by Meg Xuemei X
And the two bimbos probably thought if the High Lord liked their blood better, they’d sit in the seat I occupied now and replace me altogether.
What woman didn’t want these four gorgeous men paying attention to them? But they forgot one thing: they were all mine. And I wasn’t the sharing type.
I hadn’t realized it until this moment when Selena shoved it all in my face.
“Seriously, Selena?” I asked. “You think my one and only duty is to be a blood whore to Lorcan?”
The human females gasped at my audacity.
Alaric chuckled. “This is going to be a riot.”
“You’ll address me as Mistress Selena.”
“But I outrank you,” I reminded her with amusement, knowing it hurt.
“I’m merely doing my duty and serving his High Lord to the best of my ability, as I always have,” Selena said with her enticing, silvery voice, training her gaze on Lorcan. “Food should never be his High Lord’s concern, yet it never crosses your mind that you should keep him satiated, though you claim to be his High Lord’s mate.”
She kept scolding me, painting me black. I was no match for her in playing these games, but I didn’t play anyone’s games.
“Whatever.” I shrugged.
I turned my glare onto Lorcan, black fire sparking in my eyes. “Are you just going to drink from them?”
“You know I won’t have anyone’s blood but yours, dulcis,” he said, amusement and hunger glinting in his eyes. “I was about to order a bottle of blood wine.”
“You don’t need cold blood wine,” I grunted. “You have me. We just need to sort this thing out in a more organized way in the future, or maybe put it on a schedule or something.”
“But who’s keeping the schedule, dulcis?” he asked. Now he was playing.
Lorcan was patient and strategic. He hadn’t staged this, but he’d allowed Selena to run a fool’s errand to remind me that he was hungry.
To be fair, I wasn’t simply his food. He also reciprocated and let me drink his blood, even though I was at the top of the food chain and could take in anything. His blood was nearly as potent as Phobos’ godly energy, only without side effects. I didn’t require his blood, though, and I didn’t want to become addicted to him.
But this mate thing with all the males was getting complicated as I fought for absolute freedom. Remaining unattached seemed impossible and even foolish now. Once I’d turned the doorknob and entered the chamber to wake up Lorcan, everything had changed.
I changed.
I’d accepted it back then. But why was I backing away now?
My thoughts drifted to the carnal pleasure that would accompany our blood exchange. I shook my head, trying to clear the sudden haze of lust, trying not to dwell on the image of him pounding between my thighs.
“I see, you aren’t that thirsty.” I eyed Lorcan and asked drily, “Could you wait until I have my dessert?”
“No one will cut short your dessert time, dulcis,” he said. “That I can promise.”
“Fine,” I said. “Then I can compromise. But first things first. I won’t allow anyone to ogle my males. They’re delicious candies and cakes, but they’re my candies and cakes, and I don’t share.” I swept my gaze over my amused mates before turning to Selena and her two bimbos. “Be gone.”
“As she said,” Lorcan said softly.
But the women didn’t even hear that since they couldn’t wrap their minds around their rejection by the High Lord of Night. I bet no man had ever turned down these classy beauties, but my males weren’t ordinary men.
The women glared at me, challenge in their eyes, and they both leaned their breasts against Lorcan’s shoulder.
“You’re molesting him,” I said. “Must I always protect my men?”
I waved a hand, and a strong rush of air dragged the two bimbos away from Lorcan and tossed them through the door.
I heard shrieks and sounds of a crash before the door shut in their faces.
All the servants pressed themselves tightly against the walls to avoid the pull of my wind. They were wise, because my black fire now moved behind the invisible air current like a hissing mean bitch.
“Relax, guys,” I told the servants. “I won’t hurt you if you don’t try to poison me or rob my mates.”
Knowing she’d lost the battle, Selena turned on her heels and scrambled toward the door, but she didn’t make it. My air current heaved her up and threw her out the window, my parting gift to her.
The window shattered, and glass rained down on her outside.
“You got me worried for two seconds there, sweetheart,” Alaric chuckled.
“Cass baby just stepped up as our mate,” Pyrder said with a smirk. “Now she’s going to take her role seriously.”
Reysalor took a sip from his wine and chortled, as if all this was amusing.
And they’d called me immature. I rolled my eyes.
“All I want is for you to claim me as yours, dulcis, and admit that you’re mine,” Lorcan said.
My other mates picked up their former discussion on a hunting game.
With a resigned sigh, Lorcan rose from his seat and stalked toward us. He pulled out a chair near me on the side. The High Lord of Night had come down from his high place.
The door flung open again. The bow-tied head vampire held two big trays above his shoulders, and I spotted a variety of cakes, including my new favorite: chocolate cheesecake.
I shot to my feet and grinned. “Here it comes!”
As usual, all my mates let me have the first pick.
7
Lorcan was with his generals. The vampires were preparing to join the other supernaturals and go to war against the Olympian gods. Reysalor and Pyrder took most of their warriors to the center of Portland to meet with the human rebel leaders.
Meanwhile, Alaric insisted on me parrying with him.
We circled each other in the training room. The moment I saw him distracted, I zoomed in on him. I was losing patience. I didn’t like to stand still for long or just circle him.
My stealthy attack ended up with my back flat on the ground.
My magic was pussy when it came to my mates. It wouldn’t even help me cheat. So I had no advantage over Alaric, and he was as fast as I, if not faster. Furthermore, he had eons of battle experience and I had zero on my resume.
I felt humiliated on the ground, especially with Luke and Rainer watching us and shouting encouragement to me. I had to beat Alaric, even once, so I could sleep tonight.
“Alaric,” I whimpered, wincing. “I think you threw me too hard. My hip bone might be broken.”
Luke and Rainer rushed to me and glared at the demigod.
“Cass needs to be protected at all costs,” Rainer said. He was the next big guy to Hector and full of courage. “Prince Reysalor emphasized it before he left for the city with his twin!”
Alaric glared back at them, but the two warriors didn’t back down, even though Alaric was one of the most unpredictable, formidable bastards.
“Stop your death glare, Alaric,” I said. “At least they sympathize with me.” I then groaned. “I’m hurting. I can’t get up.”
Alaric offered me a hand. “You’re at least a demigod, like me. Your bones won’t break from that light throw. You won’t even have a bruise. I’ll bet on you with all the money—”
“I have no money,” I said in bitterness. I had no bank account.
“C’mon, sweetheart, don’t be a crybaby. You’re too big for that. And don’t try to be cunning. You have the speed. I’ll give you that. But you need training. We need to work on your footwork first. After that, we—”
I grabbed his outstretched hand, pulled it with all my weight, lightning fast, and my foot flew up toward his face to shut him up. Alaric ducked at the last second, which seemed impossible to me. And next, I was in his arms as he hefted me up.
My feet dangled in the air, my face inches from his too-handsome face.
Alaric laughed. �
�If it were these two parrying with you,” he said, jerking his thumb toward Rainer and Luke, “you’d have pulled it off with your speed and sneakiness.”
The fae warriors stared hard at him, but decided not to get into our drama again, since they weren’t exactly happy that I fooled them with my fake injury and groans but couldn’t fool the demigod.
Alaric flicked my nose before putting me down. “Now, you’ll do an hour of footwork as a punishment.”
I was about to protest, but he raised a finger. “I know your contract with Lorcan on the terms of the training, and it includes me as one of your instructors. You promised that you wouldn’t be lazy. You wouldn’t whine. You wouldn’t seek an excuse—”
“Fine, let me just do it,” I said, putting up a hand in surrender to stop his long lecture. All of my mates had learned that lectures grated on my nerves.
Alaric almost never let me get my way. Unlike Reys, the demigod was a born hard-ass who didn’t know how to spoil a classy woman.
I put my lips between my teeth and thought of spending less time with him in the future. But then when I gazed at his cut chest and powerful legs, I wasn’t sure if I could carry out my promise.
“You need to practice basics,” he said. “Footwork is important. We’ll start with the horse stance. It trains not just your posture, but your patience, balance, inner strength, and—
“Fine, fine,” I said. “I have a lot of inner strength already. I know the drill. I’ll just do it.”
He chuckled. “I wasn’t one who used to talk a lot, Cass sweetheart. But I find talking to you enjoyable.”
My eyes went wild. I hoped he wouldn’t talk this much in bed. My mind drifted to an image of tangling limbs with him, which made me want to fan my flaming face.
I hadn’t been naked with Alaric. I wondered what it would feel like to have him in my bed, skin on skin.
I sighed, dragging my mind back, bracing my legs wider than my shoulders as I’d been told, and lowering my butt.
Alaric adjusted my posture here and there, forcing me to keep lowering my legs but lifting my ass. His touch was pleasurable, so I didn’t swat at his hands.
I stayed in that stupid, awkward position for a long time, I felt.
“I don’t see this pose has anything to do with inner strength,” I said. “And, Alaric, I really need to pee.”
“You peed less than ten minutes ago,” Alaric said.
“I have a smaller bladder than you. I’m a petite woman, and I drank a big pitcher of water. And why do you keep counting how many times I use the bathroom?”
“Cass, must I remind you again—”
Just when I was about to tell him, “Fuck it,” I felt energy burst in the air.
And terror struck Rainer’s and Luke’s faces.
I straightened, staring at Alaric, blood draining from my face.
“Phobos is on the loose,” I said.
Alaric cursed and burst into a run. I raced after him, my heart pounding in my dry throat. Luke and Rainer stumbled after us as they tried to shake off the terror that had leeched into them.
When we reached the underground cell, I wasn’t even panting, but the sight of the vampire guards’ bodies littering the ground knocked the breath out of me.
The door to Phobos’ cell was torn from the hinges, and the room was empty.
“How did this happen?” I shrieked. “I kept him in a low-energy state, and I was about to come down to take a sip from him to simmer him down again.”
Alaric sniffed, his eyes burning dark fire. “There’s a new scent here that doesn’t belong to the guards. Someone worked with Phobos and set him free.”
“Who’d want to set him free?” I cried. “Phobos was born a psycho, whose only purpose is to strike terror in the world, in the heart of every living being!” I darted my eyes around frantically. “Could his buddy gods have found him?”
We were not safe here.
“If there were gods, they’d have brought an army,” Alaric said. “I’d have sensed them.” He gave me a look that said, “It’s an inside job,” before turning to study a dead vampire guard on the ground.
There was a gaping wound in the vampire’s chest, evidently from Phobos’ spear. He hadn’t been able to summon his silver spear while he was locked and kept in a low-energy state.
“Someone knocked out the guards first, released Phobos, and had him impale all of the guards to cover up the trail,” Alaric said coldly. “The traitor didn’t realize it was a bad move to pull a stunt like that while we—Lorcan’s bond-brothers, the most experienced warriors—are all here.”
“We need to lock down this place,” I snarled.
It had been so hard to catch Phobos, and his escape endangered the entire court.
Rainer and Luke stood behind us, their eyes wide with terror and rage. The trace of Phobos’ influence lingered in the air.
I closed my eyes, centering my mind and tracking the energy signature Phobos had left behind. When I opened my eyes, they started glowing.
I’d found the link to Phobos.
“He isn’t out of the zone,” I said hoarsely. “Let’s go get him.”
Alaric nodded, turning to Rainer and Luke. “Alert Lord Lorcan to the god’s escape. Tell him there’s a mole among us. Call your princes back. I’m going after the god with Cass.”
“We should go with you.” Luke insisted. “Our job is to protect Cass.”
“You can’t keep up with us,” Alaric said. “Go, tell Lorcan, now!”
Without waiting for the fae warriors to answer or protest, Alaric and I dashed up the stairs.
I led, and Alaric followed.
We shot out of the fortified compound that once held Phobos prisoner, leapt over more vampire bodies littered along the way, and left Lorcan’s mansion far behind.
By now, Rainer and Luke must have informed Lorcan, and the High Lord of Night would soon investigate. He wouldn’t be merciful to the traitor.
I was the only one who could track Phobos, because I’d drunk his energy and recognized his imprint. The link was getting faint, which meant Phobos had put greater distance between us.
I sped up, urgency pounding inside me, and Alaric raced right beside me.
We ran miles, faster than a car, and everything we passed blurred by as we shot ahead.
A broad lake loomed ahead.
Just as I was about to halt, Alaric pushed me forward. “With our speed, we can easily cross the water like the land.”
He was right. We reached the other end of the lake, our shoes barely wet. Another lesson learned: I was limited only by my own conditioned, conventional thinking.
Phobos’ energy signature disappeared right after we crossed the lake. I wheeled to face the expanse of the water, narrowing my eyes and tracing the remnant of the god’s imprint.
“He skimmed the water and then he was gone,” I said.
“The fucker teleported in the middle of the water,” Alaric said, rage and frustration darkening his honey-brown eyes.
“Why didn’t he teleport right out of his prison?” I asked.
“Lorcan’s court is heavily warded, every inch of it. Phobos had to be out of the court. He probably wouldn’t want to set off the alarm before he was sure he could safely teleport.”
We shared a look. We all knew what that meant. The God of Terror had escaped, and he knew exactly where we were.
The other gods and their minions would be here in no time.
And they would know all about me, that I could drink their energy. It was the first time in their history that another species was above them in the food chain. They’d do anything in their power to erase me from the face of the planet before I became a bigger threat.
The gods would hunt me collectively.
My heart pounded in icy fear.
Alaric pulled me into his arms. “I won’t let those psycho fuckers touch you.”
I clung to him, burrowing into his warmth and brutality to expel the cold dread. Alaric dipped his
head and kissed me.
His lips tasted sweet and menacing at the same time, exactly like him, his scent of ice, steel, and harsh male enveloping me, comforting me.
As his tongue thrust into my open mouth, dominating and protective, liquid fire instantly pooled between my thighs.
It probably wasn’t time to go further than that.
Regardless of time, space, and the situation, any of my mates could set me ablaze by touching me or merely looking at me as if I were delicious, which they constantly did.
I had consummated my union with Lorcan. My other mates were giving me time, waiting for me to be ready instead of pushing me. Though they all wanted me in their beds more than anything, they let me have the reins.
I’d thought that I had plenty of time to decide. I’d wanted to slow down and taste one thing at a time, but now with Phobos’ sudden breakout, everything had changed.
I might run out of time to savor life, considering that Phobos was so vindictive, and that any moment the gods could bear down on us.
My body was on fire, as urgency kicked in. The vision of Manhattan ablaze across the dark river flashed through my mind, and the impending war with the gods hovered overhead like storm clouds.
I tore my lips from Alaric, the fire of my desire twisting with the acid anxiety in me.
“I need you, Alaric,” I said.
Alaric scooped me up and we flew to the forest ahead.
His intense need for me was just as imperative and raw.
8
The demigod took me deep into the woods, my breasts bouncing against his cut chest, my hands clasped behind his corded neck.
He found a vast silver tree, and without breaking a sweat, leapt with me in his arms. We alighted on a broad branch that could hold at least three people.
A spell—the color of midnight—coiled from him and spread, surrounding us.
Alaric had cast the concealment spell. I had no love for any spell, but I knew my mate would never harm me or try to control me beyond reason.
Alaric gazed at me, his eyes on fire, his lust so deep and fiery it made me tremble. He’d needed this, needed me, just as he first laid eyes on me in the Misery Twist club.
