The Raven Queen

by Emma Jayne Mills

  “My turn,” he said, with a sly grin, when she grunted her frustration at him.

  Captured in her gaze, he lowered his head and dragged the tip of his tongue across her nipple, swirling it around the nub and sucking it into his mouth. Feeling her pleasure build, he worked one and then the other until the tips hardened and she cried out, arching her back in desperation for him to take her further. He worked his way down her body, deliberately slowly, her frustrated whimpers only urging him to tease longer. She wanted him and he intended to drag it out until she begged him for release. That would be her punishment.

  Aurora let out a moan and pushed at Jax’s head, needing him to move lower, she lifted her hips up to meet him. She had never felt desire like this in her life. Caspian had been a good enough lover but the thirst between them had never been like this. She had never wanted him to touch her in the way Jax was now, sex was a means to an end with him. This was beyond anything she’d felt before.

  “Please, Jax…” she whispered, as a light breeze lifted the curtains at the window.

  He stilled her movements with firm hands on her hips and continued to trail kisses over her stomach. Pushing her legs wide, he opened her to him, and paused to look at her, glistening and wet in all her glory. Continuing to tease and take his time, he laid more kisses along her thighs and hips. When he finally placed a single kiss over her centre, she gasped and gripped his hair, pulling hard. He stopped.

  “My turn,” he reminded her.

  She threw back her head in an unfulfilled scream. He placed his mouth back on her and his laugh vibrated against the bundle of nerves. She inhaled sharply and bucked her hips. Pulling away, to watch his own movements, he ran a finger through her juices and she let out a long, pleasure filled, moan. The sight of his hands on her was enough to send his wolf over the edge.

  “This is mine, understand, Rory? Mine.” He watched her nod and lifted the finger to his mouth, sucking it between his lips and swallowing her flavour. “Nobody touches you this way but me. This is for us. No other man puts his hands on you.” He swirled his thumb over the tiny nub and pushed two fingers into her wet heat. “No other man puts his fingers inside you.” He lowered his head. “No other man puts his mouth on you.” His tongue swept the length of her wetness.

  She tasted like nothing he knew and yet it was familiar, a flavour unique to her that he had always known. He let her ride, going deeper, slower, committing to memory every intense sound she made as he played the instrument of her body with his mouth. He taunted, with the tip of his tongue, taking her to the edge with his fingers, denying her orgasm until she was putty in his hands, a quivering mess tortured by his touch. Her breaths came in short, sharp gasps, letting him know she was close. He curled his fingers inside her and she ground down on him. With one final sweep of his tongue, heat pooled where her body met his mouth and she came, screaming his name. He continued with a gentler touch, kissing and soothing, while her breaths came in hot, heavy pants, until she stilled underneath him. There was passion, there was sex and then there was this.

  “Jax…” she breathed, reaching down to him, begging for his kiss.

  “You keep saying that,” he laughed, softly. He took a few more moments to calm his own desires, not wanting to act on them yet, and moved back up her body to deliver the kiss she craved.

  “I don’t have any other words right now,” she laughed as she looked at him. He had been her forbidden fruit for so long and now her juices coated his chin. She reached a hand down between them, wanting him to feel as good as she did. He gently pulled her hand away before it reached its mark and she looked at him quizzically.

  “I want to touch you, Jax. I want to give you what you gave me.”

  “Soon. This was the beginning, but you’re not ready and I won’t seal our bond out of anger fuelled lust.” He brushed her hair from her face and she smiled, reluctantly, not liking it, but understanding his reasoning. “It’s late, let’s sleep for a while.”

  He rolled over, settling himself on the pillow beside her and gathering her to him. She rested her head on his chest and threw an arm across his stomach.

  “I take it you’re happy with my scent now?” She kissed his chest and smiled into the darkness when he turned off the lamp.

  “I own your scent, Rory, don’t ever forget that again.” He tightened his arms around her and allowed his body to relax into sleep, satisfied by the contented sigh that escaped her lips as she curled her body around his. There was no longer any debate about whether or not she was coming back to him, she was already there.

  “I’ll kill him!” Aurora shoved back the chair she’d been sitting on in the huge dining room and jumped straight up into the air. Landing on the table, her boots thudded the two steps it took to cross it. Laid out with food, crockery, cups and juices for breakfast, the table shook with her movement. She let loose her wings from her back and glided the rest of the way across the room at Caspian.

  “Aurora!” Zane yelled, raising to his feet.

  Aurora fisted Caspian’s collar and lifted him into the air. The high-ceilinged room proved itself a strong ally in her moment of temper. Caspian’s legs dangled awkwardly in the air, the shifter not quite knowing what to do with them as he curled his fingers around her forearms.

  “Hey, gorgeous, missed me, I see. Is my brother not taking care of that temper of yours?” Caspian grinned at her, attempting to hide his nervousness at dangling in the air.

  “Tenner says she drops him,” Hunter laid a note on the table and pushed it towards Cole.

  “I’ll have some of that,” Cole took out his own money and was almost immediately joined by Zane and Marco, adding bets of their own.

  Lykos dropped a fifty onto the pile of notes. “If you want to make bets, they’d better be bets worth winning. She won’t drop him.”

  “She can hear you,” Jax reminded them, his eyes were trained on his mate, fire burning in them for her. He adored her tender moments, the soft caresses and vulnerability she only gave to him, but he lived for her fiery temper and impulsiveness.

  “Is she mind control talking to you? What’s she going to do?” Marco wanted to know.

  “Whatever the hell she feels like doing.” Jax shrugged and continued to watch the show, refraining from making a bet of his own.

  “If I drop you, you’ll heal, it’s not high. You probably won’t even get hurt at all,” Aurora told Caspian.

  “True, but it will still take me a day to heal,” Caspian bargained.

  “And that bothers me, how?”

  “If I’m unconscious, I won’t be able to give you what you want.”

  “What could you possibly have that I would want, Caspian?”

  “Your precious book.”

  The two stared silently at each other for several minutes until Aurora sighed and seemed to give in. She lowered them a slightly, then whispered harsh words into Caspian’s face, the rest of the room unable to pick them up.

  “Whoops!” She let go and Caspian plummeted to the floor, landing on his feet, and falling forward, to his knees. He cried out in pain as his knees hit the marble tiled floor and he slumped forward, holding his body on his elbows.

  “You really should work on that landing, Cas.” Aurora flew to the table, landing beside it and picked up the pile of money. “Thank you, gentlemen.”

  “Woah! Hold on there,” Hunter protested.

  “I always bet on myself.” Aurora winked at him and turned back to Caspian. The drop hadn’t done too much damage, she’d known it wouldn’t. Nothing broken just bruising and he was beginning to stand. His body would heal completely on his next shift, but even without being in animal form they still healed faster than humans.

  “Sit the fuck down and heal, you moron!” she snapped and shoved a chair from the table towards him. Caspian reached out for the chair and eased his body into it, warily eyeing the people in the room. He oozed his usual over confidence and brashness to mask his nervousness.

  “You broug
ht the information I asked for?” Lykos enquired, pouring a cup of coffee, and handing it to Caspian.

  “Yes, boss,” Caspian nodded, accepting the cup.

  “What’s he doing here?” Marco wanted to know.

  “You know, she looks tired, bruv,” Caspian couldn’t resist the jibe.

  “Does she?” Jax cocked his head and looked at his mate with a smirk.

  “You know what works?” Caspian pushed and Zane stepped up next to Jax, whose eyes hadn’t left Aurora’s.

  “Do enlighten me,” Jax snarled, Aurora threw her head back and laughed.

  “Nipples, she used to love it when I played with her nipples. Relaxes her, you see, she falls right to sleep.”

  The room stopped breathing as they awaited Jax’s response. He and Aurora stared at each other from opposite ends of the room.

  “Little brother,” Jax huffed out a laugh, but didn’t look in Caspian’s direction. “If she fell asleep while you were playing with her nipples, you weren’t doing it right.”

  Aurora threw her head back and laughed as she exited the room, Jax hot on her heels, leaving the remaining occupants in confusion.

  “What the fuck was that?” Hunter asked, confused.

  “Something’s different about those two this morning,” Cole mused.

  “Did they seal the bond?” Marco aimed his question at Zane, but it was Lykos who answered.

  “No, she allowed him to mark her properly. She is covered by his scent. Completely.” Everyone in the room could taste the bitterness in Lykos’s next words. “She has marked him too.”

  “It won’t be long,” Zane added.

  “Doesn’t explain what that was.” Marco frowned.

  “Aurora went all hell beast on Caspian. Jax was turned on by it.” Melaina told them. During the drama she had remained seated at the table, finishing her breakfast.

  “He likes it when she’s violent?” Cole asked, eyes wide.

  “He likes her power.” Melaina shrugged, sliding her eyes to the side to look at Cole. “She’s pretty fucking hot when she’s angry.”

  “Jax is a fucking freak!” Hunter laughed and then stopped and looked at Melaina. “Wait, are they doing it? Right now?”

  Melaina shrugged again. “I don’t know, maybe.”

  “Oh, I gotta get out of here. I don’t need to be hearing that. It’ll be like hearing one of my sisters getting fucked. Nobody needs to hear that!”

  “We’re not doing anything!” Aurora stepped back into the room, closely followed by a very smug looking Jax.

  “Looking a bit flushed there, gorgeous,” Caspian winked at Aurora. Although he was unable to tell exactly what had just transpired between her and his brother, there was no mistaking the scent of sexual satisfaction coming from them both.

  “Do you have a death wish, kid?” Zane extended a finger to point at Caspian.

  “First, I look tired. Now, I look flushed. Which is it, Caspian?” Aurora took the coffee cup that Jax handed to her. “Maybe, it’s neither. Wanna know what I think? I think you’re clutching at straws, looking for a way to get one over on your brother, make him think you know me better than he does. You’re trying to put yourself between us and cause friction. Get us to fight, so you feel all powerful and in control.”

  Caspian lowered his gaze as Aurora’s alpha force began to taper the edges of her words. She locked her eyes onto him, her gaze penetrating the surface of his flimsy tough exterior. She knew him and she knew how to use his insecurities against him. Just as he attempted to use Jax’s against him.

  “Only, it didn’t work and it won’t work.” Jax picked up Aurora’s train of thought and continued her words. Walking slowly towards his brother, he took a wide legged stance in front of him, his arms folded across his chest. “Because nothing comes between us, not you, not him,” he lifted his chin towards Lykos. “Not four years of separation. You can stop your pathetic attempts to cause trouble between us.”

  “Or don’t, I would prefer that,” Aurora’s tone was eerily calm as she turned away, a picture of serenity and looked out of the window. Her voice became soft and melodic. “Jax says I can kill you if you don’t stop.”

  “You’ve had your fun, you two.” Zane decided it was time to get serious. “Caspian has news of the book. First, there’s something else we need to discuss.”

  “Aurora, will you please sit?” Lykos gestured to the seat nearest him, his actions immediately arousing Jax’s suspicions.

  “What’s going on?” Jax demanded.

  “Let’s sit.” Zane looked at him, deliberately making eye contact, to let him know what he had to say was serious.

  Jax turned away from Caspian and moved in beside Aurora, pulling out a chair for her and seating himself between her and Lykos. Lykos stood and moved around the table, sitting directly opposite Aurora, placing himself in her field of vision.

  “Marco, this concerns you too.” Zane lifted his chin to indicate that Marco should also join them at the table. “In fact, all of you need to hear this.”

  “Is this the bullshit about a tournament?” Aurora’s eyes narrowed on Lykos.

  There were a few moments of silence while the team all came back to the table and took seats. Zane and Lykos eyed each other, as though silently deciding how to approach the subject with the team.

  “Koraki,” Lykos began.

  “Get to the point!” Jax demanded, he had felt Aurora’s body stiffen next to him and could sense her emotions at the mention of the tournament.

  “Aurora, Marco, your father has issued a bounty on Jax’s head,” Zane announced.

  “What?” Marco shouted and rose to his feet.

  “You knew,” Aurora’s eyes remained on Lykos.

  “Zane and I thought it would be better not to concern you with it in the midst of a mission,” Lykos explained.

  “So, you sent us in vulnerable instead,” Jax commented. “Why would you assume the people at the auction wouldn’t know about it?”

  “We made a mistake, I see that,” Zane admitted. “However, now we need to get all the details clear and discuss what happened in Crete before we move forward.”

  “I don’t understand, my Dad loves Jax as his own.” Aurora blinked, unable to process what she was hearing.

  “It’s true,” Caspian said, quietly, making eye contact with his brother.

  “And?” Jax shrugged. “We knew I would be a target once the prophecy was public knowledge.”

  “We didn’t know my fucking father would be the threat though!” Marco paced the length of the room.

  “I’m too strong for him, I won’t bend to his will. He treated me that way all my life because he thought one day, he would have control of both me and Rory,” Jax speculated.

  “Are you sure this came from him?” Aurora questioned.

  “This isn’t the only problem we have discovered, Aurora,” Lykos reached across the table and rested his hand on hers.

  “Don’t dramatize it, old man.” She snatched her hand away and looked to Zane to continue.

  “The story you heard last night, that Connell has ordered a mating tournament. I’m afraid it’s true,” Zane informed them.

  “Over my dead body!” Jax slammed both fists on the table and Aurora reached a handout to rest on his arm.

  “That’s the plan, little king,” Lykos said. “You have already said you will not be controlled. The proof lies in your refusal to take Aurora home. With you out of the way, a tournament gives him the best chance of gaining a mate for his daughter that Connell can control.”

  “Wait, you’re saying my own Dad wants to use my status as the raven queen for himself?” Aurora shook her head, attempting to process the news.

  “I told you we couldn’t trust anyone, sis,” Marco said, softly, stopping his pacing to stand behind her and lay a hand on her shoulder.

  “But, Dad?” Aurora’s head spun with the new information.

  “I’m sorry, wild thing,” Jax threaded their fingers together
and she held on tight to him. Marco took the seat next to her and held her other hand, needing to be close to her himself.

  Lykos and Zane explained the rules of entry, regarding capturing and taking Aurora back to Shadow Fen for the men wanting a place in the tournament. The tournament explained Ambrosios’s actions at the auction. He wanted a place, intending to be the alpha who returned the raven queen to her father to gain that sought-after place. Caspian was able to add a little more since Lykos had given him the task of finding out as much as he could.

  “Connell announced the tournament at a huge conference a couple of weeks ago, the shifters present scattered in all directions. Word spread quickly among the packs and stretched out further, most of the world will know by now. They have no idea where you are though, your trail is non-existent, so we have time to do what needs to be done here and come up with a plan for the tournament,” Caspian added.

  “We?” Jax questioned.

  “Caspian is my beta. He works for me and I fight for Aurora.” Lykos implied that Caspian was to become part of their team, simply because of his role in the Stratitori pack.

  “Not going to happen!” Hunter exploded. “How many times does he have to put her life in danger before we stop trusting him?”

  “He is not named as one of the queen’s warriors, he’s not one of us!” Cole backed up his teammate.

  Jax glared at his brother across the table, anger flowing from every pore. He wanted nothing more than to send his brother away, but that meant risking Lykos throwing a tantrum. The logistics of having so many alphas in one place were complex. Lykos evidently still didn’t feel like a member of the team and wanted a man of his own as back up. Jax could understand that, but did it have to be a man who had let them down and betrayed Aurora so many times?