The Contrary Mate

Jack

There was no one on the roof, and then there was an entire group, almost entirely of fae. My mate stood gaping at her ex who was staring back with an unreadable expression, as if this serious situation could get more farcical.

I stepped forward to draw attention away from my mate. “What’s going on up here?” I snarled. One of the fae flew slightly forward. He had white hair, but didn’t look older than forty or fifty at my guess, and he had a look of disgust on his harsh features.

“Senator Salix, he’s our village’s representative.” Aura explained.

“Thanks. Now I want you to run and hide,” I asked her, my attention swinging back to the one who seemed to be the ringleader. Several fae were clustered around him, ready to fight. More were at the back, circled around something.

He chuckled. “It’s really none of your concern, wolf.”

“You’re on my territory, so I’d say it’s nothing but my concern,” I said. My wolf didn’t want to tolerate this intrusion. Who did this fae think he was, meddling in what was ours? And even worse, they could have harmed Aura through their recklessness. My wolf bristled at the idea of her being hurt, the mate who was still standing there in spite of my request that she run, her eyes going between me in worry and her useless ex in obvious anger.

The senator just chuckled.

I threw on my most amiable smile to cover my bloodlust. “Well, let me guess then. You’re obviously the cause of some sort of magical electromagnetic interference that’s knocked out all the human tech and keeping it offline. Why? Because tech is evil. But then why use Meteor Security as the base for your plan? I’m guessing it’s some sort of megalomaniacal statement of your supremacy since this is the home of the most heretical mixing of tech and magic. Very symbolic and quite a challenge. I’m impressed, although it seems a touch hypocritical with all the hacking and so on.”

The white haired fae wasn’t entirely able to hide the look of shock my words produced. My smile became a far more real smirk.

“Now, I can kind of sympathize with your dislike of the mixing of what you see as opposites. You’ve got your deeply held beliefs, and perhaps we could have had a dialogue if you’d come to me with your concerns. But this,” I said, waving my hand towards whatever the circle of fae were doing, “is inexcusable. I could have been killed in an accident on the way here. Condolences on that failure, by the way. Worse, Aura could easily have died—she’s one of your kind.” I couldn’t quite keep the growl from my voice as I glanced over at her ex. He flinched slightly. Good.

“She’s chosen her side,” Senator Salix said dismissively.

I ignored how much I wanted to rip out his throat at his attitude and continued. “But the casualties—I can’t even imagine how many from accidents, or vulnerable people in the hospitals, the potential victims of crime that can occur when restraints are lifted. I can’t forgive that. You’ve killed people.”

He scoffed. “Humans. They’re practically a plague on the planet, and there’s plenty more where they came from.”

“He’s not going to listen.” Aura’s certainty in my mind. “And if they’re willing to go this far, they’re not going to stop.”

“That’s sick,” I said, looking at him. Humans weren’t the enemy. Deep down, we were all the same, good and bad, fae, werewolf, or whatever other kinds there might be. And even if I didn’t care about the death toll, the odds that these fanatics would stop simply at dismissing the deaths of humans was unlikely.

He looked apathetic. “It’s unfortunate, but the ends justify the means. Leave us now, and perhaps you could be forgiven your sins against magic.”

“On the contrary, stop what you’re doing and I’ll let you leave without a fight.”

He chuckled, and the fae attacked, a flash of bright light to blind us, and then further attacks with magic, the scents of burning and electricity hanging heavy in the air. One of the witches threw up a magical shield which took some of the blows. Along with others of my pack, I shifted into my wolf for the added protection, far more resistant to magic than my human form.

If they had taken to the air, we might have been doomed, but while they flew, they remained intent on defending the fae who had continued in their circle the entire time that we had had spoken, and even as we fought. I didn’t know their final goal, but I was willing to bet that they were the devastating source of the chaos this night.

The leader of the extremists had retreated behind the younger fae who warded off the attacking werewolves with crude weapons—staffs, clubs, and a few rudimentary bows—and magic, which was the far more dangerous threat. I grabbed a fae by the leg and slammed her to the ground. I didn’t love attacking women, but it wasn’t the time to worry about being gentle, especially when I was slammed with a blast of fire from behind, my fur singed.

The fae were fast on the wing, but I managed to take out another one with my teeth around his neck, hoping that my mate would forgive me for killing her people after everything was done.

Then even that thought was ripped from my mind when through the chaos I saw Rex grab her and start dragging her towards the entrance to the building. I whirled to save her, when I got hit with a shot of magic that electrified my body and stunned me.