Page 152

I release a little sound of need because that kind of acceptance pierces a part of me I thought was dead.

Arwan jerks in response. I haven’t shared any of these dark secrets with him, but I also recognize there’s a block that would prevent me if I wanted to.

King Njord.

His influence thrums through the entire isle, controlling it, but he has left Ze’ev untouched.

Which means he’s also unprotected.

How have you survived this long? I wonder.

Perhaps Ze’ev is an amusement for the king, or he’s an exception. Whatever the reason, my spirit entangles with his unimpeded as he presses me against a tree. Then he backs away as he takes my wrists with one of his hands and holds them over my head.

I can’t tear my gaze from Arwan’s as Ze’ev’s shadow drapes over me.

“How do we complete the bond?” I ask. I’m not sure who I’m asking, but I need to know what’s going to happen next.

“Your body needs to go into a proper heat,” Godric explains. “Normally, a shifter’s heat works on a cycle, but yours can be induced with enough coaxing. The shifter part of Ze’ev will need to break it.”

A shiver runs up my spine.

It’s the coaxing part I’m worried about.

“And the vampire part?” I ask, glancing between the three males.

Godric tightens his grip on Arwan as the royal jerks. “He needs to drink enough of your blood to go into bloodlust… then he needs to fuck you without killing you.”

It sounds terrifyingly dangerous, but my entire body hums with anticipation as Ze’ev holds me in place. His gaze drags over me as if he’s deciding what he wants to do first.

He runs his finger over the golden chain on the inside of one of my arms. Then he surprises me by pinching the end and drawing out the whip.

How does he know how to do that?

Arwan growls as if Ze’ev touching the gifted weapon is blasphemy, but Godric holds him in place as Ze’ev wraps the whip around the tree and uses it to keep my wrists secured over my head.

His eyes lock onto mine with a question.

Is this okay?

I don’t hear the words, but I hear his concern. He needs to do this to bond me in the way his beast and his monster want to.

There’s something about restraining me with the protection Arwan had offered, to show him how Ze’ev can take anything the royal gives me and use it for his own purposes.

Even though this is a bonding between the two of us, I sense that the interactions between the triad are very much alive and necessary.

This is just as much for Godric and Arwan as it is for us.

Does Godric want this?

Can Arwan handle it?

Ze’ev turns to them as if he felt my questions rather than heard them.

Godric’s gold band radiates around his irises, but his wolf seems to enjoy the sight of me naked and suspended before them. He had claimed me in the way he needed, and now he is accepting a triad of powerful males.

Ones he knows well.

Perhaps they’re the only males he would ever consider sharing a mate with.