She's No Faerie Princess (15 page)

smile and nod until one of us slips her her medication."

"Ah, it's nice to meet you. I'm Fiona."

"We know," Tess said.

"You met our husbands this morning," Missy explained.

"Graham Winters and Rafe De Santos. Graham is mine."

"Which makes Rafe my cross to bear. They told us—after many demands, glares, and threats, mind you, but whatever works—that you've spent the last twenty-four hours in the company of our own Tobias Walker, pack beta, security genius, wolf's wolf, and all around dim- witted moron."

"We came to offer our condolences," Missy said. "At least, that was going to be why we came, but when we got to the club, Richards told us Tobias had abandoned you here and gone raging off in the worst temper he'd

ever seen. So we wanted to find out what happened."

Tess nodded. "And change the condolences to aconspiracy to commit murder, if that would be morehelpful."

Fiona winced. "Killing him seems kind of drastic. I'vebeen thinking a lot, and he may have a point—"

"Oh no. Nonono. Quick! Drink that tea." Tess shook her head and gave Fiona a pitying glance. "That kind of thinking is just crazy talk, not to mention asking for trouble. Remember, the man is always wrong. It's the only way to keep them in line."

"Maybe it would help if you told us the whole story? Don't worry. We'll still be on your side. We have to stick together, after all. But I find it's always helpful to get things out in the open."

Swallowing a mouthful of tea, Fiona grimaced. Not at thedrink, which was actually deliciously warm and soothing,but at the prospect of doing anything to add fuel to thatthing going on in her stomach. Unfortunately, the twowomen watched her steadily, and she got the feeling thatneither one of them was likely to move until she spilledher guts. Taking a deep breath, she wrapped her handsaround her mug and gave a defensive shrug. "I'm afraidhe thinks I attacked him. Sexually."

The two women blinked. They looked at each other,looked back at Fiona, and blinked again.

"And you think he had a problem with that?" Tess finally

managed, sounding kind of choked.

Missy reached over and patted Fiona's knee. "Oh, honey.

The man probably just couldn't find the words to thankyou."

That drew a reluctant laugh. "Somehow, I don't thinkthose were the words that popped into his mind. He said Iused him."

"All right. That's it." Tess picked up a cookie, half-rose from the floor, and reached over to pop the treat into Fiona's surprised mouth. "Chew, then spill."

Much to Fiona's surprise, she found herself doing justthat. As soon as she swallowed the last crumb ofchocolate, she opened her mouth and let the whole storypour out. She told these two women everything, from thedemon attack in Inwood Park through the toe-curling,mind-boggling, thigh-clenching kisses and up to theunbearable cab ride to the club. By the time she finished,she was leaning against Missy's shoulder, letting the Silverback luna stroke her hair while she sniffled like ahuman.

"Oh, sweetie," Tess said, watching Fiona with sympathyfilled eyes. "You have landed yourself in a pickle."

"Tess, I don't think that's very helpful," Missy scolded.

"Maybe not, but it's true," Tess said, and Fiona winced, sniffling harder. "She made a major tactical error. She tried to apologize."

"But he wouldn't let me finish. I tried to say I'm sorry—"

"For what? What the heck did you do wrong? Use magic? Give me a break! He needs to get over himself." Tess shook her head and drained her cup.

Missy nodded. "It's a good thing you didn't get to finishthat explanation of yours. That would have really set youback."

Fiona pushed back into a sitting position and stared atthe two women. "Are you serious?"

"Of course. Neither of us can stop you from feeling guilt, but we can tell you you've got nothing to feel guilty about." Missy's tone was matter-of-fact and she leaned forward to refill her mug.

Fiona stared at her new friend, trying to spot the secondhead. "You're really serious?"

"Lord, but he did a number on you," Tess said, shaking her head. "Yes, we are serious about Mr. Self-Righteous going a wee bit overboard. Look, did he know you were Fae?"

Fiona hesitated. "Well, by the time I regainedconsciousness—the first time—yes."

"Did you take any of his personal energy?"

"No—"

"And did he respond to any of these kisses you forced on

him that he later objected to so strenuously?"

Fiona nodded.

"Then what the hell is he whining about?"

"What Tess means—"

"I thought that was pretty clear," Tess mumbled.

"What Tess means," Missy continued, "is that you didn't

do anything to Tobias that he couldn't have stopped if he'd tried. He's a big boy, Fiona. He knows how to take care of himself. In fact, that's kind of what he does for a living."

"But he told me not to kiss him again—"

Tess snorted. "Sure. After his tongue made a thoroughexploration of your tonsils."

"But—"

"No buts." Missy gave her a stern look. "Tess is right. The man can't tear your clothes off with one hand and push you away with the other, so to speak. That's just not right. Not to mention being plain ol' poor sportsmanship."

"Exactly. See, Walker's not really mad at you," Tess said. "He's mad at himself because he wants you so bad he can hardly stand it, but he has that ridiculous idea men get that he's not allowed to have you."

Fiona frowned, but for the first time in hours, her stomachbegan to settle down. "You mean all those nastyaccusations… all of those were just because he'sfrustrated? He made me miserable because he got hisboxers in a bunch?"

"Well, there's also the fact that from what you've told us, he's also had to see you put yourself in danger a couple of times, and that wouldn't sit well with him, either," Missy said. "Especially not when he wants you as badly as he obviously does. Oh, I'm sure he's telling himself he's feeling very ill-used over the magic thing, but that's just because he's a Lupine male, and trust me, Lupine males are all but constitutionally unable to admit when they're

wrong."

Tess sighed. "Believe me. They ain't the only ones."

Eyes wide, Fiona pressed a hand to her suddenly calmstomach. She felt as if she'd just gotten a free ride fromher aunt for a major infraction. A huge weight lifted fromher and took the clenching in her belly with it. "I can'tbelieve the nerve. I can't believe he put me through allthis just because he's got issues."

"Oh, honey. He doesn't just have 'sues. He's got big, floppy clown 'sues. The kind with the frilly white cuffs at the ankles."

"I mean, let's not totally discount the fact that you freaked him out," Missy said, tempering things. "I'm sure it came as a surprise. Sure, there are stories here and there about the Fae gathering energy from events around them, but hearing is different from experiencing. Especially when I'm sure he figured the chances of him ever actually coming into close contact with one of the Fae were pretty remote. The last one around here was my friend Corinne's husband, Luc, and they haven't been in the city in years. And when they were here, they didn't have much time for socializing."

"Hush, Miss. You'll ruin her budding mad-on." Tess made a face at Fiona. "Missy's a sweetheart, but sometimes she tends to be a little soft on the offenders."

Fiona listened to both women and decided the truth mightbe somewhere between the two points of view, but thistime her stomach remained calm. Apparently, notblaming him for everything didn't mean she had to shift allthe responsibility to herself.

"I'm not being soft on anyone," the luna protested. "I'm just saying that maybe if they each gave the other a little more understanding, they'd both be happier."

"Right. So they can move on to jumping each other's

bones."

Fiona grinned.

"Missy!"

All three women jerked their heads in response to theshout, turning to see the door vibrate in its frame for asecond before it slammed open. Missy jumped to her feetand hurried over to meet Graham. He wore the sameclothes Fiona had seen him in that morning, but now he'daccessorized with two toddler boys. One perched on hisshoulder, chubby baby hands fisted in his rumpled brownhair, while the other sat on Graham's left boot, arms andlegs wrapped around his calf with a tenacious grip. Fionalooked from the little boys to the alpha's face and foundhis expression impatient but surprisingly unfrazzled.

"Miss, I need you to take the hellhounds," he said, reaching up to detangle the younger boy's fingers from his hair with the ease of long practice. "I have to go out, and I'm not sure when I'll be back."

Reaching out, Missy took her son from his father andsettled him on her hip. "Of course, but what's going on? Is it pack?"

Graham shook his head and lifted the other boy off hisboot, setting him on his own two small feet next to Missy. She immediately reached down to take his hand. "I don'tknow. I hope not. Walker called. A patrol found

something near the park. A body. Human. It was mauled

pretty badly."

Missy blanched. "He thinks it was an Other? He thinks an

Other did it?"

"He doesn't know. It could be. But there's also the demon that attacked Fiona to consider, not to mention your garden-variety human psychopath. I need to go take a look." He leaned forward and gave her a fast, firm kiss. "I don't know when I'll be back, but I'll try to call if it looks like it'll be too late."

Fiona jumped up from the sofa. "I'm coming with you."

Graham turned on her with a snarl. "That would
 
not
 
be agood idea, Princess. I don't need you getting in the way,and Walker doesn't need you pulling any more of yourtricks while he's trying to work."

Since she had her hands full of her children, Missy simplydrew back her right foot and kicked her mate solidly in theshins.

"Ow! Shit!"

"Watch your mouth in front of the boys," she snapped, glaring at him. "You deserved that. You should know better than to make snap judgments about people before you hear the whole story. Shame on you."

Fiona's eyes widened, but she kept her mouth shut. Unlike Tess, who watched from her spot on the floor andsnickered.

Graham glared at them both. "I'm not judging anyone," hesaid, his teeth clenched. "I just don't have time to referee

between these two when I've got a critical situation on my

hands."

"You won't be refereeing me," Fiona said, lifting her chin and meeting his glare. "I can control myself, but if there's a possibility that this is a demon attack, you need me there. We went over this just this morning. I'm the closest thing you've got to a demon consultant. Do you want to potentially let a trail go cold because you're sticking up for your boy?"

Graham opened his mouth, intercepted his wife's warningglare, and closed it with a snap.

"Rafe did mention that part of the conversation," Tess piped up with a grin. Fiona almost expected her to burst into flame from the heat of Graham's glare.

Outnumbered, outclassed, and one false move from thedoghouse, Graham gave in disgracefully. "Fine, but I'mleaving now. If you're not ready to go, I'm not waitingaround."

Fiona looked down at her sock-clad feet and swore. Missy saw the problem and, in an impressive display ofmotherly balance, toed off her tennis shoes without somuch as shifting her grip on her sons. "I'm a six and ahalf. I hope that's close enough."

"It'll do." Fiona stepped into the shoes without bothering to untie them. Since she wore a 6 normally, the half size of extra room made the job a lot easier. Then she looked at Graham and raised her eyebrow. "Ready when you are, boss."

Muttering something unintelligible and uncomplimentary,

Graham spun on his heels and stalked out the door with Fiona sticking one step behind him. She just hoped hewouldn't mind her staying there when Walker saw hercoming. If her nemesis had to go through the alpha to getto her, it might slow him down just enough to let her live.

CHAPTER 12

Graham had been serious about not waiting around forher. She practically had to run to keep up with his long-legged strides down to the curb to catch a cab. Once thetaxi driver—the first Other one she'd ever had in the city —had dropped them off at the 79th Street entrance to Central Park, Graham moved even faster. If Fiona hadbeen human, he would have lost her at the first branch inthe path, but she wasn't human and she wasn't about tobe left behind. She gave thanks for her Fae stamina andquickness as well as for Missy's tennis shoes as theytrekked farther and farther into the park, moving frompaved walks to well-worn trails and finally into the denserwilds of the park's copses and thickets. She was alsoglad her keen night vision could penetrate the deepeningdarkness and maintain a good bead on the Lupine'sbroad back. Otherwise, following him would have beenimpossible.

She knew what he was following, too. His nose. Her owndidn't have nearly the sensitivity to pick up on theparticles in the air that spoke of Others, blood, and