by C. D. Gorri
“Woohoo, ya’ just gotta love Fairies and their crappy bloodlines.”
“It’s our lot in life. It’s not a lot, but it’s our life.”
“Would it be bad to say, woohoo again?”
“Not at all,” Alex laughed. “Just do it while we unpack. This is the first vacation I’ve had in nearly a century, and I mean to enjoy it.”
Moving her suitcases in front of the mahogany armoire that was from the seventeenth century if she remembered right, Alex began to unpack. Thinking about Fate and Destiny, where it had led her, and about the life she’d lived over the last nine-hundred-and-ninety-nine years, she was filled with a peace never before realized. There was something about knowing her purpose was just, was what she’d been born to do, made her believe even more in the calling accepted by the MacAskill Fairies all those millennium before.
“Tell me again, Nana. Tell me what I will be when I grow up.”
“You, my sweet girl,” her grandma smiled. “Will be the Sìthiche Dubh - the Morrígan’s Assassin, the one Being in all the universe who will exact justice to those who have broken the laws of Nature, of man, and of the gods.”
“And will I have feathers on my wings instead of the gossamer and sparkles?”
“You know you will, Alessandra,” her grandma chuckled, rubbing tiny circles down her back. “You will have black feathers like the Crows who come at the Goddess of War’s call. You will have powers unlike any other Fairy, and you will…”
“I will ascend to the Heavens to live among my ancestors. The trumpets Danu will call me home and I shall take my place among the female warriors of the MacAskill Frolick where we live all of eternity in the glow of the Mother Goddess and Father of All.”
“Unless?”
“Unless, like you and PopPop, and mom and dad, I find the one the Universe made for me, the man who shares my fate and destiny, my one True Fated Mate. If I meet him before the end of my time as the Sìthiche Dubh, then we will have the Blessing of the Goddess and the Universe and live forever in love and have children of our own.”
“You know this story better than I do, Alessandra,” her grandma smiled.
“I do Nana, but I like it when you tell it.” Looking out the window at her little sister playing with another younger Fairy, Alex asked, “Will Amy be the Sìthiche Dubh someday?”
“You tell me, sweet girl. Will your sister ascend when you have done your duty for the Goddess?”
“She will, Nana. She will,” Alex cheered. “And she will be good, but I’ll be better.”
“I am sure you will,” her grandma nodded. “But always remember, we have been given a great responsibility that should never be taken lightly. We never harm anyone who has not been found guilty by the Morrígan and her Court and we always follow the instructions handed down by the Goddess.”
“Oh, yes Nana, I know,” she nodded emphatically. “Killing is not what good people do, and not what the Sìthiche Dubh does. What we are called to do is carry out the sentence and judgement of the Goddess of War.”
“That is right, sweet girl. Remember to always follow the rules, always follow what is called for by the Morrígan, but most of all, always follow your heart. Because if something…”
“Doesn’t feel right then it probably isn’t.”
Touching the black opal set in the center of the platinum heart locket Nana had given her on her hundredth birthday, Alex whispered, “And it’s almost over. Guess I’m meant to spend eternity in the Heavens and not with my…”
“Come in,” Alex called out, as the knock on the door of the suite she was sharing with her sister stopped her short.
“Are you decent?” the new owner of the bed and breakfast and one of her oldest friends, Maggie Sampson singsonged.
“No, but there’s nothin’ new there,” she laughed out loud, walking into the waiting arms of the Alpha She-Wolf. Stepping back, she pointed to her sister. “You remember Amy, right?”
“I do,” Maggie nodded, reaching out and shaking the younger Fairy’s outstretched hand. “It’s good to see you again.”
“You, too,” Amy beamed. Turning to Alex, she added, “I’m gonna go down and get some of those oatmeal, chocolate chip cookies I saw in the coffee shop case. You want anything?”
“No, I’m good,” Alex answered. “Get my wallet. There should be some cash in there.”
“Oh, don’t you dare,” Maggie pretended to frown. “Your money is no good here.”
“Oh, hell no,” the older Fairy objected. “You and Bonnie have the diner and now this place? Girl, you need to let me pay.”
“I just won’t hear of it,” Maggie baulked. “Y’all are family and family doesn’t pay. Ya’ here me?”
“Yes, ma’am,” Alex chuckled, giving her longtime friend a mock salute. “Whatever you say, ma’am.”
“And don’t you forget it,” Maggie laughed. Winking at Amy, she instructed, “Now, you go on down there and get anything your little heart desires. Tell Freda, that’s the girl behind the counter, that you’re gettin’ the family discount.”
As soon as the door had clicked shut, Maggie motioned to the couch. “Let’s sit down and catch up. It’s been a month of Sundays since you last came this way.”
“Yeah, I know,” Alex admitted, following the She-Wolf. “It’s just…”
“Your work takes you out of town a lot,” Maggie finished her sentence. “Yeah, I know. I’ve been hearing that for… What has it been now, fifty years? Seventy-five?”
“Girl, we’ve known each other over a century,” Alex chuckled, knowing where her friend was going and trying to head her off at the pass. “And neither one of us looks older than thirty.”
“Thirty? The hell you say,” Maggie pretended to be irritated. “I don’t look a day over twenty-one. Just ask anybody. They’ll tell you.”
“I’m sure they will,” Alex laughed out loud. “’Cause they know if they don’t agree, you might just kick their ass.”
“Oh, hell no, they know for sure that I would kick their ass.”
Chuckling along with the She-Wolf, Alex nodded, “And your twin sister and I would be there to hide the bodies.”
“You know it.” Giving a single nod, Maggie worked hard to keep a straight face as she added, “I always said being friends with the Morrígan’s Assassin would always come in handy.”
Finger to her lips, Alex shushed, “You know you and Bonnie are the only people besides my family who know my secret identity.”
“You’re so cool,” the She Wolf whispered, patting Alex on the leg. “It’s like havin’ a bestie who’s a superhero. Alex MacAskill by day, Sìthiche Dubh by night.”
“Yeah, right, that’s what it’s like.”
“No, seriously, it is, and Bonnie and I are honored it was us you chose to tell. I mean, you could’ve picked anybody to be the only people outside your Frolick to be there for you.”
“Aww, there was nobody else I ever would’ve chosen. Heck, I went almost nine hundred years without an Urram Eile – Honored Other in Gaelic, but you know that.”
“I do,” Maggie nodded. “Granny made sure we knew the old language. She always said it might come in handy one day and then there you were.”
“Nanas are like that, aren’t they?”
“They darned sure are.” Reaching out and patting her hand, the She Wolf leveled her gaze and asked, “So, how goes the hunt for your Mate?”
“What hunt?”
“The one I told you to start the last four times you were in Valentine. The one that will keep you on this earth where I can give you a hard time forever.”
“I haven’t even given it a thought.”
“Liar.”
“Okay, you’re right. I did think about it a couple of times. Even went on a couple of dates.”
“And?” Maggie’s eyes lit up and she clapped her hands. “Dish, girl. Give me the details. I want to know everything.”
“There’s nothing to tell.” Looking out the window, Alex sigh
ed, “They asked what I did for a living, and I was stumped. Was I supposed to say, ‘Well, I’m the Sìthiche Dubh which basically means that I’m the Morrígan’s executioner’?”
“No,” Maggie scoffed. “You were supposed to make something up and have some fun until the man made for you by the Universe, the dude that made your toes curl and your wings flutter came along.”
“Well, that’s what I was doing, but I have these pushy friends. They’re twins, She-Wolves, the Alphas of the Sampson Pack. You might know them.”
“Ha. Ha. Ha.” Maggie sassed. “You are hilarious. If we ever start Stand-Up Night here at Two Wolves B&B, I’ll be sure to sign you up.”
“Okay, so maybe I’m being a butthead.”
“Maybe?”
“You’re right. I am being a butthead. But I want it all. I mean, if I find my one True Fated Mate, we’re gonna live a really, really long time and I don’t want to have to hide what I did before I met him.”
“And why would you ever hide that. I thought once you found your Mate, you could tell him just like you told us.”
“I can, but I don’t want him to run away, screaming his head off about his Mate is an Assassin.”
“He won’t.”
“And how do you know that? Do you have a crystal ball?”
“No, I have a heart and a brain and several of my dearest friends have recently found their Mates. Let me assure you, there ain’t nuthin’ stands in the way of Fate and true love.”
“From your lips to the Goddess’ ears.”
“Girl, I know there’s something - someone special waitin’ for you right around the next corner.”
“I’m gonna believe you, Maggie Mae. “’Cause you’ve never steered me wrong.”
“And I’m not about to start now.” Sitting back and winking, the She-Wolf went on, “So, listen up. You’re gonna rest and relax – do whatever till this evening. My niece, Angie’s coming over to hang out with Amy, and you’re gonna come to the bar Bonnie and I just opened, Rodeo.”
“You opened a bar, too.”
“Oh, girl, we’re gonna open a business for every one of our nieces and nephews. That way when we find our Mates, those kids can step in, take over, and support us in the style we’ve supported them.” Slapping her leg and laughing out loud, she shook her head. “No, seriously, we’re just keeping Valentine, Tx on the map. Between our Pack and the MacAllens, along with some of the other Dragons Clans they’re puttin’ us in contact with, we want to keep this town alive.”
“Have I told you lately how much I love and admire you and Bonnie?”
“Yeah, but you can say it again.” Maggie laughed. Getting to her feet, she added, “Now, be down at Rodeo around nine. The drinks will be flowing, the music pumpin’, and the men ready to teach you how to two-step.
Out of her seat and walking towards her, Alex hugged the She-Wolf and beamed, “Let me say it one more time. I love you, Maggie Mae Sampson.”
“Good, ‘cause I love you, too.” Stepping back out of their embrace, she winked, “And be sure I get invited to the Mating Ceremony. You know how I love a good love story.”
Chapter Three
“If you let your face get any longer, your chin will be draggin’ the floor,” Maggie Mae Sampson, part owner of Rodeo and one of the twin Alphas of the Wolf Pack bearing their name, chuckled. “You do know it’s ladies’ night, right? I mean, that’s what Kayne said. He…”
“What did Kayne say?” The Demi-God snickered. Taking the last drink from his bottle of beer and setting it on the bar, he added, “Oh, let me guess, I told you Creed was here to meet women, but all he’s been doing since we got here was keep that stool warm and nurse one drink.”
“See, I always knew you were one of the smart ones,” the She-Wolf winked. “And you…” She pointed at the King of the Big Cats as he joined his friends. “I always said you were the good-lookin’ one.”
“Gracias, Bella Dama,” Max literally purred in his native tongue
“Could he be anymore cheesy?” Creed grumped to his Dragon King. “Thank you, beautiful lady? Are you kidding me?”
“You don’t find Maggie attractive?”
“Of course, I do. She is beautiful inside and out, but that’s…”
“That’s not what’s getting your goat?”
“Exactly, I just… Wait one minute.” Sighing and trying not to shake his head in disgust, Creed went on, “Since when have you started talking like the MTV generation?”
“A) I do not speak like the MTV generation. That is absolutely ridiculous and an affront to my intelligence. B) For your information, Herne, the Dragon King who shares his…”
“Soul with Sable,” Creed groaned. “Yes, I know who he is. But what does that…?”
“If you would hush and let me speak, I would explain.”
“Please, by all means, do explain great Dragon King, Alastair.”
“That’s better,” the Dragon King chuckled. “As I was saying, Herne told me how insightful he was finding TV and the internet. He also showed me how to access them for myself. So, I…”
“So, you’ve become a couch potato, as well as developing an irritating grasp on current vernacular?”
“Why yes. Yes, I have.”
“Great. Wonderful. Fantastic. Just what I need, a four, or maybe it’s five, thousand-year-old Dragon teaching me how to pick up women. Maybe I should let you speak to the women. Find our Mate.”
“That is splendid I’d…”
“Nope. No way. Not gonna happen.”
Refusing to rise to the bait any longer, wondering why he reached out for Alastair in the first place, Creed downed what was left of his scotch and sighed. Looking up when Maggie patted his hand, he smiled as she asked, “Tell me what’s really goin’ on, Hun. What can I do to help?”
“Nothing Mags, but thanks for asking. I’m starting to think that I’ve lost my mind. That somehow, I’m not supposed to have a Mate. When the Universe was making perfect partners for all us crazy Dragons, my number somehow never came up.”
“Oh, my Great Goddess,” Kayne snorted, bumping shoulders with the Paladin. “I thought the same thing. Then out of nowhere, in a cave in the middle of some hot-as-hell jungle south of the border, there she was in all her glory, My Pearl, a Strix of all things. She is everything I never thought I wanted, everything I need and most importantly, the other half of my soul.” Bumping him again, the Demi-God assured, “So, if I can find the woman the Universe made for me, then I know yours is somewhere close. You, Creed my man, are the best of the best. One of a kind, and…”
The ringing of a phone cut off whatever the Demi-God was about to say and had both Guardsmen tuning in as Max asked, “You need all of us? In Dallas? By tomorrow morning?”
Not willing to wait for the King of the Big Cats to relay the information, the Paladin opened up his enhanced senses and blatantly eavesdropped. Grinning as Max winked, Creed heard, “The Secretary of Defense and the Council want to discuss preparations for the upcoming Shifter Assembly in Dallas. Both entities feel that we need a very strong presence and want to know that the Dragon Guard, especially the Paladins will be there en masse.”
“Then why am I needed?” Max asked. “It is not as if I have scales.”
“No, but you do have wings and your Pride is a force to be reckoned with. We need to know they will also be there to protect the rights and interests of all Paranormals.”
“Then I suppose we will have to attend this impromptu meeting, your Eminence.”
“Thank you, King Prentice.”
Disconnecting the call, Max laid his phone on the gleaming wood of the bar and turned towards Creed and Kayne. “Since you heard everything, I guess we should…”
Enveloped by a warm, soft, floral scent, with a touch of sweetness that reminded him of the Queen of the Night tulips, Acacia, the Brownie whose family looks after the grounds on the Paladin compound cultivate, Creed spun on his stool. For as long as he could remember, it was the only arom
a that calmed both he and Alastair. But how?”
Infused with yearning and desire and a spark in the center of his soul that had never been there before, his eyes snapped to the door. Holding perfectly still, knowing whatever happened in the next thirty seconds was going to change his life forever, Creed’s heart skipped a beat.
Tall and supple, her curves called to him in a way no other woman’s ever had. His fingers tingled with the need to touch her long, dark hair, glistening like the finest silk in the muted light of the bar. And her eyes, oh Great Goddess, her eyes were hypnotic, the most brilliant shade of violet he’d ever seen.
“She. Is. Poetry. In. Motion,” Alastair breathed.
“Did you hear me, mi amigo?” Max’s voice was an echo somewhere off in the distance.
Snapping his fingers when Creed didn’t respond to the King, Kayne chuckled, “Hello. Hello? Anybody home?”
Unable to look away, afraid she was a dream that would disappear if he so much as blinked, Creed didn’t so much as move a muscle.
Hey, Hot Shot,” Maggie teased. “That’s Alex, a good friend of mine. She’s…”
But Creed didn’t hear the rest, as he whispered, “Your friend?”
The closer she got, the harder his heart beat. It was hard to breathe, let alone think. Eyes glued to her as she walked to the end of the bar and climbed up on a stool, it took everything in him not to run to her side, fall on his knees and beg her to be his.
Then she crossed her legs and Creed was sure his brain was about to implode at that very minute. Memorizing her every move, his eyes shot to the slit in her knee-length black skirt.
“You just know her skin is soft as rose petals,” he whispered, when the tiniest bit of her beautifully rounded thigh came into view.
“What the he…?” He snapped, as a wet bar towel smacked him the back of the head.
“Stop ogling one of my best friends in the whole damned world. It’s creepy,” Maggie sassed, the smirk on her face and the twinkle in her eyes telling him she was only playing but that didn’t stop him from apologizing.
“I’m so sorry, Mags.” Hands in the air in surrender, he went on. I didn’t mean to…”