Page 7 of Filthy Fae

Unfortunately, it was going to be a very different kind of night now that Lance was back, but I was determined to grab some precious moments alone with this amazing man. Time with Darrel was the gold at the end of my rainbow—and by rainbow, I meant treacherous swamp of shit.

Chapter Three

Scarlet

The Eureka police only monitored human crimes and crimes against humans, and though humans only made up forty percent of the population, the officers clearly had their job cut out for them. At just past five, both the main lot and overflow lot were filled. We had to park across the street near the grocery store and make our way through the vagrants and drunks who gathered at entrances to each lot holding up signs. A woman who didn’t look much older than me lifted a piece of cardboard that read, “The end is near, I need a beer.”

Wind buffeted us, and we hurried onto the metal ramp leading to the police station. Jane and I stayed near the center of the platform as it swayed in the gale, only taking quick peeks at the gaping chasm cutting through the three-lane road below. It was one fissure out of hundreds that webbed through Eureka. When my parents were small children, a decade of storms and natural disasters fractured the world as they knew it. It killed billions of humans and brought supernaturals out of hiding. The city of Eureka had been pulverized with relentless massive earthquakes that remade the urban landscape into a series of giant disjointed steps.

As we crested the ramp, the clouds parted to reveal the moon with a ring around it. Under the glaring lights outside the police station stood a figure I would recognize anywhere.

“Mack,” I called, quickening my pace through the parked cars. I heard the clicking of Jane’s heels not too far behind.

Mack lifted his head, his bright aquamarine gaze seeming to shine out of his tired face. He sighed, ran a hand over the top of his head, and jogged to meet me halfway across the parking lot. “Scar, I’ve been waiting out here for an hour. Why aren’t you answering your phone?”

“I didn’t have it until about ten minutes ago, and since then it’s been blowing up nonstop. I ended up just putting it on silent so I could concentrate on driving here.”

Mack wrapped me in his arms. Everything about him was familiar—the feel of him, the minty scent of him, even the cadence of his breathing. We’d been best friends for almost half our lives now. And now we were something else. Something more than just friends but not quite defined.

He pulled back just a little, staring down with worry in his gaze. “My mother is here looking for you. I’ve never seen her so angry in my life.”

I groaned and buried my head in Mack’s chest, wanting to burrow into his arms and not have to deal with this disaster.

“Part of her anger might be my fault, but I’ll tell you about that later,” Mack said. “Right now, we need to focus on this. All we’ve been told is that twenty-two fae are dead, the only survivor was a werewolf from your pack, and that the werewolf was arrested.”

I felt a sinking sensation at his words and swore under my breath. “What were the cops thinking telling her that?”

Behind me, someone cleared their throat.

Jane had surfaced from her phone. Her cool brown eyes darted between Mack and me. Her disapproval was nearly palpable. “With your permission,” she said in a clipped voice, “I’ll head in and pave our way with the police, Alpha.”

It wasn’t the first time that my close relationship with Mack caused someone to give me the stink eye. Fae and werewolves were supposed to be enemies. It was downloaded into our blood or some shit. Obviously, Mack and I were genetic anomalies because, alongside my dysfunctional family, he was the person I loved most in this world.

“Are you okay? Did you know the fae at the party?” I asked the moment Jane was gone.

He shook his head. “No. How about you? Are you okay?”

“Yeah, just thrown off guard. The werewolf they have in there is Zane.”

“Zane?” Mack sounded as dumbfounded as I felt. He was the founding member of the “Zane’s a dick” club, but obviously even he didn’t see my cheating ex as a killer.

“The one and only,” I said. “Also, this sounds so trivial in light of circumstances, but I wanted to make a better first impression on your mother. We don’t need anyone else working against our… friendship.”

Mack cupped my chin and lifted it until I looked into his beautiful eyes. “Scar, she’s been working against us from the moment we met. There is nothing that woman can do or say that could affect this.”

That woman was Titania, queen of the Spring fae, werewolf enemy number one. The news that she was already aware of me and actively working against me was far from a relief. Though I’d be deluded to think she could possibly not be aware of me by now. Mack and I had made an oath at the beginning of our friendship. To keep us both safe, we’d remain in the dark about the werewolf and fae parts of each other’s lives.

Yet over the years my family came to know Mack so well they pretty much considered him family. I just never imagined his mother knew about me, too.

“I should probably get in there,” I said.

“Scar.” Mack winced. “There’s no way that just your lawyer can deal with this part? What if you returned in the morning to talk to Zane?”

That was way too tempting an idea. I was probably already subconsciously stalling going in to meet Mack’s mother. Butterflies had nothing on the creatures taking flight in my stomach. I sighed. “No, let’s go. My pack needs me to get my shit together, so that’s what I’m going to do.”

“Or... I could just throw you over my shoulder and run. That way, you’re off the hook. You can just blame me.”

He was dead serious, but I walked around him. My heart felt like it was thumping in my throat as I threw open the glass door to the police station.