The Giant wrinkled his large forehead as if he were carefully contemplating every word that she said. She gave him time to reflect on her words, seeing that he understood a bit slower than she did. "How am I supposed to get him back? I'm too slow, and even in his weak state, he is violent and angry. Crogar doesn't want to be hurt anymore."
Brighid glanced down at the Giant's leg, seeing a large darkened burn mark. She looked at him with pity and stepped closer. "Did he do that to you?"
The Giant sniffled, nodding his head. "He hurt Crogar."
Brighid licked her lips nervously and nodded at the wound. "If you would like, I can make it feel better. I have to get close to it though, and I'm much smaller than you. You have to be very still, or you could hurt me."
The Giant looked at Brighid and nodded, taking a seat with extreme care. He moved so slowly that Brighid had to hold back a smirk. Once he was seated, she walked over to him and put up her hands, unsure of exactly what she was going to do, but she was going with her intuition. She took in a deep breath and closed her eyes, pulling the energy that was swirling around in her chest back to her hands. A bright red light emanated from them like the fire that simmered in the belly of the Dragon. The Giant watched her curiously as she moved the flame up and down over the wound. It looked like fire, but it wasn't. It wasn't hot or simmering, but instead, it soothed the Giant's skin, and his wound quickly began to heal right before their eyes.
When she was done, she shook the magic from her hands and release the push that she was using to emit the energy. She stepped back and smiled at him. "Good as new."
The Giant inspected his leg and then looked back at her, reaching out his hand. She climbed into his palm, and he lifted her to his face. "Thank you, beautiful Dragon daughter. I will tell you where the Fire Catcher is, but you must capture him on your own, and then you can return him to me."
Brighid nodded her head. "It's a deal. Though I can't promise that I won't kill him."
The Giant nodded. "What must be will be. You must release the souls he has captured, return your father to where he belongs. I have tried for years to get him to release those trapped inside, but he has refused. He is a monster."
Brighid held tightly to the Giant, stroking his skin with her hand in comfort. He seemed to relax a bit and smiled at her. "The Fire Catcher lurks at the base of the main volcano on this very island. It is too small for your Dragon to descend, so you will have to go as your human."
Brighid waved his face forward, and she stepped toward him, putting her arms out so they touched his cheeks. She leaned against his nose and gave him a hug as best as she could. Before she lifted, she kissed him sweetly. "You are very brave, and I promise to return him to you because I know that you will keep us safe far into the future. I will trust no one but you to make sure of that."
She could see the Giant's cheeks turn red, and he stood up, destabilizing her feet. She fell back into his palm, and he gripped his hand around her gently. He took enormous steps through the caves, bending and creaking to the close quarters until he reached the opening back to the surface. He stood up tall, his body filling up the space and his head poking out the top.
Finn, Zevi, and Ash all stumbled back, seeing him emerge. He growled at them, but Brighid patted his hand. "These are my friends. They're going to help me catch the Fire Catcher. Thank you, dear Crogar; I look forward to seeing you again."
The Giant gently set Brighid down on the ground and looked at her sweetly before darting his eyes at the mates and giving them a grumbled snarl. Brighid giggled, watching him lower back down into the cave. Her three mates let out a deep breath and ran toward her. Finn looked her over. "Are you hurt? Did that giant hunk of a beast hurt you?"
Ash held out his palms, flames flickering around them. “I can teach him a lesson.”
Zevi puffed out his chest. “I can go into his dreams.”
Brighid laughed, shaking her head. "There's no need for any of that. He was only scared at first, but once he figured out who I was, he was very kind. I've gained his trust, and he told me where to find the Fire Catcher. He hides at the base of the main volcano on the island. I'm not sure why he's still there or why he hasn't left, but that's where we'll find him. If we don't kill him, I've promised to return him to the Giant."
Ash shook the magic from his hands and looked over at the tall volcanic peak in the distance. "I don't think you should go today. I think you need to work on your magic and your powers before you face him. He'll be strong even in his current weakened state. He holds the energy of thousands of souls, and he is a creature of immense magic."
Brighid glanced up at the night sky above her, realizing that it was already almost dawn. She wasn't tired in the least. "If you can push through, I would love to start training right now. I don't think that we have much time to lose."
The guys looked at each other and nodded. Brighid grinned and pushed through them, stripping off her clothes as she walked. When she reached the clearing in the woods, she picked up her pace, breaking out into a run. With each step, she changed, her body growing and shifting into her Dragon. As she spread out her arms, they turned into large beautiful wings, and she flapped hard, taking off into the air. She burst from the treetops, sending leaves and limbs flying everywhere. She didn't even think about cloaking as it automatically moved over her.
She twisted and turned in the air, her speed incredible, her strength powerful, and the fire in her belly twice as hot. The white scales that had appeared down her back shimmered and sparkled beneath the moonlight. She rolled her body as she curved around the island, letting out a powerful ball of flame from her Dragon's belly. It burst out and pushed through the air, shifting and changing from bright red to blue and seeming to dance across the wind. It was incredible, and she had never seen her own fireworks in that manner. She swirled around it and hit it hard with her tail, knocking it down into the water. It splashed with a hiss, turning to a cinder, sinking to the bottom of the ocean.
“Slow down,” Ash yelled out telepathically as his Phoenix struggled to keep up.
Down below, Zevi ran as his Stag and Finn as his Wolf, watching up in the sky as she tested out her different powers. She had never felt stronger, and with every move, and every beat of her heart, she melded into the Dragon, she knew that she was supposed to become. If she couldn't beat the Fire Catcher, she knew that no one would be able to. The future of the Shifter world, and humans as well, laid heavily on her scaled shoulders.
She was determined to release her father's soul, and she wouldn't stop until everyone was safe.
Chapter Sixteen
The fire crackled loudly in the fireplace, and the men lounged in the living room as Brighid stood over the stove, stirring a large pot of chowder. The guys were exhausted from practicing all day, but Brighid was still full of energy, the magic seemed to always be pulsing through her. Her Dragon was calm, and as she imagined it curled inside of her, it seemed almost grown-up compared to the Dragon she had sensed just days before.
As she stirred the chowder, watching the vegetables rollover through the broth, her mind escaped, flying over the island and down into the deep crevice of the volcano. She tried to imagine the Fire Catcher, the Keeper that had so many working with it. She tried to imagine the souls that were trapped within its body, but she had to pull her mind away. She tortured herself at the thought of her father and others that fought so bravely against the Keeper, still stuck in a limbo, yearning for the Fields of Moribund.
The timer on her oven dinged, shaking her from her thoughts. She opened the door and reached inside without thinking, grabbing the tray of bread with her bare hands and setting it on the stove as if it were nothing. Ash had walked up next to her, and when he noticed, he grabbed her wrist. She released the tray and looked down at her hands, but they were fine. They weren't even red. Her protective abilities over her human body had grown tenfold. The heat from inside her was rising rapidly, and she could only assume she was about the temperature that she
had set the oven to.
"Interesting," Ash said. "I know that Dragon Shifter humans had a tough skin, or so you could call it. This, though, I've never seen such immunity outside of the animal body."
"I haven't seen a lot of things before the last two weeks, so it doesn't really shock me much. Everything about me is changing, I'm stronger and braver than ever. I was told that when I found the three of you, my powers would multiply, become more than even I could handle."
Zevi leaned against the refrigerator. "But we're here to keep you grounded. We're here to help you control those magical abilities so that you can use them to their fullest."
Brighid smiled, reached up, and pulled the bowls from the cabinet. "I've never felt calm here in my life. I know that it's important that I stay in that mode when I go to fight the Fire Catcher. I won't be thwarted by him, and no matter how much I want to be with my father, I will not accept life in limbo stuck as one of his souls."
She ladled the chowder into each bowl, and Zevi collected them, taking them over to the table and setting them down. Brighid glanced at Ash as she put the large chunks of bread into a napkin covered bowl and handed them to Zevi to place in the center. "Time to eat. You guys are going to need your energy for tomorrow."
Brighid sat down at the table, watching the others join her. They all poured themselves a drink and began to eat, realizing how hungry they were once the food was in front of them. Finn set down his bowl and wiped his hand across his chin. "I wish Thomas were here."
Brighid reached over and smiled at him. "He will be very soon. I won't let him be trapped there forever. Every single soul in there deserves reprieve. Not only that, but the future of Shifters relies on me defeating the Fire Catcher. If I don't, we'll all become lost souls within his world, fueling his evil deeds. That cannot happen."
Zevi nodded at her, tilting the bowl back and drinking the rest of his chowder. “Nor will it. We have your back. And with the powers that you’re showing, I don’t see how the Fire Catcher could affect you in the least.”
Brighid gave him a look of thanks, and they sat around the table, contemplating what they were about to face the next day. None of them were nervous, and they all tried to stay as focused as possible because they knew they had a lot of things to protect. The boys needed to protect her, and she needed to protect everyone else.
When dinner was over, they moved into the living area, Finn stoking the fire. Brighid sat with her back pressed against the couch, her knees pulled up, letting her chin rest comfortably. Finn took a seat behind her, straddling her body. She leaned her head against his knee and smiled at Ash as he scooted over next to her. Zevi yawned, coming back from washing up after dinner and laid down next to Brighid on the other side. She put her legs out, and he rested his head in her lap. She ran her fingers through his bronzed hair, and they all sat quietly, staring at the flames.
“We can’t leave them there,” Brighid said quietly.
Finn rubbed her shoulders. “And we won’t.”
"Damn right, we won't," Zevi said, looking up at Brighid.
She smiled down at him and glanced over at Ash, taking one hand and pulling his into it. They were small gestures, ones that normally no one would notice, but to her, they were enticing, even arousing. Having all three of her mates that close to her. Remembering the smell of Finn's hot skin against hers. Feeling the exhilaration in her chest from when she soared through the sky wrapped around Zevi's soul. The temptation and curiosity that fluttered in her stomach when she thought about Ash, in all his deep intellectual admiration. It was all running through her mind, even when she tried to stop it. Their bodies next to her made her wonder what it would be like to take them all at once. To feel the radical exaltation of ecstasy that she got with each individually, but all smashed together in one hot sweaty romp in the Enchanted Island cabin.
No one was around. No one would hear her cries of pure pleasure. It would be just her and them, their bodies exactly how she felt they should be. She shifted slightly, feeling the tingling increasing between her thighs. The slight rush of air that leaked up her pajama shorts chilled her wet panties against her skin.
Zevi moved his head back and forth, pressing it down against her crotch unknowingly. She pressed her lips tightly together, trying to hold back the urge to moan. Was she the only one feeling that heat? That connection? Was she alone in her deep desire to forget it all for one night and indulge in the pleasures she couldn't get out of her mind?
“No,” Ash whispered in her ear.
Her eyes shifted, but she didn't look at him. "No, what?"
Finn leaned down. “You aren’t alone.”
Zevi glanced up at her. “Not at all.”
He pointed down toward his crotch, and Brighid could see his engorged cock pressing against his pants. As soon as she saw it, he was on the move. He turned over and stared at her with deep-set eyes, moving around in front of her. She watched as he spread her legs apart and reached up, gripping the band of her shorts. The shy side of her wanted to act like she didn't know what he was doing, but her lustful half wasn't going to let that happen. Instead, she picked herself off the ground and kept eye contact as he slid her shorts off.
From above, Finn gripped her shirt and pulled it over her head, running his palms over her exposed breasts. She never wore panties and a bra to bed, which made it all that more sensual. There was an erotic aura to sitting there, legs spread wide, completely naked, surrounded by clothed sexy men. Sexy men who wanted her just as much as she wanted them.
As Zevi laid down on his stomach and scooted in toward her, Ash reached over and pulled her face toward him. He leaned in and kissed her, swiping his tongue through her mouth. She moaned slightly, feeling Finn's hand tighten in excitement around her breasts. Down below, Zevi kissed her pulsating pussy very gently. He spread her lips apart and ran his tongue up through her juices, twisting it around her clit. She moaned again, this time reverberating her ecstasy deep into Ash's chest.
Zevi lapped at her, twisting his mouth through her mound, gripping his fingers into her thighs as he suckled her hard nub, pulling whimpers of delight from her throat. Ash pulled away and smirked at her as he moved downward, shifting Zevi up, and Finn to the right. Finn's head dipped down at the same time as Ash's. He pulled her nipple between his lips and rolled it against his teeth. Finn took the seat over her and tilted her head back, kissing her upside down, feeling her body, pressing his cock into the center of her shoulder blades.
Down below, Ash blew a flame of magic against her pussy, warming it like a wave. She gasped loudly and gripped onto the rug beneath her. As soon as the heat hit her, Ash dove in, sucking and licking her juices. She picked her ass up and pressed against his mouth, swirling her hips wildly against it. Zevi released her lips and watched in excitement as she writhed, her eyes shut, screams of pleasure bellowing from her core.
Leaning down, Zevi whispered in her ear. "Let me hear you cum. I need it."
Between the sound of his sexy deep voice and the magic spreading from her tits to her pussy, Brighid had absolutely no control over her own body. Her muscles tensed, and her mouth dropped open, the orgasm exploding inside of her. She tried to pull away, but Ash grabbed her hips and yanked her back toward him, grinding harder against her clit as her body shook in pleasure. As the orgasm faded, Ash's last few licks jolted her, and she laughed, shaking her head. Ash sat up and smiled, pulling his shirt over his head and tossing it on the floor.
Brighid licked her lips and sat up on her knees, reaching over and grabbing Finn's shirt by the collar. She pulled him toward her and kissed him deeply as she yanked at his zipper. He watched her in amusement as she harshly pulled his pants down to his knees, taking his boxers with them. She gripped onto his cock tightly and leaned down, rubbing her swollen lips against it. She slipped her tongue out and teased the tip as she reached to her left, finding Ash's naked thigh. She smiled, knowing he was ready for her.
She moved her hand over and ran her fingertips down hi
s long curved shaft. She gripped it tightly, and as her mouth smoothed down Finn's cock, her hand did the same with Ash's. Zevi moved behind her, taking off his clothes and bending down, spreading her ass apart. He ran his thumb through her crack and then pushed two fingers deep into her pussy. She called out with a cock deep in her throat, rocking back and forth against his hands.
Finn's hand gripped the back of her head, and her eyes strained upward, watching his chiseled face as it gripped tightly, feeling her mouth bobbing up and down on his cock. He pushed and pulled her as her hand slid up and down Ash in unison. She could feel Zevi's fat stiff fingers thrusting in and out of her, tantalizing her every twist and roll of the hip. She pulled up and off of Finn's cock and smiled at him, turning toward Ash. He raised up on his knees, and she grinned, grabbing Finn with her other hand and moving both him and Zevi forward next to her. She dove down on his dick, feeling his cock for the first time. She couldn't get enough of them, they were so sensual, so erotic.
Ash leaned back and growled wildly as she jacked both Zevi and Finn, her mouth sliding up and down Ash's long shaft. She could have stayed there all night like that, tasting each of her mates, feeling the passionate energy soaring through her. But they weren't going to let that happen. Finn moved behind her and tapped his cock against her ass, signaling her to spread her legs. She moaned with a mouth full as he pushed into her, grabbing her shoulder and lifting her up. He held her hips as he thrust into her. Ash stood up with a grin, stroking his own cock as he moved closer in front of her. She moaned as Finn fucked her, thrusting harder and harder into her.
Her Fire Mates: A Reverse Harem Paranormal Romance (Shifters Of The Elements) Page 10