Tempted By Fae

by Midnight Coven

  Rose did not feel good about sending him after Niamh.

  Before Ronan was killed, Niamh was a gentle soul. Yeah, she could fight when she wanted to, but that wasn’t who she was. Burdened by her psychic abilities, Niamh was sensitive. As far as Rose could tell.

  Wouldn’t Niamh just run a million miles as soon as someone like Kiyo attempted to approach her?

  Despite how hot the rippling muscles, speed, and grace of the two males in front of her was, Rose grew impatient. If Fionn believed this was the right guy for the job, then she trusted him. But Rose wanted this done. She wanted Kiyo on his way to Niamh before the Blackwoods or The Garm got to her.

  The Garm were a group raised by an ancient vampire named Eirik who had lived during the time of the fae. He’d even spent time in Faerie. And he hated the fae. It was purported he was there when the Faerie Queen expelled all supernaturals and humans from Faerie. He’d told of the Fae Queen’s spell that she cast into the human world. She foretold the spell would bring about the birth of seven fae-borne children with the ability to open the gate. Eirik and The Garm had waited centuries for the children to be born, and when they were, he began to hunt them.

  Eirik was killed by Thea MacLennan, but The Garm still existed. They still hunted.

  And while Rose didn’t fear them for her own sake, she feared them for Niamh now that the young woman was on her own.

  As if Fionn could feel Rose’s mounting impatience, he suddenly let go of an almighty roar, pulled back his knee toward his chest, and then punched it out, foot planted on Kiyo’s gut.

  The wolf soared into the crowd, taking down a few supes with him like bowling pins.

  Silence fell across the warehouse.

  Rose felt more than a tingle of heat between her thighs as Fionn cut her a dark, satisfied look. His nostrils flared at her expression. He knew all of Rose’s looks, just as she knew all his.

  She shivered.

  Apparently, they were going to have another very exhausting night in bed when this was over.

  He strode toward Kiyo, who pushed off people that had collapsed over him in the fall. As he rose to his feet, he glowered balefully at Fionn. “We’re not finished here.”

  “The fight ends when I say it ends.”

  The wolf bristled. “I don’t take orders from anyone. Get back in the circle.”

  Rose hissed in a breath seconds before Fionn grabbed Kiyo by the throat and raised him off his feet. In an impressive display of strength, Kiyo swung his legs up and clamped his thighs around Fionn’s neck, propelling them both to the ground with a twist of his torso. Katanas forgotten, they grappled in hand-to-hand combat that had Rose stepping into the circle despite spectator rules.

  Grunts and growls filled her ears as fists and legs flew.

  Her heart raced.

  She knew Fionn was almost impossible to kill, but she’d underestimated Kiyo.

  A tingle of magic filled the air and suddenly, Fionn flipped the wolf to his back and pressed a silver blade to his throat—one that he’d obviously just conjured.

  Kiyo froze beneath Fionn.

  “This …” Fionn bent his head toward him, his face flushed with anger. “This is why I need your help. Because without this blade, you and I could dance all night. There’s no one else who can challenge me like you, wolf. And I need your help.”

  “Put the silver away.”

  Fionn lifted the blade and slipped it into the ass pocket of his suit pants.

  “Get off me, you big Irish bastard,” Kiyo growled. “And meet me outside in five minutes.”

  Rose felt Fionn relax from where she was standing. He gracefully pushed up off the wolf, and to the disappointment of the crowd strode over to retrieve his clothes from Rose.

  Their eyes held as she handed him his shirt first. “Will he help?”

  Fionn nodded. To her surprise, amusement lit his green eyes. “Do you believe me now?”

  Yeah, unfortunately, Rose did. Kiyo was capable of protecting Niamh—that much was certain.

  Still, that didn’t mean she trusted him. But she would have to because they were about to tell him the truth.

  “Fae.” Kiyo looked between Fionn and Rose in the rental car still parked a few blocks from the warehouse.

  Rose nodded reluctantly.

  Kiyo shrugged. “I already knew that.”

  Fionn narrowed his eyes. “Bullshit.”

  “No, I’ve known since that last fight. I used to think perhaps you were a warlock that had been cursed with immortality like me. But your eyes flashed gold just before our fight in France.”

  Rose threw Fionn a questioning look. “Your eyes flashed gold?” That only happened when a fae lost control, and it never happened to Fionn in a fight. The only time she’d seen it was when they were having sex.

  He threw her a droll look. “If you remember correctly, I was somewhat frustrated by your presence in my life.”

  Rose snorted. “True.”

  He turned back to Kiyo. “So, you put two and two together?”

  The wolf nodded. “It doesn’t come as a surprise that the origin stories are true. What does it have to do with me?”

  “As I explained, the Blackwood Coven are determined to use the fae-borne to open the gate, and The Garm are determined to kill the fae before they can.”

  “I’ve heard of both these groups. I thought The Garm were just a bunch of religious fools, though.” He frowned in concentration. “So, they’ve killed these children? People like Rose.”

  “There are only three left. My descendant, Niamh Farren, is one of them,” Fionn said. “Her brother was recently killed, and she’s … she’s no longer taking precautions to stay hidden. She’s all over the map, using her fae gifts to interfere in human life.”

  “Playing Superwoman,” Rose interjected.

  “And you’re trusting me with this information why?”

  “I’m not.” Rose stared coldly at him. “My mate is. My trust is by default.”

  Kiyo’s expression remained cool and blank. He couldn’t care less if she trusted him, that much was sure.

  “I want to hire you.” Fionn cut to the chase. “I know you provide all kinds of services for a price.”

  All kinds?

  Rose drew her gaze up and down the wolf. He wore a shirt now, but her mind went to a dirty place.

  It was as if he read it. His tone was flat as he replied, “No, I don’t fuck for money, so if you’re after a threesome, look elsewhere.” His eyes narrowed dangerously. “Though, I’ll fuck you on your own for free.”

  Fionn pulled back his elbow and smashed his fist into the wolf’s face so fast, Rose barely had time to compute it had happened.

  While Kiyo slammed against the passenger bench in the back of the car, Rose squeezed her eyes closed.

  He was never going to agree to it now.

  When she opened her eyes, Kiyo and Fionn were glowering at each other in bristling challenge as Kiyo wiped away the blood trickling from his nose. For goodness’ sake, the last time they’d met, Kiyo stood by Fionn’s side in a fight.

  For no price.

  He didn’t have to do it, but he’d had Fionn’s back.

  “I thought you two liked each other,” she huffed.

  “I have no patience for mate-whipped males,” Kiyo sneered.

  “And I have no patience for dogs that disrespect me.”

  “Okay, okay.” Rose gently nudged Fionn back and turned to look at Kiyo from her spot in the front passenger seat. “Fionn trusts you, which is a big deal whether you care or not. And he’s willing to pay you a lot of money to find Niamh and protect her.”

  Kiyo’s brows drew together. “Play bodyguard to a fae woman?”

  “Got a problem with fae women?” Rose’s tone was dangerous.

  “I thought you were strong enough to protect yourself, that’s all.”

  “We do all right. But we’re targets, Kiyo. We have enemies, and I’ve had a few close calls. Niamh’s brother was killed. She n
eeds backup.”

  “How much will you pay me?”

  Fionn told him and added, “Per month.”

  For once, the wolf showed a reaction. His eyebrows rose by a millimeter. Rose took that to mean he was somewhat taken aback by the sum. To be fair, so was Rose.

  “For how many months?”

  “Indefinitely.”

  “You’re kidding, right?”

  Before Fionn could respond, however, a cold feeling of dread settled over Rose. Her heart raced and a warning tingle shot down her spine. She and Fionn looked at each other, and she knew he felt it.

  “Someone’s here,” Fionn bit out. “Someone who wants to fight.”

  “How do you know?” Kiyo glanced out of the car window into the dark street.

  “It’s a fae thing. Get out of the fucking car or we’ll be sitting ducks.”

  All three launched from the car just as the four coven members appeared out of the shadows.

  “Shit,” Rose muttered under her breath.

  “And who are these uninvited guests?” Kiyo asked casually. He looked so far from intimidated, Rose couldn’t help but admire him.

  “Blackwood Coven,” Fionn replied.

  Two warlocks and two witches. Rose didn’t recognize any of them.

  “You sure?”

  “We have it on authority that four members arrived in Bucharest.”

  “We don’t want to fight!” One of the warlocks stepped forward. “We’re just here to take the woman into our custody. This doesn’t need to be a bloodbath. Hand her over, and we’ll leave peacefully.”

  It was the wrong thing to say to Fionn.

  One minute he was at her side. The next, he traveled and broke the neck of the warlock who’d spoken. As the coven members jumped into attack mode, Fionn traveled behind the other warlock and did the same to him.

  However, the witches were already on the move for Rose.

  She braced herself for attack as they raised their hands, running toward her. Suddenly, the air was gone from her lungs and Rose fell to her knees, clutching at her chest. This seemed a go-to for witches and warlocks, and they always forgot one thing:

  Rose was immortal. She didn’t need oxygen to live. Yes, it was uncomfortable, but not a necessity.

  Pushing through the discomfort, she concentrated on one of the witches and slammed out a fist toward her so that she flew into a telephone pole with a sickening crack.

  The air returned to Rose’s lungs, and she got to her feet in time to see Kiyo with the other witch suspended in the air by the throat. Her hand was on his head, and his body juddered as she sent magic into him, magic that was obviously painful. Yet he held on, teeth bared, canines out.

  With a simple twist of the wrist, he broke the witch’s neck with one hand.

  Impressive.

  Rose shot a look at Fionn who had been waiting on the sidelines, watching.

  He smirked as if to say, “I told you so.”

  Yeah, he did.

  “Well, that was over embarrassingly fast,” she said, coming to a stop by Kiyo’s side. “If we hadn’t already killed them they’d die of humiliation.” Rose snorted at her own joke.

  Feeling Kiyo’s stare, she looked up at him.

  He cut a look from her to Fionn and said to her mate, “Really?”

  Rose braced her hands on her hips. “Meaning what?”

  “You’re… odd. And chatty.”

  Rose took offense to that. She didn’t think she was particularly chatty. Irreverent? Sure. “Yeah, well my mate thinks I’m delightful.”

  “Not the word I’d choose, mo chroí,” Fionn said, staring down at the dead bodies.

  “Oh?”

  At her snippy tone, he looked over at her. “You’re fucking magnificent.” He said it like that should be obvious to anyone who knew her.

  And Rose melted.

  “Let me clean this up.”

  Rose shot Kiyo a smug look as Fionn turned the bodies to ash with a flick of his hand. The wolf muttered something under his breath that sounded a lot like “mate whipped.”

  She ignored him.

  He didn’t know what he was missing.

  “So?” Fionn marched across the dark road toward Kiyo. “Are you in or out?”

  Kiyo considered this. “Indefinitely, you say?”

  “You see what we’re up against.”

  “That pathetic attempt to take Rose?” the wolf sneered. “I can’t believe you’re worried about the Blackwoods after that.”

  “Hey, wolf dude.” Rose got in his face. “There were three of us. Three very powerful immortals against four witches and warlocks. Niamh is on her own. Even if she could fight off two at a time, the other two would take her down.”

  “With what? It appears you’re impervious to death.”

  Rose and Fionn exchanged a wary look. Since many supernaturals didn’t believe in the existence of the fae, it never occurred to them to research the weapon that would kill them. While silver to the heart could kill a wolf, and a wooden stake to the heart would kill a vampire, both could also be killed by decapitation or by simply ripping their heart from their chest. An explosion would do the job too.

  A fae, however, could be killed by only one thing: a pure iron blade to the heart.

  Fionn gave Rose a slight shake of his head. Then he turned to Kiyo. “Agree to protect Niamh by an unbreakable contract spell, and I’ll tell you the one weakness of the fae.”

  Uh, what?

  Rose glanced between the two males; Kiyo’s expression darkened.

  “An unbreakable contract? Are you fucking nuts?”

  Her mate shook his head. “I’ll double the monthly payment. But I’ll need assurance you will protect Niamh with your life and that you’ll protect our secret. An unbreakable contract assures me of that.”

  “What is it?” Rose asked.

  Kiyo replied, “It’s a spell bound in the blood of the two parties who make the contract. If I were to fail deliberately in protecting Niamh, the spell would bring me to Fionn, and I’d be unable to escape him.”

  “And I’d kill him where he stood,” Fionn finished. His cold, detached tone reminded Rose of how ruthless her mate could be.

  “Oh.” Rose’s heart raced a little at the mounting tension between the men. “So, no biggie, then?”

  Fionn shot her a dark look, but she caught the telltale twitch of his lips.

  “Is this Niamh woman as …” He gestured to Rose with a vague wave of his hand.

  “As awesome as me?” Rose answered, glaring at him. “Yeah, she is.”

  “That wasn’t the word I was thinking of.”

  “Niamh doesn’t have Rose’s … singular energy,” Fionn cut in diplomatically. “But she has other gifts that make her situation a little more complicated. But I won’t tell you what those are until you agree to the contract.”

  The wolf considered them for a few seconds, his arms crossed over his chest. And then he relaxed. “Fine. I don’t have anywhere else to be. But I want the first month’s payment up front.”

  Chapter Four

  Fionn was so agitated after leaving Kiyo in Romania, Rose thought a little relaxation would do him good.

  It occurred to Rose as he sat next to her on a beach lounger, talking on the phone to some business associate, that she’d temporarily lost her mind when she convinced her mate to come to the Maldives.

  The luxury resort was paradise. Yet, it didn’t seem to be for Fionn. As much as Rose liked to be on the move, Fionn liked to keep busy. Lounging on white sands with turquoise waters rippling before them wasn’t his thing. Rose just hadn’t known what to do after Kiyo and Fionn forged their contract and the wolf took off with a phone connecting him to Bran. Bran would help Kiyo locate Niamh based on her activities.

  Now that they knew Kiyo would help protect Niamh, Rose no longer had a mission. She’d suggested to Fionn that they hunt vampires who were killing humans, but he said that while the European High Council and others like it around the
world kept dark magic users in check with dark magic hunters, there was another governing body that did the same with dark supernaturals.

  “Vampire hunters are a thing, Rose,” Fionn had explained, “and you need to be registered with the Consortium to hunt them legally.”

  “The Consortium?”

  “Every continent has one. Founded by vampires and werewolves. They send out hunters to deal with supernaturals who are either killing or bringing unwanted human attention to our world.”

  Rose had suggested they join the Consortium, but Fionn vigorously shot down that idea.

  “I’ve been free to run my own life for centuries, mo chroí. Join the Consortium and you answer to them.”

  So that was a no on hunting vamps.

  While the sun was free to turn Rose’s skin a golden brown while she wore nothing but a blue bikini, Fionn wore suit pants and a short-sleeved shirt. The sleeves strained against his biceps as he held his phone to his ear. She couldn’t see his expression behind his sunglasses, but she could guess he was glowering out at the water.

  Once he got off the phone, she turned to him. “I should get involved in one of your businesses.”

  Fionn looked up from his laptop, and she saw a hint of a smirk on his face. “You’re already involved in my most important business—a very valued member of the team.”

  Knowing exactly what sexy business he referred to, she made a face. “Funny.”

  “I wasn’t kidding,” he murmured, tapping at the mouse pad on his laptop.

  “I’m serious, Fionn. I need a focus. Otherwise, I’ll go nuts with boredom or with worrying about what’s happening with Niamh and the other fae-borne we haven’t been able to track down.”

  “It’s not safe anymore, Rose. We have to stay out of it now.”

  She knew that. She did. And she knew it was difficult for Fionn to stay out of it, and the only reason he was, was because he was afraid something might happen to her. “I know. So give me something else to do. You have a million businesses. Surely one of them will interest me.”