Chapter 4
Chapter Four
~ Shade ~
One moment, Thane is completely clothed, and the next, he’s naked as he kneels before me, looking like a dark god who has walked straight from one of my favorite smutty fantasy books. Reaching down, he fists his hard cock, stroking its length as he watches me, and my mouth goes completely dry.
Galen and Raith continue to hold me tightly, smirking as Thane tortures me.
Raith moves his fingers to my overly sensitive clit.
He swirls and teases the sensitive nub, never letting his fingers trail any lower, and moving so slowly that it doesn’t take long before I’m trembling with need, my breasts aching, and my body desperate for a release.
I try to buck my hips, because I need more, but the guys hold me firmly, relentlessly teasing me.
I grit my teeth in frustration as I’m forced to watch Thane stroke himself instead of fucking me.
Precum beads on the tip of his cock, and he smears it with his thumb, smirking as he watches the expression on my face.
“You’re all assholes, you know that,” I rasp, my legs shaking.
“Never said we weren’t, sunshine,” Raith rumbles back on the verge of laughter.
I want to kill him.
Actually no, I want to fuck him, and then I want to kill him.
“This is nothing,” Thane growls. “Lie to me again, mate, and the next time you do, your ass will be so red you won’t sit for a week.”
I’m pretty sure he’s threatening me, but he may as well be whispering sweet nothings into my ear by the way my pussy reacts. Liquid heat pools between my thighs, and I arch my back against Raith’s hard chest, panting as Raith’s fingers continue to slowly torture my clit.
Thane’s nostrils flare, his eyes narrowing on me as if he knows all too well that his threat didn’t get him the desired reaction. Or maybe it did.
“You might want to work on your threats if you want me to behave,” I pant, wishing Raith would move his hand lower.
Thane’s eyes darken, and my breathing hitches when he prowls closer. “Say it, little mate. No more lies.”
I’m tempted to refuse, but Raith finally drags his finger lower, sliding it up and down my center just once. He groans as his finger glides through my wetness, teasing my entrance before going back to my clit.
“Fuck, sunshine,” he rumbles.
I whimper and the only word I can manage is, “Please.” I don’t even care that I’m begging.
A look of hunger takes over Thane’s features as he moves his head between my thighs. “Say it,” he growls again, and his breath is hot against my skin.
“No more lies,” I pant, saying what he wants to hear. And then, because I can’t help myself, I add, “Daddy.”
Thane’s nostrils flare in annoyance, and I curse myself for being so stupid when I’m entirely at his mercy.
Galen chuckles, leaning in to press a kiss to my collarbone.
When Thane doesn’t move, I rasp, “Please.”
Thane still looks like he wants to punish me, but I’m relieved when he lets out a satisfied rumble.
He shares a look with my other mates before he drops his head, and I cry out as his tongue slides along my center, and he devours me like a man possessed.
Raith grips hold of my thighs, opening them wider for Thane until my muscles ache, and Galen teases my breasts, sucking my hard nipples into his mouth as he bites one before going to the other. Holy freaking smut gods. Yes.
Thane works one of his icy shadows into my entrance, stretching me deliciously, and I cry out as pleasure races up my body.
The shadow starts moving, thrusting into me faster and faster until it reaches a relentless pace, and when Thane’s tongue moves to my clit, replacing Raith’s fingers, I scream, shattering as the pleasure becomes too much.
Stars explode behind my eyes, and my mates keep the waves of pleasure rolling through me, until I’m shaking and shuddering in their arms.
“Don’t call me daddy,” Thane growls, lifting his head. Despite his command, a small smile plays on his lips.
I grin, sagging against Raith. “Whatever you say…daddy.”
I don’t expect to dream. Since that first night when I’d encountered the dreamcrawler, all I’ve seen is darkness every time I’ve drifted off.
I assumed it was because sleeping near Thane and the others has somehow kept the nightmares at bay, but tonight, even though I’m curled up between Galen and Raith, shadows greet me the moment I close my eyes.
They writhe and twist in my mind, filling my head like violent spirits, and when they leave me, I blink around at a dream scene of black and gray.
Instantly, I recognize my surroundings. Thin bars cage me in, and I’m standing on a wooden perch, my tiny toes curled around the smooth beam.
No. Crap. I’m a crow again. Logically, I know this is a dream.
Or really, a memory. One I remember well, because I remember everything that happened after I was turned into a crow.
It’s only the time before that which is a mystery.
A confusing mix of familiarity and fear tumbles through my chest, as I stare out through the bars at the small house I’m in.
This place wasn’t always a nightmare. I’m not sure how I got here, but the house belonged to a girl named Jessie and her surprisingly affectionate house cat.
Jessie had inherited the house from her grandmother, and she’d loved reading any romance that had sweet and soft main guys, or cinnamon rolls, as she liked to call them.
For a while, I enjoyed being here. There was no cage, and Jessie always kept her door open, like she knew one day I might want to leave.
Things were going well, until the day when Jessie never returned.
Instead, a man with rancid onion breath turned up with keys to the house, moving in like he owned the place.
Before I could escape, he’d set up this old cage, and shoved me into it, muttering something about a promise to keep me safe.
Which turned out to be a complete lie, because after that he promptly forgot about me.
Panic climbs up my throat as I remember being trapped in this cage with no food or water.
I had thought I was going to die here. I try to tell myself this is a dream, but the bars seem to close in, the space getting smaller and smaller, until I think I’m going to suffocate.
It’s just a dream, Shade. Only a damn dream.
My head grows light, and just when I think I might pass out, the scene changes.
When another scene comes into view, I’m still surrounded by bars, like I’ve simply traded one cage for another.
On the bright side, I’m back in my human form, even if my limbs are translucent and wraithlike in my dream.
Dark bricks line the back of the cell I’m in, and the space is bare except for the metal cot I’m on, and a waste bucket in one corner.
A flea-ridden rat with tiny black wings squeezes through the bars connecting to the neighboring cell, and I yelp, quickly lifting my filthy bare feet off the floor as it scurries toward me.
Crap. I take it back, this is worse.
The rat stops in front of my cot, and it stares at me with unnerving black eyes before dipping its head to lap at a dark puddle before me.
I don’t want to look down. Something tells me I’m going to regret it, and it turns out, I’m absolutely right.
The first thing I notice is that the dark puddle is blood.
The second thing I notice is that it’s my blood.
Yep, definitely worse. Fear wraps around me, because I’m pretty sure this isn’t just a nightmare, it’s another memory. One from before I was turned into a crow. I remember seeing this cell when I’d freed Satine from the dungeon below Shadowbone Academy not too long ago.
My heart stutters when I realize my hands are wet, and I notice the blood dripping onto my lap.
The nails have been torn from three of my fingers, and one of my thumbs is sitting at an odd grotesque angle.
There’s no skin on my fingertips, and I lift my head as I notice the deep gouges in the wall behind me.
The stone is smeared with blood, and my hands tremble when I recognize the scratches.
And then the pain comes. Agony tears through me, and I scream, fear and pain colliding until I turn to that wall… and start scratching again.
No!
My fingers scream as my nails tear against the stone, but I don’t stop. I can’t.
Tears stream down my cheeks as my arms move like I’ve been possessed, and I breathe heavily as I fight to survive the pain. Slowly, I remind myself this isn’t real. At least, it’s not my reality right now. A dream. It’s just a dream.
Outside my cell, there’s a cloaked figure watching from beyond the bars, and a sense of urgency slams into me. The rat squeaks, its snout drowned in blood, and heavy footsteps sound loudly in my ears.
Get out! Get out now! Listening to my inner voice, power pulses within me, crackling through my veins, and I’m not sure how I do it, but the cell flickers around me as though it had been a mirage. The cell falls away, and a bed with a soft mattress rushes up under me.
I gasp with relief as I stare down at my hands.
They’re no longer bloody, and the skin of my fingers is completely healed.
Oh thank god. See, it was just a dream. My power is no longer bubbling in my chest, and I rub my hands together like I think that will help to get rid of the memory.
Okay, I’m awake. It’s fine. You’re totally fine, Shade.
I turn my head to look at my mates, because after that nightmare, I definitely need a cuddle, but my heart sinks when I realize they’re not there.
I’m still in a damn dream. Ah, crap. Trying not to panic again, I wince as my gaze scans the scene around me.
I’m expecting this dream to be just as bad as the last one, but I’m surprised when there’s nothing horrifying around me.
A familiar pattern of hearts and roses decorates my quilt, and though the lighting is dim, I make out the shapes of a small bookshelf on one wall, and a dressing table with an antique mirror across from the bed.
More items appear on the quilt in front of me, and I suck in a sharp pained breath. And there it is. Numerous books come into view, materializing before me, one at a time.
The first, has a dog-eared page that makes me wince. The second, has a cracked spine, veins of damage running up the length of the book, and the third…
I curse. Yep, definitely another nightmare. I had such high hopes, too.
The third is a thick paperback that’s been completely torn in half to form two separate pieces. Like someone thought it would be easier to walk around with half of the book at a time. I scream, because that feels like the only appropriate response when faced with a book massacre.
Swinging my legs over the side of the bed, I go to stand like I’m planning to leg it away from this nightmare, but the moment the pads of my feet touch the icy floor, the entire room shakes.
A wailing, piercing noise fills the air like I’ve activated some kind of alarm system, and I yelp, jumping back onto the bed. What is it now?
Something smacks against the glass window to my left, and I jerk toward the noise, my heart feeling like it’s about to leap out of my chest. Okay yep, definitely a nightmare.
I decide to slap myself, hoping that’ll help to wake me up, but it simply makes my cheek hurt, and I feel like an idiot shortly after.
I thought you weren’t supposed to be able to feel pain in dreams? I grumble internally.
Across the room, the wooden door rattles as something bangs loudly against it, and the screeching noise is soon replaced with a howling that fills me with dread.
Pulling my knees up to my chest, I start to rock myself as the sound continues. The banging on the door grows louder until I’m sure someone is hacking at it, trying to get in. It’s all good. I’m sure it’s just some masked muscular man who has come to ravage me.
Yeah, I want to believe that’s true, but it’s probably more likely to be a monster who wants to eat my soul or whatever.
I close my eyes as that same sense of urgency I felt earlier washes over me.
Something smacks against the glass window again, and there’s a cracking noise that echoes in my ears. My eyes fly open, and I stare in horror at the crack branching out across the glass. One more hit, and I’m sure it’ll shatter and let the monsters in.
I rock faster and hold my breath as power pulses in my chest again.
It builds, racing along my veins, but before it can burst from me, darkness suddenly takes me.