Page 26

I Choose You

S liding into the long drive next to the Cobra belonging to Boone, I turn the motor off. I’m not sure why Magpie called a meeting, but Lucy sounded worried. I’ve been busy with my practice because school is starting next week, so I haven’t been around as much as I would prefer. The influx of both normal patients and the special ones has consumed me—being the only doctor in town is rough this time of year.

Spring is much worse, but the beginning of the school year is a close second.

I worry about our magpie.

Being a teacher at WFHS is going to put her in the middle of several vicious circles, and I don’t want any of them to use a loophole to make her aware of things she doesn’t need to know until its time. My power tells me she’s getting closer, but the women in this town already have her in their sights because of the past. It’s a very thin tightrope to walk, and I hope Lucy and Boone will help me maintain the status quo as long as possible.

The thought of her being hurt bothers me more than I care to admit. Before I got assigned here, I tomcatted around Asia consulting for various communities of supes. I’d just graduated med school at State, and the Society felt I was best positioned to work with young emerging supes there because I attended secondary school in Japan. Traveling around to meet different species and struggling teens appealed to me, so I happily obliged.

I couldn’t turn down the assignment if I wanted to, but I’ve always appreciated that they used my talents for something positive. My kind has a long history of being placed in problematic positions because of our abilities. The suicide rate for my species is much higher than average, and my parents were both casualties of such an arrangement when I was a teenager.

Sighing, I shake my head to clear the threads of pain from my psyche. The past is the past, and dwelling on pain has solved nothing. True healing comes with acceptance of the good and the bad, and my assignment to Whistler’s Hollow was specifically to allow me to do so. Not because of my parents, but because of the young shifter I lost in China.

Guardians never get over losing a charge, and I suppose I haven’t, either.

I open the car door, swinging my long legs out to roll to my feet. The vintage gullwing Mercedes SL 300 fits me like a glove, and I paid more for it than my first house.

However, in this town, you stick out if you drive a normal car, and the Society wants us to blend in as much as possible. It keeps the illusion of being a cookie cutter rich Southern town when visitors float through for various reasons. We have to set expectations for the young possibles—to be one of us is to present a certain image to the world. It helps us stay hidden and survive.

At least, that’s how it is at Project Chimera HQ in America. The enclaves I visited in Asia had vastly different rules, and I assume it’s about respecting cultural norms. Whatever it takes to hide in plain sight, that’s what the Society aims for.

I walk up to my magpie’s door, hoping she doesn’t have bad news. Lucy’s grown quite fond of her, and I think they may have completed part of the bond. He won’t talk about it, and I understand why. He and Boone both had no choice, but they can’t run around blabbing about a process Jolene doesn’t understand. If it gets out, someone will tell her out of spite and ruin a deeply special thing for them.

Petty jealousy shouldn’t be how Magpie finds out that information.

“Prez!” Jolene says, throwing her arms around me as she opens the door before I can knock.

My brows furrow. She’s not this effusive normally, and I don’t smell alcohol. At least, not fresh booze anyway. Why is she so affectionate? Magpie gestures to the stairs, and turns to climb them, her ponytail bouncing behind her. If I wasn’t suspicious before, I am now.

“Not that I’m opposed to going to your nest, magpie, but I’m curious why a meeting with all three of us is being held there?” She stops on the stairs, giving me a blinding smile. Her green eyes dance with a fire I haven’t seen before, and her gaze hits me in the chest like a lead weight. My breath catches, and I just stare at her like a virgin in a strip club.

“We have things to discuss, McSteamy. Follow me and you’ll see,” Jolene smiles again and my heart damn near stops.

What is she d oing to me?

Rubbing my chest, I ignore the source of my powers as it awakens. Whatever changes Magpie’s gone through, she’s not ready for the truth about all of us, and if Reiki takes control, there won’t be a choice.

I follow Jolene into the bedroom, my eyes seeking Lucy first. He gives me a surprised look when he feels how close Reiki is to the surface. His nature is less volatile than mine because it’s not singular, and he’s used to me having precision control. Edgar is pacing frenetically, and I don’t know what’s up his ass, but he needs to lock that shit down. He’s well known for losing control of his powers.

“I asked you to meet me here because we need to set some ground rules,” Jolene says. She’s twisting her fingers nervously, but her expression is determined. “I’ve never… well, I’ve done SOME of this before, but not like this. You’ll have to be patient with me.”

“Just talk to us, sugarplum. What has you in knots?”

That’s Lucy to a tee. He’s the antithesis of what everyone assumes his people to be, and I smile as he reaches his hand out to get our woman to settle on the bed next to him. As soon as she sits, it’s like all the tension ebbs out, and she clasps his hand.

“I want to define our situation. This is the first time since college that I’ve even considered having people in my life regularly—I mean, outside of Seer, which isn’t the same. That story is long and I’ll share it with you later, but it taught me to be guarded. So you three are the first people—male or female—to stay in my life for more than a night in years.”

Lucy looks taken aback, but I suspected as much. Our girl has struggled with things that should have been easy, and while it amused me to watch her hide it, this is a big step. Edgar crosses the room, dropping to a knee.

“Tell us what you need, drugar,” he murmurs as he looks up at her.

That was unexpected. I almost feel like I should alert the press. The alpha of all alphas just kneeled in front of a woman he bullied out of town fourteen years ago. I’d need pictures to prove this happened if I told anyone. “I agree. We need to know what you want, Jolene.”

Her lips curve into a pout as I use her real name. “This is hard for me. It requires trust I’m not sure I’m capable of, and vulnerability I never show. But… I want this,” she gestures at us awkwardly, “to work. I want all of you, and I won’t settle for less. I don’t know why, because I haven’t wanted anyone to stay around since Trevor. I’ve been happy taking what I need and moving on. The thought of anyone touching any of you has my gut twisted into knots, though.”

“Sugarplum, you know what I told you at the farm,” Lucy says, squeezing her hand before bringing it to his lips. “I’m yours.” I arch a brow, and he chuckles. “And Prez’, of course.”

Boone nods, taking her other hand in his. “ Drugar , I told you yesterday how I felt.”

“Well, you apologized for leaving me alone to wonder if I was going to end up getting roasted on social media. And you intimated that your bullying had to do with your parents, and you regretted it. But you didn’t say what you felt.” Her chin lifts and I can feel the air in the room change as she steels herself for disappointment.

If only she knew.

“Tilly, I’ve always liked you. I wanted to be a part of your life from the minute I first saw you—there were extenuating circumstances. Both of our parents were less than thrilled at our connection. You probably can’t remember…” he trails off and I know he’s getting close to lines he can’t cross yet.

I save him by cutting in. “I played around a lot after college, too. I traveled to Asia extensively for work before I settled here. I understand the appeal of having no ties, no one to hurt you, and nothing to hold you back. However, I knew when I saw you telling a story to a harpy eagle you were terrified of moments before that I couldn’t let you get away. I don’t know where we’re all going, but I’m on board, even if the crew gets bigger.”

Lucy and Edgar give me questioning looks, but I ignore them. Something about our magpie tells me she’s not finished gathering yet, and I want her to know I won’t stand in her way if another potential steps up to the plate. Crossing my arms over my chest, I lean against the wall, waiting for the other two to chime in. If they don’t, we’re going to have issues later.

“I’m happy to share,” Lucy whispers, giving her a shy smile. “I want you to be happy, sugarplum.”

“For fuck’s sake…” Edgar sighs and rolls his eyes. His hand reaches up, and he runs his fingers over a mark on her neck I didn’t see until now. “I’m not threatened by these idiots or anyone else you decide to take a shine to. I know what I want.”

I squint at the mark, walking closer with an air of nonchalance that I don’t believe. When I see the shape, I glare at the back of the judge’s head. Lucy tilts his head, and I shake mine in response.

That son of a bitch.

Edgar Olivier Boone III has been hiding a third, and that’s so exceedingly rare that they don’t even teach agents or Guardians about triplásia. I only recognize it because I’ve seen him lose control of the other two sides.

This bite mark is something different, and I’m going to call my mentor, Yoshiro, about it. He’s retired a hundred years ago, but that’s a speck of time for a dragon. He served the Society for five hundred years before he retired, and he trained me when I got assigned to my concierge position.

I’ve only heard of a triplásia ? 1 a few times. Yoshi said they suspected they had one about twenty years ago, but that can’t be Jolene or Edgar. They’re too young. Before Project Chimera, it was impossible to know how many and what supes were intermingling because it was beneath us.

It still is, and that’s why the Society keeps our enclaves so well disguised.

As odd as it sounds, I wonder if Boone even knows. It would mean he had to be a lost one, not a true Boone heir, and that secret might be one worth killing over. Senator Boone wouldn’t want the humans knowing about his son, and he wouldn’t want the town knowing Edgar wasn’t genetically a Boone. This could get interesting if it leaks.

Best to keep it away from that sneaky bastard Haggerty, then. He and the judge are like oil and water as it is. He’d relish humiliating his self-identified nemesis.

“Magpie, I believe you said you’d done some of this before. I’m inclined to believe it’s not asking three idiots to be your boyfriends. What did you mean?”

Her cheeks flush, and it’s absolutely delightful. Jolene doesn’t show her soft side often and today is a smorgasbord of adorable tics. “I said that. But I feel like we have to address the leather elephant in the room or I’d hate myself.”

“Leather… elephant?” Edgar chokes.

Huffing, she glares down at him. “Yes. It may not be the greatest metaphor, but you, Teddy, have a domination fetish. Little Wolfie over there likes to be topped, and the good doctor is a switch. I’m not stupid or na?ve. If that’s going to be part of our lives, then you all need to understand ME, and we will come to an agreement.”

My mouth drops open. I sure as fuck didn’t expect her to say that . “Magpie…”

“Prez, she’s right. We have to say the words and you know it.”

Jolene nods, smiling at him softly. “I know you said them to me, but are you comfortable with everyone else, or do you have a line?”

Edgar arches a brow, and I shrug. “I’m game, regardless. But I’d need express consent for anything more than typical club play—on either side of the fence.”

“Prez, y’all won’t be able to handle me.” My magpie titters and I grin back at her.

“Why is that, Tilly?”

Huh. Boone added nothing, not even sarcasm. Isn’t that interesting?

“I’m a switch as well, but I’m a bit… chaotic. At least, that’s what I’ve been told. I consciously decide when to submit and when to control, and it’s pretty unpredictable,” she admits, her cheeks getting pinker.

“Sound like a brat to me,” Boone grumbles.

He’s not wrong.

“Well, it’s more like a Power Bottom and a Brat had a baby with a god of mischief,” Jolene says, giving me a grin. “We’re more trouble than brats and less annoying than powers. But it’s easy to figure out where I’m falling, from what I understand.”

Lucy stands and tilts his head. “Sugarplum, I’ll play however you like. I’m fairly fluid, and I don’t have a lot of lines to cross.”

Fucking duh, he doesn’t. His kind practically invented genderfluid, and he’s about as sexually unencumbered as anyone I’ve ever met. Even though I know the answer, I know why Jolene wants to hear it out loud. A good Domme always does. “Lucy, do you have concerns about who is where or taking it further than standard club play?”

“Hell, no. But my safe word isn’t pineapple.”

Magpie bursts out laughing, her eyes dancing with mirth. “Dear Aphrodite, help me with that. Some clubs sounded like a tropical fruit salad with all the ‘pineapples’ going around. I’ll confess mine is ‘bubbles’.”

“Pumpkin Spice,” I add, winking at her.

Lucy wrinkles his nose. “Unicorn. He picked it!” His finger shakes at me and I shrug, pleased with my choice, especially now.

“I don’t have a safe word, and if any of you think I’m letting you top me, I’d suggest you work out,” Edgar growls.

The three of us look at one another and peals of laughter echo in the room. Jolene walks up to him, tiptoeing her fingers up his chest slowly. “Not even for me, Teddy Bear?”

His eyes narrow, and he snarls low. An answering sound comes from Lucy, and I feel a tight knot in my chest.

Jolene looks at each of us for a moment and smirks. “Be patient, boys. I have just the thing. Back in a few.”

With that, she sashays out of the room, leaving us to watch her go.

1 ? Triple sided