by Meg Xuemei X
He chuckled. “I wasn’t one who used to talk a lot, Cass sweetheart. But I find talking to you enjoyable.”
My eyes went wild. I hoped he wouldn’t talk this much in bed. My mind drifted to an image of tangling limbs with him, which made me want to fan my flaming face.
I hadn’t been naked with Alaric. I wondered what it would feel like to have him in my bed, skin on skin.
I sighed, dragging my mind back, bracing my legs wider than my shoulders as I’d been told, and lowering my butt.
Alaric adjusted my posture here and there, forcing me to keep lowering my legs but lifting my ass. His touch was pleasurable, so I didn’t swat at his hands.
I stayed in that stupid, awkward position for a long time, I felt.
“I don’t see this pose has anything to do with inner strength,” I said. “And, Alaric, I really need to pee.”
“You peed less than ten minutes ago,” Alaric said.
“I have a smaller bladder than you. I’m a petite woman, and I drank a big pitcher of water. And why do you keep counting how many times I use the bathroom?”
“Cass, must I remind you again—”
Just when I was about to tell him, “Fuck it,” I felt energy burst in the air.
And terror struck Rainer’s and Luke’s faces.
I straightened, staring at Alaric, blood draining from my face.
“Phobos is on the loose,” I said.
Alaric cursed and burst into a run. I raced after him, my heart pounding in my dry throat. Luke and Rainer stumbled after us as they tried to shake off the terror that had leeched into them.
When we reached the underground cell, I wasn’t even panting, but the sight of the vampire guards’ bodies littering the ground knocked the breath out of me.
The door to Phobos’ cell was torn from the hinges, and the room was empty.
“How did this happen?” I shrieked. “I kept him in a low-energy state, and I was about to come down to take a sip from him to simmer him down again.”
Alaric sniffed, his eyes burning dark fire. “There’s a new scent here that doesn’t belong to the guards. Someone worked with Phobos and set him free.”
“Who’d want to set him free?” I cried. “Phobos was born a psycho, whose only purpose is to strike terror in the world, in the heart of every living being!” I darted my eyes around frantically. “Could his buddy gods have found him?”
We were not safe here.
“If there were gods, they’d have brought an army,” Alaric said. “I’d have sensed them.” He gave me a look that said, “It’s an inside job,” before turning to study a dead vampire guard on the ground.
There was a gaping wound in the vampire’s chest, evidently from Phobos’ spear. He hadn’t been able to summon his silver spear while he was locked and kept in a low-energy state.
“Someone knocked out the guards first, released Phobos, and had him impale all of the guards to cover up the trail,” Alaric said coldly. “The traitor didn’t realize it was a bad move to pull a stunt like that while we—Lorcan’s bond-brothers, the most experienced warriors—are all here.”
“We need to lock down this place,” I snarled.
It had been so hard to catch Phobos, and his escape endangered the entire court.
Rainer and Luke stood behind us, their eyes wide with terror and rage. The trace of Phobos’ influence lingered in the air.
I closed my eyes, centering my mind and tracking the energy signature Phobos had left behind. When I opened my eyes, they started glowing.
I’d found the link to Phobos.
“He isn’t out of the zone,” I said hoarsely. “Let’s go get him.”
Alaric nodded, turning to Rainer and Luke. “Alert Lord Lorcan to the god’s escape. Tell him there’s a mole among us. Call your princes back. I’m going after the god with Cass.”
“We should go with you.” Luke insisted. “Our job is to protect Cass.”
“You can’t keep up with us,” Alaric said. “Go, tell Lorcan, now!”
Without waiting for the fae warriors to answer or protest, Alaric and I dashed up the stairs.
I led, and Alaric followed.
We shot out of the fortified compound that once held Phobos prisoner, leapt over more vampire bodies littered along the way, and left Lorcan’s mansion far behind.
By now, Rainer and Luke must have informed Lorcan, and the High Lord of Night would soon investigate. He wouldn’t be merciful to the traitor.
I was the only one who could track Phobos, because I’d drunk his energy and recognized his imprint. The link was getting faint, which meant Phobos had put greater distance between us.
I sped up, urgency pounding inside me, and Alaric raced right beside me.
We ran miles, faster than a car, and everything we passed blurred by as we shot ahead.
A broad lake loomed ahead.
Just as I was about to halt, Alaric pushed me forward. “With our speed, we can easily cross the water like the land.”
He was right. We reached the other end of the lake, our shoes barely wet. Another lesson learned: I was limited only by my own conditioned, conventional thinking.
Phobos’ energy signature disappeared right after we crossed the lake. I wheeled to face the expanse of the water, narrowing my eyes and tracing the remnant of the god’s imprint.
“He skimmed the water and then he was gone,” I said.
“The fucker teleported in the middle of the water,” Alaric said, rage and frustration darkening his honey-brown eyes.
“Why didn’t he teleport right out of his prison?” I asked.
“Lorcan’s court is heavily warded, every inch of it. Phobos had to be out of the court. He probably wouldn’t want to set off the alarm before he was sure he could safely teleport.”
We shared a look. We all knew what that meant. The God of Terror had escaped, and he knew exactly where we were.
The other gods and their minions would be here in no time.
And they would know all about me, that I could drink their energy. It was the first time in their history that another species was above them in the food chain. They’d do anything in their power to erase me from the face of the planet before I became a bigger threat.
The gods would hunt me collectively.
My heart pounded in icy fear.
Alaric pulled me into his arms. “I won’t let those psycho fuckers touch you.”
I clung to him, burrowing into his warmth and brutality to expel the cold dread. Alaric dipped his head and kissed me.
His lips tasted sweet and menacing at the same time, exactly like him, his scent of ice, steel, and harsh male enveloping me, comforting me.
As his tongue thrust into my open mouth, dominating and protective, liquid fire instantly pooled between my thighs.
It probably wasn’t time to go further than that.
Regardless of time, space, and the situation, any of my mates could set me ablaze by touching me or merely looking at me as if I were delicious, which they constantly did.
I had consummated my union with Lorcan. My other mates were giving me time, waiting for me to be ready instead of pushing me. Though they all wanted me in their beds more than anything, they let me have the reins.
I’d thought that I had plenty of time to decide. I’d wanted to slow down and taste one thing at a time, but now with Phobos’ sudden breakout, everything had changed.
I might run out of time to savor life, considering that Phobos was so vindictive, and that any moment the gods could bear down on us.
My body was on fire, as urgency kicked in. The vision of Manhattan ablaze across the dark river flashed through my mind, and the impending war with the gods hovered overhead like storm clouds.
I tore my lips from Alaric, the fire of my desire twisting with the acid anxiety in me.
“I need you, Alaric,” I said.
Alaric scooped me up and we flew to the forest ahead.
His intense need for me was just as imperative
and raw.
8
The demigod took me deep into the woods, my breasts bouncing against his cut chest, my hands clasped behind his corded neck.
He found a vast silver tree, and without breaking a sweat, leapt with me in his arms. We alighted on a broad branch that could hold at least three people.
A spell—the color of midnight—coiled from him and spread, surrounding us.
Alaric had cast the concealment spell. I had no love for any spell, but I knew my mate would never harm me or try to control me beyond reason.
Alaric gazed at me, his eyes on fire, his lust so deep and fiery it made me tremble. He’d needed this, needed me, just as he first laid eyes on me in the Misery Twist club.
“You can moan and scream all you want, sweetheart,” he said hoarsely. “No one can hear us while my power covers this area.”
My heart drummed with anticipation, thrill buzzing in my heated blood.
Alaric put me down gently, and his mouth found mine again.
Our tongues twined impatiently and urgently, wanting more, wanting to devour each other. Alaric’s large hands unhooked my sports bra, and my perky breasts ran free.
His hands held the weight of my breasts and molded them to new shapes as he fondled them skillfully. His lips left mine, so he could have an eyeful of my breasts.
“Stunning,” he said in a gasp, kneeling before me.
His sensual mouth took my tit, suckling it. His hands worked to pull my pants all the way down with my panties.
He moved to my other nipple, his tongue flickering at my perky nub before his lips traced down to my belly, until they were upon my bare pussy.
He licked my swollen clit and pushed open my slit with his tongue before it swirled around my folds and thrust in between them.
A gasp escaped me, and I grabbed his thick mane.
“I thought we were going to do a quickie,” I murmured huskily.
“It’ll be a quickie. Only that I need to taste you a little before I fuck you.”
Heat raced in my bloodstream.
“Show me your cock,” I demanded.
Maybe I shouldn’t talk while he gave me such a marvelous oral pleasure, because at my command he removed his wicked tongue from my aching flesh and chuckled.
“My impatient Cass,” he purred. “You’ll get your fill. My cock has been throbbing in pain ever since I saw you. I wanted to bury deep inside your sweet little pussy every second of the day, yet I had to wait for you to come to me. I’ve endured it.”
His hand palmed my pussy while he swiftly dropped his outfit—a black T-shirt and training trousers. The demigod was unbelievably sexy no matter what he wore, just like all of my other mates.
A new thought sliced through my mind. Had Lorcan organized the investigation and found out who the traitor was? We soon would have to evacuate from the Court of Blood and Void. Reysalor and Pyrder must have pulled out from the city and headed to the court now.
We would join them soon.
Right now, I just needed a little comfort from Alaric, and to let the euphoria from our mating ease the acid churning in my stomach.
Alaric’s cock sprang free. It was massive, silky, and brown, its blunt head so thick and beautiful. On either side of his steel rod were tattoos of ice mountains on his powerful legs. They were the sexiest thing I’d seen.
I sucked in a breath at how magnificent the demigod was, and he was mine. He would be mine completely when he pounded his manhood into me.
While my hands traced his broad shoulders to his cut, muscled chest, then his six-pack stomach, admiring this perfect specimen on Earth before me, Alaric let out a low growl. Before I could raise my face to see what the beastly sound was about, he lifted me, put me on a higher branch, and pinned me against the smooth tree trunk.
“I need to fuck you right now, Cass, before I explode,” he said. “I’ve waited too long. I only have so much control.”
I spread my legs for him, and his eyes flashed approval. “You’re so ripe and ready for me, babe. Your pussy is so hot and wet. Let’s see how tight you are.”
His girth nudged at my slick entrance, then slipped past my folds but paused an inch deeper. We both rasped at the shallow joining. Alaric intended to savor the moment before driving into my depth, before fucking me vehemently.
I wiggled my ass impatiently, inviting him in further.
“My mate,” he said, his fresh, warm breath on my face, his honey-brown eyes swirling to a dark shade, burning with intense lust. “Your little pussy is mine.”
With that, he thrust into my heated liquid with his demigod’s force.
I screamed as his massive cock filled my every inch and stretched it further, faint pain and heightened pleasure pounding into me.
Alaric let out a string of curses as his unbridled desire rode him. “Babe, your pussy is so tight, so hot, so perfect for me.”
And the demigod had one of the hardest cocks ever.
He rocked his hips forward, pushing deeper into me, then withdrew slowly, and pumped in harder and faster.
I let out breathless moans, which only made him more aggressive and possessive. In and out and in, he thrust repeatedly, as if he would never stop fucking me.
Flesh slapped against flesh, the erotic sound blending with my urgent moans and his groans.
The world no longer existed; our carnal coupling was all that mattered.
Alaric was both sweet and menacing, even when fucking me.
I propelled my hips forward to meet his plunges beat by beat. As his brutal force poured into me, I sent him back my own brutality. I slammed all the way down to the base of his manhood, hitting his tightened balls.
He snarled, his white teeth flashing. “You’re my equal, Cass. I haven’t met a female as fierce as you are.”
“The goddesses are ferocious, if they’re anything like Phobos.” I asked amid my breathless moans, “Have you screwed any?”
“They’re mostly nasty and snooty. You’re nothing like them. From now on, yours is the only pussy I’ll ever fuck. It’s made for me to fuck by fate, and you’re mine.”
My inner walls gripped every inch of his cock and squeezed it mercilessly.
Alaric’s eyes rolled back. He pumped into me forcefully, his speed blinding me, slamming me onto the trunk. I might have bruises all over after this, but I didn’t care. His fire was in me, lighting my every cell, making me more alive than ever.
We kept slamming into each other like two forces circling, pouncing, and merging. His hand inserted into my curly hair and pulled my head back, his mouth dwelling on mine with a fiery kiss, while his cock pounded pleasure, joy, and dominance into me.
I exploded, raining down lava on his cock.
His lips left mine, hissing out a few more ancient curses. “Only you can give me this fire and consume me, mate!”
A shining string snapped into place between us.
Alaric’s eyes glowed amber and, in his irises, I saw the glow of mine, one burning with violet, the other liquid golden fire.
“You’re indeed a descendant of a god, sweetheart. I can feel your essence,” he said. “It’s dark, deathly, and full of unknown fire. Many will fear you, but not me. You’re mine.”
He emptied himself into me in a series of hard, powerful pushes.
And I roared in a new wave of pleasure.
9
When we came down from the tree, fully dressed and spent, vampires and fae warriors had flooded the forest, searching for Phobos or me in vain. Rainer and Xihin took the lead but lost our trace as they crossed the lake, just as we’d lost Phobos.
Alaric excelled at covering our trail.
We walked up toward the fae, our fingers laced.
The warriors felt us before seeing us.
Luke wheeled toward us. “Where have you been?”
Alaric stared hard at him, menace rolling off him in waves. The demigod wouldn’t allow anyone to question him, except his equals.
Luke tried to hold his g
aze but ended up dropping his eyes and stepping back.
“Pull back,” Alaric barked. “The God of Terror has returned to Mount Olympus. We need to leave Lorcan’s court.”
Rainer and Xihin nodded and related Alaric’s order to the others.
“Run, Cass,” Alaric said, letting go of my hand, and we shot forward like two arrows, and no tree, bush, or rock was an obstacle to us.
The fae and vampires zoomed after us, but none had Alaric’s and my speed.
“I’d prefer this kind of training to the fucking horse stance,” I said. “Make me do the horse stance again, Alaric, and I’ll make you eat dirt.”
Alaric chuckled. He might still try, just to rile me up.
When we met the broad lake again, we nearly flew right across it with our speed.
As I turned to look over my shoulder, our followers all gaped at us, their jaws dropped. Vampires and fae were proud of their velocity, but none of them could top us. Now they’d seen the masters of speed.
I winked at them as they spread around the lake to try to catch up with us. I zoomed out of their sight with Alaric.
After we passed the vast, well-groomed lawn at the perimeter of Lorcan’s court, we slowed to a jog and headed toward the palatial golden mansion.
A squad of vampire guards lined up at its front. A leading guard stepped forward. “Lord Alaric, Lady Saélihn, the High Lord is waiting at the Red Room.”
The Red Room was the vampires’ interrogation room.
Two guards peeled off from their group and led us, even though we knew where it was.
Chill sank into my skin as soon as I entered the cold stone room with a red, steel door.
Three guards spread around the walls while two guards stood stationed outside.
Selena knelt in the center of the floor, tears flowing down her gorgeous face.
“The God of Terror made a deal with me,” she said. “He promised that the gods would never touch our court. When all the other supernatural races go extinct, we’ll be the only dominant species. Isn’t that what you want, my lord? We’ve fought all of them for an eon for dominance and territories, and we’re finally going to win it all, using the gods to get rid of the others.”
