The Horned Mage: Books 1-5

by Hayden Harper

  It surprised nobody when she finished first by a good margin. Victoria and I took off from our seats at the same time, making our way down the stands to the field as Lexus, staggering from exhaustion, made her way off the track proper. We met her in the grass, heedless of her running mates, and pulled her into a three way hug.

  Cheers and congratulations spilled from us and we pulled her close. She was sweaty and smelled it and we didn’t care.

  We came apart and she beamed at us. Then, as she looked past us, her expression faltered. She looked up into the stands, looking for where we’d told her we’d be sitting. I looked back—our segment of the bench we’d been sitting at was empty. No Mr. Glow, Daisy, or Carina. No Crimson, Jadeite, or Reagan.

  “Where is everyone?” she asked.

  I had no idea how to answer that, so I tried for the truth. “Jadeite’s dad showed up and got into an argument with your mom.”

  Lexus bit her lip. “Daisy and Carina?”

  “Not sure,” I said, scanning the crowd. “They were seriously crushing on your stepdad’s friend though.”

  I continued scanning the crowd, looking for any member of Lexus family or friends that had come with to support her and stopped when I found Crimson. I started to say something, then froze.

  He was standing on the stairs that cut up through the metal benches and across from him was Deirdre She. What the hell did those two have to talk about? Where was Reagan?

  “Did they even see me?” Lexus asked. “Don’t—how will they know I’m not a fuck-up if they didn’t see?”

  Oh shit. I hadn’t even thought of what running track might mean to Lexus outside of simply keeping her in school or competing. Something inside my chest splintered.

  Victoria threw her arms around Lexus before I could, pulling her into a sudden and tight embrace. “They did, sweetheart, they did.”

  Sweetheart? That was new.

  Lexus shuddered in her arms and sank into her. She pulled her head up just enough that she could look over Victoria’s shoulder as she addressed me. Her eyes were watery with unshed tears.

  “Take me home?”

  I nodded and together Victoria and I guided her back to the parking lot. Which was where we encountered a problem.

  Victoria had given me a ride her on her motorcycle and it only fit two. We’d been under the impression that Lexus was going home—as in with her mother—after the meet.

  “You two go on ahead,” I told them. “Get home, get relaxed, I’ll walk or bum a ride from someone.”

  Lexus nodded and after Victoria gave me a quick kiss on the cheek, they both swung up on the bike and took off.

  I was almost out of the parking lot when Reagan pulled up beside me in a huge SUV. “Have you seen her?” she asked without preamble. “She’s not answering her phone. Is she all right?”

  “She’s find, Ms. Byrd,” I said. “She’s just…she’s hurt. Victoria and I were the only ones who saw her last race.”

  She grimaced and for a second looked as if she might be ready to cry. It was easy to see where Lexus got her looks from. They made the exact same expression when they were fighting back tears. Their noses did this little wrinkle that emphasized the feline-ness of their features. Lexus had always put me in mind of a cheetah, and would continue to do so after tonight, and her mom shared some of those qualities.

  “Where is she?” Reagan asked.

  “Victoria’s giving her a ride back to our place,” I said. “We came on her motorcycle and there wasn’t room.”

  Reagan looked me up and down. “And gentlemen that you are, you sent them on ahead.” She sighed. “You don’t mind her being there right now?”

  I shook my head and noticed her eyes flit up to my antlers. They tended to draw attention from people who weren’t used to being around me.

  “Hop in,” she said. “I’ll give you a ride home. Tell her to call me.”

  “Will do, Ms. Byrd,” I said, hopping in.

  She rolled her eyes at me. “It’s Reagan. Don’t call me ‘miss’ anything again.”

  The ride home was awkward and silent and I was eager to get out of the car when she pulled up in front of Eleanor’s house. She opened her mouth like she wanted to say something, then closed it and shook her head. I was almost halfway up the driveway when she called after me.

  “You take good care of her, alright?”

  I turned and gave her a nod.

  She drove off.

  When I walked into the loft we shared over Eleanor’s garage, I was greeted to an absolutely glorious sight. The girls had only made it halfway onto the bed and were rapidly sinking to the floor amidst their discarded clothes. Lexus still wore her sports bra and her legs were spread, Victoria’s hand vanishing into her panties. Victoria was topless but still had her jeans and motorcycle boots on. Their lips were locked in a passionate kiss that broke as the door closed behind me.

  They stared at me, their heavy breathing and sweat doing fascinating things to their breasts. Lexus blushed and turned her head away but Victoria smirked.

  “See,” she said, glancing down at my abrupt and eager erection straining against the groin of my jeans. “I told you he wouldn’t mind.”

  My mind was completely blank. Victoria’s hand began to move in Lexus’ panties again, causing her to whimper and clutch at the biker chick’s toned arm. They’d never touched like this before, at least, not anywhere I’d ever seen. The only time anything even close to this had happened was when Victoria had first come after us when she’d accidentally mated to me.

  “Your mom wants you to call her.” I don’t know why I said it. It just sort of popped out.

  Fortunately Victoria did something with that unseen hand that made Lexus toss her head back and gasp.

  Victoria smirked, then glanced at me and rolled her eyes. “Get naked and get over here.”

  She didn’t need to tell me twice!

  An instant later I was completely nude and stripping off Victoria’s pants, thong, and boots in almost a single go. Her pussy was enflamed, beaded with arousal. I rose slightly and ran my tongue along its length.

  She moaned, then reached around to pull me away, with shake of her head. “About her tonight,” she gasped. “Not me.”

  I understood and threw myself into Lexus, pressing my lips into hers. She tasted Victoria on my tongue as I pulled her up onto the bed. As we kissed, Victoria navigated around us, stripping Lexus of her underwear until we were all three naked in bed.

  I positioned myself over Lexus. Victoria spread Lexus legs apart and got behind me, reaching between my own legs to fondle my balls a moment before taking my cock in her hand. Her fingers were slick with Lexus’ fluids. The realization made my cock twitch in her fingers.

  I swear I could feel her smirking behind me as she guided my member to Lexus’ bare, soaking entrance. As the head made contact Lexus let out a moan. Her green eyes opened to meet mine and with Victoria’s guidance, I slipped into her ready, welcoming passage.

  She was wet and tight, gripping me hard as I slid deeper and deeper into her until I bottomed out.

  Victoria pressed herself into me from behind, her breasts against my shoulder blades, pebbled nipples crushed into my skin. Her lips brushed against my ear. “Pound her.”

  I did. I gave Lexus everything I had, ploughing into her over and over again. We kissed but my rhythm became too much and our lips came apart. Only to be replaced by Victoria as she slid around me and captured Lexus’ mouth with her own once more. A hand reached between us to cup one of Lexus pert breasts, fingers pinching the dark chocolate nipple. My hand took the other breast and mirrored Victoria’s movements.

  All the while I drove myself into her with everything I could. I poured myself into her, everything I had to give. I was so proud of her. She’d done something amazing tonight, supernatural aid or no and she deserved so much better than family drama as a reward. She was more than just my best friend’s little siste
r. More than an accident that was now stuck with me.

  Victoria and she broke their kiss and two pairs of smoldering green eyes looked up at me with lust and adoration and something else. Something more.

  Victoria’s hand slithered between Lexus and I to the place where our bodies joined. Lexus broke eye contact as her entire body exploded. Her back arched, trapping Victoria’s hand between us as her pussy clenched down on me with powerful muscles. Fluids gushed over my cock and down my thighs.

  I exploded a moment later, burying myself into her. Victoria now had both hands between us and I had no idea how. One played with my balls while the other circled Lexus’ clit, all the while Lexus and I rode our mutual orgasm, feeding off of each other’s pleasure, each of us prolonging the moment for the other until we collapsed together in a sweaty heap.

  Victoria allowed us a moment and then rollwed me off of Lexus to the side.

  We both blinked at her with barely comprehending eyes as she delivered her trademark smirk. And moved between Lexus’ thighs.

  My now flaccid member twitched as she lowered herself, holding Lexus’ gaze the whole while.

  Lexus hand grabbed mine and squeezed. Hard.

  She was afraid. I could sense her fear radiating from her in sharp pulses in time with her palpitating heartbeat. But she held my hand and never broke Victoria’s gaze. Not even when her entire body tensed up a second later as Victoria’s tongue made contact with her bare, just-used sex.

  “Oh-oh-OHHH,” Lexus moaned. Her thighs trembled and Victoria had to push on them to keep them from closing. Her hips lifted up, pressing her sex to Victoria’s mouth. Her eyes closed and she bit her lip—only for another cry to escape her a moment later.

  Victoria went nuts, latching onto Victoria’s pussy and sucking at her sex, doing who-knew-what with her tongue. Lexus came again, a smaller, shuddering orgasm than the one she’d had with me. Another followed right on the heels of that one. And then other.

  Gasping for air, Lexus reached down and shoved at Victoria’s head. “No more! Please, no more. I’m too sensitive.”

  Victoria, her grinning lips soaked with a mixture of Lexus and my fluids, rose up and flopped down on the bed on Lexus’ other side.

  They kissed. A slow, gentle kiss, pull of passion but also deliberate, conscious choice. This wasn’t the pair of them caught up in the moment or trapped by my magic. Something was growing here. Between them and between the three of us.

  I sighed and wondered what the hell I was going to do as I drifted off to sleep, because I was quickly falling in love with both of these girls.

  Chapter Four

  Lexus didn’t go home all weekend. She stayed with us, making love, swimming, doing something that actually resembled homework, and basically laying low. It was relaxing in a way that was utterly unfamiliar. It felt like it could be very easily. Three people all staying in a tiny garage apartment should have felt cramped, especially with two of them being women and only one bathroom between us. Okay, sure we could use the amenities of Eleanor’s house but we tried not to use them and really didn’t need to. We seemed to unconsciously coordinate with each other, drawing strength and comfort from one another’s presence.

  Victoria’s former alpha had said that I’d stolen her away by proving myself to be an alpha her inner wolf was willing to follow. Victoria had also infected both Lexus and I with her werewolf virus and though my own magic had mutated it, I had a feeling that the werewolf magic wasn’t gone so much as absorbed. Nobody said anything about wolves or packs, but I couldn’t help recalling the physical language the Road Wolves had shared between them as we shared our space together. We knew when someone was thirsty or hungry, when they needed the bathroom, or wanted to make love.

  The girls spent another afternoon with Thomas by the pool fiddling with his tech while I was forced to catch up on all the homework I’d put off, but otherwise it was just the three of us. And it worked. Some of the magic of Eleanor’s land, which she hadn’t satisfactorily explained to me yet, other than to say it had something to do with fae magic, might have had something to do with it. That magic liked having me on her property and I’d been sleeping better since moving there. But not nearly so well as I did with Lexus and Victoria curled tightly into me those two nights together.

  I went to Hardin’s Monday morning class fresher and with more energy than I’d ever felt. I was downright chipper. I wasn’t really looking forward to hearing all about Jadeite’s adventures with her dick-head dad, but hey, at least I’d get to spend some time with my best friend.

  Except that Jadeite wasn’t there that day for class. She texted after, saying she was catching up with her dad. I couldn’t really blame her for that but her timing sucked. Our group was meeting up after class to knock out our project for the evil overlord masquerading as our professor and there was no doubt whatsoever that she was the brains of the outfit.

  I tried not to let her absence get me down or worse, be jealous that she was spending time with her dad. I had less than a leg to stand on there. If Jadeite wanted to spend time with other men that was more than her prerogative and if that man was a family member…maybe I struggled with it because my adopted father was such an asshole. I couldn’t imagine Sarah or me actually wanting to spend time with the pretentious authoritarian. Crimson Rush gave me similar vibes. Controlling, manipulative, and completely self-absorbed. I sighed as we sat down to work and I explained the situation to my fellow students.

  Turned out we weren’t as dumb as we thought. Without Jadeite there to guide and direct us and, okay, do all the real work for us, we actually had to apply ourselves and didn’t do half bad. I broke everything up into pieces and we worked on our individual parts simultaneously so that we could adjust the presentation as needed and double check each other. It took most of the afternoon but we actually knocked out almost the entire project. Jadeite would have probably done a better job but all told we had something we had a presentation about dead white guys’ magical theories that we could be reasonably proud of.

  I texted Jadeite on my way home to update her—she’d care far more than any of us that she’d missed today—and resisted the urge to whistle as I strolled. Things were going well. Really well.

  Victoria’s motorcycle was in the driveway when I got home. Didn’t she have work today? I usually didn’t see her until closer to dinner time. I heard her and Lexus before I saw them, voices raised but not shouting. The conversation stopped as soon as I opened the door.

  They were standing in front of our beat up old sofa. Lexus was shaking in place and looked about ready to throw herself at Victoria. And not in the fun way. Her head was lowered but she wasn’t breaking Victoria’s gaze and her teeth were slightly bared. I couldn’t make out Victoria’s expression

  “What’s going—“

  Lexus rushed over, interrupting before I could even finish the question. “Daisy and Carina are missing.”

  Who the hell were Dairy and Carina?

  Victoria must have read my mind because she said, “Her friends that went with us to her track meet.”

  Oh right, them. They’d probably told me their names but I hadn’t bothered to remember them. Mostly because they had a chronic case of stink-eye every time they’d looked my way.

  Victoria went on. “They haven’t been in touch and Lexus is worried.”

  Lexus was speaking almost before Victoria had finished. “It’s not just me they haven’t spoken with. They haven’t been home since the track meet. Even Daisy’s little sister doesn’t know where they went.”

  Victoria let out a slow breath and spoke, with the air of someone who has been making the same reasonable argument over and over to someone who doesn’t want to hear it, “Sometimes people just want to be alone for a while. Even really social people need space every now and then.”

  “I get that,” Lexus said. “I do, but that’s not them. And they wouldn’t both need it at the same time.”

  “May
be they’re together?” I suggested.

  “Lexus shook her head. “Not without me.”

  “Maybe they’re together-together,” Victoria said.

  Lexus made a face. “No way. They aren’t like that.”

  Victoria shrugged. “You would have said you weren’t like that last week. How about now?”

  I looked between the girls. There was another conversation going on here that I wasn’t getting.

  Lexus looked away from Victoria and couldn’t meet either of our eyes, cheeks burning. “That’s different.”

  An awkward silence followed and I felt a very strong urge to fill it. So I said the first thing that popped into my head. “You girls smell, right?”

  Both of their heads whipped around, green eyes glaring at me. I held up my hands. “Sorry! Sorry, that came out wrong. I meant, you can, like, scent things. When you transform, like dogs or wolves.”

  Lexus nodded before Victoria but both of their heads bobbed. “I don’t have anything going on right now, if we got something of theirs were could head over to the track, you guys could shapeshift and see if you can pick up their scent or whatever.”

  Lexus lit up at the idea. Victoria rolled her eyes but didn’t shoot it down.

  It was a long shot. I didn’t know a lot about smells but there had to be hundreds of different scents there and the girls had been gone for several days. Chances were good that there wouldn’t be a trail to follow. But at least Lexus would know that we’d tried and it would be a good test of the girls’ abilities. There was so much we didn’t know about ourselves.

  And so an hour and a half later we’d swung by both Daisy and Carina’s houses, grabbed a dirty article of clothing belonging to each girl, and were at the track behind Woodhurst’s high school.

  It was empty without all the citizens of Woodhurst trying to fill it up, almost unrecognizable. Like it was an actual field or meadow that just happened to have a track and bleachers. It wasn’t wild, exactly, but I could sense that if people left it alone, nature would quickly reclaim it. A few years without upkeep and all traces of mankind’s presence here would vanish completely.