Season of Sin (Finding Astrid Book One): Reverse Harem Paranormal Romance

by JL Caid

  “Too bad we don’t like vegetables,” Layre says.

  “There’s more to this story,” Darick says.

  I put my hands out and cup them. They quickly fill with rainwater. “I can figure that much. What happened?”

  “Kyran made a path for Allison to wheel her way through,” Darick says. “But she didn’t like that. She wanted stepping stones. So Kyran made the stones for her. And he carried her through the garden every single day. More than once. First thing in the morning so Allison could touch the morning dew with her hands. In the afternoon to feel the warm sun and see and hear the buzzing of bees as they gathered nectar. And then in the evening, watching the sunset, putting everything to sleep.”

  I catch myself blinking. Water is dripping down my face and I can’t be so sure my tears aren’t mixed in.

  “She never touched the grass with her feet,” Darick says. “She couldn’t feel it, even if she did. So Kyran is very picky about walking off the stone path.”

  It makes sense now. Why he got so angry at me before. Why he jumped at me and brought me here, to this small clearing where I sat with my back against a large tree.

  “What happened…”

  Darick lowers his head.

  Seth touches his shoulder. “It’s okay, brother. Kyran took the heaviest of the storm with him. She won’t drown. Finish now.”

  I look at Layre. He purses his lips together and winks. He’s always trying to make me smile and feel comfortable, but I can sense how much this bothers him too. Their clothes are soaked, clinging tight to their bodies. The same for my clothes. I don’t even care anymore that my skin is tight from shivering and that I’m one million percent showing through my shirt.

  “I need to know,” I say.

  Darick lifts his head. “Hunters came to find him. There came a time when the blood meant more than the story did. A lot of people began to think the story of the purest blood was just a story. But there were plenty of hunters looking to make a name for themselves. There was a rumor about Kyran. That he was so tough and unbeatable that he wasn’t human. That maybe while he wasn’t exactly undead, his blood was of the purest kind. So hunters came to find out. They burned his house down. While he was outside in the garden.”

  Darick pauses. I can’t tell if he’s angry or wants to cry.

  I look to Seth and see a glossy look in his icy eyes. And Layre… his eyes are burning redder than ever.

  “Allison,” I whisper.

  Another smash of thunder booms over my head.

  Darick nods. “She had no way out. By the time Kyran saw the house, it was too late. The hunters stormed through the house, setting it on fire. He fought them hard, but they had weapons. They wanted to send a clear message of their intentions.”

  “Of course, his blood wasn’t what they were looking for,” Seth says as Darick takes a break. “The moment they cut him open and let him bleed out, they realized. So they left him to die. Left him to watch his beautiful house and his beautiful bride burn into nothing but ash and memory.”

  “No,” I say.

  “Yes,” Seth says. “He was almost dead himself as he lay there and watched the house burn. Left in the garden he created for Allison. The garden she would never touch again. The garden he would never walk her through again.”

  “If he was attacked by hunters,” I say, pausing to gather my thoughts. In my mind all I can picture is this seven foot tall hunk of a man on the ground, watching his house burn, knowing his handicapped wife was inside, suffering a horrible death. “Wait. They wanted his blood?”

  “He was from a certain line of family,” Layre says. “Rumored to be directly from our origins. And the origin of the blood. Truthfully, the hunters could have cut his arm and taken blood, but Kyran is a fighter. They knew that. They went for the kill whether it mattered or not.”

  “Suggesting it was also a set up,” Seth says. “Maybe someone from his old fighting days.”

  “But they were definitely hunters,” Darick says. “They knew what they wanted and they sort of got it. Meaning, they got to Kyran’s blood. And they destroyed his life. Just as he was about to take his last breath, he was saved. Born again.”

  “By our father,” Seth says.

  “You mean he was bitten?” I ask.

  They all chuckle as though I have said something stupid. I shrug my shoulders.

  “It’s not that simple,” Darick says. “But, sure. Consider it that.”

  “So he was saved,” I whisper. “But he didn’t want to be saved.”

  I look at them. They don’t answer me.

  The rain is steady now. I can see what they meant by not flooding and drowning me. Kyran must control the heaviest parts closest to himself. I wish he were here though. I want to tell him I love him. Which is odd, but what he went through… why do I love him?

  “Why was he saved?” I ask. “He could have been gone. Been with Allison in another life and world. But instead, they were separated. She’s somewhere else eternally and he’s a vampire.”

  Darick reaches forward and takes my hand. His hand is wickedly rough. He inches closer and I smell him, even though he’s soaking wet. He smells like leaves, a hint of clove, a toughness like steel and grease. Standing behind him, Seth and Layre get closer together, almost shoulder to shoulder.

  “You want to know why he was saved?” Darick asks.

  “I don't know," I say.

  “I wouldn’t really consider this being saved,” Darick says.

  “It’s not all that bad,” Layre says. “The pizza is good. And we get to scare anyone we want.”

  “Halloween must be a treat for you all,” I say.

  Seth grins. “Angel, pay attention to Darick. We don’t have much time.”

  “Time for what?” I ask.

  The question goes unanswered.

  Darick touches my cheek with his rough fingertips. Rainwater drips down me with ease. I’m used to the water by now. It’s sort of warm, but nowhere near as warm as Layre.

  I look into Darick’s eyes. Those brown and burly eyes of his.

  “There’s only one reason the four of us are here,” Darick says. “It’s not all that hard to figure out.”

  “Pretend I’m stupid then,” I say. “Pretend I know nothing of you. Of myself. Pretend I woke up not knowing where I am, why I’m here, and can’t remember much about myself.”

  Darick nods. “Of course, Astrid. There’s only one reason…”

  “You just said that,” I say, feeling irritated.

  Darick closes in on me. “The reason why we’re here is because of you.”

  11.

  Okay, maybe I thought that was the answer, I don’t know, but it still makes me feel uneasy. I think about the dream or the reality or whatever it was. Me trying to run, feeling tired, hurt, out of breath. Someone or something chasing me. Then the bright lights coming around a bend, growing bigger, eventually swallowing me up.

  If I was so important to them, why did I die? Why didn’t I do something greater to save myself or whatever?

  It makes no sense to me. Not yet.

  “You’re the one thing we’ve been waiting for,” Layre says. “Kyran included.”

  “He’s gone now,” I whisper. “He’s… crying…” I put my hands out and feel rainwater splashing against my palms. “Because of me.”

  “You’re the reminder of the memory,” Layre says. “But you’re here and your blood is the blood that’s been wanted for thousands of years.”

  I swallow hard. “That still makes no sense to me. I’m Astrid. The memories I have aren’t special. I’m a normal person.”

  “Far from normal,” Darick says. He lets out a deep growl that shakes the ground.

  A warmth touches my legs and creeps to my inner thighs.

  I put my head back against the tree.

  I can’t stop thinking about Kyran. What happened. That he could have gone with Allison, but didn’t. He had been saved, turned, changed, whatever they called it. All because
of me?

  “He kept the garden,” I say.

  “Yes,” Darick says. “We all kept something from who we were.”

  “What did you keep?”

  “You’ll find out soon,” he says.

  “Angel,” Seth says, his cool voice pressing against the rainwater, making it chilly as it splashes against my face. “You are our destiny. Our years of waiting brought us to you. We bond because of you. We crave you. There is nothing more satisfying than you.”

  “And you have us for anything you need and desire,” Layre says.

  “You’ve only tasted me,” I say. “How can you know…”

  Darick brushes his finger down my cheek again and keeps going. Down to my throat. His hand touches my throat, but he doesn’t apply pressure. I’m not sure whether or not if he did apply pressure that it would hurt me. I’m already dead. Even still, it leaves me a little uneasy.

  The rain continues to fall from the sky.

  I’m surrounded by the three giant things… and speaking of things… my eyes look to the bulges in both Seth’s and Layre’s jeans. They’re growing hard as I sit there. Perhaps they can sense my thoughts. Maybe it’s the way my nipples are pushing so hard against the inside of my shirt. I’m soaked… and I’m getting wetter.

  I swallow hard, feeling Darick’s hand against my throat still.

  He parts his mouth, showing his wicked fangs. I almost instinctively turn my head, offering my throat to him. I want him to bite me. I want him to feed off me. I want to feel the horrible pain of his fangs piercing my skin. I want to feel his saliva enter my body as he drinks my blood.

  He comes forward with another growl. His hand slides down my body, touching my breast over my shoulder. He presses hard, squeezes harder. I flinch and jump, my hands smacking down to the wet grass, splashing in the rainwater caused by Kyran’s tragic tears.

  I feel the sharp touch of his fangs to my neck and he pauses.

  “I’m ready,” I whisper. “For all of you.”

  “Show us, angel,” Seth says. “Show us you’re ready.

  I quickly lift my left hand and grab the back of Darick’s head. I pull as hard as I can, forcing his fangs to penetrate my neck. There’s a ripping sound, followed by a wet suckling noise, and a white hot pain begins to paralyze my neck.

  I gasp and curl my fingers at the back of Darick’s neck.

  “No,” Seth says. “You have to be careful.”

  “Fuck, brother, you can’t…”

  I scream and pull at Darick’s neck. A surge of strength goes through me and I watch as he is suddenly in the air.

  I’ve thrown him away from me.

  He stares at me as he soars through the air. Seven feet tall. A monster of muscle. And I was able to throw him.

  Now, he hits the ground, splashing water all around, landing on his hands and feet. He throws his head back and looks right at me again.

  I touch my neck, wanting to find where he bit me. I can’t feel wounds, but when I take my hands away from my neck, I see my blood. It begins to mix with the rainwater, creating a swirl of crimson and water, a slight pink color as it collects and slides down my fingers.

  “Now,” I whisper, feeling as though something inside me is taking control.

  I slip my hands to my soaking wet jeans and open them. There is no way in hell I’m going to be able to get these things off me. They’re clinging tightly and the rain that keeps coming only makes matters worse. I dig my heels into the ground and lift my hips up and begin the struggle to get my jeans off.

  Both Seth and Layre show their fangs. Darick slowly climbs to his feet. There’s an anger in his eyes, feeling maybe embarrassed that I was able to throw him so easily, but he doesn’t say a word or act out on it. I’m the one who makes the decisions. I have power over them. I like it a lot.

  I wiggle and grunt, finally able to inch my jeans down my body. I keep battling with the clingy, wet jeans until I’m able to kick them off. I look down at my body, my panties so wet that they are now basically see through. I place my hand between my legs, pressing against my center, over my panties. It’s electric as I gasp. A thundering boom echoes around us.

  That’s when Seth, Layre, and Darick all touch their jeans, opening them.

  This is going to happen. I’m going to take them all.

  I ease my hand up and touch the top of my panties. As my fingertips move down and I begin to touch my own warmth and wetness, Seth is the first to lower his jeans enough to allow himself to pop free. He’s fucking rock hard and tall, his cock pointing up. It’s as beautiful and symmetrical as he is. Perfectly wide, his tip so defined I feel my insides already throbbing, ready to grab hold of him and clench until he cannot hold it any longer.

  He moves forward, losing his jeans on the grass. His shirt is clinging far too tightly to his body to actually take it off, so he does the next logical thing. He rips the shirt off his body. It tears like a piece of paper and he’s completely exposed to me. The rippling muscle of his body cascading down to a deadly V cut that sent my eyes right to his hardness again.

  My fingers delicately dip into my core, feeling how swollen I am. My toes curl, already on the verge of orgasm.

  Layre is next to get naked. He grabs the bottom of his shirt and rips it up over his head with such a cool and smooth attitude, I bite my bottom lip. I have no clue how he does it with the shirt being soaked from the rain. His body is lean and toned, so much so that I imagine my tongue starting at his neck and making a straight line all the way down to his…

  He shoves his jeans down and I bite my lip harder. So hard, that I now taste a little blood.

  Layre is long, pointing straight forward, his sights set on reaching depths that threaten to make me unable to walk again.

  Fine by me.

  Seth drops to his knees and touches my knees. He parts my legs with a soft touch. I take my hand from my panties and place my palms to the ground. I swear again I can feel the grass reacting to my touch. The hand I used to touch myself is under attack by the blades of grass. Almost like they’re licking my sweetness off my fingers.

  I look down and see Seth’s throbbing cock, pointing up, thick veins running up and down his shaft. Poised for attack. And I’m poised to be his prey.

  I shiver as Seth runs his hands up my legs.

  Layre approaches, stepping to my right side. He’s so tall, I have to look up to see his hardness, pointing forward. I pull my right hand from the grass and reach up, the desire to touch him too great to fight any longer.

  I hear a hissing sound and look forward to find Seth’s blue eyes piercing me.

  Is there an order? Are there rules to this?

  I’m breathing heavier. My body is racing with what feels like a galloping pulse, but it can’t be that; I have no heart.

  My hand moves further to the right and I touch the tree trunk sized leg of Layre.

  Seth’s fingertips now grip the sides of my panties and he pulls.

  I turn my head just a little and see Darick still standing there. Still wearing a shirt. I’m waiting for him to undress, but instead, he folds his arms and curls his lip, showing one fang.

  Why does that turn me on so much?

  My eyes go back to Seth as he finishes stripping me of my panties.

  He offers them to the grass and the blades quickly collapse over them, taking them down into the ground.

  Seth touches my hips, suddenly an inch from me. With a swift move, he places me on my back. The grass is so soft, a blanket of wet warmth… just like between my legs.

  I feel the iciness of Seth as he hovers over me. My nipples are impossibly hard as I thrust my chest up at him.

  “I can’t wait,” I whisper. “I can’t stand this any longer.”

  “Then don’t wait,” Layre says as he falls to his knees to my right.

  My hand darts for him, touching his cock. Fingertips sliding down the bottom of his body to his thick root. I grip from underneath and try to curl my fingers around it, but I can’t
. There’s too much of him.

  I feel a tingling between my legs and look down just in time to see Seth touching me. His thick tip breaks me open and I already feel the angle of his cock as he slides inside me.

  I pull at Layre as I cry out. I reach with my other hand but find nothing but grass. I turn my head and see Darick still standing there. Fully clothed.

  “Easy, angel,” Seth whispers. “You’re pulling at me.”

  “Yes,” I purr. “Fuck, yes.”

  My needs have been unleashed and they are insatiable.

  I slide my hand all the way up Layre’s beautiful thickness and rub my palm over the full tip, feeling a wetness that I want to blame on the rain, but somehow I know better. I pull my hand away and see how sticky it is.

  “We don’t have much time,” Layre says. “All this has been building with you for a long time, Astrid. Be careful.”

  I swallow hard and try to touch Layre again, but he moves my hand away.

  I can’t just stare at his cock and not want to touch it. Lick it. Swallow him whole.

  Seth thrusts a little and my attention is stolen from Layre and back to Seth. I don’t remember ever doing anything like this before, so I don’t know what to focus on first, second, third, whatever.

  I look down again and see that he’s halfway inside me. But I already feel full. Too full. To the point where I start to shake my head, wondering where the rest of him is planning on going.

  Seth gently touches my hips. I feel a coolness spread through my body. My ass suddenly tightens and I lift my hips, grinding against his wickedly angled cock.

  I crunch forward a little, my hands to the grass.

  Seth has his mouth open, fangs showing. His eyes are the same crystal blue color, but the color is filling his entire eyes. As though something is overtaking him. All the while the rain keeps pouring down on us.

  “Easy, babe,” a rough voice says next to me.

  I yell and look to see Darick is on his knees next to me. Still fully dressed though. That annoys me.

  I’m surrounded by them, with the exception of Kyran. Although it’s his rain (his tears) that falls on us right now.

  Darick touches my shoulder. “He’s going to have you now. As you’ve wished.”