by Sofia Daniel
“Not yet.” Gates unbuttoned his jeans and shoved them to the ground, revealing a thick erection already dripping with pre-cum. “But I will be when you get started.”
I ran my tongue along my bottom lip, getting it nice and moist for the slide of that gorgeous organ.
Gates groaned. “All those nights at juvenile detention, and I never thought I’d meet a girl who loved cock as much as you.”
His dirty talk and heavy breathing made my nipples tighten, and my folds become slick. And after all that stroking, Nero became hard enough to ride. I gripped him by the base and lined up his tip to my opening. One deep breath later, I impaled myself on his dick and cried out at the stretch.
“Look at you.” Gates rocked forward, his prick lengthening and thickening. “Gobbling up Nero’s cock with your hungry pussy. Are you going to gobble mine next?”
I lapped up the pearl of pre-cum gathered on Gates’ slit and groaned at the taste. Right now, I couldn’t tell if it was because he was a werewolf or because I was a hunter, but it was the most delicious thing I’d ever tasted. My instincts told me that vampire blood would be even better, but I shoved them to one side and focussed on feeding and on creating the bond.
All the while, I continued lowering myself onto Nero’s hard prick, shuddering at the way it stretched and filled my core. His strong fingers dug into my hips, guiding me down to the hilt. Once he was fully engulfed, Nero reached down and rubbed gentle circles on my clit, making me hum around Gates’ length.
The werewolf threw his head back and moaned. “That feels so fucking amazing.”
“I’m going to gather your nectar and see if being a hunter makes a difference,” said Nero.
My only reply was a fevered moan. I hoped the life-force I had absorbed from Zarah made me better able to heal the boys, but hunters were such malevolent creatures—I shut off those thoughts, raised my hips and moaned as Nero’s thick head stretched my opening. Right now, I didn’t want to think of Justine, Radu, or anyone else wearing that accursed burgundy armor.
Raphael shuffled closer to Dante, pressing the heel of his hand on his hardness. “That’s it, Alicia. Keep riding Nero, so you can move onto Dante and say the vows.”
My gaze dropped to the brother lying beside us on the blanket. Dante stared up at me with hunger in his blue eyes, his hand palming his erect dick through his boxers. Right then, I felt like the center of the world with four handsome guys all hot and hard for me.
Quickening my pace, I rode Nero hard, mindful that this session had a purpose beyond enjoyment. If I could gain enough power from the mating bonds, I’d be able to join forces with the onion woman and free us all.
Nero scooped up my fluid with his fingertips and placed it in his mouth. Widening his ebony eyes, he let out a low, sexy moan. “You taste incredible!”
“Does it make a difference?” asked Dante.
Nero squeezed his eyes shut. “The ache in my stomach is getting better already.”
I lashed my tongue on the underside of Gates’ dick, where the bulbous head met his thick shaft.
The werewolf bit down on his lip. “Keep doing that, and I’ll cum.”
While Nero grabbed my hips and thrust upward, I continued stimulating Gates. The more he moaned and swore and talked dirty about my ability to suck cock, the wetter I became.
Another hand reached between Nero and me. I glanced down to find Dante also scooping up moisture with his finger.
“You look so fucking sexy with those guys tasting your juices,” Gates snarled.
He reached down and pulled at my nipple, making me moan. My stomach rumbled, and I felt my gums tingle. If I didn’t milk the werewolf soon for spunk, my fangs would descend for me to bite one of the vampires, and I would hurt Gates.
I tried pulling away from his dick, but tendrils of magic emerged from my throat chakra and snaked under Gates’ balls, holding us both in place. They wrapped around his sacral chakra, which glowed bright orange, and squeezed.
With a groan, the werewolf threw back his head and spurted a warm load of semen down my throat. I gulped it down and pulled away, the itch in my gums receding.
“What the fuck was that?” Gates said, his eyes wide and his chest heaving. “You forced me to cum harder than I’ve ever cum in my entire life.”
His essence swirled in my belly, giving me a happy glow. I raised my shoulders and smiled. “It’s my new magic.”
He shook his head, grinning down at me with admiration shining in his amber eyes. “I didn’t know hunters could drain a man’s balls so quickly.”
Nero reached up at my shoulder and pulled me down for a kiss. It was a slow, sensual slide of his tongue against mine, as though he wanted to take his time devouring me. I hummed into the kiss, desperately missing those times we had shared in his room, experimenting with my magic.
“I thought about you every day,” he murmured. “Dreamed about you when things got bad. It was the only thing that kept me going.”
My heart ached for him and Dante and Raphael. I’d always thought of them as a trio of asshole princes, lording it over the frumosi, but all this time, they’d been seeking the mate who would help protect them from their tyrant father. I ground my hips against his thrusts, increasing the sweet friction. The sooner we both climaxed, the sooner we could form a bond.
“I’ve never loved anyone as much as I love you!” he said.
My eyes flew open, and I broke the kiss, as a gasp escaping my lips. Before I could respond, Nero clamped his forearms around my hips and thrust up and down into my core. Shockwaves of pleasure raced through my body, causing me to cry out.
Above and below Nero’s healed solar plexus lay his heart and sacral chakras, which flared green and red like out-of-control traffic lights. Nero continued to pound into my channel, holding my hips in place, leaving me helpless to do anything else but moan.
Pleasure spiraled around my core, picking up speed with Nero’s thrusts. The pulse between my legs thundered, and my core muscles quickened. Now that the concubine bond was gone, I was free to climax without permission.
Nero’s spicy scent filled my nostrils, making my pulse pound and filling me with an irresistible, primal hunger. I clung to Nero’s shoulders, trying to fight the tingling in my gums. But my teeth lengthened and shaped into fangs.
“I need to bite—”
“Do it!” He arched his neck, exposing the veins pulsing beneath his gorgeous, dark skin.
The pressure reached a breaking point, and a torrent of ecstasy tore through my body and took over my senses. I plunged my fangs into Nero’s neck and sucked.
Warm, coppery blood slid on my tongue. Nero tasted like the kind of spiced wine Mom served at Christmas, smooth and sweet and rich.
Beneath me, Nero stiffened and moaned out his climax. As I drew back to lap at his wounds, he jerked his head up and bit down on my neck.
“Ah!” Another wave of pleasure surged from my jugular, trickling down my breasts, my belly, and to my twitching core. This had to be his vampire bliss. It was no wonder people got vamp-struck.
White light filled my third eye—the return of his soul-star chakra. Panic flared across my chest, and I slapped Nero on the shoulder.
This wasn’t right. The sight of a vampire’s soul meant he was close to death. Was my hunter blood poisonous to vampires?
“What’s wrong?” he slurred.
I drew back, my heart pounding. “Say the vows.”
His lips curled into a lazy smile. “I, Nero Striga of the Noble House of Stryx, do by blood and magic accept Alicia Stephens to be my mate.”
After repeating my own vows, Nero’s soul-star chakra dimmed to about the same level of brightness as Raphael’s. I glanced down at his solar plexus chakra to find it glowing a healthy yellow.
“Congratulations.” I ran my hands over his hard chest and gave him a peck on the lips. “You’re a day-walker.”
Dante sat up, his aquamarine eyes wide. “Someone’s coming.”
; Nero leaped to his feet, his softening erection slipping out of my core. “Scatter. We’ll meet again at the werewolves’ storeroom an hour before sunrise.”
With a nod, Gates pulled up his jeans and dashed into the trees. Raphael grabbed Dante and vanished, and Nero sped me out of the woods and back toward the castle.
As we whizzed through the darkened forest, I rested my head on Nero’s shoulder. “Why didn’t we go in the same direction as Raphael and Dante?”
“Until we’re all joined like the three brothers in the legend, I never want us all surrounded by a more powerful enemy.”
My mind rolled back to that terrible night when Lady Mantis stormed the bathroom with guards wielding infrared weapons. If I hadn’t been captured and Raphael hadn’t escaped, I might never have been able to free Dante and Nero from that sun cell.
“Where are we going?” I asked.
“There’s an old storeroom in the library. I need to look something up.”
We reached a group of giant sycamore trees with white bark partially covered in moss. All but one of the trees grew leaves on their branches. Nero walked around to the odd tree and stared into a hole at the base of its trunk.
“What are you doing?” I asked.
“Raph dug this tunnel in our third year.”
“Why?”
“He came from a region within Stryx where the cloud cover was thin, and the nobles lived underground.” Nero placed me on my feet and handed me my clothes and shoes.
“Thanks.” I pulled the dress over my head, slipped on the sling-backs, and shouldered on the cardigan. “Does it lead to the castle?”
“Only to another tree close to where all the cars are parked.” He pulled his boxers on and offered me his hand.
“Do you think it will be safe for us to sleep here?”
“No one has stumbled across any of Raph’s tunnels so far.” He gathered me in his arms and held me to his chest. “Between us, we should be able to spot if anyone’s approaching.”
Nero jumped into the hole and landed a heartbeat later. He set me on my feet, which sank into the soft earth, indicating that the boys hadn’t used this tunnel very often. The earthy scent of decomposing leaves filled my nostrils. I blinked several times to adjust my vision to the dark, but nothing happened.
“What’s down here apart from a passageway?”
Nero wrapped an arm around my back and guided me further into the tunnel. “A little den.”
We walked several feet in silence. I tilted my neck back, watching the energy of animals passing overhead. At this distance underground, I couldn’t tell if the creatures were transformed dire wolves or wild animals, but none of them stood upright. After about ten minutes of walking, Nero stopped.
“One second.” His warmth disappeared from my side, replaced by the sound of rustling.
“How good is your night vision?” I asked.
“About the same as my day vision, I suppose.” With a few clicks, an oil lamp flared to life, revealing a small room with cushions piled against a wall.
“Another of Raphael’s hideouts?” I asked.
Nero lowered himself onto the cushions, pulled me onto his lap, and wrapped his arms around my shoulders.
“What did my blood taste like?”
“Bitter,” he replied. “It burned my throat, but I forced myself to swallow.”
“I think it was poisonous.”
“Vampires don’t bite hunters because their blood is toxic,” said Nero.
I lowered my head and frowned. It was an excuse I often gave the vampires for not letting them taste my blood. “Did everyone think I might be a hunter?”
Nero rubbed my belly. “You weren’t a normal frumosi. I suppose we all thought you’d stumbled across hunter powers. Since you weren’t trying to bite anyone, nobody bothered much to reign you in.”
“Why not?”
“The consensus was that you would birth powerful day-walkers.” He sniffed my neck. “It’s so strange not to crave your blood.”
With a smile, I relaxed into his chest. “I’ve stopped craving yours.”
Nero lowered me onto his back, and we exchanged slow kisses. I wrapped my arms around his broad shoulders, enjoying the ripple of his muscles underneath his smooth skin.
The entire business about him erasing my memory of the missing baggie of ashes vanished into the ether, as did any lingering resentment that he had blackmailed me into becoming his concubine.
“You’re the most perfect girl I’ve ever met,” he murmured.
“Even if I’m a hunter now?”
“Do you think differently of me for being a day-walker?” he asked.
“Of course not.” I slid my hands down to his ass and squeezed his hard glutes. “I care about you three so deeply. Without knowing you were out there needing me, I may not have survived the last few days.”
Nero flipped us over and settled my head on the juncture between his shoulder and his chest. “We should try to get some sleep. I’m exhausted from all that time I was sick.”
I rested a hand on his six-pack and yawned. “It’s been a harrowing few days.”
We lay in silence for several moments, neither of us seeming to sleep. I asked, “What’s it like in the Kingdom of Stryx?”
He paused for a heartbeat. “Mediterranean. Cosmopolitan. Peaceful. Our father says he was a high priest in the Roman Republic who was granted immortality by Minerva.”
“Do you believe that?” I asked. “Dracula is less than six-hundred years old.”
Nero shrugged. “He has no reason to lie about his origins.”
“Did he explain why she made him soulless?”
“Dante once asked. He’s the only one of us three whose mother hasn’t been executed for some trumped-up reason.”
I frowned. “What did he learn?”
“Lord Stryx said that it was related to Minerva’s familiar, the owl. They’re nocturnal creatures, and so are we.”
“That doesn’t sound right.”
“I didn’t think so, either,” Nero muttered. “A few pieces of ancient artwork around the palace depicts our father in daylight. I wondered if he had fallen out of favor at some point and gotten cursed.”
“By Minerva?”
“I’m not sure. Lord Stryx isn’t the type to dwell on his mistakes.” Nero pressed his lips to my temple. “We were more concerned with finding a way to protect ourselves from his wrath.”
“Would he punish you for what Dante did?”
Nero huffed out a bitter laugh. “He’s murdered entire families of his own descendants just to watch someone’s expression. I have no doubt he would torture and kill Raph and me to punish Dante for sleeping with one of his consorts.”
“Ugh.” I pressed a kiss on his jaw. “Sorry that you have a tyrant for a father.”
He squeezed me around the middle. “Thanks to you, we’re one step closer to absolute protection.”
I dozed in his arms, his strong presence chasing away the nightmares of slit throats, mutilated werewolves, and girls drained to a bone-white husk.
Energy coursed through my meridians, reminding me of what I had become and of my potential to help Gates and the brothers to live a life without oppression.
As I slept, I became aware of a terrible fact: One piece was missing from the puzzle.
Radu had mentioned something about his daughter, Belinda, who had mated with three vampire brothers and linked their chakras. Had I tried to do this those times I had straddled Nero and attempted to form an energetic bond?
“Nero, wake up.”
He jerked up, making me roll onto a pile of cushions. “Is someone coming?
“I think I’ve worked out how to give ourselves another power boost!”
Chapter 14
Nero sat up, his dark eyes wide. He pulled me to his chest and wrapped his arms around my middle. “There’s more to the bonding than just sharing blood, sex, and vows?”
“It was something Radu mentioned.” I gave him a br
ief explanation of what Belinda had done with Dracula’s grandsons.
Nero stiffened. “You’ve spoken to him?”
My body sagged. How much had Raphael passed onto Nero in his weakened state? Thanks to Zarah, at least two of the most powerful hunters had an unnatural interest in my potential.
The entire sorry story spilled from my lips, starting with when Zarah brought Radu and his henchwomen into the bathroom, having told them I might know the boys’ location.
The final part of the story was the most difficult: telling Nero about the confrontation with Zarah in the bedroom Radu had commandeered from Captain Tanar. “That’s how I got turned into a hunter.”
Nero hugged me tight. “It wasn’t your fault. If you hadn’t ended her, Zarah would have consumed your life-force, and we would all be doomed.”
“You’re not disgusted?”
He drew back, the light of the oil lamp reflecting on his blue-black dreadlocks and warming his copper skin. “Why would I judge you for protecting us and yourself?”
“If I’d killed Zarah last term—”
“Then we wouldn’t know how to complete the bond of the legendary three brothers.” He cupped my cheek with both hands. “Can’t you see?”
“What?”
“Radu’s daughter wasn’t just a regular frumosi. She was a hunter.”
My brows drew together. “Because she wove their chakras together?”
“Those times you used to practice connecting our magic in our suite.” Nero pressed a kiss on my temple. “You couldn’t do it and probably wouldn’t have developed the skills to manipulate chakras unless you became like Belinda.”
I blew out a breath. “That’s all very well, but I’m a blood drinker now, and I’m about to turn Dante into a day-walker with unappetizing blood.”
“Have faith.” Nero rubbed soothing circles into my back. “Belinda wouldn’t have turned those brothers into day-walkers if it meant not having anything to eat on their island.”
Melting into his touch, I closed my eyes and rested my head on his broad shoulder. Part of me understood what he meant. Belinda would never have been strong enough to fend off Dracula, Radu, and Stryx if she’d been unable to feed. But all wasn’t lost. With Gates as part of our group and eager to supply me with werewolf semen, I probably wouldn’t starve.