Chapter 42 Bechora
Even with all of us looking, we hadn’t found anything truly useful for preparing for the first trial.
The only thing we’d gleaned from the mountain of texts was that we’d likely be tasked with locating something that would determine our team for the second, and that our teams had as much chance of being different in the third as they did of remaining the same.
I sat curled up into the corner of the couch in Caulder’s small apartment living room, a blanket pulled loose over my legs, which I hadn’t needed but couldn’t be bothered to move.
I could hear Caulder moving around in the kitchen, preparing dinner for all of us.
Zypher stretched out along the opposite end of the couch, like he owned it, one arm draped over the back, his attention fixed on me, making it impossible to pretend I wasn’t being watched.
“You’re thinking too loudly, Dilectus,” he said.
“I wasn’t aware thinking made noise,” I muttered.
“It does when it’s spiraling,” Archer cut in from where he’d claimed the rug in front of the low coffee table, lying flat on his back with his hands tucked behind his head on Gabriel’s lap.
His grin was easy, but I could see the worry in his gaze.
“You’ve been doing it for at least the last ten minutes. ”
“I’m fine.”
“Liar,” Gabriel said flatly.
My gaze flicked to him, where he sat against the sofa, his hands idly playing through Archer’s hair. “I’m not spiraling,” I said. “I’m just… thinking.”
Zypher huffed out a laugh, reaching out to pull me to his side. “We cannot control what happens tomorrow, Dilectus,” he murmured, wrapping his arm around my shoulders. “Stressing won’t change anything. You’re meant to relax tonight. Enjoy this time with your bonded Vinculum around you.”
“Easy for you to say,” I huffed. “This is your last year of trials, Mr. Fourth Year.”
Caulder appeared from the kitchen, a tray in hand. “He’s right, Bechora. Worry about tomorrow when it comes. Tonight, let’s just enjoy our time together.”
“I might have to rethink this whole multiple mates thing if you’re going to start ganging up on me,” I pouted.
Archer laughed, shifting upright. “You say that like there aren’t benefits to us ‘ganging up’ on you.”
“Archer,” Gabriel scolded, swatting his chest with the back of his hand.
“I’m just saying,” my wolf shifter shrugged as he winked at me.
“Food,” Caulder barked out, placing the large, wooden tray onto the coffee table.
The scent of rich, savory stew hit my nose as I leaned forward to see steaming bowls filled with it, arranged around a basket of freshly baked bread.
The aroma alone was enough to pull me momentarily from my worries.
Archer reached for the bread basket, causing Caulder to swat his hand away with a soft growl before the dragon handed me one of the bowls.
“Our mate is served first, wolf,” Caulder griped.
Archer held his hands up in mock surrender, grin still firmly in place. “Wouldn’t dream of challenging the hierarchy, Professor.”
“Good,” Caulder muttered, though there was no real heat behind it as he handed out the remaining bowls.
I curled my fingers around the soft ceramic, letting the heat seep into my skin as I inhaled the rich scent.
For a few moments, the room settled into something…
normal. Quiet, save for the soft clink of spoons and the soft pleased sounds my mates made as they ate.
It shouldn’t have felt as rare as it did.
This, I realized, was how things were meant to be between all of us.
The life we should have had without a prophecy hanging over our heads.
I took a slow bite, letting the stew's warmth spread through me, easing some of the tension I was still holding onto.
Across from me, Caulder watched with quiet satisfaction, as though my relaxing was his doing.
“You look like you might survive the night after all,” Archer smirked, shifting closer to me from his seat on the floor.
“Disappointed?” I shot back.
“Never,” he replied easily, letting his gaze roam over me.
I shook my head at him, taking another bite of my stew, even as I became far more aware of the proximity of my mates than I’d been moments before.
Dinner passed easier after that. Conversation drifted to lighter topics, though that underlying awareness of them never faded.
By the time the bowls were empty and set aside, nobody seemed interested in cleaning up.
Zypher’s arm shifted back around my shoulders, fingers gently caressing my skin.
I shifted slightly on the couch, the blanket slipping from my legs as I did.
Zypher’s hand stilled for half a second before resuming the soothing rhythm.
“You’re still tense,” he murmured.
“I’m not—”
“Liar,” Gabriel said again, shifting to wrap a hand around my calf.
Caulder leaned forward slightly in the recliner where he sat, resting his forearms on his knees. “Perhaps you need something else to focus on,” he said, heat flaring in his amber eyes.
“And what might that be?” I asked, breath hitching as Gabriel’s hand slid slowly up my leg.
Archer shifted closer on the rug until his shoulder brushed against my other knee. “I say we give her one guess, before we just show her.”
Heat curled low in my stomach, slow and steady. It threaded through the earlier anxiety, reshaping it into something else entirely.
Archer’s words hung in the air, a playful challenge.
I looked from face to face, seeing reflections of my own rising arousal, mixed with a deep, comforting possessiveness that sent a thrill up my spine.
Zypher’s thumb stroked reassuringly against my collarbone, an anchor point to the building anticipation.
Gabriel’s fingers reached my thigh and paused, waiting for my signal.
Caulder’s amber eyes, usually so composed, burned with an intensity that stole my breath.
“Hmm,” I said, tapping a finger to my chin. “Board games?” I teased.
Archer’s grin widened. “Nope.”
“A spirited debate about the implications of magical theory?” I offered, my voice laced with feigned thoughtfulness, even as the heat continued to build within me.
Zypher chuckled, a deep rumble against my side. “Warmer, perhaps, but still not quite right, Dilectus.” His fingers slipped under the collar of my shirt, tracing a path along my nape that sent shivers down my spine.
Gabriel’s fingers on my leg began to move again, a slow, deliberate caress that ignited a deeper spark. His gaze locked on my face, dark and intense. “We have something far more… engaging in mind,” he murmured, voice a low, gravelly whisper that promised delicious torment.
Caulder, who’d been silently observing, finally spoke, his voice deeper than usual. “Something to remind you that there are always joys to be found in the present. Joys only we can provide.”
The air in the room grew thicker with unspoken desires, a potent mix of anticipation and affection. My earlier worries were a distant echo, replaced entirely by a thrilling sense of surrender to my mates.
“Maybe you should show me,” I whispered, meeting each of their gazes in turn.
Zypher was the first to act, his arm tightening around my shoulders, drawing me firmly against his side. His lips, warm and seeking, pressed a tender kiss to my temple, then followed the curve of my ear.
“As you wish, Dilectus,” he murmured.
His large frame shifted so that he could slide his free hand beneath the hem of my shirt, his fingertips tracing a deliberate path along my skin.
Gabriel followed Zypher’s lead, his hand skimming up my thigh with purpose until he reached the bottom of my shorts.
A soft gasp escaped my lips as his touch became more insistent.
Archer, with that perpetually mischievous glint in his eye, didn’t hesitate.
He shifted to face me, his hand roaming up my other leg.
“Undress her,” Caulder ordered from where he sat watching in the recliner.
“Fucking gladly,” Archer purred. His hand moved from my thigh to the button on my shorts, making quick work of undoing them.
He tugged on the waistband, and I lifted my hips so that he could pull them free.
The fabric glided down my legs, pooling around my ankles, and leaving me in just my shirt and a thin pair of lace underwear.
Gabriel’s eyes lit up with a hungry fire as he gripped my ankles gently, one at a time, to free me completely from my shorts.
Zypher’s hand stilled beneath my shirt before sliding free and gripping the hem, then shifted just enough to pull it over my head and toss it aside.
“Selir, you’re beautiful,” Gabriel breathed.
“Panties,” Caulder barked, drawing my eyes to him. He’d leaned back in the recliner, eyes burning into me as he palmed his cock through his pants.
I felt the smoothness of a claw slip beneath the side of my panties, and tipped my head down just in time to see Archer’s wolf claw rip clean through them. He peeled the torn fabric away from my body, and Gabriel gripped my knees, spreading them open to expose my glistening sex to the others.
“Are you wet for us already, Dilectus?” Zypher practically purred against my ear as he helped Gabriel shift me into Zypher’s lap, hooking my legs over his thighs, preventing me from snapping them shut. Zypher slid his legs apart, opening me wider.
“Selir, you’re dripping for us,” Archer rumbled.
“Eat her pussy and prove that mouth is useful for something other than snark, wolf!” Caulder barked out.
“Gladly,” Archer groaned, before leaning in and swiping his tongue through my slit.