Once full, my girl was content to let us wander the woods, soaking up the new atmosphere. It looked, to my human perception, just like any other piece of East Texas forest, pine trees. Well, those were the standout, anyway.
She took me further from the motel than I wanted to go and even picked up speed when a new scent hit our nose. I was just along for the ride until she wanted to give it back, so I didn’t bother to fight with it. It would have done me no good.
We stopped on the edge of a pond and she took a long drink before lying out under the moonlight, finally letting us relax and digest the meal.
“Ah, good evening, cat,” a male voice said politely. Both sides of my soul jumped at that, hissing as we spun to see the intrusion. Brin walked slowly towards us, smiling gently as he drew near. “It’s a wonderful evening, isn’t it? Not too hot, not too cold. Perfect August night.”
I bared my teeth, but the cat also bobbed our head. Fantastic. She liked that a fae walked in on our full moon nap. Full moons. It was the worst time for me to be a werecat. Normally when I Changed, I retained a majority of the control and blended nicely with my feline half, but not tonight. Tonight we were on opposite pages. Not a good place to be and not safe for Brin, who could make easy prey or a serious threat.
“You know the fae love cats, right? I’m not going to harm you. This is my pond, I’ll remind you, and this is pretty far from your territory. Show respect where respect is due.” He folded his arms behind his back, patient with me.
I lowered my head in what was supposed to be a bow.
“Very good. I actually wanted to talk to you both. You’re protecting Carey Everson, human daughter of that werewolf Alpha. Sad business, that. It got me thinking.”
Oh hell. Fae thinking was never good. My cat didn’t seem disturbed though, completely at ease with him and his presence. For once, I wanted the more defensive and aggressive cat and I didn’t get it. Perfect.
“You are going against wolves. Have they attacked you? You got those injuries from somewhere. Normally werecats on Duty find strength and protect their territory at the same time. You must have been driven away.”
I just nodded my large head. He had the right of it.
“That’s not good. While it’s happened before, generally once a human is under the protection of a werecat, it’s a safer bet to just leave it alone. The werecat is as much of a deterrent as it is a warrior.” He hummed thoughtfully before continuing. “I have a human wife. I don’t like that. I don’t like that some wolves have decided to pick a fight to take the charge of a werecat. That’s not good.”
I could relate to that. It didn’t make much sense on the wolves’ part. There was no way five werewolves could have taken Carey from me, but the fact that they tried? That was bad business for everyone, which was why I took her and put both of us into hiding.
“They would have attacked you in wolf form as well. I could smell the blood from you, along with a touch of silver. That’s foul play in my books. I’ll have to contact my own. If they’re willing to use silver on a werecat, who knows if they might use iron on a fae…” He growled and it sounded feral. Not like my deep, wild growl, but a rabid animal that was barely held back by its leash. “I’m probably paranoid, but it says something that I’m as old as I am and just a little paranoid. Well, fae problems aside, I wanted to offer you a gift.”
That had my hackles rising. I should have noticed he was fae and moved on. Fairy gifts weren’t trustworthy. My cat lay down, fighting my urge to leave. Damn girl thought this was perfectly normal.
“The human and the feline, warring for control. Jacky Leon, how much do you know about fae? You know enough to not get caught up saying thank you and you know how to barter. I caught that earlier, don’t think I didn’t. Well, your cat knows more instinctively than you do, so trust her for a moment.” He smirked, kneeling in front of me. “See, cats and the fae get along. We always have. Dogs became man’s best friend, but the cats and their fickle natures appealed to us. Cait sidhe are more common than Cu sidhe, even. Ah…cat fae and dog fae, respectively.” He reached out slowly. I tried my best to jerk my head away, but my cat thought a scratch was a great idea, lowering my head further and letting him get his fingers behind my ears. For a moment, I was positive he must have spelled us, removing my ability to leave, but the feline half disagreed.
“I’ll keep explaining. I can feel you fight, but there’s no reason to. This gift isn’t for you, Jacky, it’s for your charming feline half. I would never give a gift to a cat and expect repayment for it in the future. I just hope that maybe one day you will consider my family and I, and this gift. Maybe one day, I’ll need you to protect my wonderful wife and this will help you.” His smirk turned into a large grin. “There’s a lot you don’t know, but one day you might need to know. For now, I just want you to accept this gift and stick it to the werewolves who have decided to try and harm a human girl. Unacceptable on their part, and against the Law.”
Something burned in my mind, even making my cat uncomfortable. Finally, the smart thing happened, and I snarled, swiping a paw at the fae for whatever he was doing.
But as quickly as it started, it was over. He wasn’t in front of me either. I jumped to look behind me and found him, his arms once again folded behind his back.
“Werecats. Strong, smart, territorial, and beautiful. You take the form of a beast that no longer walks this earth and you hold on to life with all your fangs and claws, fighting against the tide that would see you wiped out. A shame, since wolves are smaller and weaker than you. They have one advantage, though. Pack magic.”
I bared my teeth. I knew what pack magic was. The ability for wolves to talk telepathically with each other, among other things. It made their hunting strategies the best in the world, and even though I could defeat a small group, the pack magic helped them to the bitter end. They were able to change plans and react while I fought alone and against the very tide he spoke of. It was the direct counterpart of a werecat’s territory magic, our ability to connect with our land and know damn near everything we needed to know about it, like if there were other predators entering it.
“You do know,” he said softly. “I should have expected that, really. Well, I gave you a boon that will even the playing fields, kitten. Now you can talk to anyone while in your werecat form. That means you can still communicate. Isn’t that nice?”
The puzzlement must have been clear even on my feline face because he laughed.
“Focus on me and think. Speak to me.”
I did as he asked, narrowing my eyes on him. “Like this?”
“Very good!” He clapped excitedly. “Perfect. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m done for the evening and—”
“Why? Why did you do this for me?” I needed answers. He’d just forced a fairy gift on me, god damn it. I had to know why.
“Because they broke the rules, the wolves. Their own and the Law. Don’t think I don’t follow the news and can’t put it all together. Keep Miss Carey safe, please. Just remember that I have human family. This sort of thing could encourage others to play badly. They must understand that there are consequences to it. If you fall to the wolves, there won’t be any repercussions for them. No one would dare try, including your own kind. But it would make your kind vulnerable to it happening again. This was a selfless, and yet selfish, gift. I ask nothing in return for it and cede the right to it. I would ask you to just remember. That’s all.”
Meddling. He was meddling in the affairs of werecats and werewolves for his own personal reasons. I had given him the opportunity and his reasons were, in a sense, sound. He had a point, a strong one. Werecats were only allowed to exist at this point because of the Duty. It was something I had been repeating to myself since Carey showed up. Failure wasn’t an option. Apparently, I wasn’t the only person who thought so, and his gift was a good one. A very good one.
“Thank you,” I said softly. His gift, freely given, deserved a thanks. He wiped the debt, but I gave it back to him. I would remember tonight. Forgetting it could prove deadly.
He waved once, then disappeared.
I felt edgy long after his disappearance. I jumped at small noises. Even my feline, finally letting go of control, didn’t know what to think about what had just happened.
Carey’s father, Heath, believed in fate. I was beginning to as well.
The night wore on and I trotted slowly back towards the motel, keeping my nose in the air, just in case the wind wanted to tell me anything about what might be nearby. I found nothing and went to the door of the motel room, thinking about Carey.
I lay down, waiting for dawn, protecting her door. I wasn’t worried about humans anymore. The cat and I were sated, and there was no one else at the motel. It was too dark and wooded to see the road. I was safe, and so was my human.
And I had a fairy gift, a permanent one. The world was a weird place.
Chapter Nine
I was still awake when the sun came up. Instead of waiting outside the door, I headed back into the woods, finding my clothing before the sun asked me to Change back into my human form. I collected everything and let my human form rush out, trying to mentally block out the pain.
What a strange night. I couldn’t really believe it, even though it had happened. Fae were meddlers, and if they could make something about themselves, they would. Brin was a fae. I really should have seen it coming. Hasan had spent years warning me to stay clear of them, but idiot me thought I would just be a customer and get ignored by the one here.
I was wrong. Now I was going to live with the fairy gift and hopefully it wasn’t going to bite me in the ass. It wasn’t the priority—Carey was. The politics weren’t the priority—Carey was. Was I trying to be mindful of the politics? Yes. Hasan would have my head if I wasn’t.
It was the same mental debate I had all night. Kicking myself but also being grateful. Hating my place in the world, but accepting it.