Rise of the Phoenix

by J. L. Madore

  The bear chuckles and the bass rumble hits me right between my legs. He’s brawny and beautiful, and his flop of shoulder-length brown curls does all kinds of things to me.

  “We’re wildlings, Calli,” he says. His voice is a deep, rich rumble that tightens my nipples. “Whether shifting form is in your bloodline or this is a magical development from of out of nowhere, you are now one of us. And, if you’re honest, it’s not only us feeling the attraction. We smell your interest, and it’s a heady scent.”

  Okaaay, time to leave. The fact that I am in a dire situation, and my girl-bits are weighing in at all, is wrong. There must be a way to get clear of these guys.

  I need to figure it out.

  “Obviously, you’re all very pretty but you can’t be that bright if you think I’ll fall at your feet. How did you do that animal shifting trick? Did you drug me?”

  The native kid who transformed from the chocolate and silver-colored wolf looks confused. Gawd, his hair is chestnut silk and flows down nearly to his waist. The way the breeze picks it up, I can imagine how soft it is. I want to run my fingers through it, and have it drag across my naked flesh.

  Heat builds in my core and a pulsing beat pushes between my legs. I close my eyes to fend it off. Why am I so horny when my life is in danger? I look them over, and my wanton grows wild within me.

  The four of them groan. Jaxx and the bear adjust their footing, the hawk curses, and the native kid blushes. How can they share my discomfort?

  “Calli,” the young wolf says, “we each felt the pull of your magic the moment you resurrected. Jaxx was with you here in Texas, but Hawk, Brant, and I were as far away as we could be in the continental United States. Without any contact with each other, we knew to come. Something about who and what you’ve become called to us.”

  “Uh-huh.” I eye him up and down. He doesn’t look crazy but talking magic and resurrection doesn’t scream sanity. And the hot thrum of my sex drive doesn’t bode well for them. An aphrodisiac? Yeah, I bet that’s what this is.

  They roofied me—the bastards.

  That explains at least part of it. Before now, I’ve never been wet and throbbing for four strangers, no matter how hot they were. Figuring out that my reaction is drug-induced helps to rein it in. I knew it couldn’t be natural. “Well, as much as I appreciate the roadside assist, I’d like to leave now.”

  I step toward the distant sound of civilization, and the group shifts as one to block my escape. Instinct tells me that for every attempt I make to reach freedom, they’ll match my movement. I raise my hands and widen my stance.

  Patience. Wait for your moment.

  Riley insisted we take every self-defense class at the community center and practice regularly. It was one thing she never flaked out on. She was militant that I we able to defend ourselves. We usually ended up on the floor in a fit of giggles instead of fending off foes, but still… I’m not helpless.

  “Look, I don’t want any trouble. Let me be on my way, and we’ll forget about this creepy LARPing kidnapping roofie sex trafficking thing you have going on. You do you.”

  “We didn’t roofie you,” the bear growls, offended.

  “Sex trafficking?” Jaxx snaps, his brow creasing hard. “I rescued you from the side of the road.”

  “What the fuck is LARPing?” the businessman hawk guy mutters.

  Jaxx scrubs a hand through his golden hair. “It’s a human game of group dress-up where they prance around with rubber swords and pretend to have powers and abilities.”

  “Humans are fucked.”

  “In truth,” the young wolf says, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose. “Live-action role-play is a creative extension of traditional table-top role-playing games. As far back as the late 70s, participants assumed the identity of their fictional characters to enact a true world adventure either for artistic or dramatic expression.”

  I pivot my gaze toward him. Is he serious? Did he just barf up a Google search? I scrub a hand over my face and try to breathe. “Forget the LARPing lesson and slow down the crazy train. My point is, I don’t care what you boys have going on, I want to leave.”

  The businessman—Hawk, I think that’s what the wolf called him—steps into my personal space and stops a foot in front of me. The intensity of his gaze makes the hair on the nape of my neck stand on end. He’s shrewd, alpha dominant, autocratic, emotionally blocked—and sexually aggressive.

  How is my body downloading info about him?

  His dominance wraps around me. He’s horny and hard and the pulsing between my legs picks up to a faster, deeper rhythm. He smells amazing, and, for some reason, my first instinct is to strip him down and see how authoritative this guy is when naked.

  I want him to submit to me. Whoa! Not sure where the dominatrix impulse is coming from but hello. Images of endless pleasures flash through my mind’s eye.

  Hawk clenches his jaw as the other three groan again. The bear growls and doesn’t even try to disguise when he reaches down his jeans to set things right.

  “Rein it in, Spitfire,” Hawk snaps. While the other three have a sweetness to them, standing this close to Hawk is like running smack into a sexually charged wall of ice you didn’t know was there until you hit it.

  “This isn’t natural,” I say, staring into the cold shallows of his gaze. It’s shocking, the power of the emotions flooding me. I want him. I need him. The sex will be phenomenal. I know that without question. “You’ve done something to me, and I want it to stop. Now!”

  His gaze narrows. “Your wants became irrelevant the moment you resurrected on the side of that road. Welcome to your second chance at life. Time to get with the program.”

  I lift my chin and let my anger and need for vengeance take hold. The gaping black hole of Riley’s loss consumes me. I am empty. Nothing these men do to me can make things worse. “And what? I’m supposed to accept that I’m a reincarnated mythical bird who rose from the ashes?”

  Hawk lifts his palms and I catch sight of one helluva flashy gold watch. I could get thirty large for that sucker. “For reasons we’ve yet to figure out, something in your DNA triggered a change. Congratulations, you’ve been reborn an immortal legend of the fae world. By all accounts, that’s a shit-ton better than life as a no-mag, nary human.”

  “You’re an asshole.”

  “No question,” he says not missing a beat. “Now, we all need answers, which means we’ve got a road trip on the horizon. We wasted three days waiting for you to wake up, so let’s not waste any more.”

  “Hawk, step off,” the bear says, a deep growl lacing his words. “News flash, big shot. This isn’t your boardroom. You’re not the CEO here, so give the female a chance to catch her breath.”

  Hawk casts a dismissive look at the bear, his focus locked on me despite the threat in the other man’s voice. A furious growl rips through the air, and tension sparks. How can Hawk ignore the menacing rumble coming from the bear?

  Though Hawk stands over six-feet tall, he’s still shorter than the bear and not nearly as broad. It isn’t his size that makes Mr. CEO intimidating. He’s a Type-A alpha with the arrogance of a man used to getting what he wants.

  Annnnd by the ocular daggers he’s shooting me, he wants me to bow down and shut my mouth. Or… maybe bow down and open my mouth.

  “Not happening, Christian Grey.” I gesture between the five of us and shake my head. “However you imagine this kinky wet dream playing out, you’re off-base. I’m outtie.”

  Hawk’s smirk is cold and cruel. “I’m one breath away from testing your resurrection powers once again. You grew up human but try to keep up.”

  He pokes a hard finger into my sternum. “You—phoenix.” He removes his poker and circles the air. “Us—phoenix guardians. The magic of the fae world bound us to you. We are a package deal for the near future, blondie. Destiny has spoken.”

  My heart pushes at the base of my throat. Whether it’s from what Hawk is saying or the sexual energy pouring o
ut of him and into me, I have no idea.

  I choose to believe it’s what he is saying.

  His brow arches and the look is so hostile and hot my core weeps for a little of his punishment. “Like it or not,” he continues, “the five of us are bound. Get over whatever this is: your prudish insecurities, your skepticism, or fear of the big bad men who want to protect you. A phoenix born means trouble is brewing in the magical world. The sooner you stop fighting us, the better it is for all.”

  CHAPTER THREE

  Brant

  “So, Mr. Barron,” I say, erecting my middle finger and ironically, flipping the bird at the hawk. “May I call you, Mister? Or do you prefer Lord or His Majesty?” My words earn me a glare and a snap of his teeth. “Thanks to your ‘get-with-the-program’ outburst, our already disoriented mate now thinks the four of us are autocratic stalkers. That’s a great start to our relationship.”

  “Relationship? Don’t be naïve, Bear.” Hawk is fit, I’ll give him that, but he’s lived in his ivory tower so long, those muscles are carved by resistance training and DNA, not real-world struggles. He says Calli is unprepared for what’s to come. I think that’s a pot calling the kettle black situation.

  “Like you snapped so brusquely at the female. The five of us are bound.”

  He chuckles, but there’s not an ounce of humor in his tone. “Bound for disaster. Something went wrong somewhere. She isn’t even fae.”

  “She is now,” Nakotah says. “The moment her transformation occurred, her body—”

  Hawk sends the kid a scathing glare. “She doesn’t have what it takes, kid. That’s not blame. It’s a simple fact. When word of her existence leaks, members of Darkside will either want to control her or kill her. Even with training, she hasn’t got the mettle to fight the battles to come.”

  “And what? Now you’re psychic?” I shout. “How about we assess her before you dismiss the wisdom of the fates. Because, despite your ego, the last time I checked, you weren’t a god. You’re just a mortal male the same as the rest of us.”

  Hawk shakes his head. “And there’s your problem, Bear. On no level are we equals. While you were cleaning out the barn, I was assessing the realities of the fae world and carving out the future of non-humans and our place in this world. No. Whatever wires got crossed with Calli, we need to hightail it to the Bastion and have the elders undo this magical mistake before it’s too late.”

  The thought of asking the elders to sever the bond growing between us knots my bowels. It’s offensive—profane. “Whether you acknowledge it or not, whether she fits the mold of the female you would choose or not, Calli is our fifth. Stop undermining her place in our world and get your head out of your tight ass.”

  “Mark me,” Hawk says, holding up his finger. “The first chance she gets, she’s in the wind, and we’re all fucked.”

  “So, your answer to that is to drag her across the country, hit veto, and usurp the universe’s plan?”

  “Damn straight,” Hawk snaps, retreating to the corner of the living room. “We got cursed being the bonded guardians of a phoenix who is wholly unsuitable. She’s a human who holds no skills, and whose first instinct is to cut and run—Yeah, no. I don’t fucking think so.”

  Nakotah frowns and shuts the text he’s studying. “She wasn’t running away as much as running toward things she understands. This is new to her. Also, I’m unaware of how avians revere the ancestry of our people, but to canines, being summoned as a guardian to the phoenix is a legendary honor.”

  Hawk barks a laugh. “This isn’t the Oscars pup. It’s not an honor, to be nominated. That’s naivety, not reality. How well do you know women, schoolboy? Do you consider yourself an expert on reading the opposite sex?”

  Kotah frowns, and his youthful innocence hardens. “I have a broad base of knowledge through interactions with my sister and her friends.”

  Hawk points toward the back garden. “That woman is meant to be your mate. That’s different than your sister and her friends. How many babes have you bedded in your lifetime? Two? Three? No, I bet my balls you’re saving yourself for ‘the one,’ am I right?”

  The look on the pup’s face confirms that.

  Kotah juts his chin and pushes his glasses up the bridge of his nose. “Statistically, at the age of twenty-one, fifteen percent of males and nineteen percent of females in the United States have yet to engage in sexual intercourse.”

  Hawk laughs. The guy possesses the personality and warmth of an incoming Arctic ice storm. “Well, sadly, if we don’t end this coupling, your chance to pop bottles and bang models is over before it starts. Our libidos are now locked, you get that, right? Our bodies will now respond to one female for the rest of our fucking lives. And that female wants nothing to do with us.”

  Now it’s my turn to laugh. “That’s what’s bothering you? With all the implications of what the arrival of a phoenix means to the fae and human worlds, your concern is that you’ve been cock-blocked by the universe?”

  Hawk glares. “You look like you know your way around women, Bear. You’re telling me that you’re not pissed to be leashed and bound to just one?”

  I shrug. “It’s way too early to get wound up about that. And it’s not one lover—there are five of us. There are lots of possibilities for entertainment there. As Calli said, we’re all very pretty.”

  Hawk’s gaze narrows, and he lifts a finger to point at me. “That shit ain’t happening. I don’t roll that way.”

  I laugh at the shock on his face. Mr. Know-it-all-Alpha-Millionaire hasn’t thought of the different sexual combinations? That suggests he isn’t as open and confident as he thinks himself to be. No. It’s not shock—it’s vehemence. “What? You’ve never had more than one in your bed?”

  “More than one female, of course. No males.”

  I laugh again. “Suit yourself. According to what the kid dug up in the history books, a phoenix draws strength from her lovers and is greedy and passionate. If it takes four of us to satisfy her, I don’t imagine it will always be one-on-one.”

  Hawk stabs me with a piercing glare. “I don’t share, and I don’t swing. Not. Happening. It’s moot anyway because no way will she hang around long enough for your warped little fantasy. That girl is a runner. We need to lock her down and take her to the Bastion before she’s a ghost and we’re left limp-cocked failures in the eyes of every fae on the planet.”

  Kotah frowns. “Do you even know if it’s possible to break the bond? I haven’t come across anything that suggests it’s negotiable in any way.”

  Hawk shrugs. “It’s worth a shot. And giving her a possible out is the best way to keep her close until we figure out this mess. State expectations, Bear. It saves everyone the guesswork.”

  Jaxx

  Frickety-frack. As we sit on opposite sides of the gazebo, I stare at Calli, and my heart aches for her. Our first meeting didn’t go at all how I hoped. With no previous exposure to the magic of the fae world, four wildling men chasing her down and shifting in front of her was bound to shock her into withdrawal. Sitting on the edge of the bench, she’s tense and ready to bolt at a second’s notice. The polar opposite of how I want her to feel.

  Well, what’s done is done. Lettin’ the cat outta the bag is a whole lot easier than puttin’ it back in. It’s a shame, is all.

  When I bonded with her three days ago, she was unconscious. I thought my need to protect her was strong then, now it’s overwhelming. Since we only met twenty minutes ago, I have to tread carefully, show her that she’s safe.

  But even with mistrust radiating from her and her expression tight, all I can think is—damn she’s beautiful.

  I’m a goner.

  Her skin is radiant, smooth perfection, and her wide eyes sparkle in the most brilliant hue of emerald green imaginable. Her lush golden hair plays a fiery dance with the morning sun, a hint of her fiery side coming through in russet highlights as it catches the breeze.

  The pull of our mating bond tingles in my bo
nes, and by the flare of her pupils and her drugging scent, it’s not all one-sided. I can almost taste her arousal in the air, hot with the most intense feminine spice.

  Blondes are my preference, true, but Calliope Tannis is more than an attractive package. Liquid fire flares in those emerald eyes with a wildness that calls to my jungle blood. Whether the pull I feel is our bond or me being naturally captivated by her, I may never know. I don’t care.

  Leaning forward, I rest my elbows on my knees and search for the words that might make this right for her. “Calli, I’m sure your mind is spinnin’. The four of us grew up in this world and had days to come to terms with what happened—you’ve had less than an hour.”

  Her head lifts as if she might comment, and then she dips her chin in agreement. I let my FCO psychology field training come forward. This situation isn’t all that different from approaching a trauma victim in crisis. “There’s no rush or need for you to say anythin’, but if you have questions, I’ll do my best to answer them. I’m here for you, whatever you need.”

  She licks her upper lip, and I’m instantly hard at the glossy swipe of that pink tongue. Damn it. I shift on the bench. Such a bastard.

  “Can we walk?” she points to the gardens, and her expression grows guarded as she awaits my response.

  “You honestly aren’t our prisoner, Calli.”

  “My mistake.” She folds her arms over her ample chest and it makes the swells push at the neck of her t-shirt. “I thought the four of you stopped me from leaving.”

  I lift my gaze and focus on staring only at her eyes. “Only temporarily, and only for your protection.”

  She cuts me with an expression that screams of disbelief. “I protect me just fine. Always have, always will. I don’t need anyone doing me favors.”

  The lonely echo within her words makes my cat roar. That she doesn’t realize the hollowness of that existence makes me sad for her. Felines are pride animals, members of something larger. I live alone and do my own thing, but I have Leo and my pride at my back at all times.