by Willow Hayes
“Lies or not, that throne is mine, and I’m going to take it. She has done nothing but bring devastation to our people, and I will not stand by any longer. The question is, how do we go about taking what’s rightfully mine?”
Forty-Eight
Kenna
It’s been a few days since the trial and I feel different. Grounded. Happy. Horny. Since we got back the heated looks and exchanges I’ve had with the guys have only intensified, but it’s as though we’re afraid to upset the balance we have found despite the desperate desire we all feel.
In a rare moment of quiet I curl up on the couch with one of the books from Luka’s office. This one about the different types of magical beings and creatures, and what makes them special. I had no idea there were so many different kinds, it’s crazy. I find the section on kitsunes and see all the information Nakoa told me plus I learn that Akito’s tails are indicative of his age. Since he has three tails he is likely approaching one hundred. My mind races with all the potential scenarios involving his shifting, some worrisome and others not. I smile and shake my head to clear the images.
I reach out to rub his fur and find him watching me. “So you’re near your birthday, huh? I wonder what that would mean for you and me.” The fear that his shifting would take him from me makes my heart clench. He was my first real friend, and I can’t imagine life without him. I hum in question as I look at him carefully. He stands up and places his paws on my chest, so he can lick my face. I start to giggle as I try to avoid his attack. He finally stops and says, Nothing will change for us, Kaji. Even though he has spoken to me a few times since the morning of the trial it’s still somewhat of a shock to hear him so clearly. I study him and feel the truth of his words.
While I was fending off Akito’s lick attack Luka found his way into the living room. When I look up I find him perched on the armrest of one of the chairs. Red Henley and dark jeans hug his lean frame, arms crossed in front of his chest showcasing the muscles there, and sporting a huge grin. I drool over how handsome he is, and try to pretend I don’t want to walk over and trace every single one of his muscles…with my tongue. Instead I shake off the lust and say, “What are you grinning about?” I raise an eyebrow and smirk.
“How fucking adorable you are when you giggle.”
I chuck a pillow at him. “I am not adorable. I’m a badass, thank you very much.” He laughs at my statement, and a look I know well crosses his face. “Why are you looking at me like that?” I start to inch down the couch, away from the chair he’s leaning on. His grin only grows
“Oh, I think you’re adorable as fuck. Shall I prove it?” Eyebrow raised and mischief painted all over his face, I scramble up off the couch.
“I don’t think that’s necessary. You’ll just have to trust me on this.” Despite myself, I feel my smile grow. A predatory gleam crossing Luka’s face is the only warning I get before I’m on the floor being tickled relentlessly and laughing hysterically. Akito joins the fun by resuming his lick attack making me try to wiggle away from both of them. “I give! I give!”
Luka tickles a little longer, proving his point, and as he stops I become aware of our position. He has me on my back, legs spread, and is nestled between them. He holds both of my hands in one of his above my head. Heat blazes in his eyes, and I feel an answering heat in my core. His eyes darken, looking like storm clouds rolling in. His cock twitches against my center, and it’s all I can do to hold back my moan. But my hips move of their own accord, and I rock against him.
He leans down and nuzzles my neck. “I think I proved my point, Princess. You. Are. Incredibly. Sexy.” Each word is punctuated with a kiss down my neck, my head tipped in invitation.
My voice is breathy when I say, “I thought you said I was adorable?”
“Oh, right. Well, how can I think straight with you under me?” He nips at my jaw and I gasp, tightening my legs around him. “Especially since I’ve wanted you under me from the moment I saw you at the club.” His lips hover above mine almost kissing, but not quite, while he says the words. I will him to kiss me. Really kiss me. Gods, I want him so much. He finally presses his lips to mine--
“Hey Luka, where is that book you…oh, ah, don’t you two look comfortable?” Teo smirks from behind the couch. Luka pulls back from me slightly and stares into my eyes, his dark with desire. He rocks his hips one last time, and despite myself I moan. With a look that promises more he releases my hands and climbs to his feet. “You didn’t have to stop on my account.” Teo’s smirk only grows as he watches Luka get up. Luka flips him the bird, looking aggravated and with good reason.
I take a deep breath before climbing to my feet, trying hard to get my lust under control. “We were quite comfortable, thank you.” I smirk at Teo, send a heated glance at Luka, grab my book, and retreat to my room with Akito by my side.
With the bond sealed I have noticed some changes in my magic. It feels more settled or content. Before it felt like a frenzied mass of magic, but now it’s as though my magic took a massive dose of Xanax. With the calm, I find it easier to control and harness. Callum has been an even bigger taskmaster during my lessons, pushing me to do more, eager to see what I will be able to do with my magic unbound and bond sealed.
We have been working on manipulating fire and using fire as a defensive shield, both skills building on ones I’ve previously developed. Today I finally get around to telling Callum about the new magic I see inside. We’re working on the deck instead of the platform today, and before Callum can start the lesson I bring up my new magic, “So…um…I kinda forgot to tell you about the day my magic was unbound.” His brows wrinkle in confusion, and I hurry on knowing I should have told him before, “Well, when the jar broke a new type of magic appeared.”
“What do you mean new type?”
“Ah, well, Fire and Earth were joined by a bright, white magic. It actually kind of looks like the magic in the basin from the trial.” I don’t fully know what the magic means, but I have a hunch it’s related to my goddess lineage.
“Bright white?” I nod confirming. “Hm…well Ómorfos, it appears you have three affinities.” His face lights up with wonder as he continues, “The bright white magic is extremely rare. It was more commonly found when gods walked the earth. It is an affinity for Light; it’s counterpart being an affinity for Shadows.”
My jaw drops at his words. “What does it mean to have an affinity for Light?”
His midnight blue eyes shine with excitement, and he smiles widely. I’m taken by his beauty and work to listen as he says, “I am not sure what types of magic you will ultimately be able to perform with Light, and we will certainly look into it more, but the legend is that with Light you will be able to apparate.”
“Um, do what now?”
“If the legend is true you will be able to use light to travel from one location to another.” I stare dumfounded at him. How does that even work? “I do not know enough to truly answer any questions, so let us table this conversation for another day while we look into it.”
I reluctantly agree, but then I remember something else I’ve been meaning to ask him. “What does ‘ómorfos’ mean, Callum?”
With a smile full of fondness and voice full of warmth he tucks a curl behind my ear and answers, “It means beautiful in the old tongue.”
I blush, warmth spreading from the thought that Callum has been calling me beautiful for weeks now. “Oh,” is all I can say when I smile in return.
“Shall we move on to today’s lesson?” I nod and shift my focus.
Today we are starting to work with my Earth magic. Poor Earth, she has been very neglected while we focused on Fire. Callum decided I needed to start small for our first lesson, so he set out a few pots of soil he had planted seeds in and tells me to make the seeds grow. No big deal, just making life happen, that’s all. I roll my eyes at myself and focus on calling my magic.
I soon learn that when working with Earth I need to adjust the way I call her. Fire is fill
ed with passion, so she responds to my emotions and requires tapping into those feelings when I weave a spell. Earth is steadier and less affected by my emotions. As I work on weaving the spell I find that weaving with Earth magic is not the same either. She seems reluctant to respond, and after a few unsuccessful tries I huff out a frustrated breath. Um, what’s the deal? Am I doing something wrong? I feel a steady rolling of her magic move through me, and a feeling of calm washes over me. She wants me calm and purposeful when weaving. Which I’m spectacularly failing to do at the moment, given that I am anxious to be working new magic.
I take another deep breath and try to calm my thoughts and center my focus. After I am calm I try weaving the spell again. I tell her my intentions for the seeds and feel the magic move to my fingertips. I open my eyes to see Earth in a beautiful shade of kelly green rippling down my fingers. I am so taken with her beauty that for a moment I lose track of what I was supposed to be doing. I feel a nudge from my magic, drawing my attention back, and I shake off the distraction. I look toward the soil, pushing my magic to help the seeds grow.
I watch as the green magic of Earth dives deep into the soil, and feel as she wraps gently around each seed, urging them to grow. I expected to see maybe a green shoot or two, but what happens is so much cooler. I watch in wonder as small green shoots roll up out of the soil, as if stretching after a long sleep, and then continue to grow until the first buds appear. My eyes widen as I watch the buds bloom into beautiful flowers of red and pink. The pots before me are now overflowing with lush, beautiful, blooming plants. My jaw drops open, and I ask Callum, rather unnecessarily, “Did you see that? I made them grow!” I’m so excited that I throw my arms around him. I find myself suddenly stilling when I realize where I am.
Since the trial, one of the ways the bond has changed is that I can sense the guys better, not only the emotions I have worked on reading, but it’s as though thoughts are leaking out too. I have no idea if the guys are experiencing the same heightened sensitivity, but I’m almost afraid to ask because I don’t want them to worry.
Standing there, in Callum’s arms, I can sense his desire and pride. A thought drifts to me about how he loves the way I fit against his body. I feel the same about his, and right now I want nothing more than for him to kiss me. As though he hears my thought he gazes into my eyes with a soft smile and gently kisses me. His lips are soft and sweet. He explores me as though memorizing the taste and feel of my kiss. When he asks for entrance I gladly open for him.
I pull his hair out of the band and move my hands over his scalp. A low growling sound comes from him, making my nipples harden in response. I push myself closer to him, desperate to feel more of him. The kiss becomes desire and passion, and I let it wash over me. He reaches down and slides his hands under my thighs, and I wrap my legs around him when he lifts me. I feel my back hit a wall and his hips press against mine.
With the pressure of his hips I feel his arousal pressing against my clit. I moan into his mouth, loving the feel of him. Pinning my back against the wall with his hips frees his hands to roam my body. One hand skates up my side and brushes against the outside of my breast. I can’t help the roll of my hips against his in response. Gods, I want this man. My hands wander over the muscles of his shoulders and back, feeling their strength and tracing the shape. He runs a thumb over my tight nipple, and my back arches, asking for more.
I hear a noise off to my right, but I’m too wrapped up in Callum and the way he makes my body feel to care. When I hear the noise again I realize someone is calling my name. I pull back from the kiss, breathless and thinking this better be good. Luka is standing with his tablet looking worried, “I hate to interrupt your…lesson, but you need to see this.”
Forty-Nine
Kenna
It’s a news segment on a familiar channel featuring an interview with the lead doctor on the Queen’s research project exploring the shifter disease. They will also be interviewing one of the volunteers for the project. I look questioningly up at Luka who is nervously chewing on his black framed glasses, but he only gestures back to the tablet.
The reporters are sitting in two blue chairs opposite an identical set of chairs in a V shape. Presumably the doctor and volunteer are meant to join the reporters in the empty chairs. The reporters, both casters, are styled with each hair perfectly in place and are wearing expensive tailored suits. I’ve watched this news program before, but it’s not my favorite. It feels biased towards casters, so I generally get my news elsewhere.
When the doctor, clad in black slacks and white button down shirt, walks out I scream and drop the tablet. The doctor is him…he is the doctor. By the gods, I can’t breathe. It’s him. How did Luka know? Why is he showing me this? Thoughts racing. Heart pounding. Body shaking. Someone lifts me from the floor, though I don’t remember getting there, and settles in me in their lap. I hear soft words being murmured, but I can’t focus enough to hear what they’re saying. All I know is my nightmare has come to life. First with the pictures of Callie and now seeing him walk onto the set.
A hand wipes my face clear of the tears I didn’t know I was crying, but then I realize I haven’t just been crying, I’ve been sobbing. I feel Akito’s cold nose nudge my face, someone petting my hair, and another holding my hand. I then realize I’m surrounded by my men. By the men that will die for me and kill for me, and I for them. I am safe here with them. He cannot harm me. I focus on those thoughts, repeating them to myself. Eventually I’m able to take some deep shuddering breaths and the crying slows. “How did you find him Luka? I never told you his name? How did you know?” My voice rough and frantic with desperation to know how this came about.
“Kenna, I don’t know what you’re talking about. You didn’t get to the part that concerned me. Why has this man upset you?” His face drains of color and he looks utterly shocked when he asks, “Is this the man who hurt you and killed Callie?” I can only nod. “Motherfucker!” he exclaims. When I look up from my lap I see Luka crouched in front of me, I’m sitting in Callum’s lap, Akito is sitting on my feet, and Teo and Nakoa are on either side of us. I am surrounded by the men I care about and who care for me. Luka’s voice is rough when he asks, “Is he one of the newscasters or the doctor?” My own voice is rough, and it takes a few tries before I’m able to say that he’s the doctor. Yes, the doctor, always the upstanding citizen for the rest of world.
“If he wasn’t the purpose of showing her what did you see, Luka?” Nakoa looks as though his rage is very near to spilling over.
Luka looks pained, as if he doesn’t want to say what comes next, “Rya is the volunteer on the program.” The bottom of my world falls out with those spoken words, and I fight the rising panic that they bring.
“Let’s see the footage,” Nakoa prompts Luka. I don’t want to watch. I don’t want to hear his voice. But I need to see Rya. Luka starts the segment again. The newscasters are asking him about the program and what they hope to accomplish.
“We are urgently looking for a cure.” The sound of his voice is enough to set my heart racing again and brings on a cold sweat. Callum squeezes me tighter to him, as if he knows what his voice does to me. “This disease has destroyed so many lives, and we need to stop the damage from spreading further,” manufactured and polished sympathy fills his otherwise emotionless voice. “We are running tests to understand why our volunteers appear to be immune to the disease. If we find something that will lead to a vaccine or cure it will be worth all the hard work.”
The first newscaster looks dazzled by his answer and asks, “Where is your research taking place? Can anyone volunteer?”
“We are looking for specific qualifications, so no, we are not taking general volunteers at this time. As for where, we are working out of the Royal Medical Center, not far from the palace, as well as centers throughout the country.”
“Is there anything else you would like to add before we bring out the volunteer you have brought with you?” the second newscaster asks
with a slimy smile.
“Just that we are doing everything we can to find a cure. We urge everyone to not give up hope because there are immense possibilities in the work we are doing.”
“Thank you so much Dr. Lachlan. Now let’s bring out our other special guest.” The first newscaster gestures to somewhere off camera, and Rya, wearing a light blue dress two sizes too big for her that hangs off her petite frame, walks onto the set and takes a seat next to the bastard. She has deep shadows under her eyes and looks so scared. “Rya, welcome to the program. Thank you for fulfilling your civic duty and volunteering to be involved in the research. How did you first feel when you were told you had been selected for this unprecedented project?” He asks the question like she should be fucking honored. My blood boils.
“I was frightened because I didn’t know what would happen,” her voice shakes, although someone else watching, someone who doesn’t know Rya, might chalk it up to nerves to be on the program.
“I can imagine that must have been scary. How are you feeling about things now that you have had some time to adjust?” The first newscaster is patronizing and arrogant. I want to reach through the screen and fucking end him.
“I’m still nervous. I don’t like needles and there are quite a few of those.” She tries for a shrug, but it comes across as a twitch.
“You must feel honored to know that you are helping to end this terrible disease once and for all.” The second newscaster gives his slimy grin and thanks them both for being there. As Rya walks off screen she looks right at the camera, and my heart stops. Oh gods, she is terrified. There is silence for a few moments as we absorb what we have watched.
“How the fuck did they get to her?” My terror is manifesting as rage within rage.