Fierce Enchantment

by Carrie Ann Ryan

  Soon.

  Holding back a grin, she licked up his dick then teased the slit at the crown. Her man still hadn’t woken, but his body had stiffened ever so slightly. He was close. Oh, so close. Knowing she had to work fast, she opened her mouth wide and swallowed as much of him as she could. What she couldn’t put in her mouth, she fisted in her hands.

  “Holy hell. Good morning,” Levi grunted, his voice a growl.

  She hummed along his cock and bobbed her head, making sure he woke up in the best way possible. Levi gripped her head and pressed her down. She relaxed her jaw and let him take control for just a moment. She actually liked deep throating as long as the guy didn’t try to choke her, and Levi was good at taking care of her. She pulled back then worked him harder. His balls grew tight in her hand, and he groaned.

  “I’m going to come, Faith. Pull back.”

  She hollowed her cheeks and slid up his length but didn’t move away. The first spurt of his seed was hot and salty, and she continued to suck him as he came down her throat. By the time he was done, she was aching with need and shaking.

  “Your turn. I need my breakfast.”

  Before she knew it, she was on her back and her legs were wrapped around Levi’s neck.

  He sucked her clit into his mouth, and she clamped her legs around his head. Holy hell, the man had a talented tongue.

  “You taste so fucking sweet, Faith,” Levi murmured against her pussy. “I could eat you out every fucking day and still not get enough.”

  “Please do. Eat me out. For the love of God, never let your mouth leave my cunt.”

  He hummed against her, fucking her with his tongue, and she came, her body bowing, her nipples aching, and her skin breaking out into a sweat. By the time she came down from her high, Levi had his lips on hers, his hands gently caressing her breasts.

  “We need to go, my love, but that was the best morning wakeup a guy could ask for. Again tomorrow?”

  She swallowed hard, knowing tomorrow was another step into a future with a man she truly wanted now.

  “Tomorrow.”

  Faith tried not to fidget in Levi’s living room, but she couldn’t help it. Levi’s parents would be dropping off the girls soon, and she wasn’t sure how things were going to go. Instead of heading directly to his parents’ house, they let his parents do the traveling in case Lynn was on the lookout for Levi. They hadn’t caught sight of her, and neither had anyone in the castle’s guard. For a woman with very little offensive magic and only frayed connections with those in power, Lynn was turning into quite the elusive, conniving wizard.

  Damn her.

  “We’re going to find her,” Levi growled. “She can’t hide for long. I don’t know what the fuck she was thinking, but this is just like her. She wants what she had before, so she’s pulling out the stops to make sure she pushes you out of the way. Well, fuck that. She can’t have her old place, she can’t have me, and she sure as fuck can’t have the girls. She crossed the line, and I’m sick of it. Sick of her.”

  Faith placed her hands on Levi’s chest and sighed. “Don’t kick yourself for this. You never loved her. You didn’t choose her. You married her to make your families happy. I don’t like what happened, but you got two precious little girls out of it, so take that as a blessing. As for Lynn, she can’t hide for long, and she’s lost her advantage. It’s only a matter of time before we find her and she has to deal with the consequences of her actions.”

  The bond pulsed between them, and she had to hold back another sigh, this one much warmer, much headier. She loved his man, this wizard. It didn’t matter that she’d spent the past months trying to deny what she felt because she was scared of it, but she loved him. She loved the way he cared for his family and those he called his, loved the way he fought for what was right, even if he normally used words, rather than fists, to get the point across.

  She just plain loved him.

  And soon she’d actually tell him that. Tell him she wanted forever and everything that came with it. Tell him that she’d take Juliana and Arya as they came and would learn to be part of their lives.

  No matter how she and Levi came to be mated, their bond was true, and there was no use denying it any longer.

  She just needed the right moment to tell him. Unfortunately, this was not that right moment. Not with the girls so close and Lynn’s absence and devious plans between them.

  “Daddy? What’s going on?”

  Faith let out a small breath and turned toward Juliana, who had come into the house with Arya and Levi’s parents.

  “I’ll explain everything. I promise,” Levi said then gave Faith a look. “Girls, you remember Faith, right?”

  Arya came up to Levi’s side and leaned into him. He ran a hand through her hair, but still, the girl didn’t speak. Her head moved once down then back up, and Faith took that as a nod.

  “We know her. Mom said she was a bad woman who came to break us up.”

  If Faith hadn’t already wanted to kill Lynn off for daring to hurt Levi, she would have wanted it right then. That woman was fucking up her kids because she was a jealous loser. Seriously, the girls had enough going on with the fact that their parents weren’t together anymore, and for a year, they thought they wouldn’t be seeing their father again for decades. Now Lynn was pushing her own agenda and hurting her girls. What kind of mother did that? Not a good one, that was for sure.

  Levi knelt down between his two girls, and Faith could see from the tension in his shoulders that he wasn’t happy with Lynn’s influence but was doing his damnedest not to freak out in front of everyone.

  “Listen to me. Faith is part of my life now. She has been since I saw her on the battlefield over a year ago. She is not the reason your mother and I are no longer married. I know it’s hard on you both that your mother and I couldn’t make it work, but I’m still your family, even if we live in a different home than we used to. Even if we don’t live with your mother.” The girls wouldn’t be going back to Lynn ever, but that was a whole other discussion. “But Faith? She comes with me now.” Levi met his daughters’ eyes, and Faith held her breath. “She’s my mate. Do you know what that means?”

  Juliana’s eyes filled, and she nodded, her lower lip quivering. Arya gave Faith a small smile before burying her face into Levi’s neck.

  “I will always love you girls. No matter what happens. I will always love you.”

  Levi held his girls close, and Faith stood off to the side. She felt as though she was an outsider, even if Levi had accepted her as his. She’d figure out what to do eventually, but now wasn’t the time. As long as she could be in their lives, be in Levi’s life, she’d figure it all out.

  “Levi? We need to talk with you.”

  Faith straightened at Levi’s father’s words. “Can I help?”

  Levi turned to her and kissed her temple. “I need to work on a couple things with my dad about security, and then I’ll be back. Can you watch the girls?”

  Faith looked down at the two girls who looked up at her with wide eyes. She could do this. It wasn’t as if Levi and his parents were leaving the house. They were just leaving the room. It wasn’t as if they could discuss security measures about searching for Lynn in front of the girls.

  “No problem. We’ll be fine.” Levi kissed her temple again then kissed the top of the girls’ heads before walking out with his father.

  Faith rocked back on her heels and awkwardly stood in silence as both of the girls stared at her.

  “So…”

  “Are you really Daddy’s mate?” Juliana asked.

  Faith took a deep breath then nodded. “Yes. Yes, I am.”

  “But aren’t you human?” The little girl paused. “No. You’re different now.”

  Faith gave her a small smile. “I’m a pixie. It’s a long story.”

  “A pixie!” Juliana said, her eyes wide. “I love pixies. Can you show me your wings?”

  Apparently, all it took for a little girl to get excite
d was a mention of wings and pixies. Faith was sure Juliana was far from being happy, and she had no idea what was going on with Arya, but at least they weren’t staring at each other like the other was crazy.

  “Mommy!” Arya screamed, her whole body shaking.

  Juliana and Faith froze at the sound of Arya’s raspy voice. The little girl hadn’t spoken in over a year, yet…

  The hairs on the back of Faith’s neck rose, and she turned on her heel, pulling both girls behind her.

  “Get your hands off my daughters,” Lynn demanded, magic swirling around her. Unlike Levi’s blue aura, Lynn’s was more gray with browns and blacks interspersed.

  Rather than the intensity that Levi gave off, Lynn’s was muted but held a vehemence that Faith didn’t want to get to know any better.

  “You’re not coming near them, Lynn.” Faith didn’t have time to explain to the two very confused little girls behind her what was going on, but she wasn’t about to let Lynn hurt them.

  “You think you can come right in here and take my life? You’re nothing but a mongrel, and you’re making my daughters scared of me.” She lashed out, and a magic bolt arched near Faith’s head—too close to the girls for comfort.

  “Levi!” Faith screamed. She could maybe take out Lynn on her own, but she couldn’t do that and keep the girls safe at the same time. There was no way she was strong enough for that. And how the hell had Lynn gotten in without Levi and the others figuring it out?

  “You think my pathetic traitor of a husband can help you now? I pulled in a new set of wards as soon as I broke through his. He will have to spend a hell of a lot of energy to get to you and my daughters.”

  Faith held back a curse. Juliana and Arya both pushed into her for comfort, and Faith wanted to scream. At least the girls weren’t running to their mother. The show of magic and the manic look on Lynn’s face was proof enough that something was terribly wrong.

  “How did you get through the wards?” Faith asked, trying to give Levi and his parents as much time as possible to breathe through the wards. She wasn’t sure if Lynn was aware his parents were there and able to help, and she wasn’t about to enlighten the other woman.

  “Mine is not the same kind of magic as Levi’s,” Lynn explained, bouncing a ball of light between her hands.

  Faith wanted to believe that the woman wouldn’t hurt her own children, but she was pretty sure that was far from the case. The girls were just pawns to Lynn, and now that things were out in the open, they weren’t worth anything to her.

  Fuck this woman.

  “Unlike Levi, I don’t have the same offensive magic. I can kill and maim like him.” She rolled her eyes as both girls started crying. “Your daddy is a very bad man. He kills and doesn’t care, right, Faith?”

  “Shut up about Levi, Lynn. You’re not going to hurt these girls.”

  “I beg to differ, but as I was saying, my magic is different. I can slide through wards and help others to do the same. My magic is more of a defense to help me get what I want. And what I want is power. You’re standing in my way, Faith, and I can’t have that.”

  “You can’t win here, Lynn. There is nowhere you can run that Levi won’t find you. It doesn’t matter what you think you can accomplish, there is no power for you to gain. You said it yourself. You don’t have the offensive powers to win. Just stand down, and no one has to get hurt.”

  Lynn snarled and let out another bolt of magic, this one shaking the floor beneath their feet. Faith pushed the girls back toward the couch and held her hands up, tugging on the magic within.

  “Close your eyes, girls,” she whispered and prayed the girls would do as she asked.

  Lynn screamed and threw out another bolt of magic. The mating bond between Faith and Levi flared, and Faith knew her mate was close to breaking through the wards. She didn’t know how she knew, she just knew.

  Faith focused on the blood vessels in Lynn’s ears. She let a small surge of magic pour through her, and Lynn screamed, clutching the side of her head.

  “You bitch!” The woman used her other hand and waved it up, magic arching straight at Faith and Levi’s daughters.

  Faith turned her back to Lynn and threw her body over the girls. Nothing touched her though.

  Faith looked over her shoulder at the love of her life, who stood like a giant beacon, his blue aura pulsating as he wrapped his magic around Lynn. Lynn’s eyes widened and Faith had a feeling that the magic was almost suffocating the other woman.

  “You touch my girls, you deserve to die,” Levi growled, his voice so cold and devoid of emotion that Faith had to suck in a breath.

  “You won’t harm me in front of your precious, precious daughters.”

  “No. I won’t. But I will turn you over to the authorities. You will never touch my daughters again. You will never set foot in the wizard royal kingdom again. You will never set eyes on me or my family. You will never be a threat to my mate. You are banished, Lynn. Banished from everything you know.”

  He held out his hand, and magic poured from him, wrapping around Lynn in a tighter vise.

  “The wizard council will control your fate from here on out,” Matthew, the wizard king, announced, his voice low, dangerous. “You are not of our family, not of our blood. You are wiped from the royal line and everything you held dear. You are nothing.”

  Lynn screamed, and Faith knew that this was a fate worse than death for the other woman. Oh, there would be more punishments coming, of that she was sure. Everything said so far was just the tip of the iceberg.

  “I’ll take care of the trash,” Matthew said then walked past Levi.

  Rose stood behind him, her soft magic flaring out, strengthening the wards in a way Faith hadn’t seen before. Instead of a layering of force and stone protection, this was more of a weave of softness that would, together, create a tighter bound warding. At least that’s what Faith felt. She wasn’t a hundred percent sure how she knew and saw that, but she was learning from Levi every day. His mother knew what she was doing and was using her love of her family in order to accomplish it. Faith would have to ask her how she did it. But for now, all she could do was stand up and throw herself in Levi’s arms.

  “I love you. I love you so much. Please don’t ever think that I don’t.”

  Levi’s eyes widened, and he smiled before pulling her in for a kiss. “I love you too, Faith of mine.” He pulled away, and Faith moved to the side so his girls could come into their embrace. He and Faith knelt, hugging the girls close. “And you too, Juliana and Arya, I love you as well. I am so sorry you had to see that, and I promise I will do all in my power to keep you safe.”

  Arya cupped his face and smiled. “Faith saved us, Daddy. She loves us, too.”

  A single tear slid down Levi’s face but more than a few were pouring down Faith’s cheeks.

  Juliana didn’t speak but she leaned into Faith.

  “Never again,” Levi murmured, and Faith knew it would be true. Things weren’t over. Not by a long shot, but they were on the path to something new, something that they would face together.

  And Faith knew that whatever they faced, whatever came their way, she would be by Levi’s side. As his mate. As his love. As his forever.

  Just as she was his.

  And this time, it didn’t scare her a bit.

  Chapter Seventeen

  Levi held his hands at his sides, but this time, he didn’t feel like punching anyone—a change from the last few Conclave meetings. Instead, people were starting to act reasonable and calm. Well, not too reasonable, but at least somewhat sane.

  Tristan leaned close him and let out a sigh. “So the older ones are mumbling, and we’re just going to stand here and say nothing?”

  Levi gave a slight nod. “The older ones, as you put it,” Levi said dryly as Tristan was older than many of the older ones but newer to the Conclave, “are taking their time making decisions as always, but they aren’t on the warpath.” He leaned back in his chair and studied the ot
hers in the room.

  “Your girl is safe then for the moment,” Tristan said, something odd in his voice.

  “Yes, she is. And what the hell is going on with you? You’ve been acting weird.”

  Tristan rolled his shoulders and faced away toward the Conclave. “I’m fine.”

  Levi didn’t believe that, but he let his friend get away with it for now. He had a feeling he knew what was going on, but first, he needed to ensure his mate and family would be safe from the Conclave’s choices.

  “I set forth the motion that there be no ruling leader of the Conclave,” Dante said, his voice a low growl. “We rule as one. If we do not have a seventy percent majority, we do not act.”

  “Seconded,” Levi called out.

  “The motion is raised,” Tristan said. “All in favor?”

  The resounding ayes that followed surprised Levi. He knew not all of the Conclave was happy with what had been going on for the past few years, with some of its members acting on their own and out of turn, but he hadn’t thought it would be this one-sided. It was good though. If they were going to be a good ruling body, reliable and fair for all of their peoples, then they needed to ensure they were actually caring about more than one thing at a time. It would take years for everyone to find a new rhythm, but Levi would be here for it. The Conclave would help their people live in safety and secrecy for many more years, as was their original purpose.

  “Motion passed,” Tristan said softly, and Levi let out a breath.

  Levi followed Tristan out of the building, and the feeling of a huge weight being lifted off his shoulders added a little bounce to his step. Dante, in human form, walked up to them, his long blue-black hair flowing in the wind.

  “Are you two coming to the bar tonight?” Dante asked. “We need to celebrate the fact that we’re alive and not becoming a dictatorship.”

  Levi snorted and gave a nod. “Faith and I will be there. The girls are at camp, of all things, so we’re free.” The girls had really taken a liking to Faith. It was probably due to the fact that she’d risked her life for them and held them when they needed it most. It had been only a few days since everything with Lynn had occurred, and the mere fact that both girls were talking and beginning to open up told him that things would be okay. They had already been signed up for camp before everything had happened, and Faith made sure the girls had a chance to go, despite the circumstances. As much as he and Faith wanted to keep the girls close and never let them out of their sight, it was good that things were going back to a version of normal that suited them all.