Jericho Junction
Page 6
“Because they only exist there. This is the human plane. Now stop avoiding your magic and feel.” He ignored Jericho’s frown, more determined than ever to reinforce the structure in their relationship. Commands had to be followed without question, and his bear needed to learn his place. But right now they needed to stop a sorceress before she killed again, so Jericho would have to learn as he went.
Seino handed Jericho his sword and let the magic within the blade and their bond connect and flow.
Jericho’s eyes widened. He tilted his head, as if listening to what the magic told him. “No shit. That’s really possible?”
“Doable,” Seino corrected. “Now follow the instructions. Call upon that bundle of energy inside you that connects you to your bear. Use it, shape it. Sprout feathers and wings and be one with the air.”
Why was he not surprised to watch Jericho slowly shimmer into a red-tailed hawk? No small song bird, but a bird of prey with a wingspan twenty-five inches long. But at least he wouldn’t look out of place in the sky, since they were native to the region. “You’re small enough, I suppose. Now find a way inside and learn what you can, then fly out as soon as you’re able. The amulet you wear will protect you from her magic.” He gripped his own amulet and drew from Anya as well. He sent the large well of power into Jericho, who screeched at him and flapped his wings.
“I apologise, but the energy is necessary to ensure your survival. Now go.”
Jericho glared and said a few more uncomplimentary things.
“I speak avian, Jericho. Don’t think we won’t discuss your lack of respect later.”
Anya watched Jericho fly off with her mouth wide open. “He’s really powerful. It took me five tries before I could become anything more than a sparrow. But I don’t think he knows what he can do.”
“He doesn’t. It’s up to us to teach him.”
She turned her golden eyes on him. “So this mating. It’s taken root, hasn’t it?”
He nodded.
“No undoing this.”
He shook his head, again feeling the pain that sat heavy in her heart.
“So we’re stuck together.” She sighed. “And I was really starting to like you two. Well, you did this. I refuse to take the blame when it all goes to hell.”
“Anya?”
“Never mind. No one ever takes my advice anyway. No point in telling you you’re going to die since you think you’re invincible.” She gave him a half-hearted smile. “I guess it was time I took a mate anyway. I just hadn’t counted on two, for however long it lasts.” Her smile turned watery.
“It will be okay, sweet. Whatever has happened in the past is past. Banathmae willed us together for a reason. Not to die, but to live for a purpose.”
“Nope. You never listen. It’s like your cock sucks all the intelligence from your brain.”
He frowned. “Disrespect will not be tolerated.”
She grinned, surprising him, and he noticed a dimple he hadn’t seen earlier. “Oh goody. Discipline. I can’t wait.”
He chuckled. “You’re going to be a handful.” He immediately sought her breasts.
“No, two,” she said, reading his thoughts.
They both grinned.
“Well, it could have been worse.” She tilted her head, a naughty smile still on her face. “You’re a Protector at least.”
“Oh? How could it have been worse?”
“Jericho could have been a wolf.” She scrunched her nose. “I hate the smell of wet dog.”
Jericho flew and thought it the most amazing thing. For years he’d taken strength in the massive muscles and power of his bear. It felt a part of him, the essence of the change ingrained in his blood. But this. Flying. He’d never felt anything like it. The rush of wind through his feathers. His incredible eyesight able to detect any movement on the ground.
Distracting him, a mouse raced under some sticks on the ground and he almost forgot himself and dived for it. But at the last minute he drew on his discipline and sought refuge in the sorceress’s high tower, under the eaves of the roof. He had no problem flying in and rested on a thick wooden beam. But to his discomfort, he experienced a tingle under his claw, the sense of shifter blood staining the beams with dark magic.
He listened but didn’t hear her. So he did what came natural and opened that door in his mind wider. Absorbing the power Seino had lent him, he used a tendril of it to connect with Serena. A backblast of evil snaked around him and pulled him across to the other tower.
A quick glance around showed no one paying him any attention. The undead guards standing watch over the lower entrances only looked for threats from the ground. The hounds barked at something in the woods. But other than that, he was free to move.
Jericho quickly glided to the next tower and held tight to the girder. She was here; he could feel her cloying presence. He cocked his head and listened. Movement directly below. He hopped down onto the joints holding the beams together and resisted his urge to squawk in disgust. Pieces of bone stuck out from the wood. A true house of horror.
From far below, he heard her voice. He couldn’t see much past the floor below him, just a few pieces of furniture. So he eased out into the air again and floated down to the next landing. He stood on a stone ledge and peered inside. There. Serena paced over the cobbled floor, having a long conversation with several undead humans and two athmae. Or at least men that looked athmae. They were both black and had white hair, despite the daylight hours.
“I want him dead. But not before he watches me bleed out his brother.” She squeezed a fist, and droplets of blood trailed on the ground behind her. From each drop, another hound grew.
Nasty fuckers.
“Yes, my queen.” The athmae bowed. “The price of a beloved’s passing is a hard one to bear.”
“Price my ass. That bitch deserved to die. But I should have been the one doing the killing.” The contrast of such an innocent-looking face and evil intent was strangely fascinating. “All her power seeped back into the earth instead of into me. She was my sister, my blood. Mine.” She turned and wiped a stray tear from her eye, her gaze fierce.
Jericho wanted to call her cold, but he could feel the swell of her despair. Though Serena was evil to the core, some part of her had actually cared for her sister.
The athmae with her bowed their heads.
The taller of the two spoke. “Well do we know the price of power. We serve, great lady, for that very reason. To learn from you, that you might help us defeat our enemies.”
“Yes, yes. I know all that.” She waved a hand, dismissing them. “Your king and that nasty little mage. Master Fel. I’m more interested in making Fenris scream while Anson watches. Tomorrow we’ll strike. At twilight, when my power will be at its strongest. Bring the prince and Anson to me, then we’ll march on their Great Forest and raze it to the ground.” Her gaze narrowed. “You know, killing two werewolves and the sorcerers with him will fill me up. Enough to help you with your king right away, if you like.”
“It will be an honour.”
She smiled prettily. “How much of an honour?”
She lifted her skirt, and the athmae bowed before her. One knelt and shoved his face into her pussy while the other moved behind her and tugged at his trousers. He shifted and bunched her skirt up around her waist. And then he bit her hard on her shoulder.
Jericho knew what came next, and he didn’t want to watch any longer. He had until twilight tomorrow. The sun had already set behind him. It didn’t leave him and his mates—companions, he thought to ease the stress—much time to work. But they’d make do. They had to.
Chapter Seven
Jericho returned, still basking in the rush of the air over his body. Such intensity, such sheer power as he rode the currents in the sky. His eyesight sharpened and he spotted Seino and Anya by a small fire. Anya looked asleep while Seino paced back and forth. Interesting. In the short span of time Jericho had known him, he’d rarely seen the Kin jittery.
“Damn. That was fun.” He’d taken the straightest route home, though he’d still circled high above a few foxes and rabbits. The thought of sinking his claws in and jerking prey from the ground had appealed to him more than he’d liked. Hell, his buddy Gibson was a fox. What if he accidentally tagged a friend for dinner?
“Where were you?” Seino asked, his voice cold.
“I was up there.” He jerked a thumb at the sky. “As ordered by you—Lord Demanding.”
Seino didn’t smile. “You should have been back long ago.”
Jericho frowned. “I wasn’t gone that long.” He’d listened in and returned rather quickly, or so he’d thought. Though a glance at the dark sky made him wonder…
Seino stalked into his personal space and pulled Jericho tight against him.
Jericho’s traitorous body leapt at the feel of the Kin. He tried to ignore Seino’s erection pressed against his belly, even as his own cock responded.
“What’s going on?” Anya woke from her nap and stretched, still wearing nothing. His body hardened like a rock. All over.
“You really need to get her some clothes.” He stared into Seino’s eyes, mesmerised by the flaming glow of anger, lust and control. Now black-skinned and white-haired again, he resembled a demonic statue of vice and temptation no living thing could resist. And certainly not Jericho. He glanced over at Anya again and felt his heart race even faster. I’m so screwed.
“You need to learn your place, mate.” Seino didn’t move. “And you will. But first, tell us what you found.”
Jericho relayed Serena’s words and finished with, “So we have until twilight tomorrow. That’s if she was telling the truth and not suckering us into moving too late. What if she knew I was there all along?” He tried to pull back but Seino wouldn’t release his hips. “Ah, this is awkward.”
Seino jerked him hard into a kiss that stole Jericho’s resistance, not that he’d had all that much to begin with. Seino’s lips plundered and he thrust his tongue deep, shoving into Jericho in clear mimicry of what Seino’s cock would soon be doing.
“Yes, in your hot mouth. Soon, bear.”
Then Anya was stroking his ass and prodding Jericho to widen his stance. When he did, she cupped his balls and he jerked, nearly ready to come.
“Fuck, that’s good,” he groaned.
“But not what I want from you right now. Anya, come here.” Seino moved away and took Anya into his arms.
Jericho watched as Seino removed his clothes while kissing and fondling her. The woman’s breasts were god-sent, the globes perfectly rounded and full, her nipples hard. Seino sucked them and toyed with her, his fingers disappearing between her legs. Jericho wanted to touch her as well. But Seino held up his free hand.
He broke from her kiss, panting. “Not yet. Wait for it.”
Fuming at the need to obey, Jericho took a step closer. The glare he received for his efforts froze him in place. Fuck, but the Kin looked ready to strip the flesh from his bones. A small burst of cum jolted from his tip, the shocking beginning of a climax Seino quickly pinched off using magic.
The sexual energy flowing around and through them was nearly his undoing. “Come on, Seino. Let me have her.” Let me have you. Please. Fuck, but Jericho felt ready to beg.
Seino returned to Anya and knelt. She held his hair and stroked the tips of ears. Seino groaned and shoved his face into her pussy, pulling a cry from her. All the while, her gaze remained locked on Jericho.
The sight of the pair turned Jericho inside-out. Everything within him cried out for them, and it bothered him. Jericho had always been self-contained. Though he served his clan because he loved them, he didn’t cling to anyone in particular. Not like he seemed to with Seino and Anya. And Bear knew, he’d just met the pair. But could he dismiss what he felt, especially when everything that mattered was right here, right now?
He’d never been normal, by anyone’s standards. So why should being part of a permanent threesome be any harder than the life he’d been living? At least he could never complain of boredom, not with these two.
Anya moaned long and loud, coming over Seino’s mouth. Her lips parted, her eyes slid shut, and her breasts quivered as she smouldered in climax. Damn, she was beautiful. And his. Just like the stubborn bastard kneeling in front of her.
“Now it’s my turn.” Seino stood, completely naked and night-dark. His white hair shone like a beacon in the night. He whispered something to Anya then stepped away and motioned for Jericho to approach.
“Hold on a minute.” Cranky, frustrated, and pretty sure he’d somehow fallen in love with these two, Jericho needed a moment to process it all.
But Seino and Anya had other ideas. Seino snapped his fingers and Jericho’s arms were yanked behind him. He felt cold steel wrap around his wrists.
Anya circled to his front and went down on her knees. She winked up at him. “So naughty, Jericho. Not listening to Seino.”
“He’s not in charge of me.” Jericho groaned when she closed her mouth over him. That sweet little tongue of hers danced over his cockhead and pushed into his slit. “Oh, Anya. Suck it harder. Good girl. So good.”
Seino stood watching, his arms crossed over his broad chest, his smile wide. And dark.
“You’re a bastard, you know that?” Jericho tried to sound meaner, but with Anya pulling him into an orgasm with that mouth, he could barely think.
“You need to know your place, bear.” Seino moved behind Anya, his cock level with her cheeks. “Anya, love, now me.”
The woman left him, high and dry, and turned to take Seino between her plump lips.
Watching her suck Seino, seeing the large male tilt his head back and sigh with pleasure, made it worse. Jericho wanted to fuck him. To fuck her. To come with both of them and start it all over again.
“You’ve a gifted tongue,” Seino murmured in a husky voice. His blood-red gaze met Jericho’s. “Doesn’t she?” Then he reached out and grazed Jericho’s cock with a finger. “She made you quite hard.”
“Fuck. Seino, quit playing. Anya, baby, I need you.”
Seino shook his head. “Our mate knows her place. Frisky, fierce, yet submissive when it counts.” He jerked and sighed. “Swallow it all. Oh yes.”
Jericho tried to move forward and found his ankles bound in restraints. They didn’t look tied to anything, but again, he couldn’t move. “Your magic. You’re cheating.”
“Whatever it takes to win, Jericho.” Seino gave him a sleepy smile. “My, that is one thick cock. You’re wet, too. I believe you need to come, don’t you?” Seino took Jericho in his hand and squeezed.
The agony of need prodded Jericho to relent, but he sensed if he did, he’d be giving something away he’d never get back.
Seino’s expression eased. “Lover, you need not fear. My heart and soul is already in your keeping, and in hers.” Seino caressed Anya’s hair and withdrew from her lips. Still large and shiny, he didn’t look as if he’d just come. “But I did.”
Jericho groaned. “I give up. You won’t stay out of my mind.”
“Or your heart. Look deep, bear. You’ll see I’m already in there. You have only to accept me, fully. You’ve already taken to Anya, but you’re not altogether there yet. We three are bonded, Jericho. By magic, by Banathmae, by fate. We’re stronger than anything out there. As one, we will defeat our enemies and protect our people.”
The mission came flashing back in his mind, and he didn’t know how he could have for one second forgotten the danger that lay beyond the woods.
“You forget nothing. Your magic knows the truth. Safety and risk both lie this way. With us.”
Anya stood, her eyes bright with lust, and what Jericho suspected might be love.
“I just—I don’t think I can be what you want me to be. I’m not a doormat.” Jericho growled with frustration. “Y
eah, you’re sexy. Both of you, I admit. Anya takes what I am, she’s accepted me. But you…”
“I demand you to be all you truly are,” Seino said softly. “You’re a Dark Walker. Kin, Jericho. You are more than bear. And you’re more than the dominant male you assume yourself to be.” Seino took a step closer, until his body brushed Jericho’s. “You find great pleasure in letting go, mate. Trust me. I’ll catch you when you fall. I’ll be here.”
“And so will I,” Anya added. “I’ve given you my trust, Jericho. But you have to give it back.”
He wasn’t sure what to do.
“Know yourself.” Seino put his palm over Jericho’s heart.
Anya reached from behind him and did the same.
Jericho shut his eyes, wishing things were easier. Sex could be fun, uncomplicated. But nothing with this pair—his mates—was simple. A demon and a cat, both a part of him. The amulet swelled with power and heat against his chest. But the hands over his heart pulled him deeper. Despite their brief acquaintance and the danger that waited, he didn’t want to be anywhere else but here. With these two. Giving up his trust, his secrets, his love, to a pair of Kin.
“That’s it.” Seino nipped his earlobe and soothed the sting with his tongue. In a second, the bonds holding Jericho still disappeared. “Now get on your knees, mate. And take me in your mouth.”
Jericho shivered. Anya moved to stand behind Seino and put her hands around his body to play with his nipples. The sight of her pale fingers contrasting with Seino’s dark skin looked so damn sexy. Without thought, he lowered to his knees.
Seino moaned and stared down at Jericho through half-closed eyes. “That’s it, Jericho. Pleasure me. Let me feel that mouth over my cock. Take my seed into your body. Oh yes.”
Hearing his mate sigh with pleasure made everything right. Jericho licked and sucked, loving the taste of dark magic. Seino was everything he needed. The male counterpart while Anya fulfilled the feminine roll of seductress and nurturer. He groaned when he felt her behind him, her breasts pressed into his back. She encircled his cock with small, yet forceful hands, and he couldn’t help pumping into them while he sucked Seino.