Page 25 of Crowned By The Blood Alphas

“Rules? What kind of rules?”

“Well,” I go on, “obviously, there are no rules if we’re both present. But if we’re alone with our mate, should we… wait?”

He shakes his head with a growl. “If you think I am strong enough to deny her over your little rules, I have news for you. I will never turn her down.”

“I didn’t think so,” I say with a laugh. “I don’t believe I would be able to either.”

“Then it’s settled. No rules. If we’re together, great. If we’re alone with her, then that’s fine too. It doesn’t matter to me, Cassius. We all share the same soul as far as I’m concerned.”

I nod in agreement. “No jealousy. No envy. She belongs to both of us and nothing will change that.”

“Nothing,” he says, nodding firmly.

“Great,” I say, wrapping my arm around his broad shoulders as we walk down the hall. “Let’s take our girl on a ride she’ll never forget.”

We see her in the stables and like every other time, she takes our breath away. This time, she’s not wearing a fancy dress with her blonde hair falling in curls. She’s wearing riding pants, long black leather boots, and a tunic that hides more than it shows off. Her hair is tied back into a neat ponytail and the accumulation of all that is somehow making her even more appealing. My wolf growls possessively as I look her over, feeling all that intense lust from last night returning with an unstoppable force.

“Our dearest Vaela,” I say, greeting her with a kiss on the hand. “I’m told you’d like to go riding. May we join you?”

She’s blushing as she smiles at me and Tovik.

“That sounds fun,” she says, looking around the empty stables. It’s a massive building, but apart from her silver stallion, there are no other horses. Our kind don’t have much use for them. “But what are you two going to ride?”

I grin as I slowly unbutton my shirt. “Take that horse outside and you’ll see.”

“Oh,” she says, looking a little excited and a little scared when she realizes that we’re not riding horses.

Tovik grabs her waist and easily lifts her onto the horse. “Thank you,” she says shyly.

“My pleasure, Princess,” he says, looking at her hungrily. It appears that his appetite has returned. He looks like he could devour her right now.

“Where would you like to go?” I ask as I take her horse’s reins and guide him outside. “We have a lovely town a nice ride away, or we have beautiful waterfalls east of here, or perhaps you’d like to ride along the Wilderwall and admire it from the other side?”

“I’d like to see the Blood River,” she says fearlessly.

The Hollowborn only come out at night, so she’ll be safe, but I’m still surprised that’s what she’s chosen. I thought any human from Aurevale would want to be as far from the Blood River as possible. She’s full of surprises.

“Wonderful choice,” I say with a smile. “We’ll head east along the river until we⁠—”

She takes off before I finish my sentence, kicking the back of her horse and shooting across the grass like a bolt of lightning. Tovik’s mouth drops open as we watch the horse’s hooves kicking up dirt.

“That’s a fast horse,” he says as she flies across the valley.

“Yeah,” I say as I yank off my shirt. “But we’re faster.”

Chapter Nine

Vaela

My teeth are gritted, my senses heightened, and my pulse is racing as Lark sprints away from the castle. Let these boys try to catch me now.

I turn around, expecting to see them standing back there in shock, but I’m the one who gasps when I see two massive black wolves chasing me.

I nearly slip off my horse in panic until I realize those two wolves are the kings of Varkhar. I know immediately that the large one on the left is Tovik. His snout is thick and scarred with a stout body and powerful paws. Cassius is on the right. His wolf is more slender and lean, with a thinner snout and cunning brown eyes.

A ripple of excitement teases through me, ending between my legs where it turns into a deep, throbbing pulse.

Lark catches their scent as they get closer and accelerates like never before. We fly down the wide, raging Blood River, outrunning the fast current while the boys give chase.