Chapter 6 Dove #2
“I know. I already sense what you want.” His lingering voice stirs my thoughts.
What do I want? How can he know something I haven’t even allowed myself to dream of before?
Children have never been on the cards for me.
My dreams of Castor were always just dreams, and even then, when my mind wandered to what colour hair our children might possess, I put an immediate stop to such extravagant ideas.
Those types of thoughts were lethal. I had already lost my whole family.
It was hard to imagine having another, only for them to potentially be ripped away again.
“You and our family will always be safe. I will make sure of it.” Rivern reassures my warring mind. A heavy burden—one I know he can never guarantee.
“Godsdammit.” Abruptly, a sharp pain rips through my head, my hands going for purchase at my temples. Rivern tenses above me.
“Dove?” A booming voice finds its way into my mind, sidling up ever so forcefully next to Rivern’s.
“Gods, Fury, what was that?” I admonish the God who suddenly decides to make an appearance.
“Do you forget—I am the God, and I lost you. That shouldn’t happen.
I didn’t imagine that serpent brew would cloud your mind so much that I couldn’t get through.
” His anger turns almost hysterical, making me nearly want to giggle at the strange turn of events.
Imagining the black-horned, winged creature from my dreams stomping around his tower, distressed at my sudden disappearance, is oddly comforting. He cares?
“Of course I fucking care,” his words continue to boom. I rub at my temples, trying to relieve the growing headache from my bonded.
“Do you have to shout?” I ask the crazed voice within.
“Love, are you okay?” Sparkling eyes shine down with concern. Rivern continues to hover over me, our bond not letting us go until I’m thoroughly impregnated, apparently.
“She’s fine,” Fury answers within both of our heads. I can tell immediately it’s not just my head because Rivern flinches—hard.
I feel the wolf glide off the bed.
No, no, no. What is going on? Fury showing up is ruining everything. I want Gideon. I want Rivern. The God is the annoying voice in my head I can do without. He forced me into this.
My gaze flicks towards the wolf shifter, who is now stuffing himself into his pants as Rivern says, “What’s going on, Dove? Who is in my head?”
“Gideon?” I ignore the question. My wolf stalks away, not even giving me a second glance. My stomach clenches. Why did he just walk away?
One movement, I was about to swallow him whole, and now, I’ve got two agitated, bonded males at me. The thrumming cords that connect us sizzle with a different heat than before. My eyes once again find Rivern.
“That is Fury. The God I am bonded to.” I try to push at the fae prince who’s still very much inside of me. He doesn’t budge. His eyes are smoky in their torment over this new situation.
Leaning down, he says steadily, “Don’t push me away.
I want an explanation of how this came to be.
” I can sense how this news rocks him, finally hearing the God in question.
He must have been hiding some parts of his feelings around this topic when I first mentioned it before Moyrie.
His eyes dart over my face, trying to assess the severity of the situation.
Placing my hand over his thumping heart, I try my best to calm him. “It doesn’t mean anything. We made a deal to help my people. That is all. He means nothing to me.”
Fury gruffs down the bond. We all know that’s a lie.
Rivern’s eyes bug out of his head. He asks slowly in my head, “Did he make you sleep with him?” Worry etches his eyes. Rivern knows the truth of this, but he still needs to hear it from my lips.
I move my hands up his chest, following the curving, golden lines until I hit pointed ears. I reply, “No, I was a virgin until you, remember? He just kissed me, that’s all.”
“Yeah, lover boy, that’s all.” We both flinch when Fury sounds off in our heads.
“How can you talk to both of us?” I question the annoying God.
“Now that we are bonded, Pet, there’s also a connection between Rivern and myself. It’s just about finding the right cord and—”
“If you say ‘I’m a God’ one more time, I’m going to throttle you when I see you next.” I say this aloud, throwing my head back in exasperation. He still hears me, of course.
A chuckle worms its way through. “I look forward to my throttling, Pet. Oh, and also, lover boy can pull out now.”
“What?” Rivern and I ask at the same time.
“How do you know about—”
“About your little predicament? Well, you see, when bonded couples have sex, they—”
“Oh, shut up, we know already.” Having this internal battle with the God makes me wonder for the first rhythm how this will work.
Can I ignore our bond in favour of Rivern’s?
Maybe in favour of a wolf? No, that’s crazy.
I can’t have all of them. As much as Rivern was willing to share me this time, it doesn’t mean he’s open to always experiencing that.
Right? Maybe Gideon leaving was a good thing?
I was so close to—well, sucking his cock.
I’d never done that before. My whole body lights up, wondering about the maybes of what could’ve happened—the possibilities.
It had to be the green elixir we were served. That has to explain it. I’ve never been so wanton before. I’ve also never wanted anyone like I’ve wanted Rivern and maybe Gideon…
As my mind wanders, Rivern inches back down my body, gently removing his cock from inside me.
“Fuuuuck,” we both groan at the same time.
He goes to rest beside me.
I suddenly feel an emptiness within my core.
I wish he hadn’t pulled out. An unexpected thought, considering I’ve never wanted anyone inside me before.
But Rivern… I could live with him nestled within me for all of eternity and never grow tired.
Sure, it’s not practical, but that’s what this bond is doing to me—turning me into some lovesick fiend.
Moving to the side, I find two eyes watching my every move. Two eyes that look like they haven’t had their fill yet. I can relate. Running my hand over Rivern’s chest, I feel an electricity move through my body. A need, begging for more—need that I fear will never see me having enough of him.
“We could run. Hop on Mage and never look back. Solen can scout a safe route for us.” Rivern’s fingers trail over my cheekbones. I suck in his familiar, piny scent. I melt as he brushes his fingers into my hair.
That sounds nice. We could just run away from it all.
But then I’m reminded of a tug in my chest that will always find me, a ruby-red dragon who needs her baby and children starving on the steps of a broken kingdom.
“You know we can’t.”
“Goddess.” My fae prince flops on his back beside me, running his right hand through his hair, never taking his left hand off my body.
I don’t even need to tell him why we can’t just up and run.
He knows why—Rivern can feel what I feel, can sense where my thoughts lead.
It’s not so much that we can read each other’s minds. It’s more of a knowing—a feeling.
Oddly, I don’t feel it as strongly with Fury. I don’t see his heart like I can see Rivern’s, even though we are fully bonded. Maybe that’s why it’s easier for me to keep pushing the God away.
Turning to Rivern, I ask, “Are we safe here?” My fae prince seems content to linger in bed, trailing his fingers over my flesh.
I need to make sure we are okay. Rivern doesn’t look like a prisoner of this land, but now I am starting to feel somewhat normal again—less needy—I can think with a clear head.
Snuggling into my neck, trailing tickling kisses up towards my ear, he answers, “I’ll keep you safe, love.”
I groan loudly, mostly at his insinuation that I cannot take care of myself—and maybe a slight bit from the nibbles at my earlobe.
“Can we sleep, or are we going to be killed as we rest?”
Pulling back, he traces the line of my wrinkling brow. “We will be fine. Each night they have undertaken this nightly ritual, and each night I come to bed and no one bothers me.”
My eyes go wide. “Including your bride?”
Rivern chuckles.“She’s not my bride. You are.
” His nose finds mine, his hands glide down my body to pull our naked forms together.
My heart gives out at his words. I’m his.
I can barely believe it. I’m his. And I like it—no, I love it.
The bond definitely likes it as it hums happily with my chest, creating its own special beat.
“Sleep, my love. I will be right here when you wake up.”
Flashbacks of a horrible pain in my chest make me grasp my arms around Rivern, pulling him closer. “I’m never leaving you again,” he says, rubbing circles on my back. Slowly, my heart begins to calm, and I suddenly find myself with extremely heavy-lidded eyes.