"I think it's time for us to check in." Easton moves ahead and gets Diaval's attention. The two ancients walk off, leaving Feray standing there in a daze.
Seizing the opportunity, I scoot up beside her and loop my arm with hers. "Care to explore a little?" I fire a text off in our group chat before strolling down the main street in town. Feray smiles and wraps her arm tightly around mine as we walk. She occasionally pulls me toward a storefront to look in the window.
"Can we get a snack?" No sooner are the words out of her mouth than her stomach growls.
"Of course." I point a little further down the road. There's a street vendor with steak sticks and chicken kabobs. "Will that work for you?"
Feray squeals and starts dragging me down the road, making me almost trip over my own feet. As soon as we're in front of the vendor, she gives the poor woman her massive order. "I'm getting everyone a snack. Dinner isn't for a few hours yet." Her face suddenly drops, and she looks back at me, frightened. "Is that okay?" Her bottom lip quivers slightly as she waits for my reaction.
Closing the distance, I press my lips to hers and behind her back hand the vendor my credit card. "Never be afraid of trying to provide for all of your mates." Feray reaches up and wraps her arms around my neck, hugging me tightly. She whispers her thanks before slowly releasing me. The vendor hands us two boxes of sticks and kabobs to take with us.
We arrive back at the inn, and Torben is waiting in the lobby.
"Smells divine. Good thinking, guys." He smiles and takes the box from Feray, leading us up to the room. Rolling my eyes, Ifollow behind them, heading up three flights of stairs. We make it to the suite, and Diaval and Easton are both hovering over the maps and books we have with us.
"Snack time!" Feray shouts as she digs into the box Torben has. She rushes over to Diaval and Easton and hands them two skewers each—one chicken and one steak apiece—before rushing back to the fridge. Feray grabs a pitcher of water and passes out glasses to everyone.
"Where's yours, Pet?" Diaval notes she doesn't have a glass of her own.
"Umm..." She bounces from one foot to the other before reluctantly pouring herself a glass.
"Good girl..." He smirks at her, and she arches a brow, not sure how to react. Deep down, I know her tail would be wagging at the praise. But with as feminist as her sister is, I'm sure it's messing with her in some sense. Feray goes and sits on the couch with her four skewers when that little pixie from hell pops into existence.
"Ooooh, Fluffy, Sparkles is pissed!" The little punk rock pixie stomps back and forth in her micro Docs.
"Why is Fiadh pissed?" So many other things have happened that I honestly don't remember what could have set her sister off.
Ro stomps down the table, leaving a trail of pixie dust behind her. "One word, Nope-rope:WENDIGO. Sound familiar?" She smiles, and it's creepy as all hell.
Feray gasps and then looks at the guys, then back again. "It really wasn't that bad. I promise. Easton turned it into roasted Wendigo. It didn't stand a chance against him." Feray waves achicken kabob at Ro. "You know you want it..." Her voice takes on a weird tone, and it's now that Diaval snaps his fingers and sticks his fingers in his ears.
My eyes dart to the other mates, and they're shoving their fingers in their ears too. I follow along and watch as Feray's eyes slowly glow as she stares at the pixie. Her lips are moving, and I know what she's saying. Soon the pixie is sitting down eating her kabob calmly.
"What the hell was that?" I look over at Diaval as he smirks.
"Lunas with a powerful pack can sway others to their way of thinking. I believe Feray did it more defensively than intentionally." He grabs a tome off the table and opens it before handing it to me. I read the page, and sure enough, it's right there in black and white.
"We're looking for her pack, though." I'm puzzled as I stare at the page.
"We are her pack. Think about it. What is a pack? A family or a close-knit group of animals?" Torben laughs and looks back at Easton and Diaval. "By extension, Fiadh is her soul sister, so her mates are also part of Feray's pack." He shakes his head, trying to stop laughing. "She has three ancients, a fae, and four shifters in her pack besides her and Fi. Whoever pisses her off is screwed when she figures out what she can do." Torben almost laughs himself off the stool he's on.
Feray looks back at him and arches a brow. "Maybe that's why my wolf isn't so anxious anymore. I'm surrounded by bigger animals she knows will protect her." She smiles and goes back to eating her kabob, making happy little wolf grumbles.
"Oh, Fluffy, I almost forgot. Count Suckula, Prince Picky Pants, and the other two shifters have no clue about the pulsing mate bite. Prince Picky Pants said he would look into it and get back to you. Count Suckula thinks it's because he's a mythic." Ro shrugs, then poofs, disappearing again.
"Well, that was not helpful at all." I look down at Feray as she eats.
"Oh no, it helped tons. I have new nicknames for everyone." The evil giggle that comes out of my mate's mouth makes my hair stand on end.
"That can't be good." Easton states.
"Clean up, then bedtime..." Diaval barks out, and for whatever reason, we listen. When Feray heads off to the shower, Diaval tells us to go to our rooms and let Feray pick where she's sleeping without pressure.
I know who she's not sleeping with tonight.
This guy is on guard duty.
Chapter 9
