Page 42 of Filthy Fae

We ran, bounding toward the end of the road. A Redcap came charging from the other side of the street. He lifted a club and bared a mouthful of fangs. For one second of terror, I thought it was Bob the Over-Sharer, a sweet resident of Cutten Steps who was friends with Mack. As this guy got closer, I realized that he was too tall and had a much shorter beard. Fresh blood dripped down his front.

We tried to rush out of the Redcap’s way, but he dove at Aaron, ripping at my mate’s neck with his serrated teeth.

My wolf saw someone killing our mate, and there was no stopping her. We leapt forward, knocking the little man from Aaron’s body and ripping into his shoulder with our teeth. Hot, metallic blood filled our mouth, and I flung the Redcap to the side. Immediately, we turned back, nuzzling at Aaron’s neck. A whine escaped as I licked his face. After a second, he raised his muzzle and rubbed his cheek along the side of mine.

Something hard slammed into my side, and I rolled away with a yip. The Redcap had somehow survived and was raising his club for another swing. My jaws clamped onto his leg. He howled and slammed his club down on my shoulder, sending me into a new bout of agony. I bit harder, ripping through muscle to the bone. Blood rained down around at my feet.

“Brogus!” Mack called from behind us. Before the Redcap could hit me again, Mack wrestled the club from his hand and slammed it into the side of the guy’s head. When the Redcap’s body finally slumped to the ground, I stumbled away. Lowering my head, I let out a whine as my wolf began healing me.

Mack knelt at my side, running his hands along my pelt, making sure I was okay before we turned to Aaron. Carefully, Mack ran a hand over Aaron’s back. “He’s breathing. If you can walk, I’ll carry Aaron until we’re safe.”

A flurry of movement in the woods behind us sent adrenaline bursting through me, and I stumbled to my feet. Mack hefted Aaron’s weight, which was probably well over two-hundred pounds, and we made our slow way into the woods. Behind us, I could hear the clamor of voices, fae calling to each other when they found our trail.

We kept going, pushing on as night fell outside. Just when I thought we had outrun the fae, I heard a rustle in the branches overhead. A second later, a fae dropped to the ground on my left. Another dropped to the right, and another ahead. When the fourth fell, they surrounded us, forcing us into a tighter circle. Mack set Aaron’s body down on the forest floor and stood while I snarled at the fae. Covering as much of Aaron as I could, I faced the circle of fae.

Seemingly unconcerned, the fae before us leaned back against a tree. “Well met, brother.”

“Are you still allowed to call me that?” Mack asked, and I could almost feel his guard lowering, though I felt no relief coming from him.

With my adrenaline running so high, it took almost a minute to bring the four fae into focus. They were the queen’s guard, which meant that they were probably the most dangerous fae in all of Heartland.

Aaron’s breath came fitfully but steadily as I stood over him, shielding him from the fae on all sides. Between combat and running for our lives, we were all exhausted. But the fae looked as fresh as they had at dinner before the ghoul attacked. My growl grew louder. I was sick of being hunted, of running, and for no better reason than I had wanted a chance to prove the innocence of my own packmate.

“Want to call off your wolf before this escalates, Mack?” the fae behind us asked.

When I spun, I saw the redheaded fae in a wide stance, hands at his sides.

“She’s not mine to call off, Autumn. If you want Scarlet to calm down, convince her that you’re not a threat.”

Autumn glowered for a moment longer, his gaze locked on mine, and then he lifted his head, showing me his throat.

Well, clearly the man had researched wolf etiquette. I snorted and sat, refusing to break rank. If I relaxed too much, not only would I be exposing myself to attack, but I’d expose Mack and Aaron. The three of us squeezed together. Mack was pressed against one side of me, while I pressed into Aaron who was still unconscious on my other side. The scent of Aaron’s blood was making both me and my wolf edgy. Any wrong move by these fae, and we might attack whether I wanted to or not.

“All we want to know is, what the hell was that party crasher?” This question came from the fae with curly brown hair who had called Mack his brother. “In case you missed him, he was about seven feet tall, naked, and had a whip for a tongue.”

“Which he used to lick all four of us,” said the fae across from Aaron. He had long black hair and was crouching with eyes averted. Clearly, this fae not only researched werewolf etiquette, but he was also going out of his way to tell me that he wasn’t a threat.

“A pixie overheard Scarlet Riley saying she’d been attacked by one of them before,” the Spring Prince said.

“We’d like an explanation.” This was from the fourth fae who did nothing to lessen his menace. The white-haired fae held what looked like a mace with a soft blue glow. He glared down at us like he wanted to start chopping us with his weapon.

My wolf pushed forward at the sight of him, but I wrestled her back.

“We’d like to exchange information,” Autumn said.

“Scarlet doesn’t owe any of you anything,” Mack said, dropping to his knees beside me. He stroked his hand along my cheeks, down my neck and shoulder. “All she’s tried to do is get to the bottom of this conflict, and my mother has rewarded her with humiliation, beatings, and attempted murder.”

Autumn took a step to the side. “We might be protecting Titania, but we are clearly not here on the queen’s bidding.”

I couldn’t fault them for protecting the queen’s life, not when her death would mean that they were all slowly drained of life force. Huffing out a breath, I pushed down my wolf and started my change. When I was fully human, Mack handed me his shirt, and I slipped it on. His familiar mint smell wrapped around me, finally calming my wolf a little, though she was ready to surge forward again at any moment.

I scanned the four fae princes surrounding us. “You said exchange. That means you have some information to give me in return.”

Autumn sidestepped, making it easier for me to look at all the fae at once. “That’s how an exchange works.” He tilted his head back and forth. “You tell us what you know, and then we will reciprocate in kind.”

“I know that Oxonos arranged for the queen to meet up with Zane Reed at that party, and she was warned off.”

“We already know that,” snapped the white-haired fae. When I turned to him, his jaw clenched, and ice-blue eyes blazed into mine.