Riding Magyk

by Allyson Young

  “I would have bathed you, Jolene,” Sulie said.

  “And we would have ended up in bed again,” their witch retorted. “I need some clothes. I need to see my uncle. And then we need to talk.”

  Xander watched as Jolene pattered to the closet and opened it to look inside. She made a little sound of satisfaction that made his cock twitch, and he saw Sulie take a step toward her. Jolene pulled out a long-sleeved button-down shirt and slipped into it, her little hands fumbling with the fastenings. The towel dropped to the floor, and Xander hastened to pick it up, sliding his hand over her calf as he did so. Jolene danced away from his touch and gave him that look she’d perfected for him alone, he was certain. The look that made him want to put her under him, under the loving instruction of his cock until she looked at him instead with passion and adoration. He gritted his teeth and went to hang up the towel, hoping to impress on her he had self-control and wanted to do things to please her.

  When he returned, Sulie was cajoling her into letting him put on her panties, and Xander watched with admiration and not a little envy as Jolene allowed him to do so. Sulie had such a way with their females. Not that there would be any other female in their lives, ever again. Jolene playfully pushed Sulie’s head away as he pressed a kiss on her belly under the pretext of settling the underwear around her hips. Xander longed for the day when she would react to him in the same manner, hopefully once he gained her complete trust. A part of him jeered at his softness, he, Xander Ahearn, who was in charge of his females at all times. He ruthlessly stomped on that voice. He would be in charge if and when Jolene needed him to be. If he’d learned anything about this relationship, it was that hard work lay ahead of them, and he needed to work the hardest of all.

  Jolene looked up as if divining his thoughts. She stared into his eyes and smiled. It was a warm, loving, and caring kind of smile with a hint of sensuousness, and Xander wanted to throw himself at her feet, wanted to fight a herd of Caprines for her, and wanted to kiss her until she struggled for air. He crossed the room to do the latter, and she cuddled into his arms for a moment as though she had always been there.

  Sulie cleared his throat, and Xander lifted his head to fix his brother with a death stare.

  “We need to go, Xander. It will be dark soon, and the Steward will be waiting.”

  They closed up the cabin after straightening the bed, and Xander swept Jolene up into his arms. After a startled moment, she wound her arms around his neck and rested her head on his shoulder. If they were in his realm, he would transform and she could ride him. The thought of her astride him in his world made his cock instantly harden. Regardless, she wasn’t walking through the forest in bare feet. She was still a plush armful but light as a feather, and he reveled in another opportunity to carry her. He tried not to think about Terach carrying her away to imprison her. Sulie led, and they made good time along the deer trail despite the fading light, and the Steward’s cabin with its beckoning warmth and lantern-lit porch soon came into view.

  Steward Faulkner immediately came out to greet them, and Xander set Jolene down as soon as they reached the steps. She rushed to her uncle and once reassured of his health visibly relaxed. Her face then flamed, and she looked at her feet until something else passed between them. Jolene looked up at her uncle and nodded. Xander could feel Sulie’s question subside as they realized their witch and her kin had no need to speak, just as they didn’t always have to do so. The Steward’s gaze encompassed them both and flickered with acceptance and understanding. Xander let a breath out he hadn’t even realized he’d been holding and felt the tension seep from Sulieman. Steward Faulkner had given his blessing to their union as they had hoped he would. They followed him and Jolene inside where small refreshments waited. Jolene hurried to find more appropriate clothing before joining them, and Xander wished she didn’t have to cover those amazing legs. She was going to make an incredible Ipotane.

  * * * *

  Jolene wiped her mouth with her napkin and excused herself from the table. It had been a comfortable, if slightly surreal experience, sharing a meal with Uncle Marshall and her Ipotanes. There had been little verbal conversation, and she already realized she would need to find a way to shield some of her thoughts from her horse men, or she might never have any privacy. In a few succinct thoughts of his own, her uncle told her, and to some extent, Sulie and Xander, of his magykal past and allowed them to see how his life had unfolded in a series of colorful scenes and pictures. If Jolene hadn’t been aware of her own power, she might have thought she was having hallucinations, for they were so vivid and real. She caught something she believed Xander and Sulieman had missed, and realized her uncle had chosen not to show it to them. It involved a beautiful horse woman with alabaster skin and long flowing silver hair, her blue eyes like violets glowing in her face. She reminded Jolene of someone, and with a sense of shock, she understood she and Arion were related. Kissing cousins perhaps. It was an errant thought, one making both Sulie and Xander turn to stare at her, their eyes narrowing, their chiseled lips firming. She wanted to giggle at their jealousy and roll her eyes at the same time. As if she could manage another horse man in her life!

  She went into her small bedroom and carefully closed the door, casting a locking spell upon it. She understood her magyk would likely not withstand either of her Satyrs once they were mated, and that it would probably become even more powerful to be used for the greater good. But in the meantime she needed a few minutes to herself to try and sort out what she envisioned her life was to become. Xander sent Arion a text, and he replied in a short while to advise Terach had presented himself as promised. While neither Xander nor Sulie could speak Terach’s name or even think about him without snarling, they conceded he would probably have a voice on Council, particularly when he, too, possessed magyk, as weak a variety as it was. Jolene wanted to refuse to serve on any Council but remembered a comment about being a guardian of the realm. That she would be proud to do, if it meant protecting that which had been described to her and what she’d dreamed of for so long. She also looked forward to spending time with Arion and his family. Uncle Marshall had clearly broken ties with that realm, and she couldn’t read him, couldn’t understand why that was so, but she respected his privacy. Arion might not want to afford Uncle Marshall the same courtesy if he found out about the connection, but Jolene would not go against her uncle’s wishes. She just wanted to get to know some of her other-world family members, whether or not they would recognize her as such. And then there was the matter of her horse men’s parents. What if they didn’t like her or she didn’t like them? What if they made life difficult for her and her mates?

  And her conjectures about the actual mating process wouldn’t be denied any longer. Jolene wasn’t certain she wanted to transform and understood she didn’t have to, although the fact of the matter was that the Ipotanes, especially her men’s family, would expect it of her. She wanted sexual pleasure with her men, wanted it as often as they would provide it, despite the periods of exhaustion that would be inevitable. She was greedy for it. She just didn’t know if she wanted to spend any time as half a horse, even to finalize the mating, but knew she must in order to ensure the safety of Xander and Sulieman. Jolene decided to wait until she saw the other realm and met the in-laws and learned more about it, as well as checked with Uncle Marshall.

  She gathered up a few of her possessions, paring them down to an amount to be carried in her large purse. She was assured clothing and technology were available in the other realm, so packed only her pictures and a few small treasures from her childhood, including a small, metal statue of a unicorn. It seemed she truly wasn’t attached to things, didn’t need possessions, especially now she had become.

  A soft rap on the door pulled her from her musings, and she opened it with only a thought. Sulie stepped in and came to sit on her bed. He smiled at her, and Jolene didn’t throw herself at him and sink her teeth into his neck. His face tightened, and his eyes
became dark with desire. He clenched his hands in the bedding and visibly controlled himself.

  “Xander becomes frustrated when you close us out, my witch. And if you continue to look at me in that manner, I will have you here, right in this room despite the fact your uncle is close-by.”

  Jolene gave a ladylike snort. At least she hoped it was ladylike. “Xander will have to get used to me expecting my space, Sulie, regardless of whether my magyk becomes irrelevant with either of you once we are mated. And you, sir, might want to explain to me why I have this increasing need to chew you both up and also want to run for miles!”

  Sulie looked confused and somewhat anxious. He stood and took her by the shoulders, looking deep into her eyes. The pull was incredibly strong, and the air heated, and he hastily dropped his hands and backed to the door.

  “We should talk with your uncle and then Arion. We are not yet mated, Jolene and yet you sound like an Ipotane.”

  Great, they had infused her with Ipotane hormones or something. She’d be craving apples and carrots and sugar next. Sulie turned a dark look on her, and she knew he picked up on her sarcasm. She gave him an innocent smile and caught up her bag. Time to see what Uncle Marshall knew.

  * * * *

  “Witches in particular, as well as other gifted humans, have mated with Ipotanes historically, niece, but never with twins to my knowledge.”

  “That fits with what Arion understands,” Sulie said to her uncle. “Perhaps Jolene’s magyk is preparing her.”

  “For what?” Jolene wasn’t sure she liked the sound of this. She might transform for the mating ceremony, but she absolutely didn’t think she wanted to go through life as half a horse. At least she didn’t think she did.

  Sulie shrugged, and the movement was echoed by Xander and Uncle Marshall. “I don’t know, my witch. I am only speculating that the process may have speeded up because you will have two mates. There is nothing in the ancient teachings I was able to read, but Arion may know more. Perhaps we should go now. There is much to be done.”

  Jolene embraced her uncle, and he hugged her fiercely. She was dismayed to feel the frailness of his shoulders and wished for a moment he would accompany them. He gave a tiny shake of his head, and Jolene accepted his silent refusal. He told her she should visit when she could and he would help her should she ask. He stood on the porch with one work-roughened hand raised in farewell, and Jolene watched through the back window of the car until she couldn’t see him any longer. It felt incredibly final, and she was saddened, although it also felt strangely like destiny, like a circle had closed. Neither Xander nor Sulie tried to cheer her up with false promises, and she realized they, too, saw how old and tired her uncle was. She stared into the trees on either side of the road as they entered the Klamath forest. She knew Uncle Marshall would have been willing to talk with her parents and try to explain things to them, but they already thought he was touched. Her mom and dad would probably have her committed if she tried to tell them what she was about to embark on. She and one of the twins would go to see her parents in the near future, and Jolene had already faced the hard facts. She would need to use her magyk to forge a kind of reality for them to easily accept, and her contact with her family might be limited.

  “We will do our best to be your family, Jolene.” Xander’s voice infiltrated her thoughts.

  She shook off her melancholy and smiled for him, and they drove from the road to park the car in a small turnoff that appeared to be carved out for just that purpose. Sulie jumped out and opened her door, reaching in to help her out, ever the consummate gentleman. He was the perfect foil for his sometimes-arrogant brother, and Jolene enjoyed the dichotomy.

  “The entry point is just ahead, Jolene.”

  Her Ipotanes each put an arm around her, and she walked with them until they came to an enormous tree, a ponderosa pine. Its wide-spreading branches with the millions of needles shimmered, and Jolene’s magyk responded. She accompanied her men without question as they ducked their heads and walked below the branches. She felt a flow of something similar to a static charge pass over and through her, and then they were in another world.

  It was a forest similar to the one they had just left, but the air was sweeter and fresher, the birdsong more pronounced, and the slight wind softer. Jolene’s magyk soared in concert, and her whole being tingled. Two sets of eyes watched her anxiously, and she gave them her best smile. It felt like coming home somehow. Perhaps it was because of the longing Arion instilled in her while describing his realm with such love, or because Jolene was now where her horse men hailed from. Either way, she was glad to be there.

  “That was an incredibly easy crossover, Jolene. Arion cannot make it any easier. The Caprines can cross only because of the latent energy of their sexual excesses, and even then they take time to recover.” Sulie lifted her hair from her shoulders and allowed it to drift down her back. She shivered, and he soothed her with a gentle touch.

  “We would like to transform, Jolene.”

  She nodded and watched as the masking spell simply flowed away from beneath their chests in sheets of color and light. As it did their horse bodies emerged, revealing long graceful legs and straight, muscular backs under shiny, rippling coats of burnished gold and long, thick tails of black with amber strands. They were absolutely gorgeous and identical and hers. Jolene’s hands itched to stroke them, and they walked to her, offering themselves up to her ministrations.

  Their heated skin covered long, supple muscles and solid flesh and felt like velvet to the touch. After caressing them one after the other, Jolene pressed a kiss on Xander’s mouth and then on Sulie’s, and they crowded her tightly between them, their arms circling her. She stood, surrounded by love, for what seemed like an eternity, her eyes closed and her heart full, until the sound of approaching hooves intruded. Jolene opened her eyes reluctantly and saw Arion smiling at her. Xander and Sulie moved to flank her, and Arion halted at a respectful distance.

  He looked at her, his noble face solemn, yet with a twinkle in his pale eyes and said, “I felt you, witch. Our whole realm felt you cross over. Welcome. I see your mates were successful in convincing you to come.”

  Jolene felt herself flushing and only barely managed not to call Arion cousin as payback for his obvious awareness of just how she had been convinced. He looked a bit startled, and she hid the thought from him. She smiled instead and held out her hand. Arion advanced and touched her fingers with his own and retreated. It was obvious he was fully aware of the twins’ possessive stance, and while he was probably amused by it, given the power of his magyk, he acknowledged their status.

  “Your family is most anxious to meet their sons’ mate,” he said. “The mating ceremony will take place in the morning.”

  Jolene tensed and then forced herself to relax. Arion had clearly figured something out to accommodate this first union of a witch and twin Ipotanes, and as long as they didn’t have an audience, she figured it would sort itself out. She tensed up again and blurted, “We aren’t doing the actual mating in front of anyone, are we? Because I’m not going to take part in anything like that!”

  Arion actually chortled, and she itched to slap him. It was all well and good for him to laugh. He wasn’t the one who had to accommodate two sexually adept horse men and have to experience the most incredible orgasms. Arion’s eyes widened slightly, and then he blinked. He actually backed up a little and gave her a nod. Jolene threw up another shield over her thoughts. Arion was a little too good at reading her. Sulie snorted, a sound that was now quite fitting with his present form, and she heard Xander actually snap his teeth together. Arion wiped all signs of amusement from his handsome face and replied.

  “The ceremony is for the vows, Jolene Phillips. What you do to consummate your union, the mating, will take place in the ancestral forest with only the trees and other woodland creatures as witness.”

  Jolene narrowed her gaze on him. “What woodland creatures? Humans with hoo
ves woodland creatures? Like Caprines?”

  “No! You will have your privacy, I assure you. The twins’ mother will explain some things to you, and I will talk with them. The ancient teachings simply needed to be read from a different perspective. We had become complacent.”

  Jolene decided to quit obsessing and trust Arion so she could enjoy her surroundings. Her cousin spun to head back on the trail, leaving them to follow.

  They walked slowly, with Xander and Sulie each holding her hands, and came to a clearing. Upon entering it, Jolene saw how meadows filled with nodding flowers and pastures of green grass stretched for miles. It was just like in her dreams. A cluster of oddly shaped buildings decorated the landscape, and she realized they were dwellings. The doors seemed wider than what she was used to, and consisted of two panels opening away from the other. A female and male Ipotane stood before one of the homes, and Jolene knew they had to be Xander and Sulie’s parents. She’d learned that twins were rare, and often didn’t survive. Sulie told her they had no siblings and so their mother was somewhat protective, although their father supported them in their work. While Xander policed the barrier, Sulie played more of a backup role and managed the technological side of things. But they were still close to their parents, and Jolene hoped she would be accepted.

  “Mother, this is Jolene. Jolene, my mother Rhiannon Ahearn.”