Forever Bound

by J. E. Cluney

  I sighed, knowing he was right. As much as I wanted to know more, if they were so rare, then it was best they weren’t exposed. They could have epic magic abilities. We barely knew what Ollie could do, but he’d been able to open up the secret hoard stash with a special breath. Even he didn’t know the limits of his magic now.

  The griffin and pegasus performed various flying stunts, the griffin catching thrown hoops and items before tossing them to the Pegasus, who soared through them.

  The unicorn maneuvered through the changing terrain, rocky jumps appearing and then trot poles and weave poles.

  There were flashes of magic exploding all around, and then the warlock declared that Joshua was joining them, their very own chupacabra.

  The chupacabra ran out and leaped onto the unicorns back, and I stared in wonder as I took in his appearance.

  He was a dark brown nearly black canine type humanoid, with spines along his back and glowing red eyes. He had clawed hands and a whipping tail, and looked to be hairless save for some scruff around his neck, almost like he had a leathery skin instead.

  This wowed the crowd, and he performed flips while riding the unicorn before launching up, the griffin catching his hands with his talons and launching him towards the pegasus, which he landed on with grace.

  The four shifters disappeared back through portals, and then the warlock rose up into the air once more as the ground of the show ring began cracking and lowering as water began trickling in from the edges. Within a minute, the whole area had given way to a dark murky water, and I sat on the edge of my seat as I waited to see what exotic shifters he revealed now. One lone rock protruded at the center of the water, and I bit my cheek as I watched quietly.

  “I want to introduce to you Dakota and Cecile, our rare underwater panther and kelpie,” the warlock said, introducing the pair just as the odd feline water creature shot out of the water and landed on the rock.

  I gaped at the stunning white feline with the dorsal fin down its back and small fins on the sides of its face and elbows.

  It looked to be covered in silky fur, and his tail flicked up, showing the large fin on the end to aid him in swimming.

  “Dakota has traits of both fish and large cat, with webbed feet to aid in swimming. Ah, here comes Cecile too!”

  A black horse shot out from the side of the ring, and she cantered across the top of the water magically, a small dorsal fin running down her spine, her black main short in comparison to the other two equine shifters. Her tail was long and flowed out behind her as she raced across the water, and I gasped as the lights dimmed and bioluminescent markings appeared on her, spiraling down her dorsal fin and lighting up her aqua eyes.

  ‘Look at Dakota,’ Ollie urged me, and I flicked my gaze back to him, my mouth dropping open at the glowing blue markings all over his fur. Even his eyes were glowing.

  “Both can reside in deep water and can activate their markings when needed. Cecile is capable of shifting her back end into one powerful tail like a mermaid’s,” the warlock informed us.

  Cecile decided to showcase this as she dove into the water, reappearing a few moments later and leaping above the water, her black mermaid-like tail shimmering purple before she plunged back under.

  They put on a marvelous light show, and Dakota bounded onto the tops of magical jellyfish that appeared, showing off his agility, while Cecile put on her own water show with leaps and swirls.

  The water lit up with bioluminescent plankton, and Cecile performed stunning designs in it, swirls and more that stunned the crowd.

  A watery dragon rocketed up from the water, and Cecile dove into it, riding it like a water spout before she shot from the dragon’s mouth as it exploded into a rain of droplets.

  I was mesmerized by the display of magic and talent, the glowing effects and the dark water only adding to the mystical quality of the scene before me.

  Eventually, Cecile and Dakota swam through a shimmering portal, and the water receded as the sandy arena rose back up. The lights changed to green as they shone down on the show area, and I held my breath as I awaited what shifter would be unveiled next.

  “And our final exotic beast, capable of petrifying with a single look, revered in lore and many movies, I bring to you Marshal, the basilisk!” the warlock declared, and excited murmurs rose up all around.

  I shot Ollie a look, and he looked just as excited at the announcement.

  ‘Can you shift into what they all are?’ I asked after a moment. Being a true shifter, could he take on the forms of these exotics?

  I knew his shifting side worked in a mysterious way,

  ‘Not really. I could try with the pegasus, griffin, and unicorn, but the others are their own unique shifters with their own abilities,’ Ollie answered.

  The arena’s sand began to move, sifting in waves like something was slithering around beneath it.

  A crescendo that reminded me of the theme song from Jaws started up, and I was sitting on the edge of my seat as I watched the sand move.

  The dark emerald basilisk shot from the earth, swirling up into the air in a flurry of sand that rained down around him.

  He was enormous in size, a giant serpent with rows of razor-sharp fangs as he hissed and held himself up high. His scales shimmered an incredible deep emerald, glinting in the green lighting as those golden slits eyed the crowd.

  Many looked away out of fear of his power.

  “Remember, you are perfectly safe here. Marshal can choose to petrify with his eyes but will not do so,” the warlock assured us.

  Marshal’s body was thick and powerful looking, and I gazed at him, noting the tiny spines along his dorsal and the small horns along his jaw and crown of his head.

  He was a truly amazing sight, and I remembered Harry Potter, noting that he wasn’t that different from the one depicted in that movie. Marshal was smaller, but it was his distinct green scales that made him vastly different.

  He slithered forth, keeping his head raised to show his creamy-green belly scales as his barbed tail flicked around behind him. I was sure he could do some serious damage with that thing if he so desired.

  “Now you’ve seen all the exotics we have to offer, I’d like to welcome back our talented performers and put on one final show for you!” the warlock bellowed as music started up.

  The lights returned to normal, and a ring of water manifested around the edge of the show ring as the various performers returned and began dancing and gliding around, doing acrobatic stunts as more material drapes floated down for aerial stunts.

  The various exotic shifters returned for the final lap, Dakota and Cecile sticking to the water that circled the main area as they swam around and stopped at different spots to allow the children seated there a closer look.

  The pegasus and griffin flew around, weaving through the red drapes while the unicorn cantered through the performers on the ground, the chupacabra performing stunts on his back.

  I sat back, grinning from ear to ear as I watched the performance. Even Marshal was slowly slithering around the ring, the performers using him in their show as they flipped over his body or ran up his back and leaped off his head onto the drapes.

  I was in awe as I enjoyed the fantastic show, and the crowd was loving it.

  It finally came to a close as the warlock bid a farewell from each shifter before thanking all his performers and the crowd for coming to see the show. The crowd cheered and roared as they clapped, having loved the incredible display.

  We were informed all the buildings and shops would remain open for another two hours for our pleasure.

  With that, the warlock exploded into a magical array of fireworks that whizzed all around the area, thanking us in big letters and recreating magical fireworks versions of the shifters.

  We waited patiently for others in our row to exit before following, then we headed back to the street of buildings to investigate a few of the places we’d missed.

  “Did anyone else notice cameras and
whatnot weren’t working?” Skip asked with a chuckle as we passed a group of young teens who were clearly bummed that the videos they’d attempted to take were just black. I was surprised they’d even tried since there was a specific request for no filming or photos during the show, which was signed all over the place and part of the tickets.

  “Magical warding, I’d imagine. He wants to protect his crew,” Lucas stated.

  I was quite glad that the warlock was so protective of his crew, taking care of their privacy.

  We enjoyed the various street performers, including witches doing various magical stunts like floating in midair or creating magical birds and butterflies. They were performing all sorts of magical shows, and the various shifters were either prowling through the crowd or in half-shifted form as they performed their own stunts.

  I loved seeing the speckling of tigers, lions, wolves, and two black leopards and more in the crowd.

  There was a designated photobooth, which I dragged my mates over to, and we took some photos with the black leopard and white tiger perched on the colorful display.

  We paid the small fee for the photos as we all huddled in for the group photo, and I smiled widely, beyond ecstatic to have my four men crammed around me as we enjoyed the fun night out.

  We collected our photos afterwards, which were printed and framed. They were specially magicked, so that anyone who wasn’t a supe would only see us, not the exotic supes.

  We stayed right until closing time, enjoying more food and shows.

  I knew I’d cherish this memory forever, especially all the stolen kisses and touches by my men throughout the night.

  It was absolutely perfect.

  15

  Skip.

  “Do you think they were their real names?” Allison asked as we headed back to our hotel. We’d waited patiently for the bustling crowd to disperse some before we’d left the circus, but we were all wide awake.

  “Probably not, just show names,” Marcus said from the backseat beside her.

  I was driving, until we had drinks, then Marcus would take over as he sobered up quite quickly.

  “Anything else you guys want to do tonight?” Lucas asked as he turned to glance back at the three in the backseat.

  “My vote is city strippers!” I said, tossing in my two cents.

  “Trish would love that,” Allison said with a laugh from the backseat. “Shame she had to go home.”

  “We’ll take her next time she visits. Brad messaged me, told me he’s catching a flight to her next week. His visa got approved with a little help,” Lucas said with a wink.

  “Trish has been messaging me too. Says she thinks she’ll want to move here soon, to be closer to family,” Allison added.

  I snickered at the thought of Trish living nearby. That certainly would make our lives quite interesting.

  I hoped she outlived us all.

  We agreed on a trip to the strippers, and Allison looked rather excited to see what a city strip club was like.

  I couldn’t wait to see how it blew her mind.

  We stepped inside the dark warehouse, with all the flashing neon signs out the front and magical fireworks going off every few minutes.

  The presentation outside had wowed Allison, especially with the line that had formed and the bouncers. There were flaming eagles soaring all around as well, thanks to the name of the strip club. Eagle’s Landing was the name, and it was well-known that the owner was an eagle shifter.

  Once inside, Allison murmured in awe at the giant, dimly lit room.

  Booths were all around with their own stages, and in each corner was a large stage, along with a giant one in the center.

  Acrobatic aerial performers were in the center, completely naked as they performed for the crowd.

  There were partially shifted exotic shifters giving lap dancers, and witches flying around on broomsticks in raunchy lingerie as they tossed out lace panty roses.

  I caught one and offered it to Allison, who laughed over the music as she unraveled the black set of panties.

  Lucas found us a booth near the center stage, where a new show had started.

  Male strippers were moving in a perfectly choreographed dance, thrusting and grinding on the floor before leaping up and doing all sorts of incredible moves, including backflipping over one another, twisting jumps, and even a few ballet moves.

  The stage was lit up with red lights, while a dark red smoke was hazing the area as the aerial dancers swung from swings and used material drapes to perform.

  Some of the women shot off the drapes, shifting midair into various bird shifters and flying over to other stages to continue dancing while new shifters replaced them.

  Allison was blown away by the raunchy show, and Lucas called over a topless waitress, who got onto drinks and a meal for us.

  “They do meals?” Allison clarified over the steady thrum of the music as I plopped down beside her in the booth.

  “Full meals. It’s awesome,” I stated, although we were only going to order things to nibble on.

  Allison just shook her head as I took her hand, and we watched as the show transformed into a full striptease as the men started to yank their clothes off.

  “Oh, these shows tend to get quite full on,” I informed her, and she turned to me, those doe eyes confused as she frowned.

  “What he’s saying is that this place also operates as a brothel. The strip shows are one thing, but sometimes they can become…well, more,” Marcus elaborated as Lucas smirked knowingly at Allison.

  Her lips parted in an understanding O, and I leaned over to kiss her.

  “We can leave at any time if you get uncomfortable,” I said softly, and she gave me a sly smile.

  “I’m more worried about you guys getting turned on and wanting to deal with that,” she retorted, and I rolled my eyes as I grinned at her.

  “Oh, Cupcake, I’d portal us out of here so we could have our fun with you if it gets that bad,” Lucas said with a laugh as the waitress returned and set down a round of cocktails and rum and Cokes for us, along with hot haloumi chips and curly fries.

  I smirked as I noted Allison staring at the waitress’ bare chest. Sure, they were a nice size, but I only had eyes for my mate.

  The waitress noticed her looking and gave her a wink.

  “If you want some fun, let me know, sweetheart,” she said sultrily, licking her lips as her gaze rolled over Allison.

  She laughed as she sashayed away, leaving Allison red-faced and lost for words.

  “Everyone is available for fun stuff here. Even the bartenders,” Ollie told her, his eyes flicking from one dancer to the next up in the air.

  There was an even mix of male and female dancers doing the aerial work, but the magical dust and hazy smoke that swirled around the ceiling only added to the mesmerizing effect.

  “Damn, look at her,” Lucas said, pointing out one of the strippers offering a lap dance at the booth beside us.

  Everyone’s gaze moved to her, and I could see what drew his attention. She had arm sleeve tattoos, and both thighs had large floral tattoos, while she also sported a mandala style underboob tattoo. Her neck and the sides of her face were tattooed intricately, and when she turned to face us, she had numerous piercings. Two on either eyebrow, a septum piercing, two lip piercings, and a number of skin divers along her high cheekbones.

  “You guys like tattoos and piercings?” Allison mused, although I was glad I sensed no jealousy when I reached out to her.

  “I’ll appreciate them,” Lucas said with a shrug.

  “I’ll give or take it. I prefer a more natural woman though,” I said as I lifted her hand to my lips to kiss it.

  “Not a fan of all the piercings, although they look okay on her,” Marcus said, adding his thoughts. He’d been quite quiet on the far side of the booth as he’d watched the shows, enjoying his Bloody Mary cocktail with real blood.

  “I can’t wait to get my tattoo,” Allison murmured as she sipped her own
pineapple sunset cocktail.

  I smiled sweetly at her before focusing back on the stage in front of us. Tomorrow, she’d be getting her first tattoo. I blocked her from my mind as I smiled inwardly. We were planning on getting tattoos as well, but it was difficult to hide it from her.

  Allison stiffened as the show took a turn, and a large four-poster bed rose up from the center of the stage with all sorts of cuffs and chains hanging from it.

  The music around us took on a darker tone, and the smoke changed to black and red as a female dancer slid down one of the red drapes and knelt on the bed, her legs spread wide as she tossed her long blonde hair over her shoulder.

  She was stark naked, and various black crows flew in from around the room, shifting to large burly men, fully naked and with their junk on display.

  Lucas leaned forward, fascinated with the scene that was about to unfold, and Ollie wrapped an arm around Allison’s shoulders as she watched with intrigue.

  The men chained her up to the bed, attaching a collar and cuffs, then chaining her feet as three of them clambered on the bed with her.

  Honestly, it reminded me of the things we did together.

  They started up a specially curated dance scene, their bodies moving together as they moved in the bed with her, touching her body and lifting her up, the chains forcing her limbs certain ways. The men all took turns dancing with her, even grabbing some whips and paddles, using them to stroke her as she did various moves, her arms spreading out and jingling the chains before she’d bend over backwards and perform all sorts of acrobatic moves on the bed.

  The first whip struck her, and she gasped as a crack of thunder rumbled around us as part of the show, the music building up and crashing with each whip by the various men.

  They all moved in, climbing on the bed, grabbing her and caressing her, before they’d roll off and perform their own acrobatic moves, sprawling on the floor and flipping up, all perfectly in sync.