Fae Mates

by Sofia Daniel

  When I stopped talking, Pokeweed tightened his lips. “I cannot fathom why someone’s hatred would run so deep to condemn me to such a horrific death.”

  A lump formed in my throat. “You know about nightsbane?”

  “The winged dormouse who brought me up mentioned it a few times.” His strong arm wrapped around my waist.

  “McVittie and I brought you life-water, in case—”

  “It won’t work,” he murmured.

  All the grief I had held back in the hope of this miracle cure surged through a crack in my heart. It burned a path up my throat, my sinuses, and the backs of my eyes.

  Trying to keep the shake out of my voice, I said, “You’re going to die?”

  “Don’t cry for me.”

  I blinked away a tear. “This isn’t right. You haven’t done anything wrong.”

  “Some would say that a monster being born to the most beautiful noblewoman is crime enough.”

  “But you’re not—”

  Pokeweed placed a finger on my lips. “Don’t.”

  Wrapping my fingers around his wrist, I pulled his hand away from my mouth. The time for backing away was over. I had no idea how soon the poison would take effect, but I wouldn’t let Pokeweed die, thinking himself unloved.

  “It’s fur.” I ran my fingers over the thick covering on his arm. “Was the dormouse who brought you up a monster?”

  His brows drew together. “Of course, not.”

  “The only monsters are those who attack others for being different.” I placed a hand over the velvety fur on his cheek. “Lots of people here are fond of you. Mr. Whittaker, the remedial students, and even the princes.”

  His eyes dimmed. “You’ve mated with them?”

  “I had an early heat.”

  The fur under Pokeweed’s Adam’s apple bobbed up and down. “I felt your need. It called out to me like a siren, and I fought my way out of the void to reach you.”

  His words were like an iron fist to the heart. “I woke you up?”

  “No tears,” he said. “Without the calling of your heat, we might not have been able to say goodbye.”

  “I won’t let you die in agony.” The words tumbled out of my mouth in a rush. “Th-there’s a dagger on the bedside table. As soon as the nightsbane starts to attack, I’ll plunge it into your heart.”

  Pokeweed shook his head. “I won’t have my blood on your hands.”

  I shoved Pokeweed hard, making him release my waist, and sat up on the bed. “You want me to watch you die?”

  He squeezed his eyes shut. “Unity—”

  “No,” I snapped. “You’re too good for a painful, lingering death. I want something to bury. Somewhere to place my flowers, and not—”

  A surge of pain cut off my words.

  Pokeweed sat up and placed his hands on my shoulder. “What were you going to say?”

  My heart pounded so hard, I felt its vibrations in my ears. I dipped my head and choked out the words, “Nightsbane will reduce your body to dust, and it will be like you never existed. I don’t want that to happen.”

  Pokeweed’s fingers closed around my shoulders. “Unity.”

  “Yes?” I gazed into his fathomless, black eyes. Instead of the dark-haired, dark-winged disguise, a blonde faerie stared back with wings that glowed purple and blue.

  “There is a request I would make of you.”

  “Anything,” I whispered.

  “Before I die, I would have a taste of your lips.”

  I blinked at the odd phrasing. “A kiss?”

  He lowered his lashes. “If that’s too much—”

  “It’s not.”

  With the gentlest of caresses, I placed my hand on his bare chest, which resonated with the frantic beat of his heart. Ignoring my quickening pulse, I slid my hand over his broad, muscular shoulder and around his neck.

  Pokeweed’s breath caught, and his full lips parted. I wondered if this would be his first kiss, but the pulse between my legs pounded, distracting me from that thought. He only made the barest move toward me, as though he hadn’t quite believed that I would agree to the kiss.

  “You’re the only person I’ve met at this academy that I could fully trust,” I said. “And you’ve been there for me whenever I’ve needed help.”

  His chest heaved with rapid breaths, and he stared at me with an intensity that lit a fire in my core.

  I raised myself onto my knees to reach Pokeweed’s lips and wrapped both arms around his shoulders. “When we first met, I told you it would be an honor to be your mate. I meant that then and I mean it even more now.”

  His eyes dampened. “Unity.”

  “Shhh.” I lowered my lips onto his in a chaste kiss.

  As soon as our flesh touched, a bolt of heat shot through my core. One of Pokeweed’s large hands curled around my waist, and he ran the other down my back.

  “Your heat has started again. I need to find one of your princes,” he said in a tight voice.

  “No.” My lips descended on his in a soft peck, and I drew back to see his reaction.

  Pokeweed wrapped his strong arms around me, and we were chest-to-chest, our rapid hearts beating in unison. For that moment, all thoughts of princes and poisons and plots flew from my mind, and it was just me, Pokeweed, and the anticipation thrumming through my insides.

  His warm hand cradled the back of my neck, and he drew close, filling my nostrils with the mingled scents of raindrops on fallen leaves, sandalwood, and freshly dug roots. It was intoxicating, and I yearned for more.

  “Unity,” he whispered, “Are you sure about this?”

  “I need you.” My hand slid up his furry chest.

  Pokeweed’s lips descended onto mine in a kiss as soft and as sweet as the petals of an apple blossom. My vision blurred as the press of his lips became firmer—more intense, and he kissed me with the urgency of a man about to die.

  I squeezed my thighs together to hold back the onslaught of arousal flooding my core, and my lips parted to let him in. Smoothing my fingers into the depths of his fur, I moaned my pleasure, only for Pokeweed’s tongue to slip into my mouth.

  My head spun. My core pulsed. My nipples tightened. Pokeweed’s tongue stroked mine in a series of caresses that stoked me from the tips of my toes to the roots of my hair. Every nerve ending sang, and I lost myself into his delicious kiss.

  “Pokeweed,” I whispered into the kiss. “Please.”

  His hand slid over my bare thigh and under my nightshirt. “I know what you need.”

  My breath came in shallow pants, and all my awareness concentrated on the heat gathering in my core. I rested in Pokeweed’s arms, my limbs trembling with anticipation I couldn’t explain. Less than an hour ago, all the princess had filled my every hole in an unforgettable feat of aerodynamics. Now, my pulse quickened at the thought of having sex in a bed.

  Pokeweed didn’t ask me again if I was sure. Perhaps he could smell my need or feel the heat emanating from between my thighs.

  With another kiss, he wiped my mind of all thoughts, leaving me gaping and hungering for his dick.

  His kisses trailed down my neck, hot and wet and demanding, making me shiver with delight and curl my toes. The hand caressing my bare thigh slid over the swell of my belly, over my ribs, and to my breasts.

  “I must see you,” he murmured into my neck, fanning his hot breath over the sensitive skin.

  “Take it off with your—” My nightshirt vanished before I had even finished that sentence.

  Pokeweed laid me down on the soft mattress and crouched over me, his dark eyes soaking up my nakedness. He was backlit by the morning sun, which made the orange patches on his wings glow like flames. “You are exquisite.”

  My gaze dropped down to the thick bulge protruding from the crotch of his white overall bottoms.

  “I want to see you, too.”

  He dipped his head. “Unity, I—”

  “You’ve seen all of me.” I spread my legs wide.

  Pokew
eed’s lips parted, and his gaze fixed on my folds. “You’re…” He leaned closer, resting his hands on my knees. “You are so beautiful there.”

  Some of the heat in my core traveled up to my cheeks. No matter how often the princes complimented my nether wings, I still wasn’t used to that kind of attention.

  “Let me touch you.” I slid my hand over his fingers. “Please.”

  In the blink of an eye, the bottom half of Pokeweed’s overalls vanished, leaving him bare. A perfectly normal cock with a thick, rosy head protruded from a thatch of fur so dense I couldn’t make out his balls.

  The heat in my core intensified, and I beckoned him close. “I need you.”

  Pokeweed’s breath quickened. Without a word or any resistance, he settled between my thighs.

  I reached between our bodies and wrapped my fingers around his dick, which jumped into my hand and pulsed.

  “Unity,” he said from between clenched teeth.

  My fingers slid along its glorious length. “Is that too tight?”

  He shuddered. “I’ve never—”

  “Shhh.” Rising off the mattress, I wrapped my arms around Pokeweed’s neck and pulled him in for a kiss.

  As though it was a balm to his nerves, he kissed back with lips so demanding that I melted into his touch. Pokeweed’s tongue slipped into my mouth with devouring strokes. I moaned and arched into the kiss, my throbbing clit rubbing against his hardness. He paused for a heartbeat, shuddered, and continued the kiss.

  We rocked against each other, with each slide of that hot length against my even hotter folds driving me to a frenzy that set my skin alight. Pokeweed’s hand kneaded my breast, and his other hand hooked my thigh around his hip.

  Hot, rapid breaths puffed in and out of my lips. This was it. I was so wet, so hot, so needy that it would only be a matter of seconds before that gorgeous dick slipped into my core.

  As he drew back, I shifted my hips, and his cock-head grazed my clit. A bolt of ecstasy shot deep within my channel, adding to its furious heat. Adjusting my hips a fraction, I positioned myself at the right angle for penetration. Pokeweed slipped all the way into the source of my heat.

  His body stiffened, and he stared down at me with shocked, black eyes. Before he could speak, I pulled him down for another kiss. Satisfaction rumbled through his chest and made my nipples tingle. A heartbeat later, he pulled back and thrust into me with a snap of his hips.

  Pleasure rippled through my core with every downstroke, and I dug my fingers into the luxuriously thick fur of his back. Pokeweed thrust into me in a delicious, steady rhythm that caused my legs to tighten around his hips.

  The heat raging through my core wanted more. More of his touch, more of his scent, more of his huge, fat cock.

  “I never dared to think it could be like this,” he whispered into my ear.

  “You’re amazing,” I whispered back through fevered breaths. “Don’t stop.”

  He thrust deeper, harder, faster, pushing me to new heights of pleasure. My heat, which seemed to be a pulsing, throbbing creature with a mind of its own, swirled around my core, making it tighten around Pokeweeds’ erection.

  “Unity,” he groaned. “If you keep squeezing me like this, it will be over in less than a minute.”

  I arched into his chest. “Then, let’s make that minute count.”

  His eyes flashed, and he pounded into me with relentless abandon. Each wickedly hard thrust made stars explode behind my eyes in time with the pleasure sparking along every nerve ending.

  Instead of cooling, the heat rose to a boiling point, making me feel like I might melt off his prick. It continued spiraling around my core, squeezing Pokeweed’s dick until I thought it might implode.

  I couldn’t move. Couldn’t breathe. Couldn’t do anything else but take the hard fucking and hope I wouldn’t self-combust. My temperature rose and rose until something deep within my core erupted, spilling out enough liquid ecstasy to reduce the bed to ashes.

  Pokeweed swelled as he came, and my core muscles tightened around his girth, molding around every vein and ridge of his erection. Jet after jet of hot fluid filled my channel, which seemed to soak in his offering like a sponge.

  “Ah!” His deep moan went straight to my twitching core.

  We lay together, staring into each other’s souls as the aftershocks of our mutual climaxes receded. I placed a hand on his cheek, trying to memorize this moment, trying to make it last forever.

  Pokeweed placed a kiss on my damp temple. “Thank you, Unity, for making my last moments pleasurable. If the poison takes me now, I will die happy.”

  There was no comment to a reply like that, and after fucking four princes through the night, fatigue swept over me like a warm breeze, pulling me into a deep slumber.

  Pokeweed wasn’t there when I awoke, but something crumbled between my fingers into dust. My eyes snapped open, and I jolted out of bed. Next to me was a perfect outline of Pokeweed’s body, complete with the remains of his wings.

  A blizzard of shock swept through my insides. The poison had taken him from me while I had slept.

  I clapped a hand over my mouth. If it had been anything like how his mother had died, he should have screamed with agony until the curse devoured his body. A lump formed in my throat, and I gulped. Had he enchanted himself silent?

  “McVittie?” My voice shook.

  The cat didn’t reply. He’d probably given up on me the moment I had refused to participate in his wretched plan to let King Oberon get killed.

  I glanced around the room for something, a jar or a bowl, to gather the dust that had once been my friend. There was nothing. “Pokeweed!”

  “Unity?” said a voice.

  My head snapped up, and I glanced at the source of the sound.

  Standing at the doorway was a naked King Oberon.

  Chapter 17

  Without meaning to, my gaze traveled down King Oberon’s body. With his golden hair, muscular frame, and long, thick penis, he reminded me of Prince August. Except this male was older and more filled out than his son.

  Sweat beaded over my brow, and a tight fist of fear clutched my heart. Fucking McVittie. He had probably trotted to the palace and told the king about the plot to assassinate him. But I still couldn’t fathom why the hell he was in Pokeweed’s treehouse.

  I pulled the sheets to my chest, upsetting Pokeweed’s remains. “Your Majesty?”

  His face split into a grin. “Are you that pleased to see me?”

  Cringing, I dipped my head. What if the Duke of Medietas had told the king that he’d been searching for a female in heat, and he had tracked me down to the treehouse? Just because he was a king and I’d fucked all his sons, it didn’t mean I was going to let him have a go.

  His powerful presence caused my stomach to tighten. It wasn’t like I would have any choice if he made any demands.

  “Unity.” Concern laced his voice, and he stepped into the room.

  A bolt of panic shot through my heart, and I skittered out of bed, holding my arms out. “Don’t come any closer, sire. I-I already have mates.”

  “Unity?” His frown deepened, and something about his voice slotted into place.

  “Pokeweed?” I asked.

  “What’s wrong?”

  My eyes bulged. “Have you looked in the mirror?”

  His eyes dimmed, and he pressed a hand to his face. “I didn’t dare look at my reflection.”

  I crossed the room and placed my trembling hands on his cheeks. “You look just like King Oberon.”

  His face twisted. “That cannot be right.”

  A long sigh heaved from my lungs. Clearly, Pokeweed hadn’t seen any DVDs of Maury Povitch because the paternity test episodes taught me that the father was always the person you least suspected.

  I pulled him to the edge of the bed and placed my hands on his shoulders, making him sit. Pokeweed pulled me onto his lap.

  “You told me that the Duke of Nevermore got sent to negotiate with the United
Nations?” I asked.

  His brows drew together. “That’s true.”

  “While he was away, your mother went into heat, and someone mated with her?”

  He dipped his head. “They say she mated with a satyr—”

  “What if the most powerful faerie on the island could sense a female’s heat before everyone else, and he conveniently sent her mate away so he could have her for himself?”

  “That is possible,” he said, sounding skeptical.

  I slapped a hand on Pokeweed’s chest. “Think about it. Someone cursed your mother while she was pregnant. Why?”

  “She told my wet-nurse that it was my father’s mate.”

  “And why do fae noblemen cast away their half-bloods?”

  “Because of the lore of inheritance…” Realization flashed in his eyes. “The queen?”

  “She probably didn’t want the Duchess of Nevermore’s child to inherit the throne.” I poked him in his chest. “You.”

  Pokeweed dipped his head. “That’s why someone tried to assassinate me with nightsbane.”

  My shoulders drooped, and I leaned into Pokeweed’s chest, enjoying our closeness. This was the biggest irony of all. Lots of fairy tales described terrible curses broken by true love or a kiss, but they resulted in happy ever afters. Poor Pokeweed just discovered he was the son of King Oberon and an heir to the throne, but the good news was shadowed by his impending death.

  I rubbed the side of my face across his. How long would I have this smooth-skinned, golden-haired Pokeweed before the poison turned him to dust? “About that,” I murmured. “What’s going to happen—”

  “As soon as we mated, a surge of power burned through the nightsbane. Whoever poisoned me can never hurt me again.”

  I drew back, my heart somersaulting with joy. “That means—”

  “Yes.” Pokeweed kissed me on the cheek. “Thanks to you, I have broken all my curses. We can finally be together.”