I popped another cheese cube into my mouth, smiled at the smoked gouda, and then sighed as I remembered what Rowen had asked.
“William is Jaxton’s cousin.”
“And he betrayed the wing. If he’s working with a necromancer, mated with her, his soul will be as dark and twisted as hers.”
While I understood what Rowen was saying, I didn’t want to believe that. Especially when we were discussing souls. My family had a touchy idea about how a soul could be changed, used, or lost.
“We don’t even know where they’re staying.”
Rowen shook her head at Sage’s words. “No, the shifters have been sending out trackers and scouts, the same with Aspen and his fae. And while I’ve done spells, something is blocking us. Perhaps Oriel.”
“I want to know who the hell this Oriel is. Who he thinks he is. Because if he wants the magic at the core of the town, he’ll have to get through us. And I realize that’s exactly what he’s doing, but we’re stronger together.”
I hadn’t even realized I was going to say the words until Rowen’s smile widened.
My coven sister leaned forward. “Hell, yes. He’s not going to be able to take us down. But I’m afraid he’ll hurt those weaker along the way. You already saw what he did with sneaking his people into town and letting his revenants creep in. He wanted Jaxton down for a reason...why?” She looked pointedly at me, and I swallowed hard, knowing where she was going.
“I don’t know how Jaxton’s supposed to be the one to help me through this curse. Maybe it’s not that at all. Perhaps it’s taking out a wing leader or killing him and breaking me so I can’t function within the coven.”
“It could be all of that,” Sage said.
“Then what are we supposed to do? We can’t find this Oriel. We can’t find his people, and yet they’re coming after us. Our coven is supposed to be the strongest there is, yet we can’t do anything.” I was afraid it was me—my power. Because my connection to Jaxton, however tentative, had given me more strength and stability to make the coven stronger. With her new powers, Sage could help as well, so it wasn’t all on Rowen. All three of us had to be strong and determined to make the coven work as prophecy had always dictated.
Only I was the problem. And I knew it.
Before I could say anything on that, however, I sensed someone behind me and turned to see the men walking in.
The three were a unit as if they always had been, as they were when they were younger. All they were missing was Trace. I knew that even though it hurt to think about him not being here, I didn’t break anymore when thinking about it.
Rome came in first, his eyes only for his mate. He leaned down, plucked her up from the chair, and kissed her hard on the mouth, something far deeper and more intimate than normally done in front of a group.
Jaxton came to me, and I sat up and looked at him, a smirk on my face as he looked over at Rome and Sage. He rolled his eyes, brushed my hair back from my face, and kissed me gently. “Hello there.”
“Hi,” I breathed, feeling like an idiot. I couldn’t think when he was around, couldn’t say anything.
We all pointedly didn’t look over at Rowen as Ash sat on the couch opposite me, the spot closest to Rowen but not touching her.
Of course, he didn’t touch her. He didn’t even look at her. But we all knew that this was the core six. How it always should’ve been.
If the Christophers hadn’t been cursed outside the town’s curse, this should have led us into the next part of the prophecy to protect Ravenwood. But that wasn’t the case.
Because my brother and I didn’t have the future we should.
The curse that told us the town would one day fall to the darkness if the coven didn’t strengthen was only part of our worries.
I looked at Ash and swore I saw a glimpse of the man he’d been. The pain of what we had lost flashed in his eyes but was gone again in an instant as if he couldn’t feel anything.
This was not my brother. He had been growing colder, and more dangerous with each passing month, and I was so afraid that even as we did our best to try to save him and me, we wouldn’t be strong enough.
We were going to lose what we had or what we could have had. I would flame, and Ash would turn to ice, and we would break.
And then the town would fall.
It was hard to have hope. Even looking at Sage and Rome and how they had overcome all of their obstacles, it was hard.
I used my sword, gritted my teeth through the pain, and fought.
I didn’t give up.
As I looked at Jaxton, saw the love in his eyes, felt feeling stirring within me, the yearning for that bond that could never be, I didn’t want to give up.
And perhaps that was a vow I needed to make—one that I would break if fate had anything to say about it.
Chapter
Fourteen
Jaxton
The following day, it felt as if our moment of bliss and relative calmness could end at any moment. I hovered over my mate and kissed her gently. She opened hazel eyes to me and smiled. I didn’t see the flame behind the irises, didn’t see the heat and the pain. For that one moment, she was mine. As I was hers. That she could have this moment of clarity and peace nearly brought me to my knees.
“Good morning,” she whispered before shifting a bit and wincing. She must have tugged on the burn scars on her side. I leaned down to kiss her shoulder gently above the new burn. It would heal soon, her scars fading even as they increased in frequency and horror.
She was in an endless cycle of a curse I couldn’t break, but she was still mine, and I would die to protect her, even if she wouldn’t let me.
“What time is it?” she asked as she stretched her arms over her head. I groaned at the sight of her breasts pressing against me and leaned down to lap at her nipple. She moaned, sliding one hand through my hair as I sucked gently on the beaded tip.
“Early enough that I wanted to wake you my way.”
Her legs spread, and I slid between her welcoming thighs before moving to her other nipple and gently biting down. She arched into me, her mouth parting as she ran her fingers down my sweat-slick back.
After we left Rowen’s, all of us doing our best to formulate a plan for rotating shifts of protection and other spells we could do to find Oriel, we had come to my house rather than hers. I needed to be near my people and it had gone unspoken that we would spend the evening together.
We hadn’t bonded yet, and I didn’t know if she would let herself give in, but I wanted her to. I wanted her to trust our fate enough for that to happen.
Only with the pain in her eyes, even as I gently kissed and nibbled on her breasts, I wasn’t sure fate would be that kind to us.
“Your eyes have gone all smoky and worried.”
I blinked away the tension and then kissed her again on the lips before gently laying another trail of kisses down her body.
“Shh, I need to have my breakfast.”
She moaned, letting out a soft laugh as I kissed down her belly and hips before settling myself between her open thighs.
“Already so wet for me.”
“It seems to be a common occurrence when I’m around you. Even when we’re supposed to be working and talking about dangerous things, my panties go damp, and all I want is you inside me.”
I traced my fingers along her lower lips, gently probing her entrance. She let out a shocked gasp before lifting her hips slightly towards my face. “I guess I’ll have to remedy that. Of course, thinking about you wet in front of me when there’s nothing I can do about it means I’ll be hard as a lead pipe until the end of my days.”
“Oh, poor you. That thick dick all nice and hard for me. Whatever shall I do?”
I grinned before leaning down to gently press my mouth to her. She groaned, her hands moving to her breasts as she played with her nipples. The sight nearly sent me over the edge.
She was glorious, her brownish-red hair like a fiery halo on the pillow.
The more she used her powers these days, the redder her hair got, and I loved it. She was all sensual woman, the anchor of her tattoo shifting around her body in sweet flames as my anchor flew around my back, enjoying the sensation of touching our mate.
I ate to my heart’s content, licking and sucking and pleasuring every inch of her as I gently paid more attention to her clit.
Her breaths came in sharp pants as she neared the edge. When I spread her wider for my attentions, and gently blew cool air over her, she let out a shocked gasp. She was nearly there so I sucked on her again, inserted one finger into her pussy, my thumb gently probing her back entrance. She froze for an instant, but then I used her wetness to ease my thumb inside, loving the way she clamped around me everywhere.
“Jaxton,” she muttered.
“Mine.” And then I pressed deeper, biting down on her clit, and she came. Her pussy and her ass clamped down on me as I lapped at her, wanting that orgasm.
When she came again, the second orgasm following the first so quickly it rolled into one large one that made her back arch and a fiery flush erupt all over her body, I leaned up, hovered over her, and speared her with one thrust. Her mouth parted, a soundless shout echoing through my brain. I lowered my mouth to hers, needing her kiss, needing her.
She met me thrust for thrust as the two of us moved, arching into one another. And then I rolled onto my back, loving how she rode me like the goddess of fire she was. She put her hands on her breasts. Her hair flung back as she closed her eyes and clamped around my dick. I had one hand on her hip, the other reaching around her to press against her ass again. She cracked open one eye and gave me a smirk, but didn’t tell me to stop. So, I probed her entrance, letting her lean down for a better angle, and then I was fucking her ass with my finger, my cock deep in her pussy.
When she came again, I kissed her, rolled us over so she was on her back again, and slid out of her. She let out a moan, and I flipped her onto her stomach and fucked her hard from behind with my hands gripping her hips and her meeting me thrust for thrust. I spread her cheeks, played with her ass some more, and continued pounding into her. And then something happened, something changed.
I leaned down and nibbled on her neck, and something snapped between us. It was a cord of red and blue flame that latched onto our hearts, connecting our chests.
The mating bond twisted around my soul and wrapped around hers, and I felt…everything. Her pain, her future, her need, her past. Her pleasure, her heat, her everything.
She was mine until the end of existence, and yet I knew that end could come far too soon.
She was my mate, the one who fate had chosen for me.
I hovered over her as my orgasm ended, her back still pressed to my chest, her hands clinging to the sheets.
“Jaxton,” she whispered.
“I love you,” I whispered, kissing her neck and then her cheek.
I kissed away her tears, the temperature of them far too hot for a normal human. She was my fire witch, and we had just mated.
I slid out of her, kissed her softly, and without words, we both cleaned each other up and showered. She piled her curly hair on top of her head as we swallowed hard to get ready for our afternoon. We had plans, and yet we needed to talk about what had just happened.
“Laurel, I didn’t force you, did I?” I asked, the worry of what had just taken place taking precedence over everything. I couldn’t even feel joy over the fact that I was now mated to this woman. Not yet.
Because fate had decided for us, yet I could still feel her curse tearing at the mating bond.
It wasn’t complete, something was missing, and I was afraid it was because fate had decided and we hadn’t.
She shook her head, tears filling her eyes again as she rose on tiptoe. She cupped my face and kissed me softly.
“Fate chose. But I killed you, Jaxton. Don’t you understand that? I just killed you. I’ve killed you. I killed you.” She kept muttering it.
I shook my head and kissed her softly. “No, you didn’t. This is us. We can do this.”
Sweet, blissful agony tore at my soul. I wanted this to be better. I wanted things to change, but I wasn’t sure how I was supposed to do that.
This was my mate, my everything, and yet fate had decided who we would be together.
“I killed you,” she whispered.
“Damn it. Maybe this is the thing that can change it all. Maybe this is why my cousin and the necromancer came after me. Because I’m the thing that can change you. Maybe I can help us.”
She looked at me then, a sad kind of hope in her gaze. “Don’t hate me because I killed you.”
“I love you. I fucking love you, Laurel Christopher. Don’t do this. Don’t hate me because you’re my mate. You will not die. Neither will I. Fate cannot be that cruel to us over and over again. I have to believe that.”
She rose on tiptoe again and kissed me once more. “I hope you’re right. I really hope you’re right.” And then she held me close. I hated myself because this was the moment that I had hoped for. Had prayed for.
And the choice had been taken from us, it had been forced upon us. I didn’t want her to hate me for what little time she thought we had left.
Chapter
Fifteen
Jaxton
In the moment of peace we had while pretending we were okay, we planned a picnic lunch with my sister and Aspen. I still wasn’t sure what the fae king had on his mind when it came to my sister, and I did my best not to think about that too hard.
If things were to reach the next step between them, I thought my sister would tell me. The fact that she hadn’t said anything yet, however, surprised me. The relationship seemed to be far more serious than her previous boyfriend from the mer realm. She hadn’t dated a hawk, and I had a feeling it wasn’t because she was afraid to but because she hadn’t found anyone. But she had found Aspen.
Nelle grinned as she laid out the blankets and sat next to Laurel on the ground. It felt surreal that we were here, Laurel and me not speaking of the mating bond or telling anyone about what had happened since we weren’t sure what to say and the fact that a war was on the horizon.
In the end, however, it was all we could do to find moments of peace before another battle broke out.
“I can see in your eyes that you’re thinking about what’s going on outside the wards, so I should let you know that my trackers are on the northern side of the town as planned. They’ll let me know if they sense anything.”
I turned to Aspen and nodded, understanding that worry about what was to come was on his mind, as well. “Thank you. And, yes, that’s all I can think about right now. With the additional patrols I’ve been taking with my team, we’re doing all we can. My second and third in command are on the west side, and I know Rome is on the east.”
“We have a mixture of the shifters on the south side,” Aspen added.
“I know that Ash is along the edge, as well.”
Laurel leaned forward. “Ash is patrolling?” she asked.
I nodded, brushing her hair from her face. “Your brother said that he wanted to try another spell. So, he’s out there with a few of Rome’s bears.”
“Does Rowen know?”
I nodded as Nelle’s gaze went between us. “Yes, she knows. I know your brother can be an asshole, but he doesn’t do major spells without telling your coven sister.”
Aspen frowned. “You call him an asshole to his sister’s face?” he asked, confusion in his expression.
Ash’s affliction, for lack of a better word, wasn’t known to most people outside of our circle. And it wasn’t our secret to tell.
“Ash knows it. And it’s a running theme in our conversations,” Laurel replied with a shrug, even though I saw the pain in her eyes. After all, I felt it along the bond, as well—one we weren’t discussing.
“Enough talk of sadness. Let’s talk about happy things,” Nelle announced and sat close to Aspen.
“I picked up lunch.
Lots of bread from Sage’s bakery, and now we’re going to have a picnic and pretend that the world isn’t catching on fire,” Laurel added quickly, and all of us laughed softly, even though there was tension to it.
“We still don’t know who this Oriel is, do we?” Nelle asked.
Aspen gave her a look. “I thought you didn’t want to talk about sad things?”
She huffed out a breath and shrugged. “I don’t. Dad’s worried too because you can connect the mer realm with this one.”
“I need to talk to your dad,” I said, frowning. “Maybe he knows something we don’t.”
“He doesn’t know much, but he does want to give me the title of Emissary,” she said as she rolled her eyes.
I flinched. “Because if you’re the Emissary to the merpeople, then you’re not part of the wing at all,” I said softly.
“Pretty much. But then I would be in the know for things that you don’t want me to know because you’re afraid of what might hurt me.”
“You’re my baby sister. I’ll always be afraid of what could hurt you.”
“But if I have the knowledge, I can be stronger. And Aspen is teaching me how to fight.”
I gave the fae a look. “I know we discussed it somewhat, but how much are you teaching her?”
Aspen shrugged as he plucked a grape off the vine. “Your sister needs to be able to protect herself if we’re not around. Of course, I taught her how to fight.”
“Hey, don’t get all angry with my brother. He taught me in the beginning, and Laurel taught me how to use a sword and those daggers. I’m doing better. I’m going to protect this town and our people and our families.”
She gave me a pointed look, and I sighed. “I guess we’re not good at talking about happy things.”
Dusk Unveiled (Ravenwood Coven Book 2) Page 12