Chapter 14
rune
. . .
There was something about Drecken’s family estate that truly felt like home.
The Grimsworn Estate was perched on the edge of a cliff in Cursinia, built into the mountain itself. The protection wards buzzing around it made it feel safer than anywhere else in Kalista.
Inside, everything smelled of ancient magic, old tomes, and potions brewing. It warmed my heart because it smelled of Drecken and what I imagined his parents had smelled like.
Even though I’d never met his parents, I almost felt as if I knew them. Maybe it was because of the painting of the two of them smiling above the mantelpiece in the living room.
His mother was gorgeous, caught mid-laugh in a simple but elegant dress. Her long blonde hair was twisted up in a pretty updo, and her blue eyes, exactly the same shade as Drecken’s, shone bright with mischief.
His father stood behind her, green hair slicked back neatly, one hand resting on her shoulder. Their matebond was practically painted into the canvas.
Or maybe I felt that way because they’d written me a letter before they’d passed on, leaving their son to me.
Every time I looked at that portrait, it just felt right to be here.
“I’m making chicken carbonara,” Jesper answered for the third time that evening, sounding dangerously close to snapping.
“It sounds delicious, but is it ever going to be done?” Slater whined, dragging a hand through his wild red hair as if dinner was personally offending him by not existing yet.
“It’ll be done when you stop bothering me,” Jesper huffed.
I walked over to the stove and took over stirring the sauce while he drained the pasta.
With Jesper here, the kitchen was warmer somehow. It was lit by fae lights and the soft glow of the light runes etched into the counters.
Zuko came up behind me, arms wrapping around my waist. He slipped his hand under my shirt, palm flattening against my stomach.
Heat bloomed low in my abdomen. My fangs tingled as I let out a small, half-strangled moan.
Venom stung under my skin, specifically an aphrodisiac venom because of Zuko, making me want.
“Toxin,” I hissed, glancing back at him. “I am stirring the sauce. Unless you want me to accidentally dose everyone with aphrodisiac venom, maybe don’t touch me right now.”
“I wouldn’t be opposed to that,” he purred against my throat.
A helpless moan escaped me as he kissed his mate mark on the side of my neck, lips brushing the sensitive skin.
I choked on my next breath.
“Hey, venom baby,” Slater called out in a cute little whine. “What about me? Aren’t you going to play with me too?”
“Alright, everyone but Rune out,” Jesper ordered.
Drecken snapped his fingers from where he wrote in a journal on the counter, away from the cooking.
Slater and Zuko lifted clean off their feet and yelped as they were telekinetically shoved out of the kitchen into the living area.
A new voice cut through the commotion, offended and posh. “What is all that racket?”
“Oh my Fates, it’s so chunky,” Slater cooed, like he’d seen the cutest thing ever.
Reggie’s outraged scream came next.
“That is so rude!”
I turned, laughing so hard I had to pause stirring and hold my stomach.
Drecken’s spider monkey familiar had sat up from his nest of pillows on the back of the couch. His round belly peeked out as he stretched, long tail curling lazily.
“He’s Drecken’s familiar,” I told them, still giggling.
Koa’s brows furrowed. “I didn’t know Drecken had a familiar.”
“Yes, well,” Reggie muttered, dusting his paws off. “I have been watching over him ever since his mother passed away. His mother was my first mistress.”
“Aww,” Slater whispered immediately. “That’s adorable.”
Dimitri elbowed him. “Might be a touchy subject.”
Drecken shook his head. “Not at all. I’m quite fond of Sir Reginald.”
“Yeah, me too,” I added. “How are you feeling, Reggie?”
He huffed. “I see you still insist on calling me Reggie. That is fine for you alone to do, I suppose. I am trying to sleep, and there is a shocking amount of noise, but otherwise, I’m well.
” He flopped back onto his pillow, belly up.
“I expect to be fed some of that delicious cuisine you’re cooking. ”
“I’ll save you a plate,” Jesper promised.
“I like the dragon,” he muttered, half to himself. “He pleases me.”
Drecken rolled his eyes. “Of course you’d say that.”
Slater and Zuko burst into laughter.
“Okay, it’s finally done,” Jesper called from behind me. “You can stop stirring now, honey drop.”
I placed the spoon on the edge of the pot and moved.
He came over and poured the sauce over the noodles and chicken, tossing everything together.
The smell made me drool.
“Drecken, did you not set the table?” Jesper sighed, looking at the bare dining table.
“I forgot.” Drecken snapped his fingers, and the dining table set itself. Plates, glasses, and cutlery appeared. Another snap of his fingers, and everyone’s plates filled with an even portion of Jesper’s chicken carbonara. “There.”
Jesper planted his hands on his hips and nodded. “That was unnecessary.”
“It was efficient,” Drecken corrected as we all took our seats.
Slater and Zuko claimed the chairs on either side of me. Jesper sat directly across from me, Drecken at his right, and Koa at his left. Dimitri took the seat beside Zuko.
I stabbed a piece of the pasta and took a bite.
Heat and flavor exploded on my tongue. It was creamy, spicy, and perfectly seasoned.
I moaned, eyes fluttering closed as I squeezed my legs shut, too. “Oh my Fates, Jesper…did you poison this?”
“No,” he answered cautiously.
I opened my eyes and frowned. “Are you sure?”
Zuko watched me, maintaining steady eye contact as he lifted his own fork and took a deliberate bite. “He didn’t do it, pretty little poison. You poisoned us. Don’t you remember?”
My brow furrowed. “What are you talking about?”
Everyone paused mid-bite, forks hovering near their mouths. It didn’t matter anyway since everyone had already taken a bite.
Zuko leaned closer, his breath ghosting over my cheek. “You let aphrodisiac venom slip into the sauce when you were stirring.”
The memory of his hand under my shirt, my desire spiking, and my fangs aching while I stirred came back to me.
“Oh,” I said faintly.
“Oh, Fates, venom baby,” Slater purred. “You let him turn you on without including me?”
“You both turn me on,” I assured him. “All my mates do.”
Jesper unbuttoned the first two buttons of his shirt and started fanning himself. “This isn’t the first time our mate has drugged me.”
“Oh, we remember,” Zuko and Slater said in sync.
“Perhaps that means we could end dinner early?” Dimitri’s desire-laced voice dropped over me like honey.
“Yes, I agree,” Drecken said, pink and red fireworks exploding around him. “I’m pleasantly surprised by how well this venom affects me.”
Koa looked at me with the embers in his brown eyes glowing brightly. “Since my little vixen poisoned us, we’re going to reward her for it. Correct?”
“Reward or punish?” Dimitri’s fangs lengthened.
“It was an accident,” I protested weakly, molten need for them overriding my senses.
“Of course,” Slater placated me quickly before a devious grin curved his lips. “However, your venom is running through my veins, straight to my heart and, well, also my dick.”
A streak of heat ran down my spine. My lips parted as lust and love burned through my brain until that was all I could think of.
“Yes,” Zuko growled, orange eyes darkening as he stared at me. I’d taken the bandage off his eyes the moment we got to the estate, and they held so much emotion. “I’m sure it’s clear to you that all of us want you, pretty little poison.”
“I always want Rune,” Koa said, voice strained, blue flames flickering faintly over his hands.
Drecken pushed back his chair and stood abruptly.
“Cease,” Reggie snapped from the couch. “This is my home too. This is where I sleep. You will not be defiling the living area again.”
“Again?” Zuko purred, glancing between Drecken and I.
My body burned as I remembered when Drecken had taken me against the mantel.
“I can handle one time with my master and mistress,” Reggie went on, rubbing his belly. “But the entire horde? Absolutely not. Take your debauchery elsewhere.”
Drecken’s pupils were already blown wide, but he narrowed them at his familiar. “Sir Reginald, this is our home too.”
“Yes, and mine,” Reggie retorted. “So, nothing is happening on that table.”
“You have your own room,” Drecken protested.
“Why don’t we go back to my room at the academy?” I suggested quickly. “I have that enormous bed you enchanted for us.”
Drecken’s lips curled into a devious smile. “I’ll summon a bigger bed in my room later. But for now…” He clapped his hands twice, and the dining room vanished.
We landed in a heap on my bed. The large mattress dipped under all of us, and our clothes were gone.
“Very efficient,” Koa muttered.
“My magic always is,” Drecken smiled at me.
“Hey, venom baby?” Slater prompted.
“Yeah?” I murmured, a delicious shudder shooting through my body as the hands of all my mates slid over my exposed skin, finding their own marks.
They were warm, calloused, smooth, and careful.
Slater’s lips found his mark on my shoulder and kissed. “You don’t have a map, right?”
Chaos magic sparked under the mark, zapping a straight line to my clit.
A map?
“I, um, why?” I moaned as Drecken’s lips brushed his mark on my shoulder, magic seeping over me, making my breasts feel heavy and sensitive.
“Because I’m trying to get lost inside of you,” he purred.
I gasped out something that was between a moan and a laugh as Dimitri’s and Zuko’s fangs pierced their marks.
Ecstasy flooded me from their venoms combining in my bloodstream, and I cried out.
Koa’s blue flames danced over my nipples before burning a line to his mark on my throat.
Their attention on their mate marks made the bonds thrum, overlapping with lust and love in a dizzying ache between my thighs.