Her moans broke into cries as his growls took on an eerie pitch that she had never heard before. Tones shifted and glided together in a beautiful, howling moan that rose from his chest. His thrusts became deeper and harder with a feverish desperation which echoed the mounting orgasm trying to claw its way out of her. When his cock hit just right, deep inside, a forceful orgasm ripped through her.
Diana dragged her fingernails down his back as she wailed. Silvas pounded into her, trembling as his eyes brightened to a white-hot glow. His lips pulled back from his teeth from the effort. With one final thrust, burying himself deep, she felt an odd pinch. She gasped but the pain was again swept away as another orgasm rocked her. She could feel the bulges on his cock swelling further, rubbing in such a way that it extended her climax into a continuous series of ripples.
Desperate to anchor herself, she sought something to focus on, and her eyes came to rest of the cradle of his clavicle. There, she watched in awe as what looked like a perfect pearl push out from beneath his skin just above his heart. It shimmered there, catching the light from the fire.
Another wave of pleasure swept her away, carrying her higher as he threw his head back and released a roar that shook the rocks around them. Deep within her, his cock jerked, massaging a sensitive spot as if it were attached with every splash of his hot seed. Heat surged through her veins, infusing her with such pleasure that she was only vaguely aware of Silvas looming over her.
She felt the press of his lips against her shoulder in a sweet kiss, but it was followed by a searing pain as two sharp fangs drove deep into the flesh. Something dropped against her clavicle, and pain lanced her there as it began to burrow into her. In desperation, certain that she was going to drown in the horrible sensation, Diana tried to twist out from beneath him only to find she couldn’t move.
The tip of his tail brushed against her clit as another pulse of liquid heat rushed through her womb. Ecstasy rolled over her with such intensity that it swept away the agony, and she embraced it as darkness descended around her.
Chapter 22
Silvas lay beside his mate, his fingers trailing through her loose hair as he held her, waiting for her to recover. The bonds had snapped so tight with the final release of his mating venom that it almost rendered him unconscious. A contented purr rumbled through his chest.
He held his mate, his long-awaited uxorem. His joy was tempered with the dread of the difficulties still ahead of them and with the knowledge that, even should they escape those trials unscathed, his mate would return to the human world. It wasn’t an impossible situation—many beings lived separate from their mates—but it was one that left a bitter taste in his mouth. Silvas brushed his lips across her forehead, vowing to treasure every moment in her company.
It did not escape him that, even in the heights of the Hyperborean Mountains, he could not find a private moment with his mate. It didn’t bode well for a future where their intimate time would be stolen whenever he was able to sneak over the forest borders rather than enjoying the protective magics of his quarters.
A whisper of movement, a flutter and soft crunch of snow, came from the mouth of the cave, and he gave it an impatient look.
“You might as well come out,” he said gruffly.
Three mountain nymphs crept around the edge of the cave. Each swaying step was wide and silent, their lithe bodies bent in a partial crouch as they moved like shadows. Their dark gray skin blended in against the stone except where the strongest firelight illuminated their features. All three had tangled braids of dark hair that swung with every move. Three sets of golden eyes ranging from dark amber to pale citrine watched him, and blood red lips parted as they sniffed the air and drew close to the fire.
One of the oreads crept forward, parting from the others. With a long finger, she spun a small bead on the string of her bow as she considered the human in his arms. Silvas tightened his grip possessively, his eyes narrowing on the nymph. She inhaled deeply, a smile curling her crimson lips as her large amber eyes glowed with undisguised pleasure.
His lips thinned. “What do you want?” he snapped.
The nearest oread smiled, undeterred by his hostility.
“It has been ages since a god has taken a bride,” she observed. “When we scented your joining, we had to come and witness for none other was nearby to do the honor.”
“I required no witness,” he said.
Her brows lifted in surprise. “A god should be so honored.”
“I am a silvanus.”
The nymph’s grin widened. “Is that what you tell your bride—that you are just another silvanus of the woods? You who were the first, the divine son of Turan.” At his answering silence, she laughed. “Then she doesn’t know that the first line of silvani sprung from you when, in your youth, you had lain with mortal women within your holy wood.”
Silvas bristled. “I haven’t been that male in over six millennia. It is so far in the mists of the past that I barely remember more than brief glimpses of that age. I have no need for those memories. It is not who I am.”
He didn’t even remember the women who had mothered the first silvani, nor was he certain which few of the silvani had sprung from his loins. He left the propagation of the species to his sons. There had been only one other opportunity in recent centuries, and that was when he took Alseida as his consort. That the dryad hadn’t born a new spirit of the wood, the forests in the mortal world already declining as they were, he considered a blessing.
“You cannot escape who you are.”
“I am exactly who I am, and nothing more.”
The oread snorted a derisive laugh. “You are only as much as you care to be. You were born to be so much more. Do you think that the rest of the immortals do not notice how the Eternal Forest languishes? It has been that way for centuries.”
“For which you can thank Alseida,” he retorted angrily.
The oread cut her hand through the air, demanding his silence with such authority that he felt a chill. Her stature seemed larger, her coloring shifting to a light golden hue. She stepped toward him, soft golden rays of light bursting from her as she took on her true form. Towering over the nymphs behind her, the appearance of the goddess was now difficult to mistake. She was no mere oread. Dark curls reformed into a tight knot bound at the back of her crown as luminous green eyes fixed on him. With each step as she approached, her bound and shortened chiton fluttered around her knees.
Silvas clutched Diana closer to him, his body hunching protectively over hers. The gods were unpredictable at best. If she lashed out against him, he would not be injured, but he worried about Diana being caught in the middle of it. Raising his eyes, he met the angry gaze of the goddess of the hunt. She made a disgusted sound of impatience as the nymphs behind her giggled.
“I have no interest in harming your bride, Selvans. It wouldn’t serve my purposes. It is my hope that your bond to her will return you to your purpose. The forest requires life to thrive and flourish, to bring health to not only the divine realms but the woods of the human realm as well. This is your duty as the king of the Eternal Forest, Selvans,” she snapped, her words vibrating through the cave. “You must resume your authority and full responsibilities.”
He lowered his eyes, frustration stirring deep within him and an unsettling fear. He recalled what he had been when he had thrown aside his sword and abandoned his place among the gods. He had been so near a monster himself; he couldn’t risk exposing his mate to that.
“I cannot be that male,” he growled out, burying his nose in Diana’s neck as he breathed in her comforting scent. “I will not risk harming her.”
The goddess cocked her head and then crouched down at his side until they were nearly eye to eye. She reached forward and flicked one of the golden ornaments hanging from his antlers so that it swung.
“Look here at the god of the woods, wearing the jewels of a mere king granted by an admiring court,” she scoffed.
His lips tightene
d at the observation.
“My uxorem has claimed them,” he growled. “I feel no shame wearing them if they are hers.”
The goddess snorted and glanced down at Diana, a soft smile on her lips. Lifting one hand, she skimmed it over his uxorem’s hair.
“My namesake,” she said, “she would have made a fine oread.” Her eyes lifted and met his. “She is stronger than she appears, Selvans. She was designed by the Fates to be yours. Do you think that she, of all beings, wouldn’t be able to handle the darkness within you? Lifetime after lifetime, she has waited for you, and you never sought her out, confining yourself in your misery in the palace that you turned into a fortress against the world, even as you protectively confine your sister beneath your palace floors.”
A more urgent tone filled her voice. “Change comes, Selvans, and with it incredible danger. You need to hurry home and reclaim the Eternal Forest. Bring life back to it before it is lost to his hunger.”
“You speak of Cacus.”
She inclined her head silently.
He leaned forward, his brow furrowing. “If it is so important, why don’t the gods become involved?”
“The gods are involved,” she informed him coldly. “The Tainted Ones arise once more—you know this. Do not think that we are not all forced into the battle of the turning of the cosmos. The Fates have set Cacus as your responsibility. Secure your forest, Selvans, and bring life back to it.” Her arrows rattled in her quiver as she stood again, looming over him. “Now I must return to my own hunt.”
She glanced once more at Diana as his mate sighed, shifting against his chest with the first signs of waking. The goddess backed away, returning to the form of the lithe gray nymph as she stood once more beside the fire.
Diana stirred, her eyelids fluttering before her eyes, deepest green, looked up at him in confusion. She grimaced as she touched where he had bitten her, the wound already healed and the lingering marks fading.
“What the hell happened?” she asked, her voice hoarse from sleep.
“A natural reaction to the bonding,” he assured her. He nodded toward the oreads to give warning that they were not alone. “We have company.”
His mate turned in his arms, her eyes widening as she took in the wild appearance of the oreads. Unlike other nymphs, oreads were clothed in animal skins, their long hair worn in coarse braids. Their half-nude bodies with their long limbs, gray coloring, and orange eyes made them look dangerous and predatory.
The goddess in the form of the oread inclined her head and smiled. “Greetings, bride of Selvans.”
He frowned but blanked his expression as Diana turned quizzical eyes on him. “Selvans?”
“An old name,” he explained. “I prefer Silvas in this age. Sometimes immortal ones feel the need to forget the past and reinvent ourselves.”
The goddess snorted. “Some more than others. Yet there comes a time where trivial things are set aside, and we need to remember and embrace who we really are.”
He ignored the barb and helped his mate sit up as he felt her need to greet their visitors properly. She was obviously still disoriented and recovering. Now was not the time for any significant revelations. The golden cord of bond was newly forged. No need to distress her so soon. Not when they still had the strix to deal with.
“Our visitors are oreads, nymphs of the mountains,” he said. “They concern themselves with the fecundity and balance of the wild mountains. Among all nymphs, they enjoy the hunt the most. You might occasionally see them in the mountain foothills of the Eternal Forest. Some mortals find them frightening,” he added, which made the nymphs grin. He didn’t want her to feel any shame if she found them unsettling.
To his surprise, instead of being fearful as he expected her to be, she smiled at them.
“Honestly, I’m more afraid of the green-haired woman in your palace who looks at me like she wants to squash me like a bug. Not that you aren’t truly impressive and worthy of awe,” she added. “I have no doubt you are perfectly capable of terrifying anyone you wish. I truly appreciate your kind greetings.”
The nymphs laughed, their grins widening at the acknowledgement, and they inclined their heads in a show of respect. Silvas’s eyebrows raised at the gesture. It was no small thing to be so honored by an oread, for they rarely bestowed any honor to one who was not among their own.
One by one, the oreads slipped out of the cave, their purpose complete, leaving only the disguised goddess with them in the cave. She toyed with the string on her bow, her lips curving in a teasing smile as she watched him out of the corner of her eye.
“I am pleased that I of all beings was here to greet first the bride of Selvans. It is only right that I be among those who bear witness to your rise, though I spied doves lingering when I approached with my retinue. A strange sight in the mountains,” she added with a teasing smile.
Silvas groaned, wondering just how much of the bonding his mother caught.
The goddess chuckled as she turned away toward the opening of the cave. Glancing over her shoulder, she couldn’t resist making one last parting shot. “Keep in mind, if you ever tire of the silvanus, you will be welcome among us.” Then she ducked out of the cave, returning to the mountainside.
Diana pursed her lips as she stared after the goddess, caressing the bond mark on her clavicle with a fingertip. “That was…interesting.” He reached forward and stilled her hand, not wanting the flesh around it to get irritated while it finished merging. She turned around in his arms and gestured to it. “So is this… What did you do to me?”
Silvas met her eyes, feeling along their bond. She wasn’t angry or scared. He exhaled slowly. He hadn’t wanted to admit how worried he had been that she would reject the changes that would come with their bond. This was the most visible change so far, and her acceptance of it was a big step that would pave the way for her acceptance of her new life.
“It is my vinculum marcam, my bond mark. When we finished our bond, a piece of my soul separated from me to join with you just as I took you into me.” He caressed her shoulder where he could still see the pale imprint of his bite.
“You bit me.” She raised her eyes until they met his—and hauled her arm back to punch him in the shoulder.
He caught her wrist in his hand and raised her fist to kiss her knuckles. “Why are you hitting me?”
“Because that hurt, asshole,” she snapped.
He raised an eyebrow but smiled at the lack of heat in her voice. Her fingers relaxed as he continued to kiss them.
“The venom from my fangs and my cock would have made certain that the pain was fleeting and that you felt good,” he said.
She grumbled her agreement. “Okay, that part was really great. Still, a little warning would have been nice.”
He gave her a curious look as he took her hand in his, brushing the back of it with his thumb. “If something causes you to feel physical pain, do you prefer to watch it or look away and try to ignore it?”
Diana’s brow furrowed. “I’m not sure where you’re going with this. I guess the pain is a little easier to handle if I don’t look at it, especially if I’m getting a shot or something. It’s a bit easier if I’m caught unprepared… Oh. I guess I do know where you are going with your question.”
Silvas nodded and pulled her into his arms. His heart was gladdened as she settled comfortably against him. “I worried that if you had been aware of it, you would have not been able to relax enough to be able to complete the bonding. That your body would have built up a defense to resist the venom. I didn’t want you to experience more pain than what was necessary in our bonding.”
“I suppose that makes sense,” she said. “Still, from here on out… I prefer to for there not to be secrets between us. If something is going to affect me, I want to know about it. Especially if it something big.”
He inclined his head in agreement. “Very well. I suppose now is a bad time to tell you that you are no longer human.”
She shoved
back in surprise. “Say what now?”
Chapter 23
Diana scrabbled down the side of the mountain, her footing precarious. The gleaming white rocks were dry and stark as if the snow had never touched them, jutting up like jagged teeth from the ground. Silvas stood just ahead, watching her with a concerned expression. Even his long tail whipped behind him in agitation. He had been hovering ever since they left the cave.
It had only become worse when they encountered the broken the path to the next peak.
He turned his head, staring at their destination before he turned back and fixed her with a thoughtful look. Even among their bond, there was a watchful, wary stillness. She could feel the tension in him. He was worried, and that realization surprised her. He always seemed unshakeable, and at times amused with everything.
Even when he told her she was no longer human, it had been delivered with a raised brow and a little smirk that had annoyed her. It didn’t get much better when he set her on her feet and suggested that they move on as if the matter were inconsequential.
Anger churned hot in her belly. That she understood. The strange sense of gratitude took longer to fathom. It was because, despite his atrocious delivery, he had imparted important information she needed just as she asked. She had figured it out about the third hour into climbing down the fucking side of Mount Doom. At that point, she wouldn’t have been surprised to see a pair of hobbits bypassing her at the snail’s pace she was going.
Barely balancing on the sloped rock, she frowned, squinting. The blocky rock formations in the distance twisted and bulged in rolling motions. They cast grotesque shadows as they moved. The more she stared at them, the more she could make out the defined shapes of thick bodies that were supported with long, heavy limbs.
“You know,” she called over to Silvas, who had stiffened at the first spike of her fear, his ears pricking toward her. She barely avoided toppling over as she leaped to the next stone, keeping the threatening figures visible at all times out of the corner of her eye. “For not being human anymore, I’m disappointed with the fact that I haven’t gained any new abilities.”
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