Page 59

This Is Why We Can’t Have Nice Things

I don’t know why Benjy and Tilly aren’t out here yet. It’s making the hound pace, and the other two are pushing against my control as well. I’m practiced in ensuring that all three of my sides don’t unleash at the same time—it’s how I kept it a secret for so long. However, anything to do with Jolene strains the tethers I hold them with back so tightly that I often fight for a grip like I did when I was a new shifter.

“Where is she?” Wolfie murmurs, squeezing my shoulder hard. “They should be back by now.”

Prez tugs him away, his eyes full of understanding. Wolfie needs reassurance, and I don’t have enough spoons to give it to him. “It’s okay, Lucy. We all know Benjy won’t allow anyone to harm her. The moment she walked up to him at the bar, the pull started, and he dealt with it far better than any of us have.”

Our submissive fae nods, his eyes full of worry. He believes us, but he also can’t control his reaction to his mate anymore than I can. The marks we’ve left bind us to her, and although she isn’t able to complete the rituals yet, our souls gravitate to her because of our supe sides.

He’s only made one mark, but I can tell by the cool temperature of his touch that his mother’s influence is rearing its head as well. I have no idea how that will work; that piece of him has been locked up for so long that even Prez doesn’t know how it will react to any of us.

Or if it letting it free will call a being none of us are prepared to deal with. His birth mother makes my adoptive mother look simple, and that’s saying something.

Doyle comes striding up with Jekyll, Hyde, Euryale, and my hounds as I ponder. There’s an enormous black raven on his shoulder and I’d swear it’s not a normal bird. It’s not as big as Eurayle, but you don’t have to be a bird expert like the doc to know it’s unusual. “Where’s my Tiogar? I’ve got her animals.”

“Doyle, what the fuck is that thing on your shoulder? It’s not a goddamned Raven?” Prez asks as he walks closer.

“Aye, Odie is special. That’s a story I’m not inclined to tell you just yet, Hamilton. In time, when we’re all much cozier, I’ll regale you with the tale of how I won him.”

Jesus Christ in a pumpkin carriage. He’s determined to be an ass since he thinks he’s saved the day.

“Haggerty, we don’t know where Benjy and my drugar are. They haven’t come out yet and we were about to discuss whether we should wait or go in for them,” I reply. “There are pros and cons either way and?—”

I stop short when the air grows cold and before I can warn the others, a large group of supes converges upon us by air and sky. My skin tingles as fur ripples over me, a loud howl echoes as my hound goes into protective mode. Inside, I frantically try to soothe him, but his pack is in danger and nothing I’m saying is pulling the cranky asshole back in. Before I know it, I’m half-shifted, staring at my pack and a bunch of somewhat familiar scents.

“Jaysus feckin’ Christ on a Triscuit, Boone. It’s us,” the armored woman says as she lands a giant fiery looking flying horse in front of me. She’s got MacAuley with her, and both of them look worse for wear.

I’ve not seen Saoirse shifted—I scented her sides, but never got confirmation. Guardians are so damned tight lipped you’d think they had fucking NDAs half the time. The cold air whooshes over me and when I turn my head, there’s Andromeda and Kumiko. A huge lioness bounds of the trees with a goddamned gorgon riding it, and I’ll be damned if a fucking wyvern with passengers doesn’t land next. What the hell is going on? This is a battle contingent of Guardians, and every one of them seems to be grimed up like they’ve been to war.

“Uh, not to be the doctor in the house, but all of you seem to be injured in various ways. Why the fuck is everyone injured?”

Every single person slowly turns to look at Presley. He’s the most chill of us all, having a temper that’s almost impossible to set off. He looks like he’s about to murder someone, and the silence hangs in the air as we all try to work out what we’re seeing.

“I asked a question, people ! Why do you all look as if you’ve been to a war?!”

Andromeda snaps out of it first, walking over to him with a fond smile. “Dr. Hamilton, there is no cause for worry. My fellow Guardians and I have neutralized the threat—for the moment—but we came here because of something our foes said while we were banishing them. As you know, there has been a rise in attacks on extranormals—particularly hybrids and lost ones or those connected with them—and the Guardians have been stretched thin between fighting these battles and protecting our charges.”

Wolfie nods. “The meeting after the trial was virtual, but some of the other enclaves expressed concern that their people were being hunted. No one has proved it was more than a theory. Most of the incidents appear to be accidents or job related mishaps.”

“That is a carefully constructed lie, Dr. Fletcher. The Society fears we have a leak or leaks and all general communications with members are crafted to keep those persons from reporting that we are aware they exist. The coven we banished this evening was more powerful than their training or age would normally allow, and they followed us home after an unsuccessful attempt to erase four unemerged lost ones.” Bane shakes her head, looking at the group assembled before pointing at us. “ Human !”

Even my hound runs for hills, and my body shifts back into its normal form—well, except for the naked part.

Doyle rolls his eyes at all of us standing there bare as they day we were born, tsking under his breath. “Shifters are so high maintenance.”

With a snap of his fingers, a pile of clothes lands at the feet of every one of us save Andromeda and Hugo. Her banshee form doesn’t strip her, and MacAuley’s supe side doesn’t change him in form at all. Though, after tonight, I’m uncertain I know anything about any of them because I’ll be fucked if I knew Haggerty could do that.

Wolfie chuckles, tilting his head. “You even made sure Prez and I could change. I knew you liked us.”

The red-haired supe waves his hand as if dismissing a fly. “Par for the course, Fletcher. I was tiring of watching people eyeball your arse.” Prez and I whip our heads around at the same time and the jackass collapses in a fit of laughter, clutching his waist. “Ah, there’s my thanks. Oh, that was beautiful boys; we’ll have to do it again sometime.”

Prez is too agitated to deal with him, so I pick up his clothes and toss them at him. It’s odd for me to be the cool head, but considering we’re standing here naked with what used to be a wyvern, a merman, a gorgon, and a banshee, it’s not the weirdest thing that’s happened. Picking up the set in front of me, I nod at the others to indicate we should follow along.

“Not to be a negative Nelly, but I still haven’t heard a reason you’re here or what this has to do with us.” Prez tugs on his jeans and then the tee shirt, glancing at Andromeda.

“Were you not listening, hound? We overhead something concerning while we fought the witches off. Despite the wounds your doctor noticed, we came to warn you,” Julia says with a glare.

After I dress, I turn to the makeshift battalion. “What was this information you heard?”

“They mentioned an event happening on the other side of town that would distract all of those who could defend against their attacks. I doubt the ball is big enough to overshadow a large magickal pulse,” Hugo says quietly. “I believe them.”

My eyes widen, and I look at our guys. “Holy shit. Benjy and Tilly are still MIA.”

“If Jolene is in there with no protection, I fear we’re wasting time out here.” Zasha tosses his long hair over his shoulder, giving the entire crew a serious look. “The witches came here. They could have gone anywhere to regroup, but attacked in this place on this night.”

Motherfucker. Can our girl catch a break just once?

With a jerk of my head, I head for the door flanked by the companions. There’s a lot of muttering, but they all follow as I jog up the steps and stride into the hall. The crowd is thick—packed tightly all the way to the entrance to the ballroom. I have no idea what is going on, but it’s quiet as a pin. I’m not quite tall enough to see over the crowd at this distance, but I nod at Seer.

She climbs up Tharin like he’s a tree, settling on his shoulders to peer over the milling people. “Holy fuck.”

“What the hell is going on, O’Flanagan?” I growl.

“Edgar, we have a problem. Our girl is in the thick of it and I’m not sure she’s got a grip. We need to get in there fast.”

The tone of her voice worries me, so I turn to the group. “Who had the best chance of parting this crowd without making a bigger scene?”

“Turning them to stone or setting them on fire won’t help,” Julia snarks.

“If Boone lets his second out, it’ll start an orgy. Bane will make people run and trample one another. MacAuley isn’t offensive,” Doyle muses. “I could help, but I’d prefer to keep my power under wraps.”

Sighing, I clap Wolfie on the shoulder. “Feel like spreading a little happy dust? It should make the people in the back malleable enough for us to get to her before something bad happens.”

“I knew you just wanted me naked again,” he quips, winking at me. Tugging his shirt over his head, he hands it to Prez and closes his eyes. The change is almost instantaneous, and his colorful wings shine in the low light. Fluttering them gently, he lifts off the ground before the glitter floats across the room.

It won’t be long now. Fae dust is one of the most powerful coercive substances on the planet and our darling pup has the strength of the Royal court in his veins.

“If we didn’t have to tiptoe around the humans or unemerged teens, this would be so much easier,” Zasha grumbles. “This is why I hate children.”

I bark a laugh, shaking my head. “I can’t believe you three were ever Guardians for anyone. You’re all prickly as fuck.”

“We never had children, Boone. We all had lost ones—adults who may or may not emerge. Most of them did, and we met at various Society events,” Julia says observing the surrounding people.

“I think they’re ready.” Prez says. “Let’s push through. I don’t enjoy waiting.”

I lead the way, using Kali and Hecate to growl off anyone who isn’t compliant enough to get out of our way. When we reach the front, I stop short, sucking in a breath when I see what the commotion is about.

Standing at the front of the orchestra are the former mean girls of WHFS dressed as multiple Harley Quinns. That’s not surprising. What is shocking is the woman standing toe to toe with Tilly dressed in the modern version of the Cruella de Vil outfit. She’s smirking like the cat that ate the canary and clinging to the arm of a scrawny asshole dressed as the idiot from that zombie show.

Tilly is white as a ghost and she looks like she’s going to pass out at any second. Isis and Benjy are probably the only reasons she’s not on the ground in one of her blackouts.

I don’t know who the guy is, but no one who went to school with us could ever forget Antigone Lisel Beauregard. She’s the reason Jolene is traumatized; she created the catastrophe with her betrayal.

My drugar is facing down her nemesis—alone, in the place she was destroyed as a teen.

No one said life in a small town was boring.