Hell on Wheels (Faetal Attraction #1)

Truth Hurts

I brought Rebel back to us in Guillermo’s lair for a reason. Rebel knows the old arachnid is temperamental and prone to overreaction. He’s been here before and won’t want to end up spun into the geezer’s web while the rest of us get measured. That web shit takes weeks to wash off, and with the upcoming meeting, he’ll avoid getting covered in spider jizz.

Which makes it a perfect place to break some or all of the truth to him.

“Good to see you, man. Did the car survive?” I ask casually, leaning against a dusty workbench.

“Be careful!” Guillermo clicks at me reprovingly. “You’ll disturb my weavings.”

Rogue looks like she’s fighting like hell not to physically shiver, and I wink at her. This is a good test for her; she’ll have to keep her cool at the Appalachin as well, so working on her impulse control here is handy. “Tell me you didn’t do any damage to Lucille.”

Our friend rolls his eyes at her. “Of course not. I was angry, not braindead.”

Damon claps him on the shoulder with a grin, then winks at our girl. “I don’t know how we mixed the two up. You’re so logical when you’re pissed.”

“Fuck off,” Rebel says as he flips my twin off and walks over to the ancient settee to sit down. “Who’s going first, Guillermo?”

The half-spider, half-man, looks at him imperiously. “You are aware I cannot be hurried, young Fae. Perfection cannot be obtained when time is being measured in seconds.”

Unfortunately, Rebel Kelly is one of the most impatient motherfuckers I know, so this is going to be difficult.

“Rogue wants us to have bow ties and vests that match her dress. Maybe we should send Guillermo a text with the dress so his assistant can find the right fabrics?” I look over at Rogue, hoping she’ll start talking now.

“Yes. That will be most helpful, Angelo.” Guillermo makes a loud clicking sound and the racoon shifter comes running out of a concealed door. “Laurel, please use your phone to get the details from the sister of Rebel. This order is our top priority.”

The curvy blonde scurries over to Rogue, patting her apron and pockets until she finds the one hiding her cell phone. I can tell she’s amusing our girl with her harried appearance, pins and pens sticking out of her hair and clothes, and absent-minded demeanor. “Hello. My name is Laurel. If you give me your number, ma’am, I’ll send you a text and you can respond with the picture. I promise I won’t abuse the privilege.”

“Is someone going to tell me why we need to match my sister?” Rebel drawls. His posture is relaxed, but I’ve known him long enough to recognize when the wheels are turning in his head. The sharpness of his gaze and wariness in his tone give him away every time.

Rogue is busy talking with Laurel, so I look at the rest of the guys, wondering how we’re going to approach this. Doing it in the presence of the terrifying tailor is smart, but none of us knows how to start the conversation.

Finally, Archie strolls over to the couch and sits next to him, sprawling out before he simply says, “She’s my mate, dude. Punch me if you want, but it shocked the living shit out of us, too. Samara is gonna lose her mind and my dads will be smug as hell. They’ve always thought—well, they won’t be surprised.”

A gritted jaw and narrowed eyes are the only indicators of the rage I know Reb is bottling up. He knows better than to start a fistfight at this place, but he’s also ready to throttle Archie with his bare hands. Of course, if he didn’t have the self-reflection of a boulder, he’d realize he’s not angry about Rogue finding a mate or even it being Archie. He’s furious that he’s lost his chance—even if he can’t admit it.

Not that he has, but Rebel is definitely not ready to hear that yet.

I dart my eyes over to Damon as he stands still while Guillermo skitters around him, taking measurements. He can’t move, but I can’t tell if he has no idea if we should chime in or let Archie absorb the first blow alone. Javi clears his throat, but he says nothing. We’re all too stunned at our leonine friend’s chutzpah to comment yet.

“You. You mated with my sister ,” Reb says in a tight voice. “The biggest man whore I know… mated… with my sister.”

That gets Rogue’s attention, and she turns away from the seamstress, stalking over to the couch. “Shut your mouth, Rebel Elvis Kelly. No one asked your opinion, nor do we want it. I am nineteen years old and I can make my own fucking decisions without running them past you. Were you even listening to Archie?”

“I heard the lame ‘we didn’t mean to’ excuse,” he shoots back. “He’s old enough to know better. Shifters always know.”

“That’s not necessarily true,” Javi says softly. “It varies greatly from species to species, especially if you toss in hybrids or mythicals.”

“The bird is correct. It is quite difficult to predict if it is cross-species as well,” Guillermo intones as he nods at me, pushing Damon aside. “Angelo, it is your turn.”

I’ll be damned. The cranky old geezer helped us out.

“See? No need to get your boxers in a bunch,” I add as I walk over to the spider and assume the position for measurements.

“You’re all full of shit.” Rebel rolls to his feet, looking at Rogue for a moment before he mutters in a low voice. “ Nochdaibh na breugan; nochd na breugan. ”

Fae magic fills the air, sparkling around us like we’re back at the rave. Colors and swirls of powers whip through the room, bouncing off furniture and spinning around everyone. Rebel watches with a grin, his wings popping out and fluttering with the pulse of his power. He’s not sprinkling his dust, but if he gets mad enough, he might.

Then we all might become an offended ancient spider shifter’s fucking lunch for violating the terms of his employment contract with my father.

Perhaps this wasn’t a good idea after all.

“Rebel, son of the Unseelie Court, you are overreacting.” Guillermo looks more annoyed than pissed, which is good for all of us.

I didn’t intend to be spider chow today.

“I think not,” Reb snorts. His eyes flash various pastels colors as he wiggles his fingers and makes the Faerie maelstrom in the room continue to swirl over us all. “And I will have the truth. You all owe me that.”

Rogue’s wings pop free and the tattoos visible on her body glow like her stepbrother’s. Magic gets thicker in the air, almost choking me. I look at D, wondering if we should intervene. Because we’re both demons and they’re dark Unseelie, it shouldn’t cause a clash of opposing magic types, but hell if I know for sure. Faerie magic is the most wild, unpredictable power in our world outside of deities and their kin. I know Rogue won’t let her dust fly because it would hurt her mates, but the two of them could raze this building to the ground if they aren’t careful.

Guardians aren’t selected because they have weak powers; they’re selected at birth and marked because they can defend the defenseless until they are ready to enter our world. And the two of them are fairly high in the Guardian hierarchy despite not having a charge yet. Whoever their unborn charge is, they will be someone of immense importance and skill—which is why I know we have to calm them down.

“Rogue, you can’t provoke him. He’s being an asshole, but there’s a reason.” I look at the Fae I’ve called one of my best friends since he showed up in Bay City. “Dude, it’s time to admit it. Tell her or we’re all fucked. Even if Guillermo isn’t ready to eat us, the Society will lock your asses up. You know this.”

“I do not desire to eat you. Too much magic in these shifters now. It would be like consuming an enormous meal of sugary human cereals,” Guillermo grumbles. “Fae blood makes everything taste like candy.”

Rebel pauses, looking at him for a moment. “Fae blood. All of us?”

The spider skitters around me, measuring my shoulders with a huff. “I did not stutter, son of Unseelie.”

“Shit,” Archie mutters, flopping his head back on the couch to look at the ceiling. “Well, there goes my sacrifice. Damnit, Gui! You blew it, man.”

Damon walks over to Rogue, placing a hand on her shoulder as he whispers in her ear. Her wings brush his face and I swear, the look on his face tells me he almost jizzed in his pants. Finally, he swallows hard and looks Reb right in the eye. “He’s right. There’s Fae blood in all of us.”

The swirls and sparkles kick up, blowing webs around for a moment before suddenly, it all dies down. Everything goes quiet as he cuts his gaze to me, then Damon, then Javi, then Archie, and finally, to Rogue. Betrayal is etched on his features and his eyes are filled with so much anger and pain that it makes my chest hurt. His wings disappear and the glow on his tatts fades as he takes in heaving breaths, fist clenched at his side.

“Reb, you know we don’t pick mates. The Fates send them to us and they’re revealed when the time is right,” Rogue says in a strained voice. “No one did this to hurt you.”

“Stop. Just stop!” he yells. “You didn’t choose it, but you hid it from me!”

“Can you blame them, Unseelie?” Guillermo’s amused voice startles all of us, and we look at the ancient shifter in surprise. “You are behaving like a child, not an adolescent Fae with responsibilities to the Universe and his family. It is obvious even to me you have feelings for this non-related sister of yours and perhaps she returns them, but you have allowed human constructs to interfere with the wishes of the Fates. It is not the fault of your family members that you have waited so long. There is no one to blame but yourself.”

Holy web-slinger, Guillermo just outed Rebel and Rogue.

“Uh, I don’t know if this much truth is…”

“Be quiet, young lion cub. You, too, have a secret and you should admit it to the vengeance demon. Your mate would very much enjoy being part of your exploration.” He turns and squints at us, clicking for a moment. “Eventually, the fire bird will join. Now, if you can all be quiet and let me finish the measurements, you will take your soap opera elsewhere.”

That shuts every single one of us up, including Rebel. His features tighten, but he walks over to a large armchair on the other side of the room and flops into it. Rogue’s eyes move between the other three, an interested expression on her face as her own magic finally fades. Archie is bright red and Javi is pretending to look anywhere but at us.

“Way to drop a bomb,” I mutter to Guillermo. “You sure as fuck cleared the deck.”

“I dislike half-truths. The younger generations keep far too much inside instead of simply telling one another the truth and accepting the consequences. We are not humans—we don’t have all of their ridiculous hang-ups and societal rules to prevent us from being exactly who we are when among our kind.”

I ponder for a moment. Perhaps that’s why Guillermo is always half-shifted when I see him. He knows it makes people uncomfortable, but he doesn’t give a shit. The spider is who he is, and he refuses to hide that to make anyone else feel better. “I understand you much better than I did before.”

“This is the conclusion your ancestors came to when they happened upon me in a cave centuries ago, young Gemini. They have never been afraid of my shift because I have never hidden who I am and what I will do if my contract is breached. You should think about that before you take over your clan someday.” He pauses and nods, gesturing for Archie to come over next. “And your entire family should consider it before you attend any meeting with the most vicious people in Bay City.”

He’s not wrong about that—we have to clear the air, or those bastards will eat us alive much more quickly than Guillermo would.