Tainted roots

Harmony was waiting for me, sitting on top of the same picnic table we sat at earlier. Her shrewd gaze gave me a once over, pausing on my hair. I resisted the urge to run my fingers through it to assess the state of it.

“Where's Parker?" I asked hoping to distract her.

Annoyance filled her expression, followed by a long sigh. She opened her mouth, most likely ready to complain about him when she paused and then shook her head. "Nice try."

Damn. "It was worth a shot." I shrugged, joining her on the table

Harmony twirled her finger, gesturing for me to turn my back to her. I shifted on the table, so I now faced the expanse of grassy plains dotted with houses. They were too far away for me to make out any details, but I assumed they were made of similar wood as the buildings lining the river.

A sharp tug at my hair pulled my head back and earned a sharp hiss from me. "I'm assuming it was good if your hair looks like this. Seriously, this is a mess—is that a flower petal?"

We sat in silence as she continued finger-combing my hair, pausing to pull out flowers, leaves, and grass. Out of all my friends, she was the least judgmental and most likely to be understanding. She wouldn't let her dislike of Koa and his actions color her opinions. At least I hoped she wouldn't. I needed someone to talk to, and to get a different response than; do you not remember what happened the last time you let him in?

After a great deal of patience on both of our parts, my hair was detangled and pulled back in a braid. "You don't have to go into any detail, just answer this: was it worth it?" Harmony's words were soft as she tied off my braid.

“Yes," I whispered, after hesitating for a couple of moments.

Harmony released a long breath, and I shifted around on the table to read her expression. She chewed on her bottom lip as she stared at her laced fingers. "Only you can decide what you can forgive. At the end of the day, my opinion isn't the one that matters. However, I can still give you my unbiased opinion and you can do with it what you will."

She paused, looking over at me, waiting until I nodded. "I obviously don't know him the way you do, but I can tell you what I've observed from him the last time and today. The way he watches you, even when you're not looking, tells me everything I need to know. That if he's not already in love with you, then he's well on his way. I don't know what happened to cause him to leave like that, but there's more to the story, and maybe you should find out what that is before you make any permanent decisions."

All the air rushed from my lungs. Loved me? That was impossible. Not only because it was way too fucking soon. Harmony must've read the signs all wrong. It was the only explanation...

Patting my leg, she gave me a small and knowing smile. "You'll see."

I shifted around, uncomfortable with the direction of the conversation. The strap of my harness dug into my side. Reminding me of the knife I now had sheathed under my shirt. Glancing around, I tried to see if anyone was spying on us. I didn't see or hear anyone, but I no longer trusted my instincts at the moment. I needed to tell Harmony about my confusing conversation with the stranger, I needed her opinion on the matter.

With how well she knew me, Harmony could tell I needed to share something confidential. "No one's around," she confirmed after taking her time observing the grassy land, the buildings, and the river.

“That's what I thought earlier," I grumbled, ignoring Harmony's confused look. Shifting around on the table again, I decided to risk being overheard and moved closer to Harmony. She didn't interrupt me as I quietly told her about my conversation with the woman. The only time she interrupted was when I mention the part about my insecure bond. She swore under her breath when I explained my fuck up and the symptoms that followed—she also knew not to attempt fucking someone who wasn't your fated mate.

Harmony sat in silence for several minutes after I finished speaking, toying with the ends of her hair. "What do you think she meant about spirit familiars?" Harmony asked, shocking me with the direction of her question.

“I didn’t understand half the shit she said." Placing my hands behind me, I dropped my head back and stared up at the sky. "Part of me thinks she doesn't know anything about them, and she was just dicking me around."

“We don't truly know where they come from." Harmony played with her bottom lip as she stared at the river. "My older brother thinks they are born like normal animals, with a spirit familiar mother and father. My older sister thinks they’re like familiars, and are born as regular animals until they have summoner magic imbued in them. In turn, changing them into spirits that can become solid at will."

I must've made a face because Harmony laughed. "I feel the same way about these ridiculous theories, but since I don't have a better explanation, I can't exactly judge them. Have you asked Rowan where she came from?”

“It's always felt like a rude question to ask." I shook my head, having never put much thought into where they came from. It was just one of those things I accepted without question.

“Just once, I'd like to meet someone who doesn't give cryptic—" My words cut off when I felt Koa approaching. Rubbing the center of my chest, I murmured, "We're about to have company."

Koa wasn't alone. Seth had returned, walking between Koa and Parker across the nearest bridge, speaking in a low tone. The distance, mixed with the nighttime's sounds and his low pitch, made it so we couldn't catch a single word he said.

“He better share whatever he's telling them," Harmony griped under her breath as she crossed her arms.

I snorted, watching as the men approached the table. Now that they were in hearing range, none of them were speaking. This pissed Harmony and me off, and we showcased this by Harmony placing her hands on her hips, while I pasted a bitchy look on my face.

It didn't take long for my focus to drift to Koa. Nervous anticipation had been building in my stomach since the moment I felt him approach. Would he be as he was earlier today, or would he become a distinct asshole, the way he was the last time we were interrupted?

His entire focus was on me, and while the other two stopped a couple of feet away from the table, he didn't. Instead, he strode right up to me and sat on the bench where my feet were resting. Grabbing my hips, he lifted me from the table and onto his lap. I squeaked in surprise and gripped his shoulder to steady myself. He grabbed the base of my braid and tilted my head back to meet his gaze, before bringing his lips down to mine in a claiming kiss.

A throat was cleared, reminding me there were others around us. Koa was slow to pull away, his hands moving from my hair, trailing down my back to rest on my waist. I stared at him in baffled silence, having not been prepared for any of this. I guess I shouldn't have been surprised. Summoner men had a possessive streak and were known to show claim over their mates in front of others.

My feelings on the public claiming were mixed. On one hand, I chaffed at him thinking he could just decide he wanted me and mark his territory in front of everyone else. But on the other hand, my wolf and I both loved his display of dominance and the possessive need to make sure everyone else knew what I was to him.

“So, did you find anything?" Harmony asked bringing me back to reality.

“No one knows anything as to who the woman is or where she came from, but the beach houses weren't the only place she's shown up. Everyone I talked to, mentioned weather phenomenons. A theory someone had is that the woman is the cause of the abductions," Seth said, rubbing the back of his neck.

Koa and Parker weren't surprised by this, but Harmony and I were, each of us asking many questions one after the other.

I tilted my head to this side and squinted and Seth. "Are you sure?"

“What's her motivation?" Harmony asked, squinting at him.

“If that's the case, why didn’t she abduct anyone earlier?"

“Where's your proof that it's her?" Harmony waved her hand at Seth for effect.

“Wouldn't people notice a petite woman abducting Mythics?"

Now while I didn't trust the woman and wouldn't put anything past her, I thought it was stupid to immediately blame her for everything. It just seemed too obvious and easy. There was more at play here, pieces of the puzzle that we hadn't found yet, and until we found them, we wouldn't be able to see the big picture.

The entire time Harmony and I went back and forth, Seth just stood there with his arms crossed as he waited us out. It was impressive how motionless he was. "Are you done?"

Tapping my finger against my chin, I turned to face Harmony. "I could keep going all night. How about you?"

“I've got at least an hour's worth of questions."

“They're not joking." Koa chuckled, giving my hips a light squeeze when I started shifting around on his lap.

“As I said, it's just a theory." I had to give Seth credit, he was hiding his annoyance with our antics pretty well.

“It would be naive of us not to remain cautious of her. We have no idea of the scope of her powers or her motivations. If we come across her again, it would be in our best interest to keep our distance until we know where we stand with her," Parker said scratching his cheek.

I subtly shared a look with Harmony. While I knew telling them about my encounter with the woman would result in Koa's protective instincts going into overdrive, keeping this a secret would make me a hypocrite.

Just as I was about to bring up my encounter, Parker changed the subject. "You said you had news from your sister?"

“Star ran into one of the infected," Koa said, rubbing my back and effectively making me forget my story.

I shifted around on his lap, facing him full-on. "Did it look like the ones we saw?"

Koa recounted Starling's experience, from her theory on the infected's targets to the part about the keys. I shared another look with Harmony, knowing I needed to share what I knew as soon as he was done with this story.

He didn't go too far into detail about the summoner that saved Starling and I didn't bother asking questions about him, chances were he didn't know anything. Koa wasn't annoyed every time I interrupted—which I did a lot—instead, he seemed amused, like he'd been expecting it. Several times he pulled me closer as he spoke or traced light circles on my skin.

Part of me wished I had known about the differences between the infected we saw, versus the one Starling saw earlier. Maybe I could've asked the woman about it, but odds were she would've just told me I was asking the wrong questions. Just thinking about the evasive bitch had me groaning and dropping my face into my hands.

“What about the guy that saved her? Maybe he knows something we don't," Parker suggested.

Koa pulled my hands from my face, his lips twitching. "Jade, does Aidan know anything about the infected?"

Aidan? How did he know his name?

It was a little embarrassing how long it took for me to make the connection. "They're in the Cougar territory, aren't they?"

“Have you spoken to Aidan recently?" Harmony asked, a frown pulling her brows together.

Tilting my head back, I squinted up at the sky trying to remember. "A couple of weeks ago—no, wait, last week."

“Did he mention anything about the attacks?" Seth pressed.

“Oh yeah, he told me the cause of the blackouts as well as the identity, motivation, and species of the woman. I just haven't mentioned it, because I didn't think it was relevant."

Parker tried to cover up his laugh with a cough, while Harmony bit her lip in an attempt to stop her smile from spreading. Koa buried his face against my neck, his body shaking with restrained laughter. The only one who didn't seem amused by my sarcastic response was Seth. Unless I misread the baffled expression and pursed lips. It was almost like he was trying to figure out what mistakes he made in his life that led him here.

My worry grew as I toyed with my wristband. Was he okay? Did the tainted—it seemed like a less rude name than forsaken—hurt him? Unable to stem my worry, I decided I needed to talk to him.

Koa's arms tightened, pulling my body flush against his. Looking up, I met his gaze. I didn't know what he read from my expression, but whatever he saw caused him to kiss my forehead, before loosening his grip. As I stood up, his hands slid over my waist in a light and teasing touch. His intense gaze followed me as I walked down the path and across the bridge.

I stopped halfway across the bridge, figuring it was as good a place as any. Hopefully I'd be able to see anyone sneaking up on me. After activating my wristband, the holographic screen went black as I waited for Aidan to answer.

When he finally answered—after taking a whole minute to do so—I sighed in relief at the sight of him unharmed. "It seems today is the day for surprises." His eyes twinkled as he chuckled, the dimples both he and Ari were blessed with, on full display.

“I hear you were quite the hero today."

His laugh deepened as he shook his head. "Imagine my surprise when I found out I saved your mate's sister."

A fucking feather could’ve knocked me over. I didn't know what my face was broadcasting since it felt numb. It must've been shock because his smile grew. "How?"

“Your friend Reed let it slip."

“You mean my dead friend." Of fucking course Reed was the one to slip up. I hadn't exactly told them to keep it from my family—mainly because I didn't think they would run into each other anytime soon. Other than Ari, my family had no clue who Koa was. I hadn't been in the mood or headspace to explain the whole situation to them, much less deal with their pity or worry.

“What did they tell you?" Worry over what Ander might've told my brother, had my stomach sinking. I was still all over the place about how I felt about Koa, I didn't need someone else to potentially judge me for this evening's actions.

“It’s clear your friend Ander hates him. Not that I expected anything less from the guy who's kept you girls safe for the past decade." A glimmer of regret showed in his eyes, at having not been around too much when we were growing up. That he wasn't there to protect us from every little thing. "I feel like I need to challenge him for the role of big brother."

I wished I was there with him so I could hug him. "We can have more than one overprotective older brother."

“Should I be offended that you have a mate and haven't told me about him yet?" The guilt disappeared as he raised his eyebrows, waiting for my explanation.

“If it makes you feel any better, Mom and Dad don't know either."

His brows lowered and pulled together as he pressed his lips together. "What's going on?"

Fuck. Even though we didn't see each other as often as I would've liked, he still knew all of my tells. Exhaling a loud sigh, I glanced down both sides of the bridge, making sure it was still empty. "It's complicated. I mean, I don't know how to feel about having a fated mate in—"

“Wait, he's your fated mate?" Aidan cut me off, shock painting his face and tone.

I winced. "Yeah, but like I said it's complicated. I'm still trying to figure everything out."

He pursed his lips as he nodded and looked off to the side. "I understand. You want to figure out your emotions and relationship in peace, without interference. But once you do figure it out, I want to meet him. Make sure he's good enough for you."

“If he wasn't so stubborn and hardheaded, I'd be afraid of all of you overprotective fuckers scaring him off."

Aidan chuckled again and shrugged. "He's a dragon, he can handle it."

Trying to hide my grin, I looked out at the water, now appearing black under the starlight. Lit lanterns hung along the sides of the bridge, reflecting off the rippling surface. "Was this the first time you saw one of the blackouts in person?"

“I wasn't around when the other incident occurred. What's crazy was how her facial features and scent returned to normal as soon as she passed out."

When I mentioned the differences between the ones we saw versus what he saw, panic bled into his expression. He gave me a once over, looking for anything out of place. Good thing Harmony took care of my hair.

After answering his multiple questions and reassuring him multiple times, he ended up having to cut the call short when an unknown woman's voice called out his name.

We said our goodbyes, promising to talk soon, and hung up. I continued standing on the bridge, resting my forearms on the railing as I stared out at the moonless sky, trying to figure out how this was my life now.