Chapter 20
North
Juniper’s home is humming with the chill of Friday morning.
She didn’t make it to see the lights downtown. By the time Blaze and I finished sorting out the bar, she’d fallen asleep on the same table we fucked her on. I picked her up and carried her home, leaving Blaze to close up, turn the camera back on, and walk Pack home.
Poor dog is probably scarred for life after watching the three of us last night.
After we laid her safely in her bed, Blaze and I went back out.
Usually on the eve of the festival, we help the townsfolk decorate with the same twig ornaments, icicle drops, and shell spirals we once filled villages with.
We typically do it overnight, feeding into the magic of the day when no one can explain where they came from.
We may have went a little overboard this year.
Getting back into Juniper’s house around six, we checked on her, but let her sleep. Neither of us need much sleep, so while Blaze is taking Pack for a short walk around the block, I’m making coffee.
I turn her television on, the volume low, and put on a random Christmas movie before snooping in her fridge. She doesn’t have much. Some eggs… toast, butter…
There’s a noise from the bedroom as I get the coffee going. I hear Juniper moving, hear her curse and groan. And as she appears through the open door, I smile.
She’s positively disheveled, and it’s glorious.
Her sweater is hanging off her shoulder, underwear riding up her ass. Some of her hair is matted to the side of her head, and her makeup… fucking hell. Her smeared mascara is stunning.
“Good morning, darling,” I say.
Juniper stops dead in her tracks, body jumping as if she didn’t expect me to be here. She quickly brushes her hair off of her face and peers my way, brows narrowed.
“Jax? What—Oh my god, is that the sun?” she asks upon looking outside.
I chuckle. “I did say good morning.”
“Oh… Holy shit. What… It’s past sunrise. I missed my walk—”
“Walk?” I ask like I don’t already know.
“Where’s Pack?” she asks, suddenly panicking. “Pack?! Oh my god, did I leave her at—”
“Juniper, take a breath,” I say, dropping everything to go to her.
“Shit, did I pass out? What happened? Why—”
I pull her toward me and kiss her softly, ceasing her rambling. She exhales into me, her fingers stretching up my chest like the kiss was exactly what she needed to pause. As we part, she stares up at me with sleepy eyes, and I brace my hand against her cheek.
“Nick has Pack. He’s taking her on a walk. We brought you both home after you passed out at the bar last night. Fed Pack. Cuddled her. Fed your very fluffy cat. Nick made sure she got lots of cuddles, too—I’m not sure what it is with him and cats, but they love him.”
Juniper squints. “And the bar?”
“Locked up. Everything is back the way it should look. No cum stains,” I reply.
“You… You two fed Pack? You cleaned up after us and brought me home?”
I lift a brow, skeptical of how impressed she seems to be. “Your standards are in the trash, love. You’re not a raccoon.”
She closes her eyes and laughs softly, head shaking. “God, Nick told me something similar a couple of days ago.” She runs her hands through her hair and tugs at the roots. “Sorry, I guess I’m just not used to it. How did you find the key?”
“Plant pots are a little obvious,” I tell her.
Oreo jumps onto the back of the couch and purrs as she rubs her head under Juniper’s hand. Juniper reaches over and lets the feline stretch on her chest, her eyes still in a daze like she’s trying to remember what happened.
I pinch her ass, causing her to yelp, and start to go back over to the stove so I can begin breakfast. However, the next thing I feel is her hand on mine.
She draws me back in her direction, slips her palms onto my cheeks, and kisses me.
It’s a slow, surprising kiss that makes me forget what I was doing.
I pivot into her and take her by the waist, by her neck.
When we part, I hold her there to search her face for any answer.
“Thank you,” she finally whispers.
I shake my head at her. “You don’t have to—.”
“I don’t care. Thank you.”
My thumb stretches across her cheekbone, and I kiss her again.
“Get used to it,” I say.
A soft smile graces her lips, and I can’t help when my own rises in return. “Come on. You can be the first to try my horrendous cooking.”
I lead her by the hand over to her curved counter, and she perches herself onto the top on the other side of the sink so she can watch me cook. I catch a glimpse of her bare thighs when she scoots back, the fingerprinted bruises both delighting and concerning me.
“How are you feeling?” I ask as I grab a pan from her open cabinet.
“Sore. Stretched. Safe.”
I catch her eye with the last word, and she smiles at me.
“I still can’t believe I slept that long, though. I haven’t made it past thirty minutes to sunrise in almost a year,” she adds.
“Why?”
“I go on a walk to the jetty every morning. It helps clear my head after any nightmares,” she answers.
“Do you get a lot of those?” I ask.
“Every now and then. I didn’t know you cooked,” she says, and I realize she’s just changing the subject.
“Don’t get your hopes up. Eggs are the bare minimum,” I mutter, turning on the stove.
She stands and comes around to the fridge, then grabs the salsa off the top shelf. I’m busy cracking the eggs into the pan when I hear her groan approvingly at the fact that there’s coffee already made.
As she makes her coffee and I eventually turn off the stove, I quickly go to the table by the door to check my phone to see if Blaze has texted. He’s been gone a while. And with the things we’ve seen the last couple of days, I’m mildly concerned for him.
However, when I pass the window, I have to backtrack.
Fuck.
There’s a troll outside.
A tall, ugly green creature that looks more like a booger than anything else. Clobbering fucking idiots. I curse under my breath. No wonder Blaze hasn’t come back. Sinking the dog into a shadow and getting her inside without her barking and charging the thing could prove tricky.
The troll tiptoes the edge of the yard, body illuminating each time it grazes my barrier. It should be enough to hold, though it doesn’t keep him from throwing something at the house again.
I need Blaze to get his shit together.
I could easily take care of this, but doing it so far from him isn’t as accurate, and the last thing I want is Juniper getting any wind that there’s something wrong.
My phone lights up, and I look down at it.
Blaze
Is it still there?
North, answer me.
It was trying to get in the back the last time we circled. I can’t get close with Pack, not without alerting Juniper at least.
“How long ago did Nick leave?” Juniper asks, making me jump.
Shit.
“Ah… Twenty minutes? I’ll text him. Did you want to shower?”
Juniper scratches her cat’s neck as she thinks about it. “Yeah. I might go do that now, actually.”
I try to pretend to be as normal as possible. “Would you like company? Sexy butler to bring you your towel. Scalp massage from your knees?”
Her jaw visibly tightens when she peers me over. “Tempting. I think I need to count my bruises first.”
She drags her hand across my ass when she passes by, and I grab her hand to bring her back and kiss her.
“Enjoy your alone time now.”
She swallows. “Sounds like a warning.”
My mouth curves. “Promise. I can’t wait to fill every inch of you with cum later to celebrate.”
“What are we celebrating?”
“Festival day.”
She squints at me. “What is it with you two and this festival?”
“You’ll see. And then tomorrow… Tomorrow, you get to decide, birthday girl.”
“I shouldn’t have told you that.”
A chuckle leaves me. “I can’t wait to tell Nick.”
“Oh god.” She steps away from me with a laugh. “I can’t with you two. I’m just… I’m going to shower.”
I smirk after her, trying not to let the fact that a goddamn troll is outside tapping my magic with his fucking bat. The ground shakes, and I look out to find it suddenly beating on the concrete with its club as if it thinks it can break down my magic by digging beneath it.
“Think of us,” I call after her.
My entire body stiffens as I watch her continue the rest of the way to the closet, grab a towel, then go into the bathroom. I wait for the lock to click, for the shower to turn on, and as soon as I’m sure she’s tucked in, I curse under my breath.
My jaw is taut as I grab my coffee and Blazes, then head out of the front door. Fucking… I’m annoyed. I should be inside helping her wash that pretty cunt. Instead, I’m outside in my underwear and a Santa apron having to deal with this load of shit.
At least trolls are short work. Messy short work, but relatively easy to deal with nonetheless.
It notices me as soon as I walk out. A scream and shout leaves it—hot air shattering some of the icicles above.
Goddammit.
I worked really hard on those.
I hear Pack barking down the street. One glance in her direction, and I find Blaze standing on the pavement, his hands in his pockets. Even from this distance, I can see the scowl on his face, feel the rage in the static-y air.
I don’t bother going into the yard. I stand at the edge of her screened-in porch, freeze our coffees and put them in my pockets, and move my hands in front of me, pulling moisture from the air.
The troll hits the ground erratically, back and forth, cracking the sidewalk foot by foot.
He shifts each time I try to aim the daggers at him from the trees.
It makes me huff, makes my temper spike.
From the corner of my eye, I see Blaze crouch down and press his hand to the asphalt.
A glow emits around his hand. Smoke lifts off the ground as the heat travels directly for the creature. A straight line and painful promise I haven’t seen in…
Centuries.
I prepare my stakes.
Icicles, sharper than knives. They encircle the beast, poised above it and ready for Blaze to trap him in one spot. As I hold them, I walk outside into the yard. The vapor reaches the troll. It flinches and jumps, blowing off its feet one by one and trying to escape. But Blaze surrounds him.
Feet trample against the asphalt.
I look sideways and find Pack bolting toward me, collar off. Blaze’s magic slips, and I nearly lose control as the pup launches into the air at the troll. The troll swats, but Pack is fast enough to dodge it. She locks her mouth down on its arm, biting and ripping at the creature’s flesh.
“Now!” Blaze shouts, running at us.
Shit.
The steam thickens. Pack yanks and pulls at the beast, her body jerking as she tries to get rid of it on her own. The creature swings its bat—
Icicle daggers slice and stab the troll’s body.
Hundreds of them.
A thick green ooze seems from every wound. Blaze reaches me and grabs Pack, wrestling her from the troll that’s trying to rally. It staggers and folds, limping back and away from us. I prepare more stakes to finish it off, but it finally collapses into a steaming pile of ooze.
God, the smell.
I grimace and pull the apron up over my nose.
Ugh. I need to get rid of this before the fucking sprites find it.
“—brave girl. Let me look at you,” I hear Blaze saying to Pack. He’s crouched in front of her, scratching her ears and trying to clean the green substance off her mouth.
“Don’t tell your mother,” I say to her.
Pack’s ears perk when she looks at me, and she whines in response. I almost smile.
“She looks very proud of herself,” I note.
“She should be.” Blaze straightens and sighs as he looks the dead troll over with me. Just when I open my mouth to speak, he pulls an envelope out of his jacket.
I curse under my breath at the black paper.
“It was on her screen door,” he says.
“Fuck.” My stomach drops as I open the envelope and read it aloud.
Don’t be stupid, boys. Leave her and come home.
I scoff and shake my head. “Why? So she can punish us anyway? Gouge out our eyes so we can never look at another human again? That bitch. I can’t wait to see what she tries on Sunday.”
The corner of Blaze’s lips lift when he looks sideways at me.
I squint at him. “What?” I ask.
He shrugs. “Nothing.” He glances back at the trailer, gaze softening. “Is she awake?”
I nod and pull the frozen coffees out of my apron pockets. “In the shower,” I reply as I give him his. “Do you mind? Since you seem to have figured out how to boil things again.”
It’s a taunt, and Blaze looks like he’s going to smile. He presses his hand to the bottom of our cups, warming them quickly. It steams in the chilled air, and we cheers them against one another.
“Is she okay?” he asks.
I sip my drink. “She didn’t realize we brought her home. Did you figure it out on your long walk?”
“Which part?”
“How we’re going to tell her—More importantly, how we’re going to get her to agree,” I reply.
“Not yet. I was thinking more about keeping her happy today, before the fall out.”
“You know tomorrow is her birthday,” I remind him.
Blaze exhales heavily and hangs his head. “Let’s get this cleaned up. We can figure out everything after she goes into work. Hopefully there are no more surprises.”
I stare at the pile of steaming shit in front of us for another beat, mind reeling with all that the next two days might hold.
“One more sunrise, brother,” I say.
“And forever after.”