Page 2 of Beyond the Winter Kingdom (Faeted Seasons #2)

Meera

My parents and four brothers burst through the door, looking ready to fight their way out of hell.

My mother held Babe, her trusty metal baseball bat, propped against her shoulder.

While my brothers often did the shakedowns when people attempted to screw my family over, they had to learn from somewhere—and it wasn’t our father.

In all of the nine realms, Molly Wylde was one of the greatest forces to be reckoned with. As if we didn’t even exist, she ignored me and Vareck entirely when she stormed over and shoved the end of the bat under Lou’s chin in a violent threat.

“I’m gonna beat you within an inch of your life, you manipulative, lying twat!

” Her blood-red hair was frizzy and disheveled.

She had a murderous, crazed look in her eyes right until she glanced over at me and her face brightened.

“Oh, hello dear. I’m so glad you’re safe,” she said softly, cupping my face with her free hand before she returned her ire on Lou.

Her tone increased again to a rage-driven decibel.

“You have fucked with my family for the last time, leprechaun. After I bleed you dry, I’m going to bathe in what’s left of you.

” The way she oscillated is what made her all the more intimidating.

The men in my family were predictable. Mostly. The women, not so much.

“I think that’s a bit dramatic,” Lou whispered, despite Vareck’s hold on him.

My eldest brother, Atlas, elbowed our dad in a friendly way, and a small grin curled up one side of his mouth. “I told you if we followed this shady fuck we’d find her.”

Fearghal and Darroch fist-bumped each other and then recrossed their arms, standing like ominous bodyguards.

Cadoc, the second eldest, stood next to my mom, twirling a knife in his palm. Copper bracers circled his wrists. His vicious gaze was focused on Lou. If he was surprised or even happy to see me alive, you couldn’t tell.

I stood there in shock. “You’re all here,” I said slowly, looking between each of them. “In Faerie.”

“Bloody realms!” Farris yelled, coming out of the kitchen. He dropped the broom pan he’d retrieved, letting it clatter on the floor as he pressed his palms against his face. “There’s more of ya! Get out before ya break everythin’!”

The poor innkeeper was ignored, even by me.

“Why are you here?” I asked, finally regaining my ability to string my thoughts together in a coherent sentence.

“Saving you,” Darroch said with a huff, as though it were obvious. “What’s it look like?”

My father knocked him upside the head with an open palm. “Don’t be a knob.”

I tossed my arms out. “Hello! Can I please get a real answer? It’s not that I’m not happy to see you, but I’m confused about how you showed up here, of all places. At a tavern. In Warwick.”

“Of course, darling,” my mother said with a smile. She jammed the end of the bat into Lou’s jaw. I cringed when his teeth clanked loudly. “You’ve been gone for over ten days, and none of us had heard a thing. Sadie went missing while she was trying to find you, so we hired this dolt to find her.”

“Of all people, you hired Lou?” I said, jutting my thumb at my broker. “After all the shit you gave me for taking jobs from him?”

“We hired him because you work for him,” Cadoc said in a low voice, glancing over and meeting my gaze for the first time since he showed up.

I wanted to shrink beneath the weight of his stare.

Of all my brothers, he was the most reserved.

Not because he didn’t have thoughts or feelings on things, but because Cadoc watched.

He studied people and the world around him the way an editor did a manuscript.

Everything was part of a game—a piece on the board that he played.

That’s not to say he didn’t love me or Sadie, or our family.

He was just ... different. Something in his brain was wired in such a way that Cadoc viewed the world the way a predator did prey.

“You went missing, kiddo. And then your sister did as well. What else were we supposed to do? We couldn’t just sit back and wait.

” My father came up to me, wrapping a thick arm around me in a hug.

He smelled of coriander and whiskey. Home.

I closed my eyes for a brief moment, letting his presence settle me.

I hugged him tight before letting go. He filled me in before I could ask more questions.

“Like Cadoc said, we hired Lou because you take jobs from him. We suspected that if we hired him he would lead us to one or both of you. We planned to follow him?—”

“Then we’d find you and kick his ass,” Darroch interjected with a deep nod. Dad liked to provide context, which on occasion, was needed. Darroch, however, was more likely to handle things like Sadie or I would—which is to say we got to the point. Quickly.

Lou sighed, clearing his throat as best he could against Vareck’s forearm and my mother’s bat.

“And if it didn’t lead to Meera?” His tone was low and graveled.

It sent a shiver down my spine. Despite the pain in his voice, there was something else in it too.

Something unafraid, and perhaps even a little angry.

Lou might be a leprechaun, but I sometimes wondered if he was more than that.

Atlas sniffed, lifting a shoulder. “We were going to beat your ass anyway. This only ends one way for you.” How very typical of my brother.

Where Cadoc was reticent, Atlas was outgoing.

If a golden retriever could be a grown man, Atlas was it.

The guy had an upbeat demeanor, even when beating the shit out of someone.

Lou grumbled something unintelligible beneath his breath, and I ran my hands through my hair. “This is a lot to process right now.”

“We just explained it.” Fearghal said. He lifted a brow, making the white scar that ran down the left side of his face stretch.

Most people grew out of the ‘look mom, no hands’ phase.

Unfortunately, my brother was not one of them.

The many scars that decorated his skin were a testament to his adventurous nature. “What all is there to process?”

“Um ...” I laughed nervously. So, so much.

Having just spent a blissful and euphoric night having the best sex of my life.

Finding out Vareck was my mate when true mates weren’t a thing anymore.

Not knowing what any of that meant for my future— our future?

Running into Lou and learning Sadie was gone.

My family showing up in Faerie, at the tavern where Vareck fucked my brains out, no less. Let’s see. Where to start?

Vareck cleared his throat, and I turned to him for help, pleading with my eyes to find the right words. He placed his free hand on the small of my back. It was at that moment that each one of the Wylde clan also took note of him in a more serious manner.

Atlas’ grin sharpened.

Cadoc’s stare flattened.

Darroch and Fearghal exchanged a wary but knowing glance.

My mother? She looked him up and down, a twinkle in her eye as she gave her approval with a wink and a coy smile. “Handsome man. Strong too.” She patted his bicep on the arm that held Lou pinned. “Good job, love. Is he coming to dinner?”

Darroch wasn’t nearly as impressed. His brows lowered as he assessed the king of Faerie, oblivious to who he was standing in front of. “Who the fuck is this guy?”

I shot him a dirty look before answering.

“Um, Vareck, this is my mom and dad, Molly and Conor.” Their lips parted.

A part of me suspected that at least my parents knew damn well who he was, even if my brothers were ignorant.

I cleared my throat, continuing the introductions as though I hadn’t noticed the recognition of his name.

“Mom, Dad, meet Vareck. We’re ... sort of .

.. seeing each other?” I immediately winced, knowing I’d chosen the wrong words, but not knowing what the right words should have been.

Either way, phrasing it like a question didn’t help.

The heat of Vareck’s gaze made my skin warm.

While his expression was unreadable, his eyes burned.

“Seeing each other is a bit of an understatement,” he said quietly. His anger was restrained, but it was unmistakably present.

“What does that mean?” Cadoc responded coolly.

“Pretty sure it’s biblical,” Fearghal stage-whispered to Darroch.

For fuck’s sake.

Corvo jumped onto the counter by Farris and licked his paw. The innkeeper scowled at him but said nothing. “It means she just pissed him off by not admitting they’re mates.” I glared at Corvo, and if he could’ve shrugged, he would have. “What? It’s true. When have I ever lied?”

“Mates? Hope this isn’t a shotgun marriage situation,” Atlas joked.

Maybe he was joking? Sometimes it was hard to tell where my happy-go-lucky brother ended and the protective bear of a man took over.

My mom and dad exchanged a quick look that didn’t escape me, but before I could clarify, the damned cat kept going.

“Might as well be now. They did spend all night fucking.” Of all the times he had to interject into a conversation, this one was undoubtedly the worst. I closed my eyes, hearing my heartbeat in my head as all hell broke loose.

The inn was filled with the cacophony of my brothers shouting over each other, going on about killing more than a leprechaun today, and who the hell did this douchebag think he was screwing their sister, and whatever else the hotheaded fools thought made them sound intimidating.

My mother whirled around to face my brothers, then pointed at Cadoc and Atlas. “Do you know who this is? Have some fucking manners! I know I taught them to you. I expect this shit from Darroch and Fearghal, but you two get your act together!”

“You can’t be serious, Ma! C’mon, this guy is fuc—” Fearghal interrupted, right before Cadoc punched him in the arm. “Ouch!”

“I see where you get your charm,” Corvo muttered.