Peter followed her inside. We cut apart the fencing after you left. Each shaft is pure iron. Its all on the front porch, waiting for you. We didnt want to challenge them.
Thats what Im here to do.
We. Thats what we are here to do.
She swung around to face Beck who was only steps behind.
Her mouth opened automatically to warn him off, but she closed it with a snap. She wasnt stupid. Confused andlittle though she wanted to admit itfrightened. Not of the phae, but of him.
But she also knewas deeply true as her verita lunahe would stand with her against anything.
She gestured down the hall. Spare clothes are in the bedroom.
He nodded and tossed Nallys satchel to the doctor. He brushed past her, his skin hot from their run, and disappeared into the spare bedroom where she kept various castoffs for shifting visitors.
She took a breath to steady herself. Without his presence, the air was strangely bland.
She faced Nally who was pulling his clothes from the satchel. Doctor, I want you to stay here, out of the phaes sight, smell, senses or whatever else they use. Help Peter find this Vailes Valley. If these phae have an enemy, I want that enemy as a friend.
Nally grunted an assent, but Peter dogged her steps as she headed for the front office. I need to be with Keisha.
She paused to touch his shoulder, feeling the wolf-kind muscle under the layer of computer programmer padding. Ill send her back to help with this search, which is more important than any posturing down at the lake. And if anything happened to her, she wanted her Beta out of harms way, ready to take command. Doctor Nally will explain the situation.
Peter looked torn, but he went to her desk and opened a satellite terrain map. What do we know about this valley?
She left them to their search and yanked open the door to the find the fence staves lined up against the flower boxes, looking incongruently dark and dangerous against her blood-red carnations.
She took a makeshift spear. With the butt end on the ground, it came up only to her belly button, but the blunted arrow-shaped head seemed lethal enough. To anything it pierced, especially a phae.
Beck appeared at her side and plucked the spear from her hand. Ill take that.
She bared her teeth. Dont start the Alpha shit now, Bexley.
He loomed over her, looking as lethal as the iron shafts in his too-tight black T-shirt. The cargo pants she kept for guests had always seemed a reliable choice, but nowon him, considering the circumstancesthe leafy camo pattern seemed menacing. He was every bit the warrior with spears in hand.
Including her spear.
She snapped out each word. Give. Me. My. Weapon.
He shook his head. This isnt the way to face them. You dont want to look defensive. You want to look in control.
I am in command. She knew that wasnt quite the same thing, but the truth hurt like a spear in the gut. She had never faced this sort of threat. And he had.
But he didnt remind her of the fact. Let me be the dumb muscle. You go down there, cool and collected, and find out what they want, what they know. If they thought it would benefit them, theyd have attacked already. Dont reveal your hand either.
She took a breath. This time, the air was laden with his distinctive earthy scent and the whiff of salt. For an instant, she was tempted to lean in and taste him.
Salt, like iron, supposedly barred the phae. They were creatures of glamour, not the crude realities of the bodily world. But the earthy, salty truth of the Alpha beside her made her pity them. No wonder they wanted to steal the passions of the sunlit world.
So why she was fighting so hard against those passions? Was she really such an uncertain Alpha that she doubted her command over herself? She wasnt supposed to be fighting herself, but the enemy. Who was not Beck, despite what the helpless acceleration of her heartbeat sometimes led her to believe.
She let out the breath slowly and nodded.
Beck gave her a crooked smile. He reached over and snapped off one of the blooms and tucked it behind her ear. The carnations peppery perfume wreathed her.
Spicy and spiky, just like you, he murmured.
In the language of flowers, the carnation means I am but human.
He chuckled. One, no youre not. And two, I cant even believe you know that.
She shrugged. Peter told me. Keisha planted them because they were used to coronate royalty.
If he likes obscure information, hopefully he can find this mysterious phae valley. And I can easily imagine you with a crown of these flowers in your hair, my wolf-kind queen. He leaned in to kiss her.
This was so not the time or place, with the invading phae in the valley, not to mention the gossipy Peter right inside the front door. But the brush of his lips was so sweet, so right.
She tangled her fingers in Becks wind-ruffled hair and deepened the kiss.
The phae wanted passions? Shed show them passions.
He gave a soft grunt of surprise. Though his arms were full of iron spears, preventing any wandering hands, he tilted his head lower to give her better access. He had perfect lips for kissing, thin and masculine but full enough to tempt her to bite. She sucked at his lower lip, pulling the slick flesh between her teeth.
This time his groan was all pleasure, and his tongue chased hers as if they had all night and all day and another night besides.
Slowly, as her breath ran out, damned reality intruded. She pulled away, straightening the flower in her hair. Okay then.
He smiled. Okay.
In silence, they walked down to the lake parking lot. So late, there were no visitors cars. Instead, the blacktop gleamed like ice in the reflected light of a dozen torches.
Torches, Merrilee muttered. Seriously?
Give em a break, Beck said. They were chased out of the world during the Iron Age. Takes time to catch up, especially if they dont have a tech-loving modern leader like you.
No, their Queen apparently had a more primitive invasion in mind. But this valley was one territory she wouldnt claim.
Instead of the hot red flicker of flames, the phae torches wavered like water with a pale silvery hue. The midair ripples were weirdly mesmerizing, and Merrilee had to force her gaze away.
Nice trick, Beck murmured.
The beings that held the torches were also strangely compelling. They looked mostly human, if severely beautiful...until their forms rippled like the torchlight, revealing a mishmash of wings and tails, claws and scales. Behind the dozen torch bearers stood a line of darker figures. Their shapes did not waver; tall and menacing as Beck, with talon-tipped black wings that arched over their shaggy heads. Obviously the killers.
But as she and Beck approached the tableau, it was the phae in the lead who truly captured her attention. Mounted on a massive, skull-headed stag with a strange mottled hide that came and went like scudding clouds, the phae was draped in a cloak of ivy and from his brow spread antlers almost as wide as the stags. Whether it was his own growth or a clever headdress, she wasnt sure. Not that it mattered with a creature of illusion, she supposed.
However, the gleaming fangs of the three-headed dog beside him looked real enough to rend flesh from bone. The middle head snapped as they stepped closer.
However, the gleaming fangs of the three-headed dog beside him looked real enough to rend flesh from bone. The middle head snapped as they stepped closer.
Beck snarled back, full throated. The vicious sound filled the parking lot and the lake beyond.
Mine, said the snarl, though of course he knew better.
Or at least Merrilee thought he did.
She put her hand on his shoulder to stop him. He paused, reluctance vibrating through her fingertips from his every tensed muscle. She continued on alone to join Keisha and two of her werelings who were ranged in front of the phae.
They parted for her without glancing back, attuned to her presence.
She smiled at her Beta. Thank you for seeing to our guests while I was occupied. You may return to your tasks.
Keisha blinked at her then inclined her head and slipped away, not needing another word. The other two werelings edged back beside Beck.
Merrilee faced the phae. I apologize for not being here to greet you earlier. If only Id had word you were coming. Welcome to my territory, Lord of the Hunt.
The phae studied her a moment, a preternatural red glint in his eye. You know me, wereling.
Queen, Beck retorted. Queen of this valley.
Under other circumstances, she might have laughed, maybe a little bitterly. She held only a small lake and a few homes, a spread of trees, a decent Wi-Fi connection, and one aging Cessna. And now she faced this ancient being, barefoot with a flower in her hair.
Maybe it was Becks growlor the iron spearsbut the phae lord inclined his horned head. It is a fine little valley. Queen.
The lake in the sunlight is quite lovely, she said modestly. As far as she knew, the phae were not incapacitated by sunlight, but neither could they easily maintain their disguises under the bright, clear truth of day.
Although, if as Nally said, the spores could open portals anywhere, the phae would not be so proscribed in their comings and goings.
As for what the spores did to humans... That was too terrible to contemplate.
I hope to see it one day. The hunter smiled thinly. Perhaps soon.
Okay, this was a reason why she wouldnt be a good queen of old. This little game of words was going nowhere. Why have you come?
Apparently the Lord of the Hunt had as little interest in banter as she did. His tension made the stag stamp restlessly, its revealed bones clattering like gruesome wind chimes. I have come for the alchemist.
She rubbed her chin. Sorry. Alchemist? Im not sure
The professor. The stag clashed its bones again at the hunters anger. He is one of yours.
She shook her head slowly. My pack is small and simple. I know them all, and not a one is trying to turn lead into gold. She gestured, taking in the rustic setting. Would one like you seek really come here?
All manner of rogues and traitors have gone to earth of late. His eyes blazed with the crimson fury the torches lacked. If you lie
She spread her other hand, empty palm up. Werelings are creatures of truth.
The piercing red gaze did not leave her, and she felt balanced on the point of those horns. Finally, he lifted his head, and she almost imagined the bloody glow sweeping the darkness behind her. He is near, the hunter said softly. And I will find him. He returned his attention to her. It will go better for you if you put your nose to the ground and save me the need to occupy your lovely little territory. We will return tomorrow night for the alchemist. If you do not produce him...