Page 108 of Love Bites Hard

“We’re not here to talk about sirens,” Bane said, cutting Talon off. “If you’re ready to ask for help, we’ll help you. Until then, we need to focus on the fae. Kai?” He looked at the sleeping king.

The rest of us did too.

Bane repeated his name, louder, and the man finally jerked into a sitting position, his eyes bleary.

Fuck, he was pretty.

I wasn’t interested in pretty—but there could be no denying the appeal he would have for some women.

He snapped a vine as he tugged his arm free and ran a hand over his face. “Sorry. Haven’t slept in a while. We’re going through our worst eclipse yet, and there’s no end in sight. I think I can push it to wrap up, but I’d need to tap into the rest of my fae’s magic to push the eclipse toward its end.”

I had no idea what to say to that.

The silence throughout the room told me no one else did, either.

“I need them sane for that,” he explained. “And the eclipse keeps them from sanity.”

“So you need them sane to stop the eclipse, but because of it, you can’t get them sane?” Hale summarized.

“Yes.” He looked at me and Porter.

Something told me we weren’t going to like what was coming next.

“I need your lake.”

“No,” Porter said, without consideration.

Kai’s eyes narrowed.

“Permanently?” Blair checked. “You can’t take a siren’s water source permanently. That’s never going to fly with one of us, or our mate.”

“And the pack isn’t going to give up any part of our territory for good,” Porter said.

Kai shook his head. “Just for tonight. Your water eases the effects almost completely for the fae who swim there. If I can get enough of them into your lake, I think I can end the eclipse for now.”

I relaxed a little.

“Are you good with that?”Porter asked me.

“Yeah, we should help them if we can. As long as they’re not going to hurt the pack.”

“If anything, the pack will have more fun with fae running around while the moon’s up. But it’s your lake, so you set the rules.”

“It’s the full moon tonight,” I said, looking back at Kai. “You’re welcome to use it, as long as you’re not going to hurt any of our wolves or have a problem with them running wild.”

“That’s not a problem. We’re basically dealing with the same situation, so the fae will be more interested in gathering during your full moon anyway. I’ll make the call.”

“Izzy and I won’t be out in the forest, so if anything goes wrong, it’s on you,” Porter added. “And don’t kill the fish.”

“I’ll take the blame, and the fish will be fine,” Kai agreed. “Thank you.”

There was genuine gratitude in his eyes that made me glad we could help, even if just by loaning out my lake. We’d be locked in our bedroom, so it wasn’t like we would be using it anyway.

“Any other problems?” Bane asked, looking around the group.

“I still need a siren,” Talon grumbled.

“And it’s still not happening unless you actually tell us what’s going on,” Bane said firmly.

---