Chapter 26 Raven
Raven
“Happy Solstice Day, pet.” Zane’s hand slid between my thighs as I slowly opened my eyes. My bear lay next to me, face down. Every few seconds, a rumbling snore rattled the rickety bedframe, but I didn’t mind. At least he didn’t shed hair like Kenji.
“I heard that, witch.”
“Good. You were supposed to.” I slammed my mental shield down to block Kenji out and hummed with pleasure as Zane’s fingers ghosted over my clit.
“What time is it?” Darkness cloaked the room. Had I woken early for once?
“Around ten a.m.”
I tried to sit up only for Zane to pull me back down. Maverick stirred but didn’t wake. I guessed he hadn’t slept well. Knowing him, he was worried about what lay ahead, especially after Kai’s warning about the cetus.
“We need to get ready to leave,” I protested. It had been too long since I had dreamed of my vampire. Time was running out.
“We’re stuck here for at least today, pet. A fallen tree has blocked the access road. Until care bear moves it, we’re not going anywhere.”
“How do you know?”
“I took a walk late last night.”
I frowned. “Why would you be out so late in the middle of a snowstorm?”
“No reason. Just wanted some fresh air.” He nibbled my neck before sliding one finger inside me. His explanation of needing some fresh air didn’t ring true, but with each shallow thrust, I lost the mental capacity for analytical thought.
A low moan escaped, causing Maverick to stir once again, but to my surprise he still didn’t wake.
The sound of a pan banging in the kitchen distracted me for a moment.
Alaric must be making breakfast. He’d taken on the role of cook when Maverick wasn’t around, which surprised me.
I’d assumed the mage had chefs to prepare his food at home, like most entitled mages, but he seemed to enjoy cooking.
“Ignore the mage, pet,” Zane whispered in my ear. “He’s jealous.”
How did Alaric know what Zane was doing? The incubus lifted my thigh and pushed inside me. The slow drag of his cock against my sensitive tissues caused me to moan loudly.
“Fuck, you feel so good, pet. So hot and wet and perfect.”
I closed my eyes and let him lead the pace. Maverick would lose his mind if he woke to find the incubus inside me, but I didn’t have the strength to break free.
“Good girl,” Zane purred, his hand squeezing my breast. Sharp teeth nipped the soft skin below my ear, and I yelped. As pleasure consumed me, my magic ignited. Glowing embers burst into life, floating above the bed.
I tried to yank my magic back inside my chest as the amulet between my breasts heated, but nothing worked. A swirling cloud of violet fire consumed us, but Zane didn’t seem concerned.
“Stop! I’m going to burn the cabin down!”
“Shhh. Relax, pet.”
“I can’t!” Panic flared as the bedroom door flew open and hit the wall with a loud bang. My bear sat up with a start, blinking in surprise. When he looked up and saw the flames, he yelped and frantically turned to find me.
“Raven, pull your magic back!” Alaric yelled. “It’s out of control!” He left out the again bit, but I heard it anyway.
I lost focus when Zane sank his teeth into me while pinching my clit. A powerful burst of magic pulled me into a whirling vortex of pleasure. This was nothing like any orgasm I’d had before.
This one dragged me into a different dimension where a billion stars exploded. Zane groaned in my ear as he followed me over the edge.
It wasn’t until someone ripped me away from the incubus that the bubble burst. When I opened my eyes, the magic storm had vanished, leaving me sprawled over my bear’s chest while the incubus lay on his back with a smug expression on his face.
“Fucking incubus,” Alaric snapped with enough venom to take down an entire wolf pack before he stomped back out of the bedroom. The sound of his cursing from the kitchen ruined my post-orgasm glow, and I huffed out an irritated sigh.
Fucking mage.
I sat on the sofa, staring at a lop-sided tree propped up in a bucket. From the large wet patch on the floor around the bucket, the tree must have been snow-covered when it came indoors.
“Why is there a tree in here?” I asked, unable to make sense of what I was seeing. Trees grew outside, not indoors.
Zane dropped down onto the sofa and dragged me onto his lap. His cool fingers stroked the soft skin of my belly, sending a shiver down my spine. I’d like to say it was the cold, but truly, it was him.
When he touched me, sparks zapped my skin. It made me wonder what might happen if Alaric had that effect on females. I knew he was a storm mage and could summon lightning, so did that translate into electric shocks?
Part of me found the idea intriguing, but none of me wanted to ask him. Besides, he’d ignored me ever since the bedroom magic incident, so talking was not in the cards.
“It’s Winter Solstice Day, pet.”
I swiveled my head to look at him. “And?”
“Didn’t you celebrate it as a kid?”
“No, did you?”
“No,” he admitted. “But lots of magicals do. My mother’s pack usually had a party.” He scowled for a moment before smiling. “I figured it would be nice to celebrate, so I got a tree for you.”
The tree listed to one side and a bunch of needles fell off, making a mess on the floor.
“It’s…lovely.”
Kenji stretched from his cushion on the ratty armchair by the window. He hopped down and trotted over to the tree.
“I wanted to decorate it for you, but there wasn’t anything to use.”
My heart melted. The big, scary incubus had a marshmallow center. Who knew? I doubted anyone had seen this side of him before.
“Thank you; that’s so sweet.” I leaned in to kiss him. Just as my lips brushed his, I heard the sound of liquid splashing on the floor followed by the pungent aroma of ammonia.
My head snapped around to see Kenji peeing all over the tree with a smirk on his face.
“What? It’s cold outside.”
“That fucking—” All traces of sweet, romantic Zane vanished in an instant. His aura turned pitch black as he focused on my familiar. I tried to defuse the situation, but he pushed me away and glared at Kenji with murderous intent.
“Kenji, how could you!” I yelled, furious with the kitsune for ruining Zane’s surprise.
The little shit flicked his two tails and showed us his ass before blinking out of sight.
Zane stormed over to the tree and dragged it across the floor toward the door.
Before I could stop him, he tossed it outside into the snow.
Sadly it didn’t get rid of the stink of pee, but I decided not to comment on that.
Instead, I wrinkled my nose and prayed Alaric knew some good cleaning spells.
“What’s that awful smell?” The mage appeared from the kitchen wearing a cute little apron. He waved the spatula while holding his nose. “Has the bear been scent marking again?”
“What the fuck are you talking about?” Maverick said, walking into the living room, his hair wet from the shower. He threw a glare in Zane’s direction, but the incubus was too busy seething to notice.
“Someone’s peed in the living room.” Alaric grimaced in disgust. “Figured it was you asserting your alpha status.”
Ignoring Maverick’s enraged growl, I reached out to calm Zane down, but he jerked away.
His rejection hurt, but I gritted my teeth and refused to back down.
My incubus had tried really hard to do something nice for me, and Kenji had ruined it with his antics.
I’d deal with the kitsune in a bit, but for now, Zane needed me.
He tensed when I slid my arms around his waist, but this time, he didn’t stop me.
“I love that you did something so sweet for me,” I told him. “It means the world to me that you wanted to make this a special day, even though you don’t usually celebrate it.”
Zane huffed, but some of the tension left him as he stared at the empty bucket and noxious puddle.
“I saw how the pack kids loved Winter Solstice Day. They’d spend hours decorating a tree the betas cut down from the forest, covering it with painted pinecones and glittery shit. It always looked fun.”
“Didn’t you join in?”
“Nah. They all hated me because I wasn’t a wolf.”
My heart bled for my poor, lonely incubus.
“Wolf shifters are all assholes,” I muttered. Most of the time I tried to see the best in people, humans as well as magicals, but all the wolf shifters I’d met so far had been obnoxious.
Zane chuckled briefly before sighing. “I should have bought you a gift too, but it didn’t occur to me.” He paused for a moment before huffing in frustration. “Fuck, I’m sorry, pet. I’m not used to thinking of anyone else.”
“You tried, which is all I care about.” I pressed my cheek against his chest and inhaled his scent, grateful he smelled better than the pee-soaked floor. “We need to go soon, so the tree would have died anyway.”
“We’re stuck here until the bear gets outside and clears the track.” I frowned as his words from earlier before came back to me. “We can’t leave?”
“No, pet. Not for a few hours at least.” Anxiety made my chest feel too tight as I pondered how much longer it would take to reach the mountain where the map had shown me the vampire’s location.
Maverick walked over with a cobwebby mop. He shoved it at Zane.
“Clean up that mess while I move the fallen tree. We’ll eat something and then head out. Kai reckons it’s a day’s travel from here to the coast. If we can reach Sitkavus by tea-time tomorrow, we might find a boat willing to take us the rest of the way.”
I took the mop from my bear. “I’ll clean up Kenji’s mess.” He was my asshole familiar, so it seemed only fair. I turned to Zane. “How about you go find Kai and let him know our plans?”
The merman vanished last night. I hoped he was okay.
“For you, pet, anything.”
He leaned down and kissed me. Once again I melted into a puddle, but thankfully for all of us, this one didn’t stink of pee.