Page 48 of Hell on Wheels
“Guys—”
Angelo’s wings hover over him as he crawls up the bed to look directly into my Dragonfly’s eyes. “It’s weird, Arch. And the two of them are hiding that they can mind speak, which we wouldn’t know if we hadn’t mated with her. I find it extremely contrary to their claim that they only have sister and brotherly love.”
“What should we do about this?” I murmur as I nuzzle her thigh.
“She’s got to own up and then we can work on him,” Damon replies. “We cannot go into a room full of hungry criminals and an unknown manipulator with a rift between us. They’ll all sense it and go in for the kill.”
I look at Rogue, waiting to see what her reaction is. She’s probably not ready for this, and I hate that she’s being forced to come to terms with more than she should at one time. After she mated with Damon and Angelo, she could admit to Archie and me without a lot of pondering. But being raised in the same house as Reb, despite their complete lack of blood ties, makes their shared feelings seem more taboo than they actually are. Hell, they weren’t even children together—Reck was still around back then. Accepting what she’s suppressed will be difficult, and I don’t want to push her.
But Damon is entirely correct; the predators at this event will use our division as a weapon if we allow them.
“I’ll talk to Rebel; I promise.” Her expression is firm and I give her a pleased smile. Archie leans in and wraps his arms aroundher as Angelo and Damon edge their way in closer as well. “You know, a girl could get used to this.”
“That is the point, Dragonfly.” I dust kisses over her skin, chuckling when Archie emits a rumbling purr of happiness. “Look, you got the kitty started.”
Archie swats at me and I duck with a laugh. “Look, birdy, I can’t help that. The lion enjoys feeling her contentment.”
“Do I have to separate you two?” Rogue asks huskily. “Because I’d hate to disrupt my comfy nest to kick both of your asses.”
“That’s okay, Princess. D and I play well together. You remember that, right?”
Fucking twins.
She wiggles a little, leaning down to give the troublemaking chaos demon a kiss. “I definitely do, but that, too, would disrupt this warm cocoon. I find it soothing and that’s something I don’t feel very often.”
“Then we’ll all be good; cross my heart,” I reply as I settle in. “Maybe we can take a little nap before we go out to find the required attire? It’s still early in the day.”
“Sounds good,” she says with a yawn. “All the shit this week has taken the wind out of my sails.”
We fall quiet, letting her lashes flutter and her body relax. I know the others are awake, but we all seem to wait until the woman we love falls asleep. When her breathing finally evens out, I look over at my best friends and whisper, “Telling Rebel is going to be a fucking nightmare. He might kill us.”
“I don’t know, Javi. We’ve been friends forever, and she had to fall for someonesomeday. Is he that deluded that he thought she’d never find a permanent partner? He can’t be,” Archie mumbles softly.
Damon and Angelo snort. “He definitely is.”
“Stop doing the damn twin thing.” They give me innocent smiles and I roll my eyes. “Look, I think the angle is making sure he realizes Rogue chose people he trusts—not some douchebag derby groupie or a moody bartender. We have always looked out for her and now we always will. That should make him happy.”
“Logically, yes,” Damon says as he nods. “But Rebel is rarely logical when it comes to Sparkles. He’s all emotion and rage when he thinks people aren’t doing right by her.”
“Wedidright by her.” Angelo huffs. “We mated with her as the Fates intended. It’s not like we banged her and ran off into the night.”
Muffling a laugh, I look at him. “Yes, but that is also logical, and Reb won’t respond to it when he’s angry.”
“Maybe we each tell him separately, admitting that we were pushed by the bond, but also that we always liked her and thought she was hands off. It’s a good parallel to his own feelings and stating out loud that we resisted because we thought it was forbidden might shake his own shit loose.”
I blink. Damon may have actually nailed it. “That… might work, D. Emotions swept us away, including Rogue, and we had to admit everything we already felt but weren’t able to act on.”
“You’re a genius, bro. I tell Luca all the time, but he never listens—no one does strategy like you.” Angelo beams and ruffles his hair.
“It helps that it’s true.” Archie winks at us and I nod. “He won’t be able to accuse anyone of lying if Rogue says it’s true. They can’t outright lie and Reb knows it.”
So we’re going to trap a Fae with his own limitations—in public.
That could go very well or very badly.
You Don’t Own Me
Once we got our story straight, I kicked them all out so I could get dressed without a bunch of leering jackals watching. I refuse to dress up to go shopping regardless of where Javi and the twins decide we’re headed. Expecting customers to look fancy simply because they’re in your establishment is so 90s rom-com and I am not here for it. So I threw on my favorite jeans and a tank, brushed my hair out, and added my usual makeup—no more, no less. Pierre La Fancypants will have to deal with a girl rocking combat boots if he wants our money.