Hell on Wheels (Faetal Attraction #1)

Here’s to Growing Up

The rest of the fitting is silent as every male stews in their own bullshit juice. Guillermo shoots me the occasional amused look as I wait for any of them to grow a pair and speak, but they don’t. Even Damon sits there with his arms crossed and a grouchy expression marring his perfect features.

I fucking swear to Mab, the Fates really had a laugh sticking me with a harem full of men and their inability to process emotions without their damned fists.

Sighing, I watch the far less creepy spider finish the last set of measurements and rise to my feet. “Listen up, you walking dildos. If this is going to work, I won’t fucking stand for whatever this shit is. By the time we get home, every single one of you had better be ready for conversation, even if we have to get drunk to do it. If you can’t be honest with me and each other, none of you deserve me.”

The ancient spiderman might be smiling, but who the hell knows? “Excellent point, Unseelie fated. I applaud your boldness.”

I wink at him before turning on my heel to stride out the door, leaving them there to decide who is going in which car and maybe who the hell is going to be the mature one. After all, it’s not my responsibility to fix their relationships—or the ones they secretly desire. Reb and I have work to do, but that will require privacy and it won’t be possible until the lot of them start acting like men, not children.

When I get outside, I choose Angelo’s car, leaning against it until all five of my guys walk out with sheepish expressions on their faces. It’s a stark contrast from the pouts they wore when I left the room, and I wonder if the old arachnid dished out another spoonful of hard truth before they left. I wouldn’t put it past him because that guy seems like the definition of ‘no fucks to give’ when it comes to saying what’s on his mind. I guess being a thousand years old and carnivorous gives you that right.

“Come on, princess. You can perch on Javi while we race my panicky little bro home.” Angelo gives me a supremely pleased smirk because I chose his car and I roll my eyes.

If this shit continues, I’ll dig my goddamned bike out of her storage space so I don’t have to play games with them.

Javi gives me a gentle smile as he drops into the tiny seat and I follow, situating myself comfortably despite his soft groan. I turn to look at him, arching a brow in challenge. After all, he chose to be my seat; he gets to suffer the consequences and I’m not above being petty right now. Their squabbling inside made something that was feeling safe suddenly unsafe and though Rebel was most responsible, I want them to understand I won’t put up with bullshit.

“Let’s get out of here,” I mutter to the chaos demon in the driver’s seat. “We’ve got a lot of shit to get through, and I’m in no mood to be trifled with.”

“As the Princess commands,” he says with a cheeky wink before flooring the pedal and surging onto the road.

I asked for that; I guess.

The drive home would have turned my hair white if I wasn’t a racer myself. Angelo, Damon, and Reb took the roads like we were in the fucking Grand Prix , and they definitely did it with help from the supe sides. Death-defying turns, spins, and one narrow miss with a head-on collision had my teeth on edge by the time we reached the house. When the car stopped, I leapt out and made a break for it.

Clearly, they’ve all decided this conversation requires alcohol.

Pausing for a second to choose between the poolside and the living room, I opt for outside because I’m uncertain whether anyone will unleash their beasts—even me. I ignored them as they called out, so they have to know I’ll be waiting for them to come to me. Since their male bullshit is why we’re in this position, I figure it’s only fitting. I grab a bottle of tequila from under the bar; I pad to the huge couch and sit directly in the center, making sure it’s clear who’s in charge.

The top shelf liquor rolls over my tongue as I wait for them to get their shit straightened out inside. I never thought I’d be in this position—I’ve been a serial dater for so long I have no idea how to even manage one person. But I’d be lying if I said I haven’t lusted after these guys for most of my life. The real question is: can I let them in like I need to? Their behavior in this ‘family meeting’ will tell a lot about whether I should risk it.

I’ve had enough trauma in my lifetime and I can’t sign on for more.

My buzz is getting stronger as I mull over what I need to say, and when they finally stride out the patio doors one by one, I know this is going to be hard. Everything inside of me is pulling towards my current mates like a magnet and the ache where the last one should be is hollow. Even my magic is screaming for their touch and I can’t let it override my brains before we have this conversation.

Each one of them drops into a chair with a bottle, settling in to look at me with varied expressions that don’t give away a damn thing. I arch a brow, waiting, but all I get is nervous and angry vibes from the men sitting in my circle like they’re waiting for instructions.

“Speak now or forever hold your peace,” I say with a grimace.

I’ll be damned if I’m going to let them force me to be the only adult.

“I’m sorry, Wheels. I told you we’d be cool with this and we didn’t act that way,” Archie says. “That damn spider threw a giant monkey wrench in everything with his big, fat mouth, but you shouldn’t have to feel scared.” His brow furrows, and he takes a drink of his bourbon, then shrugs. “The truth is, he dropped a lot of bombs we weren’t ready for and that’s our own responsibility.”

Hmmm. Surprising that it was our resident joker, not the more serious Javi or Damon.

“Correct. I don’t think any of us were necessarily shocked by anything Guillermo said so much as having to admit things we didn’t know how to tell people,” I mumble. My gaze turns to Rebel as I add, “That goes for me as well.”

His eyes narrow, and he crosses his arms over his chest, still radiating fury. Dipping my chin, I flex my fists as the anger flows through our shared Guardian bond. It cuts into me, but I won’t let him get away with not confronting shit this time. It’s far too important—for me, him, and the guys. This is a moment where everything could change for better or worse; he has to own up.

“I, for one, am glad the scary old arachnid popped the bubble,” Angelo remarks after he tosses back a shot of grappa. “We were dancing around it like kids and none of us are children. This forces us to sit down and have an adult conversation about what happened and where we go from here.”

That makes Damon, Javi, and Archie all look around uncomfortably. Clearly, Damon knows who he is and what he feels, but he wasn’t ready to admit his feelings. The other two are turning a fiery red color I wouldn’t have expected from guys who are pretty sexually free; I suppose it’s because they hadn’t come to terms with their attraction yet. I was once a confused teen, and it was hard to figure out where I stood on the ‘label’ spectrum, but once I shrugged that off, everything got much less terrifying.

Maybe I can help with that?

“I don’t know if this asshole ever told any of you this story,” I whisper as I twirl a piece of hair, studying it intently. “But when I was twelve, I realized I liked… well, anyone who drew me in with their personality and their heart. It didn’t matter what gender or species; hell, it didn’t even matter what age. All I needed to be attracted or get a crush was to feel their soul. Of course, as I got older, the wants of my heart and needs of my body in puberty diverged, but the lack of targeted predilection didn’t.”

“Uh, Wheels, we knew you’re bi. We’ve met Winnie,” Archie says, his brow furrowed in confusion.

I chuckle and shake my head. “I don’t use labels because that had me in knots. I’m sure someone out there would label me something more like pansexual, but what helped me make peace with who I was? It was my dick stepbrother telling me no one gave a shit who I fucked and to get over myself because labels are for soup cans.”

Javi blinks for a moment and a slow smile creeps over his face. “I don’t remember that. Both of you kept that bump in the road close to the vest.”

“Graciella said some shitty things, as always. Wonder Twins shit made me realize my idiot step sister was going to bail on me and our duty.” He shrugs uncomfortably, looking out towards the ocean. “I knew I couldn’t let that happen for a bunch of reasons—including how much it would suck to be here without her.”

I blink. Holy shit, that was almost an emotion. “You told me I couldn’t leave because of the oath ripping us up, and you wouldn’t have anyone to pick on with your friends.”

His lips curve, but he still doesn’t meet my eyes. “None of that was a lie. You know we have to be very creative to get around that shit.”

Damon snorts. “We’re aware, bro. Imagine what kind of tap dance she’s been doing for the past week.”

“ That’s why you wouldn’t let me into your room!” Rebel throws his hands up and straight growls at the group of his friends. “Every one of you assholes was in there and you pretended I was off my bird.”

They give him guilty looks and I roll my eyes. “Now is not the time to coddle him, boys. Yes, they were in there. No, we didn’t do anything untoward that night. And yes, they gaslit you because you know I can’t lie.”

His eyes widen. “I said your name . Mates have mental links.”

“Yeah, way to go, jackass,” I mutter, and he glares. “Though, I suppose as mates, they were bound to find out, eventually.”

His posture sags a little, and he nods, his expression sad. “It’s just something only we shared. I won’t have that with you now that you’ve got…” He waves his hand at his friends. “... this.”

Is he shitting me? Did he not listen to anything that creepy ass spider said?

“Rebel, you may be the dumbest motherfucker I know.”

Everyone swivels their heads to look at the quiet chaos demon in surprise. Damon rarely gets that aggressive, even when they’re all bickering, but the look on his face is downright murderous right now. “We just had every bit of our future thrown in our face by an ancient arachnid, and you’re still sitting around with your head squarely up your ass. What the hell is it going to take to get you to pull it out, man?”

My stepbrother rises to his feet, stalking over to the demon with a dangerous look on his face. “You have no room to talk! You mated with my fucking sister first and didn’t think to give me a heads up. And you have the hots for two other dudes in this group, apparently, so maybe I’m not the one with my head up my ass!”

“Fuck. Off. Reb.” My snarl has a dark tone as I roll out of my chair with the tequila buzzing through me. I yank him back from Damon, looking into his eyes with the fury of a woman tired of playing games. “Stop attacking them and deal with me. He’s right—now is the time where you need to decide if you’re in or out.”

Crossing my arms over my chest, I stare at the one last man who has the power to break my heart into a million pieces.