Page 75 of Veiled

Hudson- I bet myself that you would get pissed first, then Hunter, then Gray, and Ryder wouldn’t get mad at all.

Hunter- Right, I’m pissed too, now go change.

Grayson-I swear, I’ll punch a Fae in the face, Hudson.

Ryder- I see what you did there Gray, Fae-ce . Good one! You guys get mad; I get to put the tanning lotion on her.

I laughed,my eyes landing on Remi who was dressed, or undressed, in a similar bathing suit, and I swallowed thickly. I lost my train of thought, and I must have stared too long because she threw a cocky smile my way and I rolled my eyes and looked away before she could see me smile.

I walked up to her and smacked her ass, “You and I are in need some alone time, but right now let’s fuck shit up,” I giggled.

She winked, “You got it.” She smacked my ass, walked away and grabbed a bottle of some type of alcohol and opened it. “Faerie wine- this will fuck you up. Are you ready?” She asked. I scoffed, silly question. I opened my mouth and she poured it in. The fruity taste exploded on my taste buds and a few seconds later the buzz punched me right in the face.

“Fuck what is that? A magic version of Devil’s Springs 151 Proof?” I laughed as I swayed. She laughed at me and winked, chugging from the bottle. Show off.The song changed to “Bring it Back” by Travis Scott and we started to dance, ignoring the growling from the Neanderthals. There was no one here but us and after this shit storm we needed to have some fun, jealousy be damned.

We finished off the first bottle and jumped into the pool with the guys. I had to avoid five pairs of hands but then I swam under the water and hid under one of the waterfall grotto’s while Jensi and Luca laughed, and played stupid to my whereabouts.

“That’s cheating, angel!” yelled Hunter and I giggled.

King swam up and sat next to me in the little grotto with a small smile on his face.

“How are you holding up with all this change?” I asked.

“Honestly? Since I met you, I felt that you were a little different. I didn't guess this damn different, but we had so much in common,” he shrugged, “I knew we would become friends eventually. This was just like a fast forward, plus a cool, “hey, you, calm your tits” type of power.” I giggled and he smiled.

“Don’t say that shit in front of your best friends- the last thing I need is them repeating that shit.” I fake groaned. He laughed and leaned back and reached over to hold my hand. I felt a sense of peace, as if I was floating between consciousness; it was pleasant.

“I just want you to know that I always got your back. Of course, I got to learn a little bit more about my powers and what the fuck I can do, but I admit King the Sentinel sounds badass. Who knows, maybe I’ll find myself a nice Fae lady of my own, since the only one I wanted squishy-zoned me,” he laughed, but I felt his sadness. I guess the connection worked both ways. I smiled at his use of his nickname. Isn’t it incredible how the smallest of things can bring people together as friends? Just a few movie references and genuine connections.

“King, if I could, I would snatch you up in a second, but the connection I feel with those five on an emotional level is beyond something I can explain.” I sighed. “You and I are going to be the best friends who play pranks on those assholes. We are going to get you all the Fae girls, the good ones anyway, and I’m going to kick their asses to make sure they treat you right.” He laughed; I wasn’t joking. Women empowerment and all that, but I’ll empower the hell out of a mallet if they hurt my squishy.

“Strange thing is, King, I felt something similar last night too.” He looked at me and nodded.

“The scaley dude, right? I could totally sense a Ron and Hermione connection there when he followed you last night during your run. It’s why I didn’t say anything.” I laughed and then frowned.

“Yeah, with the guys we have history, kind off; a magnetic attraction the moment we got closer, just like with Remi. With him I felt the similar connection. What if me finally transitioning is causing all of this? I really would like to not be mated to anyone else. It's scary, splitting your heart into five, and then I gotta split it again to thousands for the people I’m supposed to protect and help according to some damn prophecy. How much space can a heart hold?” He smiled gently and gave me a hug.

“Didn't Dumbledore always tell Harry that love protects? That it was ancient magic? I dare say, you are part of a people who have been around longer than almost anything; almost ancient. The more you love, the better protected you are, Hudson. It is how you wield that love that will make the difference. Keep opening your heart, and you have more than enough space - and stop worrying about fearing love and be happy that you have the ability to feel it.” I choked up a little; love - was that how I felt about Hunter’s consistent chasing, Grayson’s need to protect, Ryder's ability to make me laugh, Remi’s way to go from lover to best friend in 1.2 seconds? Zane I loved, and I knew that his quiet intensity, him putting aside his alpha tendencies to make me happy, were unique to him.

“You’re right,” I sighed, “I’ll have to remember that when I want to kill a few people and dance in a pool of their blood, but yes, love and all that jazz.” He laughed and bopped my nose.

“That’s my blood thirsty girl, and by the way I may not always be right, but I’m never wrong.” At that he picked me up and tossed me out of the grotto and flung me into the deep end of the pool. Asshole.

I swamup to the top and propelled myself out of the water and landed at the end of the pool in a crouch. Well, that was new, and fucking awesome. “Guys I’m a dolphin-mermaid-Fae hybrid,” I laughed. They rolled their eyes. Jealous much?

I wrung out my hair and went to lay down at the edge of the pool on a chair to live up to my promise and tan. Before I even laid down Ryder was laughing as he rubbed the tanning lotion all over me.

“Enough tanning lotion Ryder, I’m going to fucking turn into a stone.” He laughed as I swatted him, and he ran inside with the rest of the guys who were on a mission to make lunch.

Remi joined me and we held hands between the loungers.

Remi- You know, you five are a sexual mess in my head. You all need to stop that sausage talk - you’re making me nauseous.

I laughed.

Hudson- It never crossed my mind to be honest, sorry. Don’t need you picturing licking lollipops. I’m able to block out who I want and talk privately, which is pretty cool, like texting, so we could just do that. Which reminds me, I see the music works, but can you text here, and get Netflix?

Remi-Haha, you and Lucifer. Yes and no, what we get is because we use magic to tap into a nearby satellite.

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