Chapter 20
Chapter Twenty
A jax
Ajax sat beside the pond, staring at the small ripples of water as the koi fish swam about. The sun was setting, throwing a pretty haze over the woods around the house, but he barely paid attention, too caught up in what Finn had told him. As he had been for days.
There was no doubt he was completely in love with Finn Kelly and couldn’t see not being with him forever. But part of him was terrified over the thought of what that would do with his music. It wasn’t the limelight Finn had talked about. Mostly. He did love performing. Being on stage. Mostly though, he loved the creation. But to not share those creations with people? Just write in secret and…do what with it? He could sell songs to others, but he’d still have his identity, and a hundred years down the line, how would he hide that? Reinvent himself with new identities? How the hell did they do this?
He tried to think of anything else he’d enjoy doing. With that much time, he could find a new career. But there was also his having to leave BTC while still relatively young. Maybe they wouldn’t even still be popular at that point.
The problem was hundreds of years not spent putting his music out there.
But the alternative was unthinkable. Life without Finn?
No. Just no.
A life spent with that wonderful jinn—a long one—would be a gift.
There was really no choice. Ajax’s heart soared as he understood this was what he wanted. What he needed.
A leaf crunched behind him, and then Finn was settling onto the ground beside him. He looked at this beautiful being. Not human. Magical. Powerful. The disappearing sun created golden highlights in his auburn hair. His deep brown eyes pinned on Ajax.
He gave Ajax a smile that made his heart skip a beat. Ajax opened his mouth to tell him his choice just as there was a shout from the other side of the yard.
Finn jumped up. “Stay with me. Right behind me, okay?”
Ajax scrambled to his feet and ran with Finn as the sound of growls filled the air.
“Those aren’t regular dogs. Stay right here.”
Finn faded away right in front of his eyes as he had in the bedroom. It was incredible to watch. Unreal. Then what he saw stopped his breath.
Dax was fighting three…dogs. But they were unlike any dogs Ajax had ever seen. They were massive—their heads would come to his chest, and their shoulders were thick, bulging with muscle. Black coats looked matted with blood, and there were areas where the fur had been ripped off. Ajax could actually see exposed tissue.
A fourth dog appeared, this one just as large with reddish brown fur. It faced the others, lips curled back and fangs exposed. He realized that one was Finn.
How could he fight those huge monsters?
Because there was no doubt in his mind they were definitely monsters. In addition to their ratty, terrifying appearances, their eyes glowed yellow. For the first time in his life, he wished he had a gun because he’d be no help here. Those creatures scared him to death.
One of the black ones leaped, and the fight that ensued was hard to follow. Growls and snarls filled the air as they snapped and slammed into each other. Dirt flew into the air as Finn rolled with one of them and the other growled and bit at him.
Dax was fighting with the third one, picking it up and hurling it against a tree. But two were after Finn.
Ajax couldn’t breathe, terrified for the jinn he loved. Without even considering the consequences, he searched the ground for a branch, and when he found one, he snatched it up and ran toward the fight.
He swung the branch, hitting one of the black dogs hard enough to make it stagger away from Finn. Finn’s snout turned his way, but he was quickly pulled back into the fray when the other dog bit down on his leg. Finn yelped, yanking his leg away and snapping back.
The dog Ajax had hit crept toward him, head low and deep growls spilling from its mouth.
Those glowing yellow eyes filled him with terror. He lifted the branch, knowing he’d only get one shot, but right before he could swing, Finn leaped in front of the animal, growling fiercely. The two jumped at the same time, Finn viciously ripping into the hound’s throat. The other monster dog came running, and Ajax swung at it, swiping one leg clear off the ground. It lurched to the side but recovered quickly.
Finn left the dog now crumpled on the ground and before Ajax’s eyes, shifted into a tiger mid-jump. He landed on the hound, sinking even longer fangs into its shoulder. They rolled, dirt and clumps of grass flying everywhere. The other black dog wasn’t moving, but Finn was too scared of it to get closer to see if it was dead.
He felt so fucking helpless despite having gotten in two really good swings.
He glanced at Dax to see that he’d felled the third dog and was on his way back to Finn. But just then, the fallen one leaped to its feet and charged Ajax. Saliva dripped from razor-sharp fangs, its ears back as it ran. Ajax’s hands shook on the branch, and he readied to swing just as it jumped into the air.
The tiger leaped in front of it, and the dog’s fangs sank into Finn’s side. It growled, ripping into Finn over and over. Ajax realized he was screaming as he watched helplessly. Dax charged forward, grabbed the dog by the back leg and swung it around, cracking its skull on a tree trunk. He dropped it and knelt next to the now-still tiger.
Ajax ran to him and knelt. Blood and dirt stained his beautiful striped coat. He lay there, panting heavily, and then slowly faded into a thin vapor before solidifying until Finn the man lay there. He was only in jeans, and now that he had golden skin instead of red fur, the blood was even starker. It was all over him.
“Finn? Oh my god, Finn!” Ajax frantically looked at Dax, who had pulled out his phone, but he didn’t hear what he said, the blood rushing too loudly in his ears. Utter panic disoriented him as his gaze went back to Finn.
“Ajax,” Dax said, placing one huge hand on his shoulder. “Help is coming.”
“There’s too much blood. This is bad.”
Finn lay there, eyes closed, part of his chest and stomach ripped open. Utter fear roared through Ajax and again, he felt helpless.
“He jumped in front of that…thing…to save me,” he murmured, voice ragged.
“That’s his job.” Dax awkwardly patted his shoulder. “He’ll be fine. I called Alaric, and he has healing magic.”
“What if it takes him too long to get here? Finn’s bleeding badly.” Ajax whipped his shirt off and pressed it over the worst wound. The shirt soaked through instantly. “Oh god.”
He pressed, barely paying attention when the ogre did the same to another wound with his own shirt. They stayed like that, trying to stop the life from flowing from Finn. Though the crowd outside the gate couldn’t see them, they had to have heard all the noise. They’d gone silent, and Ajax guessed they had probably called the police. Surely they had. He could only hope the healer arrived first. When he heard a car finally pull up to the gate, Ajax jumped up to let them in, but Dax stopped him. “I’ve got it. Stay with Finn.”
Ajax knelt back down and placed his one hand back on the shirt and the other on Finn’s uninjured shoulder. “Help is here,” he told him. “Hang on. Fuck, I love you so much. Don’t you dare die on me.”
Finn’s eyes opened and though they were glazed over, there was still affection there. “Love?” he whispered.
“Finn, thank god you’re awake. Yes, love. I’m so sorry you got hurt. Help is here.”
“Are you okay?”
“Yes, thanks to you.”
His eyes closed and his body went loose. Ajax, in a total panic, looked up at the men who’d arrived, only barely noticing that one had pointed ears. An elf, like his childhood friend. The elf knelt and placed his hands on Finn.
Ajax’s skin prickled as magic brushed over it. He couldn’t breathe as he waited, not even glancing at the others. All he could do was stare at Finn and will the magic to work.
Seemed like it took forever, each moment stretching out not an eternity. “Why is it taking so long?”
Dax touched his shoulder. “The wounds are bad, Ajax. Really bad.”
“He got them protecting me. This is my fault.”
“Those were hell hounds. Someone else is at fault, because they were sent here. Someone who knows of our existence. Who do you know that it could be?”
“No one.” Ajax ran his hands through his hair, tugging on it with complete agitation, not caring that he’d spread blood into it. “It has to be about my music. Maybe someone took offense at lyrics about monsters—I don’t know.” He looked back at Finn, still unconscious, and willed him to wake. “Please open those eyes, baby. I need you. Need you so much.”
The other man he hadn’t paid attention to knelt beside him.
“Hey, don’t worry. Alaric has powerful healing magic. Finn is going to be okay.”
Ajax looked at the man, who was obviously human. “Who are you?”
“I’m Ezra. I came with Alaric. We were having a date night when Dax called. Luckily, not that far away.”
“You know about their magic?”
“I can see past it, much like I suspect you can. We share that.”
Ajax looked between the one with pointed ears and this man, sensing a connection like he shared with Finn. “He said I’m his soulmate. This magic has to work. It just has to. He means everything to me. More than my music even. I was going to tell him that.”
“You’ll still do that. Alaric is my soulmate.” Ezra lightly touched Ajax’s arm. “Really, you don’t have to worry. Finn is going to be up and cracking jokes in no time.”
“Cracking jokes?”
The guy’s eyebrows scrunched. “Maybe he’s different while on the job, but when I’ve been around him, he’s always laughing at something or another.”
That didn’t sound like his Finn. He’d been so serious with him. That and affectionate. Passionate. “He thought he was going to ruin my life,” Ajax admitted softly. “Make me give up my fame because I can’t be in the public eye and not age.”
“Oh,” the guy said, voice low. “That would be a problem.”
“You could maybe use glamours,” Dax interrupted. “Xavier can probably manipulate them to work on a human. At least I think so.”
“What?” He stared up at the huge ogre.
“I’m sure Finn must have explained about the magic we use to blend into the human world. You could have Xavier work glamours to make you age and then later you could reinvent yourself with one that changes your looks. Preternaturals would know but they’d understand. Soulmates are priceless to us.”
Finn coughed, pulling Ajax’s gaze back to him. Those glittering brown eyes, barely visible in the darkness, stared up at him. “You were going to give up your fame for me?”
“Oh my god, Finn, are you okay?”
He sat up slowly, still covered in blood but alert and watching Ajax closely. “I’d decided I couldn’t do that to you. Was about to tell you when the hounds showed up.”
“You had? You just decided something that affects us both?”
The others moved away from them and Ajax barely paid them attention.
“I love you, too, which means your happiness comes first.”
“Well, I’d decided I want to be with you. I still planned to create music, and I’m sure I would have figured out what to do with it. Did you hear what Dax suggested?”
“I heard. That solution hadn’t even occurred to me. It’s possible Xavier could make that work. I’m not sure glamours would work on humans, though.”
Ajax shrugged. “If it doesn’t, it doesn’t. If that’s the case, I still choose you. I will always choose you, Finn.”
“Music is who you are.”
“Yes, and I will always make it. But I will also always be a soulmate. Your soulmate.”