Page 4 of Soaring into the Midlife
Jax didn't miss a beat. He strode over to Janice and placed his hands on her shoulders, guiding her back with a gentle yet firm touch. "Janice, you might want to take a breather," he said soothingly.
"Wha—? Oh..." Janice blinked rapidly, her adoring gaze finally breaking as she seemed to come back down to reality. She shook her head, looking as though she'd just woken up from a trance.
"Sorry about that," Luke said, now acutely aware of the enchanting effect he'd unintentionally cast. He ran a hand through his perfectly styled hair, an embarrassed flush creeping up his neck.
"Charming as ever, huh?" I quirked a brow at him, unable to resist the dig.
"Har har, hilarious." Luke couldn't hide a small, sheepish smile. "I need to get a handle on this."
Janice's face crumpled like a paper bag in the rain, her eyes narrowing to dangerous slits. "I can't believe I fell for that... yourcharm," she spat out the word as if it were poison. "Me, a hunter! This is so not okay."
"Join the club," Luke groaned, pressing his fingertips to his temples. "Every word out of my mouth is like a hypnotist's suggestion. It's getting ridiculous."
"Ridiculous is an understatement." I tried to keep the mood light despite the tension crackling in the room. "All right, let's cool our jets before someone gets staked or charmed again." I clapped my hands together. “Xander, what brings you here?”
He shrugged and looked at Jax, who just smiled at me. “Later.”
Message received. He wanted to talk when we were alone.
"How about we check in on the twins?” We weren’t supposed to check on them at all, but Jax was the US vampire king. What good was that title if I didn’t use it to our advantage once in a while?
"Good idea." Luke perked up instantly, almost bouncing on his toes with newfound enthusiasm.
We settled into the kitchen, and I dialed Allison's number, putting the phone on speaker and setting it on the table. Luke leaned in, his earlier frustration momentarily forgotten as he waited for one of our little sisters to pick up.
"Hello?" Allison's voice was nearly drowned out by an odd chorus of yips filling the background.
"Hey, it's us," I said into the phone, eyeing Luke as he tilted his head, trying to discern the racket on the other end. "What's with the noise?"
"Sorry, guys, hold on a sec." Allison was muffled now, and the yipping grew louder, more insistent. "It's okay, baby, it's okay," she cooed, her voice taking on that high-pitched tone people use with infants or particularly cute animals. Actually, she sounded remarkably like Izora had just a few minutes before.
"Since when does Allison do baby talk?" I said to Luke, who just shrugged, equally baffled.
"Okay, sorry about that," Allison returned, sounding a bit breathless. "We've had a bit of a situation here. I sort of... adopted a baby nathua."
"Adopted a what now?" Luke blinked at the phone. He looked like he was trying to decide whether to be horrified or amused.
"Long story," Allison said. "Turns out someone's been nabbing fae creatures, presumably for some black-market deal. Avery and I are on the case. Isn't that right, Ave?"
"Yes!" Avery said. "And trust me, this little guy needed us. We couldn't just leave him orphaned."
"Orphaned magical creatures? That's new… Not." I leaned back against the counter and exchanged another look with Luke. Our lives had become a regular paranormal nursery between Goldie and Flint, and now whatever animal they were talking about.
"Wait, back up." Luke's expression shifted from bemused to incredulous. "There are fae animals? Since when? And since when do you care about anything that isn't bedazzled or can sing show tunes?"
Allison's laugh crackled through the speaker, warm and genuine. "Oh, Luke, it's hard not to care when you see the cutest little baby nathua. He has these big eyes that just look right into your soul. You'd fall in love instantly."
“What the hell is a nathua?" Luke asked.
"Imagine," Allison's voice crackled with mischief and affection, "a cross between a snake and a fox. Super intelligent, too, probably smarter than some people we know."
Luke grimaced as if the mere thought left a sour taste in his mouth. "Well, that sounds horrible."
"Hey." I smirked at him. "Don't knock it 'til you've seen it. Maybe they're cute in an... exotic way?"
"Exotic?" The word dripped with dubiousness. "A snake-fox hybrid roams around being 'exotic,' and I'm supposed to find that endearing? Hailey, darling, my idea of 'exotic' rarely includes something that can shed its skin or has a penchant for henhouses."
Through the speaker, Allison's voice took a sickeningly sweet turn, dripping with honey in a way I'd never heard from her before. "It's okay, baby. He wasn't talking about you. You're the cutest thing that has ever lived on this whole wide earth. And one day we’ll take you to meet your Unkey Lukey."