Chapter 7
IT’S ME, BROTHER.
Nico stood one hundred paces off the trail between the first and second lookouts on Buck Mountain, looking over Camp Uncas where he and his siblings attended during regular summer season. Other species used it during different times and for different reasons.
The moon and stars still dotted the dark sky, but daylight was only an hour away.
A small opening in the protective bubble unzipped much like a sleeping bag, and Nico stepped in, taking his brother in a quick manly hug with a slap on the back.
“Damn it,” Chaz muttered, standing near a fancy tent, shaking his head.
“What’s the problem?” Daphne asked right before she kissed Nico on the cheek. “Oh. Wow. You mated. That was even faster than me and Chaz.”
“I know, but we ran into a witch on a hunt, and Isidore made a choice to defend me and every other wolf in that room.”
Chaz arched a brow. “Only royals mate that way.”
“She’s a walking rainbow right now, really struggling to control the fireflies whooshing off her skin.” Nico pointed to a log in front of the campfire. “Can we sit?”
“Of course.” Chaz sat on the ground in front of his wife, who rubbed her growing belly, a reminder of what would be some day.
He always wanted to find his mate, settle down, have a bunch of pups, and live out his days on the farm with the rest of his family.
“We have a couple of issues we need to figure out. First, she is their chosen one.”
Chaz growled. “A warrior trained with the sole purpose of killing wolves and fairies.”
“But that means she’s also a traitor to her coven, according to the legend,” Daphne said, pressing her hand over Chaz’s shoulder. “And she’s a protector, your brothers fated mate, making her my protector as well.”
“And a fairy,” Nico interjected. Now that he had a few moments away from Isidore, the entire situation started to sink in. He still couldn’t wrap his brain around what it all meant. “But she didn’t start showing signs of being a fairy until she stood in front of me. At first, she smelled like a witch with a hint of vanilla. But when we met, damn, that scent changed.”
“A witch fairy. That’s a new one,” Chaz said, rubbing his temples. “This could all be smoke and mirrors, and this fairy thing just some black magic spell.”
“She’s my mate, so watch what you say, and of course, I thought of that, but I know she’ll stand with us,” Nico didn’t hold the bite back in his tone. He couldn’t have if he tried when it came to Isidore and what she meant to him.
“And if you’re wrong?” Chaz asked.
Nico swallowed. Hard. “I’ll do whatever it takes to fulfill my role, protect you and your children, even if it means I have to do the unthinkable. But it won’t come to that.”
“I hope you’re right,” Chaz said.
Now came the hard part. “There are some things you need to know, and I need a favor.”
“Like what?”
Nico sucked in a deep breath. These weren’t his stories to tell, but this was his family to protect.
Including Isidore.
“Kidar has been abusing Isidore for years.”
Daphne gasped, and Chaz let out a low, painful howl.
“She’s been waiting for her younger sister, who is a seer, to come of age, go through her branding ceremony, and then she planned on leaving her coven, the only reason why she went to Gerri.”
“To find someone duty bound to help her,” Chaz said, nodding his head. “A smart girl.”
“Only her father found out somehow, which means he knows she’s my mate.”
“That’s not good,” Daphne interjected.
“It gets worse.” Nico hated asking to pull resources to help Isidore and her sister, but he had to and not just because it was his duty as her mate.
It was just the right thing to do.
“Thing is, she’s only got six more days to complete her mission and, in that time, she’ll run out of some potion that masks her location, but her sister’s ceremony isn’t for eight days.”
“That’s a problem,” Chaz said, leaning back against Daphne’s leg. “With a seer, if they don’t go through the ceremony, they lose all their powers and even their magic is weakened.”
“I had Drew do a little digging.” Nico’s other brother was an excellent officer as well, and Nico knew he’d get the information quickly considering all his connections. “Isidore’s sister can do a ceremony with another coven if we can find one who is willing to stand up to the Unseen Moon officers and have a valid reason for pulling her away.”
“That coven has been banned from participating in anything for years. I can’t imagine another coven wanting to take her in,” Chaz said, holding up his hand. “I’m just trying to be realistic.”
Nico nodded, understanding his brother’s concern. “That’s what Isidore thinks. She thought once she and her sister went on the run, they’d be coven-less, and she’d be looking over her shoulder for the rest of her life.”
“That’s no way to live,” Daphne said in that sweet motherly tone she had that made everyone around her feel like everything was going to be just fine, no matter what.
“Neither is taking a punch in the gut, so her sister won’t have to ever experience that.” Nico clenched his fists, heaving in large gulps of air, trying to calm his rage.
“What else do I need to know?” Chaz asked.
“That’s it.”
“So, what’s the favor?” Chaz folded his arms across his chest. Rarely did his brother pull the ‘I’m the alpha of this pack, so do as I say’ with his siblings, but he had that look in his eyes, the one that said, doesn’t matter what or why, I’m going to say no.
“On the way up, I spoke with Goodier of the Coven of the Raindrops.”
“You did what!?” His brother leapt to his feet, reaching down, curling his fingers around Nico’s arm and hurling him to a standing position. “You had no right to do that.”
“They lost their seer many moons ago,” Nico said, ignoring his brother’s tirade. He understood the concern, but the Raindrops have been taking in lost witches from covens that don’t play by the rules for decades. They welcome the Wolfairy and everything that comes with them. “Without a seer, their coven weakens. It affects their community morale, and they’d love to take one that could potentially bring a fairy into their coven, being the first to accept them, and the Wolfairy.”
“And how do you propose we get this young woman to the Raindrops and protect all of them?”
“We kidnap her and bring her here,” Nico said, holding his brother, and his Alpha’s, glare.
“You’ve fucking lost your marbles or that witch has cast a spell—”
“Chaz,” Daphne said with a commanding voice as she stood. “That’s enough.”
Chaz growled. As Alpha, no one dared to speak back to him. But she’d also been crowned Queen of the Royal Fairy Family, and while he was their king, she was ruler of that world.
Interesting dynamic.
“As I needed to accept that I am indeed a fairy, and your mate, in like a week I might add, then we need to at least acknowledge the possibility that Isidore is one of my kin. A sister perhaps. And belongs with us.”
“But,” Chaz said, hands firmly planted on his hips. “We know nothing of her sister.”
“Same flesh and blood.” Daphne glided across the ground with the grace of an angel. “If Isidore is a Royal, then so is her sister. I want you to help them by doing what your brother, our protector, has asked.”
“It’s too dangerous,” Chaz muttered.
“We can’t turn our backs on fairies.” Daphne took her husband’s hand. “You know it’s the right thing to do.”
Nico held his breath, waiting for his brother’s decision. If he said no, Nico would be forced to go rouge, which wouldn’t be good.
Chaz cupped Daphne’s face, kissing her lips. “I couldn’t live without you or our babies.”
“And Nico won’t survive if he loses Isidore.”
“All right,” Chaz said, turning to face Nico. “I want you and Drew to spearhead this. But I’m going to require you to file it with the council.”
Nico opened his mouth, but his brother spoke first.
“File it and then go ahead and gather who and what you need. I will make sure it passes, don’t worry about that. Make sure I’m looped in on everything.”
“Bring the seer to me,” Daphne said.
“It’s too dangerous.” Chaz shook his head.
“I want her in this bubble until her ceremony.” Over the course of the last couple of months, Daphne, who had thought she was a mere human, and raised by those who hated and hunted wolves, had come into her new role with poise only a Queen could possess. “We’ll be protected, and it will draw Kidar—”
“Oh, no,” Nico chimed in. “We don’t Kidar anywhere near this bubble.”
“We need to end this, so I can go back to the farm and have these twins. We deal with Kidar and his coven, we abolish the problem.” She swiped her palms together as if to get rid of a bit of dirt.
“You know what?” Chaz asked, looping his arm around Daphne. “My brilliant wife just might be onto something here, depending on what kind of fairy powers your mate has and how many council members we can gather to ensure we can arrest as many of Kidar’s coven as possible, giving us a reprieve just as Spring Fling approaches.”
Nico’s mouth dropped open as he rubbed the inside of his ear with his index finger. “Am I hearing this right? You want to set a trap, bring them here, where the twins and Daphne are?”
“We outnumber them and with the help of the Coven of the Raindrops, I think we can get the upper hand,” Chaz said. “I need to feel safe transporting Daphne in the last weeks of the pregnancy, or what’s the point of hiding out?”
“I’ll set things in motion.” Nico lowered his head in respect.
“I can’t wait to meet Isidore,” Daphne said, excitement bubbling with every word.
Nico let out a laugh. “She’s a bit of a rebel, has little refinement, and dresses about the same as me.”
“Sounds perfect,” Chaz chided. “But I have one awkward and uncomfortable question.”
“What’s that?”
“Are you ready to be a father?”
“Ha ha. You’re so fucking funny,” Nico said, his heart thumping against his ribs. “It will be a long time before that happens. Besides, she’s only twenty-one. We have plenty of time to figure that out later.”
“Right, because you remembered to use protection when you mated.”
Nico’s stomach fluttered. He didn’t know if it was a good nausea or a bad feeling or what that could even mean. He couldn’t even think about the idea of having children. He needed to get through the next two weeks, then take Isidore on a long vacation where they could have some time to really bond. “My mate would not appreciate this conversation.” He pointed to the spot where he’d entered. “I’ll be in touch.”