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“WHO WOULD HAVE THOUGHT HUMANS EAT EGGS AND BACON, TOO?” TERRA SAID WITH GLEE.
“We have more commonality than I thought. Though I had to improvise by asking the young man at the store how he prefers his breakfast...”
Brava snorted. “You asked someone that?”
Rune rubbed the bridge of his nose as though it embarrassed him to even consider it a possibility.
“In my defense, I’ve never shopped in a place like that before. They had so many strange options and I couldn’t understand what they said,” Terra confessed, reaching for his glass. “It took me quite a while to view them all. Fortunately, he was more than happy to help me go through them all...”
Aries looked down at his plate. A steaming heap of eggs, bacon, and several pieces of toast awaited his grumbling stomach. All he wanted to do was dig in, but he’d come prepared to ask questions. The reality of his situation settled in the forefront of his mind. His head buzzed with a need for answers.
Tentatively, he said, “can I ask you something?”
The four men must have assumed Aries would ask questions and came prepared to answer them.
“Ask us anything,” Terra said reassuringly. “We will do our best to answer.”
After being given the green light, questions poured from Aries.
“Who are you four, really—and how did this enormous house get here? Why did Mrs. Mayweather attack me? What did you mean when you called me an incubus?”
They looked between one another, having a silent conversation with their eyes.
Aries imagined what they were thinking and wondered how they would explain the strange events he had gotten caught up in.
“Let us answer those one by one. I’m Terra, and these are my mates: Brava, Shen, and Rune. You can likely guess, but we are not human—and we are not from here, either.”
“Then what are you?”
“I am an angel,” Terra said.
“Half-demon,” Brava said.
“What’s the other half?” Aries asked.
“Fairy.”
Huh. That explained the ears and the horns.
“And what about you two?” he asked Rune and Shen.
“I’m a shisa,” Shen said, a note of pride in his deep voice.
“Magi,” Rune answered.
“I have no idea what a shisa or a Magi are, but I’ll humor you. Where are you from and how did you get here?” Aries asked.
“Nitehelm,” Shen supplied helpfully. “We came here through a magic portal.”
Magic portal?
Aries sipped his water as he decided whether or not he would believe them.
Sensing his skepticism, Rune retrieved a thin wand from his coat pocket. He held it up into the light for Aries to see. “This is a magic wand. Every Magi gets one when they come of age. I used it to create the house.”
To prove the wand worked, he flicked it at a painting nearby. A spark of light shot out at the portrait, shrinking it down to the size of a birthday card.
Aries gaped.
“See?” Rune said, “it’s magic.”
Aries could hardly believe his own eyes, but he had no choice.
So that’s why I didn’t hear any construction sounds, Aries thought.
“So a Magi is like... a wizard or a sorcerer?”
Rune laughed. “Something like that.”
“And... what’s a shisa?”
Shen beamed at his question. “A lion-dog.”
“Oh.” Aries tried to envision what a lion-dog looked like while staring hard at Shen’s handsome face. “Can I see?”
Shen hopped up, eager to please. He made quick work of transforming, his body morphing until only his shisa form was left. Aries thought “lion-dog” fit the description too well. The beast standing in front of him had the face and flowing mane of a lion, but the body of a dog. Its blue eyes blinked at him as he stared back in awe.
“Shen is one of three shisa in our world,” Terra supplied as their mate returned to his human form.
Aries asked, “why are there so few?”
“My father and my twin brother are the other two. There would be more, but my mother’s genes often interfere...” Shen explained. “She is a kitsune—and kitsune have a much higher rate of conception.”
“Fascinating, isn’t it?” Terra beamed at Shen with hearts for eyes.
Aries nodded, at a loss for words.
“We were sent here to defeat some traitors who infiltrated your world,” Brava said at last, changing the subject. “If I had to guess, one of them was controlling your neighbor. As for why she attacked you... Well...”
Aries voice cracked. “You mean there are more of them?”
Brava nodded. “Unfortunately.”
“And they’re coming after me because you think I’m... I’m an incubus?” Aries stammered.
Terra reached over and squeezed his shoulder. “It is the logical conclusion. Their goal, as we understand it, is to use humans as a source of fuel. That is how forbidden magic works, you see. It requires the energy or lifeblood of others... If you were a human...”
“I wouldn’t even be on their radar,” Aries surmised.
Rune shrugged and sipped his drink. “Maybe for different reasons, but if humans were safe from their dark ways, we would not have been sent here to stop them.”
The thought of an unknown number of enemies coming after Aries terrified him. Suddenly, he didn’t have much of an appetite.
“But we don’t just think that’s what you are, Aries. You are an incubus,” Rune went on.
“How do you know?”
“I’m a seer. I saw some of your memories when I touched you yesterday.”
Should Aries dare ask which ones?
Rune continued. “Haven’t you wondered why you’re more energized than others after you make love? Or why your mortal partners passed on after sharing a bed with you? Doesn’t that make you wonder why your experience with us was different? It’s because you are an incubus, Aries.”
“You saw all of that?” Aries asked, embarrassed.
Rune nodded. “I don’t choose what I see when I touch others, Aries, but it doesn’t change the truth.”
He shook his head. “I’m sorry. This is a lot to take in.”
Those words were an understatement.
He’d not only learned magic existed and that he himself wasn’t human, but had also discovered he truly was responsible for all of his exes dying. It was a cold, hard realization that rocked him to his core. His heart ached as the information settled into his brain.
I killed them, he thought sadly. And all this time I thought I wasn’t to blame...
“We know it’s difficult to believe,” Terra said, “but we are here for you. Whatever you need—do not hesitate to ask for it.”
“But I’m just your human neighbor—well, incubus neighbor now, I guess... Why go to such lengths for me?”
Terra and the others exchanged significant looks.
“Because you are more than just our incubus neighbor,” Terra murmured, a softness in his expression that made him look more angelic by the second.
“What do you mean?” Aries asked, blushing.
“You are one of our fated mates, Aries.”
“Fated mate?”
Terra reached for his hand and entangled their fingers together. “Our world has what we call fated mates—ones who are led by fate to their destined partners. Do you not have something similar in your world?”
“Soulmates, maybe,” Aries said. “But those don’t come with the words ‘soulmate’ stamped where everyone can see... How do you know someone is your fated mate?”
“It is an instinctual process,” Shen answered.
Rune helped himself to a strip of bacon. “You’ll often know it the moment you meet—though not always. Sometimes fated mates need to touch first.”
“What does it feel like?”
“Like a pull,” Terra tried to explain. “You will be drawn to them even in a crowded room. Once you are claimed, the fun really begins.”
“Claimed?”
“When you make love to your mates for the first time...”
Aries felt his cheeks burn as his face flushed red. “You mean that’s what we did last night?”
“Heavens, no. That would require all five of us. You may not recall, but Rune did not join in on our fun...”
“Oh, right.”
“But we would like to claim you,” Brava added hastily. “I would like to claim all of you...”
“At your discretion,” Terra chimed in, shooting Brava a knowing look.
Aries’ head swam. He processed the information they’d provided, sitting back in his seat. He stared at his untouched plate, growing colder by the second.
“Hey, speaking of last night, did any of you feel worn out after we had sex?”
Terra and Shen looked at each other and shook their heads no.
“Neither did I,” Brava went on. “Don’t you find that strange? Rune said he was an incubus. If that’s true, all three of us should be exhausted right now...”
Shen gasped. “You are right! But I don’t feel tired at all...”
“You feel energized?” the half-demon guessed.
“What are you getting at?” Terra asked, curious.
“I think Aries is a special kind of incubus,” Brava said. “The type I’ve only read about in books...”
“Go on.”
“Have you ever heard about the Blackhallow legend of Ares Ambrosius?”
“You mean the incubus who was single-handedly responsible for a small group of demons defeating an empire?” Rune asked.
“That’s the one. Everyone in Tartarus thinks he’s dead, but one guy—a seer I ran into on a one-off job—claims he settled down and began raising his own family somewhere... Wouldn’t tell me where, though.”
“You think he came here?” Rune gave him an incredulous look.
“The portal might have been opened ages ago, remember?” Brava reminded him.
“Yes, but... You think Aries is his son?”
“Would explain why their names are so similar,” the half-demon said with a shrug.
Aries frowned. He wasn’t sure what to make of their conversation.
“Try to eat,” Terra urged. “You recovered from your injury, but you still require sustenance.”
Aries wasn’t sure if he could manage it, but he would try anyway.
He picked up a piece of toast and spooned some scrambled eggs and bacon onto the bread before taking a bite. When he looked up, Rune, Terra, Shen, and Brava were staring at him with strange expressions.
“What?” Aries asked, following his bite down with a swig of water.
“You have interesting quirks,” Terra said, smiling.
“I like to combine my food,” Aries said with a shrug.
“Do you mind if I try it, too?”
Aries shook his head.
He watched as Terra piled eggs and bacon onto a piece of his toast. He took a bite, chewed, and swallowed—all while maintaining a poker face. When he finished, he dabbed his lips with a napkin and beamed at Aries. “What a fascinating combination!”
Not to be left out, the others quickly tried it for themselves.
“The ingredients are delicious on their own, but together... It’s wonderful,” Rune murmured.
“We have a lot to learn from humans,” Shen added, staring down at the combination of bread and protein as though it had blown his mind.
Aries couldn’t help but laugh.
“Why don’t you stay here with us for a while?” Terra suggested after a sip of his drink. “We have plenty of room and we can protect you until we deal with the threat.”
Rune dabbed his mouth with a napkin and said, “after what happened with your neighbor, accepting our offer would be the safest choice...”
Aries considered their offer over few bites of his combination toast.
Anyone who slept on the opportunity to live, doze, and dine with four of the hottest men in the entire state was out of their minds.
As an author, Aries had always been a space cadet—but he wasn’t crazy.
Rae would be pissed if he turned them down, too. Still, he couldn’t just abandon his home, office, and career. Aries had bills to pay, fans to please, and books to write.
I’ll just have to make it work, he decided.
“I need to grab a few things from my place and let my friend know, but it should be all right.”
His answer pleased all four of his dinner companions.
The beaming faces of his mates filled his heart.
“Let us escort you. We can keep an eye out while you pack your things,” Brava suggested.
“I will prepare a room for him,” Shen offered.
Before anyone could change his mind, he carried his empty dishes to the kitchen and disappeared upstairs.