Calluna

by Jewels Arthur

  “I’m sorry about this, you guys. All of this,” I say as Rhett and I break our kiss. “I don’t regret having you guys in my life, even you, Elias, with the whole caveman act. I think I know what spurred all this on, and I can’t help but think that it may have never happened, and you wouldn’t all be having to give up so much.”

  “What do you mean?” Elias asks, quirking a brow at me.

  “This.” I sigh as I pull the book from my bag. I hold out Love Blooms by C. C. Pine to the guys.

  “Nice sword,” Rhett says with a laugh before Damian pulls the book from his hands.

  “It’s spelled. I believe that when I read this book, it sparked the mate connection between us all. It explains why when I first met Landyn, or even you guys, there wasn’t the instant spark, but then after reading the book, it was there. So, I did this,” I confess, letting out a harsh breath.

  “Did you spell the book?” Elias asks, scooting down the bench so that his face is closer to mine.

  “No.”

  “Did you know it was spelled?” he asks.

  “No, but maybe I should have,” I groan.

  “You didn’t do this, Calluna, and I truly doubt the book was spelled strongly enough to create a connection out of nowhere. There had to be something there first. Mate connections don’t just happen because of magic, though they can be sparked by magic, especially if there is some underlying issue that would be blocking the connection. As Rhett said, we all have our own issues. Things that would stand in the way of the connection sparking on its own. This book…” He grabs it from Damian’s hands. “This book only sparked something that was already present. Even if I had seen you on the street for the first time today, without the spark, I would have found myself deeply attracted to you. Then when you began yelling at me, I would have been just as lost as I am now. No one yells at a power angel. We generate fear in those around us, not aggression. You were screaming and growling at me in the middle of the street. You did not bend to my commands. You got moody and stomped away like a petulant child.” He chuckles, putting his fingers against my cheek and touching me for the first time. His touch causes heat to course through my veins and my heart to skitter. I stare into his flecked copper eyes, the compulsion to kiss him making my breath catch.

  “I’m not a petulant child,” I say the words breathily, unable to generate any anger behind them.

  “You kind of were.” He chuckles, tapping me on the nose. His large hand holds my face in place, and he looks at me as if battling himself. His fingertips push slightly into the back of my head as he pulls my face towards his and allows our lips to connect for the first time. Desire radiates between us as heat pools in my belly. Without breaking our kiss, he stands and pulls me into a sitting position, then I wrap my legs around him. His hands drag down my back until they reach my ass, which he cups to hold me in place.

  “Piny! Look at them, they’re kissing!” a little girl squeals to Lupine, causing Elias and me to break apart quickly. I laugh and loosen the hold my legs have on him.

  “Give me a second,” Elias says breathlessly. “I’d rather the little girl not see how much I enjoyed that kiss.”

  “Same,” Damian and Rhett say at the same time, making me laugh louder, and my chest already feels so much lighter.

  Calluna

  After being caught making out by a small child, we decide to leave the park and head to my apartment. I ask them to come with me, not only because I want to rip their fucking clothes off and don’t want to get arrested for public indecency, but also because I need to talk to them about the shit I saw at Black Moon Magick. Fear radiates through me at the memory of the power I witnessed from the two brothers as they stood over the corpse of the bird.

  I unlock the door to my apartment and invite the guys in, pointing to the couch and telling them to sit down while I go into the kitchen to get drinks. I walk out with beers, handing one to each of the men and sitting down in the space between Damian and Rhett. Jake runs into the room and leaps onto Elias’ lap, causing him to jump and almost spill his beer.

  “What the hell? You have a monkey?” he asks, eyes wide.

  “Yup, that’s Jake,” I say, then make a kissing noise to call him to me. He runs across Damian’s legs and onto my lap, purring and meowing as I rub his tiny head.

  “Why is he meowing?” Elias asks, still looking completely stunned that not only do I have a monkey in my apartment, but that it meows.

  “He has a species disorder. He cycles through different animals from time to time. Don’t you, baby boy?” I coo to Jake. “This is one of the reasons I asked you guys to come to my apartment.”

  “You wanted to show us your monkey?” Rhett questions with a wink and a flirty smile.

  I clench my thighs together, wanting nothing more than to show them my metaphorical monkey. Refraining from doing just that, I shake my head with a small smile. “No. Jake was one of the cursed animals that I came across. There was a darkness in him, much like the darkness I saw in you, Rhett, the night Damian brought you into my shop. The same black smoke you described seeing that night was always present in the creatures brought in. There have been several animals found like this, but the police force doesn’t seem to take them very seriously. I began practicing dark magic as a way to remove the curses. Although, as I had very little knowledge of the way the magic worked, and no one to really mentor me, I was only able to remove a bit of the bad magic. There are always traces left behind. Quirks that make them different than a normal animal.”

  “Do I have any traces?” Rhett asks.

  “I don’t think so. The animal that I uncursed before you was Klaus, and the only trace left on him is his rash issue. I think you’re the first time I was completely successful. I used my blood and Damian’s. That may have been the key.”

  “Who is doing this?” Elias asks, addressing the three of us, since we’ve been directly involved in the incidents. “Did you two see anything?”

  “Not really,” Damian says, shaking his head.

  “I went to Black Moon Magick today to speak with the owner, Falcar, about the book. When I went in, I saw him and his brother doing magic over a dead bird.” Anxiety knots my stomach as I think of what I saw today and the fear I felt when Nelcar pinned me against the wall as if I was nothing. “They caught me, and one of the brothers, Nelcar, attacked me. He held me in place with magic until Falcar told him to let me go.”

  Elias’ hand clenches, and a snarl leaves his lips. “He hurt you?”

  I nod, biting my lip. “They’re dangerous. I don’t know what we can do, but we have to do something.”

  Damian and Rhett both put their hands on my thighs comfortingly, giving them a small squeeze. “We’ll figure something out,” Damian breathes. “We should go to the police.”

  “What will the police do if they haven’t done anything so far?” Rhett asks. “We should go down there and sort this out ourselves.”

  “Rhett, we aren’t fucking superheroes. Luna is the only one that knows magic. Don’t be rash,” Damian snaps.

  “Did you say rash? Where?” Rhett shouts, looking around his body and pulling a laugh from me.

  “How about this, we call the police station and give them our account of the night Rhett was attacked, and then Luna can tell them more about the animals she has brought into the shop. Give them our suspicions of the brothers at Black Moon Magick, and hope that they do their jobs,” Damian offers rationally.

  “Okay…” I say, knowing this is the safest plan of action. There’s no way I could take on the brothers alone. I have no grasp on my powers at all. Hell, even the black sparks I experienced today with Elias are new to me, and I have no idea if I could even replicate the action.

  Damian calls the Silver Springs Police Department and gives an officer his full account of what’s been happening, then he passes the phone to Rhett and me to fill in the rest. The officer says that he’ll look into it and question the brothers at Black Moon Magick, but as it isn’t i
llegal to practice dark magic, there isn’t much they can do without concrete proof. I feel dejected, but hope they can uncover something that will end this.

  I flip on the television, and the four of us start watching some movie that Rhett picked when Elias gets up.

  “I have to go, mi alma. There is still some angel business I have to take care of, but I will come back.” He pulls me up from the couch and into his arms. The transition from the caveman I met earlier today to this sweet man holding me is like night and day. His strong arms hold me against his chest, and I melt a bit as he bends his face down to press his lips to mine, dragging his tongue against my lips until I allow him entry. He explores me slowly before releasing me, pressing a last kiss to my forehead before he walks out the door. I return to the couch, feeling two small holes in my heart from his and Landyn’s absences.

  Damian

  Calluna sits between Rhett and me, leaning her head on my shoulder and placing her hand on my leg. Her touch electrifies me to my bones. I’ve known this woman for just a few short days, and already I feel how deeply she has burrowed herself into my heart. Evil? Not a chance. There isn’t one part of me that could ever believe that this beautiful woman was evil. The amount of love she shows for the animals around her, keeping all these ‘broken’ animals, is nothing but pure goodness. She may have darkness in her, but like Rhett said, we all do. Does her darkness overshadow her light, though? No.

  I watch as Rhett’s hand rests on her thigh, much higher than before, and I know that he’s struggling to hold himself together. The need to have her pushes on both of us. When she and Elias shared their first kiss in the park, the passion that ignited between them had me hard as a rock, wishing I was the one at her lips. Everything about her calls to me. Her soft pouty lips, her beautiful caramel skin, her blue-green eyes. The tank top she has on barely covers her large, supple breasts, and I want nothing more than to feel them in my palms. To run my lips against her hardened nipples.

  I shift on the couch, trying to adjust the bulge in my pants, and my movement causes her to look at me. She takes in my heavy-lidded gaze with her lips slightly parted and her breaths quickening. Unable to hold back, I bend forward and press my lips to hers, kissing her gently, asking her permission to go further. I don’t want to push her, or to rush this situation that already must have her feeling as if her world has been flipped upside down. The hand she had resting on my leg begins to climb higher as she deepens our kiss, opening her mouth for me. The small inch she gives me causes me to snap, and I lean into her, making love to her mouth. Her hand stops sliding up my leg when she reaches her destination, and she cups the bulge in my jeans, making my cock twitch in her grasp.

  She shifts further into me, and our kiss breaks as her tank top is pulled over her head. My eyes connect with Rhett’s, and I see the same fire burning in his as I feel burning in mine. He tosses her shirt to the floor, making fast work of the clasp on the back of her bra and pulling that off as well. Once her breasts are free, I lean forward to drag my tongue against the dark tips, causing her breaths to quicken. I feel Rhett’s hands dragging down her stomach, then one comes up to grasp at the breast opposite of the one I’m licking and sucking. She moans as he pinches her other nipple and places kisses and bites along her neck.

  “Where is your bedroom, beautiful?” Rhett asks in her ear, using that husky voice of his that makes me completely wild.

  “Through the kitchen,” she moans, moving to stand. I grab onto her waist and stand, pulling her close to me. She wraps her legs around my waist as I carry her in the direction she pointed, allowing Rhett to lead the way. He opens a door, revealing a small bedroom with a king-sized bed. Calluna turns, and we watch as Rhett strips, pulling his shirt off and throwing it to the ground. Then he pushes down his jeans and boxers at the same time, displaying how hard he is. No matter how many times I see this man’s body, I still find myself as rigid as the first time. He’s a thing of beauty with his tanned skin and his hard-muscled chest. His abs are so fucking lickable that I feel the urge to drag my tongue against them right now. His cock is thick and long, the sight causing me to groan as I recall how amazing it feels as he pushes inside me. Calluna turns to me and takes in my turned-on state, gazing at me hungrily.

  “I want to see you together,” she purrs, and my cock jerks in my pants.

  “Are you sure? We’re more than happy to concentrate on you,” I whisper to her, while finding myself deeply turned on at her eagerness to watch us together.

  “I’m sure,” she replies, her gaze heated.

  I lay her on the bed, then bend over to pull her leggings from her body, dragging my tongue against her skin on the way down. I grasp her ankles and tug her body towards me, pulling her ass to the edge of the bed. I kneel down with my knees on the floor and stare at her pussy, dripping with need for the two of us. Unable to resist any longer, I lean forward and spread her for me, then drag my tongue against her slit, stopping to swirl around her clit. She jerks on the bed as I continue to feast on her, and I look up to see Rhett kissing her lips, then moving to capture her nipples in his mouth. We continue to push her into a frenzy, and her thighs quiver as she holds my head in place. Pleas fall from her lips, and I groan as my cock presses hard against my jeans, aching to be touched. I push two of my fingers inside her and slide them in and out easily with her juices, feeling her clench around them as she’s pushed closer and closer to the edge while I nibble and suck on her greedy clit.

  “I’m coming!” she screams as her core tightens around my fingers, causing my cock to ache, wishing I was inside her as she comes. Soon enough.

  She lies on the edge of the bed, her body now slack, and Rhett pulls her towards him and sits her up at the head of the bed. Watching him kiss her passionately, I begin removing my jeans and allow them to pool at my feet as I begin stroking myself. Rhett crawls towards me on his knees and pulls me onto the bed with him, grasping the back of my neck roughly and crashing his mouth into mine. I moan against his lips as he kisses me, panting as our stiff cocks rub against each other. I reach down and grip his shaft, using the pre-cum to glide my hand up and down with ease.

  Rhett bites back a moan and pushes me back so that I’m lying beside Luna, then he crawls between us, moving from her lips to mine while always keeping a hand on the other person. He strokes my cock as he kisses her lips and drags his fingers along her slit as he kisses mine, driving us both into a frenzy. Unable to take much more, I grasp the back of his head, giving a gentle push down to where I want him. He accepts his new position with eagerness, dragging his tongue against the bottom of my cock and then pulling the entire shaft in his mouth. I buck my hips upward, encouraging him to take more of me, and curse as I hit the back of his throat, which he clenches around the sensitive head. I bite my lip and look over to Luna as she stares in wonder while he sucks my cock in earnest, his moans vibrating down my shaft and causing me to grit my teeth. I watch in anticipation as Luna crawls down my side and finds a position next to Rhett, getting a closer look as he works me over. Her soft fingers reach out and cup my balls, causing me to twitch in his mouth, and it takes everything in me to not come. She takes in my reaction with a smile, that dark side she spoke about earlier coming to the surface.

  “Let’s torture him a bit, beautiful,” Rhett growls, then he drags his lips and teeth along the side of my cock as she does the same, a husky moan leaving her lips. They continue their ministrations, working me into a frenzy. I’m barely holding it together, unsure of whether to beg them to stop or to beg them to let me come. Wanting to be inside her, I go with the former and pull Luna up my chest, kissing her passionately. Rhett follows suit, pressing a kiss to her lips, then one to mine, finding a way to touch us both.

  “I need inside you, mi Luna. Do you think you can take us both?” I ask, my voice barely a rasp.

  “Yes, please,” she begs, crawling on top of me and lining her core up to my aching cock. Her wetness already has me twitching, and I grit my teeth to hold myse
lf together, knowing that I won’t last long. She grasps me at the base and slowly impales herself on me, soft moans leaving her lips as she slides down inch by inch. The sight of my cock slowly disappearing into her heat is the hottest fucking thing I’ve ever witnessed, and I lock eyes with Rhett, begging him to take her too.

  “Do you have lube, beautiful?” he asks, coming up behind her and pushing her hair to one side to give him access to lick and suck on her neck.

  “Yes,” she moans as she slides up and down on my cock. “Nightstand drawer.”

  Rhett leans over and grabs the tube, squirting a generous amount onto his cock and then against her back entrance. “Have you done this before, beautiful?” he asks, barely hiding the intensity of his question. I too await her answer, as I’m unhappy at the idea of any men other than her four mates touching her. Fuck, I won’t even be pleased with Landyn touching her until he begs for forgiveness after hurting her.

  “No,” she says breathily, her blue-green eyes locking with mine. “Anal sex never interested me until now.”

  A sigh of satisfaction leaves both Rhett’s and my lips, and I know we’re fucking dicks for being pleased about this. But shifters take pride in claiming every inch of their mates, and the fact that no man has entered her there has me once again trying my hardest to hold my shit together.

  “Relax,” I tell her as I rub her thighs which are squeezing me tightly, trying to comfort her. I feel as Rhett begins to push into her and continue to rub her legs to help her stay calm as he enters her and a wince crosses her lips. I groan when she’s fully seated on both of our cocks, feeling Rhett’s cock against my own through her thin wall. We both begin to move, sawing in and out of her, our moans all mixing as we work each other closer and closer to release.