Hidden Heart (Dark Wing Series Book 1)

by Ellie Pond

  She sat up, her back straight, and he didn’t feel so smart. “What do you mean? Why wouldn’t I? You … you use your magic.”

  “Shifting isn’t magic. It’s what I am.”

  She pushed away from him while still sitting on his lap. “What did you say? How is a person changing into an animal not magic?”

  “So, is an iguana changing colors magic? Or when a gecko grows a new tail? Or a kangaroo that grows its young on the outside of its body? It’s just what they are, Aurora. Shifting is just what I am.”

  “And if what I am is a witch, then isn’t that good enough? So, you’re like Spencer. But with his whole ‘witches are an abomination’ speech and all. Are you?” She jumped up from his lap, but he caught her by the hand.

  “Aurora. Wait. We can’t run from each other. We have to talk things through.” She glared at his hand. Duncan let go of her hand but leaned forward, and she didn’t move farther away.

  “Well, look at you being all adult. Aren’t you the one who hit his brother and almost died in a cage fight? All adult? Well. It’s my turn to not be rational, NOT rational at all, Duncan. My witchy self.” Her hands were on her hips, and her face scrunched.

  Shoot, she was beautiful and pissed, and she had a point.

  “I will see you later. Much later. Like, tomorrow later.” She turned away from him.

  “Aurora, I meant it as a joke. I am sorry,” Duncan whispered. And then he pulled at their connection that was forming. The mating bond. “Aurora, please. I don’t mean to make you mad. But you need to know the truth. You have a choice.”

  “You mean if I use magic, not if I mate you. That’s fate. Can’t mess with fate.”

  How had this gone from him nuzzling her against his chest to her questioning if they should be together?

  “Aurora.” He wanted to say more. But he had already said too much. His beautiful mate had enough. Not that he didn’t want her to use her magic. He wanted her to be safe. And the best way for that to happen was to keep her out of the crosshairs of the wolf council and the coven.

  She stood there, not budging her fists on her hips. He thought she would have taken off by now, running away from him.

  “Duncan Larsen. You are wrong. And I am not going until you understand that.”

  He took a step towards her. She put her right hand out straight in a stop motion. She looked like a backup singer. He would not smile. He took another step closer.

  “You stay over there with your sexy smile and handsome face. I am not going to be distracted.”

  Was he smiling? It was so hard not to around his mate. He took a step closer.

  “I am serious, Duncan. Sit.”

  He sat on the settee. If she says good doggie, I am throwing her over my shoulder and taking her back to her cabin. Say it. And loud and clear in his head, he heard, I am not saying that. He’ll throw me over his shoulder.

  The link. The mating link. This was the minute it clicked in, during their first fight? Well, not their first fight. They had had many fights through their high school years. But usually over the fact that she dated jerks and he … oh. They probably weren’t jerks.

  “What the heck, Duncan?”

  It’s the link.

  “The link?”

  Yes, the link—it’s solidifying.

  “I thought that didn’t happen unless we mated fully.”

  “I guess; I never talked about it with anyone before. I’d given no thought to the possibility of having a fated mate. Never thought it would happen.”

  “So you didn’t want a mate?”

  He took a step forward towards her, her guard down a little now. “I want you. It didn’t occur to me, most likely because I wanted you and you were Spencer’s best friend and off-limits.” Duncan pulled Aurora’s chin up to his face, but instead of the serious hurt look he expected, she smirked at him.

  “Oh, you’re good.”

  You know I want you. Didn’t I prove it last night?

  He took her lips.

  Don’t stop.

  “Wait, Duncan, wait.” She pushed off of his shoulders. Pulling away from her made a rip in their connection. “We will have this conversation about magic.” She sat back down on the leather sofa. Not trusting himself, he sat across from her on the settee. Another couple walked through the closed coffee shop lobby. Duncan reached across the void and took her hand. He rubbed the back of her hand with his thumb as they waited for the couple to walk down the hallway.

  “Duncan, you’ve got to understand how confusing this all is to me. I’m complete, yet torn. I need to talk to my family. I have to find out if what Sam said about my mom is true. But I know it is.” Her lashes were heavy as she looked up at him. “I know my mom. While I should be upset, if she did this, it was for a fantastic reason. And somehow, yes, somehow I’ve known that magic was real my whole life. I’m keeping both. You and magic. That’s what I will fight for. What about you?”

  “No fighting necessary.” Duncan crossed to the sofa. “Aurora, I think you misunderstood me before. It’s not that I don’t want you to practice magic. The choice needs to be yours. Life as a witch won’t be easy. It’s like being a shifter was eighteen years ago. You have to keep it secret. Hell, most of the shifter community knows witches exist, but not all. I don’t want you to get caught up like the first shifters who went public. Their lives were ruined. I want you safe, but if that doesn’t make you happy, I get it. I … I see your point.”

  Her eyes glowed chestnut brown and flashed blue with the magic behind them, until now hidden from him and from her, too. The tug from their link pulled him across the settee to her.

  She straddled his legs and ran her hand up his chest. She rubbed his chest and trailed her fingers down his biceps. The magic coursed through her body and pulsated at her fingertips into his skin. The long strokes from her fingernails down his arm made it hard for him to control himself. He ground up against her core.

  Aurora ran her hands up and down his arms again. Her mere touch was enough to send him to the moon. He picked her up; she wrapped her legs around him as he found her lips. Duncan didn't care that they were still in the coffee shop lobby.

  He stood up as they kissed. The pull the bond had on him made him swell more. Aurora ground herself against him. Duncan heard others around them, but he wouldn’t stop. Aurora released her legs, and, after her feet hit the ground, their kiss broke. Aurora’s eyes flashed again.

  I need to be with you now.

  He had to make them one. He scooped her up in his arms and held her to his chest, her long legs dangling over his arms. The stairs came two at a time, and he sped down the hallway. He found her cabin door, and she fumbled with her wristband until the light turned green and he popped the door open.

  After three giant steps, he tossed her onto the bed. She bounced with a giggle.

  Thank you for letting me be myself.

  They were both stubborn, but he would make sure his mate had the life that she wanted. He pushed her wrap dress off of her shoulders and down to her wrists where it held her captive. He ravaged her lightly sunburned shoulders with kisses while he sent healing to the sunburned skin. Her eyes flickered blue.

  “I’m not the only one with magic,” he said “Together we are magic.”

  Duncan pushed her dress the rest of the way down her body. In the dusk, her apricot bra glowed. She reached for his shirt, and he helped her to pull it off over his head. Her hands fumbled with the string to his shorts. He pushed the shorts down, and his thick cock sprang out.

  Duncan unhooked and pulled off Aurora’s bra in one swift motion. He kissed down her collarbone until his mouth found her left breast, his right hand finding the other. She held onto his shoulders; her fingernails scratched down his back. The magic pulsed through them. Shallow and fast, her breaths came. He ran his hands up and down her spine until he caught her panties and pulled them off.

  They faced each other naked. Aurora’s hands locked around his neck, and she wrapped her legs a
round him. The reality of the moment caught him. For years, he wanted nothing but her. With one motion he could take her.

  He lifted her onto the bed and ran his hands down her torso, kissing towards her sweet center. With little bites, he trailed to her core. The sounds she made drove him crazy. He ran his tongue down her center opening.

  “Shit, Rory, you’re so wet for me.”

  His fingers found her clit with languid circles around it until he sucked it into his mouth.

  Duncan.

  She was close. He inserted a finger into her, pumping in and out in unison with his tongue. Her breath came faster now.

  “Duncan.” She moaned his name. He inserted a second finger and continued to devour her.

  He sucked on her clit, and Aurora’s body rose off the bed; she hovered inches over the bed for a second before she fell back to the mattress with a bounce.

  That’s never happened before.

  “The levitation?”

  “That, too.” Duncan laughed.

  She crooked her finger for him to come up the bed, a command he happily followed. Their lips tangled, and he let her taste herself. She moaned into his mouth, her legs spread wide, his cock nestled at her entrance. He pulled away for a moment, Rory before him, a goddess of need. Every part of him was awake. Together they were better. He wanted her as his mate. With each breath, he kissed down the side of her head.

  Her eyes were now crystal blue. The magic pulsated into the room, in time with her heartbeat; the lights flickered with her soft moans. Hands locked around his neck; she pulled him down onto her tongue.

  I need you. I need you now.

  Are you sure? To be certain, he said again, “Are you sure? You have to be sure. There's no going back from this. Once this is done, we are one. To undo a mating …” He shivered.

  Shut up. “Stop it, shut up, just shut up. Shut up and get in me now, mate me now.” His needy mate thrust her hips up against him. He growled back.

  She did it again. I need you in me now. You’re never getting rid of me.

  He chuckled. Yes, my love.

  With a gentle thrust, he sank into her part of the way. She moaned. Are you okay?

  Yes.

  He let her get used to him before he pushed into her the rest of the way. She held him so tight, it was complete bliss. He pulled out slowly, and she thrust up into him. Aurora arched her back, her legs tight around his hips. And then he found himself on his back, Aurora on top. Her eyes were still crystal blue. His mate. She had flipped them with magic. She thrust herself onto him faster so that the world around him blurred. Never had he felt these overwhelming and heightened sensations. His fangs lowered. Her neck was exposed, her eyes dilated. If she were human, he wouldn’t bite her. He would never turn someone. But as a witch, she couldn’t be turned. Her blood shot into his mouth. Aurora screamed her release.

  He jolted as she bit him back. He jerked and let go as his orgasm hit. His mind cleared; shocking stars glowed. And they landed back on the mattress. He licked and kissed the wound on her neck. With another kiss, he healed the spot till there was nothing left but an invisible bite. No wound. He ran his tongue over the area, and she shivered. Aurora leaned in to heal his bite.

  “No, leave it. I want to wear it.” It would heal on its own. She had marked him, and that gave him a sense of satisfaction.

  Aurora grabbed him. She ran her hand up his spine, her eyes now their lovely brown. “I am not sure what’s gotten into me. But I can’t get enough of you.” She licked up his neck around the wound. In an instant, he found himself hard again. He brought his mate’s hands above her head.

  This time, I’m on top.

  * * *

  He rolled over onto his side, bringing his mate with him. He didn’t want to lose the connection. Skin on skin. He didn’t care how many times they had sex. To him, each time would be the mating bond over again. Duncan ran his finger over her eyebrows.

  “So, levitation?”

  “Yeah, levitation. Sorry about that.”

  “Nothing to be sorry about.”

  “Must be my powers unbinding, like Sam said.”

  He nodded, not wanting to think about Sam while holding his naked mate. “Your eyes stayed blue for a while.”

  “Really? I guess, maybe I could tell? Like yours. Like how yours glow with your wolf. Sometimes it’s like I see your wolf right in front of me.”

  “I guess, in a way, I’ve heard this happens with other witches when they’re emotional. Their eyes change color. If you have brown eyes, they change to blue. I don’t know about blue; maybe they turn brown or green. Not sure about green, either. But brown? Brown turns blue.” He rambled. He never rambled. His heart raced. He ran his finger over her lips. She sucked the tip of it into her mouth, and he hardened still inside her.

  “Aurora, I love you. I have loved you for my whole life.” He pressed a kiss to her forehead. She rocked her pelvis against his, her breath light on his chest. “I couldn't let you see it.”

  “I know,” she said.

  He closed his eyes. It was too much to think she could say it so soon. Mates, yes, but love was a different thing.

  She lifted his chin up to her face. “Duncan, I love you, too. You have always been there. You know me better than, well, better than everyone.”

  He was happy that she didn't say his name. Not that he didn't love his brother. Not that he didn't want them to be friends. He would forgive Spencer, but he hadn't yet.

  She pushed him down on to the mattress. “Duncan Larsen, I love you. You think I make people I don’t love float?”

  He laughed.

  “No. Only you.”

  She laid her head on his chest, and he cuddled her closer. Before the Caribbean sun peeked through the curtains, they mated three more times.

  * * *

  Things crashed next door as Gunnar thundered into the adjoining room. Duncan was thankful that their door didn't fly open. He didn't want to deal with Gunnar’s jokes now.

  27

  Friends

  Duncan guided her past the dangerous castle sign. Was it shorter than before? The castle’s cardboard backing was creased and taped. And it leaned on the wall. Aurora resisted the urge to kick the sign down the stairs. With her luck, she would fall down the stairs with it, again.

  “You want me to get rid of it for you?” Duncan kissed her hand and gave the sign the evil eye.

  “That’s okay, I think I can take it this time. Just make sure it doesn’t move.” She looked up at Duncan; he hadn’t let go of her hand since breakfast.

  Lauren leaned against the wall in the corner of the ballroom lobby. Her white blouse wrinkled over the top of her pink capri pants while she actively tried not to make eye contact with anyone. Aurora crossed the lobby towards her and pulled Duncan along.

  He dug his heels in a little and pulled her to him. “Aurora.” She didn’t stop. “Aurora, sweetie. I think maybe she needs her space.”

  Aurora turned, and her eyes flashed blue again.

  “Okay!” He released her hand and put his hands up in surrender. But he followed close by. “Be careful.”

  Aurora headed towards Lauren with increased momentum. Lauren looked away. Her auburn hair hung limp at her shoulders and down her back. She turned slowly away from the sight of Aurora with Duncan following behind. Aurora stopped next to Lauren.

  “Are you okay?” Aurora touched Lauren’s shoulders.

  Lauren glanced down at her, her eyes rimmed in red.

  “Oh, Lauren. What can I do?”

  “Aurora? How did you spend so many years with him? I am … I am breaking inside. I am physically being pulled apart. I wish … no, I don’t. I can’t understand how to make things different or better.”

  Aurora pulled her into a hug. She glanced over at Duncan.

  How does she know? She tested the link.

  Gunnar? I didn’t tell anyone. Duncan shrugged as he stood to the side. He let them have their space.

  Her lips thinne
d. “I wasn’t told, either. But he is a good guy, Lauren. Really, he is a great guy. You will come to see that he will be your everything.”

  “But what am I to him? We might be mates, but he hates the essence of who I am. And you, too.”

  “Oh, Lauren, he doesn’t hate you. He doesn’t hate anyone.” She hoped that was true.

  “Witches, Aurora—he hates us. The things he said about witches to me … I can’t …”

  “His aunt is a witch, and he loves her. He didn’t know she was one. But I know he still loves her.”

  Lauren held Aurora’s gaze. Tears welled in her eyes.

  “She’s the one that did it, or my mother, or the two of them together. I am still not sure why. But while I didn’t know my mother was a witch, I trust her, Lauren. I trust her with all of my being.”

  “Aurora, how? How?”

  “How? How what?”

  “How can I trust anyone, and how can I compete with you?”

  “Me? Lauren, me? You don’t compete with me. We are not in competition for anything. That doesn’t even make sense to me. Spencer is my friend. I hope that doesn’t have to go away altogether. He won’t ever be my best friend again. That’s my Duncan.” Aurora reached for Duncan’s hand, pulling him close to her. He put his hand around her waist and kissed the top of her head.

  “What can I do, Aurora? How can I fix this mess? It’s such a mess, you know. Wait, you don’t. You don’t know because they kept your true nature from you.” Lauren’s tears flowed. She pulled away from them and darted to the bathroom.

  Aurora pulled to go after Lauren, but Duncan didn’t let go of her waist. Aurora’s blue eyes met his hazel ones. “What don’t I know, Duncan? There’s more? What don’t I know?” she whispered.

  “How the shifters came out. The truth. We’ve told you, she doesn’t know that, at least the gist of it.”

  “And what’s the whole truth?” she whispered to Duncan.

  “Not here.” He led her out into the lobby and down the stairs, towards another alcove with a large porthole that looked out over the ocean.