by K. A Knight
“I was born into it,” I snap back, standing tall, Dawn’s face flashing in my mind.
You better be fucking ready for me, Vasculo, because I’m coming...if they don’t kill me first.
“Well?” I whisper, trailing my fingers across his chest, watching the muscles jump from my touch. I love how my mates react to me, how easy it is to tease them...to push them.
“I said on your knees, Draya,” he orders, as more and more of Dume peeks through even as his voice is still a bossy growl, which sends a shot of lust surging through me. I love his animal side.
Grinning, I drop to my knees, my head tilting back to watch him as I run my finger down his body to the chains that hold him. I want all of him and they are in the way. I want to see his human body, to touch him, taste him, and from the hunger on his face, so does he. He growls in frustration, tugging at the restraints.
Annoyed and still turned on from the vamp’s bites, I focus all my attention on those chains, and suddenly I know what to do. I wrap my hands around one and close my eyes, pushing all that power into it. I hear it crack and then it drops away from him. I turn, eyes still closed, and grip the other. It takes more power, but I feel it fall away finally and I blink open my eyes, a secret smile on my face. “Change, I want you,” I whisper hungrily.
“How did you—” He shakes his head, staring at the chains and then me as he seems to realise he can change back. He groans and does so, the fur and hooves sinking into his body as gold tinged skin appears, stretching across his huge frame. I find myself missing his bull, but when his hard cock smacks against his stomach, I lick my lips, distracted from it.
My eyes run across his body, noting the scars and mottled flesh that indicate he’s a warrior. He still wears the nose ring and the golden band on his arm, and his hair is wavy and cut short. He’s massive and imposing, and the sight of him standing over me in the dark, muscles bulging, and eyes filled with a hunger so strong it sends a current through me, has me rocking on my feet, seeking pressure.
He glances away for a moment. “I am scarred, Draya, not worthy of touching you, but—”
I snarl, reaching out and grasping his cock. He gasps, his eyes jerking to me, and I purposely keep my eyes on his as I lean forward and lick the head of his cock, making him moan, watching him watch me with hopeful eyes. Pulling away, I stroke him with my hands. “I say who is worthy of touching me, Dume, don’t ever think otherwise. Each scar shows me exactly how hard you fought to be here, to be at my side now. They show me the battles you won, how strong you really are, and I can’t wait to have all that power and fury inside me where you belong.”
I get to my feet, my hand still circling his cock though I can’t quite close my grip around it. He is thick and long, bigger than even my other mates, but everything about my bull is huge—cock, power, and animal.
His hips jerk forward. “Draya,” he whispers in wonder, even as he stands taller under my words.
“You are a warrior, Dume. Own it, fucking make it yours, and then they can never use it against you. I want you so fucking much and I can see you don’t believe it. I am not your queen, bull. I won’t use you, I won’t hurt you...unless you want me to.” I wink and he snorts. I grip his hand and drag it up my thigh to my panties to show him how drenched I am. “Look how wet you make me. This isn’t a trick, Dume, this is fucking. Plain and simple. We want each other, and life is way too short to question and second-guess and worry about others and judgement. All that matters is that I found you, the most phenomenal creature I’ve ever seen, scars and all, so, my bull, what do you say?”
“Draya,” he whispers, his voice rough as he searches my face and then he groans, his hand moving against me. “I shouldn’t, I’ve been burned before, but-but I want you too much, it feels right, you feel too good.”
Grinning, I lean closer and lick his nose ring, flicking it while plastering myself against his chest as he strokes along my panty covered pussy like he can’t help himself. “I’ll burn you, bull, but you’ll like it.”
He snaps. I see the moment he gives into his need and I almost jump in happiness. I know he’s scared of being tricked again, but he must feel how real this is. You can’t fake this kind of attraction, this kind of bond, but if I need to remind him every day for the next hundred years, I will.
He is mine and it’s about time he proved it.
He grabs me roughly and throws me back into the cell wall. I grin as I wrap my legs around his waist. “Yes, that’s it, show me everything, let me feel your strength.”
He growls and steam curls from his nose, making me rub against him. His eyes flash red and I moan as his hands grip me tighter, hoisting me higher up the wall as he rips my dress away and tears off my panties, tossing them to the floor.
“You will be bare for me, for anytime I want you,” he rumbles, glaring at me. “Understood, Draya?”
“Ooh, possessive, I like it. As long as you do the same, my bull,” I tease, rubbing my wet pussy against his hard cock.
He roars right in my face, and in one smooth move he slams inside me, no teasing or hesitation as he takes what he wants and I love it. I relish the possessive way he holds me, the strength coiled in his body that he uses to bring me pleasure just as easily as he brought death to the witches lying in pieces around us.
“Yes!” I cry out, lifting my hips to meet his brutal, raw thrusts as he hammers into me again and again. The pain blends with pleasure until I’m calling out random words, those red eyes locked on my face and drinking in my pleasure.
He wrings it from me with each jerk of his hips, hitting that spot inside me that has my eyes nearly crossing as I lose myself to him, my nails cutting strips down his back as I try to draw him closer. He growls with it, a particularly brutal thrust accompanying the sound, making me cry out and arch my chest into him, begging for more, wanting everything my monster has to offer.
I want to bathe in his lust and anger, feel his claws ripping into me as my blood drips down our bodies as we fuck...as we mate.
He pulls out of me and throws me to the floor. I flip onto my knees and crawl towards him as he kneels and drags me to him. His cock finds my wet pussy and slips back inside as he falls to his back, dragging me down until I’m spread above him, straddling his giant body. He’s too big. He grasps my hips again, and the smell of my blood hits the air. He sniffs and roars when he scents it, my bull becoming unleashed.
I sink down on his cock, rocking myself, but I’m unable to get much leverage until he starts to lift and drop me, my clit hitting his pelvis and sending bolts of pleasure through me until I’m suddenly crying out, my pussy clenching around his cock as I jerk above him, the orgasm dragged from my very toes. Wave after wave rolls through me, but he doesn’t stop, no, he fucks me through it, demanding more.
I can feel blood dripping from the punctures on my hips, rolling down my thighs, the ruby red liquid matching his eyes. “Dume,” I whimper, my pussy still clenching with aftershocks.
His name on my lips makes him grunt, and then suddenly we are moving again, but this time I’m on my knees with his hand on my back pushing me down as he enters me from behind. This feels right, primal, and fucking animalistic as he forces my thighs open for him and he fucks me roughly from behind. My nipples drag across the floor, the flash of pain adding another layer to my pleasure.
Being with him is perfect as his animal takes me from behind until everything else fades, and I can almost feel the sand under me from his maze where he belongs, the moon shining down on us as the minotaur claims his mate.
I feel his cock grow inside me, thickening and becoming impossibly longer, and his breathing picks up, harsher now, less human—I know he’s changed. He doesn’t let me look, keeping my head down, but I want to see, I want to touch, so I rip myself away and roll over. He rears back, his red, animal eyes staring down at me, his horns curling from his head, scarred like the rest of him. He’s not quite minotaur, not quite human. Fur covers his forearms and some of his human le
gs, but his cock is all animal as is the gleam in his eyes and the slight lengthening of his face. He looks like a monster from a nightmare and I fucking love it.
He growls, a low bass as his head tilts down like bulls I’ve seen, but he doesn’t attack me, no, he grabs my hips and yanks me to him, my legs pressed against his wide chest as he slams back inside me, filling me and stretching me so much it edges on pain.
Smoke drifts from his nose, wrapping around us, seeming to caress my skin as he fucks me, makes me his, our blood and minds mixing, the high like no other. I watch those red orbs, they keep me afloat as pleasure explodes from every corner of my body with a screech, leaving me unable to move or think, but he still carries on, powering into me again and again like a man possessed.
“Mine,” he snarls, over and over.
Moaning, I arch up and roll my nipples. “Yours,” I agree.
“Mine!” he snarls, and I cry out as he slaps my clit with his hand again and again as he drives into me until I’m thrown over the precipice. I come with a scream, clamping around him as he roars my name for everyone to hear.
Gasping, I collapse back to the floor and he rolls until he’s on his back, then he drags me onto his chest where I sprawl, my ear to his chest, listening to his heart race in time with mine.
I feel him shift beneath me, his animal retreating with a purr until he encircles his very human arms around me. “Draya, where did they take you?” he asks worriedly, dropping a kiss on my hair which makes me smile.
Stroking his pecs, I lift my head and prop my chin on his chest, watching him and the muscles playing in his torso. He truly is beautiful in a rugged, rip you to pieces way that makes me a walking, talking ball of need. “They were trying to break me. He wants me for something, but I don’t know what yet,” I muse, and then I proceed to tell him about Amos and Veyo. He growls and draws me closer, so I pat his chest. “I’m fine, they can’t break me. People have been trying their whole lives, and it won’t work now.”
“Draya.” He shakes his head, watching me with the softest expression I’ve ever seen on him. “What happened after?”
“They dragged me to another cell and threw me in with a vampire, I think it was to break us both. They thought he would feed and become their minion, depending on them for food and scaring me in the process.” I snort and he grins.
“I take it that didn’t work?” he inquires, his hand massaging the base of my spine. I groan in bliss as my eyes flutter closed for a moment as he works out the knots there. “Draya.” He huffs out a laugh and I blink.
“Don’t distract me then, hot stuff,” I tease, and then become serious. “No, I spoke to him. He’s like us. A prisoner, Dume.” I suck in a breath, remembering what I saw. “I saw into his mind. God, the way he was made—no one should have to suffer that, but he did. He’s old and very powerful. We can help each other, I have a plan.”
“And what’s that?” he murmurs, watching me closely, so I tell him what I thought we could do and he starts to laugh, a grin covering his face. “You are a genius, Draya, they aren’t going to know what’s hit them.”
“They will learn not to fuck with a skinwalker ever again,” I retort, offering him a matching grin.
I lay my head back on his chest and he carries on the rumbling purr, relaxing me so much I nearly fall asleep until a thought hits me. “Dume, once we are free, where will you go?” I question sleepily, the blackness of slumber trying to claim me, but I fight to stay awake, to hear his answer.
“Wherever you go, my goddess,” he whispers, and kisses my head. “Sleep, I will watch over you.”
I wait and watch.
I see Griffin arrive. He goes in and doesn’t come back out, which could either be good or bad, I can’t tell yet. But I can’t worry about him also, I need to focus on my part of the plan. My only concern is getting my mate back alive and well.
They have her.
It’s simple.
Crouching down, I tilt my head and watch the wolves’ alpha creep closer. He plops down by my feet, his bright blue eyes watching me with too much intelligence. Others think they are just animals, but they are so much more, and they have all answered my call. Reaching out, I stroke his fur. “My friend, send your pack far and wide, carry my message on the winds to the wolves. We need them, tell them I request them, they are to meet me here in three days’ time when the moon is high, come in animal form. I have found their missing pack members.”
The wolf inclines his head, turns tail, and breaks into a run, heading into the forest. I turn back to watch the house, seeing the usual guards patrolling the property. I scan the area wondering where they are keeping her. It must be behind the building or below it, but I have to trust Griffin to find her. However, I am prepared in case I feel her fear or pain. I am ready to go in. To throw a curveball into their plans and gain their attention so they leave her alone.
They want powerful supernaturals, that much is obvious.
Women too.
I will give them whatever they need to help her. I will show them my true capabilities. They thought they genuflected when they approached me about that final seat on the council, thought they could control me, but they were wrong. They are nothing, just an inconvenience, and I could kill them before they even raised their powers.
They are nothing more than toddlers throwing their toys from the pen, and it’s time to remind them who the true adults are around here.
A whisper comes from above as if held on the wind. The elementals have heard my call, so have the fae. Now, I am just waiting for everyone else. They are all missing people, women, and the more I searched and put out a call, the more I realised had actually been taken.
They were all angry, wanting them back, wanting to know who and why. I am offering them that for purely selfish reasons because I need them. I can kill the council, but the uproar would be astonishing. No, I need the supernatural world behind me to keep my mate alive and safe, so when we do kill them and stop whatever plans they have in motion, we are free to leave and know that our world won’t fall apart—that’s another reason we need the sleeping council. They need to step in and take over. I have no desire to lead. I want my mate, that is all.
I breathe in softly, urging myself to have patience which is hard when I know my mate is in there, so close but just out of reach. No, we have to do this right. So I settle down into a cross-legged position on the forest floor and wait with my animals around me, awaiting the order.
I am the God of the Forest, after all, and they will protect my mate as if she was me. I tilt my head and send in my birds out, seeing if they can find her location and get eyes on her, I need to see her. I need to see if she is okay.
They forget what else I am, though, a god of death. I will remind them. It’s time they remember why myths and horror stories were created around me. I feel the shift coming on, my third shift, one so horrifying humans fight at the sight, their minds breaking, even as my mate plastered herself to me.
Little one, whatever you are doing, know I am here. Here waiting for my love, we will be together again soon. Until then, give them hell.
As soon as the door shuts, they come for me. I don’t bother trying to fight back, it would only get me punished and thrown out. No, I need to be here, so I stand there with my head tilted back, eyes defiant as they converge on me.
“Fucking human lover,” one spits, as his fist connects with my jaw, snapping my head around. Spitting my blood onto his boots, I turn back to face the front, a cocky little smile on my lips.
“You are nothing!” one roars, as he stabs me with the point of his wing. I grunt in pain as he pulls it free, my blood clinging to his black feathers.
They surround me, beating, kicking, and punching. Trying to break me, to beat me down. I try to remain on my feet, but there are too many bodies and too many attacks coming from all angles. I fall to my knees then to my side, still smiling even as one eye swells shut and one eardrum explodes so I can’t hear their taunts and insu
lts.
My body tries to heal itself as it breaks and bleeds, but there is too much trauma, and as soon as it starts to heal me, they inflict the same injury again. It’s a never-ending circle of agony. Their faces contort in hate, true hate, as all that emotionlessness dissipates, and they become an army joined in their hatred for me.
The fallen, the mad one. I see their lips forming insults, and they fling them at me like their fists, their golden eyes glaring with angelic indignation.
It’s fucked up, but with each punch, each kick, each broken bone, and blood drop, I start to feel better...more human. As if I’m finally being punished for being born. The pain helps me feel like I can move on...like I’m more. Stronger, because I know now they can’t break my body. They simply can’t. I can survive whatever they throw my way. My madness swirls in my mind, making me laugh even as they crack my ribs.
I will heal.
Get Dawn.
Kill them all.
I repeat it again and again as my eyes blacken and my madness cries at me to get up, to rip them to pieces, and wear their blood like a badge of honour. I can’t see or hear now, and my blood burns with madness and pain. My body is one big wound, every bone is broken, and every organ is bleeding. I should be dead, but my body won’t allow it.
They know it, and it only infuriates them more. I can’t even die properly. Eventually the attacks stop and they leave me on the floor, like trash. I let my mind wander as I feel my body start to heal, my muscles stitching back together, my bones mending and popping. It’s sluggish, since there are so many injuries, and it takes a while. While I wait, I think of Dawn, and the way her blonde hair would fall into her face, that little smile she used to give me that told me she knew something I didn’t. That utter trust she had in me even when I didn’t trust myself. She was always so strong, knowing what she wanted and unashamed to act on her thoughts.
Even that night in the basement when I was vile to her, she simply laughed. Or the night I dropped her from the sky, testing her, she had accepted it, trusting me more than anyone else ever had. To her I wasn’t nothing, not an experiment, not a mistake or trash...I was hers. She wanted me.