“Peaches, Tricks, this is my mate, Talia. I’m not sure if you’ve met yet, but figure I should introduce you.”
“Simple part, that, since she did it first. Where’s my first mate, eh?” Mercury looks around, eyes squinting into the crowd.
Talia’s eyes narrow, and I sigh, knowing I’ll be correcting assumptions all night since everyone here is so used to all the nicknames and jargon of long-time acquaintances. “The cat’s off catching a canary. Your ship’s docked tonight, Captain. You didn’t even bring the parrot, I see. Her furry crew’s off near the pool.”
He nods and tugs on Lily’s hand. “Come on, love. I have to see the boys, and I bet I know where they’re all hiding.”
“Bye, Rafe. Nice to meet you,” she calls as he tugs her off, a font of unchecked energy as always.
“First mate?” she gives me a narrow gaze.
“It’s not what you think. Mercury has fun by playing games. Like a trickster, he’s all clever words and games and fun—never too serious. He and the cat went to see the pirates movie, and they’ve been playing pirates ever since. They haven’t been involved like that for a long time. It’s only friends.”
“Huh. What stopped—no, wait. I don’t want to know tonight. We have enough to worry about tonight. I have no idea what side all these people will fall on. The pack hasn’t even arrived yet, and that does not bode well.”
“Agreed. There are still more families to show, but I’m hoping the cat and bird wander back out of that room beforehand.”
“Even if we have to drag them out.”
The Bird And The Cat Return To Normal
TAURUS
“That was unexpected,” I smirk, pushing a wisp of hair out of my face. It’s spooky to have my face grinning at me in an expression I don’t think I’ve ever made before. My wife nods and rolls to her, er, my—hell, she bloody stands up and I have no idea how to describe it.
“I’m glad you didn’t skewer Damien before he told us how to work the pants.”
“Bloody rainbow-hugging prat,” I grumble. “If I could have figured out how to work everything, he would have been in real trouble.”
She chuckles low and helps me up, bending to kiss my lips. “Well, luckily for him, you couldn’t.” Looking around, she sighs. “I think we need to get back to the party. I don’t know how long we were gone, but I’m sure our mates are tired of holding the fort down on their own.”
I growl, not looking forward to charming the wits out of the dull at all, but I nod. “Talia’s not a social butterfly, and the lazy one can only hold her back for so long. We should get out there.”
I take her hand and kiss her chin. “It was bent and a little unusual, but this was a fun one, minx. I think we can avoid the rest and find a bed later, though.”
“We don’t need no stinking magick to get wild,” she gives me my fangy grin, and I thank Satan that I found a woman so entertaining and endearing once again. She’s infuriating and intoxicating and just about every other passionate emotion you can list, and I love every second.
This is the perfect sodding woman for me, and I thank Hell every day that I answered her email instead of ignoring it.
The door opens when we approach, and we step out, a whoosh of magick hitting me as soon as we clear the threshold. I look down at myself—my actual self—and feel relief. I meant what I said: fun for a lark, no need for repeating. I’m satisfied with the parts they grew me with.
My minx tugs my hand and gives me a ‘cat that ate the canary’ grin, fangs and all. “I’m awfully glad that you got this time to experience what it’s like in my space without calling a hurricane and portal, though.”
“I don’t know how you do it, wife. With all that shit swirling around, your beast yapping in your mind, feeling everything happening all around you. You have a maelstrom of shit going on inside. It's a small wonder you’ve clung to the sanity you’ve got.”
“Amen to that. You’ve seen my mind palace, and you know how I control it.” Her face turns white, pale as a ghost for a moment,and she whispers, “Um, you didn’t—you didn’t open any doors in there, right?”
I arch a brow, turning to look at her, the whole of her worry bleeding through in the way she clutches at my hand—a little too tight, nails almost piercing skin. “I figure anything lurking behind a door is something that ought to stay there until the time is right to open it, love,” I told her. “Magick gave me a peephole, but that doesn’t mean I’m the sort of bastard to peep through it.”
I try for a gentle smile, knowing that the past is never really dead. It’s always the same with the powerful: nothing scars as deep as the monsters and secrets hiding in their heads.
She laughs, but it’s a thin, glassy sound, brittle enough to shatter. “You might not like what you see, right?” Her voice is barely above a whisper. In that moment, I can see the doors she meant, locked and barred by her, and I feel the things pacing behind them, hungry and patient as they wait to be released.
As much as I prefer honesty, I’m fairly certain she’s correct about none of us being ready for those horrors.
Shaking my head, I draw her close to me, wrapping my arms around her narrow shoulders.~I love everything I see in you. All of you. I might not let the people involved live, but it wouldn’t change what’s in my heart. ~
My message unfurls between us, seeking to patch what old wounds it can. She makes a sound I can only call a sob and a laugh combined. Lifting her face, she kisses the underside of my jaw, the spot where her fangs left a scar. “I hope so,” she says, her voice low but steadier. “I really hope so.”
