Patchwork pixie, p.8
Patchwork Pixie, page 8
The gravelly voice came from behind her. “Did you say her skin wouldn’t break?”
Ruby turned and saw someone who qualified as extremely large and fucking scary. Bronze skin, black eyes, and buzzed black hair.
She asked softly, “Who are you?”
“Lebor Urent. Urent Security. An acquaintance of those two men you are with.”
She smiled. “That was discreet.”
He smiled, and his fangs were intimidating. “When you can’t blend in, be discreet. Now, there is another one here who has impervious skin?”
Rayden piped up. “Her sibling. She looks like this.”
He held out his phone, and the wide grin was terrifying. “She bumped into me and told me to go fuck myself when I tried to support her elbow.”
Ruby asked, “Is she still here?”
“Yeah, but she was growling and sparking with energy.”
Ruby covered her eyes. “How are you with electricity?”
“It tingles. Rather fun. Why?”
Ruby didn’t say anything, but he started laughing and left the room. She turned to Kensington and asked, “How many dark Elite are at this event?”
“Well, all that were able to get a night off,” Rayden smirked. “We are a supportive bunch. Also, there is the fact that now that Keres is out in the open, more Elite omegas will surface, like yourself.”
“I am not here for her. I am here for chocolate. Damn. The display is probably trashed.”
Rayden grinned. “If it was, it was Keres. She’s nearly to term.”
“I didn’t notice.” She imagined the devastation that a pregnant woman could wreak on the chocolate. “Mark will be pissed.”
Kensington said, “Achilles will be impressed, and he will make sure that the gallery owner books the company for another event.”
“I am not worried about another booking; I am just worried about a bad review.” She bit her thumbnail.
Rayden smiled. “I am delighted that you made it onto the crew for the show.”
“There wasn’t any doubt. I can even double all the troll bits. If there was an opening, I had it. But then, you knew that.”
He shrugged. “I may have had an idea when Marshall mentioned your name. So, what do you think of us.”
She looked from one to the other. “Well, you are persistent without being aggressive, so that’s good. Handsome. Well-spoken. I am not currently able to appreciate your other qualities.”
Mr. Kensington grinned. “We will take it and wait for things to unfold as they should.”
She sighed. “As long as you wait so that I can get off the birth control. I really want a family of my own and will need one heat to flush the hormones out before I consider my body a safe environment.”
They both stepped forward and wrapped her in them. She really wished she had a sense of smell when it came to scents and bodies. She touched Kensington’s jaw and pulled him down to her. The kiss was soft and pleasant. She couldn’t get his scent, and she couldn’t taste him. It was frustrating, but it was what it was. He nipped her lip, and she jolted. She tasted blood, hers and his. A light link stretched between them. He lifted his head. “It isn’t much, but it’s a start.”
She licked her lips and could taste him a little. “Leather?”
He smiled. “Candy.”
She blushed. “Uh, yeah.”
Rayden stroked her neck with his fingertips, and she turned to him. He cupped her jaw, and when he kissed her, he must have figured out what was going on because his fang grazed her, and then she was tasting apples. Crisp, cool apples. The motion of his tongue inside her mouth was slow, and she leaned up toward him because it felt better than nice.
She felt the curve of his lips as he smiled. She knew it was relief. She eased away, and he rubbed his thumb across her lips. Ruby looked to Kensington. “Was that enough to start a link?”
He smiled. “It’s a start. It’s a very good start.”
Rayden groaned. “Two weeks of practice is going to kill me.”
“The troll prince doesn’t have any scenes with the pink pixie.” She smiled.
“No, but he really wants to.”
“Tough.” She grinned.
He hugged her, and they heard more cursing outside. It seemed that Emmy hadn’t made it out of the gallery.
The door opened, and a shrieking and cursing Emmy was in Lebor’s grip. She was back to her elf form, and her dress was defying the bounds of propriety. Her breasts were nearly out, and the new cocktail dress was way up. Lebor said, “Lady, gentlemen, may I have the room to discuss things with my mate?”
Emmy’s heel thudded into his leg, and he merely grunted.
Ruby asked, “Emmy?”
“Go on. I can zap him as soon as there aren’t any other folks around,” Emmy muttered.
Ruby grabbed the hands of Rayden and Mr. Kensington and charged out of the green room, shrinking to her beta form as she did so. She had to catch her dress to keep it from falling.
“Okay, Mr. Kensington, can I keep your jacket a bit longer?”
“Please call me Marshall, and yes.”
“Okay, Marshall, I need to see what is left of the chocolate station.”
He chuckled and walked with her to the discreetly covered table with the business cards on it. The business cards were gone, displays were empty, but no weird smears or marks of chocolate around.
She looked behind the table and snagged her purse. “Well, that is what I was most concerned about.”
Ruby looked around. “I guess I should get going. This was an invitation-only event.”
Rayden murmured, “We have invitations.”
She looked around. “I never thought to see this many dark Elite, not to mention Elite omegas.”
Marshall smiled. “They are all Keres. Every one of them is Achilles’ mate.”
“Did she pose for them all?”
“From what the cards say, he did most of them from memory.”
The glorious elf with chocolate at the corners of her mouth said, “We got together four years ago but didn’t stay together at that time. Now, he finally has a part-time muse, and I have a guy who is good with his hands.”
Dante was grinning, and Achilles was staring at Keres like she was the most precious thing in the world.
Dante looked to Marshall. “So, you have found a woman you can convince as well.”
“I am trying, but there are complications that will have to be worked through. I can confirm the company’s tickets to the ice dance performance.”
Rayden grinned. “I am going to be an amazing troll prince.”
Ruby snorted. “If you need to practice with an understudy, let me know.”
“I don’t know how you will have time.”
Ruby sighed. “I will put my foot down to stop Mark from booking me at events like this. I don’t get paid for it anyway.”
Marshall asked, “You don’t?”
“No. I just work at the candy shop for fun.”
He looked surprised. “That’s... unusual.”
“I make my money other ways.”
“Right. Apps.”
There was a crackling of energy, and the lights dimmed and came back on.
Ruby looked back at the green room. “I think I should go in there.”
Rayden wrapped his arm around her. “No. If she is trying to stun him, she is testing compatibility.”
“Right. Yikes.”
Ruby looked at the other triad and smiled. “Well, as all the chocolate is gone, I am going to call it a night.”
Keres rubbed her belly, and it was flat.
Ruby frowned. “I thought you were pregnant.”
Keres grinned. “I was. My sister now has all the babies, and the families are showering them with everything they need. I was her surrogate for one set of twins. Little girls.”
“Aw. How sweet. Congratulations.”
Ruby checked the time. “If I head home, I will just be able to get some rest before mind-numbing practice tomorrow.”
Rayden frowned. “You don’t enjoy it? I am having fun.”
“It is something I have seen done over and over. With the pink pixie part, it is a role I can perform blindfolded. The problem lies in that we are doing hard candy at work, which takes a lot of upper-body strength. The chocolates are way easier to manage.”
“How long are you doing hard candy?” Marshall asked.
“About a week. Saturday is going to be rough. There are usually kids lined up around the block to get a fresh candy cane.”
“Can’t one of the others do it?”
“The manager can, but he doesn’t like to. It’s hot and heavy work.”
Rayden smiled. “I have Saturday off. Would you like a hand?”
She smiled slowly. “I don’t know if you are up to it.”
He laughed. “I am willing to learn.”
Ruby bit her lip. “You will need running shoes, black shirt, and black cotton pants. You will get messy. Oh, and you will be covered in a fine mist of sugar.”
He smiled. “No problem. Can I tell some teammates so they will be there to mock me?”
“As long as no one elbows the kids out of the way. The display is for them, after all.”
Rayden nodded. “I will make sure they are aware of it.”
She nodded and then yawned. “Well, I had better get going. I have a bit of a drive.”
Rayden said, “Another kiss, please?”
“You are going to have to bend a bit. This dress can’t stand much more.”
He smiled and bent down, cupping her jaw and pressing his lips to hers. Their tongues slid and flicked against each other’s, and she tasted the bright green apple again. Her body wasn’t responding right, but it tried.
When he straightened, he licked his lips, caressing her lips with his thumb again.
His expression was intense and dazed, but he was smiling. “See you at practice?”
“Six in the morning.”
“Five if you just want to play.”
“I am running out of hours in the day.” She smiled. “Give me a day to sleep in.”
“Would you like to go for dinner Sunday night?”
She smiled. “Sure. No. Wait. I can’t. Family dinner.” She grimaced.
Marshall asked, “Unpleasant event?”
“They are going to attempt to reconcile me with my cousin. Hooray.” She grimaced. She yawned again. “Right. I am getting out of here. Let Achilles know his stuff is very pretty, though I am sure he knows that.”
Marshall nodded. “I will walk you to your car.”
Rayden grinned, and their little triad made their way to the front of the gallery and out into the night air.
She pointed toward her car, and Marshall laughed. “I was going to offer to drive you home, but I won’t fit.”
Ruby grimaced. “I got a car that Tanner was uncomfortable in. He couldn’t fit in it, so I had more distance.”
“So, you have been passively trying to distance yourself for a while. When did you get the car?”
“The day after the first time he was with me.” She shrugged. “First time I ever went out and casually spent money.”
Rayden asked, “Would you be offended if I bought you a car that fits all of us?”
“Not at all. Not my money, not my concern.”
“You don’t have a problem receiving things?” Marshall looked sly.
“Anything I say is going to be turned into a risqué connotation.”
Marshall laughed.
“I have to say this, but absolutely no anal for a really long time. No pinning me where I can’t claw your eyes out.”
Rayden paused and whispered, “This is no judgment, but why did it go on so long?”
“I couldn’t not be a beta and still live my life. If I threw him off or broke him, everyone would know, and that would leave me nowhere to hide.” She shrugged. “And work-wise, I needed to be a beta to make it into the smaller spaces.”
Marshall nodded. “And he was your boss, and you literally couldn’t refuse an order.”
“Yeah, that sums it up.” She slipped his jacket off her shoulders and handed it back to him. “Thanks for the rescue.”
He brushed his knuckles across her bare arm. “Absolutely any time.”
She got into her car with her mates watching over her, and she shuddered at how easy it would be to get used to it. They saw her off, and she made her way back to the pack house.
She got out of the car and took a few steps toward the house when she heard the hiss. “You bitch!”
She whirled to see Beth storming toward her, tears streaking down her cheeks.
“Good evening, Beth.”
Beth lifted her hand and tried to hit Ruby. Ruby lifted a hand and caught her wrist. She caught the other hand in turn and then said softly, “Why are you mad, Beth? Are you mad because I saw you, or are you mad because when he saw me, he treated you like he treated me? Which one is it? I have been telling you for over a year that he’s a bastard.”
Beth went limp. “I’m pregnant.”
“Sure. You can join the other two women who have his kids. Fertile bugger.”
“Other two...”
“Yes. I told you that he already had kids. I made sure you knew it. You were too busy mooning over him and trying to imagine what life would be like with him that you didn’t pay attention.”
“You knew how I felt about him!”
“And I couldn’t get away! He wouldn’t let me go! I was trying to go!” she shouted and pushed Beth back.
Beth looked at her with a hurt expression. “You could have just left. I would have kept him here.”
Ruby stood straight with her body glowing. “I can’t leave the city. I have told you that before, and if I do, I will be torn apart by creatures so terrible that it makes you recoil in horror. Beautiful and brutal.”
Beth blinked. “You... you... you’re an Elite!”
“More or less. This is the same person that you betrayed, the same one that you mocked in my house. The same one whose wedding gown you stole.”
“That was... I thought it would be fun to pretend to be you.”
Ruby crossed her arms. “How did that work out for you? Entering my home against my will and ruining a sixty-five-thousand-dollar dress. You and he will be paying for that, by the way. He insisted I buy that one, so you two can reimburse me.”
Beth looked horrified. “Sixty-fi—”
“Yeah. Sucks to suck, huh?”
Leon’s hand touched her arm. “Enough, Ruby. Go inside.”
Grey went to speak with Beth, and Ruby turned and walked toward the house when she heard another vehicle show up. She kept walking. A feeling of rejection sank through her until she remembered the touch of Rayden and Marshall. She was wanted. She was cared for, and she belonged to someone. She shrank to her beta self and changed for bed. She crept under her bed, set her alarms, and tried to calm herself. She licked her lips and tasted Rayden. A slight smile was on her mouth as the thought of being safe that she felt with them filled her. She was out in seconds.
* * * *
Grey sent Beth on her way, and he looked at the concerned face of the neighbour who had stopped. “It’s all right, Jim.”
Jim stared at Ruby’s back. “Is that an Elite female? Holy shit.”
“Yes, Jim. That is Ruby.”
Beth left, but before she left, she asked, “Is she really going to charge me for the dress?”
Grey shrugged. “If she said she is, she is.”
“I don’t have that kind of money.”
“Then you should not have damaged the dress.”
“Oh. Right.”
Beth had summoned a rideshare, and when it picked her up, Grey turned to Leon. “Your niece is causing a scene.”
Leon leaned back. “What? She was trying to enter the pack house.”
“As an Elite. She is glowing white.” He was frustrated at the scene he had broken up. He didn’t know how to deal with feuding women.
“He won’t remember her, just that she is somehow special. Come inside, and we are going to talk about that reaction you just had.”
Grey was surprised by the stern voice of his omega. Leon never put his foot down.
Leon stalked into the kitchen and made cocoa. “Grey, why do you dislike her so much?”
Grey paused and then said, “Truth?”
“Yes. Finally, please. Why do you keep yourself so far from her?”
“You moved on from our baby and treated her like your little girl.” Grey let it out in a rush.
Leon nodded and set his jaw, and Grey could see him grinding his teeth. “Did you share that attitude with Dane?”
“He asked me that year what my problem was.”
“Dane. When my sister called me in a panic, our little girl had been gone for seven months. Having Ruby to care for brought me back to you. It pulled me back to the world after feeling that I had disappointed my alphas. I was badly hurt and betrayed by my body, and you all pulled off into your different corners and pretended nothing was wrong. I felt the wrong in every step I took; every time I saw the stitches that should have brought her into the world, I was lost. Having a little girl to take care of who was in need and terrified most of the time made me step up. She saved me, and without her, I don’t want to be around you anymore.”
Grey scrambled at their link and found a block where Leon’s warm emotions normally were. Leon looked at him with hollow eyes.
“Uncle Leon, don’t be stupid. If he doesn’t want me here, I am able to leave now. I even have an offer of where to stay. Leave his bed, but don’t leave the pack.” Ruby stood there with her hair rumpled, and her duckie pyjamas were wrinkled as well.
Grey growled, “This doesn’t concern you.”
She walked up to him and grabbed his arm. Her strength shocked him. A thick curl of emotion began to run into him, and images began to play.
He heard Leon asking, “What are you doing?”
“Just playing this is my life.”
Grey heard her words as he felt every moment since she transformed, every time he had ignored an honest question, and every time she was shoved into walls, halls, and down stairs by Dane.
