Chapter 6
Glavior
She asked?!
That”s all it takes for my brothers to betray me? An admittedly beautiful woman that has been driving me fucking insane for the last five years, just has to ask and my brothers will let her rule our entire life!
Okay, yeah, that makes sense, and betrayal was a strong word. It’s not like I’d explicitly said that I was the leader or that the position meant so much to me. My brothers have done little more than kill anything that annoys them and reminisce on what they would do with their mate. Onyx and Cerise have always said they would spoil their mate so much, no one else would be able to be around them. Draoithe (dree-ahct) wants to show his mate what fun is, his words not mine, and Syrinox just wants someone to love him.
Me, I’ve known for a while exactly who my mate is, and she is just frustratingly perfect sitting drinking beer with my brothers as she ever was in school. I have a feeling, and by feeling I mean I’ve had to listen to them talk about it nonstop, that my brothers and I share a mate. I’m not upset about it at all, though. I know that my kind don’t alway express our feelings in a way that is easily understood by others, so having my brothers by my side to explain all the weird shit I have the urge to do can only make this easier.
Astrate sits in the chair, smirking up at me like she knows how upset I am at the twins telling her she can lead the quest. She is very wrong, I’m not upset, I’m hard as fuck! It would take a strong female to wrangle us in, and I know for a fact that Astrate has every bit of the spunk she’ll need to keep us in line.
Syrinox is signing, telling us all how much he wants to fuck the pretty pixie, smirking as she watches his hands fly through signs. I roll my eyes and fix my chair, sitting down heavily, resigned to my fate of having to take orders from the pixie without any physical gratification.
“So, why exactly are we letting a pixie lead the quest? Other than the fact that the twins are incapable of telling the pretty woman no?” My low voice is rough as gravel, but even quiet, it gains everyones’ attention, stopping all the conversation around the table.
“She needs the information we have on the Dragon.” Cerise says, slowly peeling the paint off his stein with long, lith fingers.
“And we need one more member of the band to get into the keep.” Onyx finishes Cerise’s thoughts like usual.
“Besides,” Dree draws, his voice slow and floaty like always as his half lidded gaze stays locked on Astrates face. “I don’t see any harm in having a powerful woman pulling my chains.”
He smirks my way, outright laughing when Nox signs some vulgar shit about how much I’d enjoy being chained and used by Astrate. I flip him off, more upset at being called out than anything. I mean, he isn’t wrong. I have a deep seated desire to be dominated by the tiny woman sitting in front of me.
“Okay.” Astrate says, slamming her tiny little hands on the table. “I need to know that sign thing the ocean guy is doing. Also, I need names! The only one I know is Glavior. If I’m going to be working with you, I need to know what to call you!”
I blink slowly, realizing that none of us have bothered with introductions. It’s her fault really, seeing as the woman has been purposefully avoiding us for the last week. Still, it is rude of us to just absorb her into our group without telling her who she is foolishly getting involved with. I know Astrate, know her better than she knows herself. I’ve spent years at the academy studying her, watching her.
She feels the pull to us as strongly as we feel it towards her. Still, she will convince herself that she can be close to us, work with us, and not get attached. She will try to tell her mind that she doesn’t need or want mates, but she is wrong on both accounts. I remember the longing that would fill her eyes as more and more mated pairs hooked up at school. Watched as she cried out her heartbreak behind the willow grove when her twin told her he found his mates.
She can try to say she doesn’t want mates, and maybe she is scared that having mates will change something fundamentally in her life. But I know that deep down, she doesn’t want to be alone. She doesn’t want to settle for watching Ahazu live his life with Mates and long for something for herself. Good thing for her, I don’t plan on letting her go now that she’s taken the first step in our direction, and I know my brothers feel the same way.
***
Astrate
These men are going to drive me fucking insane! The Twins are sitting there smirking, sharing looks between each other as if they are having a separate conversation inside their minds than what we are all having out loud at the table. The ocean shifter is moving his hands again, a smirk on his face suggesting his silent words are a lot dirtier than I was making them in my head. Glavior is staring at me with that same intense expression that he has worn since the first time I met him on Orientation Day at the Academy.
People moved around Ahazu and I as they rushed to speak to old friends and compare schedules with people. Boo and Dalli are still in the registration line, but Boo sends us a wisp of shadows, his nifty way of sending messages from a distance.
“Go get some campus maps from the other table, we are next up, we’ll meet you at the door in the back to do a tour.”
Ahazu nods, smiling at Boo and Dalli and waving as we turn to go to the map table. I look up at my brother, shaking out my wings and collecting the dust with my magic so others can’t use it for spells or drugs. As I open my mouth to say something to my brother, his eyes go wide and a hand flies out to clutch my arm, trying to stop me. It was too late though. My chest bumps into a solid wall of muscles. My body bounces back and I about fall on my ass, saved by two large hands that circle my waist on overlap. The blue skin with silver stars swirling under the surface sends heat scorching through my middle and pooling between my thighs. A hard tug in my chest has my eyes snapping up to the face of the man that saved me from falling over.
“Holy fucking shit!” The man growls out, his hands tightening just a fraction on my waist as he pulls me against his chest. “Why the fuck aren’t you watching where you’re going? Are you trying to get yourself hurt? Trying to get your beautiful ass into trouble?”
The stranger growled, clutching me to his chest as if I was a treasure and someone was trying to snatch me away. Ahazu growled, his magic flaring out, silently wrapping around the man holding me in his arms. The tug in my chest is insisting I force myself closer to him, that I kiss him, take him right here, right now. Looking up into his eyes, I see the intense way he stares at me. Watch the emotions in his eyes as he studies every detail of my face. As we stare at each other, the noise of the large room fades away. Nothing seems to penetrate the bubble of … whatever the fuck this is between us.
I’m so close to snapping, taking this man and demanding he please me, but Ahazu’s hands wrap around the top of my arms and he snatches me away from the man with long tusks and eyes so intense I can’t imagine ever being able to forget the way his gaze sinks under my skin. Ahazu drags me through the crowd, leaving the big man standing there staring after us, his big hands clenched into fists at his sides. The people quickly flow around us again, covering the space left empty in our wake, separating the giant man away from me and making my heart feel stretched and strangely empty.
From that moment to today, he has stared at me like I’m the most precious thing on the planet. He growled, huffed, and generally acted like he hated me, but he also gave compliments and watched me like he needed my chest to rise and fall for his world to keep spinning.
I can see the excitement and awe in the twins” eyes. Both of them are practically bouncing in their seats, jumping at the chance to do something for me, get me something, or simply touch me if I allow it.
Still, no matter how much they prance around, wiggling like excited puppies, I can’t very well tell them to fuck off without knowing their names.
“So,” Glavior’s deep rolling voice cut through my thoughts, bringing me back to the question at hand … who are these guys I’ve aligned myself with.
“The twins are Cerise and Onyx, named for the color of their eyes and magic.” The twins smile at me, looking eerily alike, yet somehow fucking adorable. Glavior waves a hand towards the other side of the table, introducing the last two. “The tree is Draoithe, or Dree, and the ocean shifter, as you called him, is Syrinox. He’s mute and communicates in a human form of sign-language, or talking with his hands.”
Syrinox moves his hands, smirking and winking at me like I should understand what he’s saying. I shake my hand, fighting the smile trying to work its way across my lips as I watch him move his arms and fingers, creating words and thoughts. It’s actually sort of beautiful, the way he throws his entire body into his words. His fingers move like liquid. His face twitching and changing so minutely I’m not sure he even realizes it happens. Even his breathing changes and his lips move like a shadow of what the words are supposed to look like coming out of his mouth.
Glavior shifts in his seat, drawing my gaze back to the big man, breaking the trance Syrinox had me in with his movements. The orc- genie hybrid looks uncomfortable sitting in the chair that barely holds his frame. He’s scowling again as he watches Syrinox sign. His gaze flickers back towards me ever so often and I can’t fight the smile anymore. These men clearly enjoy my presence, and I can’t lie to myself and try to pretend I’m not having a nice night with them. I know I’m supposed to be working, that Ahazu is waiting for me back at the manor, and that I need that information on the Dragon sooner rather than later, but still. I can’t seem to tug myself away from these five men.
Eventually, the pub starts to clear out. I’ve sat in mostly silence as the men chat around me. I’ve picked up some of Syrinox’s words, just watching him sign and judging the reactions of the other men. I’ve also noticed that Dree tends to sign when he talks, but only things directed towards Syrinox. The two men seem close, almost as close as the twins. My phone has been dinging like crazy, but I’ve been ignoring it, hoping to spend some more time getting to know the men I’m so drawn to.
Fowlynn soars in through the front door as more patrons of the bar leave, resting on my shoulder and pushing his head against my cheek.
Ahazu is home and asking for you. He needs to speak with you. Ask your men to come back to the manor, Ahazu has fixed them some rooms and had their things moved from the Inn.
I pull away from my feathered friend, narrowing my eyes at him. Of course my meddling familiar would get my equally meddlesome brother involved in his scheme to push me closer. Though, I can’t seem to find any reason to not do as he suggested. Glancing up at the men, I see them all staring at me and Fowlynn.
“It seems you all are going to be staying with me until we get this quest finished. Your things have been relocated, and it is getting late. Come.”
I don’t give them a chance to object or comment, I stand, waving a hand at Kelsy and tossing the hood of my cloak over my head, concealing the bright shine of my white locks. I hear the men walking behind me, none of them speaking. My mind wonders, questioning what they are thinking, trying to guess what their reaction will be to the manor, and how my brother will react to the band of men I’m bringing home. The conclusion my thoughts finally come to, is that this is going to be a very long fucking night.