Wherever I was, it felt like a freaking sweatbox. I kicked my feet free of the blankets. Ah, blessed coolness. At least for my legs. My upper body was still roasting in the heat. I pushed against the hard arm that kept me sweat sealed to the body behind me. The body behind me.I turned over, popped up on one elbow. A smile stretched my mouth until I felt like an idiot. Saint was here. He was with me. Touching me. Without pain. Without either of us being pulled to the spirit world. Honestly, I couldn't remember feeling this instant pull, this almost magical bond with Ransom that I do with Saint. A hint of sadness filled me. Am I such an awful person? The smile fell from my mouth as I contemplated my life. I know these guys shared women, but how did their women deal with being shared? Did they love each man equally? Wasn't that how this was supposed to go?"Keep looking at me, I'm going to assume you're fully awake," he mumbled. Saint's voice pulled me from my thoughts
My eyes were only for Kiema as Ransom shucked his boxers. I'd seen the man naked more times than I could count. Eh. Still not my cuppa.The long luscious lines of Kiema, though? Those I could get lost in for days. The honey of her skin beckoned me. Ransom sat up against my headboard, a hiss as the cold metal touched his back. He pulled my new favorite dessert into his arms. Their fingers intertwined, a measure to keep her from touching me before I was ready. He locked his legs over hers, a sort of bracer to keep her legs spread, her cunt open for me, whatever I chose to do with it. Her pupils dilated as Ransom got her locked down. She really did like this. With Ten's help, I could now identify the smell of our Mate. So much fuller bodied than simple berries and amber. I could smell the sharp spicy scent of lingonberry mixed with the honey I likened her skin tone to. The spice of the amber scent was there, but it was both mellower and brighter with this newfound olfactory
"Blackhammer89, you've got unfriendlies on your six," I said into the headset. "Roger that MindFreak," came the reply. I fired on the enemies with my virtual gun, bullets sprayed and bodies fell in their wake. The picture flickered on my screen. "What the fuck?" I hit the side of it with my hand. That had never happened before. The picture steadied. I kept on blazing through enemy lines. We had to secure the package before it was airlifted off the island. The picture flickered again. Right before a loud electrical pop sounded through my headset. The lights went out as the fire alarms went off. "What the fuck is happening?" I shot through our mental network as I threw off the headset. I started counting down the seconds until the backup generator turned on.. Ten.Nine. I grabbed the right keyboard, my fingers flying over the keys to do a system check. We were completely black.Seven."Xander, if you've blown another breaker, I'm beating your ass," Asher
I looked down at the phone in my hand as it vibrated again. I wasn't sure what was real anymore. Dragons, goddesses, and spirit tigers...oh my. CODE RED. CODE RED. CODE RED."Fuck. Guys we've got a Code Red. Xander, give her to Lukas. We're going to need you on electronics."Lukas stepped forward. Xander snarled at him."Now, Xan. We don't have time for a pissing contest. He doesn't want her body anyways," I said as I pushed everyone else into the elevator. Xander let Lukas take her from his arms. Once he had her securely tucked against him, Xander pushed up from the sofa."She gets hurt, you die." Brushing by him, Xander didn't wait to see what the other man would say. "Right, mate," he called after my brother. I punched the elevator call button again to keep the doors open. Lukas stepped in, forcing the rest of us to the back of the now too full car. I hit the button for Xan's third-floor unit. "We need to know the fives, Xan. Fast.""The fives?" Lukas asked.
I climbed into the military vehicle, medical bag in hand. I set it on my lap as Taryk pulled out of the lab's bay doors. I rubbed at my hands. I know they didn't have literal blood on them, yet. But the idea that I'd taken those lives, without knowing them, without being able to look in their eyes shredded me. I'd gone into medicine to help those who needed healing. Not kill those who threatened me and mine.And that's what it came down to. They threatened my family, Kiema, my life, my livelihood. I could live with the stain against my soul for that. For them. For us. For me."Okay, bro?" Taryk asked quietly from the driver's seat.I nodded my head, continued to look out my window."I'm here if you need me."I nodded again. He'd been there the first time I'd had to protect us this way. I knew he would be there every time it came down to us or them. I thanked Gaia for that. Even as I prayed I'd never have to protect us in this method ever again."Aeron is pulling himself alo
"Gather round, folks. Come one, come all. See the man who molests little girls, beats his adopted daughter, tries to kill innocents, and sells out to the highest bidder," Asher said as we frog walked Juan into Xander's kitchen.Kiema walked forward, rage in her silvery gray eyes. "Juan. How unpleasant to see you." She crossed her arms over her chest.Xander stood next to her.I could almost feel the insanity of need pulsing through my brother to lay into this man. I looked to Saint and Asher. They nodded almost imperceptibly. We let our prisoner go.Juan lurched forward, his hands raised as if to wrap them around his adopted daughter's throat.Xander pulled Kiema behind him, and then kicked Juan right in the face like he was trying to break down a locked door. The smaller man didn't even get a chance to change directions before he dropped to the floor like a sack of shit.Kiema crawled up Xander's back. "My hero." She pressed kisses all over him as she clung to his back.
"Why does Xander sound like a zoo escapee?" I asked as Taryk and I walked out of the elevator.The group on the couch burst into greater laughter.The scent of disgusting sweat, tears, blood, snot, and other bodily fluids I didn't care to catalogue caught my more sensitive nose. I turned to look at the pile of Juan laying on the floor."What happened to him?" I asked.Kiema lifted her foot in the air. A familiar boot was tied to the end of her leg. "Damn, Ki-Ki." I shuddered.Xander turned, made a cutting motion over his throat.I nodded."I got the Hold ready for him. You guys want to help me move him?" my twin asked.Ransom and Saint pushed up from the couch, draping the single blanket there over Kiema's body."I can help. I need to talk to you two," Taryk said."Just you and me, Ki-Ki." I jogged the handful of feet and launched myself over the arm of the couch. My belly landed on Kiema."Ouff!" She slapped my ass. "You're so heavy.""Cuz I'm a bear, baby." I
An odd glow began in my chest, almost as if someone had hugged my heart. I shifted against Taryk's cat. He huffed at me as if I'd irritated him. I rubbed a hand down his tail again."Will I get to meet Anda?" I asked Tenny/Saint."I do not see why not. But that would be a question for the goddess you host. You should be able to talk to her.""I saw her in our spirit plane, honey," Saint said as their eyes changed to show who was speaking. "I think she is the form you take when in the spirit world. She's also probably the one who's been helping you with healing and magic."I nodded. "That makes sense. It makes more sense than me having all this magic for no apparent reason.""Do not belittle your own massive gifts, Mate. To house one such as Anda, your natural born magic must have been quite high. She could not share space with a weak host. Her magic would have destroyed your body if you were unable to shelter her," Tenny/Saint said."You're the only one who has been inside
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