From the Edge (Betas in Waiting #41)

Chapter One

Ted gathered with the others behind the new palace, and she said, “We have got to stop meeting like this.”

The mages, djinn, and elves were all standing around.

Lucia looked around. “So how do we do this? I think I know how to set it up, but getting her here will be difficult.”

The others looked around as the roar of an engine split the air.

A motorcycle growled right up to the gathering, and when the kickstand was down, the helmet came off, and a cascade of black hair with thick streaks of purple and crimson went down her back.

“So, finally, you guys are here for a summoning, huh? I can bring her here, but we are going to have to be fast. I charged up all night for this, so let’s not waste it.”

Mik looked amazed at the woman who literally had energy bands moving around her as if she were a planet with rings. “Not that I am not impressed, but who are you?”

“Oh, me? I am a witch. I can control power like you mages, but the earth doesn’t give it. I have to use alternate means. Now let’s find Mell and get her somewhere safe. She’s invisible and inaudible for two.”

Ted gasped. “You know her?”

“She was my roommate out of university, and one day, she disappeared. I went looking and found her, but she was guarded. I couldn’t get close.

Her visible self was gone with the initial draining curse, and she couldn’t speak, but she could write stuff on a whiteboard.

She tried digital stuff but shorted it out. ”

The woman grinned. “So let’s do a summoning. She’s a little far out for a simple call.”

Mik said, “You will help to break the curse?”

“No, this energy is just to bring her here safely. Oh, and I brought her a cloak ‘cuz she’s coming back naked.” She got some folded fabric from her motorcycle.

Lucia blinked. “Yorwell gave me a circle. Will that be a start?”

The woman grinned. “Absolutely. Draw that bitch, and I will get Mell here.”

“How do you know what to do?”

“I have been using gathered energy to visit her for years. I have to sneak past her guard, and I am not very sneaky, but I have managed. It wasn’t until you all started making such a racket that I had hope.

” She grinned, her features turning beautiful.

“So I am not one to waste an emotion, so let’s put the hope to good use. ”

Lucia asked Regis for a good spot for the protective circle, and with some focus, she sent energy out to draw the pattern in the turf.

It didn’t light up.

Lucia frowned. “Did I do it wrong?”

The newcomer said, “No, it isn’t your thing. Now someone hold this cloak and let me do my thing.”

She handed the cloak off to Ted, and Ted held it. This wasn’t her job. That was still coming.

* * * *

Rowan stepped forward and charged the portal that the mage had designed. The power that she had spent all night collecting flared and snapped into a barrier that would keep the contents safe and whole.

She latched onto Mell’s location and said, “Incoming!”

There was a distant roar, and Rowan poured the sexual energy of forty alphas watching strippers into the circle, and she felt the moment that Mell landed.

Rowan held her hand out, and the dark-skinned mage handed over the cloak.

She wrapped the cloak around her friend, and the glyphs she had paid through the nose for brought Mell into view. She was transparent, but she was there.

Mell looked at her with wide eyes, smiled, and hugged her hard. When they parted, Rowan said, “These ladies are going to break the curse band. Are you up to be seen and heard again?”

Mell smiled and nodded.

“How long until he finds you?”

Mell cocked her head and held up her hand with fingers splayed.

“Five minutes?”

A nod.

Rowan lifted her head. “We have five minutes before her guard is here. If you have anyone good at restraint, it would be a good idea to call them.”

The elf with the red and gold streaks in her hair walked into the stone building. She came out a moment later with a dark elf and several of his friends.

The dark elf asked, “Do you know what he looks like?”

“Big, blue, his ears stick out like this?” She made fists with her thumbs sticking out and put them on the sides of her head.

The men’s eyes widened, and several of them brought out phones.

“He was her captor?”

“No, he was her guardian. He doesn’t like me. I tasted wrong.” She looked at the ladies. “If she says five minutes, I would recommend doing that thing that you do to release the curse. She can calm his ass down but not if he can’t see her.”

It seemed to knock the ladies into action. They got the cloak down to expose the curse, and the women sent pulses of their own type of magic through it to snap it loose. A soft light came from Mell; glowing butterflies and birds scattered and filled the air.

Rowan returned to Mell’s side and listened to her breathing. “Mell? I can hear you.”

Tears filled her friend’s face, and the soft whisper asked, “You can hear me?”

“And I can see you. Both of you.”

Mell grinned and pressed a hand to her belly. “It’s still there.”

The elf with the red and gold hair said, “You are pregnant?”

Mell blushed. “Yes.”

“Was it forced?”

Mell ducked her head. “No. It was quite nice, if a bit weird.”

Regis blinked. “Weird?”

“He had to do it with a woman he couldn’t see.”

There was a roar, and Rowan pulled Mell out of the circle, looking for the blue blur, and when she saw it coming toward them, she fired up the protective circle with the last of the absorbed sex magic from the night before.

The impact when the blue man slammed into the barrier caused her to cough blood.

He roared again and began to punch the barrier. She felt the strikes on her body and wheezed. “Little help?”

The dark elves and what looked like orcs surrounded the barrier, and she knew what they were going to do before they did it.

They hit the blue guy with stun blasts, but they did it through her shield.

She saw him falling a moment before the grass rushed up to meet her.

Mell yelled, and Rowan felt a hand on her shoulder. Hah, the blue lover could eat dirt.

* * * *

Ted looked at the woman on the ground. “What happened?”

Lucia was standing near Yorwell, and he said, “She’s a witch. She can only use energy that is gathered.”

“What do you mean, gathered?” Ted frowned.

Mell looked up from her friend’s side. “She works with sex magic. She absorbs lust and collects it and then can use it for stuff like this. It’s why she was able to see me at all. She cast a spell on her own perceptions so that she could see me.”

The woman holding her friend’s bloody face said, “Can anyone help me? Her magic is part of her, so when he hit it, she felt it.”

A dark green-complexioned orc came over and knelt next to the ladies. “I believe I can help.”

He lifted the woman in his arms. “What is her name?”

“Rowan. The blue guy really doesn’t like her.”

“His other body has been found, and when they are reunited, he should be much calmer. The goblin portion of him is all instinct, which is hilarious considering that the orc nature should be able to keep control.”

Mell stood and followed the orc carrying her friend.

Ted said, “Maybe you should sit and wait.”

Mell looked at her. “She has fought her way to me every month. In the early days, she brought me the touch I needed to stay alive. She continued to do it until the blue guy showed up. Touch was plentiful after that.” She blushed.

Ted frowned. “You are touch dependent?”

“Yeah. It’s a whole thing.” She shuddered. “I have a cousin with the same issue, but she’s in a pack now, so I couldn’t call her. Well, I couldn’t call anyone. You know what the curse does?”

Ted nodded. “Lucia and I were both freed this week.”

Mell looked at them. “Oh. So you know.”

Lucia nodded from a few feet away. “We know. Ted lost her ability to be remembered; I lost... a bit.”

Ted looked at her and nodded. “She did. She lost her body, her ability to speak, her family, and only kept her ability to manipulate cell signals.”

Lucia smiled and leaned against her giant. “And my devastating wit. Don’t forget that.”

Yorwell rubbed Lucia’s arm and smiled. “Well, I have to keep Norecayet down. He’s fighting the sedation hard.”

Lucia smiled. “Let me know if you need help. I don’t hit like a girl.”

Her new partner chuckled, kissed her cheek, and joined the mages who were dealing with the blue figure on the ground.

Mell called out, “Don’t hurt him. He’s going to be a dad in a few months.”

The collection of mages froze and slowly turned to look at her. They turned back to the figure moving slowly, and the first dark elf said, “Find his other body!”

Green-gold men blurred and disappeared, looking for a body of some kind.

Ted looked around at the fantastical creatures moving with purpose and at the woman staying next to her friend with single-minded intensity.

Ted said, “Mell, do you want something to eat or drink? We can go inside...”

“No. I go where she goes. Are you fixing her?”

The man holding her said, “She was badly injured. Norec beat the hell out of that ward. I am amazed she could hold him back.”

Mell knelt near her friend and took her hand. “She’s amazing. She always knew where to be and what to do. When I was lost, she found me, made me stronger, and gave me tools to communicate. She kept me sane and kept me fed. She made me laugh and told me when her particular power rose.”

Lucia asked, “The sex magic?”

“No. Healing touch, and she can make fast food appear out of thin air.” Mell chuckled and pressed her forehead to her friend’s hand. “She’s like a really loud kitten. She supported me when I was dieting and snuck out to get her required protein while I slept and thought I didn’t notice.”

The fingers she was touching slowly curled and squeezed her hand. Mell smiled. “There you are. Rowan, wakey-wakey.”

The woman with the colours on midnight hair moved slowly with a groan. “Fuck, he hits hard.”

Ted watched the woman in leather and cotton slowly struggle to sit up, but the mage who had her on his lap said, “Calm, witch. You were damaged.”

She grunted and shifted against him. “No shit, dickhead.”

He paused. “Dickhead?”

“Well, you called me a witch.” She looked at him, and her eyes were cold silver.

Mell squeezed her hand. “Rowan, you are a witch.”

“And you are a size twelve. If we are all sharing private matters.” Rowan’s hand squeezed Mell’s. “It is so good to see you again.”

Ted blinked tears away from her eyes and looked at Lucia. Her cousin reached out and held her hand, a gesture that had not been possible a few days ago. They stood and watched the other two reunite, and they wondered at the trust and affection that seemed to have gotten stronger during the curse.

Lucia murmured, “Relationship goals.”

“What? Being punched by a blue weirdo?”

Lucia paused. “Well, maybe not that.”

A large portal opened, and the men who had run off returned, holding an unconscious orc between them.

Ted blinked. “That’s... new.”

Rowan looked. “It’s just last call at the alpha bars.”

Mell giggled, and the noise must have reached the blue dude because there were shouts of men trying to subdue him again. Others were working on the unconscious body, and then Mell sighed. “I will be right back, Rowan.”

Rowan said, “I’m here all week. Try the veal.”

Mell giggled, got up with her cloak around her, walked to the unconscious body, and touched the head.

She ran her fingers through the hair, and the body started glowing.

She moved over to the blue creature, who seemed made of the night sky, and stroked the cheek, and then tweaked one ear. “Go home.”

The creature woke, shook off the mages who were holding it down, and looked at her with glowing gold eyes. He sat up slowly, and she pointed to the other body. “Get in there. He’s cold and probably irritated.”

Rowan contributed. “Yeah, you big blue moron. Get in the body so you can properly cuddle Mell and protect your little one.”

The blue creature growled, paused, got up, and got in the orc body with a shudder.

Mell chuckled. “You always did know what to say to him, Ro.”

Rowan smiled and looked at the hand on her ribs. “Okay, that’s enough. I am fine. I will heal the rest.”

He frowned. “You should stay still.”

“I should do a lot of things.”

Mell sighed. “She doesn’t like being touched by strangers; it freaks her out.”

Rowan grunted. “That would be it.”

She pushed away and said, “Thank you for the healing. What do I owe you?”

He frowned. “Nothing.”

“Well, thanks.”

She slowly got to her feet and walked over to Mell. “How fast do you want him to integrate?”

“Um, sooner rather than later.”

Rowan sighed. She walked behind her friend, wrapped her arms around the cloak, and placed her hand on the bump. The glowing figure started to thrash, and there was another roar.

Ted blinked. “He really hates Rowan.”

Mell said softly, “Her magic usually draws lust from alphas, so her energy smells like an alpha. That sets him off. They have had a few fights, but she tries not to hurt him.”

The orcs and elves looked at her. “She tries not to hurt him?”

Mell shrugged. “She knows I like him.”

Rowan snorted. “She doesn’t get out much, so if she likes someone, I get out of the way. He needed the occasional nudge to stop his attentions. She was uncomfortable.”

Mell snorted. “Nudge? You laid him out.”

Rowan chuckled. “Well, another reason he hates me. I consume lust, which means the blue bat was aiming at his toes when I was done. That’s what made him mad.”

The men around them looked alarmed.

The combination of the two bodies was nearly complete. Rowan patted the belly again, and it completed in a rush.

Ted stared as the orc stood, shook his head, and looked skyward.

One of the other orcs said, “He’s getting the download.”

Rowan backed away, swayed, and straightened. Mell steadied her. “You should have accepted more healing.”

“I don’t enjoy touch like you do.”

Mell sighed. “And you put yourself out for me. I know. Thank you.”

“Right. Can I call your cousin to see if she noticed you were gone?”

Mell chuckled. “Fine. Do I still have a room at your place?”

“Of course. It’s clean and ready for you. I may or may not have started collecting baby stuff, but if you and your mate want to live somewhere else, you will have a start for the baby room.”

Mell said, “I am not leaving.”

“He looks bossy.”

“I don’t give a fuck.”

“You did. That’s why you are here.” Rowan patted her belly.

Mell snorted. “Butthead.”

“Yup. I am going to go make that call. You stay here and wait for tall green-blue and creepy to remember you.”

“Yeah, great.”

Rowan looked at Ted and Lucia. “Can you stay with her?”

Ted nodded. “We’ve got her.”

Rowan nodded, squeezed Mell’s hand, and said, “He will be in a better mood if I am not here.”

Mell sighed. “Hurry back.”