by Setta Jay
Dacia snarled. “No.” Her eyes flashed gold, her beast set on end, and he grinned. He fucking loved the flash of possessiveness, loved to see her claws.
His own eyes flashed. I fucking love you snarling, but it needs to stop unless you plan on digging your claws into my skin, princess. If her fucking siblings weren’t there, he’d pin her against the rock wall with his power and coax some more cream from her pussy. He wanted to. He sent her the image, him pinning her hands over her head as she fought and nipped at him, letting her claws loose.
Her breathing was nearly panting with bits of sexy snarls. Dacia was barely holding on.
Her bastard brother snarled loudly, “Dacia!”
Dacia’s eyes shot to Gunn and narrowed. “What?” She was still fighting her beast.
“If I have to pull water from the fucking pools, I will douse your ass until you cool the fuck down.” Gunn’s face was red.
Zoe and Mia were holding him. Isa just shook her head in disgust. Zoe shot her brother a look and quirked a brow. “Way to cock block, asshole.”
Conn didn’t care about the exchange; he really did need to leave. He rubbed a hand over his face.
“I’ll be back later,” he said with a wink and caress of his power. He couldn’t touch her with his hands, but that lick of power slid over her skin and made her eyes go heavy with a different kind of pleasure. One he loved seeing before leaving her. He wasn’t sure she even realized the difference in her reaction. He smiled as he turned.
“I’m coming too,” Dacia snarled and stalked right past him. She snapped back a warning to Gunn that her sisters echoed. He heard Jax chuckle, but his full attention was on her tight ass as she strutted up the steps in a temper. He grinned and ran a hand down his face as he followed, happy.
Rain, can you do me a favor? He used the link he had to Rain. He had one to all his brethren and now their mates. He didn’t think his beast could handle seeing her teleported by a male. They were both too on edge to take a chance with their beasts.
Whatcha need? There was a smile in the little blonde’s voice. Rain was a good female, and he was happy that Dorian had finally gotten his shit together before doing irrevocable damage to their bond.
Dorian wouldn’t get pissed that Conn asked her for help.
Can you play chauffeur for my mate?
Sure, when does she need a lift?
Give us a few minutes.
Sure. I can be in the courtyard if you give me a sec.
Thanks.
No problem. She sounded excited. She was still getting used to her Guardian powers, and she still got a thrill using them.
“I need to change,” Dacia bit out, still fighting her beast, and he shouldn’t grin, but fuck, it was hot. He probably should have told her Sirena wasn’t going to actually be with them, but that thought only made him grin wider.
Chapter 22
Lofodes, Tetartos Realm
Rain’s voice was filled with sympathy. “I know. It sucks. Just breathe through it.”
Dacia appreciated the sentiment, but breathing was the main problem. She hated teleporting. How would she ever get used to it, especially if it was the primary mode of transportation in Tetartos?
She felt Conn’s power rubbing over her back and neck as she remained hunched over another minute. “I’m fine. Thanks,” she said to Rain.
“No problem. Let me know when you need a ride back,” Rain said and was gone.
“Feeling better?” Conn said, and she looked up to see him frowning in concern. His fists were balled, and she got a small pang knowing that he was having difficulty with her discomfort. That he cared beyond their insane arousal. The nights talking to him about his past and what he did, the things he’d seen and experienced, were making her feel closer to him.
Her beast wanted her to end it, but she needed more. She needed to see that he was what he seemed with people outside his sphere of influence. Her animal’s possessive rage just added another element to it.
She took one more breath and straightened. “Yes. I think I’m fine now.” She was still a little shaky, but it would pass any second. She hoped. The strong winds helped take some of his scent away. It was still there, but not the potent aphrodisiac that it had been.
She looked around and saw an almost medieval-looking city on the rise. Lofodes. That’s where he’d said they were going after she changed into jeans and a black sweater. Green grass led to an entrance that was like a castle gate. She saw a blue sheen domed over the entire city and just stared, knowing it was the city’s protection spell. No one was allowed to just teleport directly inside. She and her sisters had asked enough questions that she thought she had a feel for it, but she hadn’t. It was beautiful, clean, and the air was crisp and free of the smog of cities and towns in Earth. Grey clouds billowed with dark streaks of impending rain, and she felt freedom flow over her. There was an odd excitement settling over her, being in a place where she didn’t need to hide what she was. She spun around. Trees grew tall and thick behind them, but a sheet of green grass led toward the city.
“Where’s Sirena?” she asked, seeing people up ahead at the gate.
“Sirena asked me to pick up blood samples and check in on some of the kids she’s monitoring.”
She spun to look at him. He had a cocky grin in place.
“You lied.”
“No, you assumed. I just didn’t correct you because I was happy to have you with me.” His voice was low and seductive as he winked at her. “Your scent may torture the shit out of me, but that doesn’t stop me from loving every fucking second.”
She didn’t know what to say to that; she just looked at him. She caught movement down the hill and stilled, staring at the Hippeus in his half-horse form. A centaur in human mythology, a Hippeus in Tetartos reality. She knew about them, but she’d never seen one in that form. The ginger male looked in their direction, nodded and grinned and flipped Conn a middle-finger greeting before heading in the opposite direction.
She couldn’t take her eyes from the male clomping away. He was bare to the waist and had a sword strapped to his big back. Conn growled, “Dacia, if you don’t stop staring at him, my beast might feel the need to prove himself superior to the damned warrior.”
Her eyes shot to his. He had a slight grin on his face, but she could see the wolf in his eyes. He was serious.
She turned to the city and smiled to herself before whispering, “Your beast has nothing to worry about.”
Conn laughed, and his power caressed her cheek as was becoming his habit. It was a comforting sensation that made her want more than just sex. She wanted his arms around her, something she and her beast had started craving from him.
They moved past some Mageia guards that nodded and greeted Conn, and she caught the awe and reverence coming from them. She noticed that the clothes were similar to Earth for the most part, some older styles, some newer. She saw book and boutique shops mixed with anything she’d see in nicer towns in the United States or Europe. Conn pointed out the shop Rain used to own. Mageia milled around or went about their lives, some greeting Conn and others seeming too focused on what they were doing to even see them. There were townhomes lining the cobbled streets; some had pretty little flower boxes at the windows.
He veered them into a small bakery. It smelled incredible, and she barely heard the tinkle of the bell as they slid through the door.
An elderly Mageia greeted them. Her eyes crinkled at the sides when she saw Conn. “Ah, it’s my lovely Guardian with a sweet tooth.” Conn grinned and winked at the old woman.
“I couldn’t come to Lofodes and not stop at the best bakery in all the Realms,” he said in mock horror, and the old woman just shook her head as a happy smile painted her lips.
The scent of cinnamon and sugar filled the space and smelled even better with his sexy pheromones mixed in.
“Posh. You know how to make an old woman’s day, I’ll give you that.” The woman shook her head at Conn, but it was obvious by h
er pink cheeks she was telling the truth. She turned her sparkling pale blue eyes to Dacia. She smiled back at the elderly woman. “Well, I know what he wants. Just let me know when you’ve found something you’d like, dear.” The woman smiled at Dacia as she went about getting a paper sleeve for the cookies she slid out of the glass bakery case. Peanut butter from the smell of them.
Dacia’s lips curved when he offered her one. She took it from his fingers, so close to touching him that she held her breath. When she bit in, he grinned expectantly, until her tongue flicked out to lick off the crumbs. His eyes fixed on the movement and flashed with heat. “Good, isn’t it?” His voice lowered an octave.
She swallowed and had to clear her throat before smiling. “Yes, but I want a cupcake.” She turned her grin to the old woman and found herself enjoying the simple outing. When she looked back at Conn, she saw amusement dancing in his eyes.
The woman smiled. “Okay. Which would you like?”
“The red velvet,” Dacia said, pointing to the one in the case.
“I think we’re going to need a box,” he told the woman, and when Dacia gave him a questioning look, he responded, “For your sisters.”
Her heart swelled a little, and she had to clear her throat. “They’d like that.” She made choices for her siblings, including one for Gunn. Conn grinned and shook his head as he got another few boxes of treats, probably to take back to the manor. It all went into a big bag he took after paying the Mageia. Dacia was already focused on her treat as they walked back out to the street. She licked the icing on one side and made a happy noise.
She took another taste, enjoying the sweet flavor on her tongue. “She’s very good,” she said and meant it. It was probably the best cupcake she’d ever tasted, and she and her sisters had sampled their fair share. She frowned that she hadn’t offered him any when he’d shared his cookies. When she looked up to rectify that, she caught him staring. “Would you like a taste?” she asked, and her voice came out husky.
Yes, more than you know, he groaned in the link. Shit, watching that little pink tongue all over that treat is fucking agony.
Her mouth dried up, the cupcake suddenly forgotten in her hand. She took a deep breath. His nostrils flared, and her focus was taken up by him, no longer was she peeking in the stores. All she felt and tuned to was the warmth from his body and the seductive growl of his voice in her head. She felt over warm, and the cool breeze wasn’t soothing it. She wasn’t sure what to do with the cupcake, other than eat it, but it didn’t taste quite the same now that her senses were focused on him. She scented his arousal and knew he was getting hers. She nearly moaned, but they weren’t alone on the street. She shook her head at how awkward they must appear to the milling Mageia. Her muscles were tense as she scarfed her treat, frowning because she didn’t even want it.
She finally swallowed the last bite as they came to their destination. She stuck the wrapper in her pocket and hoped she didn’t have cupcake in her teeth as they ascended the steps to a townhome with shrubbery planted on either side of the stairs.
It was the next couple of hours that descended her into hell. Pure hell. Homes with children who were too pale and foster parents who seemed at a loss at how to help them. Conn had given them the treats and seemed to be checking their surroundings and making sure they were being well cared for. The kids knew him, were polite… curious, but she was stiff and unsure around them.
The looks on their small faces when they’d eaten their treats nearly made her cry and long to do some serious damage. She wanted to dig up the dead bastard who’d caged them and rip him into bite-sized pieces. The desire for blood was tempered by the need to stay calm for them. She wasn’t familiar or comfortable around children, which only added another level of awkwardness to the visits, and there were several… She hadn’t known what to say to any of them or to the foster parents. Isa and her sisters would have known what to do, and she’d wished they’d been with her.
Making matters worse was the close proximity to Conn for way too long. Taking the kids outside hadn’t done much to stifle her need. It was on a slow torturous burn by the last house.
She felt worn thin by the time they finally stood in front of their last destination. A much bigger stone home with wide steps lined with potted plants.
Conn knocked, and they were greeted by a blonde female with short hair and a big smile. “Hi, Elaina. I need to get the blood samples for Sirena, and sorry, but we’re in a rush.”
Elaina nodded and looked at Dacia. “Okay, I’ll go grab them. Would you like to wait in the foyer?”
“No,” they both said in unison, but Conn tempered it with, “We have to get back.”
Dacia’s wolf wasn’t thrilled with his polite smile at the other woman, and Dacia knew she was losing her grip. Elaina rushed off, which was her saving grace. Dacia was having issues with pretty blondes who smiled at her damned male, and gouging Elaina’s beautiful violet eyes out was too violent a temptation at the moment.
She finally retreated a few steps closer to the street and tried to breathe into the blowing winds. Nothing was taking it away. Her face was burning up, and her breasts were swollen and achy along with every muscle in her body. Conn didn’t look in much better shape. No, he looked animalistic with his flared nostrils and clenched fists. If they didn’t get distance and clear air soon, it would be over.
Gritting her teeth, she ticked off the seconds and said a silent thank you to the Creators when she heard Elaina’s heels clicking on the wood floors at the other side of the door.
Conn slung the bag Elaina had handed him over one shoulder and met Dacia at the street. He still held the bag with her sisters’ treats, and she eyed it, tempted to snatch if from his fingers and dig in just to have something to do with her hands. She blew out a frustrated breath. She wanted his skin on hers, and she was losing her damned mind. Staying there with him had been a huge mistake.
This will only get worse, Dacia.
Yeah, I get that, she snapped back in irritation.
She was done waiting. She could ask a million more questions, learn everything there was to know about the Realm, the people and the dangers to her siblings, but in the end it wouldn’t change a damned thing. He was hers. He’d held to his word and given her a choice when he could have taken anything and everything he wanted. She closed her eyes. Seeing him in the city, interacting with the Mageia and even the Hippeus before they went inside, tipped the scales.
Isa was right. Dacia’s instincts had never failed her. She would trust them about Conn too. He was an honorable male. Hers. If he and the other Guardians were willing to help orphaned mortal children, they wouldn’t do anything to harm her family.
Her last concern was him learning her family’s secrets the minute she claimed him. She could only take that chance after talking to her siblings.
The past few days had been enlightening. She’d questioned the other mates and knew that she would be mentally wide open to him when the frenzy started. Even if she wasn’t, she balked at going into eternity hiding things as big as her family. She had to talk to her brothers and sisters.
Both took deep breaths of the cooler air when they finally exited the city gates and walked out to the grass beyond. Rain was there to port her away, and she was more than thankful to see the other female’s smiling face. Rain looked at them both and frowned. “Are you okay?” The blonde’s lips twitched. She could probably scent the arousal on them as they got closer. “Long day?”
“Yes,” they both ground out at the same time.
Chapter 23
Guardian Manor, Tetartos Realm
“Any change?” Conn asked Sirena.
He was still feeling the effects of the day. All the time spent in Lofodes in a state of increasing sexual torment while fighting his beast and trying to do his damned job had been agonizing.
An hour in the shower trying to jack off after leaving Dacia with her siblings hadn’t helped shit. Cold water had done a little better. He’
d gone directly to chasing a couple of leads on Cynthia to distract himself. It hadn’t given him all his control, but he was marginally calm. He was on his last stop before heading back to his room to attempt sleep.
His sister answered as he wrangled his mind back to the present. “Nothing new in the last few days.”
“Do you think they know what’s happening?” he asked. The frowns on Vane and Brianne’s faces had bothered him from the start.
“I’m not sure. I talk to them. Alex and Erik both come in and do the same and then use their family link hoping to get through to Vane. I just don’t know.” She blew out a tired breath.
“You need to take care of yourself too, Sirena.”
She nodded, but he knew she would do whatever the hell she wanted. She was stubborn.
“I am,” she said. “Thanks for getting the Lofodes samples. Sacha’s been doing what she can between patrols, and I’ve been checking on the females the bastard used as fucking breeding stock, and monitoring the babies and toddlers as much as possible. There were just so many.” Ten years had produced a lot of kids that needed care. They’d been fortunate to have so many willing to foster them while the Guardians and the healers worked to figure out the long-term issues from what Cyril had done to enhance them.
“How’s your mate?”
He nearly laughed thinking back on the day. It started out well enough, but ended in comical misery. They’d barely been able to talk in the end. “Frustrated, but she’s still testing me.”
Sirena smiled at that. “Then don’t screw it up.” She gave him a wan smile, and knowing she’d never have the gift he was given made his gut hurt. He hated that her life was her work; she deserved so much more. His Guardian sisters’ lack of acceptable males was worse for Sirena. There were no males more powerful than her, at least without being blood related. Conn had always thought that since she and Drake worked almost as a team over the Guardians that she would have confided that problem.
