Page 6 of Fated Wings
Perfect. Add that to the stack of impossible problems Newt was trying his best to fix. But how did you “fix” fate? That was a dang good question, and he wished someone had the answer.
“Okay,” Vaughn said close to his ear. “I think I got most of them.”
If the guy was going for seductive, he’d nailed it.
“Could I take a shower? I feel like the forest licked me.” Newt was already inching off the bed because if he stayed, he might try to curl into those strong arms. He ached to feel them holding him, a false promise that everything would be okay.
“Through that door to your right.” Vaughn pushed to his feet, a quiet shift of weight on floorboards. Newt missed the warmth of his body already. “Use whatever you need. Clean towels are in the cabinet.”
Newt headed for the door without a second glance, afraid Vaughn might see all the lies clinging to him like dirty secrets. Once inside, he shut the door softly and leaned back against it, palms flat on wood, forehead pressed to the cool paint. What was he doing? It was forbidden to mate outside his kind. So why did Newt want to fling the door open and tell the world to suck fuzzy coconuts?
“A wolf,” he said under his breath. “You know how to get yourself into a pickle.”
But Vaughn’s face wouldn’t leave him alone. That haunted look, buried just beneath the surface. Whatever pain the man was carrying, it matched the weight pressing against Newt’s ribs. Part of him wanted to run, but another part—the reckless, stupid part—wanted to stay.
* * * *
Vaughn listened as the shower cut on. Just great. Now he stood in his bedroom with images of his very naked mate, creamy skin glistening under the water, soap suds trailing down his compact body.
“Pull your shit together.” He ran a hand through his hair, noticing how badly it shook. It was the shadows playing off the lamp, making his wolf cagey in a way his beast had never been before.
Not since Vex.
Vaughn closed his eyes and rolled his shoulders, trying his damnedest to ease the tension wrapping around every nerve ending in his body.
Vex had said they would meet again. The job the demon had been hired for wasn’t finished. Not in Vex’s mind.
In Vaughn’s, the demon had fulfilled the contract, had made him feel unspeakable pain.
Even now, with the soft hum of steady water in the shower, Vaughn felt that modified cattle prod between his shoulders. Saw the glee in the demon’s sadistic eyes.
Closing his eyes, he breathed out slowly, exhaling a long breath. The technique didn’t help. Not when Vaughn couldn’t reassure himself he was safe. How could he be? Every shadow was a potential portal. Every noise sounded like taunting laughter.
The not-knowing if Vex would return—and what means of torture he would use next—was driving Vaughn insane.
Literally. How could anyone live with only a few hours of sleep every few nights? Even when he allowed himself a few hours of respite, his dreams took him back to that dungeon.
Vex at his back, whispering cruel promises, just like Vaughn’s mother used to.
It had always been from behind that she attacked, blaming him for his father’s death in one breath and, in the next, bragging about how she’d killed him. Always whispered. Always followed by the crack of a whip or bare claws or his hair wrenched. It was cruelty he never deserved.
He paced his room, his wolf howling to get free for a run. But it was dark outside. Too many possible portals for Vex to climb through.
Someone knocked on the door. Vaughn knew who it was by scent alone. The mates were curious about Newt. He didn’t blame them. Preston and Jalen were human, and this was the first time they’d seen a fae.
It was his first time too. Vaughn had heard of their kind, but he’d never actually met one in person. Fate had a twisted-ass sense of humor. Never met a fae? Well, here you go. Let me mate you to one. By the way, how’s that trauma of yours going?
With a roll of his eyes, Vaughn crossed the room and swung open the door. Two eager smiles greeted him.
“Tell me we get to keep him,” Preston said, practically bouncing in place, green eyes filled with barely contained excitement.
The guy needed to lay off the fruit from the farmer’s market. The natural sugars were clearly affecting him.
“We promise not to overwhelm him or stuff him with junk food.” Jalen crossed his heart with his finger, wearing an equally goofy smile.
Ever since this mate had gotten clean, he was on a campaign to find the weirdest combination of junk food to eat. Vaughn actually didn’t mind. Some of those combos were on point, while others made him question humanity.
“He’s in the shower.” Vaughn crossed his arms and leaned against the door frame, telling himself the shadows in the hallway weren’t actually moving.
