by Erin R Flynn
“It took you a whole day to turn it around and make it a reason to take over, huh? I’m honestly shocked it took you that long. Not going to throw in that I’m only half fairy too?” I had already flipped on my telepathy, and I picked up what I wanted from several minds. “Of course you already did. We had a deal, Neldor. You made an oath with me, remember?”
Rage filled his eyes. “And I’ve kept it. I’ve told no lies nor pushed the fact we were betrothed. I was discussing information with—”
“Here. You were discussing it here where I’m on vacation like you fucking own the place to try and show you have a bigger dick than me and you’re not intimidated by the fact my father is a demigod. But you are. It’s a pathetic, predictable move, and you’re undermining me when we agreed to get through this shit and free our people before we got back to this power struggle.”
“The situation has changed,” he growled, using a rune and unfreezing the ice.
I snorted and refroze it before he got very far. “Because you see me as not being as useful to your grand scheme. You still think you’ll push me into mating you and standing at your side like a puppet heir and queen while you take over as king because of whatever my mother promised you and—”
“Meira never intended for you two to actually mate,” Lageos interjected.
I glanced over at him. “Cluym thought it was so when things went bad that Neldor was on the side of the light and that alliance transferred to me.”
Lageos shook his head and looked at Neldor. “No, she did it to try and save your father’s life.” Everyone went dead silent, only the sounds of water dripping from the ice melting in the pool could be heard. “Her visions showed your mother losing herself after your father died in an accident but at her vacation castle. Your mother would never have believed her, so she did the only thing she could to try and change his fate.
“She proposed the idea of possibly mating the two of you and entering a betrothal if you wanted when you were old enough to agree and decide for yourselves. She thought it was the only way to save your father, your mother’s soul, and end the constant warring.” He looked at me then. “He told you that you’re betrothed?”
“Repeatedly,” I drawled, several others echoing it.
“So there was a betrothal celebration?” Lageos chuckled darkly. “One Tamsin’s father didn’t attend? We’ve not officially met. You didn’t know who I was or I was a demigod. You would have known I wasn’t a fairy by looking at me. I suggest you think back carefully to the wording Meira used, as my mate was always careful and she had the gift of visions, Neldor.”
“What does that mean?” one of the Dark Guardians Neldor had been speaking with demanded.
“It means that she knew Neldor was giving her lip service and wanted to take over me and the light realm,” I answered, turning and giving the guy a death look. “And I suggest you treat the mate of Queen Meira with respect, as you should, or we can have a talk like I do with Neldor. I don’t care if you don’t refer to me with titles unless others are around and want Neldor to control me but—”
“What?” Taeral seethed.
I slowly nodded, keeping my gaze on the guy. “It’s why I was so concerned when you guys came at me about the crystals. He’s not quite as bad as some of the council guys who want to lock me up to use as a power generator, but he’s not great either. He’s annoyed I’m the only living heir, crass and more powerful than Neldor, so it won’t be easy to control me when Neldor takes over as he should.”
Steam was practically coming out of the guys ears. “Clearly, having more magic than Neldor doesn’t make the telepathy blocking rune work against you.”
“No, it doesn’t,” I chuckled darkly. “Plus, it’s a huge warning flag when people try to use them around me, so I immediately turn on my telepathy and break through them. Otherwise, I don’t much listen in. People’s thoughts aren’t my business. You make a point to block them from me though, and you’re thinking stuff about me you don’t want to know.”
“Stop!” Neldor bellowed before any fighting could break out, having melted some of the ice while I was distracted and pulling himself out of the pool. He moved to stand in front of Lageos. “You swear this is the truth?”
Lageos nodded, crossing his arms over his massive chest. “I have no reason to lie. Even if Meira did agree to the betrothal, she would never have pushed Tamsin to do it if she didn’t want to. We both know that. It’s not the way of fairies. My mate struggled for months trying to figure out how to save your parents and was inconsolable when she failed, that the wheel of fate couldn’t be changed.”
“Thank you for telling me,” he whispered, turning away and sloshing over to me. He didn’t look my way, stopping off to the side from me and staring straight ahead. “I’m sorry I gave you such the wrong impression of your mother when she… I thought I was right. I thought…” He shook his head and walked off.
Yeah, I wouldn’t have known how to finish that either, but I also wasn’t done with the conversation.
“Don’t pull this shit again, Neldor,” I called over my shoulder. “I tried really hard to give your mother some understanding for what she did. Connecting with Faerie gave me a glimpse into what it could have done to her. I’ve not mated, nor lost one, and I tried, I really did. I didn’t know my mother, but it was her choice to give her life. All those fairies frozen and all the pain caused was… Still, I tried.
“But I’ve seen the pain. I saw how it killed Geiger not knowing what had happened to Cluym. I hear the howls of pain Zack and Ray give in to, longing for their mates who we still haven’t found. And I went through twenty years of fucking hell with the humans because my father couldn’t get to me because your mother’s magic blew the portals and trapped him in viscous darkness he was awake for. So not again.”
“My concerns are so nothing like this could ever happen again,” he defended.
“And what would you do? Kill me? Kill all the female born royals? What’s your crazy answer that’s no better, Neldor? Everything I’ve seen written is Faerie will die without an heir. Even if I never connect with it again…” I stared at him in horror as I heard the answer in his thoughts.
Bind me. He wanted to bind my magic so I could never reach certain levels and I would permanently be less powerful than him. I was so stunned I had no idea if it was about power and taking over, or if it was actually coming from a place of fear or worrying about fairies.
But given it was his mother that had done all of this, he was the last person who got much of a vote on any of it, the rat bastard.
Lageos was there before I could blink with his hand wrapped around Neldor’s throat. “You even so much as utter that suggestion and I will destroy you, little boy. I ended one monster today who tried to take what he shouldn’t from my daughter, and I have no problem ending another.”
“What?” I gasped. “What are you talking about?”
Lageos frowned at me. “That man you spoke of last night who tried to rape and kill you. I found him in human prison and got real justice for you and those other girls he was a monster to. He is no more, and it was an ending filled with suffering, I promise you.”
Woah. Like woah.
Okay, so be very, very careful of what I told Lageos as he clearly didn’t have the morality of most. Then again, he did warn me of that.
Then again, I was pretty sure most fathers would have done the same to monsters who hurt their daughters if they were able to.
Before I could even think of what to do with Neldor, Lageos launched him out towards the ocean. I was pretty sure every mouth there dropped open as the demigod threw a man further than any of us could see and out into the ocean from the resort.
Holy. Fucking. Shit.
11
It was weird going back to school and leaving Lageos behind. He had a room at my house and promised he was fine settling in on his own. He got along with my packs of fae dogs and would handle everything I needed to. He wasn’t worried and seemed lik
e he wanted a bit of quiet to adjust to being out of that magic.
But he didn’t seem like he wanted me to leave either. More like he wished we could kick everyone else out and just slowly, easily get to know each other without all the noise around us.
Too bad that wasn’t an option.
I would go back to check on him, and I had to handle unfreezing fairies every other day that he made sure to be there for. So really, it was a way to ease us into getting to know each other.
And for him to keep watch of Neldor, who I think he was looking for a reason to squash, consequences be damned.
I was glad for that but right then, I had a slight idiot problem of my own.
“Hump day doesn’t mean you actually have to hump the whole day,” I bitched as I dodged Lucca in bear form on my Wednesday morning run. It was pretty warm for mid-March and somehow, that had translated to the goof waiting for me at the turnaround point of my run to have some fun.
In bear form, no less.
Sure, Lucca. Twit.
So far he’d torn my hoodie—which he was replacing—and now he was trying to tackle me to the ground. At first, I’d thought he simply wanted to play but two seconds of us dancing, it was clear the goal was to get me out of my clothes.
Yeah, great, he could shift into an animal and hide his nakedness. I was still naked when we were done. Fine, I could portal back to my room, but I would only get half my run done.
None of which he seemed to care about at the moment.
I groaned when I heard cloth tearing, my hoodie falling off of me in tatters. I spun around to face him. “You’re paying for that. I liked that one.”
He nodded as he smiled at me with that goofy grin like he was still winning.
“Even if you get me naked, I’m not giving you sex. I don’t reward bad behavior.”
He reached out and used a claw to slice through the strap of my sports bra.
I responded with thumping him as hard as I could on the snout.
And he sliced off my running capris so I was standing there in nothing but a half falling off sports bra and sneakers.
Oh, my socks too. Couldn’t forget the socks.
“You are a pain in my ass, bear,” I growled, holding my tattered pants against me to cover up as best as I could.
He reached out to push me to the ground and I blocked him… Dropping my pants to do so. The bear chuckled, clearly wanting that as the goal.
And then my sports bra fell off, the bottom elastic all that was left holding it around my rib cage. So he’d also sliced the other strap.
“Dick. Head,” I growled.
Lucca shifted back to a man, smirking at me as he moved closer and ignoring when I smacked his hands away. “Yes, but I’m your dickhead, kitten.”
“You’re not getting any after interrupting my run and ruining my clothes.”
“I’ll replace them and give you a workout,” he promised, snagging me around the waist so my back was against his chest. “You neglected me over break. We were supposed to have lots of fun—”
“We did. We ate out the whole frigging Caribbean and binged a ton of—”
“Naked fun,” he snarled as his hand moved to massage my breast. “I was supposed to get lots of naked fun with my kitten. Bikinis and naked everything. I remember hearing that lots.”
“You didn’t have fun with me otherwise? That’s the only way we can have fun?”
He spun me around and narrowed his eyes at me. “You know that’s not true. Don’t turn that around because you’re salty I’m being a dick. I love us just hanging. You know that.”
“I know that,” I agreed. That was true, and he was a snuggly bear who enjoyed all the lounging for sure.
“I just want you too. We didn’t get much alone time or naked time, and I ache for you.” He moved so we were pressed together, lower his head so his lips brushed my ear. “I’m leaking for you. Don’t you need me too? Don’t you want me to please you? I’m dying to feel you wrapped around me, kitten. Am I really the only one?”
Well, he wasn’t anymore. Damn bear.
“I’m not rewarding bad behavior,” I clarified.
“Uh-huh,” he grunted as he lifted me up and carried me to where we were better hidden. Or so I thought, because I threw up a barrier to hide us, but then I realized it was just a big tree to screw me against. His fingers were inside me before we even reached it, and he was making his normal comments about wanting my cream.
I couldn’t believe I wasn’t over hearing that or thought they were lame but honestly, Lucca was so fucking sexy, he could sing the alphabet song to me and I would be all over him. So if he wanted to make puns about me being his wild kitten and getting my cream… Yeah, fine, no problem.
I came fast, the dumb man growling as he kept going and nipping at every inch of my skin he could reach.
“I’m going to fuck you, and fuck you some more, and then fuck you again, and then beg to keep fucking you,” he rambled as he brought me a second time. “And then I’m going to bring you to Hudson’s bed where we both fuck you, and he fucks me while I fuck you, and we play like that again, and you let us lick you all over, and we tease your other hole, and you let us and love it, and—”
“Oh my gods!” I gasped, blinking at him. “I get it. You’re horny. No more letting you go so many days without at least making out. There were things going on.”
“I know. I know. I know that, Tams. I just needed you and wanted to comfort you and fuck you. I’ve been hard for you for days and I can’t wait anymore.”
So he didn’t, his fingers getting me ready enough to not hurt me. He replaced them with his cock and thrust up into me, moaning deeply before mashing his mouth to mine.
I reached up with one hand and grabbed a low hanging branch so my back didn’t get all cut up while looping the other around his neck. His hand was under my ass and his arm around my back, getting hurt so I didn’t. He didn’t care, his desperation and need overriding all sense.
As was clear from the way he chanted I was his, I felt so fucking good, and he was never leaving my body. Lots of things like that and in some interesting combos. I finally had to move my hand over his mouth or I would never finish listening to all that horny crazy. He simply winked at me and took me faster until my body came apart.
“See, it’s good when I’m a dick,” he grunted, thrusting harder even as I was still climaxing, trying to see how many he could make me have. He was obsessed with giving me multiple orgasms when we had sex.
Something I wasn’t going to try and dissuade him from.
He pressed his lips against my ear and listed everything he wanted to do to me that weekend when we got some time alone… And I came apart all over again before I’d finished the last orgasm. The dirty bear just knew how to push my buttons.
Fine, I knew how to push his too. I squeezed my body around him and he followed me right over, snarling as he climaxed deep inside of me.
But that was all he got from me since I didn’t reward bad behavior.
The second we both finished, I pulled myself up off of him and onto his shoulder before sliding down his arm. He gave me a confused look and reached for me, but I backed away on my shaky legs.
“Go explain to my security why I’m not running and had to head back with a portal. Again. Zack will love that.” I wiggled my fingers at him and opened a portal to my closet and stepped through it.
But not before I heard him cussing. Yeah, Zack was going to punch him for sure.
Horny bear.
Still, I tingled in the best spots and felt more awake than after a run only. Well, partially. I also wanted a few more rounds and a nap like only hot sex can make a woman need sleep.
Instead, I hurried to shower while Izzy and our suitemates were still asleep and then met her at the normal time for breakfast.
She immediately noticed I was freshly showered whereas I normally didn’t bother before power training. She opened her mouth but then closed it, shaking her head. “N
ope, not going to go there. I’m so damn jealous of your sex life, it’s not even funny.”
“Men are idiots,” I promised her.
“Not why I’m a lesbian, but I’d still like a vivacious sex life.”
“I’ll add it to my goals for the year.” I threw back my head and laughed when she swatted at me. I darted away and she gave chase, the two of us being silly as we jogged towards the cafeteria.
“What’s got you two in such a good mood?” Darby asked as he met up with us as we swiped in.
“Tamsin got—” Izzy snapped her mouth closed so fast she probably bit her tongue. “I need coffee.”
Yeah, she did. It would be bad if she announced to my boyfriend in front of everyone at the cafeteria that I was in a good mood because I got sex on my run. Oh boy. We were trying to limit the amount of drama for the rest of the year.
But still, it found us.
The next day before lunch, it was the same group of us, plus Hudson and Lucca, all of us outside of the cafeteria when our next dose of drama came. And this time, it was serious crazy.
“Tamsin, get away from him this minute!” a man bellowed. “Come here and stop this.”
I glanced over my shoulder and swallowed a smirk when I saw it was Councilman Shurr… And he looked as unhinged as he sounded. Clearly, the glamour and magic was working a bit too good.
I felt horrible about that. Really, I did.
“Miss, we need you to come with us,” a guy with him demanded.
“Not in this or any other lifetime,” I purred, not even sparing him a glance. “This guy is off his rocker and spreading all kinds of disgusting lies about me. I’m going with him never so he can make up more stories. The one’s he’s fabricated when we’ve never been alone are enough to make me vomit.”
“Stop this!” Shurr bellowed. “You know what we shared. I don’t know why you are lying like this. I won’t let the others hurt you, Tamsin. You’re safe now. My mate and family will—”