Chapter Twenty-Two
“ W hy does the rectory have so many damned steps?” I gasped two days later as I hiked my skirt up a little higher and put my foot on the next curving step that led upwards to Merlin’s tower for my first lesson in magic.
“The wizard prefers higher vantage points, “ Bedivere, who was climbing right behind me, said simply. I wondered what sort of cardio the man did because he wasn’t even out of breath as we finally reached the ornate wooden door that would lead into Merlin’s rectory.
Bedivere had been my constant shadow since we made it to Camelot, oftentimes remaining completely silent as I made my way around and began to learn how to run an entire ass castle.
Unfortunately for me, there were no ‘Managing Castles for Dummies’ books lying around, so most of the past two days had been full of me chasing after Andrivete and trying to soak in as much information as I could about staffing and funds.
That had been, at least, until this afternoon because today was my first lesson with Merlin—one he had only begrudgingly agreed to.
“ Why ?” I asked, bending in half at the waist in order to catch my breath. I was pretty sure that I would have calves of steel by the end of my training if this kept up.
“Because it means that most people will not venture up here to bother me,” Merlin said as he pulled the door open, looking much more put together than I had ever seen him before.
When we met he had been wearing a threadbare tunic and had a pair of dark circles under his eyes. Now that he had two days of rest and a chance to bathe, the Merlin in front of me was an altogether different man.
He was still wearing a tunic that was in a deep shade of green and made his lighter colored eyes seem even more unearthly. Behind him, his rectory seemed to stretch on much further than I thought would be possible.
“It feels much bigger on the inside,” I told him as he ushered me inside, eyeing Bedivere for a moment but saying nothing about his guarding of me as he came in behind me.
“It is magic. I had a need for space that a castle tower could not accommodate so I placed the spell nearly fifteen years ago and it has yet to wear off.”
“It’s like a TARDIS!” I gasped, staring up at the ceiling that was outfitted with glass windows that showed the cloudy sky above.
“What is a TARDIS?” Bedivere asked, his stern expression pulling down into a confused frown.
It was one of the first questions he had asked me all day and I jumped to answer but Merlin got there first.
“A television show about an alien,” Merlin said offhandedly as he turned back to the long table that had several boiling pots spread out along it. “Come, let us get started so you can go.”
“Merlin,” Bedivere’s voice was full of warning. “You may not ascribe to normal standards as the rest of us do, but her majesty is still your queen. Treat her with more respect.”
Merlin turned to look at the man over his shoulder, an odd look on his face before he just shrugged. “Whatever you say, old man.”
Bedivere flinched as if Merlin had struck him and I stepped in between them to soothe the sudden tension in the air.
“Okay, Yoda, please teach me your ways,” I said, trying to inject a lightheartedness into my words.
That seemed to distract the wizard because he smiled at me brightly, his eyes lighting up. “I understood that as well— Star Wars —yes?”
“How much about the future do you know?” I asked as I followed him to the bench.
More than you know, Merlin answered in my head this time. We will conduct the rest of the lesson with our mental connection .
I turned to look at Bedivere who was standing against one of the walls, his gaze firmly on me. Won’t that bother Bedivere?
No, the old man could use a firm kick in the seat, Merlin’s mental voice was dry as he shook his head, and being kept from our conversation should do the trick.
Stop calling him old, I grumbled, glaring at him. He’s only thirty-nine.
I had finally worked up the courage to ask Bedivere his age yesterday and had been pleasantly surprised to find that he wasn’t as much older than me than I’d originally thought. The silver streak in his hair was definitely premature—probably from high levels of stress in his younger years.
He had told me the information with an air of surrender, like I would turn away from him once he revealed it to me, but when I gave no negative reaction to it the alpha had lapsed into a confused silence for the rest of the day.
The age-gap didn’t bother me so much as his refusal to even consider me—especially now that I was growing more and more comfortable in the past.
Besides, Trini’s oldest alpha was in his late forties and looked much older than Bedivere did. That hadn’t weirded me out at all and neither did Bedivere’s age.
This all led me to the reason why I wanted to learn magic from Merlin in the first place.
Okay, enough distraction, teach me how to use magic, I told Merlin before he could cut in with another sarcastic quip.
Merlin straightened, his eyes turning serious. I have to ask before we begin, why do you want to learn magic so badly? Both Eleanor and Juneau were hesitant to use it at all at first.
A stray thread of something nasty filled my chest, the same one that happened any of the few times he spoke of the two other omegas he had pulled through time first.
I pushed it down before shrugging. I want to be able to protect Arthur and the rest of my pack and heal them .
Merlin frowned. Healing magic is no easy task—even if your affinity for water lends itself to that sort of spell .
I had figured as much but I still wanted to learn it anyway.
The night that we healed Arthur together I had lain down next to the alpha and inhaled deep lungfuls of his scent to comfort myself. Listening to his steady breathing, I made the decision that I was going to change the future with my own two hands.
If I could heal him, Gawain, Bedivere, and even grumpy Lancelot, then maybe we could truly get to know each other past the push of instincts that I was currently experiencing.
The conclusion that they were my scent-match mates was easy to come to, but I still didn’t know much about the other three besides Arthur.
And even Arthur was still a bit of an enigma.
I had woken up in his arms the next morning, but he hadn’t touched me past a kiss to the side of my head before he got up to go help in the fields.
He hadn’t come back to our chambers that night or last night and Andrivete had apologetically told me that he was busy in his study catching up on everything he had missed while he was away.
On one hand I understood, Arthur was the king after all, but on the other hand there was a tiny, more selfish part of me—the part that was wholly omega—that was jealous about not having my alpha all to myself.
I know it’s not an easy spell, but I want to learn it anyway, I told Merlin firmly, shaking away all thoughts except for my desire to change the future.
Merlin sighed with surrender before nodding . Very well, but we must start at the beginning: calling the magic to you.
Okay, I agreed readily. Where do I begin?
First you must learn to get in touch with your inner reserve of magic, Merlin explained, reaching for my hand. Almost immediately my insides felt warm as I watched Merlin’s eyes begin to glow. My magic calls naturally to yours, but you will need to be able to do this on your own on purpose. You have already been doing it on your own with your various… ah… outbursts of rain.
I tried not to dwell on how fluttery his words about our magics calling to each other naturally. I had felt it that night, but I wasn’t quite sure what it meant, but it made my face flush nonetheless.
Instead, I focused on his teasing words.
I didn’t know how to control it then, I didn’t mean to make it rain, I protested, crossing my arms over my chest.
Yes, that is exactly my point, Merlin shot back, his lips twitching up into a cheeky grin as he released our hands and the magic faded away from me again. If you can’t even call your own magic to you, there is no chance that you will ever be able to heal anyone .
My eyes narrowed at him. So teach me then .
I would if you stopped cutting in, Merlin scolded despite the fact that it had been him who had provoked me in the first place.
You know, I said, carefully, hoping the gods would let me get this shot in despite it being about the future. When I used to read about the Merlin in legends he always seemed so wise and cool .
Did I? Merlin seemed tickled by my words, his chest puffing out with pride.
Yeah, a slow smile spread on my face, but now I know that sometimes myths are really far off from the real thing .
Merlin’s expression fell and he glowered at me. You are very fortunate you are my queen, Gwen, or I fear I would make your skin turn green for such cheek to a teacher .
I fluttered my lashes at the man innocently. Cheek? Me? I’m just here to learn magic .
Merlin rolled his green eyes, but began our lesson anyway. Close your eyes and try to find the reservoir of your magic.
Okay… I said, trailing off. And how do I do that ?
Merlin’s sigh filled the room audibly this time. I fear this will take a while .
Hours later I dragged myself back into the chambers I shared with Arthur, fully intending on falling into the bed and going right to sleep.
While the lesson with Merlin hadn’t been physically taxing, the little reservoir of magic that Merlin had spent the better part of an hour helping me find felt completely drained.
I had barely been able to access it let alone use it. Seeing my disappointment, Merlin had tried to encourage me, telling me that many people took years to even access their magic and not to feel so put out… but I still felt defeated anyway.
There was no telling when the final battle that would take my pack away from me would actually occur, but my plan to heal them if they needed and now it seemed so far away now after my lesson.
“Little queen?” Arthur’s voice surprised me, pulling my gaze up from my slippered feet to where he was sitting on the bed.
“You’re here,” I breathed, surprised to find him in the room so casually after not seeing him for two days.
Arthur’s golden brows drew together. “Where else would I be?”
I resisted the urge to roll my eyes. I was annoyed with the alpha in a way that could only be explained by pointing fingers at my very spoiled inner-omega, but I also didn’t want to scare him off.
“No—it’s just—” I frowned, trying to find the right words. “It’s just been a while since we’ve seen each other.”
“I apologize, Guinevere,” Arthur murmured. “I found myself busy until the early hours. My extended leave from the castle left much to be done here.”
I understood, but the feeling of being neglected still wouldn’t go away.
“Is it a bit selfish of me to hate that?” I blurted out suddenly before I could stop the words.
Arthur paused, his blue eyes dancing in the dim firelight. His expression remained neutral but I could feel the sudden satisfaction coming down the bond as he stood and came over to where I was standing, his warm callused hands cradling my face. “May I also ask you a question before I answer yours?”
I leaned into his palms, nuzzling into the warmth before nodding.
“Why have you not created a nest in our chambers?”
His question took me aback as I glanced around his shoulders at the neatly made bed. On the floor next to it, one of the maids had laid out wicker baskets full of nesting materials similar to the ones that had been left for me back in my father’s castle on our wedding night.
I pursed my lips, trying to find the words to explain why I had ignored them and chose to sleep underneath the covers despite the discomfort that brought to my instincts. It felt unsafe and kept me from getting a good night’s sleep—and yet I did it anyway.
“I…” I trailed off, taking a deep breath, letting his spicy-sweet scent fill my nose and calm me. “A nest isn’t a nest when there isn’t an alpha to fill it.”
Arthur’s blue eyes darkened as the air in the room seemed to shift. “Will you build a nest for me again tonight then, little queen?”
I nodded, my mouth suddenly dry as my heartbeat began to thud in my ears.
Then he dropped his mouth to mine hungrily, as if he was a beast that had been starved for weeks even though it had only been a few since we were together last.
My feet left the floor and I let out a muffled squeal as Arthur lifted me up into his arms and carried me to the bed again, dropping me on the soft surface.
I stared up at him for a moment, watching as he reached down to snag one of the baskets, dumping it in a great pile next to me.
“Will you undress while I work?” I asked, my voice sounding much throatier than usual. My inner-omega was clambering to the surface, pushing for me to give in to the all-out desire that I was feeling and throw rational thought to the wind.
Arthur nodded, taking a step back from the bed and tugging at the leather belt that held Excalibur to his waist. A moment later the sword clattered to the floor with a loud clang !
I picked at the pile of nesting materials critically, keeping one eye on Arthur as I tried to think about the best way to create my first nest in our shared chambers.
The bed had four posts, so I got to work winding the long linen cloths around them to form a barrier that was a bit taller than the one I had been able to create in Cameliard.
In the future I had a bowl-like frame for the nest I had created in my little flat in London, but this massive bed would require a lot more work to make it feel cozy.
Or maybe just more alphas, my inner omega purred.
At the thought a flash of an image filled my mind of many pairs of bare legs tangled together and rumbling laughter filling my ears.
Would that future ever come to be? Packs were so commonplace in the future that I had never stopped to consider where they came from. Would the people of Camelot accept us? Could Arthur ever truly accept it?
“You seem far away,” Arthur’s deep voice cut through my distracted thoughts.
He stood naked at the edge of my nest, the twined cloth creating a barrier and obscuring the manhood that I had only briefly glanced at on our wedding night.
I blinked at him, realizing more time had passed while I was creating my nest than I thought.
The bed had been transformed completely, cushions lining the edges of the space and covered with the softest piece of muslin linen that I could find, creating a bowl-like shape in the center. It was perfect and I could barely remember doing it as I let my thoughts trail off into oblivion.
“Sorry,” I told him sheepishly, my cheeks filling with warmth.
Arthur’s lips pulled up into a soft smile as he observed my work. “You make a fine nest, Wife,” he purred.
The sound of it made a shiver of anticipation roll down my spine and I scooted back in the nest, waiting for the same words he’d spoken on our first night.
Arthur, without further prodding, placed a hand on one of the bedposts and used his other to run a hand through his golden curls to push them back. His hair was longer than it had been the day we’d met and the top of his hair framed his broad forehead in a way that made me want to kiss each of his temples.
“Omega,” he said without preamble. “May I enter your nest so that I may worship those perfect thighs of yours?”
Another shudder before I nodded. “You may.”
Arthur pushed down on one of the barriers just enough so that he could hike a leg over it and step inside without disturbing the rest of my nest.
His fingers were on the laces of my dress before I could say anything else, his firm hands pulling my skirts up and over my head and leaving me just in the white shift I had on underneath it.
My nipples stood out hard against the thin material and I felt his eyes on them.
“You are beautiful,” he murmured. “Have I told you that before?”
I shrugged, offering him a mischievous smile. “You could stand to say it more.”
Arthur flashed me a grin before he took one cloth covered nipple into his mouth, drawing a surprised gasp from my lips.
The sensation of his tongue and the roughness of the fabric sent a tingle of pleasure straight to my core as he used a hand to gently tweak the other nipple, pressing the stiff point down and soothing it until it was smooth again.
I reached up, stroking my hand down the back of his head before lying back amongst the cushions and pulling him with me.
Arthur’s weight was a firm, delicious pressure on top of me as he continued to lavish his attention on my breasts.
I was so focused on his mouth that I very nearly missed his free hand snaking down my side and slipping in between us, his bare hips lifting to grant himself access. The digit slipped underneath the edge of the fabric which was hiked up around my legs and in between my thighs.
“You are already slick for me,” Arthur mumbled around my nipple in wonder. “And I have barely touched you.”
I’d had more slick coming out of me in the past month than I had in the past decade—probably thanks to Merlin purging my body of my heat suppressants. It was as if I was truly experiencing being an omega for the first time in my life, and surprisingly, I didn’t mind it.
A thick finger pressed inside of me and I opened my legs to give him better access, wrapping them around his backside. The motion brought the soft head of his cock against my clit and we both gasped at the sudden sensation.
I could feel Arthur’s need ricocheting down our shared bond—urgent and hot as I knew he could feel my own mirrored back at him.
Arthur’s blue eyes were filled with the same fire as he lifted his head and we stared at one another in silence, hovering between one last moment of peace and the chaotic crash of bodies that was imminent.
The last time we’d come together like this I had felt so unsure about myself. The tug-of-war between my instincts and my rational mind overloading my circuits before I finally gave in to the part of me that I had avoided for most of my life.
Now, as I shifted my hips up, feeling the slide of Arthur’s cockhead as it notched at the entrance of my core that his fingers had just vacated and a needy whimper left my lips, I felt more certain than I had ever felt before about the alpha above me.
All it took was one, steadying inhalation of Arthur’s sweet, cinnamon-nutmeg spice scent and the question in his eyes for me to nod my head.
Warm lips found the side of my neck, skating over the healed bond mark there and sending a shiver of pleasure down my spine as our shared bond lit up like a Christmas tree.
Then Arthur pushed forward, the growl on his lips vibrating through me as I reached up underneath his arms and pressed my hands tightly into his shoulder blades, feeling the raised skin of one of his many scars underneath my fingertips.
Arthur’s hands slipped around to my hips and suddenly I was no longer lying underneath him.
Suddenly, I was straddling his lap and staring down at his flushed face as he pressed his chin in between my breasts. The new angle brought his half-swollen knot right up to the entrance of my pussy and I shifted around uncomfortably trying to find purchase on the bed underneath us.
“Are you asking me to move?” I teased breathlessly.
He nodded, his facial hair gently scratching the sensitive skin on my chest. “I hear you have become quite the horse rider, little queen.”
I snorted. “Yeah, if you can call hanging onto the pommel of a saddle for dear life horse riding.”
Arthur grinned, his hands sliding up the small of my back and down my arms, lifting my hands until they were pressed to his shoulders.
“Then let me be your pommel, my queen,” he told me, his voice rumbling with a laughter that vibrated through where we were connected.
I wanted to roll my eyes at the silliness of it, but the lighthearted moment passed quickly as Arthur jerked his hips up and I remembered just exactly what we had been in the middle of.
“Whoa there, horsey,” I said with a laugh, my fingers digging into his shoulders. “I thought it was my turn to move.”
Arthur held his hands up in surrender, but said nothing. The room was silent except for the occasional pop from the wood in the fireplace and the sound of our tandem breaths.
Then I began to move.
It was awkward at first, trying to find a rhythm that worked to create the delicious friction that Arthur seemed to find so naturally when he was in control.
The first few lifts of my hips were too shallow to do much of anything and I frowned inwardly, staring down to where we were connected at the waist.
“Perhaps try lifting your hips a bit higher?” Arthur proposed unhelpfully.
Shooting him a playful glare, I clenched around his length tightly until he made a satisfying groan.
“I’m not looking for lessons in thrusting,” I told him, letting go of one of his shoulders so I could gently grip his chin and make sure he was looking up at me before adding, after a moment’s thought, “My king.”
Arthur liked that. I could feel the swell of his cock inside of me and the satisfaction that rippled down our bond. He lifted his chin from my fingers, tilting it up until our mouths met in a hungry clash of tongues.
I began again, this time lifting my hips higher and ignoring Arthur’s smirk as I dropped back down and finally felt sweet, sweet friction.
That’s it, my inner-omega seemed to sigh with contentment in my head, this is what I wanted .
Need numbed all rational thought. I slipped my arms lazily around Arthur’s neck, hardly aware of his firm, almost bruising grip on my thighs as he urged me on.
“Knot me,” I begged over the sound of our skin slapping together.
“Do it on your own,” Arthur replied with a demanding growl that was so soft it was almost a purr.
I pressed my hips down with a grunt, pushing myself against the ring of flesh at the base of his cock.
Arthur’s hand snaked up to the nape of my neck, giving the hair at the base of my scalp a gentle but firm tug.
“Do it, little queen,” he commanded with a little bit more force, his words echoing with the hint of a bark. “Push that beautiful cunt of yours onto my knot.”
Pleasure skittered down my spine in a flash of cold heat as I bit my lower lip and held on tightly as I bore down and Arthur’s knot slipped in without any more preamble.
I came, light dancing in my vision. Then, a soft mist began to collect around us as the core of my magic which Merlin had so painstakingly taught me how to sense lit up in a blaze of warmth in my chest.
“Gods,” Arthur muttered as he leaned forward to press his lips into his bondmark on my neck, his hips shuddering underneath me before warmth spilled deep inside of me and his knot swelled until it could no longer be pulled out.
We collapsed to the side, our legs tangled together as Arthur lay with his eyes closed, his chest still rising and falling heavily with rasping breaths.
“Are you asleep?” I asked after a while, reaching out to brush one of his sweaty gold curls away from his damp forehead.
“Nearly, little queen,” he grumbled, his voice muffled as he pulled me even closer to his chest and wrapped both arms around me. “Now rest.”
I wasn’t tired, though, and I waited until his breathing evened out before sitting up as much as I could with his knot still embedded inside of me. His arms slid around me as I stared at the room around us. Mist still hung mysteriously in the air and as soon as I reached out for it, it skittered out of my reach as if repelled by it.
Was this what Merlin had meant when he explained calling my magic to me? I hadn’t even tried to do it this time—in fact it had happened when I finally let go of all semblance of control and then it seemed to burst out of me.
Pursing my lips together I tried to pull the mist to me but the moisture ignored me completely as it continued to shift around the room.
Frustrated, I dropped my hand.
“Stupid water,” I muttered.
At my words, all of the mist in the room dropped like rain, spreading drops of moisture on the stone floor.
A sigh left me and I lay back down, watching Arthur’s sleeping face as my resolve to save him—to save all of them—was renewed once again.
Soon, exhaustion filled me and Arthur’s knot, which had been snugly stuck inside of me, deflated enough so that I could separate our hips enough to get comfortable.
I was just about to doze off when I felt Arthur suddenly jerk next to me as he sucked in a sharp rasp of air.
“Arthur?” I whispered, turning to find his brow furrowed as he twitched again.
He was having some kind of nightmare, that much was obvious, but I wasn’t sure what to do about it. Fear rippled down our shared bond so intensely that I could taste the sourness of it on my tongue.
Reaching over, I gave the alpha a firm shake.
“Arthur,” I repeated as lips pulled down into a deep frown and he let out a moan of discomfort. “Arthur, wake up. You’re having a nightmare.”
Another shake and I nearly screamed as Arthur’s eyes flew open and he sat up stock-straight as a ragged wheeze left him.
Arthur’s shoulders shook violently, the shudders shaking the entire bed as he continued to pull in raspy breaths.
“Arthur?” I ran a hand down his back, feeling the muscles twitch under my fingers. “Are you all right?”
Arthur’s head swung around, his blue eyes wide as a strange emotion flickered over his face.
“I have had a dream.”
Something about the way he said it told me that his dream was far more important than just a regular dream.
This dream would change things, I just wasn’t sure how yet.