Zevi sat to the side, looking lustfully into her eyes as he stroked himself, his long cock skimming the side of her thigh. She stared back at him, licking her lips as she yearned for all of them as fast as she could take them. Finn pumped into her over and over again, rough and hard just like he was. It was sexy and arousing, and her fingers moved down to her clit, rubbing them in circles as he rolled into her.
Ash took a step back, and Finn nodded, grunting as he pulled out and switched. Zevi stood up and shifted over, standing in front of Brighid, watching her seductive grin as she pulled the tip of his cock into her mouth. Behind her, Ash rubbed the tip of his shaft against her pink pussy before pushing slow and steady inside of her. She gasped, shaking her head.
“More,” she managed to gasp out.
Ash slid his hands over her hips and pumped into her, his movement melodic and slow. Her whole body shivered in pleasure as if finally feeling his cock inside of her completed the connection of bonds that flowed through the four of them. Zevi scooted around to the side and watched the power of Brighid's sexuality flow through her long and slow. He rubbed his cock harder and faster, his breathing increasing tenfold as her eyes fell on his before shifting over at Finn, doing the same.
As Ash pumped, a deep glowing, yellow and red aura rolled from him, curling up and around the four of them. Brighid’s body bounced and writhed, and her hands reached out to each side, feeling Zevi and Finn’s chests. She moaned and growled as she grew closer and closer to orgasm.
“Fuck,” she squealed, taking in a deep breath.
Finn moved closer, groaning as he rubbed himself. Zevi gritted his teeth, stroking with a passion as he watched her every move. Ash held his breath tightly as Brighid's body began to clench, her muscles wrapping tightly around his cock. It pulled and bulged inside of her, and as her eruption swelled, Ash released, spilling his seed deep inside of her.
Zevi moaned out as Brighid looked over at him, pleasure on her face. He pulled and pushed his cock one last time. Brighid reached out with her right hand and gripped his shaft, feeling the warm cum sprayed up her arm. On the other side, Brighid gripped tightly to Finn's balls, rolling them gently as he jacked it hard. She could barely see straight as the pleasure echoed through her, all three of her mates intertwining deeply into her soul, her bottomless need for pleasure, and her magical abilities. As her orgasm reached its peak, her head fell back, and she screamed in pleasure, sending it echoing out into the universe.
Sparks of magical energy flew all around her. Her eyes shot open, and she stared upward, her mouth draped open, as the feeling began to simmer again. She had never felt anything like that and found comfort after the day's events, just sinking down into the pile of her mates, snuggling deep in pure relaxation. It was exactly the reminder she needed. The kind that motivated her to kill the Fire Catcher and throw his soul into the void.
Chapter Seventeen
Brighid sat up, wrapped in a blanket, the fire barely embers in the fireplace. There was a shimmering red glow flickering against the walls, but it was still dark outside. At first, everything seemed normal, the guys sprawled out in different areas of the room sleeping, the house quiet, and the light sound of trees bending and swaying in the wind outside. She blinked several times, a burning feeling rising in her chest.
What’s wrong?
Her Dragon was unsettled, swirling around in her, huffing and puffing. Her eyes shifted right and then left, the burning growing stronger inside of her. As she turned back toward the fireplace, she watched as a stream of ice began to gather, starting at the top of the chimney and crystallizing down the rough stone until it reached the embers extinguishing any fire that was left. A swirling ice-cold wind blew through the cabin. She gripped her arms around her shoulders, rubbing her skin. As she breathed, she could see her breath rising up toward the ceiling.
A panic moved through her, and she jumped to her feet, turning on her heels as she felt the icy cold stare beating into her back. Standing in front of her, hovering above the ground was a Keeper. Its eyes were white, and its hood and cape were nothing but a black mist rolling across the old wooden floors. "Get out…"
Her hand immediately went to her throat, feeling as if the Keepers icy cold stare was choking her, pulling the breath from her lungs. She stumbled forward, her arm shooting out, knocking the vase on the floor. That choking sensation began to spread, trickling down into her chest, smothering the flames of her Dragon. She wheezed, reaching one arm out as she attempted to move closer. She fought against the need to let her body collapse, knowing she couldn't fail when she hadn't even reached the Fire Catcher.
The icy cold pull darted straight into her lungs, swirling around beyond her heart, beyond her meat or muscle, and into her very soul. Her mouth fell open, and she could feel her body stiffening as if it were freezing in place. She gasped again, but this breath stuck, leaving the last little trickle of air puffing out and fading away into nothing. Her eyes went wide, and her mind tried to scream, but nothing was connecting. Everything she feared was coming to fruition, and with her mates sleeping soundly just feet away from her. She tried to shift her eyes, but they too felt cold and began to change from her warm dark tone to an icy blue.
Just as she thought it was the end and she had failed, Ash jumped from the floor and threw himself between her and the Keeper. The icy grip shattered, and shards of ice fell to the ground as it released its hold on Brighid. Those ice crystals changed, swirling back into the black mist that raced off toward the Keepers cape. She clasped both hands to her throat and breathed fast and hard, filling her lungs and veins with oxygen once again.
As the spinning of the room stopped and her brain began to function once again, her eyes narrowed, and her jaw clenched, looking up at the Keeper who had latched itself to Ash. Ash had sacrificed himself to save her, and he was quickly being overcome by the magic that the Keeper held. Brighid could see his soul pulling from his chest, surging toward the empty darkness that lay beyond the hood of the Keeper. She couldn't let Ash die, it wasn't meant to be.
Somewhere in the back of her mind, a voice began to echo, growing stronger and louder in her ears. It was her mother, sending words of encouragement across the veil and into her mind. "Remember your power. Remember your strengths. You are the High Alpha."
With a steady hand, Brighid pulled herself into an upright position and stepped from behind Ash. Rage blew over her, and the energy swirled in and out of her body, covering her from head to toe in a yellow glowing orb. She clenched her fists tightly at her side, and as the Keeper attempted to pull the last bit of Ash's soul from his body, she thrust her arms outward. Massive balls of fire blew from her wrists, swirling and spiraling quickly through the air. They slammed into the Keeper, knocking him to the ground. Without that last bit of soul, he was unable to latch on to Ash, and it came shooting back out of him, and right back into Ash's body.
Ash gasped and fell to the floor. From her right, Finn leaped through the air, changing into his Wolf. He slammed into the Keeper growling and snapping. The soul-sucking enemy scooted back quickly, before dissipating into nothing but dark energy. That dark energy raced around them and then up through the chimney and out into the Enchanted Islands.
As soon as it had left, anything frozen from the Keeper's embrace quickly melted away. Brighid fell to her knees next to him and rubbed his arm, watching as he opened his eyes. He looked over at her, his teeth chattering and nodded his head. He was okay, shaken, but okay. Brighid let out a sigh of relief and moved so Zevi could come in and help him. She stood up next to Finn, who had shifted back into his human form.
"The Keeper seems to be afraid of you," she mentioned. "That's the second time I've seen it darted off as soon as you've attacked."
Finn brushed the leftover water from his arms. "When we were at the Fields of the Dragons, the Alpha told me that the wolves have been the weakness of the Keeper since they were created. As you tested out your harness, I thought about the fact that every creature, da
rk or light, has a weakness, and I asked if he knew what it was. He told me that if I thought hard and long, I already knew the answer to that. He told me that if the wolves can get a Keeper in their grasp, they can kill them."
Brighid looked down at Ash as Zevi ran his hands around the Phoenix's head, using his energy to strengthen Ash's mind. Within seconds, Ash's color returned, and he sat up, looking almost as good as new. Everything at that moment started to weigh on Brighid, and she plopped down in the center of the floor. "Thank you."
Ash shook his head. "No, thank you. I've never seen or felt anything so strong as that Keeper… Not until you stepped in. I've never seen magic like that before. It was true and real and came from somewhere much deeper than any sorcerer or magician."
Brighid nodded her head. "It came from our connection, something I've been told ever since the beginning. And now that it's here, we need to leave as soon as possible. We can no longer wait. The Fire Catcher isn't going to stop until he has my soul, and I won't let him take it that easily. Those he has taken in the past must be freed, and I cannot let him continue on this path and reach my sisters. For once the four sisters are gone, nothing stands in his way."
She could tell that her mates weren't happy, but they knew that it was her destiny. She only hoped that the Fire Catcher wasn't any stronger than the Keepers he sent for her. If they were, she wasn't sure if she would survive.
Chapter Eighteen
The walls of the volcano were slick and warm. The smell of sulfur billowed from the hot breeze that churned and turned inside the crater as Brighid and her mates made their way slowly down. She could see the rivets of heat dancing through the air, and though it was hot from the lava streams that ran beneath the island, the volcano itself was empty. Brighid had always been told that the volcano was active, sitting quietly and waiting until the day that interrupted. She never thought for a second that they would be nothing but a hollow hole beneath.
With the realization of the Giant, and understanding that the Fire Catcher lay dormant beneath the island, the amount of energy that it took to hold that kind of power was probably what made the volcano look as if it were active in the first place. Whatever the reason, the Giant had told her that he was down there, and she knew that he had no reason to lie to her.
Brighid looked to her left, finding Ash moving quickly down the side. He was the smallest and most nimble of them and had little trouble holding tightly to the stones and crevices of the volcano walls. To her right, Zevi and Finn struggled a bit more than her or Ash as their bodies were enormous and heavy, and it was hard to hold on to the small stones that jutted out from the sides of the uneven volcanic rock. There was no other way in, and to get to the bottom, they had to climb down. It was dangerous, but what lurked beneath attempting to come to the surface was even more dangerous.
"If I fall, I'm hunting you," Zevi said with a laugh. "I didn't come all this way, train my entire life to die because I fell into the center of the volcano."
Finn chuckled. “You want to ride down on my back?”
Zevi rolled his eyes. "You always have jokes. Everybody thinks you're the big quiet one, but you're really the biggest bully of them all."
Brighid smiled halfheartedly, the usual banter of her mates not helping her feel any better. Usually, it did, but the deeper she got in the volcano, and the closer she got to the Fire Catcher, the more heavily his dark magic weighed on her soul. It felt as if it were going to crush her as if she had dove down to the deepest part of the ocean.
She moved again, finding her footing as she kept a hold of the small crevices and cracks. Ash was two moves ahead of her toward the bottom, and Zevi and Finn tried to keep the same pace as she was.
“Ouch,” Finn yelled out, slapping the back of his neck.
They all stopped, hearing strange sounds all around them. Brighid looked around, squinting her eyes into the darkness, letting them fill with the light of her Dragon. At first, she saw nothing, but as she shifted to all sides of the volcano, she started to pick up on small movements just beyond the light. She narrowed her eyes and looked harder, everything going absolutely silent for only a few seconds.
They all looked at each other, wondering what to expect. Suddenly, what appeared to be millions of dark small, winged creatures came rushing into the volcano tunnel. Brighid swatted with one arm, trying not to lose her grip with the other. Finn, Zevi, and Ash did the same. Brighid growled loudly, knowing exactly what it was that was attacking them. They carried themselves just as the wood nymphs did only, they were the dark magic version. "Shadow creatures! Keep your grip on the wall. They can bite you, they can scratch you, but they can't kill you."
Everyone was trying to fight the creatures off, keeping their hands firmly placed on the wall. Brighid was right, if they let go and fell, they wouldn't survive from that height. She growled loudly, frustrated at the fact that she was limited by her human body. She wasn't able to shift, and that part of the volcano was too narrow.
Her breath caught in her throat as she flinched at the feeling of small bites nipping at every piece of exposed skin. She slapped at her back, her hand falling on a small bottle on her utility belt. Her brow furrowed as she unclipped it and brought it around, looking at the homemade label. She almost threw the bottle down the opening of the volcano, but then she remembered. It was the bug repellent that Thomas had used while they were hiking, the one that smelled more horrible than death itself.
With Thomas's big secret that he had held for years from her, she wondered if that repellent was actually bug repellent after all. She figured it couldn't hurt to at least give it a shot. She gripped the bottle tightly in her hand and swirled around, spritzing and spraying, covering every shadow creatures she could touch. As soon as the liquid drifted over their small bodies, they began to scream and hiss, sounds that made her want to clasp her hands over her ears. It was working. She sprayed another, as it raced straight toward her. It hissed and screeched before bursting into a ball of dissipating dark magic.
Smiling at the thought of Thomas, she began spraying as much as she possibly could. The guys paused and looked over at her, wrinkling their noses in disgust. Ash shook his head. "I see that Thomas left some of his homemade magical repellent with you before he
died.”
Brighid stopped spraying, watching as the rest of the dark shadow creatures scurried away, some heading down into the darkness while others sacrifice themselves to the light. She stared at the bottle again and shook her head. "Yep. Only when he gave it to me, I thought it was a really terrible attempt at homemade bug spray. Come to find out he's been warding off the wood nymphs this whole time."
Ash, Zevi, and Finn all laughed, knowing full well that was Thomas's style. They continue down the tunnel until there was only about a 10-foot drop below them. Brighid released her hands and pushed outward, landing on the stone ground beneath her, her eyes brighter than ever. She glanced back up the volcano, just then realizing how far up it actually had been. She was relieved that they didn't fall.
As her mates joined her, they began to walk through the belly of the volcano, glancing down at the rivers of lava that were much like the ones she saw when she visited the Giant. The burning in her chest grew faster and stronger just as it had done right before the Keeper had snatched her soul.
"You made it," a nefarious voice said from in front of her. Brighid's hands clenched tightly in the fist, and she slowly turned toward the Fire Catcher. He wasn't at all what she'd expected. He didn't look like any of the Keepers. Instead, he was grotesque, black scaled, with a long pitchfork tongue and claws. He looked exactly like what she assumed someone who lead souls to a helpless afterlife would look like.
The Fire Catcher waved his hand in the air, smiling at Brighid. “And here I thought I was going to have to come up there after you.”
Brighid spoke through clenched teeth. “What do you want? Why are you trying to kill me?”
The Fire Catcher laughed, his eyes glowing red teeth sharp
ened to points. "Believe it or not, I wasn't always this hideous. Your father felt he had the right to strip me of my ability to leave this place. But I found a way around. I, of course, outsmarted that idiot of a Giant… He got too comfortable. But you have something that I'm in desperate need of."
Brighid glanced around the cave. "A nice couch? Maybe some throw pillows?"
She could see the muscles tensing and releasing inside of the Fire Catcher. He shook his head wildly. "I need your soul to break the spell. Once I have yours, I'll be strong enough to take your sisters as well. You all belong to me. It's what has to be."
Brighid stood there for a moment and then burst into crazy laughter. She put her hand to her stomach and lifted her other finger shaking her head. "Hold on, just hold on a second, I can't take anything you're saying seriously."
The Fire Catcher growled so loud that it echoed through the entire cave. "Make jokes, but just know that in the end, I will have your soul."
Brighid scoffed.
“Over your dead body…”
Chapter Nineteen
Brighid was tired of playing games. She slammed her hands down by her side, sending waves of flames up and down her arms and around her fists. She waved her arms back and forth, throwing sharp, magical darts of flame at the Fire Catcher. He laughed loudly, waving his arm through the air creating a shield of dark, illuminated magic. As soon as the darts landed, they simmered and sizzled, evaporating into the air. He clapped his claws loudly, and a rumble rolled through the volcano. The ground shook slightly, and Brighid looked all around her as Keepers appeared, looking as if they had walked straight out of the walls.
Her mates stood at attention, readying themselves. They all shifted into their animals, each of them seeming larger and stronger than they ever had been before. The Keepers hovered for a moment, and Brighid slowly turned back toward the Fire Catcher. "You're not going to win. These are my people, and you're not going to take any more souls."
Her Fire Mates: A Reverse Harem Paranormal Romance (Shifters Of The Elements) Page 11