by J. L. Madore
I sweep my hands through the cream, loving the mix of scents. Everywhere their cum touches me, my flesh heats up, energy explodes off my body, and fire licks over my skin.
My body ignites in full glow.
I’m ramping up fast for another explosion. “Someone get inside me. Please, I need to be filled.”
One beautiful thing I’ve learned about wildlings is their sexual refractory time is almost non-existent—the room spins as Jaxx takes control.
He flips me onto my knees and is on his back and between my thighs in a sixty-nine. “Kotah, take her from behind while I lap up her cream.”
I cry out as Jaxx sucks my clit into his mouth and Kotah penetrates me from behind. “Yes! Oh, gawd, yes.”
My legs quiver and I lose track of where I end, and they begin. Nothing in life prepared me for this. I don’t know why the universe chose me but don’t ever want to go back.
The wet slap of flesh on flesh with Kotah pumping inside me and the bruising force of Jaxx’s fingers holding me steady while he tongues me… it’s too much.
I shatter. My second orgasm takes me out of my body while everything I ever thought I knew about myself bursts apart. Skin alight and tingling… breath shallow and heaving… mind blown and spinning…
… and I plummet into a black abyss.
CHAPTER FOUR
Jaxx
The world is a perfect frenzy of pleasure until Calli goes limp in my grip. Deadweight in my arms, she hits my chest and my heart stops. “Calli? Calli, what’s wrong?” Kotah pulls back, panting as I shift out from under her and roll her to the mattress. “Kitten? Open your eyes. What happened? Where’d you go?”
Years of first responder training kick in and I shift modes to assess her. Pulse: rapid but steady. Pupils: responsive. Breathing: shallow but strong. Skin: sweaty but that means nothing…
“What happened?” Brant snaps, suddenly at the side of the bed. The bear is naked and by the scent of his skin was enjoying a sex party of his own making.
“She passed out,” I say, praying I’m right. “Thirty seconds ago, she was buckin’ like a bronco and lit like a torch aflame. Then another orgasm hit, and she crashed.”
“Does that happen?”
“It can… though it’s not common.”
“She’s waking up.” Kotah clutches her hand and brings her knuckles to his lips. Her hair is matted to the side of her face with sweat and he peels it back. “Chigua, are you well?”
She blinks a few times, her gaze roaming and unfocused.
“Calli, look at me,” I say, holding my finger up in front of her face. “Focus, kitten. Do you know where you are?”
Her face scrunches when she frowns. “What happened?”
“You fainted,” Kotah says. “Are you all right?”
Her frown smooths out and she brushes a gentle palm against his cheek. “More than all right, sugar. You guys blew my mind. I’ve never orgasm-fainted before. Is that a thing?”
I drop on the bed beside her and pound my chest. “Yeah, and it scared the shit out of me. So, that’s what a heart attack feels like, eh?”
“Sorry. It’s your fault too. You boys broke me.”
I take a deep breath and try to let the panic go. “Kotah, how about you warm the shower and we’ll get our mate clean. Brant, can you get dressed and see if Doc is up for a house call in ten?”
“Done deal,” Brant says, joining Kotah on the way to the little hall joining the two rooms.
“Guys, I’m fine, I swear,” Calli protests. “Come back to bed. Don’t worry about me.”
Too late for that.
When we’re alone, I check her pulse again. “Seriously, Calli. Is there anythin’ you didn’t say because you’re embarrassed or want it kept private? Health concerns from before your transition. Symptoms you might’ve been avoiding since you woke up reborn. Anythin’ at all I should know about.”
She sits up and presses a chaste kiss on my lips. “No, puss. The sex blew my mind and here we are. Gear down your panic train and park it in the station. Today is Kotah’s day. Focus on him, ’kay? I’m all good.”
Hawk
I open the back door of the middle Suburban when the phoenix and her mates arrive mid-morning. There’s little fanfare. Nakotah didn’t want a formal reception upon his return to the Prime Palace, so I honored his wishes and made the arrangements discretely through Raven, the head of house for the royal family. “Welcome home, kid.”
The wolf gives me a tight-lipped nod and steps out of the truck. Calli scoots out behind him, accepts my hand, and hops down from the truck. I stare at our joined fingers, letting the power of that simple connection ease the raging storm waging war inside me.
It galls me that I hated being separated from them last night. I laid awake staring at the architectural molding along the ceiling line, counting the cut crystals in the chandelier, and focused on not needing a female to complete the male that I’ve become. It was futile bullshit.
“Hey, there.” Calli tightens her fingers around mine and stretches up to kiss me.
I shift quickly enough that her lips settle on my cheek and step back. Her scent is altered again. She had sex with both Jaxx and Kotah now, and by the strength of their mating mark, very recently. I gird my fury and swallow my possessive instinct past the bile burning my throat.
“Lukas informs me that you had some trouble with the locals at the bar last night. Are you all right?”
“Fine.” Her brow pinches. “You look tired, Barron.”
I am. The past week has been a blur of sleepless nights and stressful days. When I stare into those expressive green eyes of hers, I want to give up the battle and admit defeat. I want to fall into whatever destiny has in store for us… but I won’t. I choose my destiny. Only me.
“No rest for the wicked, I’m afraid.”
Lukas finishes speaking with the security team and they drive off to park the vehicles. Jaxx gives Brant and Kotah a private glance and they join us with some unspoken purpose.
“If you don’t mind,” Kotah says, taking Calli’s hand from mine, “I’d like to give Calli a tour of the palace and introduce her to a few people. Can we meet you back at our suite after that? I assume Raven set us up in one of the resident suites in the east wing.”
I take the cue and nod. “We’re in the Timber Trail suite. See you then.”
The moment Kotah and Brant whisk her into the palace, I turn to Lukas, Jaxx, and Doc. “What happened? And why don’t you want Calli to know you’re talking to me about it?”
Lukas scowls. “I’m unaware of anything—”
Jaxx licks his lips. “No offense guys but could you give Hawk and I a bit of privacy?”
My heart rate ratchets up a million notches. Lukas looks alarmed. I raise my palm. “It’s alright. Give us a moment.”
When I’m left to speak privately with Jaxx, I lock down my tension and wait for him to fill me in. Lukas mentioned nothing, so I know the trouble likely doesn’t involve Calli’s safety but by the look on Jaxx’s face, it’s no less dire.
“There’s no delicate way to put this, so I’m just getting’ it out. This morning, Calli, Kotah, and I were havin’ one hell of a threesome session. When our girl hit her last climax, she collapsed in a dead faint. I checked her vitals and she seemed fine but I don’t like it.”
I scrub a rough hand through my hair and realize why Brant’s doctor friend is pacing around on our periphery. I wave him over. “The two of you have obviously spoken about what happened, so what do you think?”
Doc, the ursine black bear who, over the past four days, has become our unofficial guardian physician frowns. “It could be as simple as her swooning. Both Jack and I have examined her since, and she seems fine.”
“But what are the causes of something like this if she’s not fine,” I ask. “I’ve been with hundreds of women and not one of them has ever lost consciousness unintentionally.”
Jaxx frowns. “How many of those were human?”
> “None. I’ve never had a taste for the race.”
Doc nods. “Being a military medic, I’ve treated patients from all races. And while human physiology isn’t divergently different from some fae races, some of their frailties do warrant our concern.”
Done deal. I’m very fucking concerned. So concerned, my hawk is about to burst out of my skin. “Do you think it was simply her fainting? And if not, what are you saying?”
Doc’s expression tells me nothing. My fucking superpower is reading people and I’ve got nothing. “I think, for the moment, we need to ignore Calli’s protests and look deeper. Yes, maybe she became so sexually aroused that her breath quickened too rapidly. That could disrupt her body’s balance of carbon dioxide and oxygen and make her lightheaded.”
“What else could it be?”
“Vasovagal syncope, for one,” Doc says. “That’s when the vagus nerve running from the brain to the chest and abdomen becomes overstimulated. It causes a drop in heart rate and blood pressure and can lead to brief unconsciousness. Or it could be postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome.”
Fuck, that sounds bad. “In layman’s terms?”
“It’s a big term that means she switched positions too quickly and the low blood volume making it back to her heart caused her to pass out.”
Jaxx looks stricken. “I did flip her from her back onto her knees rather quickly.”
Images of Jaxx handling Calli roughly fill my mind and the dagger-sharp tips of my talons pierce the nailbeds of my fingers. I’m back to my hawk’s instinct of last night when I wanted to slay Jaxx. Perfect.
I turn my attention to the bear. “What else?”
“The only other thing I can think of would be an abnormal heart rhythm.”
I curse. “So, the strength and health of her heart are involved in any of the scenarios.”
Doc’s gaze is full of sympathy. “Calli could be right. She might’ve been overwhelmed and hyperventilated during her last orgasm.”
Last orgasm. How many releases has she given the jaguar? And now the wolf?
“That’s what she says happened,” Jaxx says, “but I’m not willin’ to dismiss it. Not when it could mean her life.”
“Agreed.” I rub a rough hand through my hair. “You have our next steps thought out, I presume. Who do I call?”
Doc pulls out his phone. “I’ll send you the bios and contact info for the two top fae cardiologists in the country. I know the second and can vouch for him. Neither are close by. And both are heavily sought after. It might take weeks before we can get them to her.”
My phone buzzes and I scan the information the bear sent. “Consider it done. And it won’t take weeks. I’ll send in an extraction team in full tactical gear if necessary. One of these men will be here by tonight.”
Calli
“What is that?” I stop as we reach the main entrance to the Prime Palace and point at a shimmering curtain hanging inside and to the left of the wall of glass doors. It glistens like watery prisms caught in full sun, hovering like a magical sheet undulating in a soft breeze. People are walking into it and out of it, yet not appearing on the opposite side.
“It’s a portal door,” Nakota says, diverting our path to give the magical portal a wide berth and heading off into a corridor laden in ivory and gold. “When members of the Fae Council or other race alphas and dignitaries need an audience with my father or one of his advisors, portal doors allow them to get here more efficiently than traditional transit.”
“Weren’t they all closed?” I ask, confused. “Jaxx told me the history of StoneHaven and thought I was reborn as a phoenix to reopen the portal door and secure it from members of Darkside.”
“This isn’t a portal door to the fae realm. It’s a shortcut from other places around this world to get here.”
“Why didn’t we take the shortcut?”
Nakota smiles, a poignant look on his face. “I invested a great deal of my childhood into inventing ways to get out of this palace. Getting here more quickly to face what Mother says awaits, held no interest.”
He shrugs me closer to his side and presses his lips to my temple. I feel more than hear the low rumble of his wolf calling out to me. “Besides, the time spent on our journey was far more important than the destination.”
I study my wolf. From the wisdom in those deep chestnut eyes to his high, perfectly aligned chiseled cheekbones to his regal, straight-backed posture.
He is a nobleman. It’s crazy I didn’t see it before.
We take the grand tour through long passages of plush rugs, dangling candelabras, and staff in stiffly pressed uniforms. We cut across the polished floor of the grand ballroom, around the twenty-foot mahogany table in the private royal dining room, and into a kitchen that blows my mind.
It’s bigger and more elaborately decked out than the kitchen of the Beverly Wilshire, a Four Seasons hotel I worked at when I was twenty-three. Kotah leads me through the aisles between stainless-steel counters, and past a wall of ovens, and butcher blocks, and kitchen staff bustling away.
I’m struck by the contrast of olfactory chaos next to auditory silence. None of the white-coats speak while they work. It’s the most repressed circus I’ve ever seen.
“Are we raiding the fridge?” I ask, not sure why we ended up here.
“Partly,” he says, opening one of the refrigerator doors on the back wall and looking to me. “Coconut cream pie?”
I nod. “I’m good with that.”
He tips his head toward a bin with cutlery and I swipe us a knife and a couple of forks. “Grab three… and some plates.”
“Okeydokey,” I follow his request, and then we make our escape. Out the corner of my eye, I catch someone moving in to investigate. His OMG moment of recognition is hilarious. He does a double-take, stops dead, and makes a hasty retreat.
“Ready?” Kotah asks, oblivious to the eyes on him.
“Yep. Lead the way.”
With our contraband in hand, we exit the kitchen out the back, weave through a warren of serious-looking staff, and push open a door to end up in a contained courtyard. It’s lush and green with grapevines hanging from above and herbs and peppers growing in tidy rows.
It speaks to Kotah’s character that instead of drawing attention to the royalty of the palace, he ignores the ruby-red Orientals and the gold wall sconces and rushes me straight to the kitchen garden.
As we round a raspberry bush, I spot a little wooden hut and the silhouette of someone resting out of the reach of the rays of the noon sun. Kotah tugs his shirt down, smooths a hand over his hair, and raises his knuckles.
The knock is quiet. The response he gets in return is not.
“Why knock in your palace?” barks the woman in the shadows. “Get your furry tail in here and let me see you.”
“Yes ma’am.” Kotah sets the pie on the little café table near the entrance and shuffles into the hut-like his ass is on fire. With me still standing in the mid-day sun, my eyes can’t focus on the two of them well enough to see who he’s talking to. “I thought I might surprise you this time, Adahy.”
“Oh, sunshine, I’m too old and have seen too much to ever be surprised.”
“Maybe this then.” Kotah ducks out of the shadows and extends a hand to me. His expression is more relaxed than I’ve ever seen. “Adahy, I want you to be the first to meet my mate. Calli is the phoenix everyone has surely been gossiping about and I was chosen as one of her guardians.”
I set the plates and cutlery down and duck inside to meet—“Oh, my…” Adahy is a lady-sized raccoon wearing a laced bodice and green, leather pants with a hole at the back for her bushy, ringed tail. I blink and try not to stare. A heads up on this one might’ve been nice.
“It’s so nice to meet you,” I say, trying and failing to push down my startle.
The raccoon lady stares at me for a moment and then bursts out laughing. After a good belly laugh, she rubs her bandit mask with black, leathery fingers. “Oh, child, I a
ppreciate the effort but yes, I’m a giant raccoon.”
Kotah blushes. “My apologies to you both. I forget… To me, you’re simply you.”
I sigh heavily and fall further in love with my wolf.
He looks to me next. “Forgive me. I never meant to embarrass either of you. Adahy was one of my royal weapons masters while I grew up at the Northwood property.”
“Just one of?”
He pushes his glasses up the bridge of his nose and offers her a sweet smile. “My apologies. She was my absolute favorite, most skilled weapons master of all time, hands-down.”
“Much better.”
He chuckles. “She was cursed during a raid, protecting my sister and me from a group of Darkside mages sent to abduct us. The spell merged her female form and her wildling side into one bodily state. It was irreversible.”
“I’m sorry,” I say. “But thank you for your sacrifice. Kotah is a male definitely worth a valiant rescue.”
The lady raccoon squeezes Kotah’s arm and I don’t need his omega gift of empathic healing to sense the love they share. “It was and is my greatest honor to watch over him.”
“I’m relieved he had someone who recognized how special he is.”
Adahy steps further into the sunlight and I take in the full wonderment of her animal form. She smiles and reaches toward me, offering her small, leathery hand. “And now, there is more than one of us. The pertinent question is, phoenix, are you prepared for the battles to come? What will you sacrifice for him and all of fae kind?”
CHAPTER FIVE
Jaxx
I leave Hawk to make the arrangements for a heart specialist for Calli and find a nook inside the palace entrance where I close my eyes. Accessing the mating bond connecting the five of us gets easier every day. At first, I thought sex strengthened the weave of the tether. Then, I thought my mating crystal did it. I now think it’s all emotional exchanges and meaningful interactions.
Yesterday, my connection to Calli was strongest by far, followed by Brant, Nakotah, and then far more distantly, Hawk. Today, Calli and Kotah are equal and very accessible, followed by Brant, and still trailing behind… Hawk.