by Kamryn Hart
When I closed the door behind me, I was plunged into darkness. I dipped into the cold moonlight puddle resting in my core and used the little bit I had absorbed before leaving Howling Sky to enhance my eyesight. My vision flashed blue before it cleared, and I saw a figure on the canopy bed. I walked closer to get a better angle. It was Caspian, just like I knew it would be.
“This was my room when I lived in the castle,” he said without looking up. The thread leading me to him burned and then cooled as it went slack.
The room was untouched and rather empty aside from the expensive furniture. Everything was coated in definite layers of dust. Curtains were drawn over the glass doors leading to the balcony. It seemed like a waste. They were blocking out the light of the full moon. It wasn’t perfectly aligned yet, but it was still beautiful. I pulled the curtains back, disturbing a mountain of dust while allowing soft blue moonlight to stream through. I held my breath so I wouldn’t inhale the debris. Once the dust had settled some, I took in a deep breath. I didn’t need moonlight to enhance my eyesight anymore, so I let the last drop slip away into my core and lie dormant.
Next, I opened the glass doors. The spring breeze was crisp and refreshing. It even sucked the dust away. But I did end up sneezing as it all rushed out. Caspian was quiet as ever, sitting perfectly immobile. I hated the despondent look on his face. I wanted to see those sapphire flecks in his eyes, to see them tumble and swirl, but they were covered in shadow with his chin tucked into his neck. His hands were clasped in between his legs as he sat on the edge of the bed, staring unseeingly at the floor.
I sat down next to him on the dark-blue duvet and leaned into his side. When he didn’t lean back, I crawled behind him and rubbed his stiff shoulders. He curled in on himself, retreating like a snail when its shell is touched.
“Lie down,” I said. “You need to loosen up. At this rate, you’re going to explode.”
He stayed statue still.
I leaned forward, hands still on his shoulders, and turned my head to get a look at his face. “What’s wrong, Caspian?”
He was shutting down, saying nothing, and I couldn’t read any of his thoughts. I could only feel the depth of his sorrow like a chasm opening and widening between us, taking us farther away from each other. Even my constant aching need was absent. I had gotten pretty good at ignoring it, but this was different, like my body was reacting to Caspian’s needs.
“You can’t do this. Not now,” I growled. I sat beside him again, took his cheeks in my hands, and turned his head to face me. His eyes stayed downcast. “We’ve come so far. If you do this now, what was the last month for? What if we can’t give you our moonlight? I can’t lose you to Philip, Caspian. Why are you giving up on us?”
Then I noticed the shimmering underneath his long dark eyelashes. A drop of silver moonlight fell from his eye and slid down his cheek.
“Caspian,” I whispered.
“I don’t want to kill my father, all right? I don’t want to fight him at all.” He wiped the tear away.
“So, don’t kill him. Show him and everyone else what kind of king you will be, one full of mercy. Make Philip submit and spare his life.” I put a hand underneath his chin and tilted his head up gently so that he had no choice but to look at me.
“That’s not how the Alpha Challenge works,” he said.
“I know that. But you can change the rules. We’re all behind you. This will work.” I sighed. “You love your father even though he doesn’t treat you well. I don’t know the whole story. I don’t know what Philip is thinking because I don’t know him. I don’t know if things can ever be how you want them, Caspian, but if you feel it’s best not to kill him, I will follow your lead. I trust you. Trust me. Trust all of us, and this will work. I know it.”
He took in a shuddering breath. “Sorissa. You asked about Denez before, but we didn’t give details.” He held out his hands and stared intensely at the lighter color of his palms. “He was isolated, removed from all the other vampires. He had awful things to say about his own kind, and then he asked us to kill him. I would have preferred it if he had fought us, but he didn’t, and we did kill him. I killed him. It’s been haunting me ever since because I don’t know if it was right or not. For so long, I wanted to get back at the vampires, to exact revenge. They killed my mother. I thought it would feel good, but it didn’t. It doesn’t.”
My heart ached for him. I wanted nothing more than to take away his pain. I kissed away another tear rolling down his cheek. I let my lips linger on his skin. “You are good and kind, Caspian. If you’re looking for my forgiveness, you have it. It seems like you’ve been punishing yourself long enough. Maybe it’s time for you to let this go. Or maybe you want to confront the Queen of Vampires yourself. You aren’t trapped. You have choices. After tonight, you won’t have to follow the orders of your king anymore. I love you, and I’ll listen to anything you want to say. Don’t forget that. Let me know you.”
Suddenly, Caspian was on his feet. He took my hands and brought me up with him, surprising me. He gripped my shoulders, bent down, and kissed me fiercely. I closed my eyes and kissed him back. He was being forceful, making me move back step by step as he pushed forward until my back hit one of the bed posters. The need in my body came roaring back. My breasts were sore. My sex throbbed.
Caspian touched my jaw and slid his fingers down to my neck then to my collarbone, taking the collar of my shirt down as he did. I thought he might rip through my shirt when he met resistance, but he settled for moving his hand to my breasts with the clothing barrier intact.
I reached up, hands lingering on his strong jaw and feeling the smooth skin. He had shaved. He was getting pretty scruffy during our time in Howling Sky. Now that we were back in Wolf Bridge, he felt it was time to keep up appearances once again.
My hands wandered down his muscular neck to the little dip between his pectoral muscles as I tugged at the collar of his shirt. When I couldn’t go any farther, I withdrew and laid a hand flat against his heart, feeling through the light fabric of his shirt. I had to close my eyes again. I was used to the spiritual bond between us. It had a chance to grow and grow under Babaga’s training, but she hadn’t encouraged the physical side of my proposal to take root. I hoped Caspian would keep touching me. I hoped he’d take me. I didn’t know if my body could wait anymore.
Caspian found the hem of my shirt, lifted it up, and revealed my stomach. He lowered his hands until they were at the edge of my pants and teased there, burying his fingers just inside. I wanted him to go lower. My breath caught in my throat when he undid the first button and reached lower, just grazing the heat in between my thighs through the fabric of my underwear.
“Is this okay?” he asked breathlessly.
“It’s about time,” I replied. “I thought you were all scared away by the Mate Claim because Todd sealed me first.”
He chuckled softly. Then his lips met mine. “Maybe at first, but it’s more like Babaga ran us so ragged no one had time to think about it or consider it. We couldn’t sneak away and be with you.”
He had a point. Todd and I hadn’t had the chance for anything more than the time he sealed me and the time we spent in the shower afterward. If Babaga hadn’t been working us so hard, I didn’t think my body would have allowed that almost month-long gap.
I grabbed the back of Caspian’s shirt and lifted upward. “Take it off.”
“Whatever you say, Princess.” He smirked and assisted me in taking his shirt off. Then I pressed my hands against his black skin, resting them on either side of his chest. He flexed under my touch, muscles hard and defined. I softly scratched near his nipples.
“Finally, I get to touch you again,” I growled. “The memory of when we were naked in the roader has been burning in the back of my mind. I need you. Don’t make me wait any longer.”
Caspian tugged at my shirt. “Take it off,” he said with a grin, repeating my words.
I grinned back and assisted him in taking off
my shirt, too. He threw it onto the floor with his and immediately went for my binder. It was a relief to have it off, even though I enjoyed the tight fit when mobility was my top priority; it also helped the tenderness I had been feeling in my breasts lately. Caspian kissed me and bent down until his lips were on my right breast. His actions were soft, tentative. I grabbed the back of his head, urging him down. He grazed my nipple with his teeth, and I sucked in a sharp breath in response to the heightened sensation. He barely touched me and sparks dug into my skin.
“How are you so beautiful?” he asked.
“I could ask you the same thing,” I replied.
He licked my nipple experimentally, and then he fitted it into his mouth and sucked. I let out a satisfied moan.
“You’ve done this before?” I asked.
“No.” I kept my hands on his shoulders, making sure he stayed close as he stood up straight again. “It’s a bit uncommon, perhaps. Wolf Bridge is full of shields, right? Shields don’t force humans to have sex like maneaters do—or they’re not supposed to. Most don’t, but it’s safe to say that most werewolves have had sex with women. It’s not considered illegal if the woman consents. But usually money is involved, bribes and extra privileges.”
“That’s awful,” I replied.
Caspian smiled sadly. “I agree. I never had any interest in it.” He stepped closer to me so I could feel his dick hard in his pants against my stomach.
“Babaga said having sex with you seals your body to us. She said you wouldn’t be completely sealed until each of us took you. Then you’d be ours forever.”
“I’m already yours. I made the proposal, a claim, didn’t I?”
“Sure, but what if you find some other pack of werewolves you like better?” He grinned. “We should ensure we get to keep our princess like Todd has.”
I growled. “You know that would never happen. Also, it’s unfair. If I can be sealed to you, why can’t you be sealed to me? What if you find some other werea or woman you like more?”
“Not. A. Chance.” He tapped my nose playfully. “We want you. We want to keep you.”
“What about Aerre?” I asked.
“What about Aerre?” He raised an eyebrow.
“He kissed you. Did you like it?”
He averted my gaze. “If I did?”
I gently took his chin and guided him to look back at me. I caught a glimpse of those sapphire flecks, bright and luminous like moonlight. “Then you have to kiss him back.”
“You don’t care?”
“If neither of you leave me.”
“We’ll never leave you. Besides, I don’t know what Aerre was thinking with that kiss anyway.” He slowly shook his head. “I wonder how this will work for tethered. I didn’t think they were capable of sealing a mate since they can’t reproduce, but Babaga said all of us have to seal you.”
“Rodrick and Aerre,” I said.
He nodded. “And there’s more I’m worried about. What if Todd or I got you pregnant?”
“Nothing would change,” I insisted. “Those cubs would be all of ours.”
Caspian smiled softly and kissed me again. “So confident in everything, aren’t you?”
“You can feel this bond as well as I do.”
“I do,” he said. “But I also know cubs tend to complicate things. So maybe we should wait on this after all.”
He was about to back away from me, so I threw my arms around his neck and held him close. “Caspian, I want this. Todd and I worried about this, too. But I need to be with you. I need you. I’ve been patient, but my body aches more the longer I wait.”
Caspian shuddered. “Normal reaction for a werea when given a claiming bite.”
“But I didn’t get a claiming bite from you.”
“Your kiss told me you wanted one.”
It was my turn to shudder as Todd’s bite on the back of my neck pulsed. “Yes.”
“You really don’t fight fair,” he said.
I put my hands in his pants, as far as I could without undoing them, feeling his hardness. Caspian’s breath cut short, and he groaned. I growled possessively. I liked that I had this power over Phantom Fangs. I liked that I made them desperate.
I heard something, and we both froze. Yellow light beamed into the room as the door leading into the hall slowly opened, exposing us.
CHAPTER 30
SORISSA
CASPIAN’S HANDS WENT TO my hips as he stood in front of me, shielding me from view with his back as he looked over his shoulder. I did my best to look around him, but it was difficult with his big frame and the solid wall of muscle. I recognized the presence, though. It was Aerre. I managed to wiggle out of Caspian’s grip enough to see him.
Aerre turned on the light and paused when he saw me and Caspian. He went back to the door, muttering something. “My bad. I thought—Gods, I need to pay better attention to this thing connecting us.”
“Stay,” I said.
He shook his head, hand hovering on the doorknob of the half-open door. “I’m good.”
“Aerre, get in here,” Caspian growled. “Turn off the light and shut the damn door.” Moonlight flared around him. He wasn’t taking no for an answer. I’d seen him do this not long before with Rodrick in the throne room. It was a dominance I wasn’t used to from him, and I wasn’t sure I liked it. I would have said something to him then, but he ran off after that, and it had been such a short thing I wasn’t sure I had seen anything at all, but this time I did. This time I was in the thick of it. My skin prickled, and I almost growled. Then Aerre entered the room, turned off the light, and closed the door like he was told. Caspian’s dominance faded away, and my irritation began to fade with it.
“If he doesn’t want to, Caspian, don’t make him,” I said, a little wound up.
“It’s not about that, Sorissa. He has something he needs to say. You’re not paying attention either, huh?” He raised an eyebrow at me. Then he moved, allowing Aerre to see me.
Aerre’s gaze fell to the floor. Was he embarrassed to see the upper half of my body naked? “I care about you, Sorissa,” he said quietly. “All of Phantom Fangs. I know there’s been a lot of talk about love going around this past month. I’m not good at saying that word, but I do… feel it for all of you. It happened without me wanting it to. I started caring when I didn’t want to, when it didn’t make much sense but felt right anyway.”
He swallowed. “I guess what I’m trying to say is… before all of this happened, before I became tethered, I always imagined myself with a wife and kids someday, a family of my own, with a single partner to stand by my side. Normalcy. When I became tethered, I threw all of that away. Protecting Trace and my mother became my only purpose. I was miserable and alone. I made myself miserable and alone. But then you came. You changed everything.” He finally lifted his gaze to me, and it burned blue. His eyes drifted over Caspian too, and they didn’t lose their heat.
“It’s time to stop thinking, Aerre. Do what feels right,” I said. “Are you going to stay?”
He grimaced. “And watch?”
“No. And join us,” Caspian said hastily. “If you stay, you have to. No way in hell do you get to just stand there and watch.”
Aerre shook his head and laughed. “Nervous, Caspian?”
“Honestly? Yes. Terrified.”
“So hopeless, Phantom Prince.” Aerre wore the same soft smile he only seemed to give to me, but this one was for Caspian.
My cheeks hurt because I was smiling so wide. My heart swelled with my feelings for them, with this easiness. We really had come a long way since our time in Howling Sky. And I wanted this. I needed this badly. The moonlight coming in from the open bubble-glass doors of the balcony made my skin buzz with the anticipation of absorbing it again. I needed to fill my reserves to their peak as badly as I needed my werewolves to seal me.
“Aerre?” I held out my hand, inviting but not pressing.
Shrugging, he walked over to us and pulled off his shirt at
the same time. When he was close enough to touch, I pressed my hand against his skin, savoring the differences and similarities in his body compared to Caspian’s. Caspian was bigger, taller, and his skin and hair were dark. Aerre had tan skin and long blond hair that was always braided back against his skull. Neither of them typically wore facial hair. Rodrick was the only one who did in my pack. I loved how different they all were but how they fit together with each other and with me.
“So, we’re on equal ground,” Aerre said. “Now what?”
“Haven’t you done this before?” Caspian asked.
“Not with three and definitely not with werewolves.”
Caspian half snorted and half choked.
“At least one of you has to seal me tonight,” I said.
“I nominate Aerre.”
Aerre scoffed, “What the hell, Caspian?”
“You want to chance getting Sorissa pregnant?”
“Yes? Contraceptives were banned after the Hellfire Strike. You can either choose abstinence or you can risk getting your werea pregnant. Sucks to be you.”
“That stuff never worked for werewolves anyway.”
Aerre scowled. “It never worked, or it was never used?”
Caspian shrugged. “Todd can deal with the consequences. That’ll teach him some responsibility.”
My breasts were sore and screaming. I missed my binder since nothing was happening to soothe them at the moment. I gently pressed my hands against my chest, trying to massage away the discomfort. It didn’t help. I couldn’t find relief on my own. I needed them to touch me. I walked into Aerre’s chest to feel his warm skin against mine. It helped the ache almost instantly. I hummed softly and closed my eyes.
“Are we done talking?” I asked. I rubbed up against him, trying to feel his hardness. He wasn’t as hard as Caspian. Not yet anyway. My hands went to his pants as I unbuttoned and unzipped them. I buried my hands in his underwear and took him in my hands, coaxing him harder, begging for it.
