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14

Ass Reading

Harry paced her bedroom, second-guessing the smartness of this plan. In her defense, she’d been replaying her conversation with Jax over and over in her head and didn’t really hear Elodie’s “brilliant” idea until she heard herself agree and it was too late to take back.

“Are they there yet?” Cassie leaned closer to her own phone screen as if she could see around her.

“Trust me, you’d know if Elodie walked into the room, but they should be here soon. Even if there’s a traffic jam, it only takes five minutes to get from one end of Fates Haven to the other.” Harry nibbled on the corner of her thumbnail.

“I still can’t believe you got a tattoo without me, you witch. All that begging I did and one excuse after another. Not the right shop. Lax safety regs. Not finding a design that calls to you. And then you end up letting someone choose your tattoo for you.”

“Not just anyone, Lenny. And, yeah, I’m having a serious case of regrets right now.” Harry paused in her pacing. “Shit. What if it really is a rabid raccoon or a laughing donkey?”

Harry heard Lenny and Elodie before they burst into the room.

“Told you you’d hear them.” Harry smirked, waving her phone in the others’ directions. “Cassie, meet Lenny and Elodie. Len and El, meet Cass.”

Elodie lurched forward and stole the phone. “Can I just say that you raised a kick-ass daughter? I know we technically lost Paintball Pandemonium, but she was lethal. Took Cougar Jax straight off his feet and I seriously cannot remember that ever happening before.”

Cassie laughed. “Thanks, but I didn’t raise an ass kicker alone. Harry had a huge hand it, too.”

Elodie slid Harry a wink. “Yeah, I can definitely see that. So… are we ready to have ourselves an ass Reading or what?”

Harry groaned. “For the last time, it’s not on my ass.”

“Well…” Lenny added, chuckling.

“So it’s a bit north of my butt cheek proper and a smidge south of the waistline.” She turned to Lenny. “So how do we do this Reading? Do I moon you and the meaning smacks you like a spitball on the forehead or what?”

“First, I want to preface by saying that this may all be for nothing,” Lenny warned. “You know what my track record has been like lately.”

“I do.”

“And you can’t be mad at me if you end up with a design you don’t like.”

“I won’t. Promise… unless it’s something gross like a leech.”

Lenny looked more apprehensive than even Harry. “Then let’s get set up.”

With Elodie holding Cassie on the phone, Harry helped Lenny dim the lights and set up the pillar candles, and then with more than a few nervous chuckles from everyone in the room, Lenny sat cross-legged on the floor, a few scant inches away from a standing Harry’s rear end.

There was a shift in the air moments before a warm sensation tingled across her butt.

Lenny nodded slowly. “It’s time.”

Holding her breath, Lenny slowly peeled away the bandage. Twin gasps erupted from both Elodie and Cassie while Lenny remained still. The pillar candles flickered as the seer then closed her eyes, sweat dotting her forehead.

“What’s happening?” Cassie whispered.

“Len is trying to Read the tattoo,” Elodie answered in a soft murmur.

“Len would like some quiet, please,” she retorted.

“Are you okay?” Harry watched her friend sway in the tall mirror. “You’re looking a little pale… and nauseous.”

A low groan rolled from Lenny’s throat before all her tension melted away. Her body sagged heavily, as if weighted with bricks, and teetered forward.

Harry caught her a second before she face-planted on the floor and broke her nose. “Shit. Lenny. Are you all right?”

“I’m okay.” She shot her an apologetic look. “I’m sorry, Harry. The Sight was practically within touching distance, but it just wouldn’t take hold. I can’t Read it.”

“It’s okay.” Harry hid her disappointment with a small smile.

“No. It’s not.” Lenny released a frustrated sigh as she got to her feet. “Gah. It feels like I’m freaking cursed.”

“Not just you. The whole town. So chin up, babe,” Elodie quipped.

Please don’t be a raccoon. Please don’t be a raccoon. Closing her eyes and trying not to grimace, Harry turned her ass toward the mirror and counted down from five. At one, she peeled her eyes open one at a time and instantly locked on the fresh tattoo.…

“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me.”

“Well, it’s not a raccoon,” Cassie chirped. “It’s actually really pretty with all the shades of blue and purple.”

“Seriously, Cass?” Harry shot her friend a glare to the phone Elodie still held.

“Don’t give me that look. You’re the one with a blue flame lighting up your rear end. I mean, it’s a pretty flame. Oh, my goddess! You have a fire in your pants.” Cassie chuckled. “Ooh! Maybe it’s telling you that you’re about to come into some smoking hot sex… or an uncomfortable yeast infection.”

“It’s not any regular flame,” Lenny added.

“No, it’s not.” Harry turned to look at her ass one more time and grudgingly admitted that Fate really had it out for her.

There was no other reason to have her tattoo be the spitting image of a Blue Willow Wisp that caused the derailment of her life thirteen years ago. Now, instead of the memory permanently etched into her memory vault, it was also forever memorialized on her ass cheek.

J AX TURNED YET another page, scanned its contents, and flipped again. Gavin’s promising book arrivals had been more bookish and less promising, not really telling them anything they didn’t know. Except that the rare unicorn shifter shit rainbows and was prone to constipation that only a fiber high in glitter could cure. That was info that could’ve stayed dead and buried but now held a prominent spot in his knowledge bank.

He flipped another page, only to be met with more of the same.

“What the hell did that book ever do to you?” Gavin glared at him from across the table.

“Not tell me what we’re looking for, that’s for damn sure.” Jax sighed, sneaking a glance two tables over where Harry and Grace pored over another book stack.

He’d been surprised she’d shown up after their discussion on the beach; and while she’d acted civilized and even smiled at Gavin when they talked, she’d steered clear of Jax. No smiles. No jokes. Nothing.

And he fucking hated it.

“Oh, for fuck’s sake. Either go over there and apologize or shake it off and move on.” Gavin kept his gaze locked on the book in front of him.

“I have absolutely nothing to apologize for. I’m not the one who left the people they claimed to care about most, and then returned expecting to drop back into Fates Haven life as if nothing changed. Asking for favors no less.”

“And yet you’re sitting here in the library—for the first time since I’ve known you—and treating my extremely rare new additions as if they’ve just insulted your cougar’s alpha nature.”

Jax shot him a stern glare that the bastard batted away with a faint brow lift. “Maybe I’m doing it in the hopes that the sooner we solve Grace’s shifter issue, the sooner they can get on with their lives… outside Fates Haven.”

Gavin snorted, obviously not believing him any more than he believed himself.

Jax scanned another page until movement pulled his attention toward Harry. She patted Grace’s shoulder and headed toward the coffee station Gavin set up on the counter. She fumbled with the controls, opening and closing the top a few times before frowning at it like a complicated calculus problem.

“I’ll be back.” Receiving a grunt from the vampire, he headed toward Harry. “You have to turn it on before you put the pod inside and then wait until it flashes.”

He reached over her shoulder, removing her chai packet from the chamber, and reflexively settled his spare hand on her hip. Harry startled, but kept her place as he showed her how to work Gavin’s fancy coffee machine. It hummed to life as it prepped.

“Still not much of a coffee drinker?” he asked.

“It has its time and place, neither of which is right now.” She stared intently as the tea drained into her waiting mug.

He sighed. “Harry, about the other night, I—”

“You weren’t wrong.” She turned toward him, the move putting them chest to chest as her gaze lifted to his. “But I can’t change what happened, and I know that I can apologize for the way everything played out over and over again, but it won’t make a difference to you.”

Jax opened his mouth to hopefully say something not stupid when Grace called out, her brows furrowed as she ran her finger over the page in front of her.

“What’s up? What did you find?” Gavin got to her first, peering over her shoulder.

“I’m not really sure. Probably nothing,” Grace moved the book his way and his eyes scanned the page.

Harry and Jax headed toward them.

Gavin rubbed his trimmed beard, telling them he was deep in thought. “Or maybe something.”

“What something?” Harry asked eagerly.

Gavin handed her the open book and Jax leaned closer for a peek. She shifted it so he could see, too.

“This just mentions shifters of folklore.” Harry glanced up, confused. “How is this something?”

“Because a lot of this realm’s folklore is based in another realm’s reality—or supposed reality.”

“This realm and another realm?” Grace asked, confused. “How many realms are there?”

“Honestly? It’s anyone’s guess.” Gavin nudged his chin to all the books they’d spent hours poring over. “These only talk about shifters from this realm. We’ve been overlooking the possibility that maybe the shifter we’re looking for is not from this realm but one of the others.”

Grace’s eyes widened as big as dinner plates. “Are you saying I’m a freaking alien?”

Gavin chuckled. “No. Well… no. At least not the Mars kind.”

“What other kinds are there?” Sparks drifted up from the teenager’s hands and Harry, quick to move, shoved the book in Jax’s hands.

“Hey. It’s okay. This is a good thing.” Harry crouched in front of her, slipping her hands over Grace’s.

“How is being an alien a good thing? We watched War of the Worlds together. You saw what happened.”

“Yes, and we also saw E.T. ” Harry smiled soothingly. “We’ve spent this whole time focused on thinking one way and it hasn’t led us closer to answers. Maybe we need to change that mode of thinking.”

The sparks died away as Grace calmed, slowly nodding. She glanced at Gavin. “Okay… so not a Mars alien. So what are we talking about here?”

“I think we should consider the fact that we might be looking for a fae shifter.”

Silence hung in the air, more potent than moonshine.

Grace shifted awkwardly in her seat. “I thought that there aren’t many fae here anymore.”

“There’s not,” Jax added. “With the weakening of the fae portals fifty years ago, most fae returned home, not many wanting to risk being stuck here permanently. It’s also why there isn’t a whole hell of a lot of written history about them. They took most of it with them.”

“So in theory, if there isn’t a big fae population that stayed behind, finding information on this Luke guy should be a hell of a lot easier.” Harry squeezed Grace’s hand. “We just have to find ourselves a popular fae who claims to know everyone and everything and start asking questions.”

Gavin grimaced. “That’s easier said than done. The fae—as a whole—are not very chatty when it comes to their way of life.”

“Then we need to what? Get them drunk so they loosen their lips?” Harry joked. “But first, we need to find a fae.”

Gavin was back to stroking his beard.

“Gav?” Jax watched his friend.

The vampire sighed. “I know a guy, but I’m warning you right now, he’s not the chatty type… alcohol or not.”

“Maybe if we make our case, it will appeal to his softer side.” Harry’s tone was hopeful and Jax couldn’t blame her.

“He doesn’t have one of those… but I agree that I think it’s our best chance to find out anything about this Luke. Or anything related to fae shifters at all.”

“So you’ll make the introduction?”

Gavin laughed. “You don’t want me introducing you to him. Trust me.”

“Why not?”

“Because he vowed to put a stake through my heart the next time he laid eyes on me.”

Jax lifted an eyebrow. “What the fuck did you do to piss him off? Sleep with his girlfriend or something?”

“Asked to borrow a book he has.”

Grace made a small squeaking noise.

“It doesn’t matter.” Determination glinted in Harry’s eyes. “Tell me where to find him. I’ve been told I can be really persuasive.”

Jax growled, his cougar rising to the surface. “Did you not hear what Gavin said? He threatened to kill him just for asking to borrow a copy of Nancy Drew mysteries or something.”

“I don’t care. This is the closest thing to a lead that we’ve had in ever . I’m not letting it slip through my fingers because the guy has an anger management problem. It’s a risk I’m willing to take.”

“Well, it’s not one I’m willing to let you take.”

“Good thing that you’re not the boss of me, Jaxon Atwood. Or my Alpha.” She glared daggers at him, daring him to argue.

Fuck.

He pinched the bridge of his nose, trying to tell his cougar to calm down as he clawed him from the inside, itching to get out and let his displeasure be known, too.

“Fine.” He growled. “But you’re sure as hell not meeting him alone. I’m going with you.”

“And me,” Grace chimed.

“Hell no,” Jax said at the same time Harry snorted. “No way.”

Harry turned her gaze on him. “You can come… but so help me, if you growl even one time and this guy threatens to put you in a cone of shame or something, I’m not stepping in to help you.”

“I think I can contain myself,” Jax said.

Gavin snorted. “Can you really? The fae are all about manners. If my contact feels disrespected in the least, he’ll send you on a wild-goose chase just because it would amuse him.”

“I can be a goddamned respectful delight.”

Three sets of snorts went off around him.

“What?” Jax drilled them all with a glare. “I can.”

Gavin clapped him hard on the shoulder, a smirk playing on his lips. “Sure you can… but maybe we should go over some basic do’s and don’ts when it comes to dealing with fae. And then let’s talk about what you’re each going to wear.”

“Wear? Why does it matter what we wear?”

“He owns Glamour, a club in downtown Denver, and if you hope to have even half a chance of getting an audience with him, you need to stand out from the crowd.”

Jax didn’t like the sound of that one damn bit, but he knew that he’d end up liking the reality of it even less.