Chapter 10 - Zephyr
I didn’t know what I was doing, not when I kissed her again. Not when I had her face cradled in my palms, and my body was nudging hers back towards the bed—towards a decision I couldn’t make anymore.
My instincts roared at me—I wanted her. I hated her. The two were a delicious, addictive cocktail of feelings I was downing, gulp after gulp. She had tricked me by bringing me here, into this witch’s sanctuary, knowing we were stuck here until we got our all-clear to leave.
But everything flew from my mind as soon as our lips met, and she parted hers beneath mine, her head tipping back. She was so goddamn small . I towered over her. How could she ever think she was as powerful as me?
She’s your enemy , I told myself, even as I deepened the kiss.
You should kill her, not want her.
And yet I didn’t pull away— couldn’t pull away. I realized no force in the world would stop me from pursuing her until she told me to. My eyes squeezed closed, and my whole body tensed. God , I wanted her. Her hands remained at her sides, but I wanted them on me.
“You can touch me,” I murmured between kisses. I pulled back, gazing down at her. “Or can you not bear the thought of wanting to?”
“I can bear it just as much as you can, shifter,” she told me. And the way she said it— shifter —like it was a filthy word, as filthy as I made witch sound had my hand wrapping around her throat lightly.
Her eyes fluttered.
“Careful, Adalyn,” I warned. She swallowed, and the movement of her throat rippled against my hand. Her eyes flickered to mine, looking up the line of my left arm, blacked out with ink. A blush rose to her pale cheeks. I flexed my fingers on her neck. “Well? No more words?”
“You disgust me,” she told me, and I wasn’t sure if she was goading me again or telling the truth. Perhaps both.
I smiled at her, tipping my head. The scent of her arousal flooded the air, and I laughed, imagining her hating how her body responded to me. “How about I find out how true that is?”
“What—”
“Spread your legs,” I told her, cutting her off.
“Zeph—”
“Is it a no?”
“No,” she whispered.
“Do you want to stop?”
I saw her own war with herself before she murmured, “No.”
I pushed her back onto the bed, leaning over her. “Then. Spread. Your. Legs.”
She let out a whimper as she parted her thighs. I looked down at Adalyn, raising a brow. Her eyes met mine. Her dark hair spilled over the pillow, falling in waves that I thought were delicate . Delicate. I almost scoffed. Nothing about her was delicate—she could pretend she was, but I saw what she buried underneath. A rougher side to the witch. Someone that I wanted to snap if just so I had a reason to retaliate.
I let myself fall so I could brace myself over her.
My eyes met hers.
“Scared, shifter?” she asked.
“Never,” I growled and then grabbed her thighs in my hands and shoved them apart, settling between them. The skirt of her dress fell back to her hips, the hem brushing almost to where the material cut-outs exposed her waist, and I smoothed my hand over her thighs, laughing at the twitch of muscle beneath my touch.
“Eager?” I drawled.
“No,” she answered through gritted teeth.
“Unfortunate.” And then I pressed my mouth to her panties, right where there was a patch of arousal that pulled me to her. Adalyn moaned softly as my tongue delved up the center of her folds through the thin, black lace. Her hands came to slide over my head, fingers grazing the shaved sides of my head. She pushed back the hair that fell over my forehead, and when I looked up from my teasing, her eyelids were heavy.
“Tell me how much I disgust you,” I told her. “And let me watch what it does to you right here.” I kept my eyes on her as I pressed a finger to where I wanted to enter her when I finally tore the flimsy material away. As much as I wanted to unleash my instincts on her, I wanted her to admit she wanted me. I wanted to hear it. I wanted her begging for my cock.
I wanted her begging for her enemy before the night was through.
“Don’t,” she whimpered. I smirked at her, lightly brushing her heat, still not letting her feel skin contact yet. “Don’t make me humiliate myself.”
“Oh, you’d find that humiliating?” I feigned ignorance, my tone teasing, mocking. “Why, Adalyn?”
I lay my tongue flat against her panties, knowing that the way the material was lace and let her have the briefest sensations of my tongue against her skin through the gaps of lace, would be torture.
“Is it because you’re soaked?” I asked her, pulling back to once again tease her with my fingers. I circled her entrance, my gaze flickering from her flushed, covered face to her pussy. “Is it because you’re so ready for me to fuck you, and you don’t like wanting that?” I moved upwards, so I could fold myself over her body.
“Is it because you want your enemy’s cock, Adalyn, but won’t beg for it?” I grasped her face in a harsh grip, licking into her mouth. Her hips canted upwards, and she let out a whimper when she found that I was hard.
“I don’t fuck anyone unless they beg me,” I murmured, biting down on her lower lip. “So, how about you get on your knees and start begging for what you really want?”
Adalyn’s eyes widened as I pulled away, motioning for her to turn around and get on her knees—on all fours. I wanted that pussy in the air when she begged me.
“Now, witch,” I growled.
Calling her a witch was what did it. It broke her resolve, as if it reminded her exactly who she was. As if she thought she better me in some way. Her eyes fell to where my cock strained in my pants, pressing against the zipper. While she was watching, I flicked the button, unzipped my pants, and tugged my pants down. Her eyes took in the entirety of my length, licking her lips slightly, just enough to wet them.
I didn’t want her mouth on me—at least not right now. I just wanted to bury myself in her. For all my teasing of her, I knew I wouldn’t be able to stand looking at her face as she pleasured me with her mouth. That was too intimate, somehow.
So I crawled back onto the bed, kneeling over her. Her hands reached for my shirt, tugging it off. The scrape of her nails purposefully catching each new exposed patch of skin made me groan, and drove me insane as I fought not to pin her there and then.
But as soon as my shirt was thrown to the floor, I surged over her, grasping her wrists and pinning them above her head. I slid my length over her still-clothed pussy. She moaned at the feel of me pressed against her. I felt how she clenched as if waiting for what she wanted.
“Beg,” I whispered again, my mouth at her ear. I kissed down her neck, licking her skin, tasting her, stifling my own groans.
“Fuck—you—” But her curses came out as a whimper when I bit down on the slope between her neck and shoulder. “Don’t— God —don’t bite me there.”
“Why not?” I laughed, licking the spot where I’d bitten, sucking a bruise into her skin.
“I’m not one of you,” she hissed but moaned weakly when I ground my cock against her again. “Zephyr, please .”
“Please, what?”
I smiled against her throat, kissing right over the center.
“Please fuck me,” she asked, her voice soft and whining enough that it made me twitch, but I wanted more.
“You’ll have to ask better than that,” I teased.
I pulled back in time to see her glare at me.
“God, you’re hot when you’re angry,” I told her. “ Hotter , in fact.”
“Big talk from a shifter who can’t decide if he wants to kill me or fuck me,” she snapped breathlessly. “Is that really why you’re stalling, Zephyr?”
She surprised me when she reached between us to grasp my length, stroking me a few times before I pulled away from her grip, snarling. My anger sparked up as I tore her dress off her—clean tore it off her body, shredding whatever was left as it fell to the bed around her.
“Are you kidding—”
“Shut up,” I snarled. The lace panties were next to go, tearing easily as I yanked them off her. I wanted that pussy bared without any restrictions. “Beg. Final chance, Adalyn.”
“Then what?” She had the nerve to giggle, as if she wasn’t the one splayed out on the bed, thighs parted, and glistening arousal between her legs.
“I’ll take what I want my way,” I warned her.
Her eyes darkened, a smirk rising to her lips. “And what’s that?”
I crooked a grin at her. “Do you really want to know?”
“Yes,” she breathed.
I let her wait for a moment, letting the anticipation hang in the air, before I was up, moving, folding myself over her. I flipped her over and pushed her hips up, smacking her ass once simply because I couldn’t help myself. She let out a hitched noise at that. Now that I had what I wanted right there in front of me, I couldn’t hold back.
Desire and need flooded every rational thought as I roughly yanked her hips to press against mine. My cock slid against that wet heat.
“You want this?” I whispered.
“Please,” she whispered, turning her head. But the longer those eyes were on me, the more I remembered what I was doing, where I was, and I couldn’t handle that yet.
“Do better,” I snarled, pressing her face into the cushion beneath her.
Adalyn let out a giggle as she wiggled her hips against me. I teased up her fold with a finger before pushing it in without warning. Her giggle choked off in a moan.
“Zephyr,” she said softly, entirely too soft for how I felt. A storm raged inside me, and I wanted to let it out. I wanted to unleash it on her. I couldn’t kill her, so I would have this chance instead. “Zephyr, please —please give me your cock.”
“More,” I growled, growing more angry, more pent-up. It wasn’t enough, not even as I added another finger, and then a third, preparing her. She opened for me beautifully, her legs spread apart, her ass moving with the motion. Her arousal soaked her skin, my knuckles, and I wanted to devour her whole. I wanted her.
It settled rage in me.
I smacked her ass again. She let out a keening noise.
“Please, please, please,” she whispered. “I’ll be so good for you—please just give me your cock.”
“How much do you want it?” Do you want me ?
“So bad,” she moaned, spreading her legs even further as I finished preparing her and lined the head of my cock up at her entrance. “Make me feel good, Zephyr.”
The thought of her thanking me for being fucked made my head spin as I grasped her ass cheeks and spread her entrance. She clenched for all, all pretty and pink. The tip of my length pressed to that wet heat, and she inhaled sharply.
I gazed down the length of her body. She was slim, freckles dotted across her shoulders, all pale skin on show. I wanted her bruised—I wanted to cover her in my own marks. I wanted her ass decorated red.
My cock twitched against her.
I pushed myself right in until I fully sheathed in her.
She let out these gasping noises, her hips jerking as if both trying to get away and press back for more. My name fell from her lips in broken moans as I moved, not giving her time to adjust. She had asked me what my way was. I could have been gentler. But she’d asked what my way was—and my way was giving into the roaring instincts to have her at my mercy.
So I stayed there for a moment, feeling the tightness of her heat envelope me completely, before I pulled back out, all the way. Her arousal coated my length, and I groaned at the thought of pushing my cock into her mouth, making her taste herself on me, but I didn’t want that tonight.
I grabbed her hands, yanking her arms behind her back to hold onto. I braced my other hand over her.
“Keep your hips up,” I whispered. “And hold onto something.”
Her hands scrabbled for the bedframe—and then I fucked her. It was wild, rough, every inch of animal instincts raging inside me, pouring out into my animalistic need for her. My enemy, this woman whose life I wanted to claim. And yet, I had found this other way to claim her instead.
Her face was pressed into the pillow still, her moans muffled, but I wanted to hear her properly. I wanted this damn witch sanctuary to know that one of their own moaned like this for a shifter.
I kept the pace fast and hard, keeping one hand holding her wrists, and the other with a grip on her hips that would bruise later. Good . I wanted her to bear the reminders of this.
“Adalyn,” I groaned, hating how her name tasted on my tongue but unable to help chasing the need—the sheer burning desire that coursed through me every time I moved inside her.
I thrust in and out of her, unable to keep holding back. Soon, I was fully folded over her, releasing her hands, and bracing my arms on either side of her head. All I could think about was that tight heat and chasing our climaxes. I wanted her filled with me—I wanted to pull out and watch my own seed seeping out of her. I wanted her to know that she had let me in and submitted to me.
I moaned quietly at the thought of that.
The sound of my hips meeting her ass was heady as I fucked her, delighting in the tremors and shakes coursing through her body. Her thighs quivered as her hips tried to meet my own, but I held her firmly still, wanting to take control.
“Zephyr,” she cried, clutching the pillow. I could see where her nails had torn into the cover. Sharp slices that I wanted on my own skin. Pain for pain. Pain mixed with pleasure—it was all I wanted.
“Louder,” I breathed.
“Zephyr,” she called out, her voice rising, echoing off the stone chamber. I wanted her to make this whole damn cliff tremble with her cries.
I pounded into her, my breaths coming in rugged pants.
“Yes, yes, yes,” she gasped, writhing beneath me. “Going to—fuck, Zephyr, I’m going to come.”
“You don’t get to unless you ask.”
Quickly, I pulled out, only to slide right back in against once I had flipped her onto her back. Her face was damp with tears of pleasure, her neck and clavicle completely flushed. I settled my hand over her throat but didn’t squeeze.
Fear flashed through her eyes—fear drenched in pleasure. She choked on her own moans, her face turned to me, helpless.
“Please—please, Zephyr, let me come. Please.” Her mouth parted, more moans spilling from her as my hips snapped into hers, letting her fully languish in my cock. The noises were obscene, her wet heat only spilling around us both more and more. Her eyes fluttered shut as I sped up, nearing my own orgasm.
Adalyn’s body twitched, her cries ringing loudly. “Please— oh, fuck , you feel so good—”
My hand pressed onto her throat. “What were you saying about despising me?”
She gazed at me, blissed and fucked. Her breasts swayed with the rough thrusts, and I wanted to take them into my mouth.
“I hate you,” she moaned. “I hate you so fucking much.”
My orgasm crashed into me, and I choked out, “ Come —” through a moan before I spilled into her, my hand tightening around her throat.
Adalyn did—a few more thrusts, and she was flooding around my cock, the heat spreading through us both. Her broken whines, her gasps, my name falling from her lips, were something I would not forget easily.
I groaned, burying myself in her, and stilled, as she spasmed around my length. Adalyn let out one last gasp as my cock gave one last twitch of sensitivity.
The pounding roar in my ears grew silent. I gazed down at her. I caught my breath, my harsh pants loud in the now-quiet space. I moved back, away from her, and pulled out. I spilled out of her, and I quickly pushed it back into her, laughing to myself as how she jerked and writhed against it.
I hovered, unsure of what to do now. Adalyn and I hadn’t had a civil conversation in a long time—and now this. Where did we go from here?
“There’ll be towels in the closet by that archway,” she whispered as if knowing I needed something to do.
I nodded sharply and turned to find an oak closet on the other side of the room. White towels were folded up in there. I grabbed one for her. Half thinking of throwing it at her to do herself, I knew I wanted to make sure she was comfortable. I soaked it in warm water in the sink that was set back into a bathroom space, just off the main room.
Why did I even care about making sure she was happy and comfortable?
I lapsed into silence as I returned to the bed and cleaned her gently. She winced. I fought the urge to ask if I had been too rough. I half thought the wince was my proximity to her now that the heightened moment had died down.
“It's been a long day,” I muttered. “We should get some sleep. I’ll take the floor.”
She blinked at me, then nodded. “Right.” She paused. “But the bed is big enough for the two of us, you know. Without touching.”
The thought of sharing a bed with her made me unsure of what to feel or think, but I didn’t have another option without rooting through the room to find another blanket. I listened to the side of me that didn’t want to put as much distance between us as possible, but the need to be closer to her.
Again, I questioned why ?
I slipped into bed, still naked. Adalyn didn’t reach for any clothes. Both of our bags remained at the doorway we’d come through. I was still betrayed that this was where she had brought me. A witch’s sanctuary. I despised it. Maybe that was why I’d wanted to fuck her. To show her I could still take control no matter where we were. To prove that I could still win, even if it was her own domain.
Or maybe I had just wanted her.
But the thoughts were getting tangled in my head.
“We should sleep,” I said again.
Adalyn hesitated, then nodded.
“I’ll check in with Alex tomorrow,” I told her. “You can touch base with your grandmother, too.”
She widened her eyes. “Don’t tell them where we are.”
“Why?”
She gestured at me and then around the room.
“You picked this place,” I told her carelessly. “If your brethren are upset with you, that’s on you. Alex needs to know where I am.”
“Please,” she whispered. “At least make it vague?”
“Fine,” I muttered. “But if he asks for specifics, I’m not withholding information.”
She nodded. “Okay.”
She turned her back to me. I lay down, getting as comfortable as I could despite where I was. Adalyn shuddered when I accidentally brushed too close. We said nothing else as she snapped her hand. The room fell into darkness, and I closed my eyes, trying to ignore the dread creeping in that she could very well kill me in my sleep.
***
The following day, I scoped out the hideaway we were in. It was some sort of cavern, dug into a circular, warm space with etchings of their ancient witch symbols on different walls. I had learned some of their language during my relentless hunt for witches, wanting to know what was coming my way in terms of spells and hexes.
Part of me wanted to one-up them, take them by surprise, at the knowledge of their written language.
I quickly worked out the symbols were: North, East, South, West. I faced North and felt a breeze snake through the cavern. West showed the exit, and South was another area with more symbols, lines, and lines of them. Facing East meant going towards that open archway, towards a pool that reflected light off the rocky walls. The place smelled earthy but not unpleasant. There were some necessities down here, such as camping cooking equipment: a portable stove on a shelf and a coffee machine that didn’t seem to have a wire leading anywhere.
I wonder if ran on witchy magic , I laughed to myself. Either way, I made myself a coffee, dug around for a second cup, before opting to leave Adalyn out. I couldn’t… I couldn’t bring myself to offer her anything that resembled comfort or niceties . Last night had been a mistake, a one-off. And yet it had been a demand in my veins to be so close to her, to claim her. I had seen the bruises I had given her—bruises she’d moaned for in the moment—and now I wanted to never see them again.
I didn’t need a reminder of my own weakness.
I grabbed my phone from my bag and checked for a signal. It was pretty spotty, but I can make a connection long enough for a video call to go through to Alex.
“Morning,” I said, forcing a cheer into my voice. “How are things?”
In the background, I could hear the triplets playing around, their tiny voices pitching higher when they heard me. “Uncle Z!” Hallie called, rushing over to Alex’s lap and clambering up. He angled the phone so all three kids could cram themselves in.
Alex cocked his head at the screen. “Are you underground? You look like you’re in a cave.”
“Yeah,” I answered. “That’s because I am.”
He laughed but then stopped. “Wait, really?”
“Yeah, I’m—” I hesitated. I had told Adalyn I wouldn’t withhold information, but I glanced at her sleeping form beneath the duvet. “There are some caves on one of the hiking trails. We’re set up there until you give us the notice.”
Alex nodded. “It shouldn’t be for long. A few days, maybe. I’ll let you know if it needs to be longer, but…” He paused. “Is everything okay? I didn’t think about the fact you and Adalyn were together when I ordered everyone to stay with who they were with. I don’t want you causing trouble.”
“Me?” I exclaimed. In the bed, Adalyn groaned and shifted before her soft breathing sounded again. I lowered my voice. “ She literally cast a spell to lock me down here.”
“Good,” Harper answered, pushing her way in. “As she should. That’s a barrier against a threat. She can protect you before the enemy gets to you first. Be thankful, Zeph.”
“Right,” I muttered. “I don’t need protection. I need to fight.”
And it was true: I had so much energy and tension all built inside of me. I thought last night would have helped relieve some of it, but it didn’t. I was antsy, restless.
“Is Adalyn awake?” Harper asked.
As she asked, Adalyn yawned loudly and sat up in bed, blinking sleepily at me. “Is that Harper?”
“No,” I answered. Then I looked back at the others. “I’ll check in soon. Bye.”
I hung up before any of them could talk more. It’s so they don’t figure out where we are , I told myself, but it was bullshit. I was just being an ass. But the way Harper’s hooded, sleepy eyes found me across the cavern put me on edge. I hated how soft she looked. I needed distance.
“You could have at least let me say hi,” she snapped. “Asshole. They’re not only your friends. I want to know they’re safe.”
“They’re safe,” I deadpanned. I turned away from her and sipped my coffee. I caught her gaze as I contemplated where I could go to avoid her. I didn’t have many options. It was either the pool—which I didn’t trust—or the other cavern room with the paragraph of symbols.
She looked hopefully at the coffee, so innocently hopeful that I might make her a cup. It was pathetic. Her shoulders slumped.
“Zephyr, can we talk about last night?”
“There’s nothing to talk about,” I told her. “It was a one-time thing.”
“Was it?” she prompted.
“Yes,” I answered through gritted teeth.
“You don’t have to do this,” she urged. “Shut me out like this. Don’t you… Feel anything about what we did last night?”
I feel a whole host of things, but I can’t talk about them , I thought. Out loud, I answered, “No. Help yourself to coffee.” With that, I walked away from her into the cavern.
***
The rest of the day passed like that. I heard Adalyn rummaging around in the other room. Pots clanged, bags ripped, and I wondered which of her witches kept this place stocked.
She hummed as she moved around the cavern, which I tuned out, trying to focus on translating the wall’s paragraphs. So far, I had worked out two words. Unity and blood . Both of them sent shivers down my spine.
I told myself that I only kept thinking about her because I couldn’t get away from her. I'd never get a break if she was everywhere I tried to turn. But I needed one—desperately.
Halfway through the day, I wandered into the main part of the cavern, looking to fix something to eat. Adalyn sat pouring over a map, her brows furrowed.
“What’s up?” I asked, pulling out a small pan. I could fix something up. A mini fridge held containers of food. I pulled one out and dumped the contents in. It was some sort of meat stew. Adalyn didn’t look up.
“You wouldn’t understand,” she muttered. “You see only what’s in front of you.”
“So?” I asked. “No point worrying myself about what I can’t yet see.”
She spared me a brief glance. Her eyes fell onto the stove, where I heated up a stew. Then she saw me only grab one bowl. Her jaw tightened, but she said nothing. I raised an eyebrow, daring her to.
“If I’m stuck down here, I can’t continue my shields.”
“Okay, but let’s be real. Are they actually doing anything? I saw the way that demon smashed right through them.” I shrugged, that cold defense rising in me. “When will you realize I’m right, Adalyn? Wolves are back on this island. We can be the real protectors.”
“You can’t all be everywhere at once,” she snapped. “At least I’m trying something!”
“It’s not enough!” I shouted. “Your stupid little shields are not enough!”
“I know!” she yelled.
The admittance seemed to fly from her mouth without her permission. She gasped softly, covering her mouth. Tears shined in her eyes. Quieter, she whispered, “I know, Zephyr. They need to be stronger, bigger, but I am just one witch . My coven is either dead, old, or too scared of demons to hone their powers. But I can never just give up.”
“You have to let the shifters take over,” I told her, not bothering to soften my voice. I stirred my dinner in the pan until it bubbled away, and poured it into a bowl. “We’re stronger. There are more of us. Hell, Alex can have more teams down here in half a day if we need them. But we don’t . Not yet. Not according to Hec’s intel.”
“I don’t fucking care about shifters!” she shouted. “This is my island, Zephyr!”
“Shifters were here first,” I snarled. “Don’t forget that. Azure Cove should be grateful that we even came back.”
“Oh, don’t pretend like it was planned,” she snapped. “You wanted your little vacation hotspot and stumbled into your history. Don’t try to pretend anything else.”
“Do you believe in fate?” I asked her. The question caught her off-guard. Alex did. Alex thought that was why we had decided on Azure Cove, that some invisible hand of fate was pushing us back home to where my bloodline belonged, at least.
“Shifters are everywhere.” Her voice was a snarl. “Don’t try to take the island from us.”
“So are witches.” I grabbed my bowl. “They are in every damn city I’ve ever been to because they love one home sanctuary, it seems, but can’t seem to nail their feet to their homes. They take other places for themselves. I am sick of your fucking clan popping up everywhere I go. If I had the choice, I’d eradicate both witch and demon everywhere.”
Adalyn’s eyes flared. “You don’t mean that.”
“Yes, I do,” I lied, and stormed back to the other room cavern.
The worst thing was I wasn’t even sure if I meant that. Once upon a time, I had, but now? I hadn’t killed Adalyn. I had taken her to bed last night. But that didn’t change anything.
So why haven’t you killed your enemy already ? A small voice in me whispered. Why does she still live?