"Is she going to be okay?" I asked Asher after he'd turned back into his human form. "Kiema?"He turned as he pulled his shirt over his head. "I knew who you meant, Cherry. And yeah, the guys will take care of her.""I feel like I should be with her." I rubbed a hand over my arm. Something felt like it was prickling under my skin. "Doing something for her.""What would you do?" he asked as he joined me on his couch.I shrugged. "I have no idea. I've never been around someone who's lost someone like that."He chuckled. "I'm pretty sure none of us have. Asta was a bitch of the highest order before she started wearing humans as winter coats. One thing I know about my little sister though: give her time. She'll share when she's ready."Another prickle surged under my skin. I nodded. "Okay."We sat there in silence for a while. It was nice to be around someone else, even if just sitting in the quiet. "I don't know if I've said it yet, but I really am sorry for how I acted w
I threw my clothes off like my body was on fire and Cherry was my extinguisher. I was all up in her business the nanosecond I was bare naked. I chuckled. More like bear naked. Our kiss turned from loving to a clash of lips and teeth as a low moan slid from her sexy pink mouth. Her head tipped back as I nibbled my way down her neck. The wavering, pulsing brand on her chest...I traced it with my tongue. One of the points was directing me to her right nipple. I had to follow its demand. Wrapping my tongue around the hard point, I rolled it with my tongue. Taking the sensitive nub between my teeth, I flicked my tongue over the tip as fast as I possibly could. "Switch," Xander called. I almost pouted as I handed her over, but I was so fucking excited she was mine, ours, that I didn't mind. Too much.I helped Cherry climb into Xander's arms. As she got settled, I ran my hands over all of her skin I could touch. It was as smooth as silk and made my mouth water. I leaned forward and
"How many was that, honey? I think you stopped counting," I called to my restrained mate. Her ass was the prettiest shade of pink. Her pussy was dripping her cream all over my sheets. "Of course, I stopped counting. You kept starting over at one, you demon." She wiggled her ass at me. I smacked it again. Her muscles bucked and jumped under my hand. "Fuck that's hot," Kord said from the couch. Hearing his voice had me turning to look over at him. He'd been invited to stay. Kiema hadn't let him participate. I smiled as I remembered what she'd done as we pushed through the door up to my level. I'd smothered a laugh as she'd glared at Kord and said, "You know what you did, you asshat." She pointed to the couch. "Maybe if you aren't a bitch, you'll get to play next time."He'd opened his mouth to argue, shut it when she glared harder at him. He had trudged to the couch, his head hanging low. He'd gotten on the couch and blatantly turned to watch us.I barely knew the man
Two days later "Gaia, do they make vagina ice? Seriously, I feel like I've been riding a horse for the last forty-eight hours," I complained to Kiema as we sat on Asher's level and ate brunch at the family table. All of my guys high-fived each other. Kiema giggled and rolled her eyes. "Not that I've been able to find." Her men fist bumped. "Security alert. Security alert," the warehouse comm system announced. Immediately the men went into battle mode. Even Kord, although he looked a little lost as to what he should be doing. "I want the fives," Taryk barked as everyone headed to the stairs. I looked at the elevator with a sense of sadness. I hated climbing up stairs. Or down them. I just hated stairs. "What are the fives?" I asked Kiema. "Who, what, when, where, why," all the men answered. Even Kord. Kiema chuckled stiffly and pulled me up behind her. We all landed in Xander's level as he raced to his wall of screens. I stood there in shock at the amount o
Pushed back between the roof access wall and the wall of men, Scarlet and I waited to find out what was happening. She nudged me with her elbow, indicated I should lean down. I lowered my head. "I can get us closer without them knowing." She tilted her head at our manly barricade.I nodded, my eyes lighting up. She reached out, entwined her fingers with mine. A slight buzzing sensation rushed over my skin. We scooted along the wall until we could see what was happening. A couple feet away from the men, I watched as the flying beings lifted higher into the air right before they dropped to the roof. They all landed with one knee down, opposite hand clenched into a fist and propped against the roof. As one, they all stood up. They seemed to move like they were one being. The man in front was the shortest. Which meant he was about my height, if maybe a couple inches more. His long blue hair lifted and blew in the wind. "Greetings. I am Prince Alok Trisgella." He bent his h
The self-declared prince was looking at me with wide, shocked eyes. "I'm guessing Princey Pants here doesn't get talked to that way very often, Atty," Asher said with a chuckle down the mental link. "Obviously not," Saint said. Prince Alok turned, completely disregarding us men, and talked to the empty area of the roof. "Goddess, we have been waiting for the portals to open for almost one hundred years. Why have you kept them shut to us? Have we offended you in some way?" His shimmering cheeks were burnt with red as his tricolored eyes glinted in the early afternoon sun. "You might as well unmask yourself, Kiema and Scarlet. We know you're not behind us...where you're supposed to be," Taryk said out loud, his voice clipped and harsh. I smiled again, glad neither of these two troublemakers were my mates. Thank Gaia for small favors. Kiema and Scarlet popped into view. The men and women standing behind the prince all dropped to a knee, their heads bowed, clenched fis
"Awesome. Super glad to know that simply by existing, I'm now a wanted woman." I pulled from Kord's arms. It felt like someone had told me I needed to go back to Feuer Tower and willingly submit myself to slavery again. Here was another group of freaking people who needed me. I didn't know them from the Joneses, but they were bound and determined to make their mess mine. For some unknown reason, everyone wanted to party with Kiema Freaking Feuer. "Then you'll help us," Alok said, a smile of relief banishing the stress that had pinched his features. "I said nothing of the sort. Why should I help you? Were you here when Juan and Ferria were slowly trying to kill me? When the guys needed days without pain? When Scarlet was homeless? No. You don't get to roll up on us like this, drop your pile of shit at our feet, and expect us to clean it up for you. You are all free to leave," I said. I waved a hand in the air and began pushing through my men. "But Goddess!"I swallowed the
"And you would be?" I asked, stepping forward. I raised my hand in welcome to this man. At least Ten nor I wanted to beat the shit out of this one. The other one...he should be glad Kiema had slapped him back. I'd have just slapped him off the roof. "You can call me Oliver," he said as he reached out and shook my hand. "I am pleased that my sister has such strong men in her corner. Ones that do not squelch her spirit, but stand by in case she needs their strength. You honor her with your control, even as it causes you grief."I chuckled. "Either that or I never get to have sex with her again. I have to weigh the battles I'm willing to engage in. Oliver, nice to meet you. I'm Saint."Kiema elbowed me in the belly. The rest of the guys introduced themselves. I looked at the group of Wardens standing back as Oliver was greeted like an old friend or family.Alok, especially, looked like he was about to throw a temper tantrum. His arms were crossed over his chest, his foot tappi
Three months later"And I'm telling you right now, dad, that if you want to ever see these babies, you'll stop sending my mates to the Underworld for a cooling off' period. That shit is getting old," I said as I waddled into the hospital built for gods and demi-gods. He chuckled beside me. "But, bubbles, they deserved it. Crowing like they built Olympus bare handed. They were getting on your Circle's nerves. I could tell." He said as he lifted me into the bed. "Bring them back, dad. Now." I glared at him. Even though, on the inside, I was smiling like a loon. This was the type of relationship I'd always dreamed of having with a father. He sighed, a smirk still pulling at his mouth. With a snap, my three mates stumbled into the room."Damn it, Apollo," Saint said as he flicked his shirt. "Cerberus almost got me that time."My dad's head tipped back as he laughed and laughed. The babies inside me loved that sound. They kicked at my belly. I rubbed at the spot. "Easy
Six months later"Last time, I'll ask. I swear." Kiema swallowed heavily as she moved around behind me. "You promise you're okay not getting your deer back?" Kiema asked me as flicked the fabric of my dress this way and that to get it to lay perfectly.I waited until she looked up at me. That look of slight hesitation on her face tugged at my heart. "I promise. I was never meant to be a deer. A shifter of any kind."She nodded, sniffled quietly. "You ready for the rest of this then?" Kiema asked me as she adjusted the crown of flowers in my hair. "So much more than ready. I've been waiting for this my entire life." I bit back the tears that wanted to flood my throat. Not today. I wouldn't ruin this day with tears.She smiled as she stepped back. "You look beautiful, little sister." Tears gathered in her eyes. I held up a hand, looked at the ceiling. "Don't do that. I told you I wasn't crying today. You start crying, then I'll start crying. Then we'll have to postpone e
The next night"Wake up, Saint," I said softly in our shared consciousness. I could barely contain myself. I had felt the swell of magic. Had felt it when it took root."Saint," I said again. The man slept like a rock at the bottom of a spring. "Mgmgs," he mumbled.Forcing our arm to move, I slapped our face. He shot up, his teeth bared. "Who's there?" he called out. "It's me, you buffoon," I said.Our head cocked to the side. "Ten? Why are you waking me up? Can't whatever it is wait until morning?" He snuggled back down into the comfortable bed in our new home. "No." I shook our head so he would fully wake up. "Wake up!"He sat up, pulling the blankets with him. "I'm awake. What can't wait until the morning, Ten?""Kiema is pregnant.""WHAT THE FUCK!?"I snickered as everyone in the room burst from the bed, fists and knives raised in defense. "What is it?" Ransom's head turned back and forth quickly, visually sweeping the room. With a grunt at its emp
Two weeks later"Are we finally going to try this? We've been prepping for what feels like forever." I licked my way up Saint's neck. He shivered as his fingers curled into the flesh of my ass. "Maybe we should wait one more day. I don't want to hurt you."I rolled my eyes under the cover of my closed lids. This man. So dominant. So caring. So sure I wasn't ready to take one of them in my ass. I guess I'll just have to show him that I was more than ready.I slid down his body. A wave of magic and all of us were naked as the day we were born. As I sucked his cock into my mouth, Kord came up behind me.Curling around my back, he pinched my nipples with one hand. With his other, he slid a hand down my belly and straight over my clit. With a sharp movement, his fingers were deep inside me. I groaned around Saint's dick as waves of pleasure washed over me. Sprinkled with the counterpoints of pain from Kord getting my nipples ready for the clover clamps. I felt my core cream at
The next day"Torture and then straight back to bed. I don't care that your father is the god of healing. This is ridiculous, Kiema," Atlas said as we stood in the elevator on our way to the basement level."Don't get trapped in the dungeons," Apollo had said as he laid his palm against the electronic plate on the wall of the elevator.Right. Dungeons in a god hospital. Gods were freaking weird.I patted his cheek. "I've got my main medical provider right next to me. I'll be fine. Besides I feel like a million bucks."He huffed a laugh as Mason and Lukas came up beside him. I wiggled my eyebrows at Atlas, looked over his shoulder, back to his face.He chuckled and rolled his eyes. "Yes, little sister. We've decided to try being a thruple."I wrinkled my nose. "What kind of word is thruple?""A three-person couple, luv," Lukas answered. I snorted. "And you guys won't let me make up words? That's a heaping load of Berserker shit right there."We were all laughi
I pushed the other two through the doors. I wasn't waiting another minute to see my girl. I'd felt her die. Felt my spirit try to follow her down that long tunnel. My heart had stopped beating when I saw Heppni literally rip her heart from her chest and crush it. But here we were. Alive. Healing. She was pale against the bright white sheets of the hospital bed. Although it was unlike any hospital I'd ever been in. Apollo said something about it being a place for gods and goddesses. I shook my head. It didn't matter to me what it was as long as it made her better. She looked over as we rushed in. Her eyes searched each one of us before returning to me. Tears flooded her eyes as I pulled her into my arms. We all sat on the bed, curled and huddled together while she got it all out. The guys and I had had some truly brutal boxing matches to deal with our own emotions. I was still achy and sore from a couple of well-placed hits from Kord. The man might be a nerdy librarian, b
My chest hurt. I tried to rub it, but my arms were restrained. "Easy there, bubbles. You'll pull your stitches if you do that," a man said. His voice was soft and melodious. Like listening to angels sing. Angels. Something about that word tickled my brain.Angel. Almost. Almost.Ransom. As soon as I thought his name, his face popped into my brain. I tried to sit up. Made it a couple inches before I was pushed back to the bed beneath me. I opened my eyes. Ignoring the stabbing pain that slid into my eyeballs, I blinked to clear my vision. A bright white room greeted me. The only color in it was the man who had a hand against my chest. I looked down at his hand. Looked up at his face. Raised an eyebrow. "Get the fuck off, perv. My mates will rip you to shreds."He huffed a laugh and removed his hand. "I doubt your mates will be doing much more than breathing for a couple more hours, but I'm glad to see that you're back, bubbles. Have a nice nap?" I leaned ba
Everyone Hellion had made me vow to keep alive fell to the ground as if they were puppets and their strings had been cut. Fuck, fuck, fuck. I hurried to the closest one's side. Pushed two fingers to his neck. Gone. I was so fucking dead. I blasted an oncoming human with a burst of magic. He withered where he stood. I sank to my knees next to the small woman with bright white hair. She was gone as well. The woman with the long brown hair threw her blade into an approaching Direct. It sliced through him like he was air. With wild eyes, she didn't even try to gather the particles of his passing. She pushed me aside as she cradled the smaller woman to her chest. "No no no not my baby no no no please no no," she wailed. Her agonized scream was muffled against the smaller woman's head.The rest of the humans who had interrupted our plans were either dead or falling back the way they'd come. Movement drew my eye. I squinted as I tracked it across the street. It wa
I sent another stream of fiery magic at the Direct who thought to protect my mother. Some pansy-assed gifted asshole wasn't going to stop me from hunting my mother down and killing her. With a wave of my hand, a path cleared. With a curl of my fist, humans fell to the ground, their spines crumbled into dust. "I'm coming for you, Herpes," I screamed at the top of my lungs. She scurried away, down the side street towards the fighting arena I'd created for us to use for practice. I picked up my pace and followed her. "You better be fucking careful, honey," Saint said through my head. He was working with Arasne and Felix at the opening of the street where the humans were still grouped. The Faeries had set up a blockade of sorts, forcing the humans into a bottleneck situation. They were taken down one by one as Ransom had his horde of beasts funneled them through the line of magical warriors. "Always, Saint baby. See you in a bit." I rushed down the street Herpes had