Nate

She came out of the bedroom in a tight sports bra and spandex shorts. I groaned internally. How the hell am I supposed to train her when all I really want to do is fuck her? She grinned as we walked into the small backyard. "So what are you going to teach me?"

I'd like to teach you how to bend in half, I thought to myself, but said, "I want to make sure you know some basic self-defense moves. I need to know you stand a fighting chance against those two." I showed her a few moves. She paid close attention, asked questions, and wanted to practice over and over again. Victor sat watching us practice, laughing when she'd catch me off guard and land a hit.

We were both bent over, gripping our knees and panting. "This is fun," she grinned, "I never had any siblings to beat up. Now I know what Fi was always going on about."

I gave her a rueful smirk, "Glad to be of assistance, Cariño."

"Care for a new partner," Owen's voice asked from the small patio. He grinned as he held out his arms to her. She let out a scream and ran, practically tackling him as she peppered his face with kisses.

It didn't take long for it to get a bit steamy and another voice hollered, "Get a room." Wait...I knew that voice. Sure enough, Marc and Axel came out of the house with grins as they watched Owen and Avery. "Damn, I don't think I've ever gotten a greeting like that before, have you, Ax?"

"Certainly not by you," he quipped. Hmmm...wonder if there's a story there?

"So you're Owen's PI, huh?" Victor asked with a grin as he shook their hands. Avery was still in Owen's arms as she eyed both of them cautiously.

"Yeah, I've been working freelance for a few years now. I had no idea who I was responding to at first, then it just moved forward from there. This guy has some interesting cases, let me tell you," Marc grinned.

"Love, I'd like you to meet two old friends of ours. This is Marc Weiland and Axel Toma. We did a few Academy missions with them," Owen told her. "Gentlemen, this is Ms. Avery Dorman."

Marc grinned at her, holding out his hand, "So you're the wildfire that tamed the Blackbourne nine? Pleasure to meet you."

"Dia duit, nice to meet both of you as well," Avery said, "So are you the one who's going to be my shadow?"

Marc blinked and looked at Owen, "I thought you said she didn't know?"

Avery giggled. "Love, did the others say something?" Owen looked at her as she shook her head no. "Then how?"

"That's my secret, mo chroí (pronounced moh kree)," she winked, then kissed his nose as we chuckled. "So, whose butt do I get to kick now?"

"How about me?" Axel said with a wicked grin. "I think I can take a little waif like you."

Oh shit. I swear she growled as she slid from Owen's arms. "Axel, right?" He nodded. She held out her hand and Victor handed her a catcher's mask. "You're gonna need this, asal sotalach (arrogant ass)." He laughed and took it from her. They came to stand in the yard as I played ref.

"Okay, the point is to teach her how to escape if she's caught and to defend herself, not to hurt her, Ax," I told him.

He grinned and gave her a wink, "I'm not gonna hurt a little girl, Nate. I may be an arrogant ass, but I'm not a mean one." She gave him a small laugh and relaxed a bit. "Okay, I'm going to put you in a hold. Do absolutely anything to get out of it. You won't break me, so don't hold back," he told her. She nodded as he wrapped his arms around her, one around her middle, the other near her throat.

Her body instantly tensed along with the rest of us. Axel towered over her and his long arms were like ropes binding her. For a moment, I thought she was going to freak out, but I swear her eyes darkened and she took a deep breath, then lifted one leg and used it to push off his knee. She essentially shoved his arm to her mouth and took a hard bite. Axel grunted and swore as she shifted, getting her body into a ball of sorts, then slammed her head into the mask busting out of his hold. She went flying forward on all fours as he stumbled back, cursing vehemently. "What the fuck have you been teaching her!"

I just gaped at her. "Man, I didn't teach her anything like that. Cariño, have you been holding out on us?"

She groaned and took Owen's hand as he helped her up. "Nope, but he said do anything. He's too strong for me to pull away from, but his height worked against him in this case. I just needed to shift my relation to his body to get him off balance, then a hit to the face to disorient him. Simple physics."

Marc's laughter rang out across the yard, "Holy fuck...that was just amazing. She fights better than Nate, and her logic is like listening to Kota. That's it, wildfire, we have to be friends. I think I need fucking pointers."

Axel

Kota arrived shortly after I got my ass kicked by the little girl and we went over the new details. I have to hand it to her, I was expecting some helpless kid, but damn, she's got guts. Every time they tried to plan a way to keep her out of the trap, she put her foot down. Her logic was sound, but then again, I could understand their worries. If these guys were responsible for all these missing women and had been active for at least a year and a half, they were dangerous. I know if I had one, I wouldn't want to put my own girlfriend in the line of fire. Hell, having Marc in it was nerve-wracking enough.

"Our project is due on Tuesday," Avery said. "Shane already emailed asking to meet since we didn't finish last week. I think that's our opening."

Victor's grip tightened on her. "Where did he suggest meeting?"

"One of the study rooms in the library. That's good, right? You should be able to hack the cameras," she said, resting her head on his shoulder. I smiled realizing what she was doing. She already had the plan in her head, now she just needed to make them feel secure enough to move forward with it. "Marc can be in the library too. There are way too many people on campus for him to draw suspicion. Are you coming with him," she asked me.

"Yeah, he's not getting out of my sight," I said.

"Higeyuask," she whispered to me.

My eyes widened as I nodded, "Gvnvigohida."

They all looked between us as a deep smile crossed Marc's face and he gripped my hand. "I love you, too."

"Well that explains a lot," Owen mused. "Congratulations you two." They all followed up his sentiment. "By the way, love, just how many languages do you speak? So far I've heard you use Spanish, French, of course, Irish, and now what I'm assuming is Cherokee."

She blinked and thought for a moment, "I'm not really sure. I just kinda pick up bits and pieces here and there. It just comes when it needs to."

"Wait, are you telling me that Cherokee just came to you?" I asked.

"Um, yeah. Is that not normal?" Her eyes held me captive for a moment. They glittered with small golden flecks as she looked at all of us completely innocently.

"Sídhe," Victor muttered. "I swear you were changeling switched out at birth." He cupped her face and sighed, "No, beautiful girl, that isn't normal, but I'm quickly realizing that word doesn't apply to you even in the slightest." Then he crashed his lips to hers and lifted her in his arms. "Meeting adjourned, friends," he muttered as they headed down the hall to what I assume was a bedroom.

I shook my head, finally turning back to the others, "Just where the hell did you all find her because that is just...just otherworldly."

Kota grinned, "Yeah, I'm beginning to think Victor's right and our little girl really is one of the Fae. Nothing adds up with her, and she gives absolutely nothing away."

"Tell me about it," Nate grunted, "I still want to know how she got from the couch in Owen's penthouse to the hallway with Vic, Gabe, and Luke that morning Iz came ranting."

"Wait, what?" Owen asked. "She was in the apartment? I thought she had gone with them earlier?"

"She did, but then she came back looking for her purse. I guess they had a really interesting night. She said she woke up with a headache and was trying to find some medicine in her purse. She was a bit out of it and I could tell she was having a delayed drop, so I had her lay down after drinking some water. I guess I fell asleep too, because the next thing I know, Iz and you are yelling at each other. I told her to stay in bed out of sight. I mean, we hadn't done anything, but like she pointed out, it didn't look that way and the last thing I wanted was Iz going off on her. She'd already been enough of a bitch."

"But she was literally in Victor's arms when they walked down the hall!" Owen sputtered.

Nate threw his hands up, "I know! That's my point...I have no idea how she did that and she just said she couldn't give away any secrets."

My gaze drifted back down the hall to where she and Victor had gone. Who the hell was this woman?

Author's Notes:  I didn't plan on pulling in the Tomas, but you know how it goes...they talk.  Still not sure if this will be a romance or just friends of the group.

Please comment, follow, share, and of course, vote!

Happy New Years!