by Meg Xuemei X
Nothing could be worse than being powerless in a fucking cage.
It had taken all of us just to subdue the second-degree gods in the Misery Twist club. If the top-tier gods came for me, how could I fend them off? My mates would die defending me, and that was the worst nightmare.
I had to prevent it at all costs.
“You’re quiet, dulcis,” Lorcan said. “What’s the matter?”
I snapped my head toward him, jolted back from wandering fearfully in my dark thoughts.
“Uh, are we going to have dessert?” I asked. “I pretty much hope we can get fried ice cream again. The Neapolitan kind will do.”
The door pushed open at my words, and I bounced in my seat in excitement. “Here it comes!”
And the smile dropped from my face.
Selena stepped in. No one else would dare disturb the High Lord of Night while he was dining, but Selena was the mistress of the Court of Blood and Void, and it seemed she was born with privileges.
She’d flung insults at me in public and Lorcan had made her apologize. Since then, she’d been careful with me in front of the High Lord. But I knew she hated me with every fiber.
She wanted Lorcan, but he’d drifted away from her a long time ago. Yet he trusted her and made her the mistress of the court.
He didn’t offer me the title of queen, or mistress, or whatever, even though he’d called no one dulcis, except me, and announced that I was his one true mate. He might have thought I was too immature to handle his court, and I probably was.
I didn’t like rules anyway, so I was fine without a title or position.
Let Selena be the mistress, as long as she didn’t get a piece of Lorcan’s hot ass. However, in the back of my mind, I knew that sooner or later Selena would strike, since she was sizzling that I’d killed her half-sister Jade. I didn’t know when or how she would, and the suspense made me sleep with my dagger every night.
“No one will get you with us shielding you,” Alaric said, trying to persuade me.
I trusted my mates, and I was convinced that they would protect me. I wasn’t a defenseless damsel myself, either, but I still refused to remove the dagger from under my pillow before I went to sleep.
At least one of my mates was always with me, guarding me and training me at the same time. They kept testing my power. However, it was more a random tutoring than a systematic education, and the four males could never agree on one single thing, except they all hoped that my most lethal power—they didn’t know what it was, either—would suddenly blossom.
They had formidable powers, but their powers weren’t the same as mine.
Secretly, I knew they kept a big fact from each other: They didn’t really want me to be the weapon to kill the gods, despite their original plan. Now a fear for my safety leached through them.
And they didn’t know that I saw through them.
I turned to Selena.
She wasn’t alone. Two gorgeous human females, one slender and one curvy, tagged behind her. The trio glided toward Lorcan, chins high.
The female humans locked their gaze on the High Lord of the Court, excitement and lust coating their eyes.
I knew Lorcan was all hot and shit, but this was the dining room, not his private chamber, for fuck’s sake. Yet the women didn’t bother disguising their white-hot desire. A realization sank in. They were here for Lorcan, to let him drink from them and have a threesome with them.
Selena didn’t spare me a glance, but she was checking me out in her peripheral vision. She wanted to see me sizzling, and she thought this time she had the upper hand.
A smile ghosted the sensual lips of the mistress of the Court of Blood and Void.
My fists clenched under the table.
Lorcan’s gray eyes turned dark liquid, a sudden hunger whirling in them.
Only now did it occur to me that he’d been starved. He hadn’t drunk blood since I woke him up from his long slumber.
The vampire lord craved my blood more than anything, but he never asked me to give it to him. I hadn’t bothered with his need, either. I might be his mate, but I wasn’t his blood whore. That was what I’d kept telling myself.
I’d assumed he’d take care of the matter himself, just as he’d done a million times before without me.
And I hadn’t wanted to dwell on his need to take blood from others. Plus, I had three other mates to occupy me. I was never alone for a moment.
His dark look of bleakness and thirst was testimony to his abstinence from blood. He hadn’t fed for a while, and he barely touched the food in front of him.
For a second, I felt a stab of guilt for neglecting him.
He couldn’t fight his nature. He had to live on blood.
When I had mated him, part of me had accepted that, yet the other part still held a sliver of fear and rebellion. And now my fear and neglect had just opened the crack for Selena to upstage me.
She wouldn’t even do it in private, but flaunted two young, gorgeous women in front of me, knowing Lorcan’s control would slip because of his hunger, and when he took the blood from the human females before me, everyone would know I meant nothing to the High Lord of Night.
That was her way to put me in my place.
Everyone in the Court of Blood and Void would once again assume that I was a plaything, a whore to the four males.
Selena would regain her uncontested status as the mistress, and probably even have a shot at Lorcan’s bed again.
“Go,” she ordered. “Go serve your High Lord.”
The two women scurried toward Lorcan, one on each side of him. The curvy female was bolder and sultrier. She pressed a hand on his hard chest, her other long-fingered hand brushing her blonde hair aside and arching her exposed neck for him.
The hunger in Lorcan’s eyes deepened. He flicked his gaze away from the veins in the woman’s neck toward me. I stared back, barely holding in my rage.
I could feel smoke and fire flaring in my nostrils.
I would explode in the nick of time, though I knew it was unreasonable to demand the vampire lord fast.
Alaric, Pyrder, and Reysalor stopped talking and drinking. They watched the drama with extreme interest. No one intervened on my behalf, though they all knew how livid I was.
They wanted to see how this played out.
They wouldn’t stop Selena unless she directly attacked me, physically or verbally, and the scheming bitch knew that.
“What is all this, Selena?” Lorcan asked, his eyes staying on me. He didn’t take the woman’s neck, but he didn’t push her away, either.
Selena curtseyed. “My lord, they’re both virgins. No others have tasted their blood, either. I’ve brought you the best.”
The slender woman also exposed her neck. “We’ve been kept pure for you, my lord.”
“Pure, my ass!” I shot to my feet, my eyes burning, my fists clenching.
I’d reached my limit. If he wouldn’t stop them, I would. No matter what, he’d claimed me, and I’d claimed him back.
Lorcan was mine.
If we had an issue, it would be a family issue. No outsiders had the right to come between us.
“Have some respect,” I barked at the women. “Get lost. Now.”
Lorcan made no comments, but his eyes sparkled.
The two women looked at me with hostility and uncertainty. They didn’t know who I was and probably wondered how such an insignificant woman, who didn’t even dress according to her role, was in the company of the four hottest, most formidable males.
They darted their questioning gazes back to Selena, whose icy eyes shot daggers at me.
Encouraged, the human women trained contemptuous glares on me.
They wore expensive, exquisite gowns and looked high-class. They might be among the high circle of the humans in the court, for all I cared. I, on the other hand, had draped myself in a loose tank top down to my thighs, a pair of shorts, and flipflops. I was the worst dresser in Lorcan’s court. Even the servants
dressed better.
I’d put on these street clothes just to irritate the vampires and fuck with their rules.
“You have no business giving orders to our subjects, Miss Saélihn,” Selena said, trying to keep her venomous tone in check and maintain a cool composure. “You aren’t the Mistress of the Court of Blood and Void. I am. I’ve managed this court for his High Lord for centuries. As for you, you have one and only duty—to please and provide his High Lord with your hybrid blood—and you still can’t do it properly.”
Yeah, bitch had been monitoring my every move.
Now the two women stared harder at me with a strong dose of resentment, disdain, and jealousy, assuming I was here to give blood before them but lacked the wits to do my job.
And the two bimbos probably thought if the High Lord liked their blood better, they’d sit in the seat I occupied now and replace me altogether.
What woman didn’t want these four gorgeous men paying attention to them? But they forgot one thing: they were all mine. And I wasn’t the sharing type.
I hadn’t realized it until this moment when Selena shoved it all in my face.
“Seriously, Selena?” I asked. “You think my one and only duty is to be a blood whore to Lorcan?”
The human females gasped at my audacity.
Alaric chuckled. “This is going to be a riot.”
“You’ll address me as Mistress Selena.”
“But I outrank you,” I reminded her with amusement, knowing it hurt.
“I’m merely doing my duty and serving his High Lord to the best of my ability, as I always have,” Selena said with her enticing, silvery voice, training her gaze on Lorcan. “Food should never be his High Lord’s concern, yet it never crosses your mind that you should keep him satiated, though you claim to be his High Lord’s mate.”
She kept scolding me, painting me black. I was no match for her in playing these games, but I didn’t play anyone’s games.
“Whatever.” I shrugged.
I turned my glare onto Lorcan, black fire sparking in my eyes. “Are you just going to drink from them?”
“You know I won’t have anyone’s blood but yours, dulcis,” he said, amusement and hunger glinting in his eyes. “I was about to order a bottle of blood wine.”
“You don’t need cold blood wine,” I grunted. “You have me. We just need to sort this thing out in a more organized way in the future, or maybe put it on a schedule or something.”
“But who’s keeping the schedule, dulcis?” he asked. Now he was playing.
Lorcan was patient and strategic. He hadn’t staged this, but he’d allowed Selena to run a fool’s errand to remind me that he was hungry.
To be fair, I wasn’t simply his food. He also reciprocated and let me drink his blood, even though I was at the top of the food chain and could take in anything. His blood was nearly as potent as Phobos’ godly energy, only without side effects. I didn’t require his blood, though, and I didn’t want to become addicted to him.
But this mate thing with all the males was getting complicated as I fought for absolute freedom. Remaining unattached seemed impossible and even foolish now. Once I’d turned the doorknob and entered the chamber to wake up Lorcan, everything had changed.
I changed.
I’d accepted it back then. But why was I backing away now?
My thoughts drifted to the carnal pleasure that would accompany our blood exchange. I shook my head, trying to clear the sudden haze of lust, trying not to dwell on the image of him pounding between my thighs.
“I see, you aren’t that thirsty.” I eyed Lorcan and asked drily, “Could you wait until I have my dessert?”
“No one will cut short your dessert time, dulcis,” he said. “That I can promise.”
“Fine,” I said. “Then I can compromise. But first things first. I won’t allow anyone to ogle my males. They’re delicious candies and cakes, but they’re my candies and cakes, and I don’t share.” I swept my gaze over my amused mates before turning to Selena and her two bimbos. “Be gone.”
“As she said,” Lorcan said softly.
But the women didn’t even hear that since they couldn’t wrap their minds around their rejection by the High Lord of Night. I bet no man had ever turned down these classy beauties, but my males weren’t ordinary men.
The women glared at me, challenge in their eyes, and they both leaned their breasts against Lorcan’s shoulder.
“You’re molesting him,” I said. “Must I always protect my men?”
I waved a hand, and a strong rush of air dragged the two bimbos away from Lorcan and tossed them through the door.
I heard shrieks and sounds of a crash before the door shut in their faces.
All the servants pressed themselves tightly against the walls to avoid the pull of my wind. They were wise, because my black fire now moved behind the invisible air current like a hissing mean bitch.
“Relax, guys,” I told the servants. “I won’t hurt you if you don’t try to poison me or rob my mates.”
Knowing she’d lost the battle, Selena turned on her heels and scrambled toward the door, but she didn’t make it. My air current heaved her up and threw her out the window, my parting gift to her.
The window shattered, and glass rained down on her outside.
“You got me worried for two seconds there, sweetheart,” Alaric chuckled.
“Cass baby just stepped up as our mate,” Pyrder said with a smirk. “Now she’s going to take her role seriously.”
Reysalor took a sip from his wine and chortled, as if all this was amusing.
And they’d called me immature. I rolled my eyes.
“All I want is for you to claim me as yours, dulcis, and admit that you’re mine,” Lorcan said.
My other mates picked up their former discussion on a hunting game.
With a resigned sigh, Lorcan rose from his seat and stalked toward us. He pulled out a chair near me on the side. The High Lord of Night had come down from his high place.
The door flung open again. The bow-tied head vampire held two big trays above his shoulders, and I spotted a variety of cakes, including my new favorite: chocolate cheesecake.
I shot to my feet and grinned. “Here it comes!”
As usual, all my mates let me have the first pick.
7
Lorcan was with his generals. The vampires were preparing to join the other supernaturals and go to war against the Olympian gods. Reysalor and Pyrder took most of their warriors to the center of Portland to meet with the human rebel leaders.
Meanwhile, Alaric insisted on me parrying with him.
We circled each other in the training room. The moment I saw him distracted, I zoomed in on him. I was losing patience. I didn’t like to stand still for long or just circle him.
My stealthy attack ended up with my back flat on the ground.
My magic was pussy when it came to my mates. It wouldn’t even help me cheat. So I had no advantage over Alaric, and he was as fast as I, if not faster. Furthermore, he had eons of battle experience and I had zero on my resume.
I felt humiliated on the ground, especially with Luke and Rainer watching us and shouting encouragement to me. I had to beat Alaric, even once, so I could sleep tonight.
“Alaric,” I whimpered, wincing. “I think you threw me too hard. My hip bone might be broken.”
Luke and Rainer rushed to me and glared at the demigod.
“Cass needs to be protected at all costs,” Rainer said. He was the next big guy to Hector and full of courage. “Prince Reysalor emphasized it before he left for the city with his twin!”
Alaric glared back at them, but the two warriors didn’t back down, even though Alaric was one of the most unpredictable, formidable bastards.
“Stop your death glare, Alaric,” I said. “At least they sympathize with me.” I then groaned. “I’m hurting. I can’t get up.”
Alaric offered me a hand. “You’re at least a demigod, like me. Your bones won’
t break from that light throw. You won’t even have a bruise. I’ll bet on you with all the money—”
“I have no money,” I said in bitterness. I had no bank account.
“C’mon, sweetheart, don’t be a crybaby. You’re too big for that. And don’t try to be cunning. You have the speed. I’ll give you that. But you need training. We need to work on your footwork first. After that, we—”
I grabbed his outstretched hand, pulled it with all my weight, lightning fast, and my foot flew up toward his face to shut him up. Alaric ducked at the last second, which seemed impossible to me. And next, I was in his arms as he hefted me up.
My feet dangled in the air, my face inches from his too-handsome face.
Alaric laughed. “If it were these two parrying with you,” he said, jerking his thumb toward Rainer and Luke, “you’d have pulled it off with your speed and sneakiness.”
The fae warriors stared hard at him, but decided not to get into our drama again, since they weren’t exactly happy that I fooled them with my fake injury and groans but couldn’t fool the demigod.
Alaric flicked my nose before putting me down. “Now, you’ll do an hour of footwork as a punishment.”
I was about to protest, but he raised a finger. “I know your contract with Lorcan on the terms of the training, and it includes me as one of your instructors. You promised that you wouldn’t be lazy. You wouldn’t whine. You wouldn’t seek an excuse—”
“Fine, let me just do it,” I said, putting up a hand in surrender to stop his long lecture. All of my mates had learned that lectures grated on my nerves.
Alaric almost never let me get my way. Unlike Reys, the demigod was a born hard-ass who didn’t know how to spoil a classy woman.
I put my lips between my teeth and thought of spending less time with him in the future. But then when I gazed at his cut chest and powerful legs, I wasn’t sure if I could carry out my promise.
“You need to practice basics,” he said. “Footwork is important. We’ll start with the horse stance. It trains not just your posture, but your patience, balance, inner strength, and—
“Fine, fine,” I said. “I have a lot of inner strength already. I know the drill. I’ll just do it.”