“We will leave you alone so we can all prepare for the Winter Wedding,” her mother said.
“Aron will stay and take guard.” Chaz took a single step back. “We have the property well covered. Go to the meadow and enjoy a picnic. Coral has prepared a feast.”
“We’ve never seen what happens past you getting shot,” she projected.
“I have thick skin. But I wish we had an inkling of what happens when you jumped out of the picture.” Dayton turned his head. His thick tongue lapped the side of her face.
“Looks like we’re about to find out.” The hair on the back of her neck stood at attention.
Dayton pounced on his front paws, lunging forward. He bared his fangs as he let out a warning growl.
Cheryl did the same, staring down the barrel of a shotgun held by Aron.
“You don’t want to do this.” Trying to reason with someone holding a gun to your head might not be the smartest thing to do, but it worked in the movies.
Aron laughed. “I’ve been waiting for this moment.” He aimed the gun at Dayton’s head.
Cheryl inched closer to Dayton, stepping slightly in front of him.
He stomped his paw, crossing it over hers, pushing her back.
“What do you mean?” She scanned the area, looking for subtle differences in her surroundings versus the sketch or any other painting they had come across that showed this very moment. Nothing seemed out of place. “Waiting for what?”
“To kill you,” Aron said.
“Why?” she asked, leaning into Dayton.
His slow, steady snarl had deepened, but she wanted to keep Aron talking. She knew her brothers had to be close. Knowing Aron was the traitor meant they wouldn’t send her into the field of battle without backup.
She just wished they had filled her and Dayton in on the plan. “Chaz?” Having more than one conversation telepathically could be dangerous if she didn’t block off one open channel, leaving the discussion open for eavesdropping. Her brothers had mastered the technique when they were young. Cheryl, on the other hand, had gotten herself into more trouble over the years by trying to have too many private chats at once.
“When I first laid eyes on you all those years ago, I thought wow, what a beautiful woman. But you barely gave me the time of day. I tried and I tried, but you ignored me.”
“You want to kill me because I ignored you?” she asked. Talk about lame. Her entire family was in danger because this moron got rejected. She would enjoy taking some dust and crushing this asshole.
“That’s only the beginning,” he said.
Dayton inched closer. Smoke poured out of his nostrils with every exhale of his breath. A constant growl echoed from his mouth.
Aron cocked the shotgun.
Dayton froze in place. A fresh stream of fairy dust flew from his mouth.
“I wouldn’t do that if I were you.” Aron raised his hand and snapped his fingers. Two young Royal Fairy children stepped forward. They held Finn and Ivy in their arms. It would normally be too young for any creature that was part werewolf to shift, but Finn and Ivy were Wolfairies.
“I didn’t believe Isadore and Coral’s adoptive father when he came to me with a proposition to kill Chaz, Nico, or Drew. He didn’t care which one, because it was required that all three mate with their respective fairy.” Aron stood less than a foot from Finn and Ivy. He reached out and patted them on the head. They barked and nipped at his fingers. Their tiny growls might not be very menacing, but they knew this man was a danger to them.
Smart little creatures.
“But I said no. I wouldn’t do that to the family who took me in when I had nothing.”
“I’m done listening to this jerk,” Dayton projected. “Chaz, I know you’re watching all this and those are your children, so your call. Just give me the go ahead and I’ll rip his head off.”
“My mom is watching the drawings. This image is changing as is the painting of you and my sister,” Chaz’s voice bellowed between her ears. “And those aren’t my children. It’s Isadore and Coral. They just learned to shift. Apparently, they are still pups. Aren’t they cute?”
“When this is over, you’re a dead man,” Isadore mumbled.
“And here I thought me being a queen was the weirdest thing that could happen.” She closed off the discussion. “So, what changed?” she projected to Aron.
“When you came back, and we went out on a few dates, I thought, this was it. She’d finally see I was the wolf for her. But instead, you humiliated me in front of your brothers right after we defeated Apep. That’s when I decided to use that damn wolf. If everyone thought he was the threat, and I put him down, I’d be a hero and you’d have to see, but instead you go and mate with the beast while I’m trying to set him up to be a murderer.”
“Is he our only threat?” she projected to his brothers. “Or has he converted others to his pathetic cause?”
“He’s been in touch with two rogue witch covens and a couple of rogue wolves,” Chaz said. “They have a camp not far from here, and they are waiting for the Wolfairy pups.”
“Do you seriously want to let him race off with Isadore and Coral hanging from his jaws?” she asked the question, but she knew the answer. Of course he was willing to do that. Isadore and Coral could work their fairy magic, securing the camp, and making sure all parties were brought before the council.
She growled. That meant they were going to have to play this out.
“Don’t worry, babe. I’ve got thick skin.” Dayton gave her a little hip check as if they were playing.
“First. If you ever call me babe again, I will crush your big toe. Second, I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be. I didn’t think we’d be able to avoid it anyway.” Dayton raised his paw, dragging it across the
