“You don’t think I’ve tried to get her creature to show its true form? I’ve pushed her creature around. I drove Aria to tears and made her feel like she’s nothing after I fucked her virgin cunt, and all she fucking does is come up swinging. I have held Aria beneath the water and watched her damn near drown, and still, the beast was silent. I fucked her every which way but the right way, Brander. I fucked her hard, harder than I have ever fucked before. She took it, and she fucking smiled when I’d finished. She got blown the fuck up and walked out of the wreckage in flames, and she fucking owned the flames like they were hers to command. Aria made them look fucking good. She fights me, and then she fucks me. You tell me, what the fuck more can I do other than murder her to expose the beast within? You tell me what the fuck you want me to do, and I’ll fucking do it.”
“What if she is something we have never seen before?” Brander countered, and I glared at him.
“A phoenix, maybe?” Killian asked, and I turned, blinking before I moved my stare away from him.
Killian looked like his sister, Liliana, which was a fact I only remembered because his presence never let me forget. It was why I sent him away every fucking chance I got. The details of her image, though, have faded, even more so since the moment I laid eyes on Aria, as if she was replacing Liliana’s memory in my mind. Killian’s eyes were the same shade as Liliana’s, his hair the exact color. I couldn’t look into his eyes without feeling a punch to the gut. I frowned, turning over what he’d said, and then dismissed it.
“She isn’t a phoenix, and even if she was, the only way to know would be to kill her, and see if she rose again.”
“That can’t fucking happen,” Brander said, pinching the bridge of his nose. “She can’t die here, none of them can.”
“No one touches her yet,” I replied, fighting against the urge to defend her. I looked up, staring into Killian’s eyes to remind myself of what I am fighting for. “The immortals outside of this town, what’s the update on them?” I changed the subject, hating the idea of extinguishing the fire in Aria’s pretty blue-green eyes.
Lore snorted, watching me with a knowing look. “Dead, if they have refused to enter the Nine Realms without a fight,” he shrugged. “Not many have refused once your name was mentioned. Some are hiding in the woods, but trackers are on their scent. We’re on schedule.”
“Good.” I nodded as I scrubbed a hand down my face, smelling Aria’s scent still on it. “The others will be here soon to push the original families back into the Nine Realms. Those aware and in agreement with the situation have already begun to move into their places and are ready to strike down those who are expendable.”
“This house?” Brander asked.
“Will vanish once the time comes, returning to the lower level of the palace with me. Aria was in the library,” I admitted, watching Brander narrowing his gaze on me. “It revealed itself to her.” They all frowned, watching me, knowing the library hid itself even from them, and yet it opened and showed her its secrets.
“That’s impossible. It refused to reveal its secrets to Liliana, and she was your mate,” Killian snapped.
“Aria saw the stolen tomes on the shelves. I know because I fucking watched her run her fingertips over their spines. Her pretty bare feet walked over the frost, and every crystal within the library responded to her presence. Explain that, asshole.”
“Why would it do that for her, and not your true mate?” Killian countered, anger dripping from his words.
“If I knew the fucking answer, I wouldn’t be asking you. You’re the scholar, you tell me. It hasn’t ever revealed all of its secrets to another soul, but it chose to show her. She walked into it twice and was shown its secrets both times. She saw the white oak shelves and warmed her firm, tight ass on the flames of the Ifrit’s cauldron. She draws magic from the Nine Realms, not from the nature of this Human Realm the other witches pull from. When Aria called her power to her, it came straight from our realm.
“I’ve felt nothing like her before. She’s immune to flames, casting raw, strong magic that hasn’t been tapped into since before we were born, and she’s built to savage. Your sister was sweet, and I had to be gentle because of what I am and because Liliana was fragile. Aria took me, and she took it all. I fucked her every way I could, Killian. I was buried so deep in her fucking throat that she licked my balls and got pissed when I had to detach her pretty lips before I came in her throat like some fucking youth with his first maiden. I tried to break her body, it didn’t break. Aria’s creature looked me dead in the eye and told me I wasn’t mate material. Me, I’m the fucking king who feeds an entire realm,” I snapped. “I only tell you this because these facts have convinced me she is one of our kind, maybe not the same, but she is something similar to us, and we’re dying out.”
“And that pissed you off,” Killian smirked, observing me.
“You’re damn right it did. I am a provider. Your sister never fucking complained or lacked for anything she desired. Aria looked me dead in the eye and told me she found me lacking, how would you respond? Considering what we are and what we do for our women, wouldn’t you be pissed?”
He nodded, frowning before he spoke again. “Aria isn’t Liliana, Knox. She’s a Hecate witch. The same bloodlines as the ones who helped murder my sister and your son. I watched you hold my nephew as he died a thousand deaths, cursed by those of her bloodline. I helped you bury my sister as you wept for the first time in your entire life while we mourned your family. They shot first, and I sure as fuck intend to slaughter them all, even Aria.”
“You think I have forgotten our purpose here? I haven’t, and the moment everything is in place, we will strike. Do not ever fucking question my loyalty to my mate and my son again. I was the one who held him as his body failed, and the light left his pretty blue eyes. I was the one who wept as he was ravished in boils and fever until he hallucinated and didn’t remember who I was, didn’t recognize his mother. Everything I have done and everything I do is because of them. I fucked Aria, so what. I fuck a lot of bitches, and it has never changed my endgame.”
“She’s not like other women, Knox. We’ve all seen it. I’m just the asshole with enough balls to say it,” Killian pointed out.
His arms crossed over his chest as he watched me; we both knew he was right. Aria was nothing like the others. The others were just wet holes to appease the need to release the pressure in my balls. I hadn’t thought of another bitch since fucking Aria. I fucked Lacey after I’d threatened Aria on the outskirts of town, but it hadn’t been Lacey I’d seen as I plowed into her with anger. It was pretty turquoise eyes that defied me, taunting me. I’d fucked that useless witch long and hard until she passed out from the pain and brutality. I’d given Lacey my anger while imagining she was Aria Hecate, and I’d found her lacking. Lacey had known she wasn’t the one I wanted, but she’d still gotten to her knees and opened her pretty lips for me. It had been the wrong fucking time to lip off and then open her mouth while on her knees.
I’d let Lacey wield her magic on Aria, expecting the little witch to burst into tears. Instead, she’d throat punched Lore and then went nose to nose with an alpha, begging him to fight her. Bitch had balls, that much was a given.
It was clear to me from the beginning that she was different from her sisters. I’d felt Aria pull magic to her, and I’d fucking been shocked with the sensation of the Nine Realms giving it to her. Those realms were cold and merciless, like me. Yet the moment she called, they fucking gave her everything she needed. There was no record of any creature being able to draw power from inside of the Nine Realms into this one. Her tiny little fingers wiggled, and the power was there for the taking. She made it look natural, as if she was born to wield the power. Not one of her sisters had so much as questioned why or how the fuck Aria Primrose Hecate had just yanked power from another realm to her painted fingertips. Either they were unaware and couldn’t feel it, or it terrified them, and they kept it secret.
“What about the rebellion leaders that remained in the Nine Realms, any news on them yet?” Brander asked, pulling my mind back to the issue at hand.
“Gathered and ready,” I announced. “Once we return, they’ll march on the first stronghold, declaring war on anyone who opposes us.”
“So, we move forward, and we continue with the plan,” Brander said, sitting before me folding his hands and tilting his head. “Glad to know getting your balls licked didn’t change anything.”
“Could you imagine getting your balls licked while being buried that deep inside a woman’s mouth?” Lore asked. “I’ve had girls take half of me, and it wowed me, but Aria fucking took it all. I watched her head push forward, and when it didn’t come back, and Knox gasped, I knew she’d taken his dick all the way down her throat. And then that fucker, he says, ‘jaw fully extends,’ not, ‘holy fuck this bitch just swallowed my dick,’ just, ‘jaw fully extends.’” Lucky bastard.” Lore rubbed his hand over his mouth. “What a fucking waste of talent. It’s really too bad you couldn’t keep her and make her into a pretty pet.”
It took everything within me not to reach over and snap Lore’s neck at witnessing Aria in all her glory. The memory of her lips wrapped around my cock still got me rock-hard. It wasn’t even the fact that she took all of me, but the look in her eyes as she peered up at me, giving me her attention. She wanted to please me, but also didn’t fucking care if she did. I’d wanted to grab that ass, throw her down, and fuck her till she submitted, but she’d had other plans. She wanted to fight me, and she wasn’t afraid to say it.
That creature had insulted my ability to provide, my ability to fuck, and my intelligence, and then, instead of admitting defeat with my superior strength, she’d sent my ass sailing across the room like I was nothing. I never got caught off guard. She wasn’t supposed to be that strong, but she was. She wasn’t supposed to be that hot, but she was. I wasn’t supposed to crave her, but I did. It did shit to me that I hated, yet wanted to feel with her. I’d never allowed emotions to rule me, and yet I’d claimed her in front of the entire alpha pack.
I’d placed my teeth on her shoulder, staring them down as my fingers trailed through the wet mess my rattle created in her panties. She’d come hard and fast, and they’d gotten hard watching. Fuck, I’d gotten hard. I’d meant to lay claim. I claimed fucking ownership. I’d made her mine in a way she didn’t and wouldn’t understand, and that was another fucking problem.
Aria wasn’t mine to claim, but I’d claimed her, anyway. I’d claimed her in a way that couldn’t be undone, and yet I didn’t want to take it back. I liked owning her, even if she wasn’t fucking aware of what it meant. It was a mark of protection, but it was so much more. That mark made her need me, crave me, and it also worked the same way on me. It was a mark of mates, and yet I’d never given or offered it to my mate. So why the fuck had I claimed Aria?
I looked at other women and compared them to her, and they were lacking. Regina sucked good dick, she worked it, but the hag had nothing on Aria. Aria had dug into my cold, dead soul, and she’d lit it on fucking fire. She went to war against me, and she fucking didn’t admit defeat readily. Instead, she craved me as much as I craved her, and the need to go barebones against one another won out. She was fucking wild with her need, and that wasn’t something she could fake. When Aria wanted cock, she took it.
Aria fucking devoured it.
Aria was savage and enjoyed being savaged by me.
Her scent wasn’t just arousing; it was consuming. Lesser creatures couldn’t fight it, not even the little mutt who vowed he’d given his word. One whiff of her sex oozing with need and he’d fucking come unhinged. Fuck, I had trouble ignoring her scent, and I had never been lured to a bed by a bitch in heat until her. It was almost as if her magic was enhancing it, making her desirable to every male with a fucking pulse. Hell, even some without. Greer hated her at first sight, but that motherfucker teased her and then told her to claim sanctuary. He’d helped no female before. He hated them, preferring male company, and yet I’d watched him narrowing his gaze as I’d carried her into the house, dripping my scent from her cunt.
“Do we know who in the Nine Realms wants her alive?” Killian asked, interrupting my thoughts.
“My guess would be the asshole who fathered her. She wasn’t conceived magically. Someone wanted that girl created and then made that want a reality. It’s someone powerful, and with enough pull that the leaders of the rebellion counseled me to keep her alive.”
“Is that why you protected her, writing your name on her pretty pussy? Or is there another reason you keep intervening on her behalf?” Killian asked, watching me for any sign of weakness. He wouldn’t find it.
“Rape is violent, Killian. If the alphas had raped her, she’d be as good as dead. There are over fifty alphas alone in this town, and Fallon shared his whores with them all daily. Aria was untouched and would have fought, and we all know what happens when a woman fights a pack of alphas.” I’d have slaughtered every fucking alpha here to keep her from being mauled or raped by that pack. I’d have pissed in a circle around her, marking that little witch as my prey.
“The alphas would have torn her apart,” he agreed, exhaling. “Just don’t get attached, she’s on the kill list.”
“She’s also on the do-not-fucking-touch list, and I’m way past touching her. She’s a fucking newborn, and she is already powerful. The creature within her taught herself to talk in a matter of minutes from emerging from her cocoon. Aria knows what she needs, but she doesn’t know why she needs it. Her kind, whatever it may be, it doesn’t belong here. Aria herself subdued an alpha. Not just any alpha, the fucking alpha. She only used her teeth and her claws, and she had Fallon coming on his own floor with the intensity of her bite. She’s a fucking unicorn of mixed powers, but none of them belong together.”
I couldn’t have been more fucking proud of her as that piece of shit fucked the floor while she’d demanded he submit to her bite. I’d smelled his cum as it had exploded from him and watched the horror that entered her eyes as the woman mixed with predator broke apart. It fucking hurt me to see the tears swimming in her eyes as her family stared on in open horror. My little monster was all alpha, but she was still learning what that meant.
“She rattles, and she purrs. Aria also clamped that cunt down tight to keep your cock inside her body, but also to protect you as she slept.” Brander rubbed his hand over his face, shaking his head. “Her flesh is clean, no scales or feathers. Her fire comes through her pores, as if beneath her flesh, there is something that ignites when she’s afraid or in danger. But then fear and danger don’t draw it out as it should, either. She’s a fucking enigma, one I can’t figure out.”
“She burns hot when she comes. She damn near burned down my bedroom. The roar that escaped her throat, it blew the fucking windows out of the entire third floor. Then there’s the thing beneath her spine, it moves. Other than teeth and claws, Aria shows no other physical signs of being unique or a creature. There’s not a single ounce of fat on her entire body, and when she is no longer in control, her body is defined and all sleek muscles. It’s almost as if Aria is the softness, and the creature is hard and lethal. She’s definitely something strong, and something ancient created her.”
“You forgot to mention that fact she purrs for you. She also answers your rattle, and no female has ever responded to your rattle, not even Liliana. You also purred to approve her actions; you don’t do that for bed partners. You barely fucking did it for my sister. Why would you do it for some whore you’re fucking?” Killian stared me down, challenging me again.
“Careful, Killian,” I warned cautiously. “I purred to calm a newborn creature, one who could have jeopardized everything we are trying to achieve here. Don’t make it into something it isn’t. I have no idea what the fuck she is, but I know that if she becomes unhinged, we won’t get the original bloodlines into that portal, and we won’t be able to contain them if they fucking scatter to
hide from a beast that doesn’t belong here. Make no mistake, Aria is a beast, one that could easily be set off and destroy everything we’ve been working to build for the past five hundred years.”
“Then snap her fucking neck and be done with her.” Killian glowered at me with accusation burning in his eyes; his challenges were getting on my last fucking nerve.
“And add more enemies to the growing list? Why the fuck not?” I asked, watching him as that tidbit sank in. “We don’t know who fathered her, but we do know whoever it was, they’re fucking powerful, that much is clear from the little bitch that he sired, but sure, let’s fucking snap her neck.”
“No,” Brander whispered, scrubbing his hand down his face and shaking his head before exhaling deeply. “If her father has the ear of the council to the rebellion, he isn’t just a king; he’s a king over one of the beast kingdoms. If he is a king of beasts, or something even fucking higher than that, it means Aria’s father is one of us. She’s the daughter of one of our fucking allies, so whatever we do with her, we tread carefully. Killing her could cause more problems than we can handle. I’d rather not murder the daughter to one of the leaders of an entire army and lose them as we prepare to march that army on the witches.”
“It changes nothing.” I wasn’t letting go of Aria without a fight, that much was certain. “Her father fucked Freya Hecate, and by doing so, he condemned Aria to death or imprisonment. The witches have to die, but they have to do it within the Nine Realms. Unless we find another way to achieve the end goal without ending her life, we stick to the plan—and she remains on the kill list.”
“And lose an ally?” Killian frowned, shaking his head. “I don’t think that is the wisest choice, Knox.”
“Which is it, Killian? You wanted her dead, now you want her alive. It cannot be both ways.”
“I want you not to destroy the image of my sister while you fuck that whore!” he snapped as he balled his hands into fists.
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