by Owen Oakley
My heart sinks into my chest. I should’ve known a man; an alpha centaur would be taken I don’t know why I allowed any hope to rise.
“It only happened recently, so it’s new,” he says, and I want him to spare me the details but another part of me is intrigued and a little pissed. He kissed me with such passion, why? Lingered around while I may or may not have been dying and all this time he’s bonded. It’s a heart stinger. “It’s a three-part bonding that happens so fast we can’t process it, but we know when it happens.”
“Lucky girl,” is the only thing I could say. He smiles, but it doesn’t quite reach those gorgeous eyes of his.
I’ve longed abandoned my dessert and my focus is on the third glass of Fae wine that I’ve consumed in the few minutes of this conversation.
With the shift in my mood he takes care of the check. The cool night air hits my face and my eyes close. I’m happy that Demetri lifted his spell. The moon is no longer full, but the stars are plentiful and bright enough to light up the sky.
“Can I take you somewhere?” Cairo asks, standing too close for him to be bonded to another. My first reaction is to tell him to take me home and forget I ever exist but there’s a pull to this man that I cannot deny. I groan to myself, a pull. Now I’m a walking novel.
“Just for a second then it’s back to the manor.” He grins, because he can read my mind. Demetri will have a fit, but that idea is enough motivation to take this little trip.
Cairo removes his concealment necklace and hands it to me. I stare in confusion and look over at the dragon we rode in on.
“What are you doing?” He remain still and a golden mist covers his body and when it fade away, he has beautiful wings.
My jaw goes slack, and my eyes widen, making him chuckle. I walk around him, caressing his horse body as I go. I giggle as he let his wings unfurl. Once again, this man is magnificent, and a ping of jealousy hits me that I can’t have him.
“Let me guess, an alpha perk?” I ask with a quirked brow.
He shoots me a wicked smile that was way too sexy to witness. “You got it.” He lowers himself and I jump on with ease and with no warning we were soaring through the air amongst the stars.
27
T he forest was just as beautiful as I remembered from my ceremony, well the bits and pieces I could remember. Only now everyone was making good use of it. We landed right in the center where the decorative fire posts still stood.
This was a thoughtful gesture. Cairo lowered himself so I could climb down. I gripped his concealment necklace in my hand, hoping he wouldn’t ask for it back. I meant what I told him; his centaur form didn’t frighten me nor was I ashamed to be around him while he was in it.
My eyes darted around the forest where Nymphs milled about each bowing their heads as they passed us. I looked over to Cairo who was suppressing a smile and gauging for my reaction.
I didn’t know how to take this form of attention. It’s like I’m their savior now or something.
As we continued to walk in comfortable silence; golden, glowing eyes appeared from the bushes beside us and I moved in closer to Cairo’s side.
The trees ruffled, and a wolf came barreling out towards us. A squeak escaped my throat and then I was clinging to Cairo’s front leg. He was big and offered security. The wolf was as big as Cairo. It skidded to a halt a few feet in front of us and lowered its head all the way to the ground.
Cairo gave it a curt nod, and it hurried pass us. Now that was fascinating. Even other shifters respected Alphas of other species. Oh, man I wish I had a computer, the life I was living would make a hell of a storyline.
“Doesn’t it feel weird?” I ask Cairo. He looks thoughtful but then smiles and shrug.
“You’ll get used to it. You should feel honored to be the leader of your people. I was born into the family of five males and I was in the middle and out of all of us I was destined to be the Alpha of my pack.”
He sounded so proud of his birthright and as he should be. He’s been doing this for far longer than I had, so he knows the ends and outs and how to handle things.
“The concept of it, I don’t think I’ll ever get used to leading. I wasn’t born into this.” I gesture around us. “I only just found out I was a Nymph right along with my mother being a nymph goddess, which made me a demigoddess.”
There was a beat of silence. “All I know is writing and living a life being detached from the living.”
His expression softened and the last thing I want was sympathy. It was water under the bridge, but I never made it a habit to forget where I come from. He smiled, a gleam of sort passing in his eyes. “I’ve read your books.” I stop walking and wiggled my toes in the cool dirt. It’s how any author gets when someone tells them they’ve read their books. The heart flutters at the possibility that the reader may or may not like it. Then comes the sweaty palms, slight pants trying to find the right words to say next.
“Really?” I ask taking in the dirt that my toes are digging in.
He turns to face me. “I did, every single word from all six books. When the word got around that ‘The Lord’”— I loved the way he says Demetri’s title — “was housing a guest from the human world. I did a little investigation.” I took a shaky breath.
“And?” A question more so directed towards his thoughts on my books. He leaned in and I hope he would kiss me again but then I’m reminded of his bond with another and toss the idea to the side.
A breeze pass making my curls bounce around more than usual. He brush away a strand from my eye and cupped my face in one motion. “You’re phenomenal. I loved your books.”
But then his smile flatters as a bewildered expression creeps onto his face.
“What?”
“But how did you know so much about our realms if you never been here before and we’re hidden from the mortals?” This is what Aiden should have done during the first book I published and maybe I would’ve had answers five years ago.
I sigh and as I open my mouth to tell him what Demetri and I discovered weeks ago another rustle in the bushes come. We both stiffen. The presence seems more threatening than the wolf’s did.
Whoever was in the bushes had great power. A hissing sound spreads throughout the forest silencing the melodic sounds of nature.
“Get on top of me,” Cairo instructs. I want to hear those words but not in this situation.
He doesn’t have to tell me twice I was on top of him in an instant. I may radiate powerful now, but I have yet to have a lesson on how to use my powers, so it was like I was still powerless and a novice.
A golden bow and arrow materialized from the air and Cairo was aiming it at the bush where the hissing noise sounded.
I kept my eyes keen on the bush. Another movement had Cairo pulling back his bow, and it was then I saw a hologram of an arrow. Confused how this shallow arrow will protect us; Cairo shoots off one, two, then three arrows in succession that were very much real by the loud roar the thing lets out in the bushes.
I only catch a glimpse of the predator in the bush and it was the same guy from the restaurant, and the beautiful one from my dreams. He stumbles forward with his teeth bared, his fangs glistening in the light and with glowing silver eyes. Vampire.
Cairo takes off galloping through the forest with a golden dusk surrounding us and then his wings spread wide and we were back in the sky.
When we reach the manor, I throw Cairo his concealment necklace, while I press my hand against the door so it would grant me entrance.
We both fall inside slamming the door shut behind us. It was dark, and we trip over things that we couldn’t make out. I forget if the place even has a light switch. More than likely not because everything ran on magic here. I peered out the window in the living room, but it was too dark.
“Do you see anything?” I ask Cairo who stood next to me, mimicking my activity.
“No, I think we got away before it could— ” Bright lights overhead turn on cutting off his next
words. We squint, looking up at the bright lights and then whip our heads around like two naughty children with our hands in the cookie jar.
Demetri, Roman and Aiden stood on the other side of the room, furious. Demetri’s eyes were as black as the voids, Roman’s crimson red aura circled around him so I couldn’t see him at all. Aiden wasn’t far behind them with his own power trip. His fangs had elongated, and he hissed. Shit! This is worse than my ceremony and the earlier moment combined.
I went to look over at Cairo and he was just as murderous, but his face was least of my concern. My gaze followed down his shirtless chest to his massive cock. Not only was it gigantic in his horse form but also as a man.
Yeap now it makes since why the guys are being scary.
Fear had consumed me to the point I didn’t notice that Cairo was naked.
I want to start by saying “I can explain,” but why? I’m grown and neither one of these men is my boyfriend, mate or husband. Not to mention something could’ve killed us. I’d like to think the latter point alone will suffice.
“I think you should put some clothes on,” I whisper to Cairo with my attention still on his erection. He doesn’t try to move and just as I was about to tell him again, he snaps his fingers and his suit from earlier reappeared.
“Do you have any idea what time it is?” Demetri growled at us.
I look over to the clock on the wall. Two in the morning. Where in the hell did the time go? I open my mouth to respond but Cairo beats me to the punch.
“Sabine is a grown woman she doesn’t have to answer to you!” Cairo stepped forward with his arms over his massive chest. I snapped my mouth shut.
While the men continue their stare down; I evaluate the room for the first time. The living room was a mess, no wonder Cairo, and I were stumbling over things. The couches were rearranged and not in a good way. Vase shards covered the floor, too many pieces to count to guess the number of glass furniture they destroyed.
I shake my head that one outing could cause this much destruction.
You love stirring the pot, don’t you?
Foxtrot appeared by my ankle. “What the hell happened here?”
What do you think happened? Demetri lost his shit and Roman and Aiden wasn’t far behind. Right as I got myself to sleep after the commotion down here; I was awakened yet again by this. I’m not surprised to find you in the mist of yet another quarrel between these men.
I roll my eyes at his feathery ass. I don’t have time for this bullshit. Something tried to attack us, maybe even kill us.
“As long as she lives in this manor, I have a say over what goes on!” Demetri yells out, pulling my attention back to the present.
Roman and Aiden remain silent, but their faces were furious enough, they didn’t have to speak. Demetri is doing enough for all of them.
“Well maybe it’s time for her to find another place to live.” I swallow. I didn’t like where this is headed. We have more than this to deal with and I hate the fact they’re talking about me as though I’m not in the room. “I’m not too thrilled about my mate living among such ruthless men anyway,” Cairo adds. My head spins around in his direction so fast I give myself whiplash.
“What!” All four of us say together. Now that’s a twist if I ever seen one.
And the plot thickens.
I glare at my familiar.
“Cairo what are you talking about?” He walks over to me taking my hand and three growls float our way.
“Sabine, when I told you I was bonded I was talking about with you. The first time we met a string pulled at my heart so intense that I didn’t need the next two times, but I had to be certain. Sometimes we can have one or two strings that signifies a mate but until that third string pulls it cannot be confirmed. I’ve had it twice with a few women but never the three times that’s needed.” Now I’m captivated in what he’s saying and as Fox has subtlety pointed out the freaking plot has thickened. “The second time I presented you with a gift as that is the next determining factor and yet again a string pulled more than the first. After the kiss we shared tonight I was bonded to you and you are my mate!”
I missed my footing backing up. The information he laid on me was like a canon to my chest.
“You fucking kissed her!” Roman was fuming he disappeared and reappeared in front of Cairo, knocking me back as he sent a powerful blow to Cairo’s chest, that sent him sailing through the air and into the wall.
Cairo recover as he snatches the necklace from his neck and his centaur form appears. He take a stance in front of me, blocking my view.
The living room was big enough to fit a small house inside, but his form made the room feel crowded. He had his bow out where three hologram arrows were at the ready, pointing at all three men.
He was a badass and my spirit animal.
I get up but I wouldn’t place myself in between them not when it was so much tension and anger. Demetri and Aiden appeared by Roman. Three to one not good odds but something told me that Cairo could handle his own and fair well if it came to it.
“Do not test me about my mate when her safety is involved. If you three would pull your heads out of your asses long enough, she would tell you we were attacked in the forest. That’s why we ran in here and stalked the window.”
The guys all lowered their scrutiny and eyed me. Cairo was my only goal, I know being bonded to someone brings out a lot of possessiveness and protective instincts, but we don’t need a rift between us when things were happening.
After I recovered his necklace from behind him; I placed it around his neck. He settled back into himself and popped his neck and grabbed me around the waist as he planted a kiss on my temple.
The guys’ sneers deepened even more but they say nothing, at least until Aiden breaks the silence.
“How do we know you’re telling the truth about this bond?” Aiden asks his face as red as the mist that swirled around Roman.
“I have nothing to lie about! I’ve always been an honorable man. It’s my questions about your intentions that have me concerned.” He had a point there. “You have destroyed this room, why? Why don’t any of you want her to get close to anyone or let her out of your sights for more than a few hours?” The guys shift around in front of us. Hmmm. I’ll store those reactions away for later use.
“That’s none of your business Centaur. You both need to tell us what happened.” Demetri says instead.
Thank you!
28
A fter the servants fix the disaster of a room, we each take a seat, even though there are enough couches for each of us; Cairo sat by my side. When he place his hand on my thigh, the guys’ faces harden. Cairo and I ignore the tension in the room and explain what happened after we left the restaurant. Well, Cairo explained I kept replaying the guy’s face in my head who tried to attack us. Only chiming in when I needed a break from my own thoughts.
I know I can’t keep these dreams to myself any longer, but I also know that I would prove Demetri right. I’ve been withholding information and can’t be trusted. But when a window of opportunity presents itself, I should take it, and so I did.
“I’ve dreamt about the man who tried to attack us. He was standing next to a man and a woman with platinum pixie hair,” I whisper.
All their attention turn to me and I don’t look at any of them. Demetri shoots up from his seat and it takes everything out of me not to heave a deep sigh.
“Why didn’t you mention this sooner? That man was a scout for Tor who is now on his way to report since your Centaur here missed his target.”
Cairo’s hand gripped my thigh hard, and I winced. “I. Never. Miss!” He says through gritted teeth. I’m sure he didn’t either, but the shoot was not enough to kill the vampire, if it even wounded him.
I jump up from the couch my mind felt like it’s been pulled in different directions from the arguing. “Just stop it! I’m sorry, okay? You never trusted me from the moment you kidnapped me.” Cairo raised a brow at the wo
rd ‘kidnapped’ something that I’m sure I would have to explain later, but now was not the time. “You treated me like I was the enemy and grew suspicious of me with each passing day. What else was I supposed to do?”
“And yet you’ve proven my suspicions were just! You’ve been keeping vital information from all of us!” Demetri continues as he advances closer to me.
“You,” Cairo begins as he stands to block me from Demetri. “Need to calm down.” His voice was husky and filled with warning.
I shake my head. I never wanted something like this to happen. I was damned if I did and damned if I didn’t from the beginning.
“Demetri’s right. She’s been lying to us from the beginning and throwing around lectures about trust and betrayal.”
My mouths hangs open as I stare at Aiden. He was the last person I’d think would throw me under the bus for Demetri to drive over, un-freaking believable.
“Sabine won’t stay here tonight. I don’t give a damn what she did or didn’t tell anyone. You all have too much hostility towards her!”
We’ve all made mistakes, but I forgave them for each of theirs and now they’re acting like mine is so damning that it can’t be forgiving. Well, one is bad but other than that this is pettiness.
“You don’t care, the bond has you thinking with your dick so you can’t understand what she’s done,” Roman speaks for the first time since we began this entire conversation.
I’m losing them slowing one by one. Demetri’s smirk taunts me and I want to knock from his face. His way of letting the others know that he was right all this time.
I hate him and fuck the rest of them if they want to side with a power crazed mage.
“That’s amusing coming from a man who uses his dick as a life sustainer.” I suck in a sharp audible breath. I may not like Roman at this moment and it may have been a quick jab from Cairo, but he doesn’t know that Roman struggles with who he is.
I saw it that night the moment he stepped off the elevator with his accusations.