by Aria Winter
“Kai,” she whispers. “Please, tell me what you mean.”
With a slight clench of my jaw, I draw in a deep and steeling breath before I begin. “I was rejected by my family after I left. All of us were taken for training when we were children because we had the mark.” I look down at the mark on my left forearm.
“Why did they reject you?” she asks, her gaze pinning mine full of sadness. “Why would they do that?”
“Because bird shifters are a tightly knit family. Our bonds are some of the strongest among our kind. When the Elders removed me from my parents and my siblings... they had to sever the bond to my family. They did this to bond me to my brothers.”
“Sever it? What do you mean?”
“They used magic to break my familial bond with my parents and siblings. If they had not, I would have been unable to bond with my brothers.”
She gasps as tears fill her eyes. “Oh, Kai, I’m so sorry. You gave up so much to be my guard, and I—I’m not worth it.”
I grip her chin firmly, tipping her face back up to mine. “Yes, you are. You are worth every sacrifice I have ever made, and if I had to choose to do it all over again, I would. Now that I know you, I cannot imagine dedicating my life to anyone else, Ella. You are brave, smart, and beautiful. And if you think I do not love you, you are wrong.” I pause. “I love you so much that I would let you go... marry the prince even if it would kill me inside, because it would mean that you would live, my beautiful Ella.”
She shakes her head softly. “But don’t you understand? I don’t want the prince. I want you. All of you. And it’s not just the bond making me feel like this.”
I blink at her as hope flares inside me.
She continues. “When you found me, after I’d killed the wolf shifter, I was so glad to see you, Kai. I swore to myself then that because I had lived and been given a second chance, that I would give myself to you. I love you.” She takes my hand and places my open palm directly over her heart. “In my heart, I knew when I first met all of you that you were mine. And not just as my guards. I knew you were supposed to be my mates.”
She cups her hand to the back of my neck pulling my face down until it hovers just above hers. “You say that you love me,” she whispers. Her luminous ocean-blue eyes search mine. “Show me, Kai,” she breathes against my lips. “Show me how much you love me.”
I lift her into my arms and move us to the bed, gently laying her atop the covers. I place my arms on either side of her body as I move over her. Her gaze holds mine before I dip my head to the curve of her neck and shoulder. I trace my tongue over the hollow at the base of her throat, feeling the fluttering pulse beneath her petal-soft skin.
Her delicate fragrance surrounds me as I kiss a heated trail down her neck to the v of her chest. I grasp the neckline of her dress and pull it down, revealing the soft, creamy mounds of her breasts. The soft, pink nipples tighten in hard-beaded tips beneath my gaze. I close my mouth over her left breast, laving my tongue across the stiff peak.
A low moan escapes her as she arches up into me. She gasps as I take the hard tip lightly between my teeth. My nostrils flare as the scent of her arousal blooms around us.
“You still carry Nyx’s scent,” I whisper as I flick my tongue across the sensitive bead of flesh.
She inhales sharply, threading her fingers through my hair as she pulls me against her as if asking for more.
“I will fill you so full of my essence it will erase the scent of him entirely,” I growl.
She lifts her head to look down at me in confusion. “But I thought it was acceptable to take more than one mate according to your culture?”
“It is.” I press a tender kiss to her soft lips. “But that does not mean I won’t be jealous every now and then.” I gently nip at her neck and flick my tongue out to taste the sweet salt of her skin. “I will want you all for myself from time to time.”
I dip my hand beneath the hem of her dress, skimming the tips of my fingers up her thigh, seeking the warm, wet heat of her center. As soon as I reach her folds, I love that she is already slick with arousal. “I want you, Ella,” I breathe low in her ear, before trailing a line of kisses down the elegant curve of her neck. “Do you want me?”
Chapter 29
Ella
“Yes,” I reply in a breathless whisper. “I want you, Kai.”
He takes my breast in his mouth again, catching the hard nub between his teeth. A soft moan escapes my lips as he flicks his tongue over the sensitive peak.
I inhale sharply as his fingers move through my slick folds, and he finds the small bundle of nerves at the cleft.
Encouraged by my response, he continues to brush his thumb over the same spot, driving me mad with desire. I run my fingers through his golden hair, enjoying the silken feel of it as his tongue continues to tease at my breast. He begins a gentle suction that sends ripples of pleasure straight down to my core. Heat pools deep inside me. I want him so much.
My body aches with want for him to fill me, and when I cannot take it anymore, I reach for his cock. He’s so thick my fingers cannot quite reach all the way around him, and when I lightly stroke his length, he groans low in his throat.
“Ella,” he breathes. “Are you trying to kill me, my beloved?”
Before I can answer, he kisses me long and deep. His tongue strokes against mine in a claiming kiss, stealing the breath from my lungs.
When he pulls away, I let out a small whimper of disappointment. But I only have a moment to feel this way as he sits back on his knees and grips my thighs, pulling me toward him.
He drags my hips up his legs. Liquid beads on the tip of his cock as he draws me closer, notching his crown at my entrance. His mouth falls open as he stares down at where our bodies will join. “You are so beautiful, Ella,” he breathes as he slowly pushes into me, inch by agonizing inch.
My head falls back at the delicious feeling of being completely filled by him. He leans forward before stroking long and deep as he stares into my eyes. His gaze is fiery and possessive as he grips my hips, anchoring me to him.
I run my hands down his back, feeling his muscles flex with each thrust beneath the tips of my fingers. He kisses me like a man possessed, running his fingers through my hair and swallowing my moans of pleasure as he strokes his tongue against mine.
“Oh, Ella,” he breathes. “You’re so tight, my love. As if you don’t want to let me go.”
“I don’t,” I whisper against his lips. “I want you, Kai. Forever.”
He smiles. “I am yours, my Ella. Always.”
He wraps his hands under my back lifting me as he sits back on his heels again. I wrap my legs around his back as he reaches up under my arms to cup my shoulders, pulling me down to meet each thrust of his hips up into my body.
He takes my breast into his mouth as I hold tightly to him. “You’re so soft and warm, my love,” he whispers against my skin. “I want to taste all of you.”
Everything feels so sensitive like this as he thrusts up into me, filling me completely. His mouth on my breast makes everything that much more intense.
Pleasure coils tight in my core as I run my fingers through his hair and down his back, completely awash in sensation. I begin panting his name as desire builds deep inside me. My toes curl as I move closer to the edge, digging my nails into the thick muscles of his back.
“Open for me, Ella,” he whispers. “Take everything so that I can seal you to me, my beautiful mate.”
I remember that shifter females can decide when to open their womb to receive their mate’s seed, and I realize this is what they’ve each asked of me, not knowing that my body does not work that way. I’m already open to them. When they fill me, I take their essence deep into my womb each time. “I want you, Kai,” I whisper against his lips.
His eyes meet mine; his pupils blow wide so that only a thin rim of blue remains along the outer edges. He holds me tightly to him as he pumps his hips up into me. My pleasure builds like a
giant wave before pushing me over the edge, crying out his name as wave after wave of pleasure moves through me.
He thrusts hard and deep and holds me tightly to him, his grip on my body almost bruising as his cock begins to pulse. He roars my name and then erupts deep inside me, filling me with intense heat that seems to go on forever, triggering another orgasm deep within me, this one even more intense than the last.
As I come down from my pleasure, he hugs me to him. His cock is still hard and buried inside me. He captures my mouth in a claiming kiss. He brushes the hair back from my face as he stares deep into my eyes. “You are mine, Ella. And I will never let you go.”
“Not even to the prince?” I arch a brow.
He growls and kisses me hungrily. He lays me onto my back on the bed as he begins to move deep inside me again. “Never,” he breathes between kisses. “You are mine.”
Morning light begins to invade the room around us as I snuggle against Kai’s chest. My body aches between my thighs, but in a pleasant way. We made love five times last night, and so I’m surprised when I feel his hard length pressing insistently against my stomach.
He wraps his arms around me and rolls onto his back, setting me on top so that my thighs straddle him. He lifts me just enough to put his crown at my entrance and slowly lowers me onto his cock.
My head falls back, and I moan as he fills me. He grips my hips firmly then begins grinding against me. The friction between us so intense, I’m so close to the edge, and we’ve only just started.
He pulls my lips down to his and smiles against them. “You are perfect, Ella.”
As he moves deep inside me, I’m so sensitive from last night it’s almost too much. It’s as if my body is both trying to take him deeper and yet push him away at the same time. As if sensing this, he holds my hips even tighter and closes his mouth over my breast.
It sends me spiraling over the edge, and I’m crying out his name as intense pleasure washes over and through me.
His cock pulses deep in my channel and an intense burst of heat fills my core as he cries out my name as he finds his release.
I collapse on top of him in a boneless heap. My entire body completely spent and sated. He carefully lifts me into his arms and takes me to the bath. Together, we sink into the tub as he settles my back against his chest.
He combs his fingers through my hair as he bathes me. When his hand drifts down to the juncture between my thighs, my head falls back against his shoulder, and I moan.
“I need you again, Ella,” he whispers against my ear.
He carefully lifts me up and onto his fully engorged and erect cock. It doesn’t take long for me to climax, and then he’s filling me again. However, this time, he stays seated deep inside me as he drains the tub, not leaving my body until the water is completely gone.
When he lifts us out of the tub, he gently towels me off. Some of his essence runs down my inner thighs as I stand. He gathers some of it with his fingers rubbing it over my skin, and I realize he is covering me with his scent.
I look up at him, wondering at this.
He kisses me long and deep. “I love that you carry the combined scent of our mating. I want everyone to know you are mine.”
I wrap my arms around his neck. It seems that my Kai is possessive. I smile against his lips as he kisses me again. I love this about him. It feels good to be treasured and cherished.
After we get dressed, we go down the stairs to find Nyx, Cash, and Finn making breakfast.
I walk over to Cash and Finn, each of them dusted with flour from making biscuits. I reach up and wipe the flour from Cash’s nose and press a kiss to his lips. He groans into my mouth as I pull my body against his.
Warm hands wrap around my waist, and I turn to find Finn staring down at me with a hungry gaze. He leans forward and kisses me long and deep. Nyx comes up behind me and pulls me back against him, cupping my breasts in his hands as he kisses my neck.
When I look across the room, I notice Devon’s eyes upon us, his gaze full of both longing and rejection. I walk toward him, reaching down to cup his cheek as he stares up at me from the couch. “Why?” he barely manages.
My brow furrows. “‘Why what?” I ask, confused.
He lifts his hand to my cheek, tracing his thumb across my lower lip. “You have chosen everyone else. Why not me? Is it because you do not know if you want me? Are you afraid because of what I am?”
He looks so vulnerable right now that my heart breaks for him. I shake my head softly. “Afraid?” I ask, because I don’t understand. “Devon, I—”
A harsh knock at the door startles us. Kai moves to answer it.
Chapter 30
Devon
Kai opens the door to find Rina—the peacock shifter—on the other side. He stares at her in disbelief. “Why are you here? How did you even find this place?”
She blinks up at him. “The dress,” she explains. “It was created with my magic. All I had to do was follow its threads, and it led me here.”
I move from behind him and narrow my eyes, growling at her. “How dare you track us with magic like that,” I grit through my teeth. “You have put our female in danger.”
“Please.” She bows low. “That was not my intent.”
“Then why are you here?”
“The king and queen... they’ve taken my husband. They would have taken me as well, but I escaped. They think we had something to do with their son’s assassination since we accompanied Ella to the ball the night that he died and she disappeared.”
Worried, I scan the area behind her, half expecting to find soldiers descending upon this place to take Ella away. After a moment, I turn my attention back to Rina. “The real prince wasn’t murdered.”
She blinks up at me in shock. “What? How can that be? He lies in state in the castle even now. The queen is beside herself with her grief and will not allow them to bury her son. She keeps him in a glass coffin.”
Ella comes up beside me. “He is telling the truth. It wasn’t the prince. It was a wolf shifter.”
Rina’s eyes go wide then fill again with tears. She grips Ella’s hand in her own. “Please. You must help me. They are going to hang my husband for this if we do not stop them.”
Ella looks at us. “We have to go to the castle. Is there a way to lift the enchantment so the queen can see that it is not her son?”
With a slight clench of my jaw, I nod. I’m reluctant to tell her how to lift the spell because it means she must accompany us there. And the last thing I want is for her to be in danger because I somehow doubt the king and queen will listen to us long enough to allow us to explain. It’s more likely they’ll immediately place us in the dungeon and execute us all for the prince’s murder.
“What do we have to do?” Ella asks.
“Only the one who took his life can lift the spell.”
“How?”
“A drop of your blood on his skin will break the enchantment, for it is a blood curse that hides his true form, and only blood can erase it.”
Ella gives me a determined look. “All right,” she says. “Let’s go. We have to save Rina’s husband, and we have to find the true prince, wherever he is.”
Chapter 31
Devon
As we make our way to the castle, I struggle to quell my fear. Each step toward the palace is one step closer to danger. I glance at my bond brothers beside me and know without asking that they feel the same.
Nyx is skilled in illusory magic. He cast an enchantment on my eyes to make them appear human. Even so, I cannot help but worry that someone might see past it. Drawing in a deep breath, I push down my fear as we continue on.
When we reach the palace gates, each of us appears dressed in only the finest of clothing as we request an audience with the king and queen.
“What business do you have with them?” the guard asks. “They are mourning their son.”
I turn to Ella, her hands bound behind her back as if she were my prisoner. She
and Rina both. “We have brought the ones responsible for justice.”
His eyes snap toward Rina and Ella, and his jaw drops. “Open the gates!” he cries out. “Tell the king and queen we have found the prince’s murderer!”
Guards rush toward the palace. I grip Ella’s arm to keep her close to me, but the guard grabs her forearm. “I will take this filth from you.”
“No!” I snap, and I feel Kai and Nyx tense beside me as well. “I will take her before the king and queen. There is a reward, is there not?”
He narrows his eyes and gives me a reluctant nod. “Fine,” he says. “Follow me.”
Leading us to the throne room, the guards watch us warily, their eyes full of anger. One of them steps forward and spits at Ella as he slaps at her face. I rush him, pinning him back against the wall. “Do not touch her,” I grind out.
“Why?” he asks angrily. “That witch killed our prince! I was there that night! She bewitched him and murdered him!”
“Take us to the king and queen,” Kai snaps. “Now!”
The guard shoves away from me and continues leading us through the palace.
When we reach them, the king is sitting on his throne, while his wife is seated next to the body, laid out in a glass coffin upon a long slab, that she believes is her son. Her face is puffy and swollen from crying, and when she turns to see Ella and Rina, she grits through her teeth. “How could you? How could you kill my son? What did he do to you that would make you do something like this?”
Ella steps forward and bows low. “I did not kill your son.”
The queen scoffs.
Ella lifts her head to meet her eyes evenly. “That man is not your son. The body is enchanted. You are shedding tears for a stranger. A wolf shifter.”
The king gasps, and so does the queen.
She gives Ella a strange look. “What do you mean?”
“I can prove it,” Ella announces, lifting her head proudly.
