Hunted (Pack of Dawn and Destiny, #1)(53)

“Cut that out.” I gave up trying to restore order to my hair—the bun had given it a weird kink, but it was extra big and staticky now.

The door banged open again—I was starting to get the feeling that this was a normal occurrence for Chase—and in marched a handsome fae lord with a pair of sunglasses settled low on the bridge of his nose and his dark hair pulled back in a high ponytail.

“Greetings, puppies!” He smiled mischievously and flicked his sunglasses off with a flourish.

I’d met him once before, but between his dark hair and purple-ish-blue eyes that I’d only ever seen in Leila, as well as his good-humored grin, Lord Linus’s parental relationship to Queen Leila would have been obvious. (Though I’ll admit it had thrown me the first time I met him, given that he looked barely a decade older than his daughter. Fae aged more slowly than werewolves, so it wasn’t surprising, but as someone who hadn’t been around many fae it was still a little jarring.)

“My darling daughter sent me a text and said you needed my help, Chase? Which, might I say, is such a rare occasion I think we should take a selfie for posterity!” He winked at me, gave Greyson a little salute, and generally seemed like a charming idiot, but I could see the faint outline of a hidden dagger strapped to his back, tucked under his long-sleeved shirt, in a way that would have been unnoticeable to anyone who didn’t have to frequently hide weapons on their body.

Tricky fae—I’m glad I live with uncomplicated wolves.

“My Sovereign is correct,” Chase said. “She granted me permission to ask the night mares to take Alpha Greyson and Pip back to Timber Ridge—our Pack home in northern Wisconsin.”

Lord Linus held a hand up. “Say no more—I want to guess. You’re too diligent to go since it would require going out of touch for ten minutes, so I’m getting sent in your place?”

Chase only had the opportunity to blink before Lord Linus slapped him on the back in a friendly way.

“Of course I’ll take them,” he said. “It’s my honor since you take such great care of Leila—though I’m not ashamed to admit I’ll also go because I’m curious what kind of place spawned you.”

“There will be some complications,” Chase said. “They drove a car here, which will need to be transported as well.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Lord Linus said. “I’m pretty certain help is coming, so we’ll just drive it through the portals with the night mares.”

“Help?” I asked.

I heard someone run down the hallway, and seconds later a blur of blond careened past and crashed into something just outside the door.

“That’ll be my help!” Lord Linus brightly declared. “Chrysanthe—come introduce yourself!”

A beautiful fae with blond hair, olive skin, and an emerald green shirt tucked into black slacks planted her hands in the doorway to balance herself as she flipped her hair out of her face. She smiled—a dazzlingly white grin that, I won’t lie, made my thoughts stop for a moment or two. She was that pretty!

“Hello,” she said, her voice breathy from her run. “Hi,” she repeated. “I’m Chrysanthe. It’s so nice to meet a member of Ch-ch—Chase’s Pack.” Her eyes widened when she noticed Greyson, and she blurted out, “And his Alpha!”

“I’m impressed you recognize Greyson,” I said.

“It’s not difficult,” Chrysanthe said. “The Curia Cloisters has an online profile for him. Might I inquire what your name is?”

“I’m Pip,” I said. “I live with the Northern Lakes Pack—though I’m a human.”

It was always easier to introduce myself as a human than a hunter—particularly since I didn’t actually do hunter work, and it always raised a lot of questions.

“Pip,” Chrysanthe said. “It’s lovely to meet you.”

“Chrysanthe is a dear friend of my daughter’s,” Lord Linus said to me and Greyson. “She’ll be glad to help me—won’t you, Chrysanthe?”

“Yes, of course.” Chrysanthe pulled off a beautiful curtsey I wouldn’t have been able to imitate if my life depended on it. “I would love to help.” She smiled, but this time it was aimed at Chase.

Chase bowed his head to her. “Thank you, Chrysanthe. I appreciate it. I will have to thank Queen Leila for informing you.”

“Oh.” Some of Chrysanthe’s fae poise left her. “Um. She didn’t. I heard that you had guests…from your Pack. Good manners would say they must be greeted.” She straightened her shoulders and smiled again.

“Mmhmm,” Lord Linus said. “Good manners. Yes. That is certainly one of your main concerns.” He winked at Chrysanthe, who blushed bright red, but ignored him as she kept smiling at Chase.

Woah—a fae, batting her eyes after a werewolf?

Supernaturals romancing outside of their own race wasn’t taboo…but it just wasn’t done. Everyone was too focused on trying to slow the death of wild magic to be concerned with other supernaturals, much less find them attractive.

Maybe that’s my problem. I need to mingle with other supernaturals and look outside my regular social circle. I think I remember watching a dating coach say that on YouTube once when I was despairing over human guys disliking my strength.