by C. R. Jane
“We have to take her to Daria,” Wilder muttered with a curse.
My wolf didn’t like the fact that another woman's name had just come out of Wilder’s mouth. Even though she didn’t seem to want to accept his mate's bond.
She was a possessive bitch evidently.
“Daria?” Daxon looked at him incredulously. A smirk creeped across his beautiful face as he stared at Wilder knowingly. “Yes, let’s do that.”
“Who’s Daria?” I asked. “And why do you think she can help?”
I had been starving before, but now my stomach felt like I’d swallowed lead.
“She has powers that will be useful,” Wilder said vaguely, obviously not wanting to tell me the full truth. “We were...acquaintances in the past.”
“Acquaintances, is that what we’re calling it nowadays?” Daxon asked, his voice full of mirth.
I wasn’t an idiot, I could read between the lines. Daria was an ex. Great, I was going to get help from an ex.
Hopefully she wasn’t the Arcadia kind of ex.
All of a sudden there was a pounding on the front door. The laughter fled from Daxon’s face and both he and Wilder let out almost synchronized growls.
“I know she’s in there, fuckers!” Miyu’s voice called through the door. “You better let me in, or I’m going to beat down this door. And then you!”
“Can I kill her?” asked Daxon dryly.
“No, you can’t kill her!” I screeched, horrified. He was definitely joking. Right?
Wilder rolled his eyes and grabbed me before settling back into the couch.
“I’ll just get the door,” growled Daxon, looking like he wanted to rip me out of Wilder’s arms.
I giggled nervously as Daxon strolled sexily to the door, until I remembered that I’d been kidnapped during Miyu’s wedding reception. The guys had been extremely vague about everything that had happened after I’d been taken. And that told me enough.
“Go away,” said Daxon when he opened the door.
I could see Miyu in the entryway, she was staring avidly at Daxon’s naked chest, not paying any attention to what he was saying.
Daxon coughed and she shook her head as if in a trance before dragging her eyes away from his perfection and pushing past him.
“Rune,” she screamed when she saw me. Wilder grimaced under me at the sound. And I didn’t blame him.
Miyu didn’t care that I was in Wilder’s lap, she threw herself on me, squeezing me so tightly that I had trouble breathing. “I’m so glad you’re alive.”
I relaxed in her hold, soaking in the feeling of someone who cared about me.
“No one really knew what happened. People were saying you were dead, and that’s why...” She sneaked a look over her shoulder to where Daxon was leaning against the wall, watching us impassively.
“That’s why what?”
Daxon cleared his throat and Miyu rolled her eyes.
“The reception got a little out of control there for a minute,” she finally answered, a shadow dimming the light in her eyes as if she was reliving whatever had happened.
“I’m so sorry,” I blurted out.
Wilder and Daxon both growled at the same time that Miyu’s eyes widened. “Why are you sorry?” she asked.
“It was my fault that your reception was ruined. It was my choice to come here, even though I knew he would never stop looking for me. I put the whole town in danger,” I explained miserably. I was well aware that I was having a full on pity party, but that sometimes happened.
Miyu scoffed. “We should have done a better job of protecting you, the whole town should have. And I mean, my mating ceremony will always be remembered now. None of the town sluts are going to forget any time soon that Rae belongs to me.”
I snorted, because how could I not with that kind of thought process.
Miyu gave another furtive look at both Daxon and Wilder and then moved closer to me.
“Are you sure you’re alright? Because I told Rae to be ready. We can get out of here, just say the word.”
Another loud growl ripped from the two alphas in the room.
“Alright, I think you’ve overstayed your welcome,” Wilder said, gently placing me down on the couch next to him and standing up. He picked Miyu up, and threw her over his shoulder as he marched to the front door.
She began to beat on his back, but he didn’t care. Daxon smirked as he watched, and I just stared, flabbergasted, as Wilder practically threw my best friend out on the front porch, slamming the door closed behind him and immediately locking it.
He stood there in front of the door, breathing heavily, before marching back towards me. Wilder scooped me up in his arms and leveled me with a kiss that left me breathless. “Just so we’re clear, you won’t be going anywhere. You’re not ever leaving me.”
Wilder set me down then and walked to the kitchen as I sat there, a mess of hormones and emotions. I could hear the sound of cupboards banging together as Wilder looked for something.
That was...intense.
“He’s going to be impossible today,” purred Daxon as he stalked towards me.
“Look who’s talking,” I murmured, as Daxon put his arms on both sides of me and leaned in until I was pushed back against the couch.
My insides started throbbing. If I was a TikTok video there would be an emoji with a cat and a butterfly stamped on my forehead.
They both seemed to be really turning on the...whatever you called this. Alpha hotness?
“You still smell so good,” Daxon whispered as his tongue slowly trailed down my neck. A little moan escaped me and I heard a glass break in the kitchen followed by Wilder’s muttered, “Fuck.”
“Okay, we need to be going,” Wilder barked as he came up behind the couch.
“Eager,” Daxon sneered, his face still buried in my neck.
I gently pushed him away, not wanting the two of them to start fighting. Daxon groaned as if in pain as he moved from me and allowed me to stand.
It suddenly hit me then, that if my suspicions were correct, I was about to meet one of Wilder’s exes. And while I knew time was of the essence, and we’d certainly been wasting it this morning, I was not showing up to meet his ex looking like a drowned dog. Or wolf as it were. I wasn’t going to be a jealous bitch about anything, but I could at least try and look good.
“I’m going to go fix my hair,” I murmured. “Be right back.”
I left the suddenly brooding men and hurried back into Daxon’s room to fix my hair. He may have stolen my clothes but he had not stolen any of my hair tools, so a quick brush and an intricate braid was all I could pull off.
Finally it was time to go.
The guys were both silent, lost in their thoughts, I guessed, as we walked to Daxon’s truck.
“I’ll drive myself,” said Wilder, sounding despondent all of a sudden as he got into his car without another word.
I looked at Daxon in confusion and he just winked at me as he opened his passenger door for me and I hopped in.
“What exactly am I about to walk into?” I finally asked as my nerves began to spike as we drove. “Does she live far from here?”
“In the woods, at the base of Mount Cavat, about an hour away, there’s a portal into Fairie,” he said nonchalantly like he’d just told me about the weather.
I swung around to stare at him in shock. I mean I knew I’d just discovered that vampires were real...and hybrids, but he was talking about fey, wasn’t he? About a whole other world?
“She’s a fae?”
Daxon smirked at the shock in my voice. “You should know by now that all the legends are true, my sweet.”
“I’m learning that,” I said slowly, turning back to stare at the never-ending road in front of us.
“What did you hear about the fey growing up?” Daxon asked. My heart panged miserably at the mention of growing up. I wasn’t sure that I could trust my memories anymore, not after what I’d learned.
“Mother would t
ell stories,” I said quietly. “Just stories at bedtime about fairies. I remember one talking about a human girl who was lost forever to the fey king after she ate a few seeds at a party. Evidently if you taste anything in Fairie, you’re stuck there forever.”
“What else?”
“There was another story about the fey not being able to tell lies. But because of that, they were experts at giving you answers that weren’t the whole truth. In the stories they always liked to make deals as well. They would never do anything for free.”
“Whoever the author of your stories was, they were right on all accounts.” His voice got serious then as he grabbed my hand and put it in his lap. “When we pass through the portal, you need to stay by my side at all times. Don’t accept anything from anyone. Don’t shake anyone’s hand. And don’t make any deals with anyone. Let Wilder and I handle all of that.”
“Okay,” I promised in a shaky voice, thinking that the guys really were worried about my scent if this was what we were resorting to.
I was silent for the rest of the drive. Daxon didn’t seem worried at all. He had the band Sounds of Us playing on the radio and he was singing along to their latest hit like he didn’t have a care in the world. Wilder’s car was in front of us, driving at least five miles below the speed limit for some reason.
Daxon finally got fed up with going so slow and passed him, throwing up a middle finger as he did so.
I could see Wilder snarling back at him, but he kept up with us the rest of the way.
Daxon slowed down and I looked around, frowning, because I couldn’t see anything around. He abruptly sped up and swerved to the left, right towards the dense forest.
I screamed in horror and panic, and Daxon yelled in delight as we headed towards our death.
What the hell was happening!
8
Rune
We were an inch from crashing into the first tree when the forest abruptly disappeared and the truck landed with a thud as it hit the ground. I grabbed onto the dashboard in front of me, feeling like I was having a heart attack.
“That was a glamour,” Daxon explained with a chuckle that told me he’d been trying to scare me. Asshole.
“Obviously,” I squeaked, as I sucked in huge breaths, trying to calm myself down.
As soon as I felt like I could move without passing out, I unbuckled my seatbelt, and grabbed Daxon’s shirt.
“What the fuck is wrong with you?” I snarled, my voice coming out low and garbled, my wolf intermixed with my usual voice.
Of course Daxon was turned on by this, his pupils expanding and the heavy scent of his lust permeating the truck’s interior and mixing deliciously with the scent of my fear.
That was odd.
There was a tap on the glass and I looked over my shoulder to see Wilder standing at the window, an exasperated look on his face. I let go of Daxon’s shoulder and opened the truck door without another word.
“Rune!” Daxon said, finally catching on that I wasn’t amused. I ignored him and stretched out my arms, trying to get rid of the throbbing tension coursing through my veins. Not to mention the whiplash I’d just received.
Wilder touched my lower back briefly before pulling away, but I didn’t check to see why. My attention was distracted by the fact that we were parked in the mouth of an enormous cave. The entire ceiling of the cave looked like it was covered in crystals and diamonds. Despite the fact that there was little light in the cave, the ceiling was sparkling so brightly it was almost blinding.
I belatedly noticed that the far wall in front of us seemed to be shimmering as well. If this was the portal to Fairie, they liked their glitter. They couldn’t be that bad then, right?
Psychopaths didn’t like glitter.
Daxon came up behind me, his touch hesitant. “I’m sorry,” he whispered in my ear.
I glared up at him, but he looked appropriately miserable so it was impossible for me to stay mad at him.
“I’m driving with Wilder next time,” I said primly. Daxon rolled his eyes in amusement, but a quick glance at Wilder told me he was still stoic, anxiously staring at the flickering wall in front of us.
“So how do we get through this thing?” I asked, Wilder’s behavior making me even more nervous. I was also wishing that I had access to some hairspray and a curling iron right before this little trip. The fey in the stories I’d heard were always the epitome of perfection. I had a feeling that Wilder’s ex was going to be a beauty. Of course, Arcadia was a beauty too. But the kind of beauty that would eat you if you got too close.
My inane thoughts were disrupted by Wilder approaching the wall and pulling out a knife from his pocket. I watched, entranced, as he took the knife and sliced a long cut in his hand. My stomach squeezed at the sight of his blood and I took a step forward, only to be stopped by Daxon holding out his hand.
Wilder squeezed his hand until the blood was spread all over his palm and then he pressed it against the wall. The sparkly grey color flashed a garish dark red, the same shade as Wilder’s blood. My anxiety over what was on the other side of this wall only increased; requiring a blood sacrifice never equaled fun and flirty in my experience. Doom and death were more likely.
“We can walk through,” said Wilder.
Daxon stepped forward, pulling me with him.
“Maybe my scent will just die down by itself?” I squeaked, feeling very unsure of everything.
“Just stay by me,” said Daxon, his earlier levity gone.
“Rune,” Wilder murmured, grabbing my other hand before Daxon could walk through the glimmering wall. “Promise me nothing can change what we have.” His words were urgent...pleading.
I studied his face, wondering if it was possible for my heart to be safe with him...wondering if it was possible to really make that sort of promise.
My wolf cried out inside of me like his pain was her pain.
“I promise,” I whispered back, and I hoped I meant it.
Daxon and Wilder both took my hands as we walked through the shimmering crimson wall. I gasped as a cold sensation passed over my skin, like I'd just been submerged in ice cold water. For a second I struggled to breath. I couldn't feel their hands in mine. A feeling of dread, like I was going to die, tore through me. Hopelessness and panic combined and coursed through me.
Abruptly it was gone and I found myself on all fours on the ground, huffing and coughing as if I'd actually been under the water that whole time.
"Rune," Wilder cried, panicked. I held up one hand, trying to get my breath back and get ahold of myself. It took a few minutes, but I was finally able to sit back on my haunches and look at my surroundings.
My jaw dropped.
We were in a land of monsters. The air was dense, filled with thick clouds that seemed to hover over us menacingly. Everything I could see looked designed to tear your insides out. The tree branches were shaped like sharp claws and I could see terrifying faces etched into their grey trunks, mouths filled with pointy teeth. The other plants weren't any better. Thorns and teeth everywhere. The flowers weren't bothering to hide the fact that they were deadly. The one that faintly resembled a rose just a few feet away looked to have drool dripping from its petals, except the drool was obviously venomous because every time it dropped to the dark green grass there was a hiss and a burst of smoke like it had just burnt the ground. In the distance I could see a lake that was blood red of course. There were humongous creatures with bat-like wings flying around it like vultures, as if it was actually a giant pool of blood.
My mouth opened to scream, and then I felt a hand grip mine and my surroundings disappeared. I was suddenly in paradise, a land of milk and honey that my mind had trouble comprehending. My breath came out in pants as I pressed my free hand on my chest, struggling to get ahold of myself.
"Rune, Rune...you're alright, baby. Snap out of it." I realized belatedly it was Daxon holding my hand with a worried looking Wilder standing in front of me. I had the strangest urge to smooth out t
he wrinkles on his forehead from his distress.
"Did you see it?" I asked breathlessly. "Did you see what this place was a second ago? We have to get out of here!"
"I'm going to kill her," Daxon growled, and I looked up at him, confused as to what he was talking about.
"You were charmed, sweetheart," Wilder explained exasperatedly.
"Or cursed," Daxon muttered angrily.
"You're saying something did that to me?" I asked, the panic threading through my veins transforming quickly into fury.
"Someone was playing tricks on you," replied Daxon.
"You didn't feel like you were drowning when you passed through the wall? You didn't see the blood red lake, and the monster plants?" I gripped Daxon's hand tightly, sure that at any minute everything was going to change again.
I mean, what I was currently seeing looked like it had been ripped out of a travel magazine. Everything was so green and lush, the colors so bright it hurt my eyes to stare at any one thing for too long. The blood red lake from before had been transformed into a sparkling pool of blue water. And the demon birds flying above were now bright tropical looking birds whose beautiful song I could hear clearly even from where I was standing.
"We didn't see anything like that. It was all just an illusion. The fey are very powerful, and one of them must have wanted to play a little game with you. None of it was real," Wilder said soothingly.
"You can at least admit who did the illusion," growled Daxon.
Wilder shifted, embarrassed. And I realized they must have thought Daria was the one who’d done it. Perfect.
Honestly, these two assholes really seemed to like psychotic women.
Hopefully they were breaking the mold with me and I wasn't actually crazy too.
That could be debated most days though.
"Let's get moving. There will be a carriage waiting for us when we get to the main road, but we're a few miles out," said Wilder without acknowledging what Daxon had said. Wilder was freaking out though, that much was obvious.