Page 65 of Marcus-stiltskin

“Who?” the deputy asks me.

“Zander Lamar. His mate is one of the fae that lives behind the Wild Hare. She’s in our world right now. She was at the courthouse for the arbitration earlier today.”

“Leave that to me,” Deputy Moreau says. “Give me twenty minutes and I’ll be back.” She hands me the potato baby she’sholding and shuts the baby box with a loud thunk. “The box still has its environmental control. The, uh, baby will be fine until I get back.”

The Deputy hurries out the door, leaving Marcus and I to try to get the babies to stop crying. Feeding doesn’t work. Potato Baby Two rips the nipple off the bottle and spits it out, crying angrily as the formula spills on him or her. Neither one of us gets brave enough to attempt a diaper change. We’re standing around the baby box still, holding crying babies, when Deputy Moreau reappears in her cruiser, followed by Randy’s and Zach’s trucks.

As several people hop out of the truck, I decide she must have driven straight to Zelda’s house and dragged out every pack member she could find. Zander and Zach crowd into the foyer of the fire station, along with Zander’s very pregnant fae mate, Nolig, Red, and Randy Lamar. Zane and Alyssa, who’s got baby Jada in her arms, take up the rear with Zelda.

Nolig’s eyes scan the room, taking in Marcus and I gingerly holding the potato babies, before glancing at the baby box. She shakes her head and says a word I can’t make out. Instantly the babies we’re holding stop crying, though potato baby two is still snapping its tiny sharp teeth.

“Can one of you tell me who these three babies belong to?” Deputy Moreau asks.

“Three?” Zach asks.

Deputy Moreau opens the baby safe box. Potato baby three starts screeching immediately. She shuts the door on it and turns back to the men.

“They’re clurichaun children,” Nolig answers helpfully from beside the taller men.

“The fuck?” Zach says.

Zander suddenly looks a little pale.

“Will your child look like this?” Randy asks her.

She nods. “Yes, if I send her to the world before she has her own magic. She can’t glamor mortals until she’s a few months old.”

“Glamor?” Zander says.

I try not to smile. There’s always some trick with the fae.

“It’s not going to eat its way out of you?” Zach asks, horror written all over his face.

I feel the tension rise in the small room and meet Marcus’s eyes. He reaches for me and pulls me close, turning his body so that he is between me and the Lamars.

“Fuck you, asshole,” Zander swears at his older brother shoving him away from Nolig. Zach moves to get in his space.

“Zach, watch your fucking mouth,” Randy practically growls, stepping between the two men. “Your words have consequences, dumbass.”

Nolig just smiles at her brother-in-law. “Mortals are always after the most beautiful creature they can attract, and disappointed when beauty fades with time. Constantly chasing beauty is a race time will always guarantee you lose, brother. True beauty is in actions. That’s where true love lies.” She takes the angry potato baby from the safe baby box and kisses it on the forehead. Its features seem to melt and smoothen in her arms until it reforms into a very human-looking baby. All at once it goes from hideous creature to the most beautiful child that’s graced this planet. Its angry cries become the sweetest of coos as it looks adoringly up at Nolig.

”People,” Deputy Moreau interrupts, clearing her throat. “We have an important matter in front of us. Abandoned children once again, with a connection to your pack.”

“I don’t think they’re abandoned,” Nolig says. “We should go outside, it’s a little too crowded here for what I need to do.”

Instead of stepping out the front door, she walks out toward the bays. All we can do is follow and end up dodging the crap in the animal pens we haven’t had a chance to clean.

It doesn’t seem to phase Nolig. As soon as we’re all outside, Willow trots over and immediately starts trying to sniff at the potato baby in my arms. Ramona appears out of nowhere and goes right to Alyssa, leaning against her and nosing the baby until Alyssa hands it over to Zane. She wraps her arms around the horse’s neck and whispers in its ear.

Movement from the corner of my eye brings me back to the problem at hand. Nolig steps away from the group and says a word over the child she’s holding, running a finger across its brow and making an X over its heart. She moves to do the same to the baby I’m holding, then again to the baby in Marcus’s arms.

The air heats up and slowly the pressure increases until my ears feel like I’m dealing with the worst part of a plane ride. They clog up and finally pop softly as three beautiful fae women appear.

“Are the babes okay?” asks a dark-haired woman. She searches the small crowd, calmly, as if popping into places was completely normal. She spots her baby in Marcus’s arms and rushes to it, taking it and holding it way closer than I would.

“The babes are fine,” Nolig says sharply. “But why are they here?”

A second woman looks at her curiously as she moves to take the baby I’m holding out of my arms. “The mortals have a baby safe box and those who will care for them when we cannot.”

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