Wyrd Calling (Wyrd Bound Book 1) (15 page)

Dan gave me that little smirk. It bothered me that the smirk was growing on me. He wasn’t such a bad cub, not really. It was interesting having another like me around, if nothing else. I didn't have quite such a strong urge to smack the smirk off his face. I had no doubt that one day I would smack him for it, though. It was that bit too cocky and pushy. Yet, that was part of his growing charm.

I tucked my knees up to my chest and settled next to Alex on the sofa where I leaned on him, taking some comfort in his strong form. "Where are we on the meeting your contact thing, Dan?"

He looked to Alex and back to me again. Slight confusion on his face as his hands lingered somewhere close to the edge of the sofa. I stretched out and rested a hand on top of his, a silent thanks. "I'm ready to leave when you are."

I brushed my hand over Alex's as I stood and said, "Thanks."

I was torn in how to feel about the entire thing. Offering such contact with both of them was a big gesture given my exhausted and broken state, yet they’d dragged me out of that situation. I had to give them something, and I couldn’t hide in Alex’s strong arms as I so desperately wanted to. There was no sanctuary for me there, not then.
 

I looked over myself and realised I was a complete state. The jaguar was appalled. "I'll get a shower and fresh clothes. We'll leave in twenty minutes."

It gave me something else to focus on. A reason to leave the situation and untangle my emotions and thoughts. I wasn't sure how I'd managed to not only forget to ground the pain after the healing, but also not notice how vile and dirty both myself and my clothes were. I cursed the Sisters. It was their fault. They’d thrown me into the apartment and sent my thoughts into chaos. I stripped as soon as I got into the bathroom and scrubbed myself clean. A dirty jaguar was not a happy one.

16

The walk through the city with Dan was stilted and awkward. He kept going to say something, but then tucking his hands in his pockets and let the tense silence between us continue. I was still hurting over the lecture from the Sisters, and the sting to my pride over having to have him, a cub, help me ground the pain was not something I was handling very well. I'd said thank you a couple of times and he’d nodded and accepted it. I wanted to say something to lighten the mood and bring about some bond or... something, but I couldn't find the words or the topic. The jaguar was curled up in the back of my mind, hiding in her tail. The raven was sulking over the lecture from the Sisters, and the wolf just wasn't interested in what was going on. I felt slightly odd and alone. It wasn't often that all three of my aspects were buried in the back of my mind. They were still there, but they weren't pushing and barging to have their say.
 

Finally, as we were making our way through the dirty alleys of the more downtrodden part of the city, I said, "How long have you known this contact?"

Dan shrugged and said, "We’ve done quite a few deals over the years. He’s hardly my best friend, but I’ve known him for a good while."

I nodded and hooked my thumbs in the back pockets of my shorts and focused on my surroundings instead, while we walked in painful silence. The brick buildings were covered in black grime and dirt, and half of the bricks were blown and broken, which together added an interesting texture to the place. The concrete was cracked and had small, determined signs of greenery trying to break through. Despite the dismal appearance of the place, there was no trash. It was kept tidy, just not entirely clean. Graffiti marked the walls, but it was artistic and carried layers of meaning. Brightly coloured territorial sigils peaked out from behind small bushes and broken windows.
 

It was an interesting place. I was quite enjoying looking at the various layers of existence when Dan made a sharp turn and we were in a shadowy dead end. I wondered what had happened to the good old days when we met in a nice pub or a forest grove.
 

I tried not to giggle as I felt two small shadows wriggle and twist around my feet before they slowly climbed upwards to sit upon my shoulders. I reached up and ran my fingertips over one, enjoying the comforting cool edge of the oil-slick sensation. They cavorted around me, dancing, playing, and giggling in quiet, almost sprite-like tones. I had a brief second of wanting to join them but I pulled myself together and remembered where I was. Shadows were quite happy to play with many beings, but I couldn’t afford to show any sign of actively controlling them. Dan was standing taller than usual, his shoulders were back, and a dark smile sat on his lips. The thing we'd come to meet stepped out of the shadows and revealed himself. I tried to keep my face blank when I saw that familiar blond hair and painfully beautiful bone structure. I sighed and held back my cursing at the Sisters. They were such bitches sometimes. Kit offered us both a quick nod of acknowledgement and Dan started the proceedings.
 

"Keiran, I'll cut straight to the chase. We've heard about the siren murders..."

The fae licked his lips and his eyes sparked. "I've heard about them."

Dan stepped forwards a little, he wasn't much taller than Kit, or Keiran as Dan seemed to know him. "Do you know anything about them?"

Kit's harsh laugh bit into the air around us. It carried a knife's edge to it that sat upon his lips in that dangerous smile. "I may know a little something."

Dan sighed and allowed his wolf side forward making him bristle. "You know you owe me a favour. What do you know?"

I so desperately wanted to grab onto his arm and drag him back while there was still a chance to save the situation, but I knew he had to learn. I adored fae, they were very much my people, but they had to be handled just right. Aggression and intimidation was not the correct route.
 

Kit inspected his nails for a moment before he shrugged. "Maybe I don't feel this is the appropriate moment to return said favour."

Dan stepped forward and wrapped his hand around Kit's throat and pinned him to the wall. I wasn't sure if that was how he usually dealt with people, or if it was for my benefit. Either way, I made a mental note to give him some lessons.
 

"We already agreed that you'd help me with this matter."

Kit did not take kindly to that, as I expected. The shadows shrank back a little hiding in my hair as we all waited for Kit's response. He took a slow breath through gritted teeth before he head-butted Dan and shoved him backwards while shifting sharp claws which he raked down Dan's cheek.
 

He took Dan's legs from under him and stood with one foot on this throat before looking to me. "You're with this... cub?"

I smiled at him. "Unfortunately."

He looked between us and pressed a little harder down on Dan's throat when he thought about struggling. "The information is for you?"

I nodded and stroked one of the shadows idly. "It is."

He grinned and stepped back off Dan. "You should have said so! There's been a guy sniffing around a few of the local markets asking odd questions about sirens. He wanted to know their habits, their territories, those sorts of things. It wasn't so much him asking; I mean, we all know that siren bits make good money. It was the
way
he asked. There was just something very off about him. None of us could put our finger on it, but he made shivers run down our spines, and you know the sorts we deal with."

I tried not to smile at the drastic shift in his attitude and demeanour. He had gone from ready to kill Dan to very animated and happy to help in the blink of an eye. I loved fae.

His information was something, not ideal but better than nothing. Dan had stood and brushed himself off and was rubbing his throat. The blood was drying on his cheek. The cuts didn't seem too deep. He had the good sense to stay quiet.
 

I asked Kit, "Have you met him yourself?"

He shook his head. "Only for a second, not enough to pick him out of a crowd, sorry."

I smiled and opened my arms. "Thank you. That was helpful."

He stepped forward and hugged me lightly before kissing my cheek. It was always good to end on a trusting note when you had something good with a fae.
 

He looked back to Dan and offered his hand, "No hard feelings."

Dan grudgingly took his hand. I glared at him until he smiled and said, "Of course, no hard feelings. It was my mistake."

Kit smiled and accepted it good-naturedly before turning and leaving, taking the shadows with him. I had a brief moment of pining after the shadows had left. It’d been such a long time since I’d danced with them and enjoyed their affections. I’d only felt their touch during desperate times when I needed their protection.
 

I focused on what was in front of me and walked up to Dan. I inspected his throat and cheek. His cheek only took a few seconds to tidy up. Pink marks remained, but it wasn't too eye-catching and his throat barely had a mark.
 

His shoulders slumped a little, and he finally said, "You knew him?"

I shrugged. "I met him yesterday."

He growled and muttered to himself. I came very close to pinning him against the wall and reminding him of his place, but I restrained myself. Instead, I turned and said, "Come with me. You have some things you need to learn."

A deep rumbling echoed around the alley as thunder rolled around overhead. A bright flash of lightning shot across the dark sky and the large raindrops fell, colliding with the ground in great crashes. I held back the strong urge to dance and looked back to make sure that Dan was close behind me. We wandered through the almost-empty city for a little while. The rain ran down us in rivulets, and I allowed Dan a little time to think back on the situation we'd been through. I enjoyed the wild energy of the storm raging around us and the peaceful cleansing of the rain while trying to pull together my own tumultuous thoughts and feelings. I was supposed to be an alpha, I was supposed to guide the pack, and yet it'd been so long and I didn't know if I wanted to return to it at all. The cubs didn’t seem to be too bad, despite the issues, but I had enjoyed the complete freedom of being alone. At least, I told myself it was complete freedom.

After we had wandered around the city for a short while and were thoroughly soaked, I decided it was time to talk. Dan looked miserable. I wasn’t sure whether that was purely from his encounter with Kit or if the rain was getting to him, too. We stepped into a little cafe and wandered over to the unoccupied table tucked up the corner. The waitress gave us a bemused expression when she gave us the menus as we dripped. Small puddles formed at our feet, but I ignored them. Once the coffee and muffins had been ordered I started, in slightly hushed tones. I saw no reason to beat around the bush.

"Why did you treat Kieran that way?"

Dan sighed softly. His hand went to touch his cheek but he changed his mind and picked up his muffin instead. The thoughts seemed to rattle around his head, which was slightly irksome given the amount of time he’d had to think on it.
 

"It seemed appropriate."

The light, tangy lemon sponge was exactly what I needed in that moment. It contrasted with the smooth bitterness of the coffee fantastically. I focused back on Dan. I wanted to ask if that was all he really had for me after all of that thinking, but settled on, "Why?"

He looked at me, his brow furrowed, and words danced around his lips while they tried to form sentences. "He chose to be awkward. We all knew that he had the information I wanted. I saw no reason to waste everyone’s time. He apparently did. There are consequences to wasting precious time."

He said it as though it was the most obvious, simple thing in the world. I replied with, "Is that how you normally interact with him?"

He took another bite of his muffin and a sip of his coffee while I have to assume that he was running previous interactions back through his mind. "No, I suppose I don't."

"Then why was this time different?"

He looked down and away. I asked, "It was because I was there?"

He looked me straight in the eye and said, "As a member of a pack, I have certain responsibilities. Particularly in a pack such as ours. That means that I am expected to act in a certain way."

I cocked my head. I hadn’t heard him speak in such a defensive tone before. "You are, yes, but that wasn't it."

He maintained a strong eye contact while he searched my face, trying to discern some hidden meaning in my words. "Dan, how many fae have you actually dealt with?"

"Just him."

I smiled and nodded, "So you're not really familiar with them and their... idiosyncrasies?"

He finished his muffin and his coffee before shrugging. "No, I suppose I'm not."

I didn’t like the way he crossed his arms loosely and leaned back in his chair while stretching his legs. His mouth held in a stubborn hard line. He'd shut down. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, reminding myself that he was a cub. His behaviour, while unacceptable, was not worthy of aggression. I needed to open him up and help him understand, to learn. I was out of practise at the alpha thing, but I was trying.
 

"Fae are... interesting creatures. They have to be handled in a very specific way. I adore them, they're very much my people, but you cannot be aggressive towards them. You cannot intimidate them if you ever want them on your side. It
will
fail."

He nodded and leaned forwards just a little, "What was that whole hug and kiss thing all about?"

I smiled. "It's a sign of trust and mild affection. I allowed him close and showed him that everything's good between us, that I trusted him. That makes him feel good and keeps him on my side."

He thought it through for a moment. "So... they're absurdly high-strung, aggressive princesses? Is that what you're telling me?"

I laughed, "I suppose that's one way of putting it, yes."

He smiled. "Well that shouldn’t be too difficult to remember. I’ll try and have it mind next time I deal with one."