Fae Mates

by Sofia Daniel

  We sat back and watched an episode of Lumberjacks of Switzerland where the youngest brother got drunk off his own moonshine and fell out of the truck.

  I chuckled at the blond man’s antics. “Is Johann still your favorite?”

  Sicily clapped her hand over her mouth and giggled. “Speaking of pretty faces, doesn’t Elijah usually come down to collect his rent around this time of the week?”

  I shifted on my seat. Elijah hadn’t asked me for a penny since we had started sleeping together. At least now, I fully understood why. “Maybe he’s busy at the academy.”

  “Maybe he’s too scared to associate with us after we got arrested for treason.”

  “Probably,” I muttered.

  She turned to me, her eyes wide. “What?”

  I raised a shoulder. “Let’s just say I’m revoking his invitation to this home.”

  Tears of joy glistened in her eyes. “Really?”

  I swallowed hard. Had seeing us together been that difficult for Sicily? I guess it had, judging by the trembling of her lips. She only made that face when something had moved her deeply.

  Sicily wrapped her arms around me in a hug so tight, it cut off my air. “Even if he takes away the TV and DVD player, we’ll manage.”

  I squeezed back. “No more low-lives.”

  Later that night, I dreamed of kneeling before Prince Caulden in the back of a racing carriage with my lips wrapped around his dick. One hand pumped his shaft up and down, while another massaged his balls. I squeezed my legs together, trying to create a bit of friction for my engorged clit, but I didn’t want to stop touching Prince Caulden for anything.

  “Unity.” He shuddered under my touch. “You’re so beautiful, and I can’t wait until we’re mated.”

  My wings fluttered with joy. The strand of golden hair falling into my face jolted me out of my dream. Shit. I blew out a long, frustrated breath. I had been enjoying that. It was probably time to wake up.

  Warm lips pressed on my collarbone, and a large hand cupped my breast. Its owner rolled my nipple between his thumb and forefinger, sending jolts of pleasure straight to my hungry core.

  “What’s this?” I thought I’d woken up.

  “I couldn’t stop thinking about you,” said a deep voice that made my nerve endings sing.

  My eyes fluttered open and met the ceiling of a room made of ice. I lay on a cushioned platform with animal skins beneath my naked body, caressing my skin with their soft pelts.

  Placing one kiss after another on my nipples was Prince Caulden. He lay on top of me, balancing his weight on his elbows. But most importantly, he was naked with a hot erection pressing into my thigh.

  “What are you doing?” I whispered.

  He raised his head and peered at me through a flushed face and eyes with blown pupils. “I couldn’t focus on anything when I returned to the academy. At mealtimes, I couldn’t eat. Those words you whispered in the carriage kept my sword standing the entire day.”

  Each kiss sent sparks exploding across my body, and all thoughts of this being a dream melted away. Wrapping my arms around Prince Caulden’s neck, I arched into his touch. In this human body, I could have sex any time I wanted, and if he continued kissing me like this, I might beg for him to pound me until I shattered.

  “How did you get into my home?” I asked. “Did you carry me out?”

  He wrapped his hands around my wrists, pinning them above me on the bed. “You bear my magic. I can command you anywhere I wish.”

  My nipples rubbed against his warm chest, sending sparks skittering down to my aching core. “So, all those things you said about keeping an eye on me were—”

  “True.” He pressed a kiss against my lips. “My brother wanted me to track you down and have you locked up, and I suggested we keep you under surveillance in case you led us to any rebels.”

  “That was good thinking,” I slid my fingers through his silken, blue hair.

  His grey eyes twinkled with the beginnings of a smile. “And tonight, I intend to watch you very thoroughly.”

  This was like having the best of the human and fae worlds—a sexy lover who had no ulterior motive to be with me and an anonymous life in Doolish with my sister. But it was almost too good to be true. I’d had salt, so it couldn’t be a glamor, but what was happening? I hoped it was just me being overly skeptical.

  “Why?” I whispered. “Why go to all this effort for a human?”

  He drew back and ran his fingertips down the side of my face. “Unity, you’re the most exquisite creature I’ve ever met. I want us to rule the Winter Court together.”

  A breath caught in the back of my throat. That didn’t sound right at all. Queen Titania had despised me for being a half-blood getting close to her sons. She’d probably find a loophole of magic to kill me for being human.

  “But you have a fated mate,” I whispered.

  “There’s no such thing.” His lips crashed on mine.

  My eyes fluttered shut, and I tried to process what he meant. If Lady Gala had extracted my curse, had it also unraveled whatever she had done to steal Helen’s magic and become one of the fated? Had it backfired and set everything back to how it would have been before she and her friends had murdered the unicorns to open up that portal to Dubnos?

  Prince Caulden traced his palm down my belly and to the juncture of my thighs. He slipped his finger over my sensitive clit and into my opening. “You’re so beautifully wet for me.”

  He circled my clit with his thumb, and my core muscles pulsed with each rotation of his fingertip. “I want to give you pleasure.”

  My hips bucked, and I bit down on my lip, trying to focus on my thoughts. When Prince Caulden pressed a line of delicious kisses along my jawline, I stared up at the crescent moon shining through the ceiling of ice. If fated mates didn’t exist, why would Prince Rory have ridden through the streets with Lady Gala? I couldn’t picture him wanting to spend any time with her.

  Prince Caulden slipped a finger into my core. I cried out, and my muscles cramped around the digit.

  “So hot and wet.” He sucked on a sensitive spot on my neck that caused a shiver of pleasure to run up and down my spine. “Would you like more?”

  The answer was yes, but not until I understood what was happening. I placed my hands on his shoulders and gave him a gentle shove.

  Prince Caulden knelt between my spread legs and stared down at me with glazed eyes. The silver light filtering through the ice chamber made the contours of his alabaster skin glow, and the shadows darkened the dips under his pecs and between his abs.

  His erection stood out from a nest of pale, blue pubes like a thick column of alabaster with moonlight glistening on a bead of precum on a bulbous, rosy tip.

  I lay on my back, marveling at this beautiful creature. Right now, I could pull Prince Caulden down and beg him to continue what he had started. We would make love all night, and he would return me to my room with his magic. If that had been his offer—a night of passion or the occasional get-together on the down-low, I might have agreed. But Prince Caulden had just offered a human rulership of the Winter Court.

  Helen had once mentioned that she had been in line to mate with all three brothers. However, the theft of her magic had put an end to those plans. So, I asked, “Isn’t King Oberon arranging a mate for you?”

  “There’s only one female I want.” His hands parted my legs, and he stared hungrily at my sex. “Do you want me to prove it?”

  “This isn’t real,” I murmured.

  Prince Caulden’s gray eyes shone with adoration. “What are you talking about?”

  “All this.” I waved my hands at the walls of ice. “The old you wouldn’t have fallen so easily for a human he’d only just met.”

  He frowned but didn’t contradict me. Instead, he lined his huge erection against my clit. “Am I not enough for you, my darling?”

  “Caulden,” I said with a sigh.

  “How can I please you?” He grabbed his shaft and r
ubbed slow, sensual circles around my clit with his tip.

  “Oh.” Hot breath puffed out from between my lips. Prince Caulden knew exactly what I liked, and I wanted more. Maybe I didn’t have to fight this so much.

  The moon shone through the walls of the ice palace, bathing the chamber in light. I could be so happy here, making love with Prince Caulden and feeling like a pampered princess. Here, there was no pain, no hatred, no curses or machinations. But it wasn’t real.

  “Stop,” I whispered.

  With a reluctant sigh, Prince Caulden pulled away, taking with him the pleasurable sensation. He sat on his heels with his head bowed. “It’s me, isn’t it? I’m not enough.”

  “Of course not.” I glanced at an open, floor-to-ceiling window. The view outside was of ice-capped mountains, yet there wasn’t a single gust of cold air.

  “You are a human with appetites I cannot satisfy on my own.” He stood and padded across the room toward an opaque set of doors. “But I can give you the next best thing.”

  The sight of his strong back and the rippling of his ass cheeks made my stomach flip, but I shook off the excitement. There was no way in hell any of the princes would offer everything to a human they’d only just met. This had to be an elaborate glamor, and I was in a cell somewhere, making out with someone monstrous.

  Prince Caulden flung the double doors open to reveal Princes Rory, Bradwell, and August standing in a row, naked and each sporting huge erections.

  I swung my legs out of bed and padded across the ice toward the open window. “For fuck’s sake. If you’re going to trap me in a glamor, at least make it realistic.”

  Prince Rory swaggered in. “We’re here to give you exactly what you need.”

  “In as many holes as you desire,” added Prince Bradwell with a wink.

  Even though this was a glamor, the memory of his betrayal still hurt like a shard of ice through the heart.

  “Get back on the bed, Unity,” said Prince August in his most commanding voice.

  I shook my head. “This isn’t going to work.”

  A heartbeat later, four warm bodies surrounded mine, and an unclothed erection rubbed against my ass. I turned around and locked eyes with Prince Rory, whose lips crashed on mine. All thoughts to escape melted under the heat of four large males surrounding my naked body.

  “Alright,” I lied. “Let’s do it under the stars.”

  With a click of Prince Caulden’s fingers, the ceiling disappeared, revealing a cloudless sky that filled the room with starlight.

  “Better?” he drawled.

  “One more thing,” I said, trying to keep the shake out of my voice. Someone had tapped into my deepest desires and fabricated this fantasy. I couldn’t afford to overthink in case they were listening in and countered what I was about to do next.

  “Anything you desire.” Prince Rory’s hand snaked around my waist.

  “Alright.” I licked my lips. “All four of you line up. I want to admire your masculine beauty before the fuck-fest.”

  The brothers chuckled and formed a line. Prince August at one end, then Prince Rory, then Prince Caulden, and Prince Bradwell. An ache formed in my chest. Each brother was as handsome as the other, but if I didn’t put an end to this farce, all I would have left was a dream.

  The ache spread to the back of my throat, making my voice hoarse. “Thank you. This sight will keep me going in the struggle ahead.”

  Before anyone could ask what I meant, I fell backward out of the window.

  Prince Caulden rushed forward. “Unity!”

  As I plummeted through the air, I noticed two things. First, not one of the brothers flew down to catch me as I fell, and second, the stillness of the air. Maybe the lack of wind battering at my skin was a numbness brought on by my impending death. I wasn’t sure. It didn’t stop my stomach from lurching with terror.

  But in every dream of falling, I always awoke before I hit the ground.

  Until now.

  Darkness covered me like a shroud, and the most incredible pain radiated up and down my spine. When I forced my eyes open, Pokeweed stared back at me.

  “Unity.” His black eyes shone with unshed tears. “You’re awake!”

  “How long have I been unconscious?” I rasped.

  “Three months.”

  Chapter 3

  I jolted up from the bed, and pain exploded across my spine and ran along each rib. Wincing, I cried out, “Three months?”

  “Careful.” Pokeweed placed a hand on my shoulder and eased me back down onto the bed. “You’re still injured.”

  “What happened?” I sank into the mattress.

  I glanced at my surroundings and inhaled the faint scent of crisp apples. Curved, whitewashed walls created a cocoon-like room with an arched opening into a mezzanine. From the shaft of light shining down beyond the doorway, I guessed this was one of the levels of Pokeweed’s treehouse.

  Pokeweed placed a cool cloth on my head, which melted away all the tension in my shoulders. “McVittie called me over to say you were under attack, when I arrived, someone left you for dead outside the treehouse with traces of Winter Court magic.”

  “Lady Gala,” I said through clenched teeth.

  Relief crossed his features. “I had feared that Prince Caulden had caused your injuries.”

  I stared up into Pokeweed’s eyes, waiting for further explanation or at least an expression of surprise that his half-sister had nearly committed murder. Without a word, he walked to a table at the far end of the room and picked up a tray containing a jug of steaming water and some smaller ceramic items.

  He returned, sat on a stool at my bedside, and placed the tray on his lap. “It was too dangerous to give you a painkiller in this condition,” he said. “Pain is the only path out of the droom enchantment.”

  “Droom?” I asked.

  “It’s a spell to lock a person into their deepest fantasies. Someone must have wanted your last moments of life to be pleasant.”

  A lump formed in my throat. According to the enchantment, I wanted my old life back and a relationship with the princes—an impossible dream. “It could have been one of the princes. They were all with her when she attacked me.”

  Pokeweed frowned. “Are you sure about this?”

  I chewed on my bottom lip. “McVittie was there, too. Didn’t he tell you?”

  “I found it difficult to believe the princes would allow Gala to attack you,” he replied with a trace of bitterness in his voice. Breaking eye contact, Pokeweed looked down at his tray, picked up a mortar and pestle and ground what looked like wood shavings.

  Curiosity burned in my chest, which still throbbed from Lady Gala’s attack. I stared down at my lap, trying to picture the last time I had seen the princes. From the sneers on their faces, they each looked like they had wanted me to suffer.

  “Who else could have wanted to ease my pain?” I whispered.

  Pokeweed’s frown deepened. “Perhaps one of the princes isn’t too deeply under Gala’s thrall.”

  “Is thrall some kind of spell?”

  He shook his head. “A figure of speech. I’m not sure how she managed to ensnare all four princes, but she has made them all deeply committed to her.”

  A lump formed in my throat. “Really?”

  “They fawn over Gala at mealtimes, each vying for her attention.”

  “Even Prince Rory?” I asked.

  Pokeweed poured warm water on the ground tree bark and mixed it into a paste. “He seems to love her the most.”

  There had to be some kind of trick. If she could steal Helen’s magic to make her and her friends appear like the princes’ fated mates, what would it take for her to force them to love her? “Does she wear a sparkly dress?”

  Pokeweed poured a little more water into the pulped wood bark. “Just the usual academy uniform.”

  I squeezed my eyes shut. So much for my theory of Lady Gala putting on the Emporium gown.

  “Drink this.” Pokeweed brought the bow
l to my lips.

  I took a sip and winced at the bitter taste. “What is this?”

  “A concoction made of willow tree bark. It will ease your pain before I attempt to seal the wound.”

  “Wait,” I choked on my mouthful. “Can’t you call Healer Tarax?”

  Pokeweed placed a hand on my cheek. “Unity, everyone thinks you’re dead.”

  All the breath left my lungs in a single exhale. “What?”

  “Don’t blame him.” McVittie hopped onto the foot of my bed and sat on his haunches. “If he didn’t fake your death, they wouldn’t have stopped looking for you.”

  I stared into the cat’s yellow eyes, waiting for him to elaborate, but he licked his paw. Instead, I turned to Pokeweed.

  His shoulders rose to his ears. “You were still breathing when McVittie called me—”

  “Barely,” added the cat.

  Pokeweed nodded. “Close to death.”

  “I made a diversion, so Lady Gala and the princes left to investigate,” said McVittie.

  Pokeweed placed a cup to my lips, which contained a liquid that stank of concentrated garlic. With an apologetic look, he nodded at me to drink. The first sip seared my sinuses and brought tears to my eyes.

  He stroked the back of my head and waited for me to drink some more. The second sip burned a path of fire along my tongue and down my throat.

  Gagging, I tried to jerk away, but he kept a firm grip on the back of my head. “This will chase away all traces of Gala’s magic, so your own can help you heal.”

  “I don’t have any magic.”

  “You do,” said the cat. “Winter, Autumn, and Spring Court power. It’s all there.”

  Heat rose to my cheeks, and I gulped down the foul, garlicky liquid. I know how I obtained their magic. That time after the incident with the Emporium dress, Princes Caulden and Rory both came all over my breasts, and their fluids had soaked into my skin. I’d absorbed their power, but would it be enough to fight back?

  The wounds in my chest and back throbbed, reminding me that I was still suffering the aftereffects of Lady Gala’s attack.