Page 84 of Storm

“Beast mode?” A thick eyebrow quirks, and I decide that I’m enjoying this playful side to him too much.

“Seraphina said it happens to fae sometimes when they are mated and the fae cannot control their baser animal, especially when their mate is in danger. When you beasted out, we discovered that you have an elemental power.” I save him the details of my almost-death. It’s best if he doesn’t remember. “Long story short, the only thing that seemed to calm you down was me.”

He takes a moment to process the information, hands lingering on my back, head slowly nodding up and down.

“And who is Seraphina?” Seriously, that’s all he took away? “Who is Seraphina?” I pull at his chest hair. “Wife,” he grumbles.

“Fine. She is a fae who helped us get here. She’s really nice. Sunny spent the night with her because you were desperate to get your hands and cock all over me.”

“Sunny is safe?” Panic enters his voice, the fog of his mind falling.

“Yes. I wouldn’t be here if he wasn’t. He’s just in the house opposite us with Adam, whose fae name is Ren.”

The tension in his muscles doesn’t abate at the news, teeth clenched. “I’m not happy with Sunny being around two fae.” The small hairs on my arms rise, wondering if this is the moment I’m going to have to relax him. “But I trust your judgement.” I deflate. He’s trying his best not to throw me over his shoulder and go to our child, I’m sure of it. This is his version of hell.

How the tables have turned.

Stroking the back of his neck, lightly scratching my nails up and down, I inch closer, up his thighs. “Did you know about Ren?”

“No.” That word alone is gruff, telling me the effects I’m already having on him and his naked body beneath mine. A single scrap of underwear is between us. “I had an inkling he was too good to be true. No human has scored higher than I have on both the physical and written exams.” He scoffs. “How his power works within Halo is what interests me. And you still haven’t told me how you got these?” Pushing against the blanket around my shoulders, his gaze descends to the rounded skin I’m showing off for him.

“You wanted to lick and suck and leave your mark on every part of me. Well, that’s just my educated guess because you didn’t talk.” Heat travels the course of my limbs at his lavish perusal.

“I wasn’t talking?”

“No, just a lot of grunting and moaning when I sucked your cock.”

“God, Storm.” His head hits the back of the couch, his eyes shutting firmly. He grasps my hips torturously tight, and I can’t help grinding on the hardness beneath me. “I don’t know how to take this information. I’m really trying to keep it together here.” The hands gripping me shake. “I was taught my whole life that fae were bad, then I found out I was part fae, and I hated them even more. I can’t just be okay with all of this.” Anguished slate eyes gut me. “The only reason I’m holding on by a thread here is because I need you, Sunny, and Phoenix to be okay.” He lets out a ragged breath, closing his eyes again.

I lean in close, running my lips up his rough jaw. “I promise we are all okay. If anything, we are better off here because they have fae who can heal.” My voice is a murmur, travelling over his ear.

My mate huffs despondently. “No one is better off here.” He suddenly pulls back so we are holding grey to grey. Now, we’re the same in the view of Halo. Nothing sets us apart any longer except for the tiny blue that never left my eye. “You don’t get it. They don’t understand.” A hand brandishes towards the door. “This is more than war between humans and fae. They will stop at nothing to prove themselves. They are fucking rotten. You’ve seen nothing of their depravity.”

He’s shaking worse than before. In his stare, I see so much more than worry for our children and me. Melek is scared. It unnerves me. My husband doesn’t get scared. “What are you talking about, Melek?”

“Maybe I should’ve told you,” he mumbles under his breath. Told me what? I want to ask, however, he has his hands on my chin, forcing our faces together before I get the chance. “I kept you in that place because I could control the outcome. I knew who and what had access to you. You think because I was born in Halo, I agree with the bullshit they spout?”

Synapses misfiring, I’m in shock. What did he say? Is he telling me he is against the hollow? I’m missing the punchline.

Ashen grey mixes into swirling silver, his magic close at hand. “Wife, not only do I hate the fae, but I also hate the fucking chosen people.”

I’m at a loss. Melek sits on the council. He is the commander of the Halo armies. “But you go to war for them?”

“I go to war to protect innocent people. I do what I can for humanity. I’ve sabotaged more missions than I’ve run.” Running a finger up my neck, he meets my lips, pushing it in.

Shit. My mouth is hanging open again. I bite down softly. Melek growls, and I release him, allowing his finger to brush faintly down my chin.

“As a boy, I was beaten for going against Halo, so I realised very quickly that the only way to help was to become one of them. I didn’t have a mother to care for me. Nannies and my father were it, corporal punishment my only form of discipline. My father was a very vocal advocate for Halo, the empire. His death was my catalyst. He was the only person who knew my true thoughts of that wretched city-state. That’s why he told me about my fae heritage. Because he knew I would be willing to keep his secret. I have ties to both sides, and I have alliances with none.”

“Melek, why didn’t you say anything to me? I’ve spent the last twelve years thinking you wanted that life for us.”

“I did want that life for us. It was the only way I could keep you safe. I needed to keep up the pretence. The empire is always watching.”

“Don’t you mean you are always watching?”

He shakes his head. “Wife, you don’t even know the half of it. I am a puppet. Halo is an experiment.”

The more he talks, the worse it gets. We have to be better off in the Fairy Lands. We just have to be. There’s nothing that he’s told me that’s dissuaded me from that knowledge yet. “What are you talking about?”