Bonds of the Forsaken: A Reverse Harem Romantasy (Her Forsaken Mates Book 1)

41. Kaiya

”Tye?”

Those yellow eyes bore holes into my own, a mixture of hatred, obsession, and something like fear. His tattooed chest heaved as he stalked closer, and that thing in my chest wouldn”t let me look away.

”Tye, look —” Jaiel said, holding his hands out.

Tye”s nostrils flared as he stared at me, consuming more of me every second our eyes remained locked.

”Tye!” Jaiel placed his hand on the larger man”s arm.

Tye just narrowed his eyes, then let out a quick breath and spun to face the Fae prince.

”She is MINE,” he repeated.

Jaiel”s brow rose, but he didn”t back down. ”So you say. But the Tye I know hates this woman with a passion.”

Tye let out a low growl and planted his feet wider.

Holy hells. Was he planning to fight Jaiel? What a mess!

”Stop!” I held my hands out and stepped between the two of them. ”I”m not sure what”s happening here, but could we all just calm down?”

Tye ignored me. His focus narrowed completely to Jaiel.

That mesmerizing tug in my chest urged me to go to Tye, and I was helpless but to follow its lead, pressing my palm against his — very naked — chest.

At the contact, his entire body froze and I couldn”t help but wonder if that hand was about to be torn from my body.

He turned his intense yellow gaze to meet mine, devouring me as though I were his next meal.

My heart skipped a beat, and my core grew tight as I did the same.

He might be a stalker asshole, but gods be damned … underneath all those uniforms, he hid a very drool-worthy body. Tattoos covered every inch of his arms, shoulders, and chest, accentuating the sculpted muscles there.

And that cock …

It was heavy between his legs, jutting proudly toward me as if demanding I drop to my knees and take it into my mouth.

Forsaken hells! I pressed my thighs together. This was not the time.

I forced my eyes back to the Fae prince, praying he”d do something to snap me out of this strange haze. But the bastard just stared at me, heat blazing in his eyes, a slight smile curling his lips.

My brow arched as my gaze dropped to his fully erect cock. ”Seriously?”

He shrugged. ”What can I say, Princess? There”s something about seeing you standing there mostly naked between us that does it for me.”

Tye let out a low growl, and I looked back to see those bright yellow eyes drinking me in, restrained aggression evident in every line of his posture.

”You. Are. Mine,” he repeated.

Some part of me said I should be furious at that claim. A person couldn”t belong to another. But some other, more primal, part demanded I do the same in response.

I shoved both voices back down as quickly as I could.

Wasn”t Tye strictly in the ”magic is evil” camp?

Yet somehow, we were mate bonded, and he was able to shift into a wolf like a body mage?

Gods. That would explain so much, though.

This whole time he”d harbored some sort of repressed body affinity and an unfinished mate bond!

Wouldn”t a Seeker have been able to see it, though? Unless — Frexin had hid him like she had me.

Holy hells.

”Tye,” the older man said, interrupting my thoughts. ”You need to get your wolf under control before you do something you”ll regret. Go for a run, then come back to the stronghold. Corinne will have something ready to help you. Then we can discuss this with clear heads.”

Tye looked as if he hadn”t heard, but his lip curled, and he let his eyes rake over me once more. Then he shot another glare at Jaiel, who just smiled. Letting out a howl, he pushed past Jaiel and the other shifters to leave the building.

Something deep inside my chest yanked hard as he disappeared from my sight, and I let out a small gasp.

This mate bond was no joke.

”Gather your things,” the man said, motioning at our mounts and packs. ”We”ll escort you to the stronghold and get this mess cleared up.”

Jaiel looked at me, then back at the man. ”Why should we trust you?”

The man”s brows climbed to his hairline, and he let out a sharp laugh. ”You? Trust me? That”s rich. No, boy. I”m the one who needs to be able to trust you. I know exactly what you are. You”re lucky we don”t kill you two on the spot.”

My fists clenched, and Jaiel tensed beside me.

Before we could say anything, the old man held up his hands and shook his head. ”We”re going to trust you, though. And more than that, we”re going to help with whatever it is you two need. If you behave, we”ll even let you come to the banquet tomorrow night. Not because we like you, but because that pup needs our help,” he said pointing to where Tye left. ”I just hope you have a damn good reason for betraying your bond like that.”

He studied us for a few moments, then nodded to himself. ”Besides, something about the three of you almost feels like, I don”t know, some strange version of a pack.”

A pack?

What kind of nonsense was that? The three of us were no pack. He was obviously out of his mind.

”What are you doing, Alpha Blackwood?” The smaller woman hissed, looking as shocked as I felt. ”She doesn”t even smell like a body mage. If anyone finds out about her fucking outside the mate bond and us not doing anything — it could cause the fractures between the groups to grow further. We”re trying to bring Japhire back into the fold, not increase the schism between —”

The alpha held his hand out. ”Enough, Faera. We”ll keep them in the guest wing for now. You saw Tye”s fur. You know what it means.” His voice held a small thread of steel that made me want to listen.

Was that the alpha influence that the texts on body mages mentioned?

The woman must have felt the same because her shoulders straightened, and she stepped back, clasping her hands behind her back. ”Yes, Alpha.”

”May we dress and gather our gear now?” Jaiel asked, voice tight.

The older man nodded, and I bent to retrieve my pack, pulling a fresh change of clothes out in the process.

Jaiel”s elbow bumped mine, and when I looked up, he offered me a soft smile. My lips twitched.

Had I really just given in to my urges and fucked … or almost fucked the legendary Fae prince?

Hells!

Yet I couldn”t imagine going through this new turn of events alone.

Since when had Jaiel become someone I felt like I could rely on? And why was that thought less terrifying than it should be?

Trying not to think about it, I quickly changed clothes, and adjusted Jax”s saddlebags.

The two body mages stood just outside the stone building”s entrance, whispering softly to each other. Alpha Blackwood looked concerned, and Faera seemed as though she were about to cry.

They must have seen me looking because they quickly got quiet and walked toward us.

”Ahem,” Jaiel said from behind me. He stood beside the fleirals, hand held out. ”I know you can do it on your own, but just this once, let me help. Please?”

Shaking my head wryly, I grasped it and climbed up.

He swung up into his saddle, then moved toward me.

The heat of his knee warmed mine as we stood there atop our mounts, and the charisma inside me gave a little jolt.

”We”ll shift,” the alpha said, turning from Faera. ”And lead you on your fleirals. Don”t try to bolt.” He directed his glare at Jaiel. ”I promise we”re faster.”

Jaiel scoffed, and I bit my cheek to keep from smiling.

Seeing him flustered was quickly becoming one of my favorite things.