Page 63 of Pixie Problems
Okay, that sounded wrong in my head. I sighed. I just meant they were required to obtain consent before getting their nourishment, and they were required to have control in the getting of that nourishment and not drain their blood donors. Those that broke the law were turned into the vampire King, and he was not known to be lenient.
Naut teleported out to who knows where. If I didn’t act fast, things were going to get out of hand quickly with however many people he brought back with him.
“We left,” the dark haired guy said softly. He looked at his friend. “Both of us are seventeen.” He was still shaking like crazy. His eyes looked gaunt, and there were hollows in his cheekbones that indicated he hadn’t been getting a lot to eat for a while. I zoned in with my Insight, got a brief glimpse of what was going on physically for both of them, and then started cursing. “Cy, can you please go pick up some food? A dozen or so cheeseburgers, fries, and shakes.” Normally with a human this would be abadidea when they were literally starving, but a shifters body was much more durable.
Cy looked at me likeyou’re serious?
I nodded, and he gave the guys a menacing glare before he left.
“Sit, both of you, before you fall down.” I herded them toward a couple cozy chairs by the windows. We all sat, August sitting closer to them just in case they decided to suddenly turn into something other than starving teens and go on a murderous rampage.
I snorted.
They could barely lift their arms. I didn’t see that happening. The evidence was in their eyes, but more importantly, it was in their bodies: fractured and re-healed bones, scars, bruises, starvation . . . These were good kids who’d been abused. Nothing more. I was sure of it. And I had a cheat that few others had, so I should know.
Naut popped in with both Rhys and Finn who looked frantically around the room until they saw the teens, and then they just looked confused. “Naut left before I was sure these guys weren’t going to try anything.” I tried to give them theall-clearsignal with my eyes—kinda like the bat signal, but optically—but they either didn’t see it, or didn’t get it. Probably the latter.
When they rushed the teens, I moved quickly to get in between them. “Guys! Apparently I need to work on my bat signal eyes, because they just told you tostand down!”
When Finn didn’t put away his gun, and Rhys stood close to me in case he had to protect me with his star shield, I knew they weren’t seeing the condition the teens were in. “Look at them, Finn. Really look. Sniff them out. What do you see?”
Finn stopped and sniffed the room. After a few deep indrawn breaths, he put away his gun, and stood with his arms crossed over his chest. Rhys took his cues from August. He sat down and pulled me onto his lap, still close enough he could protect me if he needed to. I think these yahoos had forgotten that I could also protect myself. I would remind them later.
“Okay, guys, I think I speak for those here when I say we need the full story. What happened to you guys? And what are your names?”
The ash blond said, “I’m Waylen; he’s Callum.” The dark haired boy nodded his head, still looking completely pale. Cy came in with the burgers and fries then, noted that Finn and Rhys were there as backup now, and handed the greasy bags to the teens who fell on the food like jackals after a thirty year famine. Literally, in the space of two minutes, it was all completely gone.
Two. Minutes.
By now, after seeing the terrible condition the teens were in, and noting how they were on the brink of starvation, I was livid. I wanted to go shoot out Hux’s kneecaps. It would be a kindness to him, really. I was surprised he still had some loyalty in his pack, because looking at the guys in front of me, I could see that not everyone in Hux’s pack were villains.
It had been obvious to me before I’d even entered Moonhaven’s boundaries that Hux kept a tight choke-hold on his pack members, but I thought those that remained in his pack were those loyal to him. Now I was kicking myself for that assumption. I should’ve fought harder when Draven told me the rest of the pack was going to the Deep Dark as well. But at the time, I’d just been grateful.
Their coloring was already getting better. They both sat back a little in the chairs, both of them a little more relaxed now that the yawning pit in their stomachs were better. “Thank you,” Callum said. He seemed to be the quieter of the two. Dark hair, grey eyes, gaunt cheekbones just like Waylen. I patted my shirt and checked my holster. Yep, still had my gun. Good.
Finn glared at me, by now he could practically read my mind because we’d lived in the same space for the last few months.
I gave him an innocent look that I could tell he wasn’t buying. Rhys chuckled softly in my ear, and I leaned back against his chest as I assessed the teens now.
“Better?”
They nodded.
“Okay, now please tell us what’s happened.”
Waylen cleared his throat, sucked on his milkshake a little more, then sighed. “We joined Hux’s pack right before he left Montana to follow you.” He looked at Callum. “Both of us came from a foster situation, and we found each other and became friends.” His gaze came back to me. “We were the only coyote shifters for miles and miles, and there were no coyote packs where we were. But we heard about Hux’s pack and tracked them down.”
Callum took over the story in his soft voice. “After a few hours, we were no longer sure we wanted to stay with them. Hux’s beta and the rest of his officers are all like Hux, crazy.”
Waylen nodded his head, sipping from his shake again. “Definitely crazy.”
Callum continued. “We thought at first that it was a new members haze, and that things would go back to normal after we’d been welcomed into the pack.”
“But things never got normal,” Waylen said.
“Do you guys do this whole finishing each other’s sentences a lot?” August asked.
Waylen shrugged and Callum said, “We’re pretty sure we’re twins.”
