Pulling into Megan’s driveway several minutes later, I looked up at her house in awe. Somehow, Elbner had managed to paint in the middle of winter, and he’d done a beautiful job of it. He hadn’t gone with the white on white look that the house had before. Instead, he’d painted the trim white and the main body a soft turquoise, accenting the decorative scallops near the roof’s line with a medium grey and the front door with a vibrant red.
Megan and Oanen were going to be stunned when they got back.
As I continued forward, I realized Elbner wasn’t in his usual spot. The reason became apparent when I rounded the side of the house and saw him with a shoe in hand, on the back porch. Jenna stood before him, talking rapidly.
“No more mongrels,” Elbner yelled as soon as I opened my car door. He threw his shoe with deadly precision at Jenna’s head. She nimbly caught it and tossed it back before casting me a desperate glance.
“I’m just trying to feed him. We’ve been at this for hours.”
“Hours?”
“Fenris tried to feed him last night like you asked, but this guy wasn’t going to budge for him. I told Fenris to go home to get some sleep and let me give it a try.” She faced the goblin. “Would you honestly rather starve than let me feed you?”
“Yes.” He crossed his arms and turned his glare on me. “You promised to care for Elbner in Master’s absence. Sending these mongrels in your place isn’t care. It’s neglect. Elbner won’t have dogs feeding him.”
“How long?” I asked Jenna, ignoring Elbner’s tirade. “How long was Fenris out here?”
“Most of the night,” she admitted. “He called me before dawn. He really did try.”
“Bribes don’t sway Elbner.”
I turned on the little man, and his steely gaze locked with mine as I crossed the yard. The texture of his weathered skin and the glint of fear in his eyes stood out in sharp focus.
“If you wish to stay, your senseless bigotry ends now. You will be nicer to whichever of Megan’s friends I send to feed you, or you will leave. Immediately.”
He jerked his head in a quick nod.
“And don’t you dare throw another shoe at anyone again.”
He quickly put his shoe on and hurried inside. I followed.
“Wow, Megan has a really nice place,” Jenna said as she stepped in behind us.
“It is now, thanks to Elbner’s efforts.”
My praise didn’t change the stubborn goblin’s resentful glare as he stood in the arch between the kitchen and the front foyer. He watched every move I made as I prepared his food.
“Did you find better honey?” he asked.
“I apologize, but an urgent issue prevented me from looking.”
He harrumphed and took a seat at the table as soon as I finished stirring the oats and milk together.
“Since you weren’t fed yesterday, would you like me to come back tonight to feed you again?”
“No. This is fine.” Those words sounded almost choked, and he glared at me harder afterward.
“All right. Then, we’ll get out of your way. The outside of the house looks beautiful. Thank you, Elbner.”
“I did it for my master.” The passionate, rage-filled words followed us out the door.
“He’s awful,” Jenna said quietly. “How did Megan not kill him?”
“I have no idea. He had a brownie companion with him when he arrived. The brownie told me Elbner licked his wings on their journey from New York to Megan’s house. The goblin tried telling the boy they were ‘wing baths.’”
“That’s terrible.”
I nodded and opened my door. “Would you like a ride home?”
Jenna’s expression turned to one of relief.
“Yes. Thank you so much. That little ingrate was exhausting.”
She made herself comfortable in the passenger seat as I pulled out of the driveway.
“I’m sorry you had to go through that. Fenris should have called me and said Elbner was being difficult again.”
“He didn’t want to bother you.” Jenna shifted in her seat, and I could feel the sadness growing in her.
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing.” She said it far too quickly to be believable.
“You know I can sense all emotions, not just sexual energy, right?”
She gave me a sheepish look.
“I was getting jealous about all the time Fenris was spending with you and said something to him. He explained some of what you’re going through with missing Megan and how Adira and your mom are pressuring you and acting like there’s something wrong with you just because you won’t toe their line.” She paused for a moment. “I guess I’m just feeling a little upset with myself for being so focused on my own misery that I haven’t stopped to think there might be someone else who was feeling the same or worse than me. Yet, when you saw I was having trouble with Elbner, you stepped right in and stuck up for me. Thank you.”
Uncomfortable with everything Fenris had shared with her and her gratitude for not allowing Elbner to call her names, I kept my response simple.
“You’re welcome.”
She flashed a relieved smile at me. We drove in silence for several minutes as I navigated the roads toward the pack’s territory.
“I’m not exactly sure where you live,” I said when we got closer.
She started giving me directions that led to a gravel parking lot edged by trees. Through them, I caught a glimpse of an open field and a cluster of houses that looked like a mini town.
“I’ve never been this far into pack territory. If this is where everyone parks, how did Aubrey keep her convertible snow-free, out in the open like this?”
Jenna pointed to several canvas-topped carports hidden in the trees along the parking area.
“She managed to get one of those. And it’s not her car. We’re supposed to share it. Do you want to see a little more?”
“Am I allowed?”
She grinned.
“Given who your guardians are, yes, it’s allowed. For anyone else, I’d probably have to get permission first.”
I glanced at the houses again and let my curiosity, plus Fenris’s repeated reminders to do what I wanted, influence me.
“I’d love to see more.”
We left the car and followed the footpath through the trees. What I’d glimpsed from the parking lot was nothing compared to what I saw when we emerged into the clearing. Smoke curled in lazy plumes from the chimneys of the rustic homes that dotted the open space. We passed a few of the buildings on the outskirts, and I noticed stumps in the tall grass around them.
“We cut down the trees for lumber to build new homes when needed,” Jenna said, noticing the direction of my gaze. “There are a lot of us around mating age, so they built a few extra for whoever’s next.”
“What if you don’t want to live here?”
She grinned.
“We’re a pack. We like sticking together. Although when a pairing happens between a pack here and a wolf from another pack, the pair usually decides together where they want to go. A few leave. A few stay.” She shrugs. “It helps the bloodlines stay strong.”
As we continued along the footpath, I noticed other trails branching off.
“How many houses are there?”
“In this clearing? About thirty. There are others farther away.”
“Do the clearings have names like towns?” I asked.
“Unofficial ones. We call this one Blueleaf due to the trees. Same with Larch and Hornbeam.”
“And you live in Blueleaf?”
“Yep. Almost there.”
A small wolf cub ran in front of us with three more following close to its tail.
“Faster, Tarlen!” Jenna yelled with a laugh.
“Uh, is he going to be okay?”
“Oh yeah, chasing is a game we love from the moment we’re born. I think that’s why we all get so crazy about the mate runs.”
She veered off the path toward a cabin with planter boxes in front of its windows.
“This is me.”
The cabin’s inside was nothing like its outside. I’d expected something like Fenris’s cabin in the woods but, instead, walked into the inside of a house like we’d find in town. I paused, trying to get my bearings.
“Is it just me, or is the inside bigger than the outside?”
Jenna grinned.
“Druid spellwork. It was tweaked a few generations ago to fit the family. My parents updated the inside to make it more comfortable. My room’s back here.”
She led me to a room that looked similar to the one I had when I lived with my dad. A single bed dominated the space with a dresser and vanity off to the side. There was a skylight but no other window. Her space wasn’t littered with clothes and makeup but was neatly compact and tidy.
“You’re the first friend I’ve had over,” she said. “What do you think?”
“It reminds me of the room I grew up in. I like it.” I sat on the edge of the bed with her. “Why am I the first friend? Don’t the other girls you hang out with ever come over?”
A sharp laugh escaped her.
“No. We’re not close like that. Fenris keeps us apart.”
“Fenris? Why would he do that?”
She made a pained face.
“I don’t know how to explain it. Fenris doesn’t tell us not to be friends. In fact, the only time he’ll willingly spend time with any of us is when we’re all together. And that’s what’s keeping us apart. We’re all competing for him, you know? But in a subtle, non-aggressive way. Well, non-aggressive now that Aubrey’s gone.”
“I always thought you were all friends.”
She shook her head and gave me a sad smile.
“I wish he’d pick already. I know it’s not his fault, but I want to be able to move on, find my mate, and have real friends again.”
“Why is Fenris’s lack of mate holding you back from finding your own?
“He’s the last one close to my age here. If it’s not him, then it’ll be someone I don’t know. That’s scary for most of us. We’re pack, you know? Family. I can’t imagine loving a stranger.” She flopped back on her bed and looked up at her skylight.
“I might not have much of a choice after Tuesday night, though.”
With everything that had happened yesterday, I’d forgotten about Fenris and Conall’s conversation in the woods.
“What’s going on Tuesday night?”
“The pack elders are going to try to force a mate run.”
“Force? I thought it either happened or it didn’t.”
“Right. It happens when we meet the right one, which is what they think the problem is. That Fenris hasn’t met his yet. The pack elders have been working with other packs across the states to gather all the single wolves between the ages of fifteen and whatever to meet here for a pack run. One huge gathering.”
“Wow. Fifteen? That’s young.”
“It is a little young, but not unheard of. I do feel bad for the girls and boys that are coming here, though.”
“Boys?”
“Yeah. Some of the elders think Fenris might be mateless due to only shoving girls at him. Same-sex pairings aren’t as common, but they happen.” She shrugged. “I’m just worried some fifteen-year-old boy, barely grown into his fur, is going to take one look at me and start chasing me down. And my dumb instinct is going to make me run because…you know…it’s all about the chase.”
“I’m so sorry, Jenna. Isn’t there any way out of it?”
“No more than there’s any way out of Adira trying to force you to feed on Fenris.”
I looked down at my hands, thinking of Fenris.
“He’s always smiling. I didn’t really understand all the pressure that everyone is putting on him.”
“Yeah, he rolls with it pretty well. I think his easy-going personality is why all of us hope he’s the one. There are some wolves here who can be real tight asses about things.”
“Like what?”
“Who their mate can talk to…what she can wear…where she can go. Real control freaks. Mom told me Dad was like that in the beginning but that it eases over time. She said she felt just as possessive over Dad, though. She didn’t like him going anywhere without her. I just don’t see myself liking that. It feels oppressive, you know?”
“I come from a completely different environment,” I admitted. “My mom has men falling over themselves to get her attention, and they’ll share just for a scrap of affection. Possessive isn’t healthy, but dedicated doesn’t sound bad.”
Her expression turned thoughtful.
“Yeah, I think I could handle dedicated.”
“If it’s love at first sight like I’ve heard, maybe talk to your mate right away and tell him what you want. You never know; he might want the same thing.”
“I’m so glad you came over. I’ve been walking around sick to my stomach over the upcoming gathering. At least Aubrey isn’t around to make us all more miserable about it.” She sat up suddenly. “I forgot to tell Fenris that Elbner’s been fed. Do you want to come with me?”
“With you?”
That sheepish expression returned.
“I could text, but this gives me a reason to see him in person. And if you’re there, maybe he won’t send me home right away.”
I truly felt sorry for Jenna. Here I was, trying to avoid any male Mom and Adira threw my way and feeling sorry for Fenris for having to deal with a similar situation. And, I’d never stopped to think of the other side. Jenna was desperately trying to gain Fenris’s attention because she liked him as a person. Hadn’t Nico and Nikhil said something similar? That they were curious about me? And, I turned all my hate and resentment over my situation at them. Guilt hit me hard.
“Of course I’ll go with you,” I agreed. “It’s the least I can do to pay you back for helping me with Elbner.”
Jenna jumped up off her bed and checked herself in the mirror, giving her cheeks a quick pinch.
“Ready.”
When I’d agreed to go with her, I’d thought we’d head to another cabin in Blueleaf. However, instead of taking a path between the homes, Jenna took a trail that led into the woods. I shivered as I hurried after her.
“How far away does Fenris live?” I asked.
“Oh, we’re not going to his house. He’s never there anymore. He tends to wander the woods. It’s like a big game of hide-and-seek to find him.”
She looked back over her shoulder at me. The hungry glint in her eyes and a shift in her scent told me she really hoped it would turn into something more. Her pace gradually increased, and I found myself jogging to keep up with her. While strength and stamina were part of the standard succubus package, I’d always been a little behind on the stamina part. Winded, I slowed to a walk then stopped to brace my hands on my knees and catch my breath.
My stomach rumbled hungrily at the same time the hair on the back of my neck stood on end. I straightened and scanned the trees and blanket of snow around me. Nothing moved. The only sound was my own forced-quiet breathing. Yet, the feeling remained.
Something, or someone, watched me.
“Eliana?” Jenna called from ahead.
“Coming.” Following her trail, I found her at an outcropping.
“This is one of his favorite spots.” She set her hand on the rock. “It’s still warm. He should be around here somewhere.”
I huddled further in my jacket and looked at the ground. The only tracks I saw were our own.
“Don’t bother,” she said. “I think he’s part woodland spirit or something. He never leaves a trail.”
I recalled the trail he and I had left in the Drys Woods and knew that wasn’t true. At least, not all the time.
“Do we wait? Shout? Call him?”
“That would be too easy. This is part of the fun. Finding him.”
I thought of my already cold toes and silently disagreed.
“Come on.”
Since I was nice and easily swayed by my own guilt, I hurried after her. Once again, I grew winded and had to fall behind to catch my breath. Like the last time, the sense I was being watched prickled along the back of my neck.
I turned a slow circle in the trees.
“Who are you? What do you want?”
There was no answer.
“I don’t like games.”
Silence replied.
Refusing to be intimidated, I followed Jenna’s trail. My vision flickered between normal and enhanced until I saw her in the distance, looking up at a thick, old tree.
“Werewolves climb trees?”
“Fenris sometimes does. But I don’t see him up there. Are you okay down here while I go check if his spot is warm?”
“Sure.”
Jenna scrambled up the tree, sniffing limbs as she climbed. My head was tilted to the sky by the time she called out that Fenris wasn’t up there and looked down at me.
Her eyes widened.
“Don’t turn around,” she shouted.
“Why?”
Hands settled on my shoulders.
“Because I’m naked,” Fenris said. “So what’s a girl like you doing in a woods like this?”
I rolled my eyes but stayed looking up at the tree as Jenna scrambled down.
“Looking for you. I forgot your comment about playing hide-and-seek when I said yes, though.”
“Not a fan of seeking? If you’d rather hide, I’m willing to seek,” he said playfully.
“Yes, we’d love to hide,” Jenna said, landing in front of me.
She gave me a pleading look.
“Sorry. My toes are frozen.”
Fenris chuckled. “Chicken. You know I have the advantage.”
“What advantage? Nakedness?”
He leaned in close to my neck and inhaled deeply.
“Smell,” he whispered.
My eyes went black, and since I was facing Jenna, there was no hiding my reaction to Fenris. Her mouth dropped open, and I cringed, swamped in guilt and ravenous hunger.
“Do you think you’re special?” I asked. “You’re not the only one who can find prey.”
“Who said anything about prey? We’re talking hide-and-seek.”
I closed my eyes, struggling not to inhale lungful after lungful of his sweet scent.
“Fenris, back up.”
“I think you should listen to her, Fenris,” Jenna said anxiously.
He sighed, and I held very still, willing myself not to turn around and jump on him like I’d done in the cave. A tremble coursed through me, and Fenris’s hands briefly tightened on my shoulders.
“As soon as I do, Eliana will run, and then I won’t learn why she was out here in the first place.”
“I just wanted to tell you that Elbner’s been fed,” Jenna said.
“That doesn’t explain why Eliana is here, helping you look for me.”
Jenna didn’t answer, and I knew she wouldn’t. I inhaled the scent of her shame and felt some of my hunger recede. Poor Jenna, so twisted up for Fenris. Poor Fenris and me, so desperate for an escape from all the pressure people were putting on us.
I opened my eyes. Although each ridge and groove of the bark behind Jenna stood out in stark clarity, I knew I had enough control to step away from Fenris.
“I’m out here because I ran into Jenna at Megan’s. You should have told me Elbner was being impossible, Fenris. Both of you stood out in the cold for no reason.”
Some of that darkness crept in again at the thought of how long Fenris had been out there.
“Not for no reason,” he said. “We did it to help you.”
Jenna nodded, her gaze locked on me.
“Thank you both for your help, and Jenna, thank you for inviting me over. I’ll see you Monday.”
Neither one moved to follow me as I backtracked the way I’d come. Hopefully, Jenna would get a little one on one time out of Fenris for her efforts, and I’d be able to hide in my room for the rest of the day.
I lay on my back and watched the sun peeking through the canopy. Above me, cakes swayed in the breeze. The moment I focused on one, it drifted down toward me, and I opened my mouth, idly consuming the odd combination of Boston cream pie and spice cake.
The cakes had never before mashed into weird combinations, but I didn’t mind the new creations. I set my hand on my rounded belly and rubbed it contentedly as I chewed. For the first time ever, I felt sated. However, that didn’t stop me from slowly eating more. The cakes were so good in both taste and smell, like they were still warm and fresh from the oven.
I inhaled deeply, reveling in the hint of chocolate and…skunk.
Bolting upright, I looked around the clearing. The breeze played with my hair as the scent grew stronger. Yet, I saw nothing.
“You have beautiful nostrils,” a high-pitched voice said.
“Don’t you dare,” I screamed, scrambling to my feet. “Wake up, Eliana. Wakeup, wakeup, wakeup!”
“I’ve missed you,” the voice squeaked from above.
I looked up, and something landed on my face.
The dream and reality overlaid themselves for a second as I broke free. Sitting up in bed, I swiped at my face, but nothing was there.
Tiny squeaks echoed from behind me.
“Good morning,”—pant—“my beautiful goddess, future”—pant, squeak—“mother of my children, and”—pant—“provider of heavenly juices.”
Gagging on the smell clogging my room, I twisted around to look at my pillow. Sure enough, Piepen lay there in all his naked horrory, vigorously touching himself. His “hooded” gaze made me want to throw up.
“Why are you here, and why are you touching yourself on my pillow?”
“Because no one else will.”
His hips bucked, and the awful smell grew even more pungent.
“Well, knock it off.”
“Okay.”
A shower of sparkles launched into the air, and I scrambled from the bed.
“Thank you,” he squeaked dreamily. “My acorns were two seconds from breaking if they didn’t get milked. The sound of your voice sent a tingle to the right place, though. It was just what I needed.”
Careful not to touch any of the sparkles, I picked him up by the wings and gave him a little shake. That dark thing in me rose just enough that I could make out the flecks of color in his tiny, panicked gaze.
“Listen well, Piepen,” I said lowly. “You will never again sparkle anywhere near my head. Learn control or die. The choice is yours.”
He nodded shakily. “Please. My wings hurt.”
Shame pushed the dark thing inside of me back enough to release him.
“And you make my brain hurt.” He flitted into the air in front of my face. “Put your clothes on and tell me why you’re here, yet again, when I told you not to come back.”
He hurriedly dressed as he talked.
“I did what you said. I’ve showered Dewy with all my attention. I haven’t looked at Peachspray’s rounded backside, not even when she bent over in front of me at the bathhouse. And I didn’t wash Judy’s glorious flower, even though she had trouble reaching it herself.”
His woe-filled words painted the picture of an orgy in the guise of community bathing. Thankfully, my eyes didn’t go black at the thought, or I would have started questioning my sanity.
“I only look at Dewy, and she’s still angry at anyone who comes close to me.” Dressed, he sat on my glistening pillow in dejection. “I don’t know what else to do to show her that I care about her.”
I sat on the other end of the bed and considered Piepen. I’d sent him to the marshes to be with his own kind, thinking he would be happier. He didn’t look happy. He looked miserable. And his new girlfriend sounded horrible. But if I told him any of that, he’d be back sleeping in my drawer again. That couldn’t happen. Yet, I couldn’t manage the level of selfishness needed to leave him to sort out his own problems.
“Did you know that Dewy sent her little sister to spy on me yesterday?”
Piepen looked horrified.
“Not you too! I only touched myself and thought of you when she was sleeping.”
The need to help him faded.
“Stop touching yourself and thinking of me. You’re supposed to be thinking of her. No wonder she’s jealous.”
He groaned in misery.
“You ask the impossible of me. I’ve felt your skin against mine. I’ve marked you as my own. Your smile keeps me awake at night. The only time I can sleep is when I’m wrapped in your underwear, blanketed by your musky scent.”
“I think I’m going to throw up. Did you steal my underwear?”
His gaze shifted right then left. “No.”
“Piepen, you’re using the excuse for advice as a reason to visit me. Ask your new guardians for help with Dewy. They understand brownie interactions better than I do.” I stood and went to the window, which was once again open. The bit of hanger I’d jammed between the jamb and sash lay on the sill. “How do you guys keep opening my window?”
“I didn’t. I swear. It was already open.”
Given his previous lie, I didn’t believe him and pointed at the opening.
“It’s time for you to go. And stop sleeping in my underwear!”
He zipped out into dawn’s early light, and I hoped his appearance wasn’t an omen for how the rest of my day would go.
