was held captive I wouldn’t have survived long enough to meet Joel. Thank you.” Tim smiled at the young not-human.

  “Well, I would never have met Tyler if not for you, so I think we’re even!” Toby laughed and Tim joined him.

  “Okay everyone, let’s party!” Jim exclaimed, and they agreed with a cheer. They grabbed food and drinks and went to the living room. With beers and food in easy reach, they turned the music on and started dancing. Soon, first Jason, who returned from delivering the attackers to Doug’s, then Jack, back from the teachers’ meeting, joined in and the party was in full swing.

  Epilogue

  After they sent the attackers off on their way to the Demon Realm, they had a really good time partying. Even Morton loosened up a little once Doug was gone. They discussed the whole thing with the mistress but decided not to do anything. Doug was supposed to convince his friends to try and get some more information from the captured paranormals, but they did not expect any miracles. It was pretty clear that they were pawns and knew nothing about the female fey’s true identity. The witch did give up his boss’s name, and it didn’t come as a surprise that Jack later recognized it as his old Alpha’s. After all, they had already suspected the bastard of being involved in this somehow.

  Leanar got off easily. He got a warning not to contact anyone in the fey world, least of all his family. Toren decided to leave him in the human world under Jason’s supervision. The fey prince decided to forge a truce with Jason’s pack. They were tied by family and friendship bonds after all, and Toren knew it was in everybody’s best interest to form an Alliance. Jason consulted his pack members and decided to entrust watching over the fey to Mark, the vampire. Leanar was to live with him, follow his orders, and be available whenever Jason or Toren wanted to question him. The fey was scared but agreed. It was clear to anyone that the man wasn’t built to be a criminal, and his family’s actions weighed on his conscience.

  Jason’s decision when it came to a bigger battle plan with the Mistress, as they had all started calling the woman, was to leave it alone for now. He did warn Annette about his findings. He also gave her a report about the battle they’d fought. The vampiress was not happy. She had already been building a case against Bradshaw, and the news that he wasn’t the leader but a mere marionette came as a cold shower to her. She had to redesign the whole case and proceed with a deeper investigation. With Jason’s warning, Joel’s description of the culprit, and his findings about the woman, Annette had enough information to begin a proper investigation. She promised to inform Jason and his pack about any findings.

  * * * *

  “Hey, honey, I’m hooome!” Joel sing-songed as he came into the apartment. “I’ve left Uncle Rick, Dom, and your brother at the airport. They sure were anxious to finally meet the famous wolf-grandparents. Jim was almost bouncing in place when they waited for the plane to land.” Joel shrugged off his jacket and hung it in the closet. Tim came out of the room they’d decided was going to be their bedroom.

  “I bet!” the pixie said. “Jim is such a worrywart. He was probably thinking about everything that could go wrong with this meeting.” Tim smiled as he went to hug and kiss his mate.

  “Mmm,” Joel murmured against Tim’s lips when they came up for air. “That’s what I call a proper welcome-home kiss.”

  “Yeah?” Tim gave Joel another small peck on the lips before pulling away from the hug and taking Joel’s hand. “Then I guess you’ll like my surprise.”

  “Oh?” Joel lifted his eyebrows in question. Instead of answering, Tim only grinned at him with a mischievous twinkle in his eyes as he pulled his mate to the bedroom. “And just what kind of surprise is it, huh?”

  “Well, you’ll need to see for yourself, otherwise it wouldn’t be a surprise, would it?” asked Tim flirtatiously, stopping before the bed. He pulled Joel’s ha
nd, positioning him with the human’s knees touching the edge of the bed, then gave one strong shove until the man fell on it. Joel bounced on the mattress a few times before lying still and supporting himself on his elbows. He measured Tim with a heated gaze, but said nothing. “Now,” Tim said in a throaty, sexy voice, “you just sit there, and enjoy your surprise.”

  He went to the dresser and turned on the music on his phone. The same song that played when they’d first met sounded. Tim started moving to the beat slowly, sinuously. At the same time, he started unbuttoning his shirt. Joel watched, entranced, as his mate’s soft, pale skin was slowly revealed from under it. Soon, Tim lost the shirt and traced his hands over his smooth chest, tweaking his nipples. Joel hissed and then licked his lips. His mate was made for this. The pixie’s wings opened to their fullest and joined in the seductive dance. Joel shared his time between looking at the teasing appendages and Timiny’s hands that were going to the fly of his jeans.

  The song’s tempo increased and so did Tim’s movements. He popped the button of his jeans open and made a move to push them down his hips. Joel sat up involuntarily, wanting to see it, but Tim wasn’t done teasing. He turned his back on Joel and removed the jeans, his wings helping to cover him. All Joel was allowed was a peek at some black fabric underneath. The song was reaching its crescendo as Tim moved his hands up and down the sides of his body. Joel was panting, his dick straining against his trousers. He knew the final moment of the song was coming and strained to see under Tim’s wings to his mate’s ass. Was Tim going to remove the last bit of fabric?

  The singer’s voice rose to a higher pitch and Joel knew it was time for Tim’s famous pirouette. The man’s wings started a flurry of movement, slowly raising him off the ground. They moved in a near blur, and Joel couldn’t see what was under them. As the singer sung his heart out, Tim slowly turned in the air, his hands going to cover his groin area. Remembering their first meeting, Joel knew the pixie was gonna land any second, and he almost panted waiting for it. Finally, the singer’s voice trailed off and Tim did land, but not in the same pose he did when they first met.