Chapter Text
Sand should have stayed home.
Why did he even come?
He was being childish.
He had said good night to Ray, went to bed, and now he somehow found himself hiding in a corner way out of line of sight from his boyfriend.
Okay, so maybe ‘boyfriend’ wasn’t the best descriptor for the Cardinal of the Obsidian Pride. It was a title Sand was accustomed to after using it so much in his daily life as an affiliate for the mundane city police bureau. Each time he called Ray that title within earshot he got a glare and later a rather aggressive reminder in the form of claw and bite marks…
“You know, through my powers of observation people only rub at their mate marks when they are thinking of them,” a voice whispered into Sand’s ear, their breath causing shivers to travel down his spine.
He almost completely slid out of his chair if it wasn’t for Sonic anchoring Sand by his shoulders. The kitsune was one of the few that were permitted into Meadow Fir, a high-end fae ran hotel, and that was only because he belonged to the Seelie Prince.
“Leave me alone Sonic,” he hissed, shrugging from his touch.
Sonic looked in the same direction as he had been seconds ago, “Hmm, I see, you’re spying on your kitty,” he smirked, taking a seat directly in front of Sand and his back to Ray. “Word has it that a certain wolfy is refusing to mark his mate.” A hand shot out to steal Sand’s drink.
It wasn’t a question.
It was a flat statement that rubbed Sand the wrong way.
He hated how the Supe community gossiped. Their relationship shouldn’t be in the public headlines. If it weren't for the status Ray held within both the Supe and mundane community it wouldn’t be spanning across interspecies.
Ignoring the nosy fox in front of him, Sand zeroed in on Ray who was currently laughing at something a tall lithe faerie with lavender hair said.
“Ignoring me isn’t going to make me disappear.”
Exhaling Sand stared into mischievous metallic eyes. If Sand didn’t know better he would think that he was one of the Fae.
Why now? Why tonight? He just wanted a quick peek at Ray and then sneak back into his warm bed unnoticed.
“What do you want?” He asked, taking his drink back and lifting it to his lips.
A flash of lavender in his peripheral vision caught his attention and it was to a scene that had Sand shooting out of his seat and across the room. “Ray doesn’t like to be touched,” he calmly stated, throwing the fae’s hand off his mate’s neck.
The fae took a single step forward, “And who are you to speak for him?” he challenged, crossing his arms endorned in carved scarings.
“His mate,” Sand asserted, shivering slightly when Ray’s hand came to rest on his hip while another hand caused a greater distraction by traveling under his shirt. “Kitten, you smell good enough to bite into,” Ray slurred, rubbing his face into Sand’s side.
The faint smell of earth and bittersweet tang of fermented apples assaulted his senses.
This fucking faerie. He used faerie magic on his mate.
“Mate? Really, he doesn’t have a bite-”
Sand couldn’t reign in his feral nature if he wanted to. Charging forward he half stumbled from Ray’s embrace as his fist made contact and he didn’t stop until he physically couldn’t. Some sort of shining barrier snapped into place over the now unconscious and bloody faerie.
Hands strained, breathing erratic, he stood up scanning the area for any other threats. The Seelie Prince came into focus, golden crown nestled among disheveled waves of hair, and hands raised. “Sand, I need you to please take a step back,” North calmly asked, his voice a hypnotic melody. “Everything will be okay, Ray is safe, you protected him.”
A warm sense of security enveloped Sand.