Chapter 4
Aoife still couldn’t believe Adam had six other brothers and they were all just as burly, hairy, and tall as him. It was apparent that their mother was a fan of the fifties’ musical, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, because of how she’d named them. Adam, Benjamin, Caleb, Daniel, Ethan, Frank and Gideon.
Some of the brothers, like Benjamin, Ethan, and Gideon, looked a little bit more like a mountain ape than Adam did. They had a more pronounced brow and jaw. The others had the softer features like their mother.
She could definitely see the appeal to human women when they were carried off by these behemoths of males and why they didn’t come back. Especially if they were anything like Adam. The Sasquatch scent or love spell, as she heard Ben call it, was potent indeed. There were rumors that the magical black market also killed off young yetis to harvest that pheromone for aphrodisiacs.
It was that potent and valuable.
There was some truth to that, because frankly, after being fucked by bigfoot, she understood the so-called spell. It was the best sex she’d ever had in her life. It was transcendent, which is why she almost did cross the veil and cross realms during that mind-blowing orgasm.
It was taking everything in her will power not to drag Adam back into the cabin and ride him again. This was all lust on her part. Just thinking about Adam made her wet with need, but he had a job to do. He had a family to take care of. Something she was not used to in her messed-up family. They were all huddled around a campfire in a clearing near the lake so Adam could explain to his brothers who she was and why they were all in danger.
Honestly, she felt incredibly guilty about the whole thing.
It wasn’t fair for her to impose on them. It was her fault for running away and throwing herself at Adam when he offered her a safe haven, but he was so damn sexy, so sweet. No one had ever been so kind to her before. Especially when others just wanted to use her.
Adam didn’t.
And she loved him for it. In fact, she was falling for him completely.
Her body flushed with heat as she watched him. A primal urge overtook her and she wanted his cock buried deep inside her.
Focus on the task at hand, idiot.
“I’m sorry,” she blurted out. All eyes turned on her in the flickering firelight. “I didn’t mean to get you into this mess. I was just running. Blindly, but I had to get away.”
“You’re Adam’s mate,” Gideon stated. “We’ll protect you.”
There was a bunch of rumblings and nodding of heads.
“We don’t have any love for Prince Ivar or King Tiene. He may claim that he doesn’t abuse our kind, but we all know that’s not true,” Benjamin stated in disgust.
“He’ll try to take over the entire realm. Murder us all,” Adam responded. “We all know this. We’ve known this for some time.”
Aoife sighed. “I do understand. And I’m a high commodity. My kind are few and far between. I carry wraith…Death in my bloodline as well as witch from Tuatha. I’m a harbinger and a witch. My bloodline is sought after.”
“I haven’t seen a wraith in a long time,” Caleb murmured.
“When the fuck did you see a wraith?” Frank asked, confused.
“In Thunder Bay once,” Caleb stated. “Like us, they’re scattered.”
A shiver ran down her spine. “My ancestor was Death. There are wraiths in my extended family. Still, I have no doubt that Prince Ivar is up to something. He wants my blood to breed assassins.”
“Well, hopefully no one saw Aoife or knew who she was in the bar to report us,” Daniel stated. “We’re the only Sasquatches who come to Thunder Bay through that particular portal. It wouldn’t be hard to find us…for a magical being, that is.”
“Yeah, human males are dumb,” Ethan snorted.
“We’ll be okay. No one knows I’m with you,” Aoife said, swallowing the lump in her throat and trying not to picture that mermaid named Coraliane, the one who knew.
The one she worked out a deal with.
“How can you be so sure?” Adam asked.
“I just know.” Aoife hated acting like a harbinger, but Coraliane had promised her anonymity if she did it. It was the only way she could protect Adam and his brothers.
So, if she had to keen someone for Coraliane, then she would, and she had to justify it all by telling herself the guy was part of the whole realm mafia.
Adam was still staring at her, like he knew what she was thinking, and she didn’t want him to look at her like so many other people did. Like she was a killer, or a bad omen.
Like she was a product borne from damnation, because she was, but she was a good person at the core. It was clear there was nowhere she could really hide. People knew what she was. They felt it and loathed her.
As long as there were portals, magical creatures, she would have this invisible mark on her, haunting her.
“If you’re sure,” Adam finally said, his voice soft.
Aoife swallowed the lump in her throat. “Positive.”
“Okay, so we fight,” Frank stated. “If they find us, we don’t let Prince Ivar take Adam’s mate. Are we all in agreement?”
They all started slapping the ground with their giant hands, making a hollow rumble in the dirt.
“Good,” Frank said.
“Thank you,” Adam replied. “Now, I suggest you all go back to your caves and we just act like nothing has happened. No one has seen a banshee or anything.”
The brothers all stood up and melted into the woods, disappearing in that way that Sasquatches seemed to do. It was kind of mind-boggling to Aoife how they managed to do that.
Adam put out the fire with a bucket of sand and then stomped it out with his foot, like it was nothing. The forest was silent around them. All she could hear was the gentle autumn wind whispering through the silver birch trees and the lapping of the lake against the rocky shore.
“Thank you,” Aoife whispered.
“For what?” Adam asked.
“For not turning me in or sending me away.”
Adam squatted down in front of her so his big yellow eyes were looking level with her. “I told you I’d protect you.”
Her heart melted and she ran her fingers along his thick brow ridge and down his face to his full lips. She wouldn’t let any harm come to him. She’d protect him too. No matter what it took.
“Let’s go. There’s a chill in the air and a threat of frost tonight. I’ll make us something to eat.” Adam scooped her up and bounded up the hill to his cabin. She snuggled in his arms, feeling at peace, even though she had a job to do whenever Coraliane decided.
She was going to make sure he slept soundly tonight just in case. She knew how possessive Sasquatches could be over their mates and she didn”t want him to know she had made a deal with the mermaid. Aoife was going to have to tire him out and she would take great pleasure in that.
In just a matter of a minutes, they were through the protective layer of brush and up to the rock ledge where they were sheltered. He set her down and then opened the door for her. The cabin was still warm and she took off her cloak, hanging it by the door.
“I’ll be right back. I’m going to catch some fish and then I’ll make you some dinner.” Adam shut the door and she settled on his big bed. The fire was just embers, so she made her way over there and built the fire back up, just like she had done when she visited her grandmother’s stone cottage on the moor. She could hear the water from here too. It was nice. It reminded her of the semi peaceful times of her childhood. It relaxed her and made her feel safe.
Adam returned with fish he had cleaned. His eyes widened in surprise. “You got the fire ready?”
“You sound so surprised,” she teased.
“I am. Usually Tuatha Order members start a fire with a spell; your hands are dirty.”
“I spent some time on the moors in Ireland,” she interrupted him. “I know how to do somewhat basic survival tasks. Besides, banshees are used as assassins, like wraiths. We can’t always stay in five-star resorts. And there are times we can’t use magic.”
Adam sighed. “Assassins?”
“I don”t like that I’m that,” Aoife stated. “I don’t kill for fun. My ancestors did, but I don’t. I hate that part of me.”
Adam put the fish in a cast iron skillet and set it on the grate over the fire. “And Prince Ivar wants you for that?”
“Yes. To kill for him and to breed more killers for him,” Aoife put it bluntly.
A growl erupted deep in Adam’s chest and she knew he was thinking about that. His fist was clenching and he pulled the skillet off the grate. There was a musky, spicy, delicious scent in the air which made her nipples hard and her body tremble.
“The fish can’t be done,” she teased, her blood heating.
Adam stood up, his eyes almost glowing, his chest heaving as he began to take off his clothes. “I have to claim you. Now.”
A shiver of pleasure rippled through her, her pulse racing. “Because of the thought of Prince Ivar fucking me?”
He growled again, not responding.
Aoife licked her lips and stood up, taking off her dress. Her pussy already throbbing with need. She wanted to be claimed by him. Have him fill her with his seed. She had this burning need to bear his young. It was overpowering. “Well?”
“What?” he asked, his voice deep and guttural.
“Is it because you don’t want another to have me?”
“Yes,” he gritted out, pulling down his jeans. His large cock erect, waiting for her, a bead of precum on the tip.
She licked her lips, remembering the taste. “What if I ran from you?” she teased, because the thought of being hunted by him, the thought of him claiming her in the woods, was completely arousing. It was like the old hunts of Beltane in May. She’d been a part of them with some ancient Celtic warriors from the underworld. Those were always titillating. A ritual yes, but it was a moment of freedom. Standing there in their stag masks, with her adorned in a doe mask, to be hunted and mated in frenzy under a full moon.
It wasn’t a full moon tonight, but she wanted to be hunted by Adam. She wanted that primal moment of coupling in the woods. She wanted to be completely overpowered and then fucked.
By him. Her mate.
Adam growled again. “You wouldn’t.”
“I think I would.” She teleported herself outside, waiting for him. She could hear the roar reverberating through the night. That echoing howl sent a shiver of delight through her. Her body trembled in anticipation as he practically ripped the wooden door off its hinges and burst out.
His yellow eyes were glowing in the darkness and he was naked, his muscles rippling. It was even more majestic than those warriors in their animal masks.
Adam was all animal.
She ran. Her feet barely touching the leaves of the forest floor, her hair flowing out behind her as she darted through brush, trees and around rocks. She could hear him crashing through the trees; her heart pounding between her ears roared like thunder.
As much as she wanted him, she wasn’t going to make this easy for him.
She wanted the hunt.
She wanted to be his prey.
His and only his.
She was running blindly in the dark and then she skidded to a stop when she realized she’d hit the lake and there was nowhere to turn to. She was trapped. Adam came crashing through the bush then, a rumble in his chest, panting as his eyes locked on hers.
Her nipples hardened, her pussy aching in anticipation of being claimed by him. She wanted that big, delicious cock buried deep inside her, thrusting in and out until she screamed in pleasure.
“Mine,” he growled, closing the gap between them. His large hands covered her shoulders and he forced her to the ground on her hands and knees.
Dagda, yes. I want this.
She wanted this.
Always.
His cock pressed against her entrance before thrusting into her. Filling her. She cried out, his hands wrapped around her hips and he pumped into her with a frenzy, like a rutting beast.
She rocked her hips, riding the length of him. The orgasm building up in the pit of her belly, her hands began to turn into vapor as pleasure overtook her. She let out a wail, not the harbinger wail, but high-pitched as the banshee part of her took over. It was like she was about to levitate off the forest floor, but she grounded herself the best she could and tried to hold on.
Adam’s pace quickened. His thrusts becoming shallower, quicker, and then he let out a roar as he came, her pussy squeezing him as his hot seed spilled inside her. He slipped out of her and rolled over on his back, breathing heavily. She maintained control on her corporeal form and clung to his chest, burying herself in his fur and drinking in the scent of his arousal.
“That was…fun,” he murmured, wrapping his arms around her protectively to cover her.
“It was,” she replied, clinging to his fur.
“I’ve never hunted a mate before,” he panted.
“You’re very, very good at it.”
“Did I scare you?” he asked.
“No.” She leaned over him and pressed a kiss on his neck. “Nothing scares me.”
Except control and the possibility that Adam’s life was in danger. That terrified her, but she kept that thought to herself.
“Should we go back?” he asked.
“Can’t we just lie here for the night?”
Adam nodded and pulled her in closer. “The shoreline is nice.”
“And you’re warm.” She kissed him again. “Just hold me close.”
All she wanted to do was lie here in the arms of her bigfoot and forget about everything. This was all she wanted.
She wasn’t asleepfor long when she heard a splash, like a slap on the water. She opened her eyes slowly. Adam was still out cold, but holding her tight. Her eyes adjusted on the water and she could see a luminescent glow under the still blackness of the lake.
Coraliane surfaced and then climbed up on a rock. She was grinning when her cold eyes focused on Adam.
“My, my, he is quite the specimen,” Coraliane whispered, licking her pink lips.
“Come to collect?” Aoife asked, controlling the urge to ring the mermaid’s neck for looking at Adam covetously.
Coraliane grinned. “Yes. I lived up to my end of the bargain and I didn’t tell Prince Ivar where you were or…who you were with.”
Aoife vanished from Adam’s arms, putting him under a simple sleeping spell, so that he wouldn’t wake up at all. He didn’t need to hear about her deal with this devil. She called her dress and cloak to her when she was in mist form so she stood in front of the mermaid completely clothed.
“Let’s get this over with,” Aoife muttered.
Coraliane nodded. “There’s a human male in White River. The bastard owes me money.”
“And?” Aoife asked. “You want me to kill him for money?”
“No, but he’s Irish. Scare him and put a curse on him. Once he pays me, I won’t bother you again. That’s all I need.”
“I thought mermaids weren”t supposed to have dealings with humans either.”
Coraliane scoffed. “All the rules are ridiculous. I don’t fear repercussions. My business is mine.”
So, the Sasquatches weren’t the only ones annoyed with all the restrictions in the realms. There was a change in the air, but Aoife ignored it.
“How do I know you won’t double cross me?” Aoife asked.
“If I do double cross you, you’ll get my singing voice. Mermaids are sirens after all, I do lure men to their deaths, if I want. The asshole in White River won’t even go near the water, but he is terrified of banshees. Never thought I’d get my money back. Good thing you stumbled into Thunder Bay. I know your lot is kept under lock and key.”
“Fine. Visualize his house and I’ll go there.”
Coraliane focused her gaze on her. “You should have it. Once it’s done, find me down by the river in town and then you can head back to your precious yeti.”
“I don’t want them to get hurt while I’m gone. They’re innocent,” Aoife stated, glancing back at Adam.
“They won’t be. They’re protected here.” Coraliane slipped back into the water and Aoife got a clear visual of the house in White River that sat in the middle of the bush. Adam was still sleeping peacefully. Though Coraliane promised protection, Aoife placed a few wards around the forest to keep Adam and his brothers safe.
She’d be back before they knew she’d left.
Adam wouldn’t wake for hours, between their frenzied mating and her sleep spell.
There were a few more hours to the dawn and she hoped she could get this whole thing done and over with before the spell wore off.
As much as she didn’t ever want to use her banshee howl to threaten or kill, she would do it to protect Adam and his brothers, because she was coming to the stark realization that she was falling in love with him.
And she wanted a family with him, one she’d protect with her very life.