Latex, Leather, and a Pinch of Pixie Dust

by E Gregory

  Niki ignored the pain in his gut that came from so much exercise. He wasn’t a runner by any stretch of the imagination even though the mages had encouraged him to work on his endurance. He also ignored the way the night seemed to throw things he couldn’t see right in his path. The wolves passed under the low lying branches, but Niki had to duck. He dodged rocks and boulders, ran past better-looking paths, and ultimately decided to start running every day so he didn’t have to feel so out of breath the next time they did this.

  He ran until he thought his heart might burst, and then, finally, up ahead, he sensed that the lead wolves had stopped running. In fact, he could tell that Ethan had shifted back to human form, which must mean they’d found what they were looking for and Ethan wanted to communicate.

  Niki and the last of the wolves came out of the forest into a clearing. The moon was high overhead and in the center of the clearing was an altar. It was laid with flowers in oranges, reds, and yellows. There were sheaths of hay on either side of it, and candles on tall pillars stood atop it. The clearing was in fact ringed by candles and Niki was entranced by it all. He wanted a closer look. He could see gemstones and other tools, a giant silver cup, but he was brought up short by the fact that there was a large group of people staring at him. They’d clearly interrupted a ritual of some kind. Lammas maybe. That was tonight, wasn’t it? Lammas was the first harvest ritual for the pagans for the season, and if he was remembering correctly it was definitely tonight. He wasn’t a pagan or witch himself exactly, but he respected many different religions.

  Ethan was in front of him, his naked back to Niki. Being around werewolves made one fairly immune to nudity, so Niki wasn’t too distracted by him. Even though he could feel the heat radiating off Ethan’s back from the run and the transition back to his human body. He was too caught up in looking back at the people who were watching them.

  Niki could see right away they weren’t people, in the strictest sense. They were extremely tall and the ones that weren’t covered by cloaks of fur were beautiful by any standards. There was one person, a woman most likely by her figure, covered head to toe in a cloak standing before the altar and she was staring back at them. Niki could only just see her eyes. She radiated cold power. Immediately Niki was put in mind of the presence he’d felt before. This was absolutely the source of that feeling. It ran through his veins like cold water had been dumped over his head and Niki realized that he was being scanned in some way. They were checking him out.

  It was Ethan, though, who spoke first and gave away exactly what type of creatures these were.

  “My lady. Forgive our intrusion. We knew someone had come to town, but if I had known that someone was Fae, I would have been more careful about our approach. We never meant to intrude on a sacred ritual. However, it is custom to make oneself known to the residing werewolf pack when one moves into a protected territory for that exact reason.”

  The lady in question laughed, throwing her head back with the force of it. “Alpha Birns I assume?”

  Ethan nodded curtly. The line of his body was tense as were the wolves at his back. It left Niki feeling offset, though he was dazzled by the Fae, he was also terrified of them. What he knew of Fae was limited. No one had seen any in recent years, especially not in their part of the world. They were powerful beings with ancient houses. Niki ran out of facts after that, which was fine because the lady was speaking again and he knew he needed to listen.

  “You should know, alpha, that the Fae have a claim on this land that runs back centuries. Can you say the same?” She asked. Her voice was sweet as honey, but Niki could hear the knife edge to it. They were all in danger and he didn’t know how his magic might fare against an ancient Fae. Not well, he suspected.

  “The Birns have protected this land for four generations, so no. I can not.” Ethan said curtly. It was clear to Niki that he was trying to maintain control. He was angry by the fact the Fae didn’t feel the need to make themselves known, but he must also be aware of the fact that they were outnumbered and outgunned as it were.

  “Then you must see that I had no reason to make you aware of our intent to move here.” She said plainly.

  Ethan didn’t have a response to that and it made Niki nervous. Niki took a step forward, willing to try and break the tension some way, but Ethan put his hand out, holding Niki back. He didn’t look away from the lady, but Niki got the message to keep back and keep quiet all the same. Niki usually did not stay quiet in situations such as these.

  He’d mouthed off in his sophomore year to some werefoxes and started a turf war. He’d called a swan maiden an ugly duck and got them all cursed just two months later and single-handedly brought down the werewolf council on them senior year when he smarted off about serving as Ethan’s mage before Ethan had a chance to formally declare his inclusion in the pack. He was not good at keeping his mouth shut, but in this case, he would certainly try.

  Before Ethan could come up with anything wise to say in return the lady spoke again. “I like you.” She said. “So I’m going to make you an offer. Come to my house, get to know me a little better, and see if we can’t both make Rush Creek our home.”

  “That sounds reasonable.” Ethan agreed.

  “It does, doesn’t it?” She asked the other Fae who all nodded and chittered their agreement. “I can be very reasonable. So I’ll send you a formal invitation. Don’t worry, I have your address and I think you’ll have a wonderful time. I know we’ll become fast friends.” She told Ethan.

  Niki knew a dismissal when he heard one and luckily so did Ethan. They backed up slowly as the lady’s laughter followed them back into the trees.

  Niki went to speak but Ethan held up his hand. “Back at the house.” He said, and then he shifted back into a wolf. Though this time he stuck by Niki as they made their way through the woods and back to the house. It gave Niki time to think, though, as they walked. He felt like he had about a million questions. How did Ethan know about the fair folk? How did he know how to talk to them without starting an all-out war? Niki probably would have offended the lady even if he tried not to, it was something of a talent of his. All of that would just have to wait though as they made their way slowly back through the forest.

  Once they were back at the house Niki made his way up the steps and inside while the wolves changed back to their human forms and got dressed. He found Elaine and Jessica just finished cleaning up from dinner and thanked them. They shouldn’t have had to do it on their own, but both of them waved him off. They knew they didn’t have to do it, they were just happy to help. He could do the clean up next time, they said.

  Niki ushered both of them into the living room as the rest of the group trailed in from outside. Then Ethan stood before them while they piled around on the couches and chairs much like before, though this time Liam sat as though actually interested in what was about to be said.

  “The Fae have come to Rush Creek.” Ethan began. He stood with his arms crossed, legs shoulder-width apart in his Very Serious Stance, as Niki had categorized it in the past. When he stood that way, not only did he mean business, but everyone else took notice and paid attention.

  “Were they hostile?” Jessica wanted to know.

  “They weren’t, however, I got the feeling that they were only just tolerating our presence. They didn’t feel the need to introduce themselves to us in any official capacity despite moving to a protected town. The leader did say she would be inviting us to her house, formally, so that we could get to know her better. So we have that coming up. I’ll want to decide who is going and who will stay behind. We need to be diplomatic and precise about it because I don't think she realizes that there are two packs and for now I’d like to keep it that way.”

  “So we’re keeping me a secret?” Michael asked.

  Ethan nodded. “For now. One alpha might not be much to contend with. But two are a different story. Let her think she knows everything for a while. At least until we get a better feel for her.

/>   “How much do you know about the Fae?” Jessica asked. Ethan seemed pleased by the question because he smiled.

  “Not nearly enough. We will absolutely need our sage to help us figure out how to navigate this meeting in the best possible way. I know just enough to know I don’t know enough and the fair folk are easy to insult. Let’s do our best to stay on good terms with them, unless and until they prove they are our foes.” Ethan said.

  The conversation continued as they each asked their questions, but Niki held back. He didn’t necessarily want to ask in front of everyone because he was mostly curious about Ethan and he knew it would come off as being too interested. That was the case a lot of the time and he’d learned to hold back even when he was burning to know something.

  Afterward, they all decided to go their separate ways until this invitation showed up. Then they could meet again and decide how to proceed. Michael and Elaine offered to drive Niki back, which he accepted. His mind was still too full of Ethan and he was afraid of giving himself away. At least with Michael and Elaine, they already knew about his crush so it wouldn’t be a big deal.

  In the car, Michael immediately started in on him.

  “You’re unusually quiet. I would have thought you’d have a million questions to ask. What’s up?” He asked.

  Niki sighed and leaned his head back on the seat, closing his eyes. “Ethan was just so cool with the Fae, I wanted to ask all of the questions, but I was afraid I’d sound like a smitten schoolboy.”

  Michael chuckled from the passenger seat and Niki punched the back of his seat to shut him up.

  “Hey, I’m on your side, you know that it’s just that I think you make things harder than they need to be. You could have asked your questions, nobody would have noticed anything weird. If anything they probably noticed you keeping quiet.” Michael said.

  “Thanks Mikey, that helps a lot.” Niki huffed.

  Michael just laughed again. “So text him your questions when you get home. Nobody can smell your emotions then or hear anything in your voice. You’ll be safe.”

  “I think I will,” Niki said slowly.

  “Good, because I know I can’t answer questions about Ethan and the Fae,” Michael said.

  “Me either.” Elaine offered with a grin.

  Then she turned on the radio and the rest of the ride was mostly them singing along to Fall Out Boy and Lizzo and all of them trying to forget how close they’d been to such incredibly ancient and powerful beings earlier that night.

  Niki did text Ethan when he got home, but he cut the questions down by about half. He learned that Ethan’s mother had been fascinated by the fair folk and had taught Ethan everything she knew, which admittedly hadn’t been much. Mainly that one must always show them respect, even if they are the enemy. That they are beautiful and can dazzle humans with their beauty. Werewolves are blessedly immune, but that must be why Niki had felt so strongly about their beauty. And that if he ever met any he should do everything he can to avoid an altercation. Wolves were no match for Fae.

  Niki fell asleep with his phone in his hand and he dreamed of rituals and sacrifices and virgins and while some of it was horrific, it left him feeling somehow enlightened. He knew that no matter what came of it, he wanted to be sure not to piss off a Fae.

  Chapter Six

  The invitation came two days later and Ethan immediately called Niki to tell him. Niki was surprised, he usually just got short texts from Ethan, so he knew it must be important and answered it quickly.

  “The invitation came,” Ethan said immediately.

  “Oh?” Niki asked. He could hear the stress in Ethan’s normally calm voice.

  “Yes. We need to meet to discuss it. Both packs need to meet, but I wanted to warn you ahead of time.” Ethan told him.

  “You’re starting to worry me,” Niki said, as he stood and began to pace in his room.

  “We should probably all be worried,” Ethan said cryptically.

  Niki bit his lip. “What is it?”

  “You’ve been invited to go with me. Just you and me.” Ethan started. “The house is more of a club. A BDSM club.” He said, his nervous swallow audible.

  “Excuse me?” Niki was shocked. “Why me, though?”

  “Because you’re invited as my human pet.” Ethan spat out the last word as though it were particularly offensive to him. “The club is for creatures with human submissives.”

  Niki sputtered. He couldn’t think of a single intelligent thing to say.

  “You don’t have to do it. We don’t have to do it. That’s why we need a meeting. To figure out what to do.” Ethan assured him.

  Niki was still reeling but he agreed to help call around to Michael’s pack and gather everyone back up at the Birns house. He got off the phone with Ethan and sat down hard on his bed. His head suddenly hurt and he didn’t quite know what to think.

  So he called Michael and told him the gist of what was going on.

  “He wants a pack meeting. Today. As soon as everyone can get there. The invitation is for Saturday night so that only gives us a few days to figure out what to do.” Niki explained.

  Michael agreed to call his pack though he knew Tony at least had work that day. Niki was too frazzled to offer to make any more calls, but Michael seemed to understand that. So when they got off the phone Niki just fell back on his bed and stared at the ceiling. The popcorn of the ceiling was discolored around his vent, but it had been that way since he was a kid. He looked around for the few remaining stars he’d managed to get up there when he was little and then he let himself think about what Ethan had said.

  Human pet. Disgusting.

  He got up and moved to the bathroom without really thinking about it. He showered and shaved what little there was to shave and brushed his teeth, combed his hair. Niki got dressed in jeans and a t-shirt, as was his usual, but he threw on a hoodie because he needed the added comfort no matter what the weather was.

  The thing was, the more his mind turned the situation over and over, the more he was convinced they had no choice. How could they possibly turn down the invitation without offending the Fae Lady? What if by refusing they were making an enemy out of the Fae? They were supposed to be avoiding that at all costs.

  He skipped breakfast and said goodbye to his dad. Thankfully he had his car back so he didn’t have to wait on anybody, he was able to just drive straight to Ethan’s. He hoped he would beat most of Michael’s pack so he could pull Ethan aside for a moment.

  He cranked the radio all the way up while he was driving, though he didn’t sing along. He just didn’t have it in him at the moment. The houses of his neighborhood gave way to trees soon enough and the trees began to fly by as Niki raced toward Ethan’s house.

  When he got there he parked quickly and bounded up the steps and into the house without knocking. They pretty much had an open door policy anyway.

  “That was quick,” Cara said as he came into the living room.

  “Where’s Ethan?” Niki asked, out of breath.

  Cara looked at him for a moment, probably smelling the anxiety rolling off of him and listening to the way his heart was racing. Then she pointed down the hall. “He’s out back. He hasn’t said two words to me today after telling me he was calling a meeting. Maybe you can get him to calm down.”

  Niki doubted he would calm Ethan down with what he had to say, but he wanted to say it before the rest of the gang showed up.

  He walked past the stairs and down the hall, past all the family pictures of the Birns, and out the back door to the back porch. It was an extension of the front porch because it wrapped around the whole house, so it was wide and set with little tables and more rocking chairs. However, Ethan was sitting on the steps that led into the back yard.

  Niki took a seat next to him and tried to think of how to begin.

  “If you’re that nervous maybe you shouldn’t say whatever it is you’ve come to say,” Ethan said gruffly.

  “I’m not that nervous and
stay out of my head. Or my scent, whatever.” Niki told him firmly.

  “Then stop projecting so loudly,” Ethan replied, but this time there was an edge of humor to his words.

  Niki laughed a little at that. He couldn’t help that Ethan could smell his nervousness, still, he had to press on. “I wanted to talk to you before everyone else got here.” He said softly.

  Ethan sighed but he turned to look at Niki. His golden eyes looked heavy with worry. “I’m listening.” He replied just as softly.

  Niki licked his bottom lip and then bit it and he caught Ethan track the motion, though he didn’t think anything of it. He was too nervous and excited. “I think we should go. To the club.” He began.

  Ethan opened his mouth to reply but Niki held up his hand. “Just hear me out and then you can decide, okay?”

  He got a nod from Ethan before going on. “We don’t want to offend these Fae, that’s the first reason, but I’m not sure it’s the most important one. I think the most important reason is to see just what these fairies are up to. A BDSM club? Run by Fae? What if they’re up to something fishy? What if they are luring humans in and taking them as slaves? Isn’t it our duty as protectors of this town to find out?” Niki finished and pursed his lips waiting for Ethan’s response.

  “I don’t appreciate the insinuation they made about us. You’re not my slave, Niki. I don’t think I can pretend you are.” Ethan said plainly. Niki could tell this was really weighing on him. He didn’t quite sit up straight the way he usually did. He was slightly slouched, his eyes dark as though from lack of sleep.

  “You and I know what’s real. I think we can pretend long enough to at least find out what this club is about. I think we owe it to this town to figure it out. Then, if there’s nothing, we leave, no harm no foul. However, if humans are being lured in and enslaved, we do something about it. But we take it a step at a time and that means you need to accept the Fae Lady’s invitation.” Niki explained.