Page 9 of Suspicions on the Stage
The siren’s cheeks turn bright pink as my polar bear joins us, and Iggy glowers. The interplay makes Liam snicker and Kaspar roll his eyes, but I think it’s adorable. “Yes, Lucas, that’s right. These people aren’t royal, nor powerful enough to be part of the groups we’re hunting. They’re not even powerful enough to stand up to Assface over there.”
“C’mon, little bro.” Lucas throws his arm around the delicate musician, and I realize he’s trying to make sure no one will attempt to accost Slade when we leave. Having the hulking hockey god close will keep the siblings or any shitty underlings from shooting their shot. “We’re going to find supes who might have enough juice to tell us something before we leave.”
Smirking at the Finns, I watch Lucas lead our least aggressive family member towards the tent flap. Once he gets him out, Ispin on my heel, letting my wings and snakes burst free as I stare at them. “Now that he’s gone, let me make something crystal clear to you posers.”
Azul jerks her chin up, but the hissing of my snakes shuts her up quickly.
“Donotcome after Slade when we leave. Do notcontacthim at school when we get home. This should be considered your last visit unlesshechooses to come here for some reason.” My eyes glow eerily, the gorgon rising inside of me as the anger at his shitty parents fills my veins. “He’s ours now and he doesn’t need anything from you.”
“You’re only surviving at that place because the Society has to pay your way as part of your punishment. How will you possibly support our son and his caviar tastes?” Axel chuckles. “Don’t be ridiculous.”
I’m going to respond, but surprisingly, Kaspar answers. “Again, I remind you that thePrince of the Daybreak Courtis standing in front of you. Prince Liam is capable of taking care of his mates and their families. Though, if he weren’t, the Wolfberg heir isn’t broke, nor is the Briarton heir. Your son—who I’ve seen no evidence of being as snooty as you claim—is now the responsibility of several supes who have net worths several times higher than your entire organization. He’ll be fine.”
My eyes narrow when he leaves me out—I’m not as wealthy as those guys, but I’m not poor. Even if I was, Slade isn’t the kind of guy to worry about how much money I have. The dude works at our coffee shop as part of his work study and he definitely doesn’t have to when he’s living with Ignatius. “Regardless, Slade will be fine. Stay the hell away from him.”
The aquatic shifter gang looks angry, but I don’t care. I don’t want them making him look so upset again, and he needs us to help kick them to the curb for good.
Especially because I feel like a real shit head for making him come here to open this stupid wound—something I’ll never do again.
By the timewe leave the tent, Lucas has Slade out by the front gates where the skeevy witch was guarding the gates. While I’m letting the pissy gargoyle and gorgon fade as we walk towards them, I’m still furious with the situation. Li, Kaspar, and Iggy might believe that our threats have backed the Finns off their quest to reclaim Slade, I know better.
Impotent bullies waving around their fake power over the gullible masses never let go of their targets—they just keep coming back to extend the torture.
If anyone needs proof of that, I’d point to all Magnus’ fawning chippies and minions who continue to give me shit long after that fucker died. There’s no currying favor with a corpse, yet they run around SU being shitty because they’re so brainwashed that they have nothing better to do than screw with me. It doesn’t matter that I won, nor that his abusive behavior earned him his death—no, they don’t care about truth as much as they care about being part of the cult.
That’s how I know the Finns will stay quiet for a bit, but eventually, they’ll come back like a bad case of the clap. At least now, I know who they are and what kind of power they truly have—little to none other than their small cornerof the world and their mouths—and I can fight the bullshit effectively. Gaining that knowledge was worth a smidgen of this monumental waste of time with their gang.
“Lady M, are we leaving? What did you guys do there? Slade and I were people watching out here and let me tell you, it was fucking awesome.” Lucas winks at me over the siren’s head as he rapid fires questions at our group as we approach. “You should see some of the get-ups, babe.”
I chuckle, giving him a warm smile I usually reserve for private time because I can’t help it. The one-eighty this guy has gone through since I pegged him for an arrogant frat idiot has been astounding to watch. It’s like he grew into a man in a blink and I can’t help but want to praise him until he wiggles with happiness. “We just gave them a firm boundary in regards to Slade being part of our family and what we expect from them going forward. Nothing to worry about.”
“Thank you,” Slade says softly, his beautiful eyes meeting mine. “Iggy and I have been fighting them off for years, so they might not stay gone, but… you guys probably earned me a decent reprieve and I’m grateful.”
Kaspar shrugs, his dark features passive as he mutters, “Good thing we basically adopted you, kid. You can ditch that ridiculous job now.”
“I will not,” the siren says with a frown. “I’m not a free-loader! Ask Iggy. He hates that I work and has never been able to convince me to let him cover everything. I’m very stubborn that way, dragon.”
The pride in his response is huge and it makes my heart hammer a bit. I like people who pave their paths, and though all ofthe men in my new family do it to some extent, I appreciate Slade’s refusal to be a pampered pet. I’d have no problem with him quitting, of course—and he might have to if things at the school get bad—but I like the independent streak, too. It’s a nice contrast to my spoiled royalty and heirs.
“You don’t have to stop doing your normal shit, Slade,” I say as I hold my arm out to him. “We’ve made this little group fairly democratic and unless it becomes a safety risk, we can all go about our lives normally. Okay?”
Lucas arches his brow at me. “Except for me, ‘cause I’m staying with you and I can’t be left alone at practices.”
I roll my eyes at the dramatic bear. “Youchoseto move in, and you can go to practices alone, but you can’t take risks like drinking things you haven’t watched or being alone in a locker room. For now, we don’t have to get someone to trail you at all times.”
“So where are we going now?” Iggy asks impatiently. “I got the feeling you and the pissy lizard had plans in there.”
Someone doesn’t like being ignored; good to know.
“I think we should mingle a little,” Liam says as he looks around the pathways diverging to territories belonging to other organizations. “There are much more powerful people than these faux gangsters present and your infamy plus my royalty will give us passes to places most people won’t get to see.”
I grin a bit, eyeing the Prince appreciatively. “You’re very shrewd, Your Highness. I agree with your assessment. We should take a tour around the underworld of Bay City.”
Kaspar groans, tipping his head back as he squeezes his eyes shut. I don’t feel bad for him because he’s a dick, but the other guys give him commiserating expressions. “If you two insist on doing the stupidest, most dangerous unnecessary shit, then no one enters a fucking space until the professor and I have checked it. Got it?”
Looking at Liam then his bodyguard, I shrug. “Aye, aye, Captain Asshole.”
If he wants to pretend he’s steering the ship for a while, I’ll let him do it—after all, I’ve got a gorgeous siren to comfort.
