Beyond The Veil: A Paranormal & Magical Romance Boxed Set

by Multiple Authors

  The beast can locate Kyme, the darkness inside him whispered, tempted.

  She was his, and no one in Hades or on earth would stop him from claiming her.

  ***

  He’s here. Kyme’s eyes flashed open.

  She crept to the temple entrance. Her mouth grew dry; her throat constricted. Across the field, a figure emerged out of the forest. Blast it. What a poor choice of shelter. The rain echoing off the temple roof had masked Arsenius’s approach.

  Time to flee.

  She bolted out of the temple, hoping to lose him in the trees.

  A feral growl fixed her feet to the ground.

  “I’ll always find you, Kyme. You cannot run from me.” The words carried across the field to her, yet the voice didn’t resemble Arsenius’s deep timbre.

  A sickening pit of dread dropped in her stomach as she twisted around. Lightning flashed in the sky and she gasped, spotting the predator stalking toward her. With long, graceful steps, like a panther, he hunted her.

  Dressed only in his dark leather breeches, his upper body was bare. The chase was over the moment she perceived his markings, the burning embers of his eyes.

  Oh, gods, no. Arsenius’s frenzy.

  Her shock spun to terror, dripping icy beads of sweat down her back. A bonding mark circled his left bicep.

  He bonded to me.

  Against the black of night, his eyes flashed silver. Her pulse quickened as she grasped his intent. The beast didn’t thirst for her blood.

  It aimed to mate with her.

  Though her body responded, growing hot at the intoxicating sight of this powerful warrior, her mind would never surrender to him like this. In this state, Arsenius was more animal than man. Kyme eyed the beast in front of her. Combat strategies flew through her mind. No, she would not submit without a fight.

  She crouched, ready to defend herself. Prepared to let him make the first attack. He outweighed her by more than a hundred pounds of pure muscle, and in his frenzy he was damn near invincible.

  Still, she had to fight. Tooth and nail if need be. If she lost, at least he’d have the injuries to prove it hadn’t been an easy win.

  Lightning flashed across the sky like a signal to begin.

  He lunged for her legs.

  Kyme rolled out of the way, grabbing a handful of sticks and rocks. She tossed them over her shoulder, into his face, and shot to her feet. He spat and swatted at the dirt. She used the distraction to land a couple of hard punches into his gut.

  He blocked her third blow and twisted her arm, flipping her so she landed with her back against the ground. She gathered her strength and swept her leg out at his, knocking him off balance. Leaping upright, she spun around to his back.

  Her goal was to prevent his massive arms from encircling her. She had to counter his strength. Pouring her might into her legs, she vaulted into the air and kicked her right leg into his spine. He collapsed onto one knee and howled in pain.

  Without waiting for him to recover, she sprang onto his back and tackled him to the ground. She shoved his face into the mud, managing to pin one arm behind his back, yet she had no rope. Damn. He bucked against her like a stallion being broken, threatening to throw off her pathetic weight any second now.

  In the corner of Kyme’s eye, she spotted a fist-sized rock. She snatched it and aimed to send the rock crashing down upon his skull, but Arsenius grunted and fluidly flipped her over, so he was on top and her back pressed into the ground.

  Despair overtook her as she grasped he’d been toying with her, wearing her out, and letting her fancy she had a chance to win this. If the minotaur hadn’t…

  His undeniable erection ground against her core. No, not like this. Kyme grimaced; her body heated while her mind protested. In one last effort, she rammed her knee into his groin. He shifted to the side, snarling, and she rolled out from under him. Crawling away from him, she groped along the ground for a weapon.

  If only she had a dagger. Then she’d be able to incapacitate him until this frenzy passed and she could reason with him.

  Ha. Reason and bonded male were incompatible.

  Must find a weapon. Her fists closed around stalks of grass. Ugh.

  The horrific roar behind her froze Kyme. The howl of pure violence fragmented through to her very soul. Fear clenched her pounding heart, strangling her breath. In that instant, all was lost.

  The beast snared her ankle and dragged her toward him. He flipped her onto her back once more. Any delusions she’d had concerning the rules of his frenzy were annihilated as she peered into his demonic eyes.

  In those depths, there was no Arsenius.

  Her Arsenius would not pull through at the last moment and stop this madness. He was as powerless as she.

  He wrenched her underneath his body and his hands possessively spread her thighs.

  Panic seized her, but then her training assumed control. Kyme shoved her hands up against his chest. Amber light radiated between them. She gaped, helpless to stop the strike honed for more than a century, the instincts nurtured to seize command when her mind couldn’t.

  “No!” She screamed as electricity blasted from her hands.

  Arsenius catapulted off her, shooting through the air and landing a few feet away.

  No.

  Her heart shattered.

  The bolt she’d sent through him was more than enough to kill a man, twice over.

  Kyme drew in a ragged breath and hugged her arms across her chest. Curling on her side, she closed her eyes. She lay frozen on the ground as the rain mixed with her tears.

  Was this Artemis’s way of punishing her for breaking her vow? It wasn’t enough to revoke her powers. No, the gods were probably laughing up on Mount Olympus, delighting in how they’d made her kill the man who loved her.

  If she hadn’t given herself to him, he never would have bonded. He might have been spared their wrath.

  She squeezed her eyes tighter, refusing to ever open them again. To never peer at his lifeless body.

  May the gods kill me too.

  Though her body shivered, numbness consumed her. Whatever emotions had been inside her once, they were gone.

  I killed him.

  Her beautiful Arsenius. The male she lov—

  Oh gods. I love him.

  The knowledge burst forth from her in an all-consuming sob. She wrung her fingers. If she’d had a blade, she would have sliced off the offending digits. Her gift was supposed to be gone. How had she done this? She moaned at the anguish slashing her soul apart.

  Amazons didn’t fall in love, yet too late she identified the emotion which had conquered her.

  Against the will of the gods, she had loved Arsenius.

  Whenever someone countered the gods, it always ended in tragedy. It was her treacherous heart’s fault he was dead.

  Kyme’s body continued to function. Her lungs respired, her heart beat, and all the while she questioned what the point was.

  Arsenius is dead.

  Chapter Thirty-one

  Kyme’s ears registered a low, menacing chuckle. Good, one of the gods had come to kill her. She clasped her arms tighter against her body, clamped her eyes shut, and waited for death.

  It didn’t come.

  Instead, that rich deep voice she thought she’d never hear again spoke. “Did I never tell you who my mother was, Amazone?”

  Her eyes flew open and she shot up to sit. Across the field, Arsenius rose to his feet. The cool rain evaporated as it splattered across his body, misting around him.

  He’s alive.

  No, it couldn’t be.

  Lightning struck in the distance and his eyes flashed silver. It isn’t possible. What trick of the gods was this?

  Her stiff limbs forgotten, she scrambled backward until she rammed into a tree. Trapped by my hallucinations. “I k-killed you.”

  He stalked toward her, his hand rubbing at the back of his neck. “You can’t kill me, not with your energy. My mother was a daughter of Astrape.�
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  The goddess of lightning and handmaiden of Zeus?

  His lips curved in a grim smile. “Let’s just say, I inherited her ability to absorb energy.”

  She was unable to control the tremble in her voice as she spoke to him. “It… I can’t kill you?”

  “Nay. My mother bargained with Hades to send the bolt to me, to initiate my morphos. All your power does to me is make me stronger.” His heated perusal caressed her body. “And hungry.”

  Kyme’s heart pounded in her chest, her mind spinning from the shock. She sucked in a deep breath and studied him. He was right. Already, she detected the changes. Every familiar ripple of muscle, every curve and dip, was slightly larger than before. He even stood half an inch taller. The rain cascaded around him and condensed in a vaporous fog, glistening and defining his muscles. Oh my.

  Her scrutiny drifted back to his face. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

  His stance grew rigid, and he narrowed his eyes at her. “I never thought you’d actually attempt to kill me.”

  “I didn’t mean to.” Kyme shuddered. “My powers are, were gone. I’ve been trying for days to…” She shook her head. “Besides, you were in your frenzy. You were going to rape me.” She blew out a shaky breath. His actions didn’t matter now. Her guilt over hurting him was stronger. “Forgive me.”

  As he closed in on her, she tensed. She had nowhere to run to—the bark of the tree scraped her back. How angry was he? What would he do with her?

  Swiping the rain from his face, he strode forward a few more steps. “You had no choice.” He shoved his hand through his short hair and the ice hardening his features melted. “In truth, I am glad you can defend yourself against my frenzy.”

  She frowned at him as he laughed. “I do not see the humor in this, Arsenius. You terrified me.”

  “That’s not possible, is it? My Amazone fears nothing.” A few feet from her, he crossed his arms and glared down at her. “Did you lie? You claimed you aren’t afraid of my frenzy.”

  “No,” she whispered. “You terrified me when I believed you were dead.”

  ***

  Kyme’s words pierced through the armor re-solidifying around his heart, but he didn’t dare believe her.

  Was I wrong about Kyme?

  She’d struck him with enough force to kill him.

  Yet, the water marks streaking her cheeks were not from the rain but her tears. He softened. She might not love him, but she cared about him. A lot. Perhaps this would be all she’d ever be able to offer him.

  Moreover, he believed her explanation of presuming her gift lost.

  Stooping beneath the tree branches, he closed the distance between them and leaned in, his body inches from hers. “Kyme, I am the one who must apologize.”

  Deep inside, he was horrified at what he’d almost done to her. He should have tried harder to control the frenzy, but when it came to Kyme, he lost all restraint.

  In this moment, he wouldn’t survive being denied again. He craved her like he’d never desired anything. It wasn’t her body or the act of love he required.

  Arsenius sought to possess her heart, mind, and soul. If he won those, she’d always be his.

  “Kyme,” he purred. “I’ve always known I’m a monster.” He trailed one hand down the side of her face. “But only you have turned me into an animal.” She moaned at the contact and he sank onto his knees in front of her. “Tell me you want this, that you need me as badly as I do you.”

  She moistened her lips and the flash of her pink tongue made him groan. It took every ounce of his strength to wait for her to come to him. She pressed her palm to his chest. His pulse thundered in his ears, so surely, she must sense his heart pounding. Would she reject him?

  Her other hand curled around the back of his neck, her fingers clawing at his hair. His chest rumbled as she ushered his mouth to hers.

  He’d hoped to make love to her tenderly, but he couldn’t, so he pulled away from her lips for long enough to give her fair warning.

  “I cannot be gentle with you tonight.” As he whispered the words against her neck, she shivered in his arms.

  “I don’t want you to be.”

  Arsenius growled at her response and his control fell away. He swept her to her feet and pinned her against the tree. Fisting the fabric of her wet skirt, he tore her dress open. His mouth fell upon her freed breast and he lapped the rain from her skin, devouring the ambrosial taste of his mate. His hand circled downward and claimed the moist heat between Kyme’s thighs, her nectar slick against his fingers as they delved inside.

  Unable to wait a second longer, he shoved down his breeches and freed his throbbing erection. Lifting her, he wrapped her legs around his waist and seated himself deep inside her.

  His mouth found hers again and he swallowed her moans as he pumped into her. He braced one hand behind her head, against the bark, while the other slipped down between them. Circling her center, he massaged her until she screamed his name. A couple more thrusts and he joined her in ecstasy.

  He was far from finished with her. Not until his scent covered her inside and out. Until she submitted to him, as a mate should. With that conclusion in mind, Arsenius slid out of her, still solid and thick, and positioned her on her hands and knees on the ground.

  He was going to show her precisely how an animal like him made love to his mate. Kneeling behind her, he sank deep inside her, profound satisfaction settling into his gut at the way she gasped. He clutched her hips where he wanted them, asserting she fell beneath his command.

  He pumped harder, faster, the sensation of her clenching him driving him onward. Bracing his body above hers, he placed his hands atop hers and let his weight encompass her as he released his seed into her body. “Mine!” he bellowed into the darkness.

  His bonding mark throbbed and burned, darkening as his claiming was complete. There’d never be any turning back for him. Inside her, his cock pulsed, by no means appeased yet.

  Kyme grunted and Arsenius became conscious of where they were, and how his body pressed her into the ground. Cursing, he flipped them over and drew her on top of him. Her legs straddling him, her hands lazily traced the muscles of his chest.

  The rain subsided, the sky filled with stars, and the Moon shone upon them with affection once more. He caressed her cheek, in awe of her beauty. In the Moonlight, her skin glistened like a siren’s. Her fingertips trailed down his arms, but the implications of his bonding mark went unspoken between them.

  Arsenius yearned to declare his love for her, but he’d learned his lesson. Instead, he snared the back of her head and captured her sweet lips. His shaft throbbed, reminding him of its neglect.

  “Ride me, Kyme,” he rasped. “Take your pleasure from my body.” She bit her lip, so he lifted her and positioned her on top of him. As a sensual hiss escaped her, he braced his hands on her hips and guided her, teaching her the rhythm.

  Her wet hair curled around her shoulders, tickling his chest each time she rocked forward. Kyme’s strong thighs gripped his hips as she rode him hard. Her eyes were closed, her lips parted in bliss, but he kept his eyes open, enraptured by the woman he loved. She was so beautiful in her passion. As long as he drew breath, no other woman would ever compare to her.

  Tonight, he’d show her what she meant to him. He would never risk uttering those words again. What did it matter, when they’d never be repeated back to him?

  No, from here forward, with Kyme, he’d use actions.

  Because if he couldn’t shout his love for her from the mountaintops, then he’d have to find another way to set it free.

  ***

  The familiar, cold stone walls of the abandoned temple greeted Kyme’s sleepy eyes, but where had the soft furs beneath her come from? As she drifted into consciousness, she grasped that she lay on her side, and something hard was buried between her thighs, deep inside her.

  Oh. She smiled. Arsenius had made love to her all night long. Even when they’d dozed off, he’d refuse
d to withdraw from her body. Now, as she squirmed to escape his embrace, a low growl reminded her that while he may be asleep, he was infinitely aware of her presence. A precaution against her taking flight again? No. Regardless of where this path led her, she was compelled to follow it.

  The gods had restored her gift, or perhaps Artemis had never revoked it?

  Later, she would attempt to summon her goddess—a risk she’d never dared before. Yet she had to learn why she remained in possession of her powers.

  Her hand glowed amber, and she sighed in relief. She hadn’t dreamed any of it. Her body grew hot as flashes of the night before came back to her. Arsenius had claimed he wouldn’t be gentle with her.

  He’d lied. Though his lovemaking was rough and demanding, he’d never once hurt her. The scrapes and bruises from the rough terrain formed on his body, not hers.

  Though the beast in him insisted on claiming her, the bonded male wasn’t capable of harming her in any way. It was his goal in life to please her, to serve her, and to service her needs. She stretched out, satisfaction warming her to the core.

  Pleasured her he had. Kyme’s body ached in the ways a woman well-loved did. His scent covered her, along with mud, sweat, and evidence of their lovemaking.

  As she whispered to him that she had to attend to her needs, he released her with a reluctant grunt. She strolled to a small pond and waded in, washing off the dirt as the cool water eased her.

  Her mind spun, unable to fathom her circumstances. Arsenius loved her and he was bonded to her. With every kiss, every caress, he’d shown her the degree of his affection.

  Last night he’d not declared his devotion. Regret bubbled inside her. It was clear why he hadn’t. Even so, she wouldn’t abandon him. If she took flight again, it would destroy him. It would destroy her too.

  She loved him. A scoff puffed from her lips. An Amazon, in love. Incredulous.

  Though her heart blossomed with the knowledge of her affection for him, she was afraid to speak those words to him.