by Chloe Cole
I couldn’t say how long we went on like that, drifting in the bubbling water, I only knew that, when it ended, it felt too soon.
“You all right, lass?” Connor asked softly.
He was standing in the shallows, his chest visible just above the waterline a few feet away and I paddled closer.
“I will be. I just can’t believe it. If it didn’t make so much sense, I don’t know that I would believe it,” I admitted. “But it all fits so perfectly.”
“It does,” he agreed, his chiseled jaw clenching as he looked off into the distance. “I’ve been even thinking about the mating laws. In the wake of the illness, the idea of making sure our young were strong made sense, but now I realize how arbitrary they were. It was all just an attempt to seed the lands with as much of his own blood as he could to secure his station.”
I pursed my lips, realizing how right he was but finding it hard to wrap my head around the depth of Du Monde's depravity. “Could the king truly be capable of such evil? To hurt and kill so many in a quest to retain power?”
“I can’t lie. When I first heard of the latest death in the harem, I had thought the queen was capable of murder. It doesn’t seem such a huge stretch to me,” Gatlin said. “People have done far more for power.”
“But babies? Cubs? Thousands of his own people?” I shook my head. “If this is all true he is indeed a monster.”
“My biggest regret now is feeding into his schemes by sending girls there.” Lucian’s voice rang out and I turned my head to see both he and Michael moving closer as he continued. “And for that, we owe them justice.”
His face was tight with barely checked fury and I glanced around at the rest of them, trying to read their moods. They were hurting and each handling it in their own way. Tonight would be one for licking wounds and untangling thoughts. For self-hatred and regret and vows to be made.
Because, come tomorrow? There would be no time for self-pity. It would be time to act, and something told me, the second this next step was put into motion, there would be no going back.
We would succeed or we would all die before the next new moon.
“We ought to get out and make camp so we can leave early and reach the hermit tomorrow,” Lucian said.
I nodded, but my throat still scratched with unshed tears. To think of all those poor, innocent children…I could hardly bear to think of their mothers and fathers who might have suffered the most tragic of losses over greed.
Gatlin, Lucian, and Connor all climbed from the pool, but when I made to join them, something made me pause. Turning, I found Michael there, looking every bit as wrecked as I felt inside. Sparing a quick look over my shoulder, I found Gatlin tipping his head in an approving nod before grabbing our packs and following his brothers back into the woods.
I turned back to Michael and his nostrils flared as he opened his arms wide. I choked back a sob and splashed through the water, rushing into his embrace.
Chapter 9
“I’m so afraid,” I whispered into his neck as I pressed closer to him. “Afraid for you all. Afraid for the people of this kingdom. Afraid of failing or messing it all up.”
He didn’t have to hear my words to sense that I needed his steadfast comfort in this moment as much as he seemed to need mine and we clung together as he led me deeper into the water.
I pulled away to look deep into those magical eyes and marveled again at the way he looked at me…the way he made me feel, even in this, the darkest of times. There was softness there, an understanding, but an intensity, too. I’d met many people in my life, but none of them could communicate without a sound the way Michael could. He didn’t need conventional speech. His very presence was grounding, and he could communicate more with a look or a touch than most people could with a soliloquy.
A moment later, when his mouth slanted over mine, I let out a sigh, following him easily into this kiss…closing my eyes as the heat of his touch mingled with the warmth of the water swirling all around us.
His fingers trailed down the back of my neck, making me shiver despite the steam as he caressed me.
I hadn’t known it before, but this was exactly what I needed—what I wanted. Time to breathe in Michael and forget for a moment. Time to pretend the world wasn’t spinning more out of control with every passing day.
Raising his hand, he brushed his wet fingers through my cap of hair and I smiled against his kiss as I did the same to him, loving the soft texture of his curls. His stubble brushed against my cheek as he dipped to my throat and licked his way up the column before traveling higher still, kissing along my jawline until he found the shell of my ear.
Shivering again, I reminded myself to breathe as he sucked my earlobe and then traced the outside with his nimble tongue. When he reeled back to look at me, the fire in his eyes let me know how much he wanted me before bending close again and closing his teeth over the throbbing pulse in my throat. His body was like warm marble, so hard and slick against mine, and I let the buoyant water carry my legs up to wrap them around his waist. The thick root of his manhood ground against my core and I let out a low groan.
He cupped my bottom in both hands as he moved us slowly through the water as one, lifting me high enough that the cool night air made my nipples spike as I shivered. He didn’t stop until my back connected with a ledge close to the rocky edge of the spring. He lifted me onto it and I wriggled until I was stable, sitting in the shallow pool while he towered over me.
Holding his gaze, I edged closer, until my slit grazed his cock again, urging him to come into me. To take me and make us both forget for a while.
But his face was a mask of concentration and need as he spread my legs wider, baring me to him.
I wanted to protest, to tell him how much I needed him inside me, but the stark determination in his eyes stopped me. Instead, I allowed him to take my hand in his as he guided it between my thighs.
I spread my trembling legs wider for him, but instead of touching me, he moved my own hand in gentle circles, silently instructing me what to do.
I looked down at the spot that held his attention and gasped. Seeing his big, strong hand over my smaller one as we moved, rolling the tips of my fingers over the apex of my sex, both of us bathed in moonlight, made a hot rush of need gather between my thighs.
His body was still half-submerged in the pool, but the thick evidence of his need bobbed in the water between us, so close, yet so far. He increased the speed of our movement, his breath going harsh as my nipples flushed and tightened to round little pebbles.
I tore my gaze away from our joined hands, my blood running thick and hot through as I looked at him. “You’re so beautiful,” I moaned. His rippling pecs glittered with droplets of water, his broad shoulders flexed as he moved to grip my knee with his free hand to spread my legs wider still.
He stepped between them and then pressed me back against the ledge until I was lying flat, only my face and my breasts above the waterline now. He continued that seductive rhythm between my thighs as he leaned over me and sucked one nipple into his mouth, drawing hard and deep. I arched against him, loving the warmth of his mouth against the new chill of my skin, but as his tongue laved me, I couldn’t help but want more. Want it all as he played my body like a violin, sucking and teasing and rubbing while the steam rose all around us.
With every twitch and shudder, I longed for him to pull me back into the warm current, to brace my hips and shove all eight inches of himself inside me, hard and deep and sure.
“Please,” I found myself begging, “please, let me have you, Michael.” I tossed my head from side to side, increasing the pressure on that swollen nub between my legs, forcing him to keep up now. Anything to quell the ache. I groaned, the pressure spreading, becoming almost unbearable as I worked myself faster still. The stars above dissolved to nothing but blurs of light as a climax bore down upon me.
“Yes!” I cried, not caring who or what could hear me as he sucked my nipple harder. His hand p
ushed mine away, taking over unerringly, raising the stakes as he alternated his light flicks with long, silky strokes, splitting my seam and plunging deep inside me. I gripped at his massive shoulders, clawing at him as the orgasm slammed into me, wringing another stream of cries from my lips.
He held me through it, his lips and tongue gentle against my nipple now, his fingers buried deep as I milked his fingers with my tight channel.
It was a long time before I came back down to earth and opened my eyes again, but when I did, he was above me, his face tight with need.
I pressed my hand to his chest and shoved him back, hard. Desperate to please him as he’d pleased me. Aching to watch him go over the edge. I wriggled down off the ledge and back into the waist-deep area of the spring.
“I want you inside me, Michael,” I whispered, knowing he could read my lips. “Give me everything.”
A muscle in his jaw ticked as he took my hand again and moved it through the warm water until I found the hard, rigid length of his straining shaft.
I hummed my approval, stroking him up and down as I admired his length and thickness. Then, as I began to stroke him faster, he tugged my hand away with a splash and lifted me up until my legs were around his waist again.
His thick cock pressed against my entrance and I held my breath as he took himself in hand and pushed inside inch by inch. My body stretched to accommodate him but it was a snug fit and I blew out a shuddery sigh.
“So good,” I murmured, writhing against him, abrading my nipples against his chest as I rocked my hips gently.
He closed his hands tight over my bottom, using it as leverage to pull me back and then work me over his cock. I waited until he was buried to the hilt to cup his neck and pull him in for a deep, rapturous kiss.
His tongue found mine, meeting me stroke for stroke as the steam of the pool hissed and swirled around us. I arched my back, clinging to him with all my might as our bodies found their rhythm. I pulled back to press desperate kisses along his neck, begging him wordlessly not to stop, to make me come as hard and loud as he had before, but I knew he was close, too. I could feel him throbbing hard and deep inside me and I squeezed him with my inner muscles.
His grip on my ass tightened as he began to thrust in earnest now. Deep and hard, until the sound of our wet hips slapping together echoed through the night.
“Yes, that’s it. Oh god, Michael!”
In spite of everything that had happened today and everything that might happen tomorrow, tonight, under the stars, we were perfect. I buried my face into his neck and cried out my pleasure as another orgasm took me, sweeter than the last, but just as strong.
“Come,” I begged brokenly as I shuddered and twitched around his thick cock, “come with me.”
I don’t know if he knew what I’d said, but he answered me all the same. As my body clutched around him over and over, his hips pistoned against me in a dizzying rhythm that drew out my own climax. My head fell back as pleasure rocketed through me, tearing me apart and making me whole all at once. As my body trembled and quaked, Michael joined me. His fingers held me anchored against him in a punishing grip as he loosed his need in hot spurts while the whole world split apart around us.
For long moments, we gasped, slumped against one another like we’d been in a fight to the death. But in this, there were no losers.
I managed the strength to lift my head and lazily curl my arms around his neck again.
When our bodies finally quieted and separated, I felt reborn. Still wounded, but unbroken. Sad, but resolute. He held my gaze for a long moment and then pressed one more kiss to my lips. I didn’t need words to know what he was trying to tell me.
Whatever happened next, at least we’d had this.
He cupped his hands around my bottom again, urging me to tighten my grip around his waist, and carried me from the spring. Water sluiced off his muscular shoulders and back as I burrowed closer, burying my face into his neck as we made our way to camp through the chilly night air.
When we arrived, the others were already lying down in the grass on some blankets near a crackling fire with their eyes closed but they weren’t asleep. Once we’d swiped off some of the water and put on our underclothes we piled in beside them.
Soon enough, the sound of their shared, even breathing surrounded me. For the next hour, I watched the stars twinkle in the sky and thought of each one of them. How honorable and strong they were. How they infuriated me and then made me laugh an instant later.
When I finally drifted off to sleep, it was with Michael’s hand on my hip and a promise in my heart.
If we made it through, I would spend the rest of my days fighting for those without a voice. Without a choice. Those who were forced to spend their lives with someone not of their choosing because of the laws of an unscrupulous king. People like my mother, too afraid to leave the protection of her husband and wind up the victim of a marauder. People like Hattie, the young maid at the Saint John Estate, who were forced to choose from only certain males so as not to curtail the spread of royal blood. People like me, who were handed over to the king, feelings unconsidered.
Because at the end of the day? Everyone deserved to love and be loved.
It was something worth fighting for.
Chapter 10
I woke in the early morning light with a start as something hard and warm clapped over my mouth, dragging me abruptly from slumber.
My eyes shot open and my heart thundered in my chest as panic coursed through me.
This was it.
The moment I'd truly have to defend myself. I started to shift instinctively, the hairs on my arms lengthening as my teeth grew long and razor-like.
Just as the smell of the world sharpened into focus, though, and the hand moved away from my mouth, I realized it was Michael looming over me, his index finger against his mouth in warning. He pushed my hand to the ground and I stared at him as the vibration of the shuddering earth ran through me.
“What is that?” I asked, shifting back to human again as I stared at him in confusion.
Pulse hammering, I glanced around me to find the other men lurching upright, eyes narrowed. A moment later, like the thunder before the storm, the low rumble of what echoed toward me. The sound of baying filled the air around us. The unmistakable sound of bloodhounds on the prowl.
"Take Anaya and Connor and run,” Lucian instructed Gatlin in a clipped tone as he stood, grim fury filling his eyes. "Michael and I will stay and fight."
Michael gave a solemn nod, but Gatlin shook his head.
“Waste of time. Can’t you smell all of them?” he demanded as he tossed the others their bags and slipped mine over his head along with his own. “Two dozen hounds and shifters on horseback following behind. Thirty or more, if I was to guess. The two of you are fierce fighters, but there’s no way. We’ve still got time to get away but the time to go is now.”
I breathed deep. He was right. The air was quickly becoming thick with the scent of lions, surging toward us like a wave at high tide.
“We’ve got to protect her, Gatlin. Not just because we love her, but because she’s the key to the future. Anaya, in the middle and we’ll--" Lucian started, but before he finished an arrow soared through the air, sticking with a loud thunk into the bark of a tree a few feet to the left of his head.
The time for deliberation was over. We shifted in motion as we ran in the opposite direction of where the arrow had come from. Behind us, the baying of the hounds was growing louder and I closed my eyes, sniffing hard to see if I could tell how far away they were.
I was too focused on the pounding of my heart, my determination to keep every one of my protectors close and safe as strong as theirs to protect me. We were so close to learning the full truth. To making Sebastian pay for what he’d wrought. All we had to do was outrun this one enemy.
We bounded through the forest, kicking up dust and leaves as we went, but I could still hear the padding of the hounds behind us, sure and
strong and growing louder by the minute. Their barks were cries for blood, but also a beacon to lead the dozens of shifters on horseback to their prey. The hooves were growing louder when I heard a voice far too close call out.
"It's them!"
I glanced over my shoulder in time to see Lucian and Michael exchange a glance and peel away from the pack before wheeling around and facing the frantic dogs.
My heart leaped into my throat and I wanted to stop, to call them back, but then Gatlin and Connor were at my sides, nudging me forward with their shoulders, urging me to continue.
Heart aching with worry, I lowered my head and pushed on through the trees, running as arrows whizzed past our ears and dug into the ground around us.
The flurry of shots continued as we zigged and zagged over the brush, but it was only when the sound of a roar reached my ears that I realized I was alone.
Frantically, I looked left and then right, realizing too late that I’d been separated from Gatlin and Connor as a team of dogs began to bear down on me.
My stomach roiled as I recalled the boar hunt we’d gone on. It seemed like a lifetime ago. Only now, our enemies were doing exactly as our pride had done by peeling away a lone animal from the group.
Except this time, I was the prey instead of the hunter.
Behind me, I heard the howl of the hounds again and I thundered deeper into the forest, trying to fight past the rush of fresh terror surging through me. The dogs were gaining on me, and it would take more than a little luck to get away.
To my surprise, a moment later, a little luck was exactly what I got in the form of a small but fast-running river. It wasn't very wide, but it was deep enough that I dove in. There was a chance it would carry me far enough that the dogs might lose my scent.
With a deep breath, I hurled myself off the bank and closed my eyes as I hit the icy water hard. The swift current dragged me under once, twice, before I managed to get upright and paddle along to keep my head above water.
