Heart of Stone (Rock Star Fairy Tales #1)

Chapter 44

C h apte r 44

Scents a nd Changes

M argot ran through the possibilities, immediately returning to the long ago afternoon with Benjamin. It had been fun and awkward and nice enough, but she wasn’t particularly sweaty afterward. Nothing like the marathon she had shared wi th Tobin.

“Smell him?” she asked, wondering if Nik thought she didn’t shower enough. “What—like a n animal?”

A slow grin crept across Nik’s mouth. “Got i t in one!”

“Got what?” she asked. “You some kind of animal, Nik?” She tried to imagine what kind of fae creature Nik could be. Definitely something yippy, like an eager puppy, sh e decided.

To her surprise, her cousin nodded. “Yep.” He let out a breath. “That was so much easier than I thought it would be. Wow.” He laughed, hands reaching up to the ballcap on his head. He took it off, ran a hand through his hair, and plopped it back down in one smooth motion—Nik’s way of showing he was relieved when a tense situation was resolved. “I really should have told you y ears ago.”

“What the hell are you talking about, Nik?” Margot asked. “You’re some kind of fae-shifte r animal?”

“Not a fae,” Nik said immediately. “I told you. I’m not one of them. I didn’t inherit any of my mom’s abilities. Just pure human like my dad. Sexy human,” he added, tilting back so she could appreciate his hand some face.

“Yeah, you’re perfect,” she assured him. “But … animal?” she prompted.

“Oh yeah,” he said, then slid up the sleeve of his hoodie, pointing to a scar on his forearm. Margot had seen i t before.

“Your skateboarding accident?” she asked, recalling the story of how a young Nik had broken his arm skateboarding. The line was jagged, and she had always wondered just how bad it had been to leave a scar like that. Margot had never broken a bone, so she didn’t know if scars always looked like that—but she had never gotten on a skateboard just in case.

Nik snorted. “Hardly.” He held it closer to Margot’s face, fingers tracing the lines. “I got bit, Margot. See the outli ne there?”

Margot studied the scar. She could make out what might be a line of top and bottom teeth. She raised her eyes to meet his. The world contains many creatures, she recalled Ash saying. “Werewolf?” she whispered, the word strange to say outside of a fantasy novel. Nik nodded. “ But how…?”

“Just like the stories say,” he told her, rolling his sleeve back down and leaning back. “I was in the woods at night, being an idiot and not listening to my parents, and a wolf bit me. I didn’t think much of it at first, but I got really sick. My parents took me to the hospital. They treated me for rabies. A day later, the swelling went down and I was fine again. Problem solved.” He paused, rubbing the back of his neck, lifting and replacing his hat a second time. “But a few weeks later during the full moon…” He laughed. “Well, let’s just say my dad had a great sense of humor—and he knew how to roll with the punches. That first time, he just sat with me all night, rubbing my belly.”

Margot tried to imagine her reaction if she had a child who suddenly turned into a wolf. She didn’t think she would have been nearly as calm about the situation. Then again, Maddie had been fae. Maybe she had suspected there was a chance it had been more than a no rmal wolf.

“You literally turn into a wolf?” Margot asked, trying to imagine her cousin as an animal. “Like a regular-si zed wolf?”

He tilted his head, displaying his broad shoulders. “I’m a bit bigger than a gray wolf, but yeah, you get the gist.”

“But you’re still you?” In some of the stories, the bitten forgot themselves completely, turning into the monster, but in others, it was just another shape for the same consciousness to occupy.

“I’m always me,” he told her. “I just get really hairy once a month.”

“Can you control it? Like can you wolf out on command?”

“Command like a dog?” Nik asked, slightly irritated. “No. I change when the moon rises, and I change back when the m oon sets.”

Margot nodded, trying to think of other werewolf rules. “Does it hurt?”

Nik shook his head. “Not really. I get a bit … emotional the day before I change.”

Margot thought about the tour schedule, the way they had extra days off every month or so. “Wait, does Ca yla know?”

“Hell no!” Nik exclaimed. “We complained that we need a break, so when she posed our first schedule, we massaged some of t he days.”

Margot did the quick math, recalling some of what Ash and Timothy had said about Nik seeing his old friend a few days ago. “So Tomas…” s he began.

Nik nodded. “Yes, Tomas helped me adjust. Now we’re good friends.”

Margot considered. “If the full moon was Thursday of last week and the next one is the 18th of next month…” She recalled the tour dates. “Taflah,” she breathed, naming the capital city—shows that Cayla was flying in to attend—and the gala afterparty. “And then Denham Island. It’s that week between!” She shook her head, doing the math. “So you can’t play the W ednesday…”

“I could probably play Thursday,” he admitted, “but it wouldn’t be my best work. Besides,” he added, “we’re taking the ferry over to Denham. We wanted enough time in-between to be sure.”

“You’re going to turn into a wolf while we’re on Denham Island?” Margot asked. Then she blurted the first thing she recalled about Denham, a suspicion, a wild theory that didn’t seem so wild anymore. “Aren’t there drago ns there?”

Nik laughed, a true belly laugh that caught Tobin’s attention. “You,” he said loudly in Tobin’s direction, “are awesome, brother.”

Tobin stopped swinging, taking the invitation and wandering back to sit with them, hopping atop the table and sitting cross-legged between them. “And why is that?” the f ae asked.

“Thank you for properly educating Margot here. I’m glad someone finally told her s omething.”

“You’re welcome,” Tobin said and glanced at Margot. “What topic have I stumb led into?”

“Dragons,” Nik said wit h a wink.

Tobin coughed but caught himself in time. “I see,” he said, giving Margot a long look. “My Lady wishes to hear more about dragons?”

“I imagine she already knows enough,” Nik continued, “if she knows they live in Denham.” Nik gave Tobin an appraising look. “You’re fae. You probably know a few of them yourself.”

“Hold up,” Margot said, lifting her hands in the time out gesture. “Are we talking about actual dragons?”

Nik cocked his head. “I doubt we’ll see them in their true form,” he said casually. “Most of the time, they’re human. Righ t, Tobin?”

Tobin nodded slowly. “That’s right,” he agreed. “They are notoriously secretive about showing their true forms—unless there is a specific need.” He pursed his lips. “Of course, they are huge creatures, so I imagine transforming has to do with planning. Can’t have a banquet set up for a shifter ambassador who arrives and doesn’t fit inside the venue. They would take offense.”

Margot blanched, trying to imagine a creature that wouldn’t fit inside a banquet hall. And Ash , she thought, pulling the pieces together, uses fire and takes after his mother, who is from Denha m Island.

“Oh my gods,” Margot breathed. “Is Ash a fuckin g dragon?”