Page 17 of Moonlit Alexandrite

“If you’ve come to apologize for your friend, I don’t want to hear it. He’s a big boy and can fix his own problems.”

I was proud of myself at that moment. I sounded tough. Which was great because it had been a complete and utter bluff. Tase grimaced and ran a hand through his hair. I heard a growl from Colbie as flakes of green landed on her freshly swept floor.

“What did he do?” Ren asked. He looked like he couldn’t decide whether to be curious or angry, and in any other situation, I would have laughed at the way his brows bounced in indecision. I didn’t know these guys, not really. I had spent one midnight talking to Tase, but what did that mean in the harsh light of day? The silence stretched as I tried to sort out my feelings, and I could see it was causing Colbie to fidget. She would stand by me no matter what, but I wasn’t giving her much because I had zero idea how to handle this. I wanted to make her fix it so I could run away and never deal with delicious men who could hurt me again, but I had a feeling it was time to put on my big girl panties.

“He told me in no uncertain terms that he would never be my mate.”

While I had been mentally debating, Tase had sidled close enough to touch. His arm slipped around my waist, his nose burying in my hair in much the same way he might have done in his horse form. “He’s an idiot. Don’t listen to him,” he mumbled, rubbing his lips against the top of my head.

I... didn’t hate it.

And I wasn’t sure what to do with that.

“He is though, I know the other rope is going to him,” Newt piped up from next to his father.

“What rope?” Colbie and I asked in unison. Newt shrugged, as though uncomfortable under the scrutiny of too many people.

Ren placed a protective hand on the boy’s shoulder and opened his mouth to speak, but his eyes strayed to his friend in the sweatpants, who was stroking his fingers up and down my waist in a hypnotic repetition I was rather enjoying.

“You’re getting green on her. Seriously, Stone could have let you shower first.”

Tase’s laugh was a deep rumble against my back as his hand slid across my belly and pulled me tight against an erection that the sweatpants did nothing to hide. I really needed to stop thinking about those damn pants. His lips skated down my ear and brushed against the base of my neck, causing a gasp to leave my lips just as Colbie cleared her throat loudly.

“Children present. But also, what the hell is going on here?”

Right. Those were excellent points that I should have thought … Tase’s teeth grazed my throat, and I damn well melted into a puddle.

“Tase, get the hell off our mate before you teach my son shit he’s not ready to learn,” Ren snapped irritably.

I shuddered as Tase pulled back with a final nip. I could definitely breathe a little easier without... Wait. What?!

“Did you sayourmate?”

Chapter Ten

Dion

I knew my horns were showing, but the town wards would keep any humans from seeing my true form, and right now I didn’t have a shit to give. That succubus was going to finish the job,gods damnTammilyn, had started six years ago.

With her deep red hair and baby doll blue eyes, there was no way the others wouldn’t fall for her charms. I had to be the strong one here. My legs ate up the pavement as I stomped the distance between Jewels Cafe and home. When I reached the elevators, it was barely a choice. I could go up, clean an already spotless apartment until my hands were cracked and dry from bleach, or... I hit the down button.

Cut into the rock, below street level, was a huge parking garage. I beelined for the far corner and slowed my steps as she came into view. My bike. My pride and joy. I opened her storage cage and swung my riding jacket over my stained t-shirt, forgoing my helmet to accommodate the dangerous mood I was in. At this point, I was resenting that the deep cherry color of my baby made me think of that woman. My cock throbbed in my chinos, and I cursed her again for bewitching me. What the hell had happened, anyway? One second I was giving her a coffee, and the next I was wearing it. The fact my dick had lunged for her, while my chest felt like it was cracking open, made it clear she had cast some kind of mating spell, but how?

Fucking Tase should never have talked me into going.

I kicked my baby to life and felt a sliver of tension drop from my shoulders as her motor gave a welcoming purr. They loosened further as I headed up the ramp and onto street level. Here I faced my second decision. I could write myself off at Nessie’s pub, pick up a girl and prove a spell would not control me…

The pub was walking distance from home and I would never leave my bike out, so clearly I was fooling myself with that line of thinking. Her face flashed in my mind’s eye, hurt and confusion painted across it, as though I wasn’t the only one surprised by the morning’s turn of events. I opened the throttle with a shake of my head to clear it and felt the bike respond beneath me.

No.

I had learned this lesson before, and I would not make the same mistake again. The voice in the back of my head, telling me I had been pushing her away from the moment I met her, could shut the hell up.

I flew out of town and headed south to Howling Heights, finally relaxing as a large, obnoxiously pink building came into view.

The Howling Heights Dance Academy was my home away from home.

Madam Folayan was an imposing ex-ballerina who had started this school when I was a young faun. For as long as I had known her, she had worn her hair shorn into a pixie cut, the color a hot pink that would be shocking if you were unaware she could shift at will into a flamingo, that contrasted beautifully against her mocha-latte-colored complexion.

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