Chapter 1
“I KNOW YOU DON’T want to move her, but I think it’s for the best.” Nico paced in his parents’ living room on the family farm turned Royal Fairy castle. He burned his footprints in the thick, gray area carpet which lined the large room decorated with dark leather furniture. Family portraits lined the panel walls. The farm had been in their family for centuries, and it was the only place Nico had ever really called home.
He hated asking his brother and his wife to leave it and go into hiding, but it was only two months from Spring Fling, the eve of the twins’ birth, and it was his job to make sure nothing happened to his brother and his family.
“She wants to give birth at home,” Chaz said. He sat on the sofa, rubbing his temples. As Alpha of their international pack, the father of a new species, and the Wolf King of the Fairies, Chaz had a lot on his plate. The hardest part for him, however, was that until the birth of the Wolfairies, he couldn’t leave his wife’s side. The power of the twins couldn’t be controlled, but together, they could manage them, and hopefully keep them under the radar of those who wished them harm.
“If we can keep your location a secret, we can bring her back on the eve of the Spring Fling.” The closer the impending birth of the twins came, the more Nico worried he couldn’t fulfill his role. According to legend, the future of his brother’s children has never been certain.
Only their creation and their potential to change the world.
If they are never born, all fairies will parish, and Nico’s pack will no longer be the strongest and largest pack of the world, and in time, they, too, will become extinct.
If they are born, but die within the first month, the Royal Fairies will be banished for another ten thousand years, and it’s unclear if there will be another awakening between a chosen wolf and a royal fairy.
“Where do you suggest we go?” Chaz asked, glancing in his brother’s direction with a furrowed brow.
Nico understood that Chaz hated not being able to perform all his duties at this time, leaving their youngest brother, Drew, and their father to manage the wolf pack. Their mother and sister, Cheryl, were now in charge of all the Royal Fairies that have clustered in this one location. A large undertaking, but one each member of the family readily accepted, without question.
“The top of Buck Mountain on the east side of Lake George, New York.”
“The back drop of Camp Uncas?” Chaz asked with a frown. “During the winter and spring months, that’s used for warrior witches from the coven of the Raindrops. I think being near witches is a bad idea right now. We really don’t know who we can trust when it comes to them,” Chaz said.
“They don’t fear fairies and are in support of your children, but they won’t know you’re there until we need them.”
“We don’t know that for sure, brother. And if they are creating potions to hunt out wolves or fairies, we’ll be fucked.”
“I’ve thought of that. The fairies who have developed powers can create a small bubble to protect you.”
“Trapping us.”
“No. More like keeping bad people out.” Nico let out a long breath. Ultimately, his brother was in charge. He was the Alpha, and Nico one of his pack, even though Nico had developed some powers that were known only to other species, he still wasn’t even second in line anymore since one of the twins was a boy.
That said, this was his role. His mission as mandated by the Twilight Crossing Council.
“Until we get past Spring Fling, and your babies reach the month-old mark, you have to trust me.”
“I do, believe me. But put yourself in my shoes.” Chaz raised his palms to the ceiling.
Confession time.
Nico leaned against the doorjamb, crossing his ankles, staring at his feet. “Ever since Lilly and I broke up—”
“She wasn’t meant for you, and you really didn’t love her. Not like a mate would,” Chaz interjected. “When it happens, it will knock you on your ass, and there is nothing on this earth that will stop it. You won’t even know it happened until its done.”
“I know, and I see what you and Daphne have, and I want it, too.” Nico lifted his gaze.
Chaz arched a brow. “What did you do?”
“I went to Gerri.”
“I don’t think this is the time for romance.” Chaz stood, making his way across the room. He was a formidable man. Tall and muscular. His rich-raven eyes demanded the attention from everyone around him. In wolf form, he was bigger than most and intimidated even the most powerful of creatures.
Nico could match his brother in every way. He was just as strong, and now, with some of this weird shit going on with his body, like being able to move objects, he was a force to be reckoned with. But he couldn’t command a room like his brother.
“Not to toss your own words back in your face, but you said we need to go about life normally, just be hyper-alert and take every threat and piece of intel seriously.”
Chaz rested a firm hand on Nico’s shoulder. “I did say that, and I’d love for you to find what I have with Daphne. What did Gerri find?” Chaz’s tone was less than enthusiastic, obviously annoyed Nico would even consider finding a mate, but if this legend were to hold true, then Nico’s mate would be a fierce warrior, willing to protect the family at any cost.
“You’re not going to like this.” Nico couldn’t believe his ears when the woman on the other end of the phone, with the deep, sultry voice, said her last name.
“You know the old saying ‘keep your friends close, and your enemies even closer?’”
“What have you done?” Chaz asked with a dark growl.
“All I did was go to Gerri and asked to find my mate. She gave me the name of a woman. Just her first name. When I found out her last name, I nearly choked.” Actually, he had to hang up and call Gerri back because a piece of fried cake had gotten caught in the wrong pipe.
“Stop beating around the bush, and just spill it,” Chaz said with his hands on his hips, glaring. The sun filtered through the picture window behind him, nearly blinding Nico every time Chaz shifted.
Nico held his stare, forcing his feet to stay planted on the floor, even when he wanted to pace. His nerves were shot, his focus fractured, his mind flailing about, filled with both grim and glorious outcomes. “My mate is Isidore Crowe. The daughter of Kidar Crowe, and one of the high-ranking officers of the Coven of the Unseen Moon. The same coven that had been murdering royals all those years ago.” What a clusterfuck this had turned out to be. However, had Nico not called Gerri, he might have been blindsided by his mate and her potential deadly plan.
Chaz’s eyes narrowed into tiny. His nostrils flared in beat with Nico’s heart.
“That’s no mate. That’s a set-up,” Chaz said, his jaw tight with wrath.
Nico clenched his fists, forcing the tension to stay inside versus coming out in plethora of angry words directed at his brother. “Gerri wouldn’t do that, and you know it. She’s got a perfect record.”
“I wouldn’t put anything past some witches, including doing something to Gerri.”
“That’s next to impossible. Besides, the legend predicts I will mate before this is over. Why fuck with it, though this one might leave me high and dry for the rest of my life if she turns out to also be the predicted traitor.” He glanced to the last family portrait that hung proudly over the fireplace. His parents were excited to be taking a new one shortly after the Spring Fling.
Chaz let out a long breath, relaxing his stance. “So, you’re not going to meet her.”
Nico’s stomach swirled as if he were a small child ready to defy his father. “No. I’m going to meet her and use her to find out what her Coven’s plans are.”
Chaz pinched the bridge of his nose. “This could be a dangerous game between putting my family at risk and the potential of you mating with her. If she turns out to be an enemy, and leaves you, it will kill you eventually. We’ve both seen it happen.”
“It’s a risk I have to take as your family’s protector, but I don’t want anyone to know other than you. I don’t want to unnecessarily worry Mom and Dad, and Daphne has enough on her plate with rainbows flying out of her belly.”
“That is a weird one.” Chaz glanced over his shoulder. “I need you close, but I don’t want that witch anywhere near my wife.”
“I wouldn’t be far at all. You’d be on the top of Buck Mountain, and I’d take Isidore to those cabins where you and Daphne went.”
Chaz shook his head. It went back and forth in time with the grandfather clock ticking behind him. “Too close. Besides, there is a Crescent Moon celebration going on there. A wedding from one of our pack groups in Lake Placid.”
Nico nodded. “I was invited and told Isidore I thought it would be a good setting to meet for the first time. We’ll be surrounded by mostly members of our own pack, and I’m just one howl away from you if needed. I’ll post Twilight Crossings best officers at various locations. They will blend in with the wolf pack that is near the camp. It’s The Mystic Warriors.”
“You’ve already talked with their Alpha, haven’t you?” Chaz rested his back against the wall, arms folded at the chest.
“I don’t mean to be disrespectful, but I don’t need your permission. Until your children are one month old, this is my rodeo.”
“How did you get the leader of The Mystic Warriors to agree if you haven’t told them the woman you’re taking to the wedding is hell-bent on killing the entire fairy population?”
“The Mystic Warriors believe they are on protection detail while I try to navigate the threats and eliminate them. I am one of the best detective officers we have on the council,” Nico said, letting a little pride and ego roll off his tongue.
“Everyone at the wedding will know she’s a witch, and if they find out she’s—”
“They don’t have tattoos like we do, it’s not that simple to find which coven they belong to.”
“They do have a branding ceremony,” Chaz said, holding up his hand. “And I’ve seen witches just look at one another and know the other’s coven.”
“They can also cast a spell to make it appear they are from a different coven. And some witches, with the news of the Wolfairy, have even rejected covens who favor their destruction, or at the very least, to banish them, stripping them of all their powers. The Twilight Crossing Council is having to find safe havens for many misplaced witches coming from small rouge covens, which concerns me even more, because many of them could be trying to find a way to make sure the Spring Fling doesn’t happen, by infiltrating us. Or it could be them redirecting our attention.”
“I seem to have forgotten how good you are at proving your point,” Chaz said, his demeanor lightening with a quick smile. “But I worry about you.” He turned, resting his palm on Nico’s chest. “Mating with someone, to only have them reject you is a slow, painful death.”
“If Gerri believes Isidore is my fated mate, then it is my duty to vet her personally, and I’m willing to risk dying of a broken heart to ensure your children are born.”
The two men stared at one another for a long moment. No words. No thoughts.
Two young fairy children came barreling through the room, startling both men as they each took a step back.
Daphne followed the children into the room with a bright smile, holding her stomach with both hands. A warm ray of sunshine emanated from her stomach as if shot from the sun itself.
“Hello, Wolf King,” one of the little girls said as she stopped and gave a small curtsey.
Chaz bent over, batting the little girl’s nose. “What have I said about calling me that?”
The girl frowned. “My mama says that’s the only thing I’m not to listen to you about.”
“And mamas know best,” Daphne said, patting the girls on the head. “Back to the playroom with you two, got it?”
They nodded and ran off giggling.
“And what are you two boys so serious about?” Daphne asked, taking Chaz’s hand and placing it on her round stomach. It jumped immediately.
“You and I are going on a romantic trip.” Chaz gave his wife a kiss on the cheek.
Nico couldn’t stop from smiling. Their happiness dribbled off their skin like flakes of fairy dust. Who wouldn’t want what they had.
“That is husband speak for ‘we’re going into hiding.’”
“It’s for the best. Just until we get to Spring Fling. And then, I promise you, I’ll get you here to give birth,” Chaz said.
“All right. If you both think it’s best,” Daphne said. “When we will be leaving?”
“This afternoon,” Nico interjected. “No one, not even your parents, can know where I’m taking you.”
Daphne reached out, taking Nico’s hand. “I know you’re doing everything to protect the children.”
He nodded. “Don’t pack anything. I’ll make sure you have everything you need. We leave in three hours.”