Chapter 32 #2
But Avery wasn’t done with the questions. “Why did you choose Felix?”
“He has a nice ass,” the goddess said candidly.
Felix blinked. Really? That was all he had going for him?
The goddess laughed. “No, I’m just kidding. He’s your fate. It was written long before you were born. You will change your fellow shifters.”
Fate. As if he had never had a choice at all.
It didn’t matter now. He was glad it had let him here.
To Avery. The other stuff he could really do without, but Avery, he could not live without.
But to be honest, the gods’ affairs were of no concern to him, whether there were many or one, or where his god had gone.
All that mattered was Avery and undoing the steaming shit pile the gods had left for them.
He took a deep inhale, focusing on what he could control.
The shifters in his den hated witches as much as they had before he had met Avery.
But they didn’t have a choice anymore; he would shove Avery’s love down their throats, and they would change their minds.
At least about her. For the other witches, he wasn’t so sure.
The goddess cleared her throat. “I’ll leave you with a final riddle.” She paused for dramatic effect. “The council sucks, don’t trust them.”
Avery gave out a disappointed huff. “That’s a terrible riddle.”
“I will still be here watching.” The rocks cracked as the goddess smiled. “Specifically, I will be keeping an eye on you both because you are absolute freaks in the sheets.”
“Ugh, gross,” Avery said. Heat crawled up Felix’s neck. A literal divine being was commenting on their sex life. Outstanding.
And with that, the face faded into the cave wall, leaving only bare rocks. The cave was plunged into darkness once again, the only light coming from the ripples as they moved. The silence felt louder than the goddess’s voice.
Felix’s heartbeat thundered in his ears, but Avery touched his arm, and it was enough to bring him back to the here and now. Her hands tangled in his, sending shivers up his spine. Somehow in the last hour, her touch had become even more divine. More intense. He would never get sick of it.
“My mate.” He moved his hand to cup her face. “My marks look good on you.”
They really did. The way they moved over her soft skin utterly mesmerized him. How was it possible that she looked even more attractive now? A primal urge surged through him, his monster satisfied with what they had done. Mine. The word echoed through him.
“Do you think they grow every time we do it?”
Felix hiked Avery out of the water so she was straddling him, their noses almost touching. “There’s only one way to find out.”
Avery giggled as Felix pushed them against the rock wall and buried his face in the crook of her neck, her intoxicating cinnamon scent filling his head with desire.
He wanted to bite her and mark her again, keep her where no one could ever reach her but him.
But if he knew anything about Avery, she was not a bird to be caged, not on this island, and certainly not by him.
He would follow her into hell if that was where she led him.
But he had to make one request. “Let’s go back to the den tonight,” he murmured against her neck, not caring if he sounded desperate anymore.
He just wanted her safe. She was far too good for this world.
Far too good for him. Did it make him a terrible person to love her?
He didn’t care. Call him selfish, but fuck, he would hide her away if it meant no one would lay eyes on her again.
Mine.
Avery stiffened in his grasp, and Felix lowered her into the water, the cold rushing between them. “What is it?” he asked, as if he didn’t already know.
“It’s just…” she started, and his heart sank.
Had she already changed her mind? After everything, would she reject him here and now? The seconds stretched out far too long.
She chewed her lip. “Getting off this island is all I ever wanted. But I’m also scared to leave my world behind, and to enter a den of shifters who quite clearly would want to murder me.”
“I would never let anyone hurt you,” he said, brushing her wet hair away from her face. The shifters would accept her, or he would tear them apart limb by limb until they did.
A tear slipped from Avery’s face, and Felix gently thumbed it away. “I just want to say goodbye to everything I have known, before we run away.”
As much as it pained him to see her cry, his heart soared instead.
She did want to come with him. He was so happy that he wanted to start purring.
Instead, he pulled her into a hug. The way she breathed against him was a feeling he would never tire of.
Their hearts beat as one, as she fit perfectly beneath him.
Carefully, she kissed the crook of his neck, and he didn’t even flinch.
He never had craved someone’s touch as much as he did hers.
Never thought that a witch would be the one to undo the damage one of her kind had inflicted in the first place.
How ironic that things that hurt the worst could sometimes be the greatest source of love.
“Felix,” she said breathlessly, but not because she was overcome by emotion, but because he was literally restricting her breathing.
“Sorry,” he said, loosening his grip only marginally. “I can’t help it.”
He didn’t know who started laughing first. But just for that moment, everything was perfect.
The tide was low enough now for them to walk on the rocks rather than swim back through his most treacherous enemy, the sea.
His hatred for deep waters had now overtaken witches.
The beach was a close third, because not only did you wake up with sand everywhere, even in your crack, but it was also close to the ocean.
The grains of silver sand crunched beneath their feet as they trudged along it. The wind howled loud enough that it set his teeth on edge, almost as if it were trying to warn them of something. He would prefer it to be quiet, so he could actually hear if danger was approaching.
They only had to stay on this godforsaken island long enough for Avery to say goodbye.
His shadows did their best to protect them from the bite of the wind, clothing them from head to toe. The only person who was allowed to bite Avery was him.
“How are we going to get off the island?” she asked, raising her voice so it wasn’t drowned out.
“I have my ways,” he said, walking backward to face her and wiggling his eyebrows.
Avery snorted. “I’ve tried to get off the island at least a hundred times, but I’ve never actually made it through the wards.”
“But you’ve also never had a handsome shifter by your side to break them.” He winked.
She rolled her eyes. “My savior.”
“I have an idea. But you might not like it.”
Before he could even open his mouth to explain, the sound of wingbeats cut him off.
Dread snaked through him as he looked up to the sky.
The fucking dragon. Its large body descended downward with alarming speed.
He bet his left nut it was Wren. But that wasn’t all; more creatures descended from the clouds—a pegasus, and a couple of griffins. Fuck.
There was no time to run. Any one of those creatures could catch him. The dragon alone would make a roast dinner out of him.
Shadows pooled at his feet, but he didn’t bother hiding them. If they were descending with so many, they already knew. His tail whipped behind him, adrenaline pumping through his body. All his senses sharpened, ready for a fight he definitely couldn’t win. That didn’t mean he wouldn’t try, though.
The little witch’s hand shook as he took it into his, gripping it tightly.
Her fingers trembled against his, pulse hammering so fast he could feel it through her palm.
But she didn’t let go, even as her sister’s dragon hit the beach with a thump.
The impact shook the ground. Sand exploded outward, the wind whipping it around.
The unit descended all around them, encasing them in a circle as he pulled Avery into him. Over the hill, a handful of enforcers’ rifles glinted. Yep, they were fucked. He was strong, but he couldn’t take down an entire unit out in the open.
Calmly, Wren jumped off her dragon as it bowed its head for her. He didn’t know why, but the very movement made the blood boil in his veins, seeing its blind obedience to a witch. Felix still had far to go before he didn’t meet every witch with visceral hatred.
“Shifter,” Wren hissed, holding her rifle up.
“Guilty,” Felix said, a feral smile pulling at his lips. He made sure his fangs showed.
“Step away from it,” Wren said, not talking to him.
Avery let go of his hand.