The Raven Queen

by Emma Jayne Mills

  “Open for me,” he instructed, kneeling between her legs. She smiled, devilishly and opened her legs.

  “Like this?” She feigned innocence.

  “Wider,” he commanded, sliding a finger inside her. “You’re going to beg.”

  She widened her legs licked her lips, reaching down to join her fingers with his. He snatched his hand away and shook his head. She pouted and removed her own hand, but not before dipping her fingers inside and bringing them to her mouth. He looked down at her, laid out for him, with ravenous hunger in his eyes. He didn’t think he was capable of loving or wanting anyone the way he did her. He closed his own hand around his cock and slid the tip along the length of her opening.

  “Is this what you want, wild thing?” he teased.

  “Yes.” She lifted her shoulders to reach for him.

  “What do you say?”

  “Please,” she breathed, desperately.

  “I should make you wait, but we have a lifetime for games.” He gave her a satisfied grin when her eyes lit with excitement and he granted her what she wanted.

  He lifted one of her legs, draping it over his shoulder and plunged into her. Pulling all the way out and driving back in, harder each time.

  “Yes, like that!” Her hand flew out to grasp the table beside the bed, nails digging into the surface. Her eyes turned to coal and her claws extended, gouging deep slashes in the wood. Their pleasure built and their power soared with each hard push, as they fell over the edge together, lost in the flurry of orgasm.

  “I once thought my favourite sound was your laugh, then you gave me that moan, those gasps. They turned me on to my very soul. There’s no other sound I want to hear more,” Jax whispered, into the darkness. He pulled her down, to rest on his chest after a second round of love making.

  “I didn’t give you those sounds. You gave them to me.” He heard the contented smile in her voice.

  “And they were some loud sounds,” he teased.

  “Do you think they heard?”

  “If they didn’t then I did something wrong.”

  “You did nothing wrong. You’ve got skills no virgin should have,” she joked.

  “There are other ways a man can learn,” he laughed.

  “You spent the last four years watching porn with your dick in your hand, didn’t you?”

  “I spent the last four years envisioning all the things I wanted to do with you, with my dick in my hand.” He moved them, turning her until they were face to face. Reaching out, he ran his fingers through her hair. “Seriously though, you let me know exactly what you needed, your body spoke to mine.”

  She laid a hand on his chest, over his heart, a heart that would now beat in time with hers forever. “Does it feel different?”

  “Yes,” he played with her hair as he spoke. “Before, I was in love with you, there was never any doubt of that. I felt the bond, but I also felt like something was missing.”

  She nodded. “Now, it feels complete, I feel complete.”

  “We are complete, wild thing. It’s you and me, the way it was always meant to be.”

  “I love you, O’Conner,” she told him.

  “I love you.” He kissed her forehead and they settled into sleep, forgetting the trials ahead of them for precious hours, living only in the moments of their love.

  When they woke, a few hours later, Aurora’s mind was once again heavy with the information imparted by Veronica.

  “Tell me what she said,” Jax probed, rolling over onto his side, after waking her with his unquenchable thirst for her taste on his tongue.

  “You don’t need this problem.” She smiled into his eyes, protecting him from the difficulties they faced.

  “Erm, did you miss the part where we sealed our mate bond? Because when I sealed that bond, when I buried myself inside you and bit into your neck, when I said those words, it was a promise to share everything, Rory.”

  “I know,” she whispered.

  “I want it all, every dark corner of your mind, every battle, every laugh, every tear. It’s no longer yours to carry alone, it’s ours.”

  “I didn’t think I could love you more.”

  “I’ll spend my life giving you reasons to. Now, talk.”

  “Mel’s mother is a witch, her father is a shifter. Veronica doesn’t know where she came from, only what glimpses she could get with her seer powers. She thinks she was held prisoner, caged, and made to fight. She somehow escaped and Veronica found her in the forest in Frost Ford, when she was about sixteen.” Aurora paused to accept Jax’s soothing kiss on the corner of her mouth, easing her emotions as she told Melaina’s story.

  “She had killed. Both with her animal and her magic. Her cat is out of control, bred only to fight, it knows nothing else. Veronica spelled it, put it into a kind of stasis to protect Mel and everyone around her. She had no power over her shifts, the cat took over at even the smallest spike of emotion from her. Her magic was bound too.”

  “Shit!” Jax whispered, shaking his head. To have not had the love and support they’d had growing up as a shifter was unimaginable. Let alone to have been mistreated.

  “That’s not the only problem, her magic is dark.”

  “Dark as in evil?”

  “That’s the thing, Veronica says she can choose, but can easily be swayed to the wrong side. We have no idea whether her parents were good or evil, so can’t even use that as a clue.”

  “So, Mel could basically go either way once her powers are released?”

  “That’s pretty much the gist of it,” Aurora sighed.

  “And you have to decide whether to tell her this.”

  “The joys of becoming a queen,” she smiled, weakly.

  “You wouldn’t have been given this task if you couldn’t manage it, Rory.” He tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “Have faith in yourself, take my faith in you and draw on it. Deep down you already know the answer.”

  “Allow her to choose for herself.”

  “Exactly.”

  “What if I’m wrong? What if she decides to go dark? We have no idea how big this war is going to be. The trouble among the shifter packs escalates every day. The vampires are running things more than ever, shifter rogues are causing riots and killing humans. Adding a dark and powerful witch with no control to that sounds like suicide.”

  “So, put it to one side for now. We’ve got enough to deal with, the tournament, the book, and the vampire king. Let’s get that out of the way first and then maybe the answer will present itself.”

  “You’re not as dumb as you look, are you?” She reached up a hand to rest on his cheek and he rubbed his stubbled chin against her palm.

  “I chose you, didn’t I?” He climbed over her and his hands slid underneath her hips to lift her.

  “Hmm…” She opened for him, her stomach muscles clenching as he slid his hard length inside and rolled his hips. “A girl could get used to this.”

  “Rory,” he groaned, contentedly. “I will never get tired of this feeling.”

  “Neither will I,” she breathed.

  There was no storm or breaking glass this time, just a cementing of their love, a reaffirming of their desire and the celebration of their sealed bond. There was something more though, something that convinced Aurora that all the pain, all the wounds to her heart, to both their hearts, had been worth it. She believed in the pieces of their love that had been taken from them and she wanted them back. Everything they were always meant to share finally fixed itself in place and with it came peace, hope, and a promise that they would no longer allow anything but love to pass between them.

  “Don’t you dare go out there like that, Jax!” She laughed at him afterwards, as he swaggered, naked, towards the bedroom door.

  “Why the hell not?” He grinned at her over his shoulder. “You marked me, Rory, I want the world to know.”

  She threw a pair of sweatpants at his back. He left the room, calling that she’d better not cover her mark eithe
r. “Get dressed, Rory, don’t you dare go down there naked, but I want that mark on display. You’re mine!”

  “Like I could forget!” She flung herself back on the bed, unable to contain the smile that hurt her cheeks.

  She looked over at the window and couldn’t hold the laughter that bubbled in her chest. Shattered glass and a splintered window frame littered the floor, the result of their bond sealing. Veronica had been right, together they held phenomenal power. Knowing what she did of Melaina’s background, she remembered that Jax had witch blood in him too. Did he have the ability to do magic? The thought was both scary and comforting, to know that while so much rested on their shoulders, they had the means with which to survive.

  “Anyone else hear that storm last night? One of the trees is down out there.” Caspian turned from the window. “It came out of nowhere.”

  “That was no storm,” Lykos complained. He sat at the table, staring miserably into his coffee, his sour mood obvious.

  “Then what was it?” Caspian frowned.

  “Is he really that clueless?” Hunter asked.

  “It was the earth moving.” Jax entered the room, unable to hide the grin that covered his face.

  “Well, someone is proud of his mate marks,” Cole remarked.

  Jax strutted around the kitchen, preparing coffee for himself and his mate, wearing only the sweatpants Aurora had thrown at him. He was proud and intended to show off the deep gouges in his back that were put there by his mate. They would heal and fade when he shifted, becoming silver scar like markings, as would Aurora’s bite mark. He intended to make sure he showed them off while they were still fresh.

  “Well, it took him long enough to get them,” Zane joked, slapping a hand on Jax’s shoulder.

  “I’m never wearing a shirt again,” Jax boasted. “I mean, I looked good before, but now I’m fucking beautiful!”

  “So, how does it feel to be claimed at last?” Hunter leaned across the table and stretched out his arm, they bumped fists.

  “Fucking perfect, best feeling in the world. There’s nothing like it, the feeling of completeness is everything. Only, it’s more than that. I can’t even put it into words,” Jax gushed, setting the two cups down on the table.

  “Looks like a completed mate bond turns a once normally functioning, hard ass of a man, into a marshmallow. Is he still going to be able to fight like this?” Hunter teased.

  “I don’t know, you should all up your training just in case you have to overcompensate,” Zane grinned.

  “Hey,” Jax pointed at Zane. “Don’t ever question my ability to fight.”

  “Too many feelings for me, you can keep that mating shit.” Marco dropped into a chair and began heaping bacon and sausages onto a plate.

  “Don’t rule it out, bro. You’ve never felt anything like it, the sex…”

  “No!” Marco shouted, stabbing the air with his fork. “Don’t you fucking go there, that’s my sister! I do not want those details! Wait, tell me she doesn’t look as bad as you?”

  “Well…” Jax began, looking expectantly at the door.

  “Stop winding him up, O’Conner.” Aurora stepped through the doorway, hair wet from the shower and walked towards the table, picking up the coffee that Jax slid across the wooden surface towards her.

  “Aurora,” Lykos stood and she turned to face him. “Congratulations on your newly sealed bond. I wish you many years of love and happiness in your life together.”

  “Well, thanks, Lykos.” Jax stood and moved around the table to slap Lykos on the back. “That’s damn decent of you.”

  “Jax,” Aurora warned and her mate winked at her.

  With his eyes on Lykos, Jax moved around to stand behind Aurora and reached out to uncover the bite mark on her shoulder. He bent and kissed it. Lykos, to give him his due, didn’t turn away, but held Jax’s look and watched his performance. Point made, Jax announced he was going to shower and that Aurora should eat because she was going to need the energy.

  “He’s going to be unbearable, I’m sorry.” Aurora sat and plucked a slice of bacon from the mountain on the table. “I’ll talk to him.”

  “He’s happy, let him be.” Lykos was courteous. “He finally has the one thing he has waited all his life for. I would be the same in his place.”

  “That’s very gracious of you, Lykos.” She smiled and cocked her head to the side. “I know you don’t really feel that way, we’re connected, remember? You still hate him, but it’s nice that you said it.”

  “I might have known when you two finally got together you’d make the earth move.” Melaina joined the group and directed her gaze to the fallen tree.

  “Shit, was that the storm?” Aurora asked, rising from her seat, and moving to stand next to Caspian at the window, who still hadn’t turned to face the room. She knew the bedroom window was down to them but hadn’t realised more damage had been done.

  “That was no storm, Aurora,” Zane repeated Lykos’s words from earlier.

  “What are you talking about?”

  “That was the power of a queen and her king joining.” Lykos spoke from behind her and Caspian scoffed.

  “Problem?” Aurora challenged him, dismissing the power conversation.

  “You really don’t have to shove it in our faces.” Caspian refused to look at her when he spoke. “We all know, if we didn’t before then the stench of him on you would have given it away, let alone the bite marks. Did you have to let him flaunt it like that? Don’t I deserve some respect after the years we spent together?”

  “Jax is proud of his sealed bond, as am I, why should I stop him?” she demanded.

  “Because some of us have feelings about it, some of us might be a little bit hurt by it.”

  “Bullshit!” she spat, venomously.

  “We have history, Aurora,” Caspian lost his temper and yelled, bringing Jax back into the room. “Or did you forget?”

  “Forget? I still have fucking nightmares!”

  “I loved you!”

  “So, cry a river, then build a bridge and get over it,” Aurora snapped. “You screwed me over, Caspian, more than once. Don’t expect me to bubble wrap your emotions!”

  “I did what I thought was best for us!”

  “Are you fucking serious?”

  “I found you your sixth warrior!” Caspian grasped at straws. Despite his actions, he genuinely believed he had loved her. It might not have been the kind of love she wanted but it was still love.

  “You handed me over to him without a clue what he had planned. He could have done anything to me, Caspian,” she seethed. “Fortunately, he turned out to be a better wolf than you’ll ever be. All you wanted was the power he falsely promised you, it wasn’t about me. Nothing you did was ever about me!”

  Lykos had the decency to lower his head in shame at the mention of his actions. Jax stealthily moved towards his mate, her anger was about to go volcanic and his instincts were to calm her, even though he had a perverse wish to see her beat the shit out of his brother.

  “Rory,” Jax kept his voice low, gentle, knowing she could snap at any second.

  “No, Jax!” She whirled on him. “He lied to my face for years, yours too. First about the bond, then my Dad and the book. Nothing that comes from his mouth is true.”

  “Shit!” Hunter whispered, watching in awe as Aurora’s hair lifted and began to blow in a breeze of her own making. Dark clouds gathered in the sky beyond the window and the raindrops that hit the window gradually turned to hail.

  “Rory,” Jax reached out to her. “I need you to calm down, baby.”

  “Don’t fucking patronise me, Jax!” She stepped back, away from his out-stretched hand and turned back to Caspian.

  “Koraki,” Lykos rose from his seat and approached on her other side, Zane inching closer too.

  “Don’t you defend him either!” The power of the alpha coasted to the surface. “He used me, his only interest has ever been himself and now he demands respect and sens
itivity. Where was his sensitivity when Axel was ripping me to shreds with a knife? Where was his respect when he let Lykos and his pack onto Shadow Fen to blow up my parent’s house?”

  “You used me too!” Caspian didn’t seem to see the rage in her that the others could and he continued to push. “You used me to take your mind off my brother. I was there for you. I fell in love with you but you never loved me back, not the way you love him. You used me to get over him!”

  “Yes. Yes, I did. I admit my fuck ups and I’m sorry if that hurt you. I did love you though. I spent four years proving it,” her voice became lethally quiet. “I never once put your life in danger. Every mission we went on, every fight we got into, every bullet that came our way, I had only one focus in mind and that was to get you out alive. Your safety was my priority, Caspian. At no point did my life come before yours. I killed for you. I would have died for you!”

  The lights flickered, the kettle began to whistle on the stove, the coffee pot bubbled over, spilling dark brown liquid onto the table, and the wind rattled the windowpanes. Jax lunged, wrapping his arms around Aurora’s torso from behind, pinning her arms to her sides and whispered soothing words in her ear.

  An eerie silence overcame the room, Aurora’s hair continued to blow around her shoulders, the curtains continued to sway and the pack watched, as two beautiful black butterflies fluttered around her head. The men drew their weapons instinctively, realising it was ridiculous to be aiming guns at butterflies but they felt the need to do something. Nothing would be allowed to harm their queen. Everything was a threat. Jax swatted at the creatures with his hands and Aurora’s eyes went wide, fury pouring from them. The butterflies came to rest, one on each of Aurora’s shoulders and shimmered in the light from the window as they began to grow larger.

  “Shifters!” Marco called out, alerting everyone to the danger.

  “No!” Lykos called back, shoving his gun back in the waistband of his trousers. “Lower your weapons.”