by Meg Xuemei X
Before Fiammetta told me to go, I’d shot up toward the beast, who had taken Otsana. The poor alien girl screamed in terror and struggled to no avail in the air. She must have thought she was going to die today.
The Fury then dropped Otsana, and I caught the alien girl in the air.
“Haven’t you had enough, drama queen?” I shouted at the Furies, drawing my blade.
They turned with another around of shrieks and disappeared from view.
As soon as I put down Otsana, I hurried to my mate’s side. Fiammetta had twine flames on her palms that were ready to singe the Dragons.
Rocky yelled for everyone to quicken the pace, and the army raced toward the warded tower.
I scooped my witch into my arms. “Let’s fly back before them?”
She glanced at the wolves and her army. At their speed, they would reach the tower in an hour or so.
“They’ll be fine,” I said. “The Furies won’t return, and I want to spend as much alone time with you as possible.”
Once we passed through the portal, I would have to take care of the Furies’ business first. If Fiammetta insisted on going home first, I might not see her for a while.
She clasped her hands behind my neck. “Spread your wings, Angel.”
13
The Witch
I pictured riding him hard while I was still in Gabriel’s arms.
As soon as we landed in my chamber, I struggled free.
He frowned at me. “So eager to get away from me?”
I arched an eyebrow as I pulled my cashmere top over my head and dropped my pants. “I thought you’d appreciate this.” In record time, I stood naked before him.
His gaze roved from my lust-filled face, to my breasts, then glued to the arching flesh between my thighs. He sucked in a breath, his green eyes darkening with pure male lust.
I swayed my hips, and my hand caressed my breast.
He stalked toward me, his hand replacing mine on my breast.
Pulling me to crash against his chest, he slanted his mouth over mine.
His wicked tongue thrust through my parted lips, meeting mine with harsh demands. I could measure up to his every challenge.
Pleasure rained on me.
Liquid heat expanded between my thighs, and fire licked down there. An urgent need rose in me which must be sated.
I loosened the string of his trousers, dropping them at his feet. My hand traced up his powerful legs and hard muscles and groped his huge erection.
He murmured against my lips, his voice laced with desire.
“Fuck me, Gabriel.” I breathed out. “You don’t even need to remove your jacket. Just take me right here right now.”
“Tempt me?”
He hooked my leg to his arm, his cock aiming at my slick entrance, but then he stopped cold. A string of profane curses blurted out of his sensual mouth.
“I can’t fuck you,” he said, an enraged, pained expression rippling across his face. “I’ll have to fulfill my vow to the Furies before I can penetrate you again.”
His cock still nudged between my folds.
Screw the Furies. Gabriel is mine!
I propelled my hips forward—I was so wet and ready. It was no effort that I took his hard shaft into me smoothly.
Then I screamed.
The burning inside me was excruciating.
Gabriel pulled out immediately, agony filling his eyes. He must have suffered the same burn.
I stumbled at the lingering pain, and he caught me in his arms, his body shuddering.
“Fia, I’m sorry. This is my fault.” He scooped me up, carrying me to bed.
He laid me in bed gently. “I should have explained, but my pact with the Furies prevents me from telling you more.”
He shrugged off his coat.
On his left wrist was a broad gold band with dark runes on the surface. I instantly knew that magical item bound him, stopping him from having intimacy with me.
“I can’t fuck you, but I can still touch you. Fia, I can still pleasure you with my tongue and fingers.”
I touched his face. “Whatever you’ve done, you did for us.”
A gentle light swam in his eyes. “I’d do anything to get you home.”
I nodded as my magic latched to the bracelet, trying to unlock its hold on Gabriel, only to meet great resistance.
The bracelet didn’t slide off his wrist. Instead, a trace of smoke rose from his skin. He didn’t yelp, but he clenched his teeth. I extracted my magic immediately and swallowed hard.
His vow to the Furies was unbreakable until he fulfilled it. And the oath was a secret between my lover and another woman.
“I won’t betray you, Fia,” he said. “If that’s what you’re worried about.”
But I had a terrible feeling I couldn’t expel, that I would lose him again, sooner than I knew.
I clung to him, to his warmth and solidity while I had him, and in return, I’d give him whatever he wanted to remember me by.
But right now, I shouldn’t dwell on the secret pact between him and Daisy and let it distract me from our mission. We’d do whatever it took to leave here.
I chose to trust Gabriel and we’d deal with his vow to the Furies after we survived.
The transportation problem seemed to have been solved, but I wouldn’t guarantee that Akem wouldn’t turn on us at the last minute. When that happened, we needed to have a backup plan.
“I can still make you come, Fia,” Gabriel said. “I have other means to pleasure you without penetrating you.”
He didn’t like to see me disappointed.
“Gabriel,” I said. I wanted to tell him I wasn’t the type, who was all about carnal pleasure, but his sensual mouth had sealed mine. His tongue thrust into my mouth and swept over my hard palate, tiny shocks of pleasure raining on me.
His hand palmed between my legs.
I moaned, and he thrust a finger into my hot wetness.
Someone tapped on the door.
We ignored it.
The taps turned to urgent knocks.
“Lady Fiammetta? Gabriel,” a rough male voice called from outside.
I broke the kiss and sighed. “Everyone is getting bold, because they now think I’m nice. Perhaps I should correct the misconception.”
Gabriel grinned. “Just don’t overcorrect it, baby. I like the way you are.” He pulled me onto his lap, his erections pricking against my bottom. Though we both knew we couldn’t have intimacy that way for a while, it was still nice to have his cock rub my skin.
“Marrok sent the annoying white wolf,” he said. “They wanted to know what happened in the jungle and when we’d leave by the portal.”
“Of course they want to know everything,” I said. “They must think I owe them a life debt.”
“You owe no one,” he said. “You want me to get rid of the wolf general? We should establish a rule that, even on Pandemonium, anyone interrupting the mating between an Archangel and his witch will be struck down.”
“We’re not really mating now,” I said, sliding off him. “If it wasn’t for Kaara’s sake, the Wolf Alpha would suffer my wrath. I don’t even care for the color of his fur. But let’s go check on her. One thing I know about wolves is that they’re stubborn. They won’t go away until they get to the bone.”
“Wolves don’t go after bones. Dogs do that.”
“Wolves take offense when people mistake them as dogs.”
“I don’t see a big difference there,” he said, as we started to get dressed.
The knock came again.
“I would toss him out from the high tower if he hadn’t fought by my side,” Gabriel said before turning to shout at the door. “What the fuck! My mate and I will come down when we come down.”
Antonio grunted rudely outside before storming away.
A few minutes later, we headed down toward Kaara’s chamber one floor beneath, holding hands.
Antonio, dressed in a shirt and loose trousers, opened the door. Gabriel gave him a
glare before sauntering into the room beside me. I, of course, was still the Wickedest Witch, who didn’t spare anyone a glance.
But I noticed several people—Rocky and his team, and Bella, Antonio’s mate—all gathered at a far corner, some distance from Kaara, so their hushed discussion wouldn’t disturb her. But quiet noises and activities could be good to keep her consciousness engaged, as Gabriel had told Marrok.
They entered at Marrok’s invitation; otherwise, my ward would repel them.
Marrok, eyes haunted and cheeks hollow, perched on his usual spot, and held Kaara’s hand in his. Hadn’t I told the Wolf Alpha that I needed him functional?
Could the brokenhearted follow logic?
My throat tightened, not at Marrok’s misery, but at the sight of Kaara, who looked like a corpse in bed. I remembered how her warmth, serenity, loyalty, and the hope she held had sustained me and guaranteed my survival. Even my regained TimeFire couldn’t compete with the light in her. And now she just lay there, barely holding on to life.
Everyone quieted at my entry, and no one looked at me. They stared at Gabriel and his wings instead.
Marrok raised his head and nodded. “Thanks for coming, Lady Fiammetta and Archangel Gabriel.”
He couldn’t leave Kaara. I had to come to him.
I walked to the bedside and touched her cheek.
“Kaara,” I whispered.
She didn’t stir.
Marrok choked. “We need to leave as soon as possible, so she can wake up.”
I turned to look at him icily. “Of course, but Akem must come with us.”
“What?” Gabriel and Marrok stared at me and asked at the same time.
Tension rolled off Marrok, and Gabriel moved to stand close to me, his wings shuffling behind him.
The room went completely quiet. The group at the corner stopped their hushed discussion.
Just as I had expected, the effect was worse than if I’d dropped a bomb.
“That’s the deal I made with him today,” I said. “If any of you aren’t happy with it, you don’t need to come aboard.”
Someone grunted.
“For a safe path, I’m sure,” Gabriel said. “But you do realize how dangerous the entity is, right, baby?”
“We’re all dangerous,” I said.
There were sounds of agreement in the room.
“Not as dangerous as he,” Marrok said. “You see what he did to Pandemonium. If he goes with us, he’ll drain the new planet. He’ll turn our home into desolation again.”
“We’ll need a spaceship to take us all,” I said. “My portal won’t stay open long enough for all of you to cross over. Without transportation, all I can guarantee is the passage for Gabriel, Kaara, and me. We can choose that option and ditch Akem, but then you all will have to stay behind.”
Silence stretched, and Gabriel chuckled.
“But we don’t have a ship. They’re all junk,” Antonio said, glancing at his redhead mate. He wanted to give Bella a new life. He’d do anything to achieve that.
“We now have one,” I said. “Akem has recharged Gabriel’s shuttle and made it large enough to contain all of you. I believe some of you heard the loud humming from the jungle when you were outside. It wasn’t from Akem’s monsters. It was Gabriel’s ship powering up.”
“The lesser of two evils.” Marrok shut his eyes for a second. “We’ll have to take it.”
“A ship is more preferable in any case,” Gabriel said. “We don’t know what will be waiting on the other side of the portal. We’re stuck in the past on this planet. When we fly through that portal, we’ll be moving into the future—even the present in the outside world is future to us.”
Antonio fixed his attention on me and demanded with his wolf general’s voice. “What is the detailed deal between Akem and you?”
He was brutal in the battlefield and rude away from it. I’d taught him a few lessons in the past. My darkness had sent him flying and pinned him to the wall or the ceiling, but he kept forgetting.
“That’s between Akem and me,” I said icily.
The other people blinked in surprise. Lately, I’d showed my affable side, and they had forgotten who I really was.
“The meeting is adjourned,” I said. “I wish to be with Kaara alone, and I want no disruption.”
My guards filed out of the room immediately, but Antonio looked to his Alpha. If the next second he wasn’t out, I’d let my icy wind show him how, and it wouldn’t be gentle.
Marrok gave him a nod, and Antonio strode toward the door, Bella beside him. She smiled at me. I could recall now she owed me a life debt because I’d exorcised Desdemona and stopped the vampire prince from taking over her mind. Later, I had transferred her life debt to Kaara.
My wind shut the door, and now it was just Marrok, Kaara, Gabriel, and me in the room.
Marrok rubbed his hands across his face. “We’ll survive by leaving Pandemonium,” he said quietly. “But we’ll doom other worlds if we bring Akem with us.”
“Leave it to me,” I said. “I do not plan on destroying worlds any more than you do, especially not the one I plan on staying on.”
Marrok sighed. “My mate trusts you with her life, Princess Athena. I can do the same.”
I felt a warmer light coming to my eyes.
“What if I tell you that I need to extract a few more drops of blood from Kaara because I need them as well?” I asked.
Marrok half rose from his seat at once, his muscles protruding. Claws extended from his hands and his jaw expanded—he was about to transform to his half-wolf form to fight me.
So much for trust!
Gabriel shoved me behind him, and I almost stumbled at the force.
The Archangel positioned himself between Marrok and me.
“Careful, Marrok,” he growled. “My mate almost forsook her own life several times over to save Kaara. You know the history! You think she now has the stomach to harm Nightshades?”
Shame flickered in the Wolf King’s eyes. He slumped back into his chair, burying his face in his hands.
“I’m sorry,” he said. “I acted impulsively.”
“An instinct to protect your mate above all,” I said. “Gabriel would do the same for me.”
Gabriel squeezed me to him.
“I’ll need to enlarge the portal for the ship to fly through,” I said. “That task will require me to be at the peak of my power. And right now, I’m not strong enough,” I exhaled, “because—”
“Because you gave your powerful witch blood to Kaara until you couldn’t give any more,” Marrok said, looking completely defeated. “Do what you must do, Lady Fiammetta. I won’t destroy everyone’s chance of survival.”
His decision was plain on his face. If she didn’t make it, he would go wherever she was.
“Know this, Marrok,” I said. “We survive together. I won’t sacrifice Kaara for anyone. I won’t let her die so that millions of strangers can live. I’ll let the millions die without a blink and keep her alive. That’s what she means to me. And I don’t give a damn about any moral judgment, greater good, or anyone’s fucking opinion. I own the title of the Wickedest Witch and live by it.”
Marrok nodded, his hand tracing Kaara’s bloodless lips. “You hear that, my queen? Your queen has spoken to you. We’ll never abandon you, my love. I’d give up my soul just for you to wake up.”
“I’m thinking of waking her up earlier.”
Marrok blinked.
“I mean now,” I said.
Marrok shot to his feet, and the chair tumbled down.
“Ease, wolf,” I said. “And I don’t want your soul, no matter the shape and color.”
“If you want it, I’ll crush it,” Gabriel said.
How territorial!
“What I’m going to do might sound a little crazy,” I added.
“What isn’t crazy on this planet?” Marrok said, his voice a near whisper, hope sparking in his eyes.
“I don’t like anything crazy,
especially when my mate is involved,” Gabriel said.
14
The Angel
Fiammetta’s idea of how to awaken Kaara Nightshade sounded more than “a little crazy.”
“Nightshades can’t have my blood,” I said, my wing tucking tightly behind my shoulders.
Marrok glared at me. “She bled every drop of her blood to get you out!”
I arched an eyebrow, which seemed to enrage him more. “It’s not that I don’t want to donate some of my superior angelic blood,” I said good-naturedly. “Ask my mate, I’m not a stingy man.”
Fiammetta regarded me. “I have no reference. You’ve never given me any of your riches, even though you claim you’re one of the richest men in the universe. I don’t even know where you hide your investments. All you told me is that they’re safe in some far galaxy.”
“They are,” I said. “After we get out of here, all I have will be yours. But we’ll have to make our relationship official.”
She frowned. “What do you mean official?”
Marrok cleared his throat.
We couldn’t help it. Whenever my mate and I were around each other, we often forgot the others and the dire situation. The mating frenzy kept driving our minds half mad with constant need for mating.
“I have flame in my blood,” I said. “It burned the vampires when they tried to drink from me. I like Kaara Nightshades. Both my mate and I owe her big. The last thing I want is to toast her.”
“I’m not convinced about the toasting part,” Fiammetta said. “I bit you and tasted the flame in your blood. I did not recall any burning.”
“I don’t blame you for biting him at all, Lady Fiammetta,” Marrok said. “The Archangel can be annoying, and he enjoys riling people up.”
I ignored his ignorant comments and focused on my witch. “You’re my mate, so naturally, my flame won’t harm you.”
“My blood flows in Kaara’s vein,” Fiammetta said. “She’s part of me. Will your flame burn that part of me?”
“An excellent question,” I said. “However, I feel no attraction to your captain at all, even though your blood flows in her.”
Marrok growled. “You don’t need to be attracted to my mate. She’s mine!”
