Latex, Leather, and a Pinch of Pixie Dust Page 15

  No, there was no time for that now. Now they needed to get hold of everyone and call a pack meeting. Again. Niki felt like he’d been to so many pack meetings lately he was sick of them. Important as they might be. Priorities, he kept reminding himself.

  Just then he sat at the bar in the kitchen eating the eggs Ethan had fried for him quietly pondering what he needed to say to Ethan before they were inundated with pack members. He sent a silent thank you to the rest of Ethan’s family for giving them space and not coming down the stairs just yet.

  “We should talk,” Ethan said as he leaned a hip against the counter and ate his eggs. He looked good. Relaxed and in his element, his shirt riding up ever so slightly exposing his hip to Niki’s hungry eyes.

  “We should.” Niki agreed. It would be good. They were finally ready, he was sure.

  Ethan came to stand across the island from where Niki sat on one of the stools with his half-finished plate of eggs, setting his own plate aside. His face became serious and suddenly Niki felt uncertain. “Last night, I think we rushed into everything a little too fast.”

  That was not at all the talk Niki was expecting. In fact, it felt so out of left field that Niki didn’t quite know what to say. He dropped his fork and closed his eyes. “Define too fast.” He said slowly when he looked back at Ethan finally.

  For his part, Ethan did look like he felt a little bad for saying it, the guilt was clear in his expression, but Niki needed to know exactly what he meant by it before he could answer Ethan.

  “I just think that tensions were running really high last night and I’m not sure the best decisions were made.”

  Niki stood up before he could really think. It was like a reflex rather than a decision. He knew he ought to say something, maybe to argue his side of it somehow, but if that was really how Ethan felt then there was nothing Niki could do to change his mind, was there? The room suddenly felt too small and Niki felt entirely too vulnerable standing there in nothing but Ethan’s sweatpants. He needed to be gone. So he turned to run up the stairs and find his own clothes. That was the only thought his mind could hold as he dashed away leaving Ethan calling up after him.

  He didn’t see Ethan as he was leaving, which was great because he still didn’t know what to say to him. He’d thought they were on the same page last night and things had felt so natural that morning. Niki was aware he was acting immature, but he was hurt and couldn’t quite help himself. It was totally self indulgent and he knew it, but he felt so deeply wounded that he couldn’t care. So he was thankful that his car was already there, waiting on him from yesterday so he could make a hasty retreat. He knew he’d be seeing Ethan later at the pack meeting, but they’d be surrounded by everyone else and Ethan wouldn’t be able to talk to him alone.

  Driving home was difficult. Tears stung at Niki’s eyes, his face felt too hot, and his hands were shaking. He was almost all the way home before he realized he was at the start of an actual panic attack. He hadn’t had one since the beginning of the year when they’d had a close encounter with another pack and Michael had been torn open from his right shoulder to his left hip. Niki was away at school and when he heard Michael was hurt he felt it was his fault; he hadn’t been there to protect his packs. That attack had lasted several hours and with no one to turn to he’d had to just ride it out alone in his dorm room waiting for the walls to stop shaking around him and for the floor to feel solid again.

  Niki hurried inside, his heart racing as he flew to his room. His father was at work, so there was no reason to close his door. He just fell on his bed, curled into a ball, and tried to breathe. Sure enough, the weightless swoop of his stomach kicked in just as the walls appeared to shake. Niki closed his eyes against it, but he could still feel the pain in his chest and he still couldn’t quite catch his breath. He didn’t know when he’d started to cry, but soon he was sobbing into his pillow, the panic forgot in lieu of the heartbreak he felt over Ethan’s rejection. Last night had been too good to be true, like something out of a dream, and now he was left with the waking up part, and it sucked.

  Eventually, he cried himself to sleep. He didn’t dream exactly but there was a sense of loss there in the darkness that was a tangible thing. As if he could reach out and grasp it in his hand. He woke sweaty and alone, dried tears crusted at the corner of his eyes. At least he could breathe again.

  As expected Niki got a text that the packs were meeting at two that afternoon. He almost wanted to skip it, but he knew he was an integral part of both packs and since he’d been at the club the night before he needed to be at the debriefing. He passed the hours with too much caffeine and Netflix and the deep sense that his life had gone off the rails. Thankfully the panic seemed to have fully subsided. By the time one thirty rolled around, Niki was practically vibrating out of his skin. Not exactly the way he wanted to feel heading back over to Ethan’s house, but it would have to do.

  Niki got there five minutes late on purpose so he wouldn’t be the first to walk in. He knew he’d probably smell like chemicals from all the energy drinks he’d consumed and anxiety from facing Ethan again, but it was better than smelling like heartbreak he was sure.

  Ethan looked up as he came in and there was something so openly hopeful on his face until he was met with Niki’s own expression which must be one of disappointment and almost anger because Ethan’s face shuttered closed a moment later. Niki had no idea what to do with that so he just sat next to Oliver and listened as Elaine talked about her new position at work until Ethan called for the meeting to start.

  He started with a brief recap of the night before, leaving out the more intimate details for which Niki was grateful. Then he went on to tell them that they had to set a formal meeting with Lady Enrieta and her people and that they needed to pick a neutral location for the meeting.

  “Are we talking about a public place or…?” Michael was the first to speak up. He was slouched into the couch corner with Elaine pressed into his side while the other pack couple, Harper and Tony sat in a similar fashion on the other end. It was really only a three-person couch, Niki thought, his thoughts turning sour, but they were all up in each other’s space and didn’t seem to care. Couples. He thought. Gross.

  “I don’t think so. I didn’t ask her about it but I’m assuming that even with Fae magic to hide them from human eyes, we’ll still need someplace private to talk.”

  “What about the lake?” Cara asked, leaning forward in her chair, her knees bouncing slightly in her excitement. Cara had been tactfully avoiding looking directly at Niki, as had Brianna. He didn’t know what Ethan might have said, if anything, but he also didn’t know how he felt about it. Was it nice to have space or did it just feel like another form of rejection?

  Liam didn’t have the same problem. He stared at Niki openly from his place in one of the chairs near the fireplace. For a moment Niki felt defiant enough to stare back, but then Liam smirked, reminding him that he probably heard everything he and Ethan got up to the night before and Niki blushed, looking away.

  “That might work actually,” Ethan answered. Niki could see the appeal of the lake with the falls nearby to mask the sounds of their meeting and it looked like just about everyone else was thinking the same thing.

  “How do we contact her? I don’t think anyone should go back to that house until we figure things out.” Brianna wanted to know.

  “You don’t have to worry about that,” Ethan said, shaking his head. “She already texted me this morning, and no, I have no idea how she got my cell number.”

  “Will the lake be secluded enough?” Oliver wondered and Niki had to think about that. People did tend to swim in the lake during the summer, but it wasn’t perfectly round, there were more secluded coves, which was exactly what Ethan said next.

  Once they’d agreed on the lake they began discussing other things like sharing territory with the Fae and going through the list of rules for dealing with fairies with the other pack members. Jessica led them through it while
Niki zoned out, staring hard at the empty fireplace to avoid glancing at Ethan only to find him glancing back.

  Why did everything have to fall apart? He thought they were pretty great together, and the chemistry was definitely there. Maybe they had rushed things, but after years of pining, it didn’t really feel that fast to Niki. Ethan looked really good today too. Not that he didn’t always look amazing, but today he was in tight, dark jeans and a soft green Henley that made his red hair and freckles really stand out. His eyes shone brightly, reflecting the sun streaming through the windows and Niki ached just thinking about him.

  “Niki?” Jessica was asking from the front of the room. Oh, they must have moved on.

  “Yeah? Sorry.”

  “We were planning for sunset, tonight if that works for you. We’ll need your shielding.” She reminded him.

  “Oh, yes, sunset sounds good. Fewer people on the lake too. Works for me.” He was babbling. Caffeine did that to him, but he couldn’t care. So what if he couldn’t quite keep his hands from shaking. At least he wasn’t an empty lump still laying in bed at home like he would have been without the boost.

  “Good. Then it’s settled.” Ethan said.

  The meeting broke up and Niki was quick to sidestep Ethan who was obviously trying to reach out to him, maybe to get him to hang back so they could talk. Niki still didn’t think he could do it though. Yes, they would have to talk eventually, because Niki wanted to stay in the pack so he’d have to hear whatever it was Ethan still had left to say, but it didn’t have to be right now. Right now he wanted a chance to go home and get cleaned up, and find something decent to wear for the meeting with the Fae.

  This time Niki was on time for the parley as he was calling it in his head. He parked to the side of the winding road and waited for Michael and Elaine who pulled in behind him. Everyone was on time, in fact, and Niki watched as they all pulled up and got out of their cars. Together they walked in silence the rest of the way to the clearing at the edge of the north side of the lake. The beach there was rocky and people rarely went up that way to swim or fish because there wasn’t strictly a path to take. The falls were also on that side of the lake and the babbling roar was a perfect mask to their meeting.

  The trees and shrubbery were thickest here, so no one would see them from the main road. On one hand that was perfect because, hey fairies, but on the other hand it left Niki feeling apprehensive, because, well, fairies. It was just as well, though. They were used to facing supernatural threats here in Rush Creek, though none as powerful as the Keshalyi.

  The Fae weren’t there yet, which was a relief to Niki for some reason. It gave him time to prepare himself to face them again, to look for all the exits (there weren’t many), and to put himself in front of Ethan to enact the shield he intended to use to keep everyone safe.

  “Not unless you have to, though.” Ethan reminded him gruffly. “We don’t need them to know what your capabilities are or what your limits might be.”

  “Fine.” Niki crossed his arms in silent protest, but then, when the Fae began to enter the clearing he quickly uncrossed them and tried to present himself as open and ready to talk.

  Lady Enrieta was back in her long deep red cloak. It was clearly her signature color. She was flanked by her guard who were also in red and armed with silver swords or longbows. All of them appeared to be male and all of them to the last was even taller than Enrieta. Together they made an intimidating presence

  “Mr. Birns. I see you’re here in full force” Lady Enrieta said as she stepped forward. She too was flanked by guards in a much greater number than the night before. “And you have a second alpha. Interesting.” This was said as if it was the least interesting thing about it all.

  “Lady Enrieta, we’ve come in good faith to discuss the sharing of territory and to propose a treaty,” Ethan announced as he stepped slightly forward and inclined his head in the semblance of a bow. Niki wanted him to stay back, though, so he could be the one out front. When dealing with alpha werewolves, Niki had learned he wasn’t always going to get his way.

  “We too are interested in a treaty, but I wonder what exactly you mean by territory? Will we need to have specific borders that we can not cross, because that will never work for us. We need our freedom as we have always had it.” Enrieta told them, her head held high, as she eyed each of them in turn. When she got to Niki she seemed to look a little longer than necessary and it gave Niki the chills all over again. She wasn’t using any magic on him, but she was still intimidating standing there in her deep red cloak looking like every wild Fae he’d ever read about.

  “No borders. Just a general understanding that we are both here in Rush Creek and both need to be able to function independently as per usual. Provided that the people of Rush Creek and the surrounding area remain safe from both of us.”

  Ethan stood tall and Niki couldn’t help but admire him and the way he spoke to Lady Enrieta as if he was her equal. The rest of the packs were standing stock still waiting for any sign that this wasn’t going to go their way. Likewise, Niki could tell that the Fae guard had something similar in mind. He could feel the tension in the air and wished he could say something to ease it if only a little. He couldn’t risk offending the Keshalyi after everything that had happened already, though.

  The lady nodded. Then she pulled back the hood of her cloak, letting it fall so that her face was more visible. “That sounds acceptable. Providing you do not decide to infiltrate my home again to check up on me. We will extend an invitation to you to come again, but you must come in the open, not through deceptive means.”

  Niki took a deep breath and blew it out. Everything was going well so far, but he knew he couldn’t relax until they were done. He looked at the sun, to where it barely hovered over the horizon as it cast long shadows across the clearing. Soon it would be fully dark and Niki wanted them to strike the treaty sooner than later.

  “We will not attempt to deceive you again,” Ethan promised. “However, there was one matter of a missing woman. Her name is Leigh Roth. There was no trace of violence, but she went missing and that is unusual for our town. Do you know of her?”

  “I know of her.” Enrieta stated. “She has decided to join my court permanently. She did this of her own accord in order to leave an abusive situation, but I’m guessing you didn’t know that part.”

  “No, we didn’t. Thank you for clearing it up.” Ethan said.

  It seemed like things were wrapping up and Niki just couldn’t help himself.

  “I did have one question.” Niki blurted. He wanted to clap a hand over his mouth, but it was too late. He’d already spoken. Everyone turned toward him and he shuffled his feet the tiniest bit before he could stop himself.

  The lady raised an eyebrow at him but held up her hand at the rest of her company. “I’ll allow it.” She said magnanimously.

  Niki’s heart was thumping so hard in his chest he knew the wolves around him would know exactly how nervous he was. He gritted his teeth and then did his best to keep his voice steady as he spoke.

  “When we were at the club and experienced the taste of your magic you said humans had described it as equal to taking a shot of tequila.”

  “I did.”

  “What effect does it have on werewolves? Do you know for sure?” Niki asked, keeping his eyes pointedly on Lady Enrieta and not on Ethan as he did so. He could feel the daggers Ethan was shooting at him from several feet away.

  He didn’t know what he was expecting but it wasn’t for Lady Enrieta to look so amused. She grinned at him and it wasn’t nearly as cold as the other looks he’d had from her that evening. She glanced around at her guard and Niki could see they all thought his question was pretty funny. He didn’t though, he was deadly serious and didn’t appreciate this reaction.

  “Werewolves should not feel much from it at all, much like they wouldn’t feel anything from a shot of tequila.” She explained.

  Niki glanced at Ethan then, he couldn’t stop hi
mself. Ethan looked completely gobsmacked which was exactly how Niki felt. Surely there had been a compulsion on Ethan. He’d felt it, hadn’t he? Niki desperately wanted to ask him, but just then wouldn’t have been the right time or place.

  “Something’s changed.” Lady Enrieta said as Ethan and Niki stood staring at each other. Niki swallowed hard and tore his eyes from Ethan. He wasn’t entirely sure what she was insinuating, but he could guess. “I see. Another deception. He was never your human pet, was he?”

  “No.” Ethan almost growled the word.

  Enrieta laughed outright. “How fun! In the old country, it was my sacred duty to bring people together, to aid them in love and fertility. I see though, that all is not well. Do you perhaps require my services?”

  “No,” Ethan growled again, but this time Niki stepped a little in front of him, itching to reach out and soothe him.

  “If you please, I think we need to work this out on our own,” Niki said with as much restraint as he could muster. He couldn’t imagine what her services might be like, but he was sure he didn’t want them. Besides, they didn’t need the Fae doing them any favors, that was one of the cardinal rules.

  “Alright, then I believe we are done here? You’ll draw up the treaty for us, yes? And we will sign it. You can rest assured that the humans and your packs are safe from us. We intend to live here peacefully for as long as staying amuses us and then we will move along to the next place without incident.” Lady Enrieta told them.

  Ethan nodded but kept quiet. A quick glance his way once more revealed that his eyes were flashing in the now dark clearing and his nails had grown into long sharp claws. He was on the verge of losing control. Probably thanks to the Fae’s sense of humor. Niki really couldn’t blame him.

  The Fae retreated quietly, first backing up and then turning, following their lady out of the clearing until they disappeared into the darkness. None of the wolves moved for a long time and Niki knew it was because they were still listening to the Fae leaving.