Page 69 of Home to the Hollow

I turn my head, forcing myself to focus until I can see my best friend standing next to a furious-looking Teddy and a... Smurf? Man, whatever I got dosed with is strong. I don’t even know what day it is, and I’m seeing imaginary cartoon people. I lick my lips, realizing that my mouth feels like an old sock. “Seer? What the hell happened? Where are we? Who brought the Avatar guy?”

A curse rumbles out of the walking blueberry, and it heads for the hills. Teddy bursts out laughing, and Seer even giggles. I look down at McSteamy in confusion, but he just gives me a broad smile. Feeling bad for almost choking him out, I reach up to straighten his glasses. I knocked them askew when I was shoving his face into my armpit, and the thought makes me flush with embarrassment.

Who knows what it smelled like in there after the hot lights at the show, the dancing, and... whatever else happened after that?

“I remember nothing after the first round of drinks and dancing in the club. We went to the bathroom and then... everything is blank,” I admit, feeling like a fool. Some FBI agent I would have made. Hoisted on my petard by some college roofie distributor—I’ll never hear the end.

“Aye, Peanut. All in good time. We seem to have ended up at my place, though I don’t know where…”

“Do you chits make a habit of drugging your friends with fairy dust, or is that a special treat for us?” The voice lilts as the handsome fantasy novel hero walks in, rubbing his temples.

“Who is this?!”

I blink, squinting again at Teddy as he thunders like a volcano ready to erupt. Presley snorts, burying his face in my side, and I’m pretty sure I swat him in response. “This… this is… did you say fairy dust?”

“Zasha Fydor Petrov, at your service. At least I would be if the evil sprites in my skull would stop banging pots like a poltergeist,” he mutters.

“That doesn’t explain a goddamned thing,” Teddy snarls, stalking up to him.

“Mr. Boone, I don’t think you want to tangle with Zasha this morning. Tharin gets so overprotective when we aren’t well, and Zasha seems to have the worst time.”

My nose wrinkles when I hear Seer’s friend Julia step into the fray. I can’t decide if I like her, and now I’m trapped in the middle of my guys being weird and her trio of terror. How in the hell could this morning get worse?

“Julia! I missed you so much!”

I should quit tempting the Universe to fuck with me, right?

Wolfie’s shout follows my ill-advised statement, and I don’t know where he popped out from, but he’s bounding toward my new least favorite person like a happy puppy. She smiles at him fondly, and something heavy and gross settles in my gut. They know one another, and my little Wolfie is brimming with excitement at her presence.

“Tharin, Zasha... it’s been years. You settled in with Juju, huh?”

Gag me with a spoon. Juju? Christ, I’m wishing this fairy dust shit had killed me.

I’m going to barf on Prez, and that won’t end this humiliation any faster. It might prolong it because... vomit. Ugh, everything about today makes Thailand look like a weekend romp in the Hamptons. “Can’t I pass out again?” I mutter to myself.

“No, Magpie, you can’t. If you feel sick, I can help you to the bathroom, though.”

Presley’s eyes roam over my face and warmth floods my skin. It’s a weird time to be horny, and I frown at myself for being super inappropriate. I shake my head a little, turning my gaze to Teddy with a pleading look as the trio, Wolfie, and Seer jabber on the other side of the room. I can’t find the right words to respond to anything, and my emotions are caught in my throat as I watch the animated gestures in the little group.

“Sorry, folks. No time for introductions. I’m going to take Tilly home to get cleaned up and see if she can sleep the rest of this off. The rest of you can fuck off until I call you.”

Ignoring the puzzled and irritated looks, Edgar walks over, lifts me out from under Prez, and tucks me against his chest. I hate myself for doing it, but I rest my cheek against his firm muscles and close my eyes. His lips brush my temple, and he heads for the door without another word. When we get to his car, he buckles me into the passenger seat quietly before hopping into his side. The engine purrs as he starts it, pulling out of the driveway and heading towards my house in silence.

It occurs to me that for the first time in his life, Teddy didn’t put his fat foot in his mouth, and for the first time in mine, I let him rescue me without a fight.

That’s what the old timers call progress, folks.

Breakaway

If past Jolene told me Edgar Olivier Boone III would end up sitting next to my whirlpool tub while I soak away a night of debauchery, I would have laughed in her face. Yet he’s reading me some spicy romance novel he found on his Kindle app in an array of accents as I wash the club glitter from my hair. Life is weird sometimes, especially since I moved home to the Hollow. He pauses occasionally to make sure I’m awake, but I’d swear he’s enjoying this.

What is it biologists say?

Pop culture gets it wrong—true alphas care for their packs like a den mother, not run around snarling and being giant dickwhistles? If that’s true, Teddy is proving his alpha status today. He was gentle as hell when he pulled me out of his car and carried me inside—despite my vocal protests—and sat me on the bed. Water was run, clothes were laid out, and he even undressed me without a single innuendo. Miracles like this don’t happen every day, so I let him baby me.

A girl likes to be taken care of sometimes, even if she can take care of herself.

After his quiet interrogation about the events of the evening, Teddy let me soak for a bit while he texted. Then he settled in on the steps and started reading in that rich voice of his, and I was a goner. I haven’t even asked his opinion of what happened; I figure that’s a conversation we can have once all the unusual fog lifts from my brain. My memory is another story altogether, and I don’t expect to solve that riddle soon.

---