Enamored To A Fool

To help the one you love, you must uncover the light that is surrounded by darkness.

After his brother and Axle are kidnapped by the notorious Puck, Axle finds himself tied to a tree at the mercy of the attractive fae, Foster. However, that’s the least of his worries since his destructive path has hurt someone close to him. Knowing he has to change is easier said than done, especially since Axle never knew who he really was. Can Foster help him along his journey of self-discovery and redemption? And how, along the way, did Axle start falling for the fae?

The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement without monetary gain, is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to 5 years in federal prison and a fine of $250,000.

Please purchase only authorized electronic editions, and do not participate in or encourage the electronic piracy of copyrighted materials. Your support of the author’s rights is appreciated.

This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

Enamored To A Fool

Copyright © 2013 Jackie Nacht

ISBN: 978-1-77111-679-4

Cover art by Carmen Waters

All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, is forbidden without the written permission of the publisher.

Published by eXtasy Books

Look for us online at:

www.extasybooks.com

Enamored To A Fool

Knavish Sprites, Book Two

By

Jackie Nacht

Axle felt like complete and utter shit. The alcohol was still buzzing through his system, making him dizzy even while lying down on the couch. He knew he needed to get up and get a glass of water to rehydrate, but he kept falling in and out of a drunken stupor. The only reason he was emerging from the mist was that he thought he heard someone knocking on the door. When another loud crash sounded throughout the house, Axle realized that it had come from the back where his brother Torque's room was.

Opening his bloodshot eyes, he noticed that Donavon wasn’t amongst the group passed out in the living room. He never liked the bastard and was always concerned at the way he looked at his brother. Axle warned the guy away from his brother numerous times, but it never seemed to matter. The only reason he kept hanging out with Donavon was that he was actually Axle's boss at the garage where he worked. He didn’t want to get his ass fired, which was threatened if Donavon wasn’t allowed to join them on their bar excursions. So, he had to watch this asshole like a hawk and grit his teeth when Donavon tore Axle or his brother apart. Axle knew if he lost his job, Torque and he would be homeless. Man, if his brother knew just how much Axle kept him in the dark over their dire situation, he’d be bitching him out until he was sporting gray hair.

Managing to get vertical was almost impossible. That’s what happened when you spent the last three days drinking and fucking everything in sight. Finally, he was able to stand, and what he saw turned his alcohol-filled veins to ice. A red-haired man was standing in his living room holding his brother, and Torque looked like he'd just got the shit kicked out of him. It reminded him of all the times Torque and he had had bruises from their father after he'd come home in a rage. Axle tried to make sure he always pissed his dad off enough to make sure the fists flew his way and not at Torque, who was younger and smaller than he was. Sometimes, his dad had enough left over for Torque when he left Axle in a bloody mess on the floor to watch.

“Who the hell are you? Are you the one making him scream like that?” Axle took menacing steps toward the red-haired guy that was holding his very injured brother.

The stranger came forward like a bat out of hell and knocked Axle on his ass.

Axle tried to get air back into his lungs with no luck.

The guy walked out of the house, leaving the door open. He tucked Torque into the front seat of the car before returning to the house. There was moaning coming from Torque's room.
What the hell? Did this guy just save my brother or was someone else hurt?
Guilt swamped him. It was his fault that his brother was hurt. He'd spent his whole life trying to protect him from their father, and he had failed him by being just like his father, passed out drunk on the couch, bringing in his asshole friends. What the hell was he thinking? He was the biggest asshole of them all.

Hearing the sound of footsteps on the porch brought his attention back to the front door. Before he could react, the guy grabbed Axle none too gently and threw him in the back of a vehicle.

A million things were going through his brain. The first was that he wasn’t completely sure what this guy’s motives were. Was this guy going to hurt him or was he rushing his brother to the hospital? The second was that no matter what this guy's motive was, it didn’t matter; Axle was too inebriated to protect him or his brother. And how fucked up was that?

The guy began slowing the car near an unfamiliar forest edge. Axle's head kept spinning from all the alcohol, making him slow to concentrate and keep up with what was happening. Outside the car, the red head was unloading the vehicle and began chucking shopping bags into the forest.
God, I feel like dog shit.
Trying to lift his head, all he could do was moan while lying in the backseat.

The next thing he knew, he was smacked in the head. “Hey, man!” Axle yelled.

“Okay, here’s the thing. One of your buddies beat the shit out of your brother, and I need to get him some help.”

“Wait…what? Who touched him?”
Was it Donavon?
Axle was almost positive. So, this guy was here to help them and not dump their bodies in the middle of the forest after offing them. Nice to know.

“You would already know, asshole, if you weren’t drunk off your ass. Now, pay attention. See those two bags? I need you to carry them for me while I carry your brother.”

Regret flooded Axle. He began shaking his head as he moved to sit up. “No, I’ll carry my brother.”

“I don’t think so. You can barely walk, let alone carry him. I’ll take care of him from now on.” The guy moved to the passenger side to carefully pull Torque out of the car. His brother let out a pitiful cry before tucking his head into Red's chest.

The guy looked down at Torque. There was tenderness in his eyes that showed that he was familiar with his brother.
Is my brother dating someone and I didn’t even know it?

“I know this is going to really hurt, but I need you to wrap your arms around my neck,” Red said to Torque.

“Is he going to be okay?”

“He’s going to be just fine. Now, come on,” Red began leading them into the forest, not waiting on Axle.

Axle grabbed the two bags then swayed behind the pair. He followed them as he walked into the foggy forest. There was a moment's alarm as he lost sight of his brother, and then, the guy reached out and grabbed his hand, dragging him into the fog.

The walk was only about ten yards before he felt the leaves beginning to crunch underneath his feet. The air warmed with each step, and the mist began to dissipate until they were standing in another part of the forest. He could see shopping bags strewn all over the forest bed. In a matter of about ten seconds, he went from a cold December day to standing in a forest that looked to be in the height of fall.

Looking at the forest in bewilderment, Axle was too slow to react when the guy pulled him to a nearby tree. His wrists were tied to the tree with thick green vines.

“What the hell?” Axle struggled. He had a personal rule of never allowing himself to be tied up. It left a person completely vulnerable. Although Axle was big at over six feet, he had a feeling this guy could break his neck like a dried-up twig.

“Sit.”

“No way! What are you going to do with my brother?”

“Your brother is no longer your concern. You need to start worrying about yourself.”

What the hell is that supposed to mean?
He gave a desperate look at his injured brother lying in the bed of colorful leaves. This had to be a nightmare. As soon as he woke up, he was going to clean up his act, for sure. He’d quit partying, get his ass back in school and try very hard to reconnect with the brother who had been through thick and thin with him while growing up.

The vines began wrapping around him, tripping him to lie on the floor of the forest. Red adjusted him to a sitting position with his back against the nearest tree. The guy took an envelope out of a nearby bag and pinned it to the front of his shirt.

“My brother should be around shortly. You won’t be left by yourself for long.” Red turned and grabbed Torque, taking him away from Axle.

You have got to be fucking kidding me.
Axle could not believe he was still tied to a tree. Struggling with the vines that held him was useless. The red-haired bastard had pinned a note to his chest like he was in kindergarten all over again. He had been a little shit at five, so he had plenty of experience with the note pinned to the chest. There was a deep need to rip it up and throw it in the creek, like he had done when he was five, except being tied to the tree kept him from it.

Looking around, he could not understand what the hell was going on. One moment, he had walked into a forest that was free of leaves due to the bitter-cold weather, and the next moment, he was in an awe-inspiring forest with every color leaf he could imagine. The trees glistened with morning dew that seemed to make the forest appear unreal. Maybe someone slipped something into one of his drinks, because there was no way in hell any place like this could actually exist. He was either on something or having one crazy-ass dream.

Waiting was never one of his specialties, and it seemed like he had been tied to that tree forever. The sun had risen and now shone brightly in the sky. The colorful leaves were giving him a canopy, but he definitely needed sunglasses to help with the beams of light breaking through.

By now, Axle was hungry and thirsty. Without water, his weekend of drinking had become the worst hangover he had ever experienced. His head throbbed, making it the mother of all headaches. He couldn’t get comfortable, and he was sure Red sat him on the sharpest rocks he could find. He would be digging them out of his ass for the next year.

Let’s not forget he had to use the restroom. There was an urgency to get his hands undone. Axle thought maybe if he called out for help, someone might be able to hear him. However, he didn’t know who the fuck would come. He had no clue where he was, and by the looks of it, he might get some scary-ass flying monkeys. Who knew? Maybe he hit his head and actually landed in
Oz.

Leaning his head back against the tree, he tried to think of anything besides all his discomforts. There was a small breeze that blew across his face, and he tried to focus on that. The smell of jasmine seemed to calm his nerves. It cleared his head some, and he began to wonder if his brother was okay.

All his life, he had protected Torque from their father as best he could. Yet, he could feel with every day that he was beginning to sink into the same pattern as his old man. He would never hit anyone; he just knew that to his very core he could never hurt someone physically. The thought turned his stomach. But he was becoming reckless and drinking too much.

At twenty-one, he knew he had a chance of turning it around if he got his act together. He just didn’t know how. He was terrible at school. Axle never let anyone know that he'd struggled with reading, and that kind of set him up to fail all through his academic career. Then, there was his home life.

When he had been younger, he and Torque had hid out when their father came home from a very similar weekend to the one he'd just experienced. He used to hug Torque as his father screamed out, looking for a way to expel his rage on his sons. Torque tried to be strong, but silent tracks of tears would come down his cheeks, and Axle would wipe them away. The fear on those nights hardened Axle, and his brother tried to keep him from it by being a typical smartass teenager. Man, he wished it had worked. Instead, he'd become bitter and angry.

Is my brother okay? God, he looked rough when Red carried him away
. Guilt ate at him. There was no denying that this was his fault. He let that asshole tag along and got so fucking drunk he actually brought a predator into his home. He didn’t think Donavon would be capable of doing something so horrible, but it didn’t change the fact that it had happened, and he had been too FUBAR to help his brother out.