by Alice Wilde
Now I really don’t know if he’s telling the truth or not.
“She can’t be, I barely…I didn’t…”
“Hmm, so it wasn’t your cock that helped me get what I wanted from Annalise, right?” Damien asks darkly, a sinister curl to his lip. “Although, I suppose I was the one who did all the work, so I guess that makes the child mine.”
“You’re just trying to get under my skin,” I snarl.
“Haven’t I quite literally done that enough already? You needn’t worry, I have no interest in that right now. But you are going to help me get them both back.”
“Sick bastard!” I shout at him, growing more irate with each passing second. “I’ll never help you. I’d rather die!”
“That can easily be arranged, but you’ve already helped so much. Why stop now?”
The rage inside me boils over, and I can keep myself together no longer. I shift into my leopard as I charge forward, lunging at him. Damien waits until the last second to spin out of the way, whipping out an ornate blade as he does and swinging it at me but missing by several inches.
“I would have thought you’d have learned by now,” Damien says, clicking his tongue in disapproval as he shakes his head at me.
I growl and crouch low to the ground as I start to circle him, looking for an opening to attack.
“Don’t you get it, Ero? There’s nothing you can do. You’re weak, just like the others. With each passing day, I only get stronger. Just look around you.”
Damien’s eyes light up as he extends his free hand to the side, and a small patch of still-green grass swiftly withers and dies before my eyes. He’s quite literally draining the life out of the world around him, using it to grow more powerful. He’s destroying everything in his attempt to rule it all, and he’s starting small. By the time the rest of the world realizes it, it’ll be too late. I have to end him now.
Damien turns his head to watch as death continues to spread through the ground around him. I take my chance, springing at him once again, but my temper has gotten the better of me and I attack too soon.
“Enough,” Damien roars, his outstretched hand unexpectedly closing tightly around my throat as I collide with him. He squeezes hard and I find myself unable to breathe as he pulls my face closer to his own.
“You’d better run, Ero. Annalise is coming back whether you like it or not. This is the only chance I’ll give you to leave. You can die here and now, or you can die trying to save her. Either way, she will be mine in the end.”
I lash out at him with my claws in a desperate attempt to injure him, but he simply holds me at arm’s length as though I were a disobedient child.
“I warned you, Ero. Don’t test me,” Damien says with a deep growl before taking the blade he’s still holding and dragging it deliberately across my face. I cry out in torment, blood spilling to the ground around us. Damien wipes the blade on my fur and then tosses me aside, walking back into the castle, the gates swinging shut behind him.
I lie motionless for a long while and then blink slowly through the pain. It’s only now that I realize that I can no longer see out of my left eye. I shift back into my human form in humiliating defeat.
Not only was I unsuccessful in doing any of the things I’d set out to accomplish, but I’ve lost the support of the Vikings, failed in my revenge, and have been blinded in one eye…
Pulling my clothes back on, I stumble back through the village and into the forest in search of clean water to wash my wound.
I spend the next two days wandering aimlessly through the forest as I try to pull myself together. My whole life has been nothing but a curse, and now, even the woman I care most for in the world is apparently not only carrying the weight of the world on her shoulders, but in her womb as well. I’ve screwed things up so much, and there’s nothing I can do to set things right.
The only thing I have left to offer is my life. I have to find Annalise, to warn her and let her know what’s happened. Whatever she decides to do, I owe her my life. Whatever she asks of me, I’ll do it, even it shatters me into a thousand pieces.
I’ll die for that woman.
I swear it.
Ero grows quiet and closes his eyes as he leans against the back of the bed, but not before a single tear manages to find its way down the side of his face.
“Ero,” I say tentatively. “This isn’t your fault. You’re not like your father.”
“Don’t you see,” Ero growls. “I’m exactly like my father. He couldn’t fight whatever drove him to kill my family just as I can’t seem to keep Damien from using me.”
I don’t know what to say to this. He’s not wrong, but madness and magic are not one and the same.
“I can’t believe Damien knows I’m pregnant,” I say, suddenly in shock.
Ero opens his eyes and looks at me. “Damn. So, it’s true?”
“Yes, I only found out after you were gone.”
“I’m so sorry, Annalise.”
“It’s not your fault.”
“Of course it is. I’m a curse to everyone and anyone who lets me into their lives,” Ero says, turning away. “Annalise, I only came back to tell you what I’ve done, how much I’ve screwed up, and to offer up my life for you to use me as you see fit.”
“Ero,” I say slowly, trying to discern the tone of his voice, “do you think I want you dead because of everything that’s happened?”
Ero bites his lip as he looks away from me. “Do you not?” he finally asks, still not looking at me.
“No.”
Ero looks back at me, his eyes wet, and before I have time to react, he pulls me into a kiss.
“Ero, stop!”
I hear Roan shout as he leaps up from his chair, but then the world fades away around me as I once again feel the pain coursing through Ero’s body and then my own. But this time, it’s different. It’s almost as if, bit by bit, stitches are piecing him back together. I cry out inside, the pain still just as agonizing, but then it starts to get slowly more bearable with each passing minute.
I gulp in great lungsful of air as I’m suddenly thrown back into a state of awareness. Roan has somehow managed to get me out of Ero’s arms and pushed to the other side of the bed, but I quickly roll off the side as the large men continue to wrestle with each other. As weak as Ero seems from his journey, he’s still holding his own against Roan, although perhaps not as well as he once had.
“Stay out of this, Roan,” Ero growls.
“She’s my wife! The hell I’ll stay out of anything,” Roan snaps back.
“Roan! Ero!” I shout. “Please, don’t do this. Not now.”
They pause mid-fight and look at me, their hair wild and clothes torn.
“Roan, I know you don’t want to hear this, but something in that kiss helped.”
“Helped what?” Ero asks in confusion.
“Your broken insides or something,” Roan says in annoyance.
“Your heart and mind,” I answer quietly. “Ero, Damien has been trying to make you go mad for a very long time now, and he almost managed it this last time around. I don’t know why I suddenly seem to have these healing powers, but when we kiss, I can actually feel your heart slowly mending.”
“You don’t need an excuse to kiss me,” Ero says. “I mean, unless it’s to protect Roan’s feelings.”
I sigh, but I can’t help noticing the change in Ero’s voice, as though he’s more himself than he was earlier.
“I’m not going to sit around and watch you make out,” Roan growls.
Ero gets up and falls back onto the bed, obviously worn out.
“I don’t think I have much choice,” I say apologetically.
“Fine, but I’m not going anywhere.”
As if things weren’t awkward enough, Roan gets up and joins Ero on the bed as if daring me to continue on with my plan. Sitting once again by Ero’s side, I glance anxiously at Roan who’s not looking away and try to push myself to kiss Ero.
“Ugh, I c
an’t do this,” I finally sigh in exasperation.
“Then let me,” Ero says, once again pulling me into a kiss.
I world doesn’t entirely fade away this time. I can still sense so much of Ero’s internal turmoil, but then I feel his hands gliding over my skin and an entirely new sensation. The longer we kiss, and the more Ero relaxes into the moment, the stronger my own feelings of pleasure and excitement grow, almost as if I’m experiencing them twice as strong as I ever have in the past.
My heart starts to race and my mind clears enough for me to be fully aware of everything going on around me, but I still feel emotions far stronger than I ever have. I pull away from Ero’s kiss and find the strange intensity of my emotions fall away as well.
“Kiss me,” I say, directing the order toward Roan.
He hesitates for a moment and then leans forward, cupping the side of my head in his hand, he kisses me softly. Overwhelming warmth, softness, and joy wash over me but fade back to normal as Roan pulls away to watch my face.
“Lass?”
“Fine, I’m not going to lie,” Ero says, leaning forward so he’s barely more than a few inches from our faces, “that was pretty hot.”
“Ero,” I say in a halfhearted rebuke, blushing deeply. “I don’t know if this will make sense, but when I kiss you, either of you, I can feel twice as much as I ever did before.”
Roan and Ero look at me, curiosity written plainly all over their faces.
“So, what did you feel before?”
“It’s not that I didn’t feel anything before,” I say, pausing for a moment. “It’s just that now, I almost feel as though we’re one and the same when we touch, and without you, I’m merely a shadow of what I can be.”
“All that from a kiss?” Ero says with a snort.
“Sounds about right to me,” Roan says with a soft smile. “That’s how it’s always felt for me with you. I can’t say our experience is one and the same, but I swear, lass, I’ve never felt for someone the way I feel for you.”
“Damn it. Are you seriously going to get all mushy over each other while I’m right here in between the two of you?” Ero groans.
“You’re welcome to leave,” Roan answers without looking away from me.
“I’ve never felt this way about anyone else before either,” I say, but then my forehead wrinkles in frustration. “The problem is, I feel it for all three of you, and it makes me feel exceedingly guilty.”
“Wait, all three?” Ero asks in disbelief. “Who’s the third.”
“Li,” Roan answers for me.
“And you’re okay with that?”
“Come on, Ero,” Roan says. “Even I know I was overstepping my bounds when I chased after Annalise. If I have to share her with anyone, I’d prefer it was him.”
“Well then, you better be damn sure I’m staking a claim as well,” Ero snaps hotly. “I mean, as long as Annalise wants that.”
“I never wanted any of this,” I say. “But that was before I knew I could have it.”
Roan and Ero share a look with each other.
“What?” I ask.
“What exactly are you wanting from the three of us?” Roan asks with a surprisingly serious face.
For a moment, I’m afraid he’s going to say he can’t make things work if Ero is around as well, but then he cracks and the corners of his mouth turn up into a grin.
“Because you should know by now that I don’t do male on male stuff, at least as much as I can possibly avoid it.”
I can’t help but laugh. “As much as you can avoid it?” I say. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Damn, Roan, what haven’t you told us?” Ero asks. “Although, honestly, I’m more a lover of the female form myself. Not that I couldn’t get in a little innocent foreplay with someone else here and there if it made you happy.”
My eyes widen at Ero’s remark.
“Hey, now, don’t go getting any ideas,” he says hastily, noticing the change in my expression.
“I just never thought about it before,” I say nervously.
“You’re telling me watching Roan and myself fight as never gotten you even a little bit in the mood?” Ero says, raising an eyebrow at me as if challenging me to say no.
My heart skips a beat in my chest, and I instinctively look away from the both of them.
“That’s what I thought,” Ero says as he reaches up and turns my face back toward him. “How does this make you feel?”
He suddenly grabs Roan’s already torn shirt and rips it completely, much to Roan’s alarm.
“What the hell are you doing?”
Ero ignores his question, instead watching me he runs his hand down Roan’s bare chest. I don’t want to admit it, but I can feel my own desires awakening within me as I watch.
“Get off me,” Roan growls, shoving Ero’s arm away.
“Look at her face,” Ero says with a laugh. “If she wasn’t excited before, she is now.”
My face burns in embarrassment.
“I can’t say it did anything for me,” Roan mutters under his breath.
“Oh, come on, it’s not like we haven’t all seen each other naked before,” Ero says. “Besides, I’m not into you like that, so no harm done. If anything, I’d say we might want to keep at it.”
With that, Ero throws his arm around Roan’s shoulders and pulls him into a headlock. But Roan easily pulls himself out of it and then retaliates, pinning Ero down with his own body momentarily before he’s once again the one being crushed into the bed. I move to get off the bed, but one of Ero’s arms wraps around me and pulls me down on top of them.
Roan instantly grows calmer as soon as he notices I’m in the midst of it all.
“This isn’t so bad now, is it?” Ero says, pulling his own shirt off and tossing it aside before lying back and pulling me onto his chest. “How about we heat things up a bit more? I don’t know about you, but I could do with a few more of those kisses.”
“Typical,” Roan growls from the foot of the bed.
“Enough!” I say firmly. “I can’t stand any more bickering between you two. You can either choose to be somewhat civil to one another or you can forget anything happening between us until you can learn to do so.”
Roan and Ero both look at me in surprise.
“Fair enough,” Ero says.
“Fine, as you wish, lass.”
We lay in silence for a moment longer, and then Ero shifts me on top of him, drawing me into a long kiss. Any frustration I’d felt a moment ago, gone. He runs his hands through my hair, down my neck, and over my shoulders, pulling the neckline of my dress down with them.
I suddenly have to pull away from Ero’s kiss as a second pair of arms wrap around me from behind and draw me tight against the large, masculine body of Roan, who’s moved into place behind me.
“Not exactly what I had in mind,” Ero complains.
“Deal with it,” Roan breathes against the side of my neck as he begins to kiss it. His strong hands work to finish what Ero started, gradually forcing my dress off and exposing my breasts.
“I can work with this,” Ero says, cupping both of my breasts in his hands as Roan continues to work his way down my neck and along my shoulders with soft kisses. The sensations grow stronger by the moment. “You’ve got to sit up, or something,” says Roan, stopping abruptly. “This is too weird for me.”
For a second, I’m disappointed, until Ero pulls himself into a more upright sitting position. The new arrangement places me on his lap, his arousal straining hard against his pants and pressing into my groin.
“Oh,” I gasp in understanding. I can’t help but chuckle at the thought of Ero growing hard while Roan is sitting on top of him, but my laughter is quickly replaced with increasing desire as Ero and Roan continue to work their magic on my body.
Ero drops his hands to my dress, which is still wrapped tightly around my waist, and within seconds, Roan’s hands are massaging my breasts instead. I don’t have time to kn
ow how Ero managed to get my dress off before I feel the fabric pulled from me and tossed aside. Ero grabs onto my thighs as he starts to rock his hips, pressing himself against me.
Roan tilts me farther back toward him to allow him to lean over me, taking one of my breasts in his mouth. I moan with desire, reaching up to run my fingers through the red hair at the nape of Roan’s neck. He flicks his tongue over my nipple, sending shivers through my body. Grabbing my other hand, Roan pulls it behind my back and presses it against the growing bulge in his own pants.
I let myself feel him through the fabric, my heart racing with excitement and anticipation. My fingers catch on the laces of Roan’s pants and I tug at them, releasing him into my hand. My hand can’t reach all the way around, and he’s already hard as stone.
Roan lets out a low growl of pleasure as my hand tightens around him, and he returns to kissing my neck.
“God, I want you, lass,” Roan whispers against my neck between kisses.
Ero shifts slightly beneath me before I can answer, one of his hands finding its way between my legs. He presses his thumb against my clitoris, expertly moving it in circles and pushing me closer to the edge. I whimper at the building intensity, unsure of how much more I can take.
A strong hand presses into my upper back, forcing me to let go of Roan as I fall forward onto my hands and knees against Ero. I glance up at him apologetically, but he’s not looking at me. Ero reaches around and smacks my butt before grabbing each cheek in each hand, spreading me further open. I turn my head to look back just as Roan starts to press his cock into my pussy. He stops suddenly and looks up from what he’s doing.
“Are you ready, lass?”
“Gods, Roan, yes!”
Roan gives me a lopsided smile and then thrusts into me with a single, easy movement, stopping once he’s fully inside me. The wave of pleasure that rolls through me is stronger than anything I’ve ever felt. Roan bends forward so his chest is pressed against my back, sandwiching me between him and Ero.
“I’ve wanted you for so long…”
“Yeah, I have that effect on people,” Ero says loudly.
“Thanks for ruining the moment,” says Roan.