Chapter 4 #3
From the driver’s side of the modified vehicle stepped a tall man with plum-colored hair slicked back from a sharp widow’s peak. His eyes were narrow, calculating. Irritation pulled tight at the corners of his mouth.
“What’s the hold up?” he snapped at the mage. “The wing should already be mounted. That’s what I’m paying you for.”
His wings burst free in a flash, fluttering furiously as he lifted off the ground, moving forward in a single smooth motion.
The crowd gave him space immediately.
He descended until he was directly in front of me.
Up close, his shadow swallowed the neon glow. His boots touched down slowly, deliberately. The air around him stirred with displaced magic. I gulped, my body frozen in front of him.
His gaze dragged over me from head to toe.
“What’s a human doing here?” he asked, not looking at me but at the surrounding crowd. “Anyone going to claim her?”
Silence.
No one moved. No one made a sound.
His lips curved as his eyes narrowed cruelty on me.
“Soooo a rat slipped in, huh?”
His wings folded back into nothing, vanishing as if they’d never been there. He stepped closer.
“You wanted a better look?” he murmured, leaning down just enough that I could see the faint sheen of magic flash across his eyes. “You walked into the wrong den, human.”
The fairy’s shadow covered me completely.
His arm shot out, fingers circling my wrist until the bones ground together. The skin there throbbed under the pressure, my pulse jumping wildly. Around us, boots shifted against concrete.
A wolf with silver rings in his ears folded his arms and leaned back against a Camaro, watching. Two fae women whispered behind manicured nails, their wings fluttering once before settling. A demon lifted his drink and took a slow sip, eyes never leaving me.
The warehouse felt smaller.
I caught myself scanning for exits instead of help.
For a split-second, my mind betrayed me with the memory of Alto’s shop. The dim yellow bulb over my cot, the thin blanket folded at the foot, the familiar scent of oil and steel. Safe in its own rough way. Mine.
Why did I not listen to myself? Why did I come here? Why did I let the magical allure tempt me?
I bit down on the inside of my lip until copper flooded my mouth. The fairy’s fingers cinched tighter, grinding bone. A hiss slipped through my teeth before I could stop it.
“Your min—”
“What’s all the fuss, Manshu?”
The voice cut clean through the tension.
Heads turned in a ripple. Whispers died mid-word. The crowd parted faster this time, bodies stepping aside without being asked.
Calix Winstale stepped up into the space as if it had been waiting for him.
His rose-gold eyes swept over the scene once; me on the edge of the circle, Manshu’s hand locked around my wrist, the gathered audience. His mouth curved faintly.
“Do I need to ask you again?”
He turned, resting back against the fairy’s own car, fingers tapping idly against the polished hood as if claiming it by proximity alone.
“If this is your way of trying to get with a woman, I’ll tell you first hand, they don’t like being bossed around until you get them in bed,” he drawled, gaze flicking between us, “but, you know, to each their own.”
A few nearby supes snorted softly. Calix pushed off the car, and in a blink of an eye, he stood inches away. Close enough that I could see the gradient of gold and pink blending in his eyes.
“With this one shaking,” he added lightly, his eyes on me like I was being seen for the first time, “I’d say you’re misreading the room.”
Manshu’s jaw tightened. His grip dug deeper for a final second, sharp enough to draw a gasp of breath from me. Distracted by the pain at my wrist, I didn't see the shove coming.
My hip struck the concrete first. The impact shot white heat up my side, stealing the air from my lungs. The warehouse lights blurred overhead as the crowd’s boots shuffled backward to avoid being touched by the fallen human.
I didn't expect a pair of gentle hands to slide under my arms and lift me up.
“Are you alright, miss?”
The voice came low and controlled. I tipped my head back.
Striking deep plum eyes met mine, flecked with silver that caught in the warehouse lights. A strand of dark brown hair fell forward across his brow. His chest was solid against my back, heat seeping through my shirt where he supported my weight. Why did supes have to be so fucking gorgeous?
For half a heartbeat, the noise of the warehouse faded and I blurted out, “N-Nathan.”
Confusion creased this man’s brow, his lips pulled into a thin line.
Then Nathan’s voice tore through the air.
“She’s mine! I claim her!”
The crowd shifted again as Nathan rushed forward, Lark close behind him. Lark’s hands latched onto me the moment the stranger released his hold, pulling me upright and into her arms.
“We’re here,” she whispered, clutching me tight.
Manshu and Calix now stood toe-to-toe, the air between them prickling as Calix smiled wide like all of this was a game. Supes edged back another step, widening the space instinctively.
“Did you know she was claimed?” Calix asked casually, though his eyes never left Manshu’s face.
Manshu flicked a glance at me before looking Nathan up and down. “She’s not marked,” he replied, spreading his hands, “and he seemed busy.” He motioned to Lark. “If he wants to claim multiples, he needs to be strong enough to do so.”
A few quiet chuckles rippled through the outer ring. Nathan’s jaw flexed, but he didn’t bare his fangs. He couldn’t because he was right. There was no mark on me. No visible claim etched into skin.
In supe territory, that mattered.
Calix hummed thoughtfully, gaze drifting over me once more before returning to Manshu.
“You might be right,” he said, Manshu’s lips twitched in victory. “But that isn’t your call, is it?”
The temperature in the air seemed to drop a degree as his eyes narrowed on Manshu like he was shit underneath his shoe.
“Leave the human girl alone.” His command landed flat and final. All the lazy humor wiped off his face as he stared Manshu down, ready to lay down the law if the fairy wanted to fight him on it.
Manshu’s shoulders stiffened. For a fraction of a second, it looked as though he might argue.
Then the man who’d helped me, the tan, dark-haired one with bewitching plum drenched eyes, stepped up behind Calix. Recognition flickered through the crowd.
Rack Marlo was the name they all whispered right after Calix’s, and I realized he was the biker that came in. His right hand man.
Manshu’s wings twitched once before folding tight against his back.
Calix didn’t look at me when he spoke next.
“Take your girls home,” Calix commanded, keeping his eyes fixed on Manshu. Nathan already started to move forward to collect me. “Keep them where unclaimed humans are expected.”
The dismissal was clear.
Nathan murmured words of gratitude, bowing his head a few times before guiding Lark and me toward the exit. The crowd parted again, though this time with less curiosity and more calculation.
Behind us, Calix’s laugh easily carried across the warehouse, causing me to look over my shoulder.
He stepped around Manshu’s car, covering his mouth to stop the laughter from bubbling out.
“Interesting wing,” he commented under his hand as his gaze slid toward the freshly altered drag setup. “Even a human spotted the flaw.”
The fire mage stiffened. Manshu’s head snapped toward the car.
“Good luck winning anything with that,” he snarked then walked off with Rack next to him.
“Eyes forward, Olivia,” Nathan warned, and I turned back around.
As we moved closer toward the door, I felt it—Manshu’s stare pressing into my spine, heavy and venomous—but I kept walking.
If he won tonight, maybe pride would soothe the bruise to his ego.
Maybe he’d forget the human girl who’d spoken out of turn.
Maybe.
I pressed my throbbing wrist against my chest and stared straight ahead.
Next time, keep your mouth shut, Olivia.