Chapter 11 Keeping the Advantage
Keeping the Advantage
Melanie was full of anticipation when Xander popped them out of the party. I was fairly certain this was his room here…. based on the schematics I knew. Freya chuckled, “Of course mate loves our dress.” Yeah, well I was a fan myself. My mother in law certainly knew fashion. No one could deny that.
My husband’s need was rough and demanding and I loved every second of it. Freya linked me, “You have a voice because I keep healing it, so shout away.” I snorted, “Frisky Wolf.” Freya retorted, “I match my human.”
Ok… so my wolf had a point… but I mean, could anyone blame us? LOOK at our mate. He’s just picture perfect. Freya purred, “Yes, he is.” She would know. Heck, Freya probably picked me because I was his mate.
Freya snorted, “No, I picked you for other reasons. Mate’s looks did not hurt, but you were always going to be his.” My heart warmed. I’d wondered if I was his because of Freya, but she was saying all along he would’ve been mine. Even if I wasn’t the white wolf.
Xander teased me about going back downstairs. Well, that was just crazy… it wasn’t my fault there were Goblins. I linked Freya, “Xander assumes the Ring Fairies let the Goblins in? There is quite literally …no way.”
Freya groaned, “I can tell that from your memories and thoughts.” Yeah well, to go after the New Year’s Eve party in Faerie was too big for them not to send word about the attack. Which I would’ve known about in advance and stopped. This was something else entirely.
Xander was immediately worried and understood my logic. We were downstairs before I could blink. Going through it logically, the Ring might not be directly involved but adjacent. They could sell information about how to interfere with Angela’s visions.
The Ring as a whole liked feeling powerful and having the knowledge of how to mess with Angela’s visions would be, and had been, something they flaunted. They also needed money. They could easily get some by selling secrets about how to hurt the Conners family to those that didn’t like them.
Evidence wise we knew they’d done it with Claire, and she was in an allied pack. I should’ve thought of that. I needed to run searches with new parameters. Dang it! Freya linked, “You can’t know everything.” I could give it a fair try…. and did… one could say often.
Xander started issuing commands to his family to protect his Fairy family. They were immediately concerned. Elise linked me, “What the heck is going on?” I answered, “I would’ve known if the Ring got the Goblins in Faerie.” Elise groaned.
Xander popped us to Aiden and Aiylee. I linked Freya, “Exsis and Lucinda are missing. Crap! Trying to take out Aiden is suicide… but Lucinda and Exsis? Hurting, and striking at, the royal family was WAY more the style of these types of people.”
“They are too cowardly to go for Aiden himself. Going for Exsis wasn’t a well thought out plan either, though.
I mean really… the future King? Like they could beat him.
He’s the future King for a reason… and he’s an incredibly skilled fighter.
” Freya said, “I agree with your assessment about it all.”
Xander popped us to Exsis, who was already fighting with his powers and had a sword drawn. I heard the shots being fired and tackled them both. I had a rule about guns. I was not watching people I loved get shot. I was not going to see Xander get shot. Ever.
Freya agreed, “No, we are not. Not our mate.” Exsis was pissed, which I understood that completely.
He wanted them to come out and fight him.
Ok, the people fighting him were never going to do that.
They were going to fight from the shadows, because head to head… . they knew they couldn’t defeat Exsis.
Then I saw my husband’s blood and felt his pain from the bullet that grazed his skin. ILYX blinked on the watch, I felt the Laxenread enter my mate’s system, but the lid on my rage was gone. It blew off with a force unimaginable even to me.
I flashed in my mind to the night my family died. Freya linked, “It was an illusion.” It didn’t matter that my wolf was right. It was real to me and knowing it was fake didn’t stop the sound of the bullets hitting my family replaying in my ears.
The feeling of pain in our bond as the iron seeped into my mate after the bullet whizzed by. I’d never hated my enhanced hearing more because now I could hear Xander’s skin being pierced by a bullet. I knew what the sound was even if my brain was catching up to it late.
I was never supposed to see this again. I swore it to myself that I wouldn’t allow it to happen. Not to Xander. Never him. My husband’s blood was running down his arm. They did this. Freya chuckled, “Finally.”
I didn’t even bother to ask what she was talking about. I felt she knew unleashing my rage without the lid was a bad idea, but I felt a piece of me click. As if something had been out of place and now it found its home.
I screamed in anger and pain. Freya said, “Now we have some fun. Let’s kill these people who thought to harm our mate.” I was on board with that plan. Freya said, “Throw out your hands.” Not sure what that could do, but fine.
I saw electricity flow from me, into the forest where the people who shot my mate were hiding. It was with a detached kind of wonder, because I was still too angry to think about it. These people hurt him. I could smell his blood.
I did notice that the rain felt good on my skin. I frowned when it stopped because I wanted more rain. The second I thought about it the rain began again. Good. I wanted more. Elise linked me, “Ladybug, it’s ok.” Uhhh no it wasn’t.
I replied, “They shot Xander … and they NEED to pay.” Elise rephrased, “Ok, I get that, but Alexander healed himself. He’s ok.” The sounds of the people I loved being shot played on a loop in my mind. So, no it wasn’t ok. These people needed to pay.
I told her, “They will suffer before I’m done.
” Elise said, “If that’s what you need then we are here for you.
” I’d relied on myself for so long it was strange to hear that sentiment from her.
There was a time it would be second nature to me, but now…
I pushed those thoughts aside letting my anger out.
It felt good. It felt like the door I’d shut to all my negative emotions burst open.
I walked over to a Fairy that was still alive because I wanted answers. Part of me hoped said Fairy wouldn’t give me the answers right away so I could make them suffer. I gasped to Freya, “This Fairy is taunting me! ME!”
Freya snorted, “Honestly, the audacity to say we can’t take them. PUHLEASE. We just unlocked our abilities to the full extent. We are a goddess which means we could absolutely take them.” Freya took over my body and practically ripped the man’s throat out, dropped him, then moved onto the next.
Maybe now the rest would answer me. Freya snorted, “If they are smart.” The next one did answer. There were fifty people here working with the Goblins. It had to make them mad they had to work with Goblins considering Fairies didn’t like Goblins. They were using them as a distraction.
The Goblins double crossed these Fairies then. Because they weren’t going for a distraction. Those Goblins attempted to kill Aiylee. That was who their target had been. Typical Fairy/Goblin plans. Each side was ready to betray the other.
Plus, this woman was lying to me. Everyone knew Haley and Xander were here.
They would’ve healed Lucinda and Exsis. Haley popped next to me offering, “I can help you with this.” I grumbled, “Help away. I want the REAL plan. Not the plan these pathetic pieces of crap think they can pass off as the plan. It’s insulting to… . all our intelligence.”
Haley’s lips twitched, “That really bothers you, doesn’t it? When people insult your intelligence.” I nodded, “Yes it does… because on average… I’m smarter than most people in every room. So, it’s insulting they don’t think of plausible plans… to give to me… when they know that.”
Haley said, “That’s something I’ve found common in people with high intelligence. Particularly women, as people for some reason tend to think we are not powerful or smart. Which I find odd. No animal of a species considers their females weak.”
“Nor do people. If a regular non shifter wolf killed a human being, no one would say I can’t believe that female wolf killed that human. It’s absurd that gender has garnered such a stigmatism among humans and Supernatural’s.”
I actually laughed because that was true. The human news would report on the attack and just say a wolf killed this human… or bear. No one would care about the genitalia the animal possessed. It would not be a consideration.
Haley commented, “Your sorrow is calling out to me Melanie.” Tears pricked my eyes as I said, “They shot Xander. I swore to myself that I would never see anyone I loved get shot, ever again… and I failed. It was Xander….. I failed Xander.”
Haley rubbed my back consoling, “You did not fail my son. He is fine. Sadly, you cannot control the universe or the people in it. I’d give it a fair fucking try if one could. I’ve felt and heard a bullet hitting Eric’s chest. I felt his pain.”
I whispered, “I know it’s how you got your wings.” Haley acknowledged, “It is and it was awful. I wished you’d never seen that kind of thing in your young life. I know what it is to know your mate is hurting and to feel that anger inside you.”
“To let it consume you because I’ve fucking done it. So, I won’t tell you to calm down or not kill this lot of Fairies that will die anyway. I will point out that they could suffer a lot more if you don’t kill their pathetic asses.” That was true.
I just didn’t like it because I wanted them all dead right now. Haley asked for names. The ones provided were clearly fake names, but Haley seemed to know who they really were. Freya agreed, “She definitely knows.”