Ever Mine (Dragon Lore) (6 page)

Then, to his absolute astonishment, she spread her arms as if to protect him, and let out a warning growl. “Do not yell at him!” she shouted, the air around them pulsing with her temper. “He didn’t do anything wrong.”

Nathan wasn’t sure who was more stunned about the vibrations in the air—him or his aunt. He hooked his arm around the fairy’s waist and leaned down to murmur in her ear. “Katen, sweetheart, it’s okay.”

“No, it’s not.” She stomped her foot, and with it, there came the tiniest rumble through the grass and trees. Not enough to knock them off balance, but to let his aunt know she’d pissed her off. She crossed her arms over her chest. “Apologize to him. Now.”

Mellie’s elegant brow winged up ever so slightly. She shifted her gaze from Katenia to Nathan. “I apologize, nephew, and then I ask again—what did you do? Fairies aren’t meant to be this size.”

“I don’t know what happened. A car horn spooked her. We were hoping you could help return her to normal size, and help her get home.”

His aunt nodded, concern flickering over her face. “I should have warned you. Fairies tend to react badly to overwhelming stimulation, though this is the first time I’ve heard of one growing.” She moved to the side. “Let’s get her in the house. It’s not safe for her to be out here.”

Nathan nodded once. Any questions he had could wait another minute. Because he still held Katenia’s plant in one arm, he scooped her up with the other. She tilted her head to glare at him. “Why did you come between me and your aunt? She shouldn’t talk to you like that.”

He smiled at the fury in her eyes. “I’m a big boy. I can handle myself when needed.”

She snorted. “You’ve disrupted your entire life for me tonight. I heard you and Hope talking. You were meeting a woman tonight, weren’t you? I’m sure you’d rather be doing that then helping me. Your aunt should give you some credit.”

“She didn’t know about Rhiannon.” The indignant outrage on her face on his behalf was enchanting. It shouldn’t have mattered that she was defending him, but damn it anyway. He fought all day long, every day of the year, and he couldn’t remember the last time someone had thought to help him in some way. It was nice.

No. It wasn’t
nice.
It was wrong, in a totally screwed up way, that someone as tiny and out of place as Katenia defended him when no other would. And he fell a little bit in love with her.

He cleared his throat of the emotion clogged in it. “I don’t do anything I don’t want to do. I’m here because I want to be, Katenia.”

She shook her head. “Don’t do that,” she whispered. “Put me down, Nathan.”

He stopped and glared down at her. “Don’t do what?”

The fairy pressed against his chest until he gave in and set her on her feet, worried otherwise she’d hurt herself trying to force him to let her go. She took a step back, spreading her arms for balance, then pointed up at him. “Don’t make me like you. We can have sex all you want while I have this body, but liking each other is bad. Like really,
really
bad. I’m a fairy, not a human.”

She was right. They literally came from two different worlds. No matter what she looked like now, and no matter how much he liked her, she wasn’t going to stay.

He jerked his head in a quick nod. “You’re right. Let’s just get this done.” His brow winged up as he forced his face to go neutral. “Do you think you can walk?”

Small, perfect teeth caught at her bottom lip, a shy smile tugging at her mouth. “I should probably try, right? Just in case this doesn’t work to change me back?”

He rubbed a hand over the sudden, sharp ache in his chest. “It’s probably a good idea.”

She bobbed her head in agreement, then canted it to the side and narrowed her eyes at him. “Just stay close, alright?”

“Yeah.” He steadied her as she turned around. “I’m not going anywhere.”

* * * *

Though her gardens were beautiful, Katenia didn’t like the inside of Nathan’s aunt’s house. It wasn’t the clutter or the dust, or even the piles and piles of things stacked haphazardly high, but rather the feel of the place. Her chest hurt the second the door was closed behind them, and the urge to flee was so great, she took a step back. With her instincts screaming, she wasn’t about to argue with Nathan when he wrapped his hands around her shoulders.

“What is it?”

She shook her head. “I don’t know.” She glanced over her shoulder at him, trying to hide the panic burning in her throat. The last thing she wanted to do was offend him or his aunt when they were both trying to help her. “I can’t breathe all of a sudden.”

He didn’t even blink. “Aunt Mellie, I’m taking her to the back porch.”

Mellie nodded without breaking stride as she wound through the stacks of junk toward a closed door at the rear of the room. Katenia smiled up at Nathan, resisting the urge to leap into his arms and demand he run until they were free of this place. “Thank you.”

He dropped one of his arms to wrap it around her waist, guiding her through the maze of furniture. The gesture was sweet, but all the warmth in his eyes was gone.

The pressure in her chest didn’t start to ease until they were fully out of the house. It didn’t go away, but she could breathe without wanting to curl up and cry.

“Katen.”

She closed her eyes at his voice. There were very, very few fairies who’d ever found a true mate, one they’d give up everything for and be faithful to until time ran out. She’d never expected it to happen to her, but every instinct she had kept screaming
mine
every time they got close or he touched her.

So she kept her distance. She could not afford to let her heart get involved. “Yes?”

He sighed. “Do you want to tell me what that was about?”

“No.” Aware he was watching her like she was batty, she moved a little farther away from the house to see if the feeling diminished anymore.

“Katenia, what the hell are you doing?”

Giving up, because no matter which direction she paced, all she wanted to do was run, she turned to face him. “You don’t feel it?”

He planted his feet and crossed his arms over his chest. With a wildflower garden behind him, his long dark hair wind-tossed, he looked every bit the beautiful, mythical human warrior she’d always been fascinated with. “Feel what?”

“Something bad,” she whispered, wrapping her arms around herself as she looked around. The urge to take flight and find cover was so overwhelming, it hurt. “Something is not right here.”

When she finally turned to look at him again, his gaze was locked on her face, searching. “Okay,” was all he said. There was no judgment in his wild, dark blue eyes. “Can you stand it for a couple more minutes while we try to get answers?”

She opened her mouth, prepared to tell him she wanted to leave. There was something very wrong with the place, but leaving meant longer to get answers. Though she wasn’t ready to say good-bye to Nathan yet, she knew staying would be bad for both of them. “I’ll handle—” Her words cut off as a figure popped its head around the side of the house.

Dark, nervous eyes flittered around, then flicked from her to Nathan. For a second, she was sure she saw triumph and avarice curve his twisted mouth. She darted into Nathan, gripping his arm.

He spun around in reaction, every honed and massive muscle in his body tensing until he saw the small, mole-like figure peering at them. Nathan relaxed slightly, though he reached around and hooked his arm around her waist, pulling her into his back. “Uncle Thad.” For the first time, there was absolute steel in his voice. “What have I told you about skulking around?”

Thad smiled, but it did nothing to ease the malice emanating from him as he lifted a hand and pointed at her. He grinned. “Fairy mine.”

And then he was gone.

Chapter 8

What the hell was that about
? Nathan stared at the spot his uncle had just been standing in. Gritting his teeth, his arm still looped around Katenia, he turned and yanked the flimsy screen door open, and roared for his aunt.

“What?” She snapped as she came scrambling out, an old leather-bound book clutched to her chest. “Since when do you think you have the right to bellow at me?”

He leaned down until they were at eye level, and bared his teeth at her. “I am not playing games with you, Aunt Mellie. I want to know what the hell is going on. Where did you get Katenia? How do I get her home? And how do I make her fairy-sized again?”

His batty aunt peered up at him, her wire-rim glasses perched on her large, hawk-like nose. “Don’t use that tone with me. If you don’t like your gift, you say so. You don’t get nasty.”

He curled his free hand into a fist so he didn’t strangle her. “She is a person,” he gritted out through clenched teeth. “Not a gift.”

She waved that away with a flick of her bony fingers. “Semantics.” She sighed and leaned to the side, peering at Katenia. “What’s wrong with her? She seems like a viable female to me.”

Feeling like he had missed the moment his family had turned bat-shit crazy, he took a step toward his aunt, deliberately crowding her space and making her scramble back a step. “You did this to her. Quit the games, quit talking, and fix her!” he roared.

“Nathan.” Katenia’s soft voice barely penetrated the haze of his fury.

“In a second,” he snarled, his attention still on his aunt. “I’m waiting.”

Mellie shook her head, but he was glad to see the fear in her eyes along with the disdain. Good. She should fucking be afraid of him. “I can’t,” she said, her naturally sharp voice like nails on a chalkboard. “What’s done can’t be undone.”

“Bullshit!” He straightened and pointed at her. “Bull. Shit. You’re still playing games, and I want to know why.”

Mellie lifted her chin. “Does she want to go home, nephew? Have you even asked her?”

Sure if he stayed for another minute he’d do something he’d regret, he grabbed Katenia’s arm. He leaned down into his aunt’s face again. “You have two days to figure out how to fix your mistakes. All of them. Or you can find out exactly what kind of madness runs in my veins.”

* * * *

It was like the man had grown wings. Still unsteady on her feet, Katenia was having a hard enough time walking without the man dragging her along with him. She knew if she said something, he’d slow down or carry her, but she wanted away from this place as bad as he did. She was just grateful he hadn’t left her behind in his fury.

He was silent as they got into the vehicle and on the road. He’d barely glanced at her while he’d helped her with the weird belt thing, but his fingers were clenched so tightly around the wheel, she was sure he was going to pop a knuckle.

“Nathan?”

The muscle in his jaw ticked violently for a full minute before he ground out a single grunt that could have been “Yeah”. She wasn’t sure, but she went with it anyway.

“Your aunt and uncle—” she started slowly, only to have him cut her off with a flash of temper.

“They’re behind this, and they’re up to something. Thad is Mellie’s younger brother, and he’s never been right.”

Because just thinking about Thad made her want to vomit, she hesitated saying what she felt, but if they had kidnapped her, they could do it to another fairy on the land that rightfully belonged to the wee creatures. “What did he mean by ‘fairy mine’?”

“Hell if I know.” He let go of the wheel with one hand long enough to shove it through his shoulder-length hair. “But I’m going to find out. Until then, you’re staying with me.”

Katenia closed her eyes as her brain, which screamed
bad idea!
loudly, warred with her heart, which was on a non-stop loop of
mine!

She willed back the tears flooding her eyes. The entire situation was out of her control, and no matter how much she hated it, she wasn’t going to collapse into a helpless female. Her sister, Chaela, was good at that. She’d bat her big blue eyes, and the entire male population of the Lillie Valley would collapse at her feet, begging to come to her aid.

Thinking of Chaela had a small smile tugging at her mouth. While her older sister had let everyone wait on her, always the princess, Katenia had been out learning. Talking to the bugs and the trees and the birds, learning how to help every living thing. She’d become a healer, as well as an impartial ear to listen to grievances and complaints. She understood the circle of life and the basics of how nature worked, and she used it to help the forest creatures live in harmony.

Nathan shot her a quick look. “Are you alright? I know I told you we’d get you home tonight—”

“Stop.” She reached out and laid her hand on his arm. She could feel his tension, the frustration at what he thought was his inability to help her, but she didn’t think he’d failed at anything. “Thank you.”

He snorted. “For what? My crazy family got you into this mess.”

“Exactly,” she said, patting him on the arm. “Your family. Not you. Besides, you’ve never met my family. My Uncle Finn once cursed one of my brothers and turned him into a toad.”

Nathan’s brow shot up. “That’s not in the same ballpark as kidnapping, Katen.”

“I don’t know what that means.” She sighed, feeling a little dejected. “I don’t understand most of what you say.”