by Ann Denton
"Why the fuck not?" I asked, struggling to keep my tone even.
"Because I won't have a mate who hates me. And I won't..." he swallowed and clenched his fist before he continued, "let you have a mate you loathe."
Tears burned my eyes and the traitorous fuckers streamed down my cheeks. My throat grew so tight I couldn’t have spoken if I wanted to.
Drake just stared at me for a moment before he closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and walked away. When the outside door of the gym opened and then closed behind him, leaving me well and truly alone, I crumpled to my knees.
I sobbed, staring at the floor, the walls, and the glass-cased sports trophies until I couldn’t cry anymore. The yellowy-gold awards lined the hallways on each side, other people’s triumphs turned into nothing more than cheap plastic.
My eyes roamed the dull, dark hall and counted seven doors. I memorized every detail, just like I did at the scene of a crime. Because this was a crime. What he'd just done was a crime.
He knew it.
I knew it.
Mate bonds were sacred.
And he'd denied ours.
He didn’t even want to try. I was pretty sure it was because we both knew it was there, and that was possibly the most frustrating part.
I curled my fist and beat it against the floor until it felt bruised. But by then, my feet were prickling, about to fall asleep. So, I picked myself up and wandered back to get my swimsuit.
I tied the purple strings in a daze, hardly noticing that the bottom portion was nearly shredded to ribbons along my ass. I vacantly tugged my swimsuit cover over my head. Bodie had bought it for me, a sheer black veil that looked more like lingerie than anything else. I didn't bother to find my sandals.
I tried not to think as I strode through the campus, avoiding the paths and weaving through the grass, letting the blades brush against my toes. Shifters wandered around me. A bat family screeched by as they snacked on insects. Some others played soccer on the opposite side of the quad, using the building lights and a glow-in-the-dark ball. Russ, aka Stranger Danger from the museum, waved at me as he and his wife walked over to the library.
I lifted my hand briefly; glad they were far enough away that I didn’t have to pretend to be normal as I trudged toward the Student Union Building in the moonlight. Tears leaked out at random until my eyes ached.
I just wanted it to stop. I wanted everything to stop.
I entered the building, avoiding eye contact with a couple shifters who looked at me curiously, and made my way to the second-floor office where my mates and I were staying. Bodie and Easton were already there waiting for me.
Jon Bon Jovi’s "Shot Through the Heart" blazed from a tiny speaker that one of them had linked to their phone.
Fucking right, Jon. Fucking right. Drake gives everything a bad name.
When my gaze landed on both my mates, my chest gave an aching pulse. It hurt so fucking bad that I had to grip onto the door frame.
"Aubry?" Easton immediately ran forward and scooped me up. "What happened? Where are your shoes?" As soon as he touched me, he sniffed, and his face scrunched in sympathy. I knew he could smell Drake on me.
"Who the fuck made my Butterfly cry?" Bodie asked, coming over and brushing back my hair.
Easton carried me over to the futon couch we'd all been sleeping on. It was way too cramped. We barely fit, even with me on Easton's lap. But the guys insisted I stay with them, so I had been sleeping piled on top of them at night in a hot tangle of limbs. It was very... shifter.
But it was also nice. I didn’t have any siblings and I’d never been that close to my cousins, so I had never done the sleepover thing before. But hearing them murmur sweet things or tell jokes before we drifted off, having them play with my hair or just comfort me with their touch had made bedtime the best part of my day.
They did the same thing now. The two of them sat together, legs touching, and spread me out over both of them. Easton cuddled my torso and Bodie rubbed comforting circles onto my calves as he simultaneously used his phone to stop the music.
"What happened, babe?" Bodie asked, once it was quiet. He looked scared, his green eyes wide, brow furrowed. He never looked scared.
"Drake..."
I'd hardly gotten the word out when both of them inhaled.
Bodie grew stiff and the circles stopped. "You fucked him?!" His tone was accusatory. He shoved my legs off his lap, and he stood, running a hand through his hair.
Easton, as always, came to my defense. "He’s her fucking mate, Bodie. I know you don’t want to share, but fuck."
"Fuck you, East. Aubry and I already talked about this." He rubbed at his chest like it ached. "But another fucking mate? Damn it."
I shook my head, and said brokenly, "He’s not. He doesn’t want to be. He wouldn’t kiss me."
"So, he fucked you for shits and giggles?" Bodie punched the wall, his hand going straight through the wallboard.
I felt like I might throw up.
"Dude! You are not helping. Aubry’s hurt right now," Easton chided, tucking me even deeper into his arms and leaning his chin on my head so that I felt cocooned by him.
"I just—I just—" Bodie couldn’t finish his thought.
I murmured into Easton’s chest, "I thought he was my mate." I tried to soak up his goodness. His strength. But I felt like a sieve, all that goodness running right through me.
My honey bear rubbed my back gently. "I know, sweetheart. I know."
For a minute, there wasn’t a lot of sound, just the soft scuff of Easton rocking me back and forth, his shirt sliding over the couch.
But then a new set of hands wrapped around my waist and pulled me out of Easton’s grasp. Bodie lifted me up and then sat down next to his friend, plopping me down on his lap and shoving back my hair, which had started to cling to my wet face.
"Buttercup," he sounded broken.
"I’m sorry. I thought he was—" I couldn’t finish my sentence. I cringed thinking I’d made Bodie angry. Thinking I’d betrayed our bond. That just made me hurt all over again. Drake hadn’t just betrayed me. He’d betrayed the two of them.
Bodie shook his head and his expression grew soft as he stared at me. "Drake is stubborn. Just like someone else I know." He ran a gentle hand over my cheek and cupped it. "I remember a certain fae who was pretty damn adamant she wasn’t my mate. Denied it to high heaven. And look how that turned out?"
I laughed but my throat was so raw it turned into a cough.
Bodie hugged me to him then, hard and tight and possessive. I clung to him, needing his forgiveness, his acceptance, and most of all, the reassurance that I was right. That Drake was a stubborn idiot and he would come around.
"Bodie," I clutched him tighter.
"I’m gonna go talk to Drake," Easton rose next to us.
I immediately reached out and grabbed his hand, which was so huge, I could only wrap around a few of his fingers. "No! Please." I’d threatened Drake with the guys but the thought of them arguing about me… it would be worse than Easton and Bodie’s fight. And there was no way I could end that fight the way I’d ended theirs. There was no way I could ever look Drake in the eyes again.
Easton’s blue eyes softened at the panic on my face. But my sweet mate gently pried my hand off his fingers. "He can’t do this, Aubry. We can’t be divided like this."
He pulled open the door to leave.
But panic surged through me. I didn’t want to be separated from Easton right now. And I really didn’t want him to talk to Drake. But the look in his eyes was stubborn. I didn’t think I’d be able to keep him in our room. I’d have a better chance of convincing him if I had more time. I needed more time.
"Wait. I’m coming, too." I stood up, pulling out of Bodie’s hold but grabbing his hand and yanking him up.
"You aren’t going around dressed like that, soaking wet," Bodie scolded.
"This isn’t a field trip, the whole class is not invited," Easton shook his head and grabbed
the doorknob.
I rushed over and blocked him from leaving.
"If you’re going to talk about me to Smaug the asshole, then I want to know what you’re saying. Though I don’t think a damn bit of it will get through unless you have a black arrow to pierce the pony-eater’s heart." I crossed my arms.
Easton gave me a half-grin. "Glad to see he hasn’t hurt your tongue, Spitfire."
"Didn’t get that reference," Bodie said.
Easton and I turned to him, aghast. It was Easton who spoke. "Lord of the Rings! The Hobbit! Dude, we’ve watched that together like three times!"
Bodie shrugged as he tossed a dress and some leggings my way. "Oh. Must have fallen asleep."
I kept my spot in the doorway as I did a quick change. Both my mates' eyes flashed gold at the sight of my naked body. But now wasn’t the time. Bodie gave me some flats and I slid them on without socks. Then we left to go confront the asshole together.
As we walked together through the grassy quad and the stars crawled through the sky, I tried to convince the guys that now wasn’t the right time to do this. It was way too soon.
Bodie shook his head. "Nah, babe. Drake needs a good dick punch."
Easton pinched the bridge of his nose. "Aubry, you have to understand… we’re outlaws. We’ve spent years suppressing our ‘feelings.’ Drake more than most."
I stopped short as Easton’s words soaked into my mind and their meaning became clear. What he’d said was true. The criminal life shot up emotions and left a trail of broken, bleeding hearts in its wake. Gangsters didn’t have time for happiness, hope, or love. Because an enemy was always there, waiting just around the corner, armed and ready to plug you full of holes.
Suddenly, I froze.
Speaking of guns around the corner…
We’d no more than rounded the next bend when Triton appeared in a puff of red and orange smoke in the courtyard before us—gun at the ready—with four mean-eyed fae hovering in the air behind him.
17
Aubry
"Well, well, well. Face to face with my arch nemesis at last."
Triton’s sarcastic voice echoed across the courtyard, ricocheting between buildings and fading into the darkness. My best friend stood in the middle of the courtyard, next to a fountain we had left running as a water source for shifters who wanted to bathe in animal form. His normally cropped beard was longer, his sandy hair wilder than ever. His clothes were wrinkled and unkempt and he looked incredibly haggard.
Memories suddenly flashed to the last time I’d seen Trite standing at that very fountain—the day we’d graduated. He’d been waiting for me so we could line up together. He’d been smiling and was so full of joy.
What a contrast that was to today. Today, Triton’s look was manic.
The four autumn fae that floated a few feet behind him were tall and lean. Three men and one woman hovered on golden wings and had absolutely zero smiles for us. They didn’t wear MP uniforms and I didn’t recognize them. So I wasn’t sure where they’d come from. Magical beings for hire, that was certain, because I knew—or thought I knew—every single one of Trite’s friends because the fucker had never been that friendly to begin with—possibly because he was a psychopath and I’d never noticed.
I couldn't speak; I couldn't swallow; I could barely breathe. So many strange and outrageous emotions poured through me that it was difficult to fully comprehend.
Shock. Fear. Happiness? No. Anger. Hesitation. Nostalgia?
It was... complicated. Triton had been my best friend for so long, it was difficult to paint him in a new light without also seeing the colors I used to know so well shining through. Still. I needed to remember what he’d done and focus on that.
I cleared my throat and crossed my arms. "Drake's not here."
Unless he meant... me? The thought kinda made me sick to my stomach. I pushed through it and found my inner bitch, the one who wanted to break Triton’s nose for lying to me about his parents and knee him in the nards for setting fires, and roundhouse him and knock his teeth out for attacking a school. "Heard Drake killed your parents. I think that’s a thing for him—killing parents. I assume you heard he offed my dad."
Triton's cold smile melted a little as he turned toward me. But to my surprise, he didn’t even bother to respond, just held up a single finger and pointed skyward.
A roar rent the air. All around the quad, shifters who’d been out walking suddenly ran for cover. That roar was the signal that we were under attack. I glanced up, horrified to see at least twenty more fae and pixies fluttering overhead like black shadows.
But then I heard a yell. "Not on my watch, motherfuckers!" And Rocco and a couple of his guys started pelting the fliers with bullets and potions from Easton’s cannons.
A second later, Drake landed in the grass beside us with a rumbling thud, one knee in the grass, the other leg bent. Drake was only half shifted. He was a man wearing all black with huge leathery black wings, just like he’d been when we’d—
God, if I thought my stomach was upset a moment ago, it was a writhing pit of snakes now. I had to look away, which set my gaze back on Trite.
"Now, I'm face to face with my arch nemesis," Triton corrected with a broad fake grin. "Good of you to show up, Shadow."
Drake rose from the knee he'd landed on and squared his big broad shoulders. "Wish I could say the same, you limp-dick wand wanker."
The grin fell right off Triton's face at Drake's insult. "I shall rather enjoy killing you, while my friends become you and kill the rest of them."
His words made no sense to me at first... but then the faces of the four fae beside him began to change... they glamoured and suddenly I was looking across the quad at a floating mirror image of myself with wings that had changed from golden to shadows, just as mine did when I tried to disguise them from humans. I turned left, Easton stood across from a hovering Easton, and Bodie stood across from a winged Bodie with a demonic expression. I turned right, and sure enough, two Drakes were glaring at one another on my right.
What the hell? Was this Face/Off? Was Nick Cage gonna pop up around a corner and do his creepy laugh? Fuck.
The fae raised their guns and everything seemed to decelerate into slow motion. Behind them, at least three bodies fell to the ground as Rocco’s men shot down Triton’s aerial force.
I barely even noticed the bodies falling, though. I was kind of still stuck on the image of me staring back at me. Trite was gonna kill me? And have a fae pose as me in order to kill other shifters? Who did that? Who, other than an insane lunatic or cartoon fucking villain, did that shit? Any sliver of doubt I’d had about Trite being guilty disappeared faster than a mage with a Portal Potion.
Sick bastard.
Trite's arms moved, like he was about to march over to us, but then they wavered in the air, almost like he'd lost his balance. He jerked, a deepening frown on his face.
What the hell?
The snarky side of me wondered if he was having a seizure. He damn well fucking deserved to have one. Even his henchmen froze where they hovered, guns at their hips, and looked at him with alarm. But he reached down and clutched his thigh with both hands and pulled until his shoe came off and remained stuck on the ground.
That clarified it. Looks like he just discovered our immobility spell. I raised an eyebrow and smirked at him. He glared back.
Trite pursed his lips in an angry scowl and said to his companions, "Don't touch the ground. There's a Movement Restriction Spe—"
BAM!
A shot interrupted Trite’s warning. Fae-Easton fell from the air. He slammed into the fountain, and tumbled limp onto the sidewalk. Easton’s handsome face dissolved and the fae’s real face reappeared as a red puddle formed beneath him. Next to me, real-Bodie grinned proudly as a bullet casing fell at his feet.
Try to catch me now, Frank Abagnale! Fucking con man!
Seconds later, we were all blown backward by hurricane-strength winds. My elbows smacked into the sidewal
k, sending pain shooting up and down my arms.
Round one went to Bodie. Round two went to those stupid fae. But as soon as I realized we were about to have another showdown, my pulse bounced on its toes and took a couple of practice jabs, determined to win round three against these identity thieves. I shoved up from the ground.
Triton smashed a Portal Potion into his chest and disappeared in a puff of yellow, blue, and orange smoke before I’d made it to my feet. Only his shoes remained behind. Just like the damned Wicked Witch. Of course, he didn’t take his lackeys with him. Witches didn’t give a damn about their flying monkeys and mages didn’t give a damn about the fae.
I shot a bolt of fire at the autumn fae glamoured to look like myself only to watch her blow that very flame toward my Easton. I leapt in front of him to block the flames.
Damn it. That fucking backfired. Literally.
Then everyone moved at once. Easton’s bear claws came out and he lumbered toward whichever fae was closest. Drake shifted into a dragon and beat his vast, leathery wings, rising a few feet off the ground before letting out a blazing burst of fire.
The remaining imposter fae scattered like flies.
No wonder shifters always called us that.
Bodie lifted his gun again and fired three more shots off after the fliers. But the autumn fae pumped their wings and shot out jet streams as they flew, and the bullets zoomed harmlessly off-course.
"Fuck!" Bodie cursed. "Stupid wasps."
Oh, yeah. There was that lovely nickname too.
The fae flew away, pulling their guns out as they soared toward the more used buildings on campus. Shit! I burst into a sprint before launching into the air, chasing down those posers like a bolt of greased lightning.
My gaze flickered when colored smoke appeared in the corner of my vision. Triton reappeared on the roof of the science center, very cleverly avoiding his bare feet touching the ground. Motherfucker had found a workaround.
Son of a bitch.