Soft Touch

soft touch

S lade is in the kitchen working on the brew and it can’t come any faster. Lucas has gotten more pale since Slade stopped singing and I’m really beginning to worry. I know the Prince swears he can help, and I want to believe him… but life hasn’t been kind in the past two years. It wouldn’t surprise me if the Universe handed me a sweet, sexy mate I never thought I’d have and whisked him away before I could even enjoy it. I kiss the bear’s knuckles, feeling tears of frustration well up behind my eyes.

“I’m going to check on Slade. Monitor him?” I murmur to the crowd. They don’t answer, but I assume they’re agreeing, so I roll to my feet and head inside.

Once there, I walk past the humming siren, stirring an aromatic pot of ingredients to the living room. Putting my hands on the back of the couch, I lean down, sucking in a shaky breath. I swallow as my body trembles and tears splash on my cheeks. Lucas is too young to die, and it’s not fair that some asshole with a grudge is trying to take away his future. Even if he wasn’t my mate, this would be bullshit—he’s talented and kind and not involved in whatever crap the poisoner is getting revenge for.

Yet someone as evil and selfish as Magnus lived for fucking centuries before he met his end.

“Morgana, are you okay?”

I whirl around in fear, not used to people seeing me in such a vulnerable state. Wiping my eyes, I wait until my vision clears and realize it’s Slade. “You should be stirring. I didn’t mean to distract you.”

He gestures, inviting me into his embrace. “Please… let me help you.”

Swallowing hard, I look at him, unsure if I can be like this in front of someone I don’t know very well. “I… well. I mean, I’m just… This is really hard.”

“Morgana, I won’t hurt you. I get that you’re probably gun shy because of him.” Slade gestures around the room as the house personifies his essence. “But I’m not like that. If I’m honest, I don’t think anyone at this place is, even the cranky dragon.”

My brows furrow, and I step a little closer as I bite my lip. “It’s not that I think you are, but I’m… I’m so damaged, Slade. Lucas and I were supposed to be a fling. I didn’t mean to let him in, nor did I have a clue he might be a mate. It was so fucking fast and now he’s sick…”

The smile he gives me is so gentle that I can feel it in my bones. Very slowly, he takes my hand and pulls me into his arms, wrapping me up tight. I stand there stiffly for a moment, but he hums softly, and it makes the spikes in my veins calm down. My body relaxes and I rest my head on his, closing my eyes.

“You’re the tallest woman I’ve ever hugged,” he says with a soft laugh. “I feel like a little kid in comparison.”

That makes me snort and I shrug slightly. “I’m used to being bigger than most, but I will admit it’s why I’ve always dated shifters known for their size. Men aren’t usually so amused by me dwarfing them.”

“Did you just say ‘date’? Because even if you are this tall barefoot, Iggy and I won’t complain. Pinky swear.” I pinch his side, and he just snuggles in closer. “The dragon and Fae are tall like the bear, though. So you’ve got a good mix.”

I wrinkle my nose and pull back, looking down at Slade in frustration. “I barely agreed to include the two of you and now you’re recruiting my neighbors? How horny do you think I am, music man?”

He beams and shrugs, his beautiful eyes dancing as he looks up. “I’m very empathic and I sense auras as well. Iggy says it’s a glimmer of Precog—which the siren side is known for—but I think it’s because I had to learn to read people at a young age. My family has… rivals, and I had to judge things in a snap or it could be dangerous.”

“Are you saying you think the Prince and his asshat guard are… meant for me… or something?” I give him a disbelieving expression. I wasn’t even supposed to have one damn mate, much less a group of supes trying to vie for my attention. I’m not sure I can handle that many dudes in one space, to be honest. It doesn’t take long for me to lose my temper when people are around.

“I don’t know. All I know is that it doesn’t feel like a coincidence. They showed up right when we needed them and had the exact knowledge we needed to save Lucas. That means something and I don’t ignore signs from the Fates. They get awfully vengeful when you don’t listen.”

Yeah, I’m very familiar with their brand of vengeance.

“Should we go check on the brew?” I ask. I’m not ready to think about the implications of our discussion, and I definitely can’t decide until Lucas is okay. “I don’t want him to get worse.”

“Yes. I’m sorry if I scared you, Morgana. Iggy says I’m too blunt and I should learn better social graces—which is funny once you get to know him. He’s not exactly a diplomat, either.” The siren gives me a crooked grin that makes my heart go pitter-patter, then steps back.

I lean down and brush my lips over his cheek. “You helped me a lot, actually. Even if your intuition scares me, you helped me quit focusing on the possibility that Lucas won’t get better. I felt overwhelmed, which might frighten him. I appreciate it.”

Holding his hand out, Slade flushes pink with the praise. “Stop making me blush. Praise is my thing, you know.” My eyes widen and I grin a little, tucking that knowledge in my pocket for later. “We have to finish this brew and give it to the big bear before he gets worse. Come on.”

He’s right—for now.

I watch Slade pour the flowery mix into a big mug from the cabinet nervously. Trusting numerous new people goes against my nature, yet I must. My mother’s skills never stuck with me and I definitely can’t go hunting for a professional curse breaker, given Lucas’s and my public profiles.

Nope. This is my only option, and it doesn’t matter if I have misgivings.

“Let’s go out and give this to the Prince,” he says, holding his hand out again.

I take it, letting him twine our fingers together. His touch is calming as we walk over to give Liam the mug and it helps me ground myself. “What’s next?”

Kaspar looms over the Fae as he mutters into the glass and I blink when sparkles zing through the surrounding air. The Prince is speaking in a language I haven’t heard before—it’s not High Fae, nor it is from this side of the Veil. Iggy looks fascinated as well, scooting closer to watch Liam as he chants. Everyone is hanging on the edge of their seats until a loud pop echoes through the air and the Prince grins at the glass.

“There we go. This should do it, though it might be uncomfortable,” he says as he looks down at Lucas. “I’m sorry for that. You’ll probably scream, but it goes away as this flushes the poison away.”

The polar bear shrugs and gives him a wan smile. “Dude, I’d take some momentary pain over feeling like my life is draining from me slowly. Bottoms up.”

Letting go of Slade, I walk over and drop onto the ground next to the lounge as he chugs the mixture. His face contorts, the moment he swallows it down, and he shouts as his body arches off the cushions. My hands curl into fists as Lucas thrashes around, his bellows making my ears ring. This had better make him better hastily, because I can hardly stand feeling my mate hurting—Des is hissing in my ear as if she’s going to attack as it is.

“Everyone stay calm,” Liam says softly. “The poison will ooze out soon and we’ll need to wipe it away. Do we have paper towels?”

I nod, but I can’t make myself move from Lucas’s side. The grouchy dragon throws up his hands when the others stay still as well and I call to him as he heads inside, “The pantry, top shelf.”

I’m pretty sure whatever he just said is ‘fuck you’ in that same weird language.

Liam looks over at me with a sheepish expression, rubbing his hand on his neck. “I’m sorry about Kaspar. He’s very serious about his job and even more serious about protecting his friend. It makes him act like a jackass… well, most of the time.”

“Jackass is putting it nicely,” Iggy mutters. “That guy has a chip on his shoulder big enough to be labeled a canyon.”

Lucas tries to laugh, but it comes out as a strangled moan. Scooting closer, I brush the hair off his forehead, trying to soothe him a little. “Iggy’s right. He clearly doesn’t like us, so I appreciate you helping my mate, despite your guard’s protests.”

“Oh, I don’t think he dislikes you,” Liam says as he looks at his watch. “If he did, he wouldn’t have gone to find the towels. This is going to get gross in a minute. He’d let someone he disliked ruin their furniture and get covered in sludge.”

“Covered in sludge?” I ask incredulously. “What do you mean, covered in sludge?”

His lips curve as Kaspar comes back with two rolls of paper towels and a glower. “You’ll find out right about… now.”

I turn back to Lucas. The aptly titled ‘sludge’ is now leaking from his pores, black and slimy as it runs over every inch of his frame. It’s like something from a fucking horror movie or a comic book, and I have to scramble away so it doesn’t touch me. Iggy and Slade back up, similarly horrified, and I take Slade’s hand to get to my feet. “What the hell, Liam?”

“That’s Prince?—”

“Shut up, Kaspar!” I growl in irritation before I go back to his charge. “What the hell is this?”

He shrugs. “The poison, Morgana. Everything in or made by the Fae has a life force. The brew pushes it out and we need the towels to wipe it all up. Then we’ll bag all the towels and burn them in your fire pit. If we don’t kill it, it could escape and taint other things.”

“It’s like Venom!” Lucas crows, coughing as more sludge comes out of his mouth when it opens it.

Fucking men. Only a guy would be excited if his weird Fae poison was like some stupid superhero shit.

“That shit almost killed you, baby. Maybe don’t be so excited?” I grumble. Kaspar smirks as he hands me a wad of towels, then moves on to Slade. “It’s not really cool if it’s fatal.”

Iggy shrugs and takes a handful from the dragon. “I don’t know. Every boy, even supes, hopes they’ll get bitten by a radioactive spider. It’s one of those ‘become your hero’ things men like.”

I give him an odd look. “Ignatius Briarton, you have magic . Why the hell would you need to have spider powers?”

“Because it’s hella badass?” Lucas gurgles around another glob of goo. “I’d prefer Wolverine, though.”

Liam nods, grinning. “Gambit.”

“Thor,” Slade admits.

Are these idiots serious?

“Lucas, you turn into a bear. Slade, you can hypnotize people. I don’t know what Liam can do, but he’s the fucking Prince of the Daybreak Court. You don’t need to be superheroes from the humans!”

Kaspar winks at me and that shocks me as much as their admissions. “They’re all kids, Killer. Even the Prince is quite young for a Fae.”

“Thanks for calling me Mrs. Robinson, you asshole,” I mutter as I stalk away from the group. I’ve never felt as old as I do right now—even when I turned my first century. With a huff of irritation, I wipe some of the goo away from my ‘baby’ mate while I give those motherfuckers my back.

“Kas, you never tell a woman she’s old. Your mother would beat the tar out of you for being that rude,” Liam chides. “We all should help Morgana get Lucas cleaned up. We’re in for a long night as he continues to recover.”

Great. Hopefully, I don’t murder any of these morons before the sun comes up.