by Lexi C. Foss
And as he entered the bathroom now, I knew he understood and shared my intent.
He set the bottle down, pulled off his shirt and jeans, and smiled as Edon kicked off his own pants.
With a jerk of his head, Silas indicated where he wanted Edon to go.
The alpha’s jaw ticked—unaccustomed to following orders—but he eventually caved and joined me beneath the warm spray.
I rewarded him by wrapping my arms around his neck and kissing him.
His hands fell to my hips as he pinned me against the wall, his arousal growing against my stomach and shooting heat into my veins. Silas joined us and stepped up behind the alpha, his palms sliding over Edon’s back.
Soap—crisp and clean—tickled my nose and told me what he was doing.
Cleaning the alpha.
While I distracted him with my tongue.
Mmm, Edon could kiss so damn well. So dominant and overpowering and utterly perfect. I moaned, arching into him and allowing him to deepen our embrace while Silas worked on Edon’s legs, ass, and arms.
Soon it would be my turn to soap down the front of him while they fucked each other’s mouths, and just the idea of it had my thighs clenching with unsuppressed need.
Edon growled at whatever Silas did to his backside and ripped his lips away from mine to kiss his progeny into submission. From the way their mouths dueled, it seemed to be a battle for dominance—a mesmerizing one.
I loved when they embraced.
It was so primal and hot and arousing. The way Edon reached around to grip Silas by the neck set my blood on fire.
I took the soap from Silas’s palm to run it over the alpha’s abdomen, lathering across every inch of his torso before moving down to grip his straining cock. His chest vibrated in response, the thick member pulsing in my hand as I slid my hand lower to cup his balls.
“Fuck,” he breathed.
“Mmm, that’s the idea,” Silas replied, his lips trailing a path down Edon’s neck to his shoulder.
It was almost always me or Silas in the middle, never Edon, and we were all enjoying the change. Even the alpha, who seemed a bit flustered by his progeny seizing control.
Silas captured my gaze and gestured downward with his chin, telling me what to do.
I smiled and slid down the wall to my knees before Edon, the water trickling over his abdomen to his thick thighs and washing the suds away. “Allow me to distract you, Alpha,” I said, staring up at him. “Please.”
His head fell back on a groan, the thick bulb jutting out toward my lips in implied welcome. I licked him, loving the salty essence on the tip, and then took him deep into my mouth. Silas kissed him again, making Edon jerk violently against my tongue.
My thighs clenched, my need growing by the second as they devoured each other.
Edon’s fingers threaded through my hair, his opposite palm still holding Silas’s nape as he guided him down and around to join me on the ground.
“My turn, little moon,” Silas murmured, taking over. His cheeks hollowed as he sucked the alpha’s cock to the back of his throat and visibly swallowed.
Edon’s forearm slammed into the wall to better brace himself, his opposite hand shifting between my head and Silas’s as we rotated his shaft between our mouths. His moans turned to a dark, guttural sound that caused a gush of heat to slick down between my thighs.
Such a sexy fucking noise.
I wanted to hear it again.
I wanted to feel it against my pussy as he lapped me clean.
I wanted him to growl like that into my ear while he fucked me to completion.
I must have whimpered, because his fingers were suddenly in my hair, yanking me up off the ground and into him. In seconds, he had me pinned against the tile wall, his dick deep inside me on a single thrust and my thighs wrapped around his waist.
“Edon,” I breathed, arching into him.
And then my mouth was occupied.
Not by Edon, but by Silas, his tongue hot and penetrating and so fucking addicting. I held on to Edon with one arm and wrapped my other around Silas, my claws digging into his scalp.
Someone palmed my breast.
Edon.
Another tweaked my opposite nipple.
Silas.
His lips descended to lick the peak while Edon claimed my mouth.
Thought escaped me, replaced firmly by feelings and sensation. A hot palm met my ass, the finger sliding through the crease to find my other hole. I didn’t jerk or cringe, used to this game of Edon’s, the preparation he continued to bestow upon my body.
Two digits slid inside, the double penetration eliciting a low whine from my mouth. Not because it hurt, but because I wanted more.
He must have known, because he added a third, which sent me whirling over the edge into an explosive climax I hadn’t even felt coming. I screamed, my walls clamping down around him on both sides and forcing him to join me in oblivion.
Silas’s head fell to my shoulder, his pants mingling with ours. Edon slid out of me, his grip trading with his progeny.
And then I was full again, this time with Silas’s long, hard perfection.
My head hit the tiles, my body sore and tingling and way too tight, and yet burning all over again. Edon was there, his mouth on my neck, his palm returning to my ass. Silas drove into me sharply, his movements urgent, causing Edon’s knuckles to slam into the wall. But that didn’t stop him from gliding those fingers back inside and scissoring them in a way that made me squirm.
“Come, Omega,” Edon growled. “Come so we can lick her clean together.”
Oh, fuck…
My body shook, my limbs tightening.
Everything seemed to center in my lower abdomen.
So. Damn. Constricting.
Silas seemed to go deeper, searching for that spot I loved, and hit it with the force I needed to shatter all over again.
Black.
That was all I could see.
Pure. Bliss.
They’d literally fucked me into another realm of being, a blank state, my mind just completely shutting off.
And I didn’t care, too blitzed out to breathe. But I felt them licking me clean, heard Silas chuckle as he retrieved the beer and told Edon to drink the liquid as he poured it over me. And drink he did.
Every single drop.
His tongue memorizing my flesh.
His mouth trailing kisses over my body as they laid me in the cloud of Edon’s bed.
Both of them nurturing me, worshiping me, loving me.
I sighed and nuzzled into one of their chests while the other spooned me from behind.
Heaven, I decided. This is my heaven. And I refused to let anyone force me to leave.
37
Silas
“It’s surreal to see you like this,” I said as I found Rae curled up on the couch with a steaming mug of what smelled like chocolate. Kylan stood in the kitchen with Luna, the two of them conversing softly about breakfast.
Okay. That was even more surreal.
At least the bastard was out of my head. It only took two fucking days.
I just want to make sure we’re on the same page, he kept saying. And I may need to use you to protect my Raelyn.
It did not escape me that the only reason he saved my life was to appease his consort. That if we weren’t old friends, he would have let me die without a second thought. So having him in my head for so long really sucked. Especially as he kept reminding me that he could make me his puppet.
I don’t care much for him either, Edon muttered into my head.
I was so happy to have him back that I didn’t even bother to remark on him reading my mind without permission. Instead, I asked, Where are you?
Checking up on my mother.
Again?
Jace is living at her house, he growled.
I frowned. I thought you said they were just playing chess?
During his visit yesterday, he’d found the two of them on the porch engaged in a
serious game. It had unnerved the alpha so much that he’d returned with a bewildered expression, stating he’d never seen his mother so lively. Which, I supposed, was saying a lot since all she was doing was sitting in a chair while moving game pieces around on a chessboard.
Edon grumbled something incoherent back at me, causing me to chuckle. It sounded a lot like, Fucking royal bloodsucking jackhole.
Try not to get killed by that royal jackhole, yeah?
The alpha’s responding snort vibrated in my head. I brought Logan with me. We can take him.
Uh-huh, I thought back at him, collapsing in the recliner chair beside Rae. Glad you two are getting along now. It’d been tense at first, but Luna’s continued promise that she was fine seemed to appease her brother a bit. Although, that didn’t stop him from having a stern word with me and Edon about what would happen should we hurt her. As if we’d ever let that happen.
“Edon?” Rae asked, a smile in her light blue eyes.
“Yeah.” I ran my fingers through my hair—it was getting shaggy again. “He’s really not happy about Jace staying with Aurora.”
“Jace has a way of maintaining a reputation without actually fulfilling it,” Kylan said cryptically as he joined Rae on the couch.
“Hmm, that sounds oddly familiar,” Rae replied, tapping her chin thoughtfully. “No idea why…”
Kylan nipped her pulse and nuzzled her neck, the gesture inexplicably playful. And so not what I would ever expect from someone so notoriously known for his sadism. “Mmm, seems there are many playing with reputations lately,” he murmured against her throat. “Such as the wolves approaching the door.”
I picked up on the scent a second after he said it, but it was Luna who went sprinting toward the foyer. She threw open the door. “Where the hell have you been?” she demanded. “I have questions for you.”
Jolene chuckled. “Hello, darling. I assume Cora’s been talking?” He stepped into the house with Luka at his back, his astute gaze roaming over the living area. “Where’s my grandson?”
“Checking up on Aurora,” I said, standing. “He’s not keen on Jace staying with her.”
Luka grunted. “Good luck to Edon. Jace is a force of nature.”
“You mated Claudette?” Luna interjected, her entire focus on Jolene. “And never thought to tell us about it?”
He narrowed his gaze at her. “Careful with your tone, young lady. I’ll be needin’ a long nap before we go muckin’ through my past. Not that it’s any of your business, mind.”
She popped her hands onto her hips, undeterred. “You being in a triad with my mentor isn’t any of my business? Fascinating. I’d say it’s pretty pertinent, don’t you, Silas?”
Oh, I knew better than to disagree with my little moon. “I think he owes us an explanation of what a triad is and how it applies to our situation, yeah. But I also think we should wait until Edon is here to hear it.”
The latter earned me a brief grin from Jolene. “We should probably discuss what Luka and I have overheard first, but I think we should wait for my grandson. Tell him to come back and to bring Jace and Darius with him.”
“Does this mean I finally get to play?” Kylan drawled, cocking his head to the side. “Or are we still pretending I don’t know what you all are up to?”
Luka narrowed his blue eyes at the royal. “For the record, I voted against bringing you on board.”
“On board what?” Luna asked.
“But Jace and Darius seem to think you could be an ally,” Luka continued, ignoring my little moon.
“In what?” I demanded, not pleased to see her dismissed so callously.
Luka looked me up and down, taking my measure. I hadn’t actually met the alpha male yet, but I knew of him. Leader of the Majestic Clan, mated to Mira, and overall not all that memorable. “You must have a mighty big sack to stand up to a two-hundred-year-old alpha, boy.”
“Told you he was special,” Jolene drawled, clapping me on the shoulder. “Luna, too. Their little triad is going to prove invaluable.” He glanced around. “Logan, too, wherever he’s run off to. At least according to my Claudette.”
“Still want to know what the hell you all are talking about,” Luna replied, a low growl permeating her tone. “And more information about this triad everyone keeps mentioning.”
Kylan sighed. “It’s a rare relationship bond between three lycans. You, Silas, and Edon are clearly in a triad. Why is this so difficult and cryptic?”
“Because a ritual must be performed to solidify it,” Jolene replied. “But I’m not sayin’ more until the others are here. Meanwhile, I’ll be makin’ myself some coffee.”
Your grandfather is being cryptic and rude to Luna, I growled. Okay, not rude. But he won’t explain the triad until you’re back, and he wants you to bring Jace and Darius with you.
“Tell him to bring Aurora, too. It’d be good to see her.” That came from Luka.
I relayed the message to Edon.
What am I, a fucking errand boy? he demanded.
Guess that makes me a glorified messenger, I replied.
Edon snorted. I’ll sort my granddad out when I get there. Give Luna a kiss for me.
Will do.
With tongue, he added.
I smiled. The tasks you assign me are so cumbersome. I grabbed Luna on her way to the kitchen and tugged her into me, my lips capturing hers before she had a chance to speak. “That’s from Edon,” I whispered after a moment. “And this is from me.” I deepened the embrace, leaving her breathless and panting in my arms while everyone observed.
Mine, I thought at them, my instinct to protect her overwhelming. Maybe because there were too many dominant males in the house. Or just because I felt like it. Either way, I claimed her with a nip and caught her resulting grin with my tongue.
Ours, Edon corrected.
Ours, I agreed. Hurry back.
38
Edon
Too many fucking visitors in my house, I thought as I settled into my favorite chair. The couch beside me was littered with vampires—Jace, Darius, Kylan, and Rae. Darius’s blood virgin, Juliet, sat primly in a chair pulled in from the kitchen area.
Luka was on the ottoman.
Jolene took my other recliner.
Logan lounged on the floor.
Cora, Mira, and my mother were in the dining room, drinking tea. Which was a really weird experience since my mom never left her house willingly to socialize. I couldn’t even remember the last time she lifted her head, let alone spoke.
Yet Walter’s death seemed to have loosened her up just a little, or maybe it was the royal she seemed so fond of. She had actually kissed Jace on the cheek before taking a seat across from Mira.
Like, what the fuck was that about?
Focus, Silas chastised. He stood behind me with his arms folded across the top cushion of my recliner, while Luna snuggled in beside me.
You’re lucky I’m distracted, I told him as I kissed the top of my little mate’s head.
And yet, you being distracted is what I’m trying to fix, he drawled.
I snorted and looked up at him. Tired of being the omega? Want to play in the alpha’s shoes?
What I want are answers, he replied flatly.
Well, I couldn’t argue with him there. “Where have you been?” I asked my grandfather. “We tried to find you.”
“Luna mentioned that,” he replied conversationally. “I was with Luka, eavesdropping on Lilith’s interrogation of Catalina.”
As far as excuses went, that was a good one.
“At the airfield?” Lilith had refused to stay in Clemente Clan headquarters, stating her private jet would suffice. And she’d taken Silvano’s sovereign with her.
“Yeah. It wasn’t easy,” he replied, scowling.
I imagined not. There weren’t many trees out there.
Huh. Who knew my grandfather still had it in him to play spy? I knew he was revered in his day as one of the strongest alphas of his time, but his age
showed. Most lycans lived to be around six to seven hundred years old, and he was pushing the upper end of that range.
“And?” Kylan prompted, sounding bored. “What did the good sovereign have to say about her royal’s behavior?”
“That he had tasked her with taking out Edon and Walter in a double cross.” Luka lifted his ankle to rest on his opposite knee. “Catalina also confirmed that Silvano was using Walter to take care of some unruly vampires. He handed them off to the Clemente Clan for disposal.”
Meaning the wolves shredded the bloodsuckers apart. “And my father had agreed to it.” I didn’t phrase it as a question but as a statement. Walter was an even bigger asshole than I gave him credit for.
“From what Catalina confirmed, yes. The lycans made a sport of it, like the moon chase, only hunting down crippled vampires instead.” My grandfather sounded sickened by the admission.
“That explains all the scents without the bodies,” Silas put in, referring to the stench he kept picking up on near the headquarters’ perimeter.
I nodded. “Yeah, it does. So why double-cross Walter?” I rarely used my father’s given name, but it felt more natural now. As if he no longer deserved the endearment of dad.
“Catalina said Silvano's goal was to gain more territory, especially around the old border between Texas and Louisiana. Where the blood farms and breeding camps are housed in this region,” Luka said.
“He thought by weakening the pack, he could expand,” Jace clarified. “And as the blood farms and breeding camps carry financial incentives, he could benefit from taking that over from the Clemente Clan.”
“And charge our wolves a higher rate to procreate,” I translated. “Something the clan would be willing to pay if they lost their leadership and needed to start over.” I didn’t know what kind of blood types the camps housed at the moment, but if there were traces of alpha in any of the humans, they’d be fucked nearly to death to create a new lineage.