Page 31

Wake Me Up When It’s All Over

S ugarplum needs some blackout curtains in this room. The sun damn near fried my eyeballs in the sockets when I opened them. Yawning, I frown when I stretch my limbs and notice how empty the bed feels.

Rolling to my side, I look over at Presley sprawled like a starfish. He was the most vocal about our lady’s absence when we headed to bed. Boone pouted like a toddler and stormed to his house, and I checked my phone more than I have in years, but Prez…

He spent a good portion of the evening wearing a tread on the living room carpet. It’s not that he thinks Jolene can’t take care of herself; he’s worried about her emerging powers and Saoirse’s cavalier attitude. The Irish lass isn’t a bad Guardian, but her personal connection to Sugarplum makes it harder for her to do her job.

It’s obvious she’s allowed her to take risks most Guardians wouldn’t have over the years, and Prez can’t stand things outside of his sphere of control. His gifts make him certain of his ability to help if something goes very wrong, but since they kept us in the dark about their plans, he fretted all night that he might not make it in time.

The weird presence that’s been lurking around the house has us all on edge, I s’pose.

I tried contacting my old Guardian, but she’s incommunicado. The same goes for Andromeda from the school, and when I had Boone text Nelia, she was ‘disinclined to acquiesce to our paranoia’. Fancy words for ‘mind your business’, but that’s our mayor in a nutshell.

“What time is it? Is Magpie home?”

My lips curve as I look at one of the best things to happen to my life since I graduated from vet school. “No, love, she’s not here.” I brush his hair out of his eyes, cupping his cheek. “Unless they’re passed out downstairs, which seems unlikely. I just woke up and hadn’t gone looking yet.”

He sits up, fumbling around for his glasses before turning to me. “Why didn’t you wake me? It doesn’t feel right; she’s not the type to not come home.”

“At some point she was, babe. We’ve heard her and Saoirse talk about their wild days. Maybe it’s like a reunion, and they’re curled up somewhere sleeping off hangovers,” I reply, trying to soothe him. I didn’t realize how close he was to the bond—that’s the only thing that would cause such a panic. I’m not saying mine isn’t pinching, and I’m sure Boone is as well.

In fact, it’s strange that he hasn’t ? —

“ Where is she ?!”

Yep, that’s about what I expected. Guess I won’t be distracting Prez with breakfast in bed now. Sighing, I roll to my feet and head for the bathroom. I’m not worried about being naked; hell, he’s seen almost as much of my ass as Prez has by now. “You both need to calm down. It’s making me fritz. Too much emotion, and it’s too naked in here to get frosty.”

“Focus, Lucy. Your mother will make an appearance if your control slips. The real one, not poor Aurelia. She’s the last thing we need right now.”

“ Is no one listening ?”

I blow a kiss at my love before I close the door, chuckling under my breath. He’s not wrong—my mother loves to use a substantial power burst as a reason to break her promise to my father. She’s not supposed to come here because she lacks the ability or will to blend in with modern society. With Boone losing his mind, Sugarplum not yet emerged, and the gossip in this town, a visit could blow up in our faces in a million ways.

But I am concerned our girl hasn’t called. I don’t want to fan the flames of the other two—especially Edgar—so I’m trying to remain calm. However, their panic is feeding my powers, and well… It'd be nice if we had Jolene to balance us all out. She brings out the best in all of us, and I feel like we’re missing a piece with her not here.

That’s odd, right? Is the connection between us so strong this soon?

Hell, if I know how this bond thing works. There’s book learning, which we all get in school from Andromeda, but there’s practical application. I’m not sure the stuff we covered really prepared me for how it would feel to have that connection—much less with two people. I’m sure it’s part of what’s ruffling Prez’ feathers, too.

I step into the shower, grinning to myself as I pick up their conversation through the wall. It’s the ears—fashionable and functional, that’s my heritage.

“Hamilton, I don’t care what we have to do. I need to know she’s okay!”

“Take a benzo, Boone. Magpie’s a big girl. She can handle herself.”

That wasn’t his attitude earlier. Huh. I smile to myself, feeling Prez self-soothing through our bond as he tries to talk Edgar out of his hysterical fit. It must be the switch in him needing to take care of our panicked third. His own emotions smooth out, and that helps me keep control of the ice that was crawling up my spine.

I close my eyes and let the warm water sluice over me as I lean my head against the shower wall. The magnolia body wash Sugarplum uses is on the hanging shelf, so I pour some in my palm, inhaling the scent. It makes me feel closer to her, and I used it in my hair as well. I frown when I run my fingertips past my ears, cursing under my breath. Maybe I’m not as calm as I thought, and I gotta figure this out before she comes home.

Until she emerges, the three of us have to keep the other sides of ourselves quiet. Boone almost fucked it up the first day we were all together, but Prez helped talk him down. Of course, neither of us has triplásia, so who knows how hard it is to control three dominant sides in that kind of situation?

I’m only dual myself—like most of the ‘special’ residents here—and my darling doc has only one known contribution. Since no one knows who his father is, that may not be accurate, but he’s never once shifted or displayed an affinity for anything outside of his feathered alter ego.

We’re outcasts from the larger supe society because of our ‘mixed’ genetics, whether we come from the Hollow enclave, the Tsuihō-sha enclave in Asia, or the Mínádúrtha compound in Ireland. There are a few smaller communities in places like Hawaii, Greece, and Thailand, but those are where the more... water-minded kids are placed.

By the time we’re middle schoolers, we all know why we’ve been placed in our adoptive homes, and if possible, our lineage, so the town doctor can help the schools manage our emergence. How Jolene made it through her childhood and the first half of adulthood without a single sign, I don’t know.

I suppose Andromeda and her parents were shocked as well. It happens—there are ‘lost ones’ and those who never realize their powers, but it’s infrequent enough that they still assign every unemerged hybrid a Guardian until it’s proved beyond the shadow of a doubt that they will not realize their potential. That Sugarplum’s Guardian is still with her after thirteen years makes me certain she’s dedicated to our girl’s happiness.

Son of a bitch. I know where they are.

I turn off the water, rubbing a towel through my hair as I rush into the bedroom. “Guardian. Seer. Is. A. Guardian.”

Edgar blinks at me, rubbing the back of his neck with his large hand slowly. “Uh, yeah, pup. She is. What’s that got to do with the war tax on whiskey?”

Prez blinks, then I see the realization dawn on his handsome features. He beams at me, leaning in to kiss me softly, and my whole body flushes with pleasure. “It means that she wouldn’t ever let our magpie be in danger, no matter how blasted they got. My darling Wolfie is trying to tell us the Irish lass probably took her to her house to crash.”

“Fuck. Why in the hell didn’t I think of that? I helped get that place built!” Boone growls low, pointing his finger at us. “Clothes. Now, gentleman. We have a lady to rescue from a fiery-haired warrior.”

Yes, sir.

* * *

Presley is a bit of a daredevil.

That probably comes from the whole soaring in the clouds shit, but he insisted we sit on top of the seats in the back of Edgar’s drop top Cobra. The wind in my hair is nice, and it’s not a long drive—we didn’t need to drive at all—but unlike being on a horse, this is terrifying. Prez squeezes my hand as we pull up the drive and murmurs in my ear, making my cheeks heat, and I swat him.

“You realize that I’m having control issues this morning, and when you say things like that, growly and full of praise, you make the pointies flare,” I scold. “Sugarplum isn’t there yet. Help me put it away.”

Boone snorts from the driver’s seat, waving his hand. “Don’t mind me. I’m the only supe in this car who can deal with his shit. Nothing to look at here.”

“Oh? Have either of us marked her three times without her knowing, or did I imagine pulling the hound off her a few weeks ago?” Prez shoots back, giving him a dirty look. “Seems like I’m the only one who’s in control of my powers, you tool.”

I snicker, enjoying their banter. After my adoptive father died and they committed Aurelia, I didn’t have any family left. My Guardian was reassigned after I emerged, graduated, and was inducted, so until I met Presley, I was on my own. The sense of family the four of us are building is filling a need I didn’t know I had, and I don’t know how to explain it to any of them. Maybe Sugarplum can help me find the words—that is, if my guess that Saoirse brought her here after their night of debauchery is correct.

Glaring at us, Edgar hops out of the car, moving with the grace of his kind. He doesn’t look back, but the raised middle finger tells me our conversation is over. Prez and I jump out, following him into the enormous house. I’ll never tell him, but whatever he and Jamie used to get the elves to bust their asses in this place was a miracle. Before we can catch up, he’s pounding on the front door like a federal marshal, and I groan. That will not make us any friends if the girls are hungover or sleeping.

When the door swings open, he turns to look at us and I don’t think I’ve ever seen him look so terrified. He puts on a rough, assholish exterior as the Boone family heir, a judge, the son of a senator, and bookie extraordinaire, but at this moment, his facade falls apart. We all know that neither Sugarplum nor a Guardian would leave their residence unprotected with the threats we perceive.

“Take it easy. Maybe they were drunk enough that caution went with the wind,” Presley murmurs as he clamps a hand on his shoulder. “Let Wolfie do a little scan before we come in, guns blazing. He should at least be able to feel if there’s been something sinister in the house, so we don’t walk face first into some kind of trap.”

I give Edgar the most positive smile I can muster before I nod. “Of course, if they are in there drunk off their asses, you’ll need to let me...cool down before I come in to help scold them. No paddling without me,” I warn, shaking my finger at them with a playful tone I don’t feel.

Closing my eyes, I look deep within, ignoring the chill from my mother’s heritage to find the dark night of my father. The hum zips over my skin as my skin, my body, and even my hair change as power flows through me. Julia told me once that she’d never seen a hybrid change as fully as me, and it had to mean that my real father—whomever he is—is royalty. I don’t know if she said that to make me feel better as a kid or if it’s true.

No one has ever gotten my mother to admit which consort produced me was. She likes to dangle it to bend people to whims, especially me, but I doubt she’ll ever tell anyone. Her heart is as icy as her powers, but something about the way she guards the secret makes me think it’s about keeping the man who fathered me safe. She’s just not above using it as a bargaining chip when it’s useful, either.

Presley smiles at me, reaching up to tuck one of the long strands behind my ear. “It’s not fair you get a billion times hotter when you change. Sure, I’m pretty when I shift. Boone’s scary and sexy and terrifying, but you, my darling, are so gorgeous it hurts to look at you.”

“Are you two done fawning? Because I’d like to see if my drugar has been abducted or injured or…”

Now that I’m changed, it’s a very simple thing to lay a hand on his shoulder and murmur, “You must calm, Edgar. We will find her. But you must be calm.”

His posture wilts, and the fear and anger melt from his form in response to my soft words. “You’re right, pup. I… lost her once because I was a coward. I can’t lose her again; not now, not after…”

“I know.” I smile and face the house, letting the auras and traces of power and emotion soak into me. It always makes me feel as though I’m floating between time and space as the images and sensations pour through me until I can sense the signatures. There’s a lot to sift out because the elves are still finishing some of the interior and their magick lingers the longer they stay at a dwelling.

“What do you feel, love?”

I open my eyes and look at Presley, my expression troubled. “Nothing good. There isn’t danger lurking inside, but something isn’t right. The energy coming from the house feels wrong.”

Edgar growls low, and the heat rolls off him as he spears us with his gaze. “We go in. The doc stays in the back. He doesn’t have offensive gifts, and you can keep him safe if I have to shift. No arguing. Understand?”

Holding up my hand to keep Prez from spouting something witty but ultimately unhelpful, I nod. We all have powers, but his are more suited to fighting than my bird-loving mate. “Understood.”

“He’s no more powerful than you; he’s just an asshole,” Prez mutters.

Boone turns and flashes us a toothy grin. “I heard that.”

Before either of us can answer, he’s barreling through the open door like a kamikaze trench runner, and I sigh. “Well, let’s go cannon fodder. The alpha is on the hunt.”