A prospect that had the power to trigger a migraine.
She pressed her forehead to Theo’s. “I’m tired.” She had been ever since Rafe had fucked her so hard, walking the next day had felt like running a marathon.
“I know.” He pressed a kiss to her lips. “All will be well.”
“Will it? I’m supposed to kick ass within the next couple of hours.”
“You’ll do it,” he said, his tone nonchalant, so strong was his confidence in her. His hands molded her ass, massaging the curves in a way that was as close to petting as one could get with another person.
“What if I don’t?”
“You can’t be killed,” he told her. “That’s the beauty of the mate bond between us.”
“How do you know that if you’ve never had a well—” Mikkel scowled, scratched his forehead. “Non-Fae creature mated to a Fae before?” he finished, his question exactly what Thalia didn’t need to hear right at that very moment.
She had a role to uphold, a position to protect, and a body of people who needed to see she meant business where being Triskele was concerned. She had to do all that pregnant, and without her She-Wolf. All while knowing that, in a less than half a year, she would no longer be Triskele but a part of the TriAlpha.
The moment the child was born, their lives would change again.
Queen of the Fae and Leader of the North American Pack.
Heady stuff for a Lyken considered barely legal by their cultural standards.
You’re hardly jailbait, Rafe murmured in her head, making her eyes flare wide in surprise.
Are you reading my thoughts? She squeaked.
Only when you’re projecting. You know Lykens can have sex the same as humans do. We’re just protected by our families more until we’re older.
She huffed. I didn’t say otherwise. I was just meaning…
You’re young, yes, but you’re hardly immature. You’re a wise soul, Thalia. You’re not flighty, you’re not stupid.
Thalia bit her lip. I feel it at the minute.
Why?
Things are changing. Mikkel’s turning into a reptile and you’re doing weird stuff too, then there’s Theo who has information we might need and is willing to share it only if we know what to ask.
Overwhelmed? He asked, not unkindly.
I guess. Aren’t you?
No. Theo’s right. All will be well.
How do you know that?
Because we’re on this path for a reason.
“I think we can safely say Thalia is pretty much indestructible now,” Theo was telling Mikkel. “The fact the child gave Thalia her wings tells us that the babe is Fae-inclined.”
“What does that have to do with anything?” Mikkel demanded. “Just because the baby is Fae-inclined doesn’t mean Thalia is.”
“Do you honestly think Thalia could have survived such a transformation if she wasn’t indestructible?”
Thalia blinked. “What transformation?”
Theo scowled at her. “You grew wings, Thalia. Grew them. In a handful of moments. That would kill anyone not strong enough, not immortal enough to endure the process.”
“I didn’t. The baby pushed them through.”
Mikkel gagged. “Could you make that sound any more like Alien?”
Despite herself, she had to chuckle. Tilting back to look at him, she winked. “I can make it more like Predator if you prefer?”
His eyes narrowed. “You’ve seen the movies?”
“One to four, baby.”
His nostrils flared. “I want to fuck you so badly right this minute.”
Stunned, she froze for a second then burst out laughing. “Like those films, do you?”
“Ridley’s bitch until I die.” He grinned at her, leaned forward on his knees and asked, “Which film is your favorite?”
Theo cleared his throat. “Mikkel, is now really the appropriate moment for this conversation?”
“Jesus, could you sound any more like a father?” he grumbled, folding his arms across his chest.
Thalia felt the hurt course through Theo as if Mikkel had delivered a punch to his gut. She pressed a soft hand to his chest, and shot him a look. Not by one twitch of his features could she tell that Mikkel had struck a nerve, but she knew, deep down, that her argumentative mate had.
Sighing, she murmured, “Boys, let’s not fight. Theo’s kind of right, Mikkel. We can watch Alien later.”
His eyes twinkled. “Really?”
“I promise.” Amused at the suddenly boyish side to her strong protector, she turned back to Theo and ran her nose down the length of his jaw. “He didn’t mean that,” she said on a whisper.
“Oh, but he did.” He blew out a breath and tilted his head back. As he did, he exposed his throat, a sign of trust that didn’t go unnoticed.
She dropped her mouth to the sinewy length and pressed her teeth to them. Not biting down, just scraping at first, then raking her teeth harder against the firm skin. When he shuddered beneath her, she murmured, “He didn’t mean it the way you took it.” She moved away so she could look him in the eye. “You’re older than us, but that doesn’t mean we see you in that light.”
“What? Like an old man?”
“Sweetheart, have you looked in the mirror?” She grinned. “Mikkel’s just being his usual prickly self.”
“I heard that,” he mumbled.
“Good,” she retorted, twisting back to look at him. “We play nice together. We don’t fight. We’re the only ones we can trust. We’re the only ones who know what’s really going on.” She pressed her hands to her stomach. “And even then, we don’t have a clue what’s going on.”
Theo slipped his fingers over hers, then pressed them to her belly too. The warmth he exuded sent a shiver of delight down her spine. “I can’t believe you’re with child.” He leaned over as she pulled back and pressed his mouth to the top of her flat stomach. “You don’t look it.”
“No. She doesn’t,” Rafe replied, his tone pensive. “I wonder how Morningstar scented the change in her, but we didn’t.”
Theo murmured, “He’s the first of the first born. Even though most of his powers were stripped from him, that doesn’t mean he isn’t incredibly powerful still.”
Rafe hummed under his breath, then he stated, “Thalia’s right, guys. We can’t fight amongst ourselves. We have to present a united front.”
“Who was fighting?” Mikkel retorted. “I’d have called him an ‘old man’ whether he was twelve thousand or younger than me.”
Thalia rolled her eyes, amused despite herself. “Mikkel, do you want me to suck your cock later?” When he grunted, she continued, “Keep your mouth shut, then.”
She didn’t like using sex as leverage, but hell, if it kept him quiet then it was all for the good. And the need to taste him, to feel him, was as deep a need as the ache in her belly that came from hunger.
It felt like a lifetime since she’d had them inside her. She’d grown accustomed to random couplings whenever they fancied. In Heden, that had been possible. In her grandparents’ home, not so much.
She hummed at the memory of the time Theo had fucked her in the gymnasium. When the training area had emptied late into the night, and they’d been alone working on her form, she’d managed to knock his sword from his hand and as victor, she’d ridden his face, then his cock, and felt him spurt his seed inside her, leaving her messy and sticky and feeling like she’d been walking on fucking air all day instead of training.
A sudden inhalation of air drew her attention back to the man in question. “Now, what are you thinking of?” he teased, his voice dropping into a deep purr.
She grinned at him and pressed her finger to the tip of his nose. “That’s for me to know and for you not to find out.”
“Now, that’s hardly fair,” he rasped.
“Who said I had to be fair?” she teased, and almost on cue, the speaker system kicked in.
“Ma’am, sirs, if you’d please seat your
selves for landing? We’re due to arrive at the airfield in less than ten minutes.”
“Shitty timing,” he growled, making her chuckle.
“Not exactly. I’d prefer to have sex in Rafe’s big bed than on here.”
“How big it is it?”
“Not as big as yours, but it’s better than the double in the bedroom here.”
“You want a pile-in?” he rumbled, making her lips twitch.
“I wish.” If her tone was wistful, then that was because she’d been thinking about it. “You know what Heden is really missing?” she asked as she climbed off his lap.
“What, dearling?”
“The internet.”
He scowled at her. “Seriously?”
“Seriously. You guys don’t get to watch any porn.”
“Our lives are porn,” he retorted, his eyes wide at her words. “Do you know how many dinner parties I turned down because I thought you’d be embarrassed?”
“Embarrassed?” She gaped at him. “Why would I be embarrassed?”
“Because they turn into orgies afterward,” he retorted.
“Well, you should have told me. It might have been informative.” When he gaped at her this time, she slumped down into the seat and buckled herself in. If her lower lip was popping out, then hell, that’s because she was totally pouting.
Here she was trying to figure out how three guys really fit in a woman, and the only knowledge she had was the image seared into her mind of the day after Theo had claimed her. To celebrate, Isaura, his mother, had held a kind of sex fest in her honor.
“Why are you sulking?” Rafe asked, his tone low, but like velvet. It raked along her nerve endings in a way that made her want to purr.
“I’m not.”
“Then suck your lip back in,” Mikkel retorted, not taking his eyes off his phone. “Unless you want me to kiss it off.”
“Can you kiss off someone’s lips?” she asked. “Really?” She’d thought about doing that to him a time or two but, she snickered inwardly, had never attempted to make out with him until they were both numb.
“I can give it a go,” he joked, glancing up at her then back at his phone.
“How’s the farm?” she joked, still amused that he played a reality farming game on his cell.
“Doing badly in my absence. Thalia’s right, Theo. You need 5G up there. Or down there. Or…” He paused. “Whichever direction Heden’s at.”
Theo, snorting, buckled himself in too. “If I tried to explain, you’d get confused again.”
“I wasn’t confused, I was bewildered. There’s a difference.”
Thalia had to grimace. Where Theo’s wisdom came into play, she definitely understood where Mikkel was coming from.
“Thalia, why are you mad?” Rafe asked again, and this time, the words were pitched in a way that made her suck in air. It wasn’t the meaning, but his tone. Something about it had the hairs at the back of her neck standing to attention. It made her pussy feel like one touch of her clit would be enough to make her implode. And her mouth craved the taste of his.
All from those five words.
She swallowed. “I wanted to see how three men fit in a woman.”
Silence fell at her statement, but Rafe’s eyes, those chocolate/coffee orbs, darkened until she almost fell into their Stygian depths. A whimper escaped her and, unbidden, she started to unbuckle her belt.
“What the fuck?” Mikkel demanded.
Theo’s hand grabbed hers and forced her in place. “Rafe!” he barked, but Rafe didn’t stop looking at her. “Raphael,” he growled, and the low rasp had her already twitching nerve endings dancing again.
Mikkel was right.
What the fuck was going on?
She needed him, them, inside her. It was like they’d never claimed her before. Like, back before they’d come for her, and she’d craved them with an intensity that had gone deeper than bone.
A shudder whipped down her spine, making her limbs tremble. She felt lightheaded, dizzy even. Like she could faint, and yet, she felt strong too.
“What are you doing to her?” Theo hissed.
Rafe blinked. “Nothing.”
Unlike when Theo blinked after he’d caught her in the silken trap that was one of the Fae’s most dangerous gifts—the ability to mesmerize with their eyes—this didn’t stop the desire unfurling through her system.
“What’s going on, Theo?” Mikkel asked, and for once, he sounded concerned.
His usual blasé, arrogant attitude crumbling in the face of what was happening here.
She curled her nails into the armrests, uncaring when she felt them break with the force she pushed them into the leather. It didn’t even hurt, not like the hurt that was happening deep inside her.
Come to me, he whispered in her mind, making her jolt. I need you.
Another shudder rocked her as a mewl escaped her lips. She remembered this from two nights ago. He’d needed her then. And she’d passed out. Not waking up until twenty hours afterward, her wings out, her body sore, her pussy aching, but so fucking replete she’d been happy in her misery.
“N-No, R-Rafe. Not yet. Not until we get to your home.”
Need you now, he rumbled, making her close her eyes to avoid his penetrating stare. The words worked on her nerve endings, that faint vibration to them seeming to hit all the pleasure centers in her brain.
“I-I need y-you too, but we can’t here. We’re about to land.”
“What the fuck is going on?” Mikkel yelled, his voice sharp enough to drag her attention from Rafe’s.
She turned to him with dazed eyes. “M-Mikkel?”
“Baby?” he questioned, then leaned over, his hand grabbing hers. “What’s going on?”
“Rafe needs m-me,” she whispered, the temptation to look at her other mate so damn pervasive that she had to dig her broken nails into the armrest once more to make the ache overtake the agony of avoiding him.
Look at me, sweetheart. You know I want you. I need you.
She quivered, the words going straight to her pussy. It was easier to close her eyes, then she heard the smack of flesh against flesh, popped them open again, and saw that Mikkel had smacked Rafe on the shoulder.
“What the fuck are you doing to her?” he spat.
Rafe just blinked. “Nothing.” But his eyes changed. They seemed to revert to normal. She wasn’t sure how that worked. How the dark coffee brown of his eyes could get darker, but they did. Almost like his pupils swallowed the irises whole.
She bit her lip, fighting herself not to look at him, and fighting herself because she wanted to.
“This is very interesting,” Theo murmured, making them all jolt.
“Interesting?” she half-squeaked.
“It was like he mesmerized you. Just as the Fae can.”
“Well, changelings are half-Fae, aren’t they?” she asked, her voice shaky—her eyes slumberous with the desire and arousal that swirled around her veins like pure opium.
“No.” He cut Mikkel a look. “I discovered some things when I returned to Heden for your sword.”
“Like what?” she asked, something in his tone making her narrow her eyes at him, and urging anger to overtake the molten heat of her core that seemed to burn everything with its intensity.
“Certain people are born of the Gods’ bone.”
“Born of the Gods’ bone?” she questioned, her voice raspy.
“Aye. Mother believes you’re one of them.”
“Why would she think that?”
“Because of the way you lived after being shot with mercury.”
“What does that have to do with anything?”
“She doesn’t know. She’s not an expert on the Gods, but what she’s learned in her life, I wish I knew.” He rubbed his chin. “She told me that changelings are born of Vulcun’s bone.”
Was it wrong for her to immediately replace bone with boner?
Sighing, and wishing the juvenile thought didn’t make her
lips want to twitch—especially as the need to shoot Mikkel a look to see if they were on the same wavelength was almost an urge—she tried to get her thoughts in gear. This was important.
“Not Dark Fae?” she asked, seeking clarification.
“Dark Fae are the vessel. Just as your parents were for you.”
“What does that mean?”
“It means you’re both a lot more powerful than any of us could imagine,” he told her, his tone grim. “You’re also natural opposites.”
“Yin and Yang,” Rafe breathed.
“Aye,” Theo replied, curtness lacing his voice now. “Raphael, you’re coming into your powers. Something triggered them. Maybe it was the baby, maybe it was just time, but you’re coming into them and you’re going to have to control yourself. Quickly.”
“How? I don’t do anything.”
“You don’t have to. I thought Thalia was going to slide off the table—you turned her to mush.”
She wished she could argue, but hell, Rafe had!
“I looked at her and spoke to her.”
“The Fae are seductive. It’s part of who we are. The Dark Fae, at Vulcun’s behest it seems, use that talent to force people to their will. You’re doing that to Thalia. Your healing talents are changing too. You always used heat as a medium, as far as I’m aware from what Thalia has told us, but you burned them last time. The fire in you is being called to the surface. This change has been happening without us even knowing of it.”
“Why would I want to force Thalia to my will?”
Thalia noticed he didn’t argue about his powers. They were changing. Not every time. Almost like they were spurting out of control in bits and pieces as they stuttered into maturity.
“Because you’re not in control of your powers,” Theo reasoned. “You’re not doing it on purpose. You’re just testing the waters, and she’s susceptible to you because she’s your mate, she loves you, but she’s also your natural opposite.”
Rafe turned dark eyes to Theo. “You think I want to hurt her?”
“No. Not at all,” Theo answered, his words unruffled. “I think you want her. I think you want to seduce her.”
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