Chapter 20
TWENTY
Z
I stared at Kelsey incredulously…before breaking into laughter. Tears actually pricked my eyes as I doubled over.
Once I finally got myself under control, I wiped at my face with the backs of my hands and said, “I’m not pregnant.”
Kelsey’s lips pursed. “You’re not?”
Disbelief saturated those two words.
“Fuck no.”
Kelsey opened her mouth as if to protest, but Stefan cleared his throat.
“Let’s get back to the conversation at hand. We need to stop these monsters before they can reach the capital. I have already assembled a team of our best fighters. They’ll be ready to move whenever you guys are.”
“I don’t like going into this battle blind,” I confessed, then turned towards Lupe. “Lupe, how long do you think you’ll need to go through that book?”
“If I’m trying to find the creature simply based on the descriptions I’m given, then days. But…” He bit down on his lower lip before pushing back his shoulders. “But if I were to see the creatures up close, I could?—”
“No,” I interrupted.
Lupe sighed as if he expected that answer. “Z, I know you want to protect?—”
“No fucking way. You’re not getting close to that army without…well…an army.” I glared at him, but he simply met my stare with an unrepentant one of his own.
“I won’t engage. Just study. Once I have enough information, I’ll return here. If we can discover what this monster is, we’ll be able to figure out how to kill it.”
“That’s not a bad idea,” Ryland pointed out from where he hovered in the corner of the room. “I could go with him.”
“And put two of you in danger?” I shook my head adamantly. “Someone else can go. Get pictures. Take notes.”
“You know this is the right choice, Z.” Lupe kept his tone gentle, though a hint of steel underlined it. “You can’t be the only one who puts their life on the line for this group.”
And I knew by “this group” he didn’t mean the humans. He meant our mate group. Our family.
A malevolent darkness seemed to pervade my heart. All I could think was—I could lose them. I could lose them all. Maybe it was hypocritical of me, but I would rather sacrifice myself a hundred times over than risk any of them for even a second. They all had already been through so much, both before I met them and after.
My heartbeat sped up, tripping hastily over itself, and I shook my head once more. “We can come up with another solution. Or maybe I can go with you?—”
Killian pushed back from his seat and moved to stand behind me. He placed a comforting hand on my shoulder and gave it a squeeze. “Z, let us help. We all have our talents. This mission is perfect for Ryland and Lupe.”
Icy water dripped down my spine as I struggled to articulate all of the reasons why this was a horrible idea. “But?—”
Once again, I didn’t get to finish my sentence, but it wasn’t because someone interrupted me. A burst of brilliant white light exploded behind my closed eyelids, illuminating everything in shades of red.
No. No. No. No.
Not now.
Not again.
I couldn’t disappear. Not so close to the battle. What if I lost another two weeks? What if my mates were forced to fight without me? Hell, even if I lost only a few hours, I had no doubt Ryland and Lupe would use that time to their advantage and do some recon.
A tide of anger—aimed at Lilith, Aaliyah, the kings, and the situation—threatened to batter down my composure.
What trial was this? Who was with me this time around?
When the light receded, I didn’t immediately open my eyelids. I kept them shut in order to analyze my surroundings with my other senses.
I appeared to be…lying on a bed. A soft, comfy bed.
What the fuck?
Arms were coiled around my waist, pulling me against a muscular chest.
And was I…?
Was I naked?
On closer inspection, I found that I didn’t have a stitch of clothing on. There was nothing separating my skin from the skin of the man holding me.
Strangest of all was the heat building low in my core, growing in intensity until it was a blazing inferno. I shifted uncomfortably as the ache between my thighs became almost unbearable. I felt hot all over.
Something hard dug into my ass from behind, and instinctively, I began to grind my hips, wanting more, wanting him.
I allowed my eyelids to flutter open, taking in the velvety canopy erected above the king-sized bed. Frilly drapes cascaded down, obscuring the rest of the room from view.
Soft lips brushed against my neck, and I moaned low in my throat. I turned in his embrace, desperately seeking his lips, wanting to claim them?—
Only to freeze when I met the eyes of an unfamiliar man.
“What the fuck?” I screeched, leaping out of the bed and attempting to cover myself with my hands.
The stranger lazily pushed himself onto his elbow. “Come back to bed, baby. Let me make you feel good.”
His words were a purr that reverberated through me, eliciting a surge of goose bumps on my arms. My core throbbed, and I could feel my slickness wetting my thighs.
“Who the fuck are you?” I demanded.
Almost desperately, I reached for the blanket on the bed and used it to cover myself. I immediately knew I’d made the wrong decision when I revealed his entire body.
His entire naked body.
I looked away immediately, but not before I saw…well…everything.
To say he was beautiful or even handsome would be an understatement. The man was perfection. Ethereal. His body was lean yet muscular, his chest and biceps covered in colorful tattoos. Violet eyes peered back at me from an angular face with plush lips. His golden hair was slightly spiked, giving him a “just fucked” look. A single scar bisected his right cheek, but it only added to his appeal, making him appear rugged and brutal.
And his cock…
It was the longest, thickest one I’d ever seen before.
I hated that I noticed it.
“Who are you?” I repeated, trembling.
“Don’t you recognize me?” He stood with the fluid grace of a dancer. “I’m everything you desire in a man.”
A slanted grin tugged up his lips.
“I…I don’t…” I stared at him intently, seeing things I hadn’t noticed before.
His hair was the exact same shade as Dair’s but was spiked like Bash’s. Those violet eyes were nearly identical to Devlin’s. That body… That body was Killian’s, as were the tattoos on his skin, but the angular face was Jax’s. That single scar was nearly in the exact place as Ryland’s numerous ones, and those lips definitely belonged to my shadow. And that cock was Lupe’s. Definitely Lupe’s.
“I can see the wheels churning in that beautiful brain of yours.” The man smiled broadly. “I’m your perfect partner, both in appearance and personality. I’m everything you love about your so-called mates in one package.” Abruptly, he moved until he stood directly in front of me, taking my hands in his. “I can be sensitive like your sweet Dair, but I’m also a sarcastic ass like Bash. I’m smart, like Lupe, and a leader, like Devlin. I can be both innocent and cunning, exactly like Killian and Ryland, but also a little eccentric like your vampire.” He leaned in so close I could feel his breath against my lips. “I can be everything you’ve ever wanted. Everything you’ve ever desired.”
I swallowed. “But…”
“But?” He arched an eyebrow.
“But you’re not my mates.” I placed my hands in the center of his chest and pushed him away. “You’ll never be them.”
Because I didn’t just love one thing about each of them. I loved everything about them, even their flaws. Loving someone—truly loving someone—meant that you loved the cracks in their facades that others saw as weaknesses. It meant that you loved them on the good and the bad days. It meant that you loved them even when you wanted to strangle them.
The man smiled, his violet eyes twinkling. “You don’t mean that, Z.”
He stepped closer, his cock pressing against my stomach. And goddammit, the desire from before amplified, pulsating inside of me like a heartbeat.
“I can feel how badly you desire me.”
“Don’t touch me.” I pushed him away again and stumbled towards the door of the bedroom.
I had no idea what I’d find on the other side, but it had to be better than this. Because he was right, in a way. I was so fucking horny I thought I would lose my mind. Every nerve ending in my body felt alight with sensation, but I’d be damned if I cheated on my mates. Just the thought had a sharp crack fissuring through my chest.
“Z…” The stranger took a step closer, but I threw open the door and hurried into the hallway.
Then instantly regretted it.
“Oh my god.” I tugged the blanket closer around myself.
It appeared as if the closed door had masked all of the sounds emanating from the hallway, because I found myself stepping straight into an orgy.
Women and men moaned and writhed in various positions down the hall.
“Oh god!”
“Harder!”
“Yes, like that!”
The throbbing between my legs became unbearable. I was half tempted to touch myself just to relieve a tiny bit of the ache.
To the right of me, a woman bounced on the cock of a man, while another woman played with her nipples. Next to them, two men passionately kissed while someone else stroked their dicks.
There were dozens and dozens of them. The farther down the hall I walked, the raunchier the scene became. It went from twosomes, to threesomes, to sevensomes, all of their bodies tangled together, their hands roaming with wild abandon.
A woman reached for me desperately, tugging at the blanket, and for a moment, I almost gave in. The pain between my legs was unbearable, and coherent thoughts had fled.
But then I thought of my mates, and I shook the woman off of me, quickening my pace.
I’d almost reached the end of the hall, where a second door resided, when a startled shout distracted me, followed by a feminine curse.
What the hell?
A second later, the door I was walking towards was yanked open, and a naked Killian hurried out, completely naked, his dick hard, his eyes feverish. I focused on him for only a second before my gaze drifted towards the woman coming out behind him.
What. The. Fuck?
She looked…like me. Almost exactly like me, if I was being completely honest. Her golden curls tumbled around her shoulders and her bare back. She was a little bit taller than me and had slightly softer features.
She was also completely naked.
And trying to touch my mate.
She leaned forward to press her bare breasts against his arm. I couldn’t help but note that they were almost exactly the same size as my own, maybe a little smaller. If this woman was designed to be Killian’s perfect fantasy, then I felt pretty good about myself. She was an uglier version of me.
Killian shuddered and pushed her away. “Don’t touch me!”
“Kill!” I called, hurrying forward.
Relief painted itself across Killian’s face as soon as he caught sight of me. “Z, thank fuck. I woke up in bed to that…woman trying to touch me.”
He grimaced.
My anger flared, white-hot and blistering. “And did she?”
“Fuck no!” Killian shook his head adamantly. “As soon as I realized she wasn’t you, I…”
His cheeks turned red with something akin to embarrassment.
“You what?”
He muttered something too low for me to hear.
“What did you do?” I asked, frowning.
“I…bitch slapped her with my tail,” he muttered, and at first, I thought I’d heard him wrong.
I glanced at the Z lookalike, then back to him, then to the girl once more. My eyebrows flew to my hairline when I saw the bloody streak across her cheek. I hadn’t noticed it before in my assessment, when she stood with her profile to me.
Killian misread the surprise on my face. “It was an accident! I panicked, and then the next thing I knew…WAM! My tail was streaking across her face.”
An evil smile turned up my lips. “Good.”
“Good?”
“That’s better than what I would’ve done to her.” I glared at the woman, but she seemed unperturbed by my ire.
She simply smirked before glancing back at Killian and running her hands over her breasts. “Kill, come back here. Let’s play. You don’t need to share me. I’ll be yours and only yours.”
“And I’ll be yours, Z,” the stranger I’d found in my bed said, stepping around the orgy with a smile on his perfect face. “Just you and me.” He extended a hand. “What do you say?”
Abruptly, a reptilian tail slapped down his hand.
Killian grabbed me possessively and growled out, “Mine.”
“But she’s not just yours, is she? She belongs to the others as well,” the Z lookalike said. “But I’ll be just yours, Killian. You won’t ever have to share again.”
“Yeah. Let me think about it. Hard no.” Killian grabbed my hand and began to pull me down the hall, back into the orgy.
“Kill, there’s nothing down there,” I whispered. “Just the bedroom I came out of.”
Killian growled something I couldn’t quite hear.
As we moved down the hall, women and men alike grabbed at us, begging us to join them, promising us everything our hearts desired. Killian ignored them all, his features set in fierce determination.
When we finally reached the room I woke up in, Killian pulled me inside, slammed the door shut, then flicked the lock. Immediately, the room became silent, the sounds of the orgy completely blocked out.
“Kill?” I murmured, staring into the eyes of my incubus mate.
Pure, unfettered desire reflected back at me.
With sure strides, he moved until he stood directly in front of me, putting one finger under my chin to tilt my head back.
“I can’t control myself, Z,” Killian whispered in a shaky voice. “If you let me, I’ll fuck you so goddamn hard that you won’t be able to walk for a week. I’ll worship your body like you’re a goddess and I’m the priest visiting your altar. By the end of our time together, I’ll have made you scream over a dozen times.” He leaned in even closer. “So what do you say, my love? Can I fuck you?”