The moment we entered the dining room, I paused. It was full of alphas, and I had no magic in my arsenal to defend myself. The male behind me paused and waited silently. The table was covered in meats, with a single dish of pineapple on it. My heart slammed against my chest at the sheer amount of raw, unguarded power and testosterone in the small room. It was a formula for disaster.
“Aria.” Knox’s voice pulled me from the need to bolt. “On my right, sweetheart,” he said huskily.
Frowning at his endearment, I glared at him while making my way to him. He stood the moment I approached and moved to kiss me, but I pulled back, narrowing my eyes on his. Had he bumped his ever-loving head this morning?
“Sit, you’ve not had your breakfast and are looking peckish, my love.”
I frowned, watching as his eyes warned me silently not to argue with him. My mouth wanted to; in fact, it had a lot to say, and yet I bit my tongue and smiled demurely, or I gave it my best try for one. My head pounded, and the noise of the room intensified the headache. Maybe tequila hadn’t been such a good idea last night.
I pushed my unbound hair away from my shoulders as he held my chair out for me. Taking a seat, I stared down the line of alphas surrounding the table, all looking like they’d rather be eating my heart instead of the impressive spread of food. I couldn’t calm the increasing rate of my heart, and the fact that his bitch, Regina, was eating with us on his left didn’t help me either.
“What is this?”
“It’s breakfast with the alpha council, sweet girl.”
“Stunning, considering what a whore her mother is,” an alpha stated icily, cutting in on our whispered words.
“We should bend her over and fuck the grief out on her,” another said.
“If you wish to keep your fucking tongue, Landon, you will keep it in your mouth and not speak about bending any bitch over my table. Especially one who now carries my scent on her and is under my protection,” Knox said offhandedly, as if he’d just announced it looked as if it might rain today.
I turned, staring at Knox as he piled meat onto his plate before picking up a piece of pineapple and pushed it between his lips, drawing his gaze back to mine as he made a noise indicating it was delicious. I blushed to the white-silver roots of my hairline and swallowed the groan before tearing my eyes from his back to the meat.
“She is accused of murdering my son and heir. Yet you would claim her and offer her your protection?” Fallon, the head alpha, asked in outright disgust.
“She is merely accused, not condemned. She had nothing to do with your son’s death, and the investigation is ongoing. Eat, woman. You’re too thin as is.” His eyes watched the rise and fall of my breasts before he pushed the entire plate of pineapple in front of me. “Eat now.”
I picked up a piece, shoving it into my mouth without waiting to see if he said anything else.
“She didn’t murder your son because she was with me,” he said, and I exhaled, grabbing another piece as relief washed through me.
“Doing what exactly?” Fallon asked coldly.
“She was riding my dick,” Knox stated, pushing meat into his mouth. I coughed, covering my mouth while my eyes widened in horror. “Smell her pretty pussy, she carries my scent, but more than that, gentlemen, she carries my name next to her flesh, and has to speak the truth when I command it. You will cease demanding her head be brought to you, and will immediately cancel the bounties you placed for it. If you murder an innocent witch, well, you become no better than the one who murdered your son. I understand your grief, better than most of you. She belongs to me now, unless anyone wishes to challenge that claim?” He waited, pushing more meat between lips while I watched him chewing it silently as his eyes smiled at me.
“No challenges will be forthcoming, but I would like to know what Aria had to say about your claim on her since she is royalty by the laws of the Nine Realms.”
I turned to Fallon with genuine grief, smiling sadly with tears in my eyes. “I am so sorry for your loss, Fallon. Jasper was one of the few children—ever—who showed kindness to me outside of my sisters. I am so sorry that he was taken, and I hope you find who is responsible and get justice for him. You are owed it by the law of the Nine Realms.”
“And if it is your twin? Your flesh and blood who murdered my son?” He waited, watching me for any sign of guilt or weakness.
“If it was Amara, then I’ll take her head myself. If she is behind this, whatever befalls her...Well, she would be beyond our protection, now wouldn’t she? The law states that we cannot offer her sanction or sanctuary if it interferes with those investigating the case. If she is guilty, then by the laws of the Nine Realms, she will be punished accordingly, or a representative from there will help decide her fate.”
“And your family’s name?” he continued, sitting back as he inhaled.
“My mother has already besmirched it enough, Fallon. We can withstand the charges, as whatever is happening does not involve us. We may be guilty of claiming the evil bitch that created us, but I assure you, we can stand on our own without worry. As you know, Hecate witches are resourceful and favored within the Nine Realms by men from all nine.
“Our bloodline is the reason you sit here today, having created the portal that discovered every realm. We helped unite them, did we not? We broke down the walls that separated the realms between each one of them. Hecate herself brokered the peace between the realms, showing that trade from each would ensure prosperity and power for each race that lived there and followed the pact.
“I may be young, but I have studied our homeland and know what each race and land provides in exchange for peace. I also know which creatures are where, and which of them are favored to win a war should it come to pass. I am very accustomed to the laws of treason, as well as the cause and consequences of them. If the accusations are true, then Amara will pay for what she has done. Neither my sisters nor I would think to protect her past the laws of the Nine Realms, should they be followed and proof is provided. Do not think you can threaten me with ruining my family’s name, as we have survived much worse than this.”
“Of all the women Jasper could have chased around, you, Aria, were the one I hoped caught his eye for a fruitful union between our bloodlines. Your mind is beautiful, and not many women come with the full package. Yet you never showed interest in the royal heirs, even when your sisters began showing interest to some races. You were well-studied, and loved learning of our home realms, and would have made a great queen to the alphas when Jasper took his throne. Now you claim this creature instead of a match among one of the Nine Realms original bloodlines, why?”
Creature?
Knox placed his hand on my leg beneath the table, squeezing it. I didn’t flinch or jolt, even though I wanted to from the heat of his touch. He was offering me an out by confronting the alphas, and while I was glad for it, I wasn’t his anything.
“Because he makes me shiver, and gives me the most delicious feelings when he fucks me,” I informed huskily, playing the part. Knox’s hold tightened on my leg, and I shivered. “It may change later, but for now, his cock suffices to fill my needs. I have agreed to give him a spin around the block to see where this thing goes. If he can continue to sate my rather large appetite, I may allow him to continue doing so. You know how we witches are, never satisfied and always on the lookout for someone with more power.”
“Aria, there is no one more powerful than Knox Karnavious.”
I blinked and smothered my surprise by covering my mouth with the napkin, dotting at the invisible juice. Looking to Knox, I narrowed them ever so slightly. “We’ll see; the world is large and vast, and there are plenty of men within the Nine Realms to choose from. We are immortals, are we not?”
“Even in the Nine Realms, Aria, you’d be hard-pressed to find something bigger or stronger than the man sitting beside you.”
My heart stopped, restarted, and then sped up. I fully knew of the monsters within the Nine Realms becaus
e I’d made it my purpose in life to know everything bigger than me if I had to visit that realm. His fingers pinched my thigh, and I nodded on cue, turning to stare at him. I couldn’t very well come out and ask what he was since I was supposed to be riding him already.
There were rules about crossbreeding species, and it was against the covenant to even sleep with another creature before asking details about the creature they could create from a union. Not that it was enforced, but still, people wanted to know what would show up during the birth of their offspring.
“Indeed,” I stated through clenched teeth. “I’m very aware of that, but I am hopeful all the same. A girl can always dream, can she not?”
“You got a wild one there, Knox. I hope you realize what she is.” He was fishing for what I was, which no one knew. Freya had royally fucked me on that one.
“No one knows what Aria’s other half is, nor has she experienced the changes necessary to figure it out. I can tell you that when she went into heat, it was deliciously erotic, and sent even my men into a state of frenzied need. Had I not intervened and slipped my cock into that weeping slit of hers, you and your men would have been at my gates, declaring war to be the first to fuck her. It doesn’t matter what she is, because the laws of your realm and the Nine Realms doesn’t apply to my men or me.”
I winced at the crudeness of his words, but he wasn’t wrong. I hadn’t even stopped to think of that fact when I’d rushed back to find my twin. The alphas and whoever claimed me could have bred my womb, could have hunted me, sealing their own fate.
It could have even gone worse than that, since alphas shared unclaimed women among themselves, breeding a womb until anyone who fucked her found entrance and created a child. I knew that because Luna and Aine would endure that fate if they didn’t choose a mate to protect them from it.
The room grew tense with Knox’s words, or rather his declaration of what I’d been doing, and how he’d protected the wolves present from fighting them. Like he knew it would make their egos kick into gear, and he craved a fight with him.
This wasn’t where I wanted to be, between a male who oozed lethal from his pores, and the heads of the alphas who sat on the council. The tension was so thick it could have been cut with a knife. If this went bad, it would do so quickly. Knox’s arm brushed against mine as if he sensed my unease and sought to calm me.
Chapter 25
The entire room held its breath as we waited for Knox or Fallon to speak. When Fallon finally spoke, after hearing Knox’s rather crude description of what I’d been doing, I exhaled. Knox’s fingers skimmed the inside of my thigh until it brushed over his name, causing my body to tighten with need. My gaze swung to his in warning, but a devilish smirk was the only indication he was aware of what he was doing to me.
“I stand corrected,” Fallon uttered, inhaling deeply, watching Knox as he stood, causing the rest of the alphas to rise. I stood, nodding to them as they started to leave the room. “Aria, I am ashamed of myself, and that I jumped to a conclusion so hastily. Forgive me?” he asked, holding his hand out. I placed my hand in his, and his lips touched my palm gently, causing a shiver of disgust. “I may not be a king yet, but if you ever find yourself in need, I will welcome you into my bed, covenant or not, Aria.”
“Pass,” I blurted unexpectedly, then winced at my bluntness while Knox chuckled against my shoulder, staring at Fallon. “I mean, I’m good with Knox. And there’s nothing to forgive. You are grieving and acting out of pain. I’d like to say that I would have done it differently, but I don’t know what I would have done to make any difference. I’m kind of hot-headed when those I love are hurt, and I can’t imagine what I would do if they were taken from me as brutally as Jasper was taken from you.”
“I wish your mother had confided in me when she returned so heavily pregnant with you from the Nine Realms.”
“You can stop fishing, Fallon. I have no idea who fathered me. All I know is that my power is strong, and when I need it, it is there without hesitation. That is all that matters to me.”
“I had to try, but you should know that your mother was in the Nine Realms during your conception. She didn’t speak when she returned. Aurora tried to get her to tell her what had happened, and the only words she would speak were darkness, flames, and monster. They woke Hecate from her slumber and her advice to Freya? Abort the monstrosity that grew within her womb, or end its life before it reached adulthood.” I stared at him as he stepped around me, moving to the door and exiting. “I hope you find out what you are and if you belong here, sweet Aria.” His smile was tight and not friendly. His tone had held a warning, one created from my outright rejection of his offer for protection.
“Leave us,” Knox stated to Regina, and I moved to do as he said in my state of confusion. “Not you, Aria,” he growled, grabbing my shoulder to stop me.
I watched Regina pausing as she stood, her angry gaze locking on to where Knox touched me. She huffed and made an unladylike noise before she spoke. She pushed her hair away from her face, leveling a nasty look at me as if she wanted to shred my face apart. It was so violent that I felt it slithering over my flesh.
“Don’t let the little slut ruin my dress, Knox,” she said demurely. “It’s one of your favorites on me.”
My eyes couldn’t have rolled harder if I had taken them out and bowled with them. I smirked, turning to look at Knox, who hadn’t taken his eyes off me.
“Make this fast. I have spellbooks to retrieve. Seems I have a tattoo dilemma as well and need to find the blessing spell needed for the House of Magic, lover boy,” I snapped, crossing my arms to glare at him once the room had cleared.
“I just saved your pretty head from my blade, and this is how you act?”
“I didn’t kill Jasper. I was beneath your stupid body, and you used that voice thing on me. Whatever it is when you question me, and I answered you honestly, if you recall? I sure in the hell would never have told you half of that shit unless you’d forced me.”
“But it appears someone wishes you dead. I found this beside Jasper before we allowed the alpha over to see the body.” He held up my hair tie, which appeared to be snapped in half. “You have enemies, and I want to know who they are.”
My gaze lifted from the hair tie to him, and my heart sputtered while denial burned on the tip of my tongue. I didn’t have enemies. I was an asshole, that much was a given. I said everything that popped into my head before thinking it through, but that didn’t make people hate me. In fact, most people appreciated the truth, no matter how brutal I was about it. Now, humans, they didn’t share that sentiment, and yet they were quicker than I was to blurt shit out.
“Someone wanted me to find it, lamb. They snuck into the house and took it from where I had left it and pushed it beneath Jasper’s corpse this morning for us to find when we moved his body. It was the only thing in the house with your DNA on it, which I was aware of since I planted it to see if whoever murdered Jasper would take it.”
“I don’t understand,” I whispered. “My mother is the only one who has ever wanted me dead, Knox. Amara was not the sweetest, but she wasn’t a cold-hearted bitch either. Now, she’s writing me notes speaking gibberish—I mean, who says you are given? What the hell does it even mean?” I sat in the chair before my brow creased with frustration, then folded my hands in my lap.
“In the Nine Realms, when someone is given, it means they’ve been given as a trophy, or as a wife.” He sat down in his chair, watching me. “You said your sister loved you. My guess is that some creature inside the Nine Realms is coming to collect his pretty innocent bride from this realm to parade her virginity around like a trophy catch. It leaves you in quite the predicament, Aria.”
“Yeah,” I frowned as I picked at my fingernail, unwilling to hold his stare for any longer. “I’m getting the feeling something bad is about to happen, and I’m about to be right beside Jasper in an unmarked grave in a realm I don’t even belong.”
“Nothing is gett
ing past me. You aren’t dying unless it’s by my hand. I found the spellbook for the blessing.” Knox rose from his chair to retrieve an ancient piece of vellum. “Your sisters will enter the Nine Realms together, but you will stay behind with me. I won’t take the chance of you entering and wiping my scent from your flesh. The scent of my blood warns off males, but it won’t keep monsters away if you enter a realm, and I am not with you. I’m guessing since you’re still alive, you’ve never entered the Nine Realms at all, have you?”
“I wasn’t well enough at first because of the hemlock ravaging my system. The Court of Witches only needs one witch from the Hecate line to be present. While they send us in to learn the land and show our support and strength as we refuel the power of the realm, it has never been me who has gone to do so. Not because I didn’t want to go, but because you have to be in perfect health to enter the portals between realms.”
“Go fucking figure,” he snorted, barely loud enough to be heard. “You’re also sure you have no idea what your heritage is other than a witch?”
I held his gaze as I whispered, “I know it is strong. I know that whatever I am when I reach for the land in this realm, I pull power to me from my homeland inside the Nine Realms. I can feel the power when it brushes through my fingertips and the rush of it through my blood. The call to come home is like a siren going off, pulsing through my entire body. I told Aurora one time what it felt like, and she cried for hours, but never said why. Days afterward, she would burst into tears every time she looked at me, like I was something bad. I don’t feel bad, or evil, it’s quite the opposite, really. I want to see the land where we were created, to know what happens in our absence. I want to know what the people really think of us for abandoning them for a realm we have no business being in. I don’t think we belong here, and I have a feeling eating at me that we won’t be here for much longer.”
“That’s blunt, Aria. Considering your grandmother was the one who decided we did belong in this realm.”
Flames of Chaos Page 16