Chapter Nine

Relaxing on the back porch, Jax sniffed the air, smelling the mouth-watering aroma of tacos his dad was currently cooking in the kitchen. He could hear the meat sizzling and the clatter of pots and pans, along with his dad's whistling. Kalen always got down when he cooked. It was a wonder none of them weighed a ton.

But there was also a strange, unfamiliar scent mixed in, one that didn't belong, which raised his hackles.

Since Jax knew Raidh's father wanted his son dead, which was fucked up on an epic scale, but it was entirely possible Galamir had sent more than just vampires after his son.

Muscles tense, he pushed from his chair and curled his fingers around the wooden railing, taking another, deeper whiff.

Snarling low in his throat, he followed the scent to the side of the house where the trash cans were stored. The moon illuminated a tiny figure standing on an overturned crate, peeping into the living room window.

With lightning speed, Jax grabbed a fistful of the stranger's long blue hair and yanked them away from the window.

" Ow! What the oatmeal!" the person cried out, struggling against Jax's grip.

"What the hell are you doing?" he snarled. Size or gender didn't faze him when it came to the safety of his family.

Raidh was tiny as well, but that didn't mean short, petite people couldn't be a threat.

The stranger twisted and squirmed, causing her blue tresses to slip through his fingers before she suddenly launched herself toward the sky on a set of small gossamer wings, glittering in an array of colorful hues.

Jax's jaw dropped.

Although Raidh was undeniably breathtaking, Jax liked his eyeballs right where they were. Jaytee would rip them out if his brother caught him checking out the stunning fairy.

His brother was fiercely protective of his mate, as he should be.

Like the way he'd nearly gone feral when Damon's dumb ass tried to flirt with Raidh outside Bluebird Café. But Jax would never cross that line. He wasn't a poacher and loved Jaytee too much to betray him.

But now that Jax knew Raidh had wings, he was definitely going to ask if he could see them.

"Get your ass down here right this instant!" he demanded.

She stuck out her tongue at him, and Jax growled menacingly.

"Where is Raidh?" she shot back defiantly. "Did that giant brute eat him? I told Raidh his long beard was probably full of crumbs from snacking on guys like him. If that wolf shifter harmed one strand of hair on my best friend's precious head, I'll…I'll… Shoot." She paused, tapping her chin in thought. "I'll squish him like a pug!"

"What?" Jax furrowed his brow in confusion. "Don't you mean bug?"

"Why would I hurt a bug?" She furrowed her blue brows.

This was definitely one peculiar fairy. "Why were you spying on us?"

"I love snooping!" she exclaimed with a clap of her hands before wrinkling her nose. "What's wrong with the man in your living room? Is he scratching his crotch because of fleas?"

Jax burst out laughing. "No, Damon probably just used too much detergent in his laundry. But I like your theory better."

Now Jax would accuse Damon of having fleas whenever he scratched himself.

Relieved the fairy was actually Raidh's best friend and not an enemy here to kill Jaytee's mate, Jax found himself quite entertained by the blue-haired, olive-colored creature.

"I came to check on Raidh." Her meadow-green eyes flickered with concern as she slowly descended back to the ground. "I've been worried about him since I left him in this human realm four days ago. He has a knack for getting into trouble. Is he safe?"

"Safe is a relative term," Jax replied, thinking back to the recent vampire attack.

"Ugh, I knew it!" She stomped toward the back door. "I swear I can't take my eyes off him for a second!"

"Whoa!" Jax ran after her. For someone so short, she walked pretty damn fast. "You don't want to startle my dad. It's never pretty when he goes for the throat."

"It's never pretty when someone keeps me from my best friend." Her jaw set and her small fists balled up in determination, she hurried up the back steps and marched right into the house.

A loud clatter followed by Kalen's deep growl erupted inside.

"Shit." Jax raced up the back steps, hoping his father hadn't whacked the fairy with the cast iron skillet he was using to cook the taco meat.

* * * *

The illusion dissolved instantly. Jaytee quickly dressed, giving his mate a T-shirt and shorts to throw on before he rushed out of his bedroom, knowing what a tiny menace Elvine was. As he hurried down the steps, Jaytee inhaled the smell of tacos. Sweet. One of his favorite meals.

Then a thought struck him. How did Elvine even find Raidh when his mate had cast a concealment spell?

Damon was leaning against the kitchen entrance when Jaytee rounded the corner, grinning widely. It figured his twin was getting a kick out of whatever was going on. The guy loved drama, as long as it didn't involve him.

"You might want to stay out of there," Damon warned with a teasing smirk, tucking his hands nonchalantly into the front pockets of his jeans.

Frowning, Jaytee walked into the room and was met with chaos. Elvine was hovering near the ceiling, her colorful wings flapping furiously. She white-knuckled a frying pan like she was ready for battle.

Jax stood by the table, his fists clenched, glaring at Elvine with an intensity that could have melted steel.

Kalen had his backside resting against the counter, his beefy arms folded, looking irritated as he stared up at the fairy.

The scene was almost unbelievable. What could Jaytee have possibly missed in the past hour to lead to this standoff? Canned goods were scattered across the wooden floor, some of them now dented, and one of the shelves on their large custom-made hutch was broken.

Kalen had paid a fortune for it, but it was one of a kind and had been worth the price. The damn thing was seven feet long, made of sturdy cherry oak, and had small, intricate designs hand carved into the wood, adding to its value and beauty.

Jaytee was shocked his dad wasn't trying to kill Elvine for damaging it.

"We've had that stupid hutch for over a century!" Jax growled. "Get down from there this instant!"

"It's not my fault he threw a frying pan at my head!" Elvine screeched, pointing her weapon at Kalen. "He's the one who missed my head and struck the hutch!"

Jaytee wisely stayed out of the argument. He had no desire to become a target for that flying frying pan.

"I specifically told you not to startle him!" Jax shouted, his anger rising. "Consider yourself lucky he threw a pan instead of ripping out your throat!"

This shit was threatening to tear apart the precious peace Jaytee had briefly experienced with his mate. He wanted to duct-tape Elvine and Jax and toss them both out into the backyard.

Damon snickered from behind him.

And my twin as well .

"And you!" Elvine whirled around to point her frying pan at Damon. Jaytee instinctively stepped to the side in case she decided to throw her pan at his twin. A pissed-off woman wielding a cast-iron frying pan was not something he wanted to mess with. "Learn proper measurements! Watching you scratch your crotch is downright disturbing."

Jaytee coughed out a laugh.

Damon, on the other hand, was not so amused. He looked at her with wide eyes, his eyebrows reaching his hairline, and retorted, "Why were you spying on me in the first place?"

"Because she loves to snoop," Raidh said, entering the kitchen with Jaytee's oversized clothes hanging loosely on his small frame. He had to grip the side of the shorts just to keep them from falling off completely.

Damon squinted at Raidh. "You look like you're playing dress-up in your dad's clothes. Did you raid Kalen's closet?"

"Shut it," Jaytee snarled. "Or I'll set Elvine on you. She's armed with skull-cracking weapon and doesn't seem afraid to use it."

After seeing his mate's life in that flash, Jaytee's protectiveness toward Raidh had only intensified. He didn't want anyone messing with his fairy, no matter how harmless their intentions might be.

"You want me to bonk him on the head for you, beefy tattooed giant?" She swished the pan like she was warming up for batting practice.

"I've questioned the friends you've made over the centuries, Jaytee, but come on." Jax flapped his hand toward Elvine. "You're scraping, bro."

"Aren't you the one who would have paid to see Raidh throw up on my back?" Jaytee arched an eyebrow.

"That's…" Elvine wrinkled her nose and made a gagging sound. "What is wrong with men and their antics? I'm the one who is going to pray to the porcupine god if you keep talking about that gross stuff."

Kalen frowned. "Don't you mean porcelain god?"

"I don't think you want to start pulling the string on Captain Spy Master. You might not like what unravels," Raidh said before he looked up at Elvine. "What are you doing here, and how did you even find me, tulip?"

Tulip? Jaytee was going to let that go since Babe Ruth was still wielding her cast-iron weapon and might take offense if he got all growly at her best friend.

"I have a skin to pick with you." She pointed an accusatory finger at Raidh. "I've been trying to call you for three freaking days! McSnarly over there said you've already been in trouble. Why haven't you answered my calls?" she demanded.

"Bone." Damon slapped the back of his right hand on his left palm a few times. "You have a bone to pick with him. Jesus."

"Stop calling me names," Jax said through gritted teeth. "It's Jax, not McSnarly."

She narrowed her eyes at him. "Pee off, McSnarly."

Damon palmed his face. "She's hopeless."

"Stop trying." Jaytee chuckled. "Besides, she's entertaining."

Like when she'd thought she could actually pull Jaytee's big ass away from Raidh in that alley on the side of the café, only to dangle midair from his arm when he'd lifted it. Although Jaytee had to admit, he admired her fierce determination and her loyalty toward her best friend.

Anyone who was willing to fight a predator to save Raidh had Jaytee's loyalty in return.

"Where on earth did you find these friends?" Elvine asked. "In a bargain bin?"

"I could ask the same of Raidh." Jax glared at her.

"She said I was a bargain." Damon winked at Jaytee.

"She should have said you were an idiot," Jaytee replied.

He still wanted to know how Elvine had found Raidh. If she could get past the spell, did that mean others could? Now Jaytee wondered if Galamir knew where his son was located. Even though those vampires had shown up, that didn't necessarily mean Galamir was aware of where his son was staying.

Dickhead Dad could have given them something with Raidh's scent on it so they could track him down. The question was, were those the only bloodsuckers paid to kill Raidh or just the first who'd found him?

Jaytee didn't like having so many unanswered questions. Not when it came to protecting his mate. The very beat to his heart.

"I left my phone at the café," Raidh said loudly enough to quiet the banter and pull Jaytee from his thoughts. "Stop picking on the Frosts and tell me how you found me."

"And you couldn't bother to go back to retrieve it?" She let go of the frying pan, and it clattered to the floor as she crossed her arms. "You had me worried sick about you, Raidh. What kind of trouble have you gotten yourself into since being here?"

"You first." Raidh planted his hands on his hips and glared at her, only to quickly grab the side of the shorts again before they fell down his willowy legs.

Even though Jaytee's clothes were too big on Raidh, damn if he didn't love seeing his mate in them. There was just something about your partner wearing your clothes that turned any man on.

"I learned from the best." She flashed a sparkly smile. "See, I paid attention to your lessons. When I figured out you'd concealed yourself, which I'm very ticked that you didn't tell me, I went to work counteracting it just for me. No one else. I swear." Her grin slipped until it disappeared. "Now tell me what happened."

"I stubbed a toe," Raidh grumbled.

"Don't you dare lie to me." Elvine glared at Raidh with a menacing expression that seemed almost comical given her tiny stature. However, knowing she was skilled in dark magic, Jaytee kept his mouth shut. "We've known each other for nine hundred years. If you don't want me to start revealing some embarrassing stories to these wolves, you'll tell me the truth."

"I wouldn't mind hearing those stories," Damon stated with a grin.

Elvine's eyes flicked to the frying pan on the floor before staring daggers at Jaytee's twin.

The moron smirked.

"You wouldn't dare tell them anything." Raidh looked nervously at her.

"Try me." She rotated in the air toward Jaytee, though she was clearly speaking to Raidh. "Remember that time when we were spying on that couple making out and you—"

"All right!" Raidh hands shot into a surrender position. "Fine, I'll tell you the truth. I was attacked by a vampire."

Elvine gasped. "Oh, Raidh," she whispered. "You know our scent is irresistible to them, dewdrop."

"Actually, I've been meaning to ask about that," Jaytee said. "What's up with that scent?"

It should have been the first thing he asked when they'd met and Raidh's scent had ensnared him and his brothers in its trance.

"We're fae," she replied as if it should have been obvious. "Everything about us is captivating."

"You felt it?" Raidh seemed deeply concerned if his expression was anything to go by.

"Babe, I've been fighting against it since we met," Jaytee confessed. "The haze has ensnared my mind in fog several times already."

"Why didn't you tell me it was affecting you so strongly?" Raidh looked horrified as he squeaked out the question. "I could have helped counteract its hold on you!"

"It hasn't been an issue for me since the first time," Damon commented solemnly, casting a sideways glance at Jaytee.

"Same here," Jax added.

"It doesn't affect me at all," Kalen stated.

"Do you feel it now?" Raidh took Jaytee's hand in his, his mate's warm skin soaking into his and soothing his anxious wolf.

"No," Jaytee said. He started to tell Raidh the times he'd been affected but was ashamed to admit it had hit him the hardest when that vampire had been feeding off his fairy. He already felt like a monster for letting it grip him. Not a damn chance he wanted everyone else to see him that way.

Elvine looked at Jaytee curiously, her brow furrowed. "You don't feel drawn to my scent?"

He wrinkled his nose. "No, thankfully."

"Is it because I'm a female?" She huffed indignantly.

"No, it's because you're annoying," Jax grumbled.

She ignored Jax.

"Gender has nothing to do with it," Jaytee clarified. "I found my mate, so I have no interest in falling under someone else's hypnosis."

He had no interest in falling under Raidh's either, especially since it muddled his head so badly. Not that kind of hypnosis, at least.

"Aww." Elvine's face lit up with excitement. "Wait...you two are mates? Oh no." Her blue brows shot up as she whirled around to face Raidh. "If your father finds out…"

"You mean the son of a bitch who paid vampires to kill his own son?" Damon spat out, anger dripping from every syllable.

"He what!" Elvine's expression darkened, and the room momentarily shook.

Jaytee grabbed the back of a nearby kitchen chair to steady himself while the cans on the floor rolled around and dishes rattled in their cabinets.

"Control your emotions," Raidh scolded her, his voice calm but firm.

"You want me to control my emotions?" Elvine seethed, looking like a spitting ball of barbed wire. "Your despicable father hired vampires to kill you. I always knew he was a piece of poop, but I never imagined he would sink so low!"

Watching someone pace while hovering at the ceiling was bizarre.

"The king needs to know about this," she declared angrily. "We should go to him right away, Raidh."

"With what proof?" Raidh argued. "And if we involve the king, there's a high possibility he'll find out about my forbidden mating."

"Forbidden?" Jaytee's head snapped back, his heart plummeting as if the ground had disappeared beneath him. Like all preternatural, he'd searched his entire life for his mate, but never could he have imagined some law would force him to keep their bond hidden. Jaytee couldn't deny the depth of his feelings for Raidh. He was already half in love with his sweet little fairy, and no Unseelie law was going to change the fact that they were meant to be together.

Elvine's eyes filled with anger and sadness. "It's a ridiculous law, considering fate ultimately decides who our mate should be."

"What would happen to Raidh if your king found out?" Kalen asked.

Tears fell from Elvine's eyes as she whispered, "He would be sentenced to death."

A snarl ripped from Jaytee's throat, and fury boiled from every pore in his body.

"If your king wants a fucking war, he'll have one if he comes anywhere near Raidh." Kalen bared his canines.

"One phone call will bring half the East Coast here to fight alongside us," Damon spat.

"We're Raidh's family, and we fight to the death for one of ours," Jaytee added vehemently.

Elvine stared wide-eyed at them. "Then I guess the king better not step a finger out of line."