AllFreeNovel
Share Us
His feral grin was my undoing. “Just when I think I couldn’t love you more,” he said, right before capturing my lips in a passionate kiss.
My hands were all over him, roaming his hard chest while he deepened the kiss, his tongue sparring with mine, mimicking the way he probed me with his cock. Elements, I missed sex. When his hand slipped under my gown, gently stroking my inner thigh, I turned to butter in his arms.
He rolled me over, devouring me with his mouth and hands.
Elements, I projected to him. I’m going to combust if you don’t take me.
His wolf howled in my mind, and then we both froze at the sound of girly squeals echoing outside our room. We quickly broke apart and he jumped from the bed as if it was on fire, snatching a pillow and holding it over his body when Finn and the girls came into the room, carrying trays of food.
That ache in me didn’t subside. If anything, the throbbing was more painful.
Nice timing, Ash projected to Finn, shadows falling across his features.
We’re parents now, Finn shot back, unbothered by his brother’s growls while he set his tray on a table beside the bed and took a pitcher from Ember and a platter of empty goblets and bowls from Aurora. We don’t get the luxury of having sex whenever we want.
Then he crossed over to the bed and sat beside me, taking my hands in his. How do you feel? he asked, concern marring his brow.
Better. Still sexually frustrated, I forced a smile and then grunted when Aurora jumped on my legs. No, make that teleported, for she was at the foot of the bed one moment, and on top of me the next.
I shouldn’t have been surprised when Shiri came into the room. I supposed my mates and I would never get privacy again. My sister placed a hand on my forehead, her brow marred as she checked for fever just as our mother used to do to us when we were young. “Isa wishes to speak to us.” She pulled away, smiling softly down at me. “Do you have the strength to walk?”
“I’ll carry her,” Ash grumbled.
Tonight, my love, I projected to him as he swept me into his arms. I’ll make sure we have alone time.
His brow furrowed as his eyes swirled with desire. We may need to run away for alone time.
I cupped his cheek, looking into his silvery blue eyes. A shiver stole up my spine as I recalled this same look of hunger in his eyes the night we met. I’d spent only one night in their arms, and then the next three years I was so consumed in plotting the death of the king I’d thought killed them that I barely ate or slept. I was hardly a mother when I couldn’t even take care of myself. My white magic should’ve bloomed and strengthened, but instead it was corrupted by a venomous hate that poisoned my very soul. No wonder my parents sent me with the mind spinner.
Tari
AFTER THE SATYR PRIESTESSES dressed Shiri and me in robes of the smoothest silk, Ash carried me up the ramp to the outside without complaint, though my big, strong shifter could’ve easily carried someone thrice my weight. Ember and Aurora complained their legs were tired, so Finn placed one child on each of his broad shoulders. They held onto his head and crossed their ankles while beaming. Finn was such a loving papa. The girls were lucky to have him. I frowned, realizing I could hardly be a mother to them until after these demons were defeated. I wondered, though, if my time would always be preoccupied with the demands of being a white witch, and if I would ever truly be the mother they deserved. The thought was a heavy weight on my soul.
Shiri and her mates walked with us. Her mouth was drawn as she looked at me. What’s wrong, sister? she projected through thought.
I don’t think I’ll ever have time to be a good mother, I answered in thought as well, flames of guilt warming my chest.
You’re saving the world to keep them safe. I can’t think of a better way to show them you love them. Besides, they have Finn. She nodded toward my mate as he raced up the ramp, the girls giggling as they bounced on his shoulders. They are well loved. That’s what matters most.
I swallowed back my emotion while silently nodding. She was right, and Finn seemed perfectly content taking care of them. I only wished I could spend more time with them, too. Perhaps one day.
Isa and Triss were waiting outside, sitting in front of the temple entrance, pink hues from the setting sun at their backs and lighting up the membranes in their wings in myriad hues of fire. They sat upright, their tails wrapped around their paws, their chins held high. High Priestess Esther stood in Isa’s shadow, hands crossed in front of her, the expression on her face unreadable. Behind them, hundreds of wyverns perched on the tops of the trees, eyeing us curiously while Radnor circled overhead, his agonized cries piercing my heart. I wondered how long it would take Isa to forgive her mate, if she forgave him at all.
A trail of fireflies greeted us, swirling around my feet and buzzing around my head before flying off, and though they didn’t speak to me through thought, I understood their greetings as if for the first time. Odd, how it felt as if nature itself was speaking to me through them. I had never felt so connected with the outside elements before. Time seemed to stand still as I took in our surroundings, seeing everything through new eyes, from the energy in the particles of dust that floated through the air to the whisper in the warm breeze that tickled my nape.
For the first time, I felt alive, truly alive, and I realized it was the full might of my magic waking up as if it had been in a deep slumber. That magic must’ve been connected to my memories. If love fueled magic, then loving memories of my family had been the fuel I’d been lacking.
Triss squealed when she saw the girls and bound toward us like a playful puppy—though this puppy had the power to crush us underneath her paws.
Ash and Finn let out warning snarls. Shiri’s mates jumped in front of us, shooting arcs of fire into the air.
The baby dragon came to a complete stop, whimpering when her mother stomped on her tail and dragged her back.
What have I told you, child? she said on a growl.
Isa rolled her eyes when the hatchling fell on her belly with a dramatic howl.
Do not continue to test my patience, Isa warned her daughter, else you’ll regret it.
