Chapter 50
Isit frozen, staring up at Zeke after his explanation. Sterling is just as still behind me, and I know based on his silence that he’s as shocked as I am.
“Andras was—” I choke out. “Working with my father? To return me to him?”
Zeke’s face is tight, but he nods firmly.
“When he relayed to Raziel the extent of your unique value, the difference Aamon’s blood made in your condition, he piqued Raziel’s interest. They—” Zeke’s words cut off, anger simmering through him.
“Struck a deal. To buy you back from Andras. He was keeping you close so as to not lose his investment before the time came to return you. Or to use you in other ways, should your father choose not to work with him.”
My fingers press absently against my mouth, my head shaking slowly. “Why would he want me back? He’s the one who exiled me.”
“Because, Angel. As I said before, you are unique. Raziel panicked. He thought leaving you the way he did would end your life. But he underestimated you. And now that he knows you’re still alive, he’s realized the grave mistake he made by handing your power over to the ungoverned district.”
“But if what you’re saying is true, then how could it be dangerous to him for me to be in Andras’ hands?” I ask, trying to make sense of this tangled web.
“They may be semi-civil with one another.” Zeke shrugs.
“But that doesn’t mean Andras wouldn’t take the opportunity to blackmail Raziel if it fell in his lap.
Or use you against him, if Raziel refused.
Not to mention the rest of the Arcane-touched that are desperate for a chance to fight back against the Watchers. ”
“I can’t believe it,” Sterling whispers behind me. “Fuck, imagine what would have happened if we hadn’t—”
“I know,” Zeke interrupts. His eyes are trained on me.
There’s intent in his look as he steps forward.
He runs his hand up the length of my leg stretched out before him, landing at my hip.
“You see, Angel. None of us wanted to hurt you, but the risk was too great. We needed to get you away. We needed to keep you safe.”
He’s so close to me now that his broad body fills my entire field of vision. All I can see is chiseled, corded muscle and swirls of black ink. He did this for me. He set this whole plan in motion to save me.
I reach my hand out, tracing over his ink.
His eyes stay on me, filled with the same look he gave me when I did this to him in the kitchen, back at the clubhouse.
Before, I thought it was indifference in his eyes.
Maybe even hate. But now I can see it’s desire.
Raw, intense, nearly uncontrollable want.
A realization hits me all at once. If what he's sharing is true, then Aamon’s cruelty was fabricated. My heart leaps with hope.
“And what about Aamon? Quinn?” I breathe, barely able to contain my concern. “Will they be safe?”
Zeke nods, reluctantly. “Aamon is bloodbound to Andras, he couldn’t leave. But he’s promised to be careful. All that mattered was getting you out. I’m sure they'll reach out when they think it’s safe to do so.”
I don’t like the answer, but I close my eyes and nod. I am under no impression that the gods would lend their ear to me, but I send up a silent prayer for their safety all the same.
“What matters now is how you feel.” Zeke hooks a finger under my chin, lifting my gaze back to him. “Do you believe me? Do you trust me now?”
I take a minute to mull it over. So much has happened these past few weeks.
Zeke has questioned me, ignored me, insulted me.
Hells, he’s even flat out rejected me. But he’s also tried to save my life twice now.
And no matter how cruel he’s been, it never once made me not want him.
Something about his attention, both positive and negative, feels like a lifeline worth chasing.
“For what it’s worth,” he adds. His eyes drift from me to Sterling. “I am sorry. So incredibly sorry.”
I blink, a single tear trailing down my cheek.
He leans down, his tongue darting out to lick at the path it’s blazed.
My eyes flutter closed again and I’m suddenly overcome with how badly I want this.
Want them. The noise in my mind has cleared, the fog lifting to provide a moment of clarity, and I realize this is exactly where I’m supposed to be.
Just as it had felt right to be caught between Aamon and Quinn, it feels equally accurate to be here. Between them.
“What do you say, Angel?” Sterling leans in, his silken voice wrapping around me as Zeke’s lips work their way over the left side of my face. “Should we forgive him?”
I hum, enjoying the feel of Zeke’s doting attention. “Under one condition,” I breathe.
Zeke snickers. I can feel his smile against my cheek as he shakes his head. “You and Aamon. You two are truly more alike than I think either of you would ever admit.”
He pulls back, just far enough to see my face. “Name your price, Evangeline.”
“I want the three of us to be bloodbound. To complete the loop fully. No more secrets, no more offset power. Sterling drinks from me, you drink from him. We start with a clean slate.”
Zeke’s eyes travel to Sterling behind me, his head tilting in question.
“Don’t look at me, Ezekiel. I’ve been dying to taste her blood from the first moment I set eyes on her.
” As if to punctuate this confession, Sterling leans forward and nips at the curve of my neck.
I jump in surprise but melt into him as his bite turns into a soft kiss.
He pulls away, looking back to Zeke. “So what do you say?”
Zeke sits back on his heels, his eyes bouncing from me to Sterling and back. He folds his arms over his chest and is silent for a painful few moments. So long that I wonder if he may actually deny us. But then his eyes twinkle with mischief, his lips curving up in a sinister grin.
“I say fuck yes.” And before I can react, his lips are crashing against mine as Sterling’s fangs sink into my neck. I try to cry out at the sudden sting of pain, but the sound is muffled against Zeke’s mouth. He uses the opportunity to deepen the kiss, his tongue claiming me.
My eyes roll back as Sterling’s mouth closes around the wound on my neck, sucking deeply at the blood that’s flowing there. I’m met with the same sensation I had when Zeke accepted my offering, heat racing through my body and settling in my core.
My hands are desperate to feel Zeke against me and I reach for him, digging my fingers into his waistband and pulling him towards me. I vaguely register his husky chuckle as I fumble with the button of his jeans. Thank the gods he’s already discarded his belt, making my job that much easier.
Sterling unlatches from my neck, wrapping his hand around my throat and pulling me back against him. “Fuck, Angel. You taste absolutely divine. Even better than I could have possibly imagined.”
“She does, doesn’t she?” Zeke agrees, lifting my wrist to his mouth. His fangs gleam in the darkness of the bedroom, just a flash before he sinks them into my skin. I open my mouth to cry out, but the pain slips away, replaced by a moan.
Zeke pulls off a moment later, licking his bloodstained lips. “Like the heavens and hells collided.”
Heat stains my cheeks, my gaze averting. But Zeke isn’t having it, and gestures for Sterling to turn my face back to him. He reaches forward, stripping my skirt. “How does it feel?” he asks, teasing the small strip of fabric down my legs and delicately lifting each of my ankles to let it fall away.
“How does what feel?” I ask, my voice more breathy than I mean for it to be.
“To have us both bound to you, Angel.” Sterling’s hand leaves my throat, traveling down between the valley of my breasts.
He fingers the hem of my top, lifting it to reveal the lacy bralette Aamon had thrown in my bag for me.
Knowing what I know now, I can’t help but wonder if he chose this one intentionally.
“I think our girl has gotten a bit distracted,” Zeke purrs.
He leans forward, flattening his palm against my rib cage.
He hooks two fingers under the band of my undergarment, shoving it up roughly and freeing my breasts.
He leans in, cupping one in his hand and running his tongue over the peak.
“Or perhaps,” he says, looking up at me through his long, black lashes. “She just didn’t hear you.”
Sterling leans in behind me, nipping at my lobe. “We asked,” he whispers, his breath tickling my ear, "how it feels to have us both bound to you. To feel our power meld with yours, to feel the control you hold over us. Our blood now bends to your will, Angel.”
I close my eyes, taking a moment to acknowledge the weight of what they are surrendering to me. I can feel it then—the call of their blood, its desire to answer to me.
"It feels incredible," I say breathlessly. "Empowering."
When I open my eyes again, it’s with a renewed sense of power, strength, and certainty.
“There she is,” Zeke hums in approval.
“Our girl.” Sterling beams with pride.
I nearly burst with a fresh set of tears at their emotions. It’s not just that I can see them, understand them. I can feel them running through me. Feel the way their blood responds to me and mine. It’s pure ecstacy, experiencing them like this.
And I need more.
I reach forward, guiding Zeke out of his jeans. I lift to my knees, offering Sterling the space to remove his own. I don’t even have to say the command before they're both already obeying.
Zeke obliges me, helping free his legs from his pants, then his boxers.
He flattens his palm against my sternum, laying me back on the bed.
To my surprise, a fully naked Sterling is ready and waiting for me.
My back presses against his abdomen, the hard length of him sitting perfectly against the seam of my ass.
I gasp, craning my head backwards to get a good look at him.
Sterling snakes his hand over my chest, playing with my nipples. “Do you remember our first night together? I seem to recall us being in a very similar position,” he croons into my ear.
I nod, letting my eyes close as my head tilts to the side to make room for him. He licks over the wound already healing on my neck, tracing a line of kisses up to my ear, when I cry out in surprise as Zeke slaps my clit. My head instantly snaps up to look at him.
“Had to make sure you weren't forgetting about me." He smirks, lowering himself between my thighs. I gasp as he licks me. “Fuck, Angel. You are positively soaked already.”
“Doesn’t she taste fucking amazing?” Sterling asks, rolling my nipple between his thumb and forefinger.
Zeke hums against me in agreement. “Almost as good as her blood.” He lifts his head, looking at me over the planes of my body and licks his lips, making me arch my back and push my hips towards him.
“Not only delicious, but a greedy cunt at that?” He raises an eyebrow at me as my hips roll again, desperate for more friction between my legs. “My favorite kind.”
“Please,” I beg, inching down the bed to get closer to him.
Sterling wraps his arms around me, hiking me back up against him. “Uh uh. Not so fast.”
“You’ll take what I give you and you’ll thank me for it,” Zeke orders, using that low, demanding voice that has me crumbling.
I bite down on my lip, desperate to beg for more. But I nod slowly. “Thank you,” I whisper.
He smirks up at me. “Good girl.” He leans in to wrap his hands around my hips.
The heavy weight of him against me only makes me want him more.
And without any other warning, he dives in and devours me.
I moan loudly, Sterling tilting my head and giving me twin marks as he sinks his fangs into the other side of my neck.
I stop existing, stop noticing anything other than the sensations bombarding me. Zeke’s tongue fucks in and out of me, his fingers finding my clit easily. Sterling’s fingers don’t leave my nipples as he drinks from me. It’s enough to drive anyone mad.
But then Zeke switches his mouth and his fingers, clamping down on my clit and sucking hard.
I cry out, nearly screaming as the pain melts into pleasure.
And then his mouth is gone entirely. His fingers pump in and out of me and I try to lift my head to see what he’s doing, but Sterling holds me firm.
I cry out again when Zeke’s fangs tear into the inner flesh of my thigh. Both of them are drinking from me now, and I can’t take it.
“Ezekiel,” I pant, trying to explain to him that he needs to stop. It’s too much, too intense. But it only spurs him on, crooking his fingers and hitting some spot deep inside of me.
Zeke brings his other hand between my legs, sliding through my fluids and bringing them down towards my ass, before pressing his thumb into my tight entrance, working past the ring of muscle.
I come apart around his fingers, my body exploding with pleasure, more than I’ve ever known before.
My vision goes black. I see stars. And I’m sure if I opened my eyes I’d find that I am no longer in this realm but somewhere ascended with the gods.
“Like I said.” I hear Zeke snicker. “A greedy cunt.”
I open one eye lazilly, lifting a hand to flip him a middle finger before collapsing against Sterling. He unlatches from my neck, chuckling behind me. The vibration of his chest courses through my body.
“You think she can take more?” Sterling asks.
This has me opening both eyes, looking breathlessly up at Sterling. “More?”
“Oh, Angel,” Zeke shakes his head as he crawls over my body to come face to face with me. “You have no idea. That was merely a warm-up.”