Strong, reliable hands roamed my back and legs, and Derek sat me on the back of the couch to grip my hips. Need coiled in my abdomen, tightening my muscles and sent shivers up my spine and into my wings. Our sloppy kiss turned ravenous, and he ground against my core shamelessly as his desire poured into my lungs.
“You’ve done this before, Linne?” Shaking my head with a moan at his mumble, my chest tightened, and my ribs creaked under the pressure. “Are you scared?”
Pulling back to stare at the apprehension on Derek’s face, the anxiety swimming in his eyes, tears welled in my eyes at his moment of vulnerability. Slowly shaking my head a second time, I drew his lips to mine even as my heart sputtered in its cage. Tension thrummed between my shoulders, and I flexed my wings in a futile attempt to relieve it.
“You are my mate.” Smiling slightly at Derek’s shaky inhale, my murmur caused him to shiver violently against me. “I am not scared.”
Derek slipped his fingers underneath my shorts to knead my butt, and I arched sharply as his tongue tangled with my own. His touch washed my body in goosebumps, and my abdomen pulsed with need that only grew more intense with the friction. Spreading my legs wider, I moaned loudly as the large, firm bulge in his pants ground against my core.
“Oh – fuck – ” My thighs quivered at the low growl that burst from Derek’s chest, and he pulled down my shirt to cup my breast and squeeze. Throwing my head back, I panted wildly as his lips trailed fire down my neck. Sucking in a sharp breath, my lungs shuddered when he clamped down on my nipple, and he pinched my left one between callused fingers.
“Ah – hah!” Closing my eyes tightly, I spasmed lightly at the shocks of pleasure, and Derek suckled gently to chase my moan with the sounds. “Ha – a – ah… Y – y – es – s – s…!”
His rough touches left my breast, replaced by his mouth and left my right nipple aching for more. A palm callused by many years of hard work was shoved down the front of my shorts, and I fisted Derek’s hair with a yelp. Fingertips probed and circled, curling my toes and liquifying my insides at the heat that he created.
Spreading the moisture that seeped from my entrance, Derek left my chest to swallow my moans, and my eyes boggled when he thrust his fingers inside me. The pair of fingers twisted and reached to my deepest places, and I tensed at the unfamiliar sensation. Pleasure quaked through me almost violently, and sounds burst from my throat that I didn’t even know I could make.
Exiting me, Derek thrust his thick digits knuckle deep, and my legs jerked around his waist. His harsh pants dried my mouth even as our mix of saliva threatened to choke me, and I grappled desperately with his shirt for something to hold on to.
Again, Derek reached deep, wiggling his fingers, and my eyes rolled in their sockets as a wave of pleasure crashed into my chest. Clamping down around him, I trembled and buckled under his ground-breaking growl. His free hand splayed across my back as I faltered, and my moan bounced off the ceiling as I imploded.
“So beautiful…” Derek’s murmur softly feathered against my chin and coupled with his intense stare, I hiccupped a harsh breath before cracking open my eyes. His face portrayed nothing but raw reverence – the zealotry of worship one would allocate to a god – and I whimpered even as I ducked my head to kiss him.
“So beautiful…” My voice mimicked his expression, and Derek groaned low as he worked his fingers into my quivering channel. Moaning with each gyration of his fingertips against my walls, I lost my breath under his lips as he shoved his tongue in my mouth. “Yes – yes – yes – yes – yes!”
“Fuck – fuck – fuck – fuck – fuck!” Tightening around him, I sputtered and gasped as his vulgarity swept over my tongue. The loud squelching from between my legs punctuated his grunts, and I rolled my hips in wanton need. Reaching deeply, his fingertips brushed the coil in my abdomen, and that tiny disturbance set off a flood of euphoria into my veins.
Fabric tearing and rustling sounded only faintly in my ears, and I undulated and spasmed wildly even after Derek exited my channel fully. The emptiness left me cold and twitchy, and I locked my ankles against the small of his back before he thrust his manhood as deep as my cavern could stretch.
Everything stopped at the sudden invasion; even my heart couldn’t beat as Derek bit down on my bottom lip. His length tore my walls, and I could feel each vein and ridge detailing his silky-smooth flesh.
Glorious. That one word dominated my otherwise blank mind, and Derek was the first to breathe. His wheezing inhale sent a shrill whistle into the heavy atmosphere just above our heads, and my shallow, harsh pants followed in the time it took me to blink.
“…Linne…” Whispering my name with more air than noise, Derek sent my heart into overdrive, and I tightened my legs around his waist. Just that tiny spasm sent him even deeper, and my gasp was loud enough to break the shocked stillness that encased us.
“Oh –h –h –h!” My guttural groan bubbled up from my depths when Derek pulled out, mingling with his vicious snarl against my chin. Surging into my channel, he squeezed my hip to keep me on my perch, and his skin slapped loudly against mine. The stinging sensation rippled through me, and I couldn’t keep my balance against the bombardment of pleasure that slammed into me.
Falling against the back of the couch, I arched and writhed as Derek thrust haphazardly. Quick, hard snaps of his hips rocked my body, and it was impossible to breathe even as my lungs screamed in agony for air. Pressure built behind my eyes, and he gripped my waist with both hands to redouble his efforts to send me spiraling into the abyss.
My wings spasmed weakly with each, jarring thrust, and my moans were lost under Derek’s growls and grunts. Against his rod, my walls quaked under the force of his intrusion, and I gripped the pillows beneath me in an effort not to float away on pink clouds.
“Fuck yes –s!” Hissing as he ploughed into my swollen channel one final, hard time, Derek stilled as he came, before he slumped to wrap his arms around my torso to hold me to him. His teeth grinding sounded faintly in my ears beyond the blood that pounded against my drums. Hard pants rolled down between my breasts, and colorful spots appeared in my blurred vision.
“…Wow…” Blowing the word out on a heavy sigh, I worked my arms around Derek’s neck as he sunk into me.
Sex was not a foreign concept like other human customs, but I never thought it’d feel like that – like it would change something about me so fundamentally.
“Wow…” Sucking in a loud, deep breath through his nose, Derek nuzzled my neck and kissed me under my ear even as I stared, dazed, at the ceiling. “Are your wings okay?”
The slow, slurred question touched my heart, and a big, goofy smile stretched my tingling lips. Carefully lifting himself off me, Derek’s desire, affection – completeness – rained down on me in his gaze, and I let them drench my twitching skin. Dragging my palms down to cup his jaw, I licked my lips and the roof of my mouth until the numbness in my tongue died down.
“They are undestroyable – you do not need to worry about them.” Intense hunger painted Derek’s expression, and his rod stiffened while still inside me. Gasping at the sudden tightness between my legs, I bit down on my bottom lip even as my eyelids threatened to shudder close.
“I want to pull on them.” Thrusting his hips insistently, Derek grinned a feral smirk, and my abdomen quivered when he pulled out of me. Turning me over, he gave me no time to consider a response as both his hands gripped my wings at the base. Tensing up, I squeezed my eyes closed and prepared for the pain I thought would come.
But the discomfort, the sharp needle-like sensation of tearing muscle, never prickled down my back, and I cracked my eyes open. Only then did Derek tug gently, and I gasped as erotic shocks assaulted my spine. Twisting to find him watching me intently, searching for any sign of pain, I panted as his taut hold restricted my lungs.
My sharp, jerking nod was all the answer Derek needed, and I backed against his hips on shaking legs to brace myself against the back of th
e sofa.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Derek
“I would like for you to shift so I can see your beast.” Rasping and hoarse, Linne’s request only drew a groan from me, and I rolled onto my side to fling my arm across her ass. “Please.”
Fuck. I couldn’t deny her anything at all right now, and I slowly pulled in my limbs to push myself onto my hands and knees. Forcing my eyelids apart, I shook my head wildly to get my thoughts to race faster than their current, pitiful crawl. The shift came on easily – so easily that I barely had to use my mind to go through the transformation.
Collapsing onto my bed, I spread my legs out in front and behind me to groan lowly. Long, nimble fingers threaded through my mane, tracing the patches that had been ripped out in one of innumerable fights. For once – for the first time – I didn’t worry about what I would see when I looked over. I could feel Linne’s adoration for me seeping through my thick coat; I could sense the pride leaking from her pores that I was her mate despite my damned genetics.
“So, so beautiful.” My ears twitched at the dangerous wobble in Linne’s voice, and I glanced over to find her eyes watery and nose red. Lifting my paw to tuck her under my shoulder, I grumbled softly in reassurance even as I struggled to understand.
Linne was reduced to tears by my beast form – and they weren’t even regretful that she’d gotten a defective mate. The big, hot droplets were filled with gratefulness, acceptance, and joy. She was so happy about my inhuman form being genetically degenerative that she couldn’t even contain it.
Licking her face as she sniffled roughly, I purred while my tail thumped in blissful content over the foot of the bed. Linne sucked in shaky breaths, her body moving fully underneath me, and she buried her face in my mane while her arms slithered around my neck. She tucked herself against my side, and her wings were the only part of her that was visible. Even then, they were only distinguished by their blue tint from my onyx fur, as they twitched and flexed outwards.
“You smell so good…” The muffled declaration only brought on a sob, as if Linne couldn’t believe her luck. What she didn’t know – what she’d never fully understand – was that I was the lucky one. Even if a mate other than her had accepted me, it would never be this complete and all-encompassing. No female could get over my skin – my abnormality – but one that wasn’t from this realm.
‘She is very emotional.’ Pausing my incessant licking to lift my head, I narrowed my eyes on the shimmery, glittering bird that perched on top of my head board. ‘She does not know I am here, so we can talk male to male. It is good that she cannot have children, yes? I shy away from imagining how emotional she would be then.’
‘She can’t have children?’ For a moment, I thought I posed the question out loud, and I glanced down at Linne. She was still crying, with her blubbering lower lip – weaving her fingers through my fur – and I shuffled slightly before turning my gaze back to Muss. He bopped his head in an avian nod, ruffling his wings as his biggest, center eye trained itself on me.
‘Slaves are mutilated – did she not tell you? Slaves are slaves – they are not meant to produce more slaves or do anything that does not serve their master.’ Muss’ sharp beak parted only to snap shut, and he tossed his head as disgust radiated from his ethereal form. ‘It is so sad. She does not remember, nor was it painful. All she knows is that she is defective. How good for you then, Derek the Lion.’
‘Why hasn’t she mentioned it?’ Sourness coated my tongue at the fact that I was secretly talking to a fucking bird about my mate, who was right here in the same bed. Even so, I wanted an answer, and Muss was more than happy to oblige.
‘I believe she doesn’t think it matters. She is not from this realm, and it would be incredibly hard to bear children here with a human – or shifter. Even without her sterility, I am certain you will never bear cubs with her regardless.’
Relief surged through me at that, and I hated myself for it. Turning my attention to Linne as she only hiccupped beyond her few small tears, I licked her cheek and nuzzled the rough spot gently.
But Muss wasn’t done talking, and his irritating voice caught both my and Linne’s attention.
‘I have news from Kalsni. My punishment has been lifted prematurely. Bareiijnr has discovered evidence against her. She intends to go to the Court before he can with what you have gathered, Linne – but she warns; if Bareiijnr can convince the Court, Kaslni will be killed. She does not believe he has the power to cross the Veil, but you should be wary.’
Stiffening underneath me, Linne peeked out from under my shoulder, and her bright gaze found Muss almost instantly. The mist that gathered under her eyelids vanished, replaced with a hard, almost vengeful gleam. She shifted gears so fast it was almost enough to give me whiplash, and I pushed myself up to slink off my bed. Carefully tucking my claws away, I stretched long and with a groan, and it was nearly enough to distract her as her gaze slid along my back.
Nearly enough.
“What evidence?” Turning to Muss with expectancy seeping from her pores, Linne pulled her knees up to sit and swayed slightly. The sight of her instability brought pure, male pride rushing to my chest, but I couldn’t dwell on it as I shifted back to my human form.
‘She did not say – just that you should be wary. If Kaslni is eliminated, there is no one to stop the war with the Seelie.’
“But it won’t spill over to the human realm – it requires too much magic. Why is Kaslni warning us if we’re safe?” Muss tossed me a dumb look; he didn’t even have a face that could emote such a thing, but I felt it skitter across my skin as he glanced over me with all five eyes. Scowling at him, I climbed onto my bed to pull Linne into my lap, and he adjusted his perch on my head board before answering.
‘Without Kaslni, Bareiijnr will most certainly try to cross the Veil to eliminate Linne. She knows too much, and she’s a threat if Kaslni can convince the Court to bring her back. Even if she can’t, and he does kill her, the court may decide at any point that they wish to know more of the situation. The war does not have to leap through the Veil, Derek the Lion – only one Unseelie. I will go back and uncover what I can.’ Shimmering out of existence for the moment, Muss left Linne and I in a much worse mood than when he’d suddenly appeared. Pursing my lips, my mind raced with the implications that I could barely understand.
War – I got that much.
The Veil – I got that, too.
But how Kaslni kept things from falling apart was a mystery, and if she was so high and mighty…what dirt could Bareiijnr possibly have on her?
“Kaslni is an Elder Courtier – her influence weighs heavily on the others.” As if sensing my confusion, Linne leaned against my chest and took a deep breath to slowly explain. “Bareiijnr has hated Kaslni ever since he became a Courtier. His magic relies on his brute strength and potency, and she has defeated him many times in the past. They are rivals, but she has always come out the victor. It is in this intimate knowledge of each other that Kaslni suspected Bareiijnr was doing something, and she sent me to go figure out what.”
“The wings…” Murmuring softly, I clenched and released my jaw as I followed Linne’s explanation, and her wild, tangled hair tickled my chest when she nodded.
“Yes. It is forbidden. Wings cannot be destroyed unless they die with their host, but they can be removed and implanted. Power and ability can be exchanged. It was rumored that this was how Bareiijnr became a Courtier, and why he does not have the finesse of ability he should have mastered himself. No one could ever prove it. Both Seelie and Unseelie have suffered greatly because of this trade. It is also part of the reason my parents went to Kaslni and not another Courtier.” Spreading her beautiful wings out between us, Linne sighed softly before trudging on. “Kaslni knows that war could be prevented if she can find out who is killing on both sides. That killer turned out to be Bareiijnr – through an intricate network of wing traders. It took me two years to figure out who answered to who, but before Kaslni could bri
ng this to the Court, Bareiijnr accused me of espionage. Kaslni insisted that I had worked alone, without her knowledge or consent, and none of the Courtiers thought she would lie, so they believed her. She convinced them to banish me rather than kill me because I am young. Here, I will have my magic, but I will only live a human life, and I will die a human death. That is seen as a far worse punishment.”
“What’ll happen if Bareiijnr kills Kaslni? What kind of leverage could he possibly have over her?” Honestly, the woman sounded like a fucking saint, but Linne only huffed softly at my question. Stroking my arm, she tilted her head to smile sadly, and a frown dragged down the corners of my mouth.
“Kaslni has many faults, Derek…and they are what you would consider unforgivable sins. If Bareiijnr gets the Court to rally to his side, and Kaslni is killed, there will most certainly be war between the Seelie and Unseelie. The battles would not affect the human world, but the wild magic expelled would thin the Veil, making it easier to send an assassin here after me. It would still require sacrifices to get back, but that is assuming he will go back and not simply kill himself.”
“And if Kaslni manages to avoid being killed, and Bareiijnr is the one with his head on the chopping block?” My heart twisted at the complexities of everything Linne was patiently explaining, and I tightened my grip on her. Doubt raged through my veins, but I kept my mouth shut even as she opened hers.
“Then nothing will happen, and Kaslni will keep the war at bay until long after I am dead. Time moves differently over the Veil. Only a few hours there is one month here. Creatures like Muss, that travel through the Veil, are the only ones that can keep track. I have been here for eight months – everything that has happened thus far has only happened in the last few weeks. Even if Kaslni is killed, we will not know for a long time.”
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