𝔸𝕧𝕒

Another hit shakes the door in its frame as Jen leans against it.

"When is Kieran going to get here?" she says through heavy breaths. "I don't want my cause of death to be 'mauled by horny mob in bathroom'!"

"He said he was at his house, which is about eight minutes away," I say with a sigh, checking my phone. "That was three minutes ago, so we've got at least five to go."

"Great... Don't these guys give up at some point? Like, I get that these magic pheromones are making them all hot for you, but do they still work through doors?"

"I don't know! I didn't even know I had them!"

"Well you must," she says, jumping as another pound rattles the door behind her. "That sure as hell ain't normal."

"We just have to get to the penthouse," I say, breathing in and out slowly to calm myself.

"Zane's gonna lose his mind when he finds out about this."

She's right. If Zane knew what was happening, he'd want to come and handle it himself, but the last thing we need is more Siren pheromones floating around.

"Yeah, I'll deal with that when I get to it," I say with a sigh.

I feel my phone vibrating in my hand and I look down to see Zane's name on the screen. His timing is impeccable.

I don't want to worry him and make him think he has to drive over here, but I also don't want to lie. I debate letting it go to voicemail but decide that would definitely be more suspicious, so I settle for answering.

"Hey," I say with my best voice.

"Hey, love," he says softly, an uneasiness in his voice. "Sorry to interrupt your lunch. I... erm... this is going to sound crazy, but I just had a weird anxious feeling and I wanted to make sure you were alright."

"I'm just at the café with Jen."

That's technically true. Well done, Ava.

"Okay," he says with a relieved sigh. "I just felt like maybe I was picking up on something from you, through the mark. You're fine, right?"

"Let me in, sweetheart!" a voice calls from outside the door, followed by a swift thunk and a groan.

Did that guy just try to body slam the door?

"Who was that?" Zane asks, his voice low with a rumbling undercurrent.

"Oh," I say nervously. "I um... I don't know. Some guy."

Also technically true.

"Ava..." he says sternly. "What's going on?"

"Well... um... it's not a big deal or anything but it would appear that maybe I might kind of sort of have the same thing you and Kami have."

"Wait... what?" he asks, sounding more confused than upset.

"The pheromone thingies," I say. "Either that or I'm just looking particularly hot today."

I giggle in an attempt to diffuse the tension, but the line remains silent.

"Zane?" I call, checking to see if he's still there.

"I can be there in fifteen minutes."

"No, no!" I scold. "We've already..."

I hear scuffling and grunting outside the bathroom door.

"Alright, ladies," Kieran calls from the hallway. "Your one-man rescue crew is here and the coast is clear."

"Is that Kieran?" Zane asks.

"Yes, see, we've got everything under control."

"Kieran is nobody's definition of under control."

Jen opens the door to a smirking Kieran with two men collapsed at his feet.

"We'll be home soon," I say. "I'm hanging up now."

Zane gives me a grunt in response that I've come to understand is the sound of him reluctantly agreeing to something he doesn't like, then I hang up the phone.

"So, anyone want to tell me why these guys chased you into the ladies' room?" Kieran asks, guiding us out to the parking lot.

"Kami and Zane's Siren pheromones are going bonkers for unknown reasons," Jen says. "And now apparently something about Ava's weird Siren bond thing is making hers go nuts too. So she attracted the lovely suitors you saw outside the door."

Kieran's jaw goes slack as he stares at Jen.

"Jen knows??" he asks, turning to me with wide eyes. "What the fuck, man? Nobody tells me anything, I swear."

"Yeah, they kind of had to tell me because I was there when Kami and Zane attracted a wild hoard of lusty humans," Jen says, pursing her lips. "I mean, god forbid my best friend tell me she's dating a supernatural creature. No, couldn't possibly just tell me—her bestie—that she's dating a guy with freaking wings!"

"Oh my god, Jen," I say with a disgruntled sigh. "Are you ever going to let that go?"

"It depends."

My instinct is to ask what it depends on, but I kind of already know the answer.

"I can't turn you into an X-Man!" I say as Kieran guides us to his truck.

"Fine," she scoffs. "Kieran, can you make me Ghost Rider?"

"Ha!" he laughs. "Not quite. If you had asked a few months ago, I could've made you into a Succubus, but that ship sailed."

"Succubus?" Jen narrows her eyes and tilts her head.

"Get in, you two," he says, opening the door to his truck as we all hop in the front. "We'll figure out how to get your cars later."

Kieran shifts the car into gear and drives out of the parking lot.

"Did they tell you much about me?" he asks Jen.

"They said you're a demon," Jen says. "And Zane said you have a tail."

"Ahhh that's a common misunderstanding," he says with a smirk. "That giant thing in my pants isn't a tail."

"Eww," I say, sticking out my tongue. Kieran just bursts into laughter.

"Sorry, couldn't help myself," he says, still laughing between words. "Yeah, I do have a tail in my demon form. Horns too. Not gonna lie, it's pretty fuckin' hot."

"Would be a lot hotter if you were a girl," Jen says.

"I can be."

"Can be what? A girl?"

"Yeah," he says. "I'm an Incubus. We have the ability to shapeshift, including between genders. Comes in handy when I want to bone a straight dude."

"I... That..." Jen says, pausing for a moment. "I honestly don't know how I feel about that."

"I have that effect on people." Kieran smirks.

"So Incubus, that's a sex demon, right?"

"Yep."

"That makes so much sense... So you said you could've made me into a Succubus? Why can't you now?"

"Well, technically I couldn't have. We're all creations of the Demon King, Asmodeus. He could turn humans into Incubi or Succubi, that's how I was turned. But..."

"That's the guy Ava killed, right?" she says, looking to me for confirmation.

"Wow, they told you quite a lot," he says with a chuckle. "Yeah, technically it's debatable if Ava killed him or if I did, but let's just say the guy isn't doing a lot of demon-converting these days."

"Hmm..." She pulls her notebook out of her purse and jots down a few things.

"Are you taking notes?" Kieran asks.

"We're all becoming Jen's test subjects," I tease. She shoots me an irritated glare.

"Kinky," he says with a laugh. "I like it."

"It's not my fault I'm the only person here who cares about science," she pouts.

"What kind of science are we talking, here?" he asks. "Computer science? Rocket science? Uh... Okay, not gonna lie, I thought I had more sciences when I started that sentence. I'm realizing I don't really know that many types of science."

"Chemistry," she says, pulling out her bag of testing equipment. "I'm getting samples from all of you."

"Usually if a woman wants a sample from me, she takes me to dinner first."

"Not that kind of sample." Jen's brow furrows and she crosses her arms. "Although... wait a minute, that could be really interesting. I changed my mind, I'm gonna want semen too."

"You're such a romantic," he says, smirking.

Why did I ever let Jen and Kieran meet each other?

"Okay, you two," I say. "Can we cool it on the semen talk? I never got to eat but I still feel like I'm gonna hurl."

"We're just discussing science," Kieran says.

Jen grabs my arm and rubs a gauze pad on my palm.

"One down," she says, dropping it into a small plastic bag and sealing it.

With a pen, she writes 'Ava Palm Trace' on the label.

"What did I say about doing experiments on me without asking?" I scold.

"Technically, I asked," she says. "I just didn't wait for your answer."