swatted his hand away impatiently.
“You’re not coming,” I teased, staring pointedly at his still erect dick.
When he blushed crimson, I couldn’t contain my giggles.
Yup. Apparently I giggled now.
The door to the workout room opened, and Lupe entered, his head buried
in a thick book.
My Shifter mate, as always, took my breath away. The man was
positively giant, almost brutish in appearance, with a sweep of brown hair
and stubbled jaw that gave him a dissolute look. I’d never found overly-
muscular men attractive before, but somehow, Lupe was able to pull it off.
Seeing him made my mouth water and knees go weak.
A pair of glasses sat on his nose as he pored over the open book.
“Lupe?” I queried, garnering his attention. He glanced up from the tome
with an unreadable expression. My stomach twisted and turned painfully.
“What is it?”
“Bash allowed me to access some of the Mage King’s books,” he began,
rubbing at his stubbled jaw. His muscles clenched, shoulders bunching to
nearly his ears.
“Did you find anything?” I was unable to contain the eagerness in my
voice. The hope. It pierced the painstakingly constructed bomb shelter
surrounding my heart.
Fucking hope.
Only fools believed in it.
“Bash believes he can perform a tracking spell to find Jax,” Lupe
declared, and my entire body deflated in relief. For the first time in days, it
felt like I could breathe again. My lungs were finally capable of taking in air.
Jax.
“Whhhat’s theee probbblem?” Killian managed to ask. I noticed that his
stutter always got more pronounced when he was experiencing a strong
emotion. When his cheeks darkened in embarrassment, I rubbed my hand up
and down his back soothingly.
“The problem is the spell.” Lupe cast me a pointed look. “It requires
something from his mate.”
His ominous words sent a chill racing down my spine. However, it didn’t
deter my resolve. I would give anything to find Jax. Anything.
“The others are already in the library,” Lupe continued, snapping the
book closed and removing his glasses. With a delicateness that belied his
muscular frame, he placed them into his shirt pocket. “I was sent to grab you
two so we can discuss it as a family.”
“Is Dair with you?” I inquired, but Lupe’s hesitation was answer enough.
No. No, he was not.
Killian grabbed my water bottle off the ground and smiled shyly at me
before he and Lupe led me towards the library.
I coughed once, quickly covering the noise with the inside of my elbow.
When I pulled my arm away, I saw a splatter of blood on my skin.
Fuck.
Memories of The Damning bombarded me. Zack, one of the competitors,
had poisoned me before I had killed him.
Fucking shit.
“Z?” Killian asked, oblivious to my horror. He and Lupe stood at the
doors, holding them open. I was grateful Lupe didn’t have his enhanced sense
of smell flipped on or else he’d discover the blood. “You coming?”
Managing a shaky smile, I strutted towards them. “Of course. Let’s get
my mate back.”
TWO
Z
I was unsurprised to find all my mates—minus Dair and Jax—
huddled around a table in the library. I took a moment to survey
them uninterrupted, memorizing their breathtaking features.
Devlin, as always, was bedecked in a formal business suit and cufflinks.
His violet tie accentuated the purple of his eyes, a common trait in every
Genie. With his olive-toned skin and curly brown hair, he was as familiar to
me as my own reflection. I had once stared at his face for hours, never tiring
of his perfection. He had been my childhood sweetheart, my best friend, until
he had broken my heart. And even though he’d apologized and explained
he’d left to protect me, it would still take time for the ache to completely
heal.
Bash stood opposite him, blond hair tousled and emerald green eyes
hooded. He leaned back indolently in the chair, kicking his legs up with a
sneer playing on his sensual lips. Mages, descended from the sin Sloth, were
naturally lazy and languid. It was why they had a surplus of power—to do the
work they refused to do themselves.
Finally, my eyes landed on a Shadow crouched on the windowsill. His
features were obscured, but I knew him to have dark skin, onyx colored hair,
and pouty lips. Scars marred the skin of his face, the wicked white lines
somehow making his beauty even more captivating. However, he chose to
remain hidden in the shadows, too prideful to show his face in public.
“Took you long enough,” Bash muttered. His shrewd eyes narrowed on
me, expression unreadable, before he abruptly turned away. His jaw clenched
with tension.
Devlin immediately stood from his seat, striding towards me and
wrapping me in his arms. He released me only long enough to press his lips
to my forehead before sitting once more in the seat and placing me on his lap.
“So, what’s this about a spell?” I queried, leveling my gaze on Bash. He
pursed his lips as if he had eaten something sour before sighing heavily and
nodding towards Lupe. The Shifter immediately dropped the ancient book
onto the table, dust wafting from its brittle, yellow pages.
“It’s a powerful tracking spell, capable of finding anyone anywhere in
this world,” Bash explained. He brushed his thumb over the cursive words.
“And it involves me?” Though I phrased it as a question, I already knew
the answer. When did shit not involve me? I swore I was swimming in a pile
of poop at this point.
“It involves a sacrifice,” Bash countered. “A sacrifice from the person Jax
loves the most.”
All five men turned to stare at me, eyes piercing. I just barely resisted the
urge to scoff.
“Oh, please. Me? Really? I know I’m his mate—and I even accepted it—
but that doesn’t mean he loves me the most. You guys are his brothers, his
best friends. I’m just… me.” I shrugged helplessly.
“Z, you’re Jax’s entire world,” Devlin said. “I’m pretty sure he
masturbates to a piece of your hair.”
I scrunched up my nose. “That’s disgusting. And that only proves that he
feels lust for me, not love.”
“Can’t he feel both?” Bash retorted. He gave me an indecipherable look
before turning back towards the book, thumbing through the pages.
“So, what do you need from me? A blood sacrifice?” Honesty, at this
point, I was only half joking.
Lupe growled, a low and menacing sound, as if the mere prospect of my
blood being drawn filled him with dread. I wondered how he would feel
when he discovered I was dying.
“An object,” Bash interrupted before Lupe’s growls could intensify. “The
object you treasure the most.”
“The object I treasure the most,” I repeated dumbly. It was almost
comical. There were very few things I cared about and even less tangible
ones.
Bash’s eyes turned pained as he dro
pped his gaze to something in Lupe’s
massive paw. It took me a moment to recognize the pendant held in his hand.
The necklace Diego had given me, the one that transformed me into a
badass assassin when I was competing in The Damning. Though I hadn’t
used the necklace in a while, it held tremendous value. It was the last thing
Diego had gifted me before he died. Before he was murdered.
Tears flooded my eyes before I could contain them. They were asking me
to sacrifice the necklace, the last piece I had of Diego, in order to save Jax.
I knew I was going to give it up. There was no doubt about that in my
mind. Jax was worth everything and then some, but it didn’t negate the
intense pain unfurling in my chest. It felt like offering up the pendant was
saying goodbye to Diego.
“If there was any other way...” Devlin insisted softly, his lips grazing my
earlobe.
Even Bash, the moody asshole, was staring at me in pity. Fuck, I hated
pity, especially coming from him.
“Do it,” I managed to stutter out through clenched teeth. My muscles
were taut and rigid—the string on a bow before an arrow was released. Any
second now, I would be let loose on the unsuspecting population. Heaven
only knew what that would entail.
Bash continued to study me, a muscle in his jaw clenching, before he
nodded once. Grabbing the necklace from Lupe, he scooped the book up and
settled it under his arm.
“I’m going back to my room. The spell has to settle,” he explained. His
mossy eyes settled on me once more before dropping to my arm where I had
coughed up blood. His blond brows furrowed, but he didn’t comment.
Surely, he didn’t know the truth, right?
Without another word, he turned on his heel and stomped out of the room.
“When are you going to remove the stick up his ass, Z?” Ryland purred,
his silky voice coming from directly behind me and Devlin. I didn’t bother to
turn around; I knew by the time I looked, he’d be gone.
“The least Bash could’ve done was butter his ass up with lube so he’s not
in so much pain,” I snarked.
Devlin chuckled softly, and even Killian flashed a timid grin.
“You should shower.” Devlin squeezed my waist once, and I whipped my
head towards him in mock horror.
“Are you saying I’m stinky, Lin?” I asked, quirking a brow.
“Not at all,” he answered immediately. “I love the smell of your sweat. It
reminds me of some of our more...pleasurable activities.” At his unrepentant
smirk, I smacked his shoulder.
“You’re horrible.” Sighing, I reluctantly got to my feet, immediately
missing Devlin’s warmth. When he made a move to follow me, I shoved at
his shoulder until he fell back onto the seat. “Nah huh. You called me stinky.
No shower sex for you.”
My other mates chuckled as I wiggled my fingers at them in goodbye.
Smiling softly, I exited the library and moved down the twining halls of the
Capital.
I was always in awe of the building that served as the neutral ground for
all seven Nightmare kingdoms. It was a mismatch of architectural styles and
cultural symbols designed to evoke connotations of wealth and status.
Hundreds of windows allowed a copious amount of sunlight to enter, and
paintings lined the walls. The portraits depicted everything from blue-skinned
Genies to Incubi in the throes of passion.
I made it back to my bedroom easily enough. Honestly, I expected to be
assaulted by at least one King. Those men were ruthless assholes.
In my room, I stripped out of my sweaty clothes and threw them into the
laundry bin. One of the human servants would arrive and wash them later
today—despite my protests that I could wash them myself.
I turned the water dials on, watching the steam mist up the mirror. Fuck, I
loved this shower more than life itself. It even had an ass massager.
Stepping under the spray, I made quick work of scrubbing pomegranate
body wash into my skin. I had just put my shampoo in my palm, prepared to
rub it into my curly blonde hair, when the bathroom door opened and closed.
“Lin?” I asked, expecting to see my violet-eyed mate. Instead, a familiar
broad-shouldered male stared back at me through the glass, eyes ablaze with
banked heat. “Lupe?”
The Shifter rumbled—the sound carnal and primitive—before he took a
step closer. The mist from my shower was molding his shirt to his perfectly
sculpted body. Fuck, Lupe was a work of art.
“I’m sorry,” Lupe murmured, but he didn’t step away and his eyes didn’t
leave my body. “Fuck, you’re gorgeous. Your hair reminds me of liquid gold.
Of fine silk I long to purchase and covet. And your body… all of your supple
curves and flawless skin...”
His breath hitched, pupils dilating with desire, and I couldn’t help but
smirk. “You’re quite the poet, aren’t you?” I teased, enjoying the way his
cheeks darkened. It always struck me as strange that a man as large as him, a
man that evoked fear in others, could be such a hopeless romantic. He had
journals of poetry beside his bed. “So, what do you say, Poet? You wanna
join me?”
Lupe didn’t need to be asked twice. He quickly ripped his shirt over his
head, being mindful of his glasses still in his pocket, before sliding down his
packing, there was no other word for it. I could see the outline of his cock
through the thin material of his underwear. When his thumbs hooked under
the waistband, I thought my lady parts were going to explode.
Wouldn’t that be a way to die.
Here lies Z the Assassin: died of cock before penetration.
I would never hear the end of it.
My breath caught as he wrenched them down his muscular, shapely legs,
his cock jutting to attention.
Fuck, it was massive. I shouldn’t have been surprised—Lupe himself was
a beast of a man—but fuck. That thing could kill a girl… or, at the very least,
her vagina.
My smile slipped as I thought about that monstrosity in any hole other
than my pussy. Nope, not going there. I would become, as Killian put it,
“stabby.”
“You like what you see?” Lupe asked with a carnal grin. He slid open the
glass shower door and joined me beneath the spray.
“That... thing is not entering me,” I said immediately. Fuck, did Lupe have
to register that with the Kingdom as a deadly weapon?
He rolled his eyes heavenwards as if looking for patience.
Tough luck. He wouldn’t find any help up there.
“My vagina is capable of a lot of things,” I continued slowly, seriously,
hoping my words would penetrate that thick head of his. “It pops out babies,
for one. Babies, Lupe. But that python? It’ll fucking break me.”
He scoffed. “It won’t break you. This isn’t the first time—”
I placed my hand over his mouth. “Don’t you fucking finish that
sentence, Lupe Shifter, or so help me God, I’ll cut that big ass penis off and
shove it up your anus. Then you can understand my pain.” I stared in
tently at
his throbbing dick. “It’ll be like putting a bazooka through a donut hole.
We’ll need to work up to that very, very slowly. I’ve had a lot of cocks,
Lupe, but that is something else entirely.”
“First of all, don’t talk about the other cocks you had prior to me.” His
tone darkened considerably as if he was imagining the brutal murders of all
the young men I had fucked before him. “Second, your donut will be fine.”
“You know what you do with a donut?” I asked snidely, stepping up on
my tiptoes to push down on his shoulders. “You eat it.”
“Maybe if you’re a good girl and ask nicely,” Lupe teased, but he
obediently dropped to his knees. Fuck, if that wasn’t the sexiest sight known
to mankind. He stared up at me through his fluttering lashes. “Say please.”
“Please,” I gasped, my core aching, throbbing, wanton.
“Please…?” His smile was sinful, exuding an aura that nice girls ran from
kicking and screaming.
But I’d never been a nice girl.
And this man? He made me want to be bad. Very, very bad.
“Please, sir,” I huffed, and I was greeted by his glorious smile.
With a show of impressive strength, he grabbed both of my legs and
threw them over his shoulders. His hot breath wafted over my naked core,
and I groaned, dropping my head back against the slick shower wall.
“Do you want my tongue in you, Baby? Do you want me to lick all of
your cum? Do you want to imagine it’s my fat cock in you?”
“Yes…” I groaned, jerking my hips in an attempt to ride his face. He
chuckled deliciously, the noise vibrating through me, before he lowered his
face to my pussy and began eating me like I was his last fucking meal. Like
he was dying, and only my juices could sustain him.
I gasped incoherent praises as he licked and sucked at my sensitive
bundle of nerves. One of his huge fingers entered my channel, joined quickly
by a second one. I didn’t know how he was capable of holding me up while
hand fucking me, but I no longer cared. All I cared about was the impending
orgasm coursing through me and setting me aflame.
His mouth left my core, leaving me feeling bereft, before he returned with
a vengeance, attacking and biting at my clit.
“Fuck!” I cursed as his hand smoothed over my backside. One of his
fingers entered my puckered hole, using my own juices as lubrication. “Fuck!