Chapter 34
Chapter Thirty-Four
Rafe
The day is long and eventful. Earlier, Atlas sent word to the neighboring eyries, requesting urgent talks with all the Pride Leaders. When the griffin patrols return with news, a meeting is called.
I am a soldier at heart. Not a strategic thinker. As I sit to Atlas’s right at the large oval table that seats ten griffin wing leaders, the commander of the eyrie army, and his two lieutenants, I understand that Atlas is a strategist.
I am grateful for it, given Violet’s sister on the warpath, which we have now confirmed. Not only her sister, but the High King himself and several Hydornian great houses have pitched in.
I did not realize how many griffins there were here, with each wing leader having four or five griffins.
Darrion and Fenix lead their own wings as well as their place as Atlas’s second and third.
That Fenix, one of the youngest griffins here by all accounts, has risen to lead his own wing says something of his skills and power as both a griffin and a man.
The human commander, Dirk, is steady and plain-speaking, which I appreciate given the gravity of the situation.
“There is no evidence that the dark fae are involved, but it seems likely they are and provide the portal access,” he says.
“We have had word from King Raphael of Sanctum, King Alder of the Citadel, and even the stag King, Seven. They have offered no passage to a human army. Their portal keystones are accounted for… The wolf packs have long-standing hostilities with the dark fae but remain fractured since their royal line went into exile a hundred years ago. No unified response expected from that quarter—though there are rumors of a young claimant attempting to reunite them.”
I know nothing of the dark fae beyond that they are bloodthirsty heathens who enslave humans.
It is not unusual for them to raid over winter, so I have learned.
Much like the Blighten orcs scour Hydornia and the Imperium for slaves, so the dark fae, as portal masters, similarly raid to replenish their slaves and ‘food stocks’ from this world.
By food stocks, I mean humans. And not the griffin kind of food, more suck-them-dry-and-leave-their-withered-corpse-in-the-snow kind of food.
“The dark fae do not often form alliances,” Atlas says at length.
Unusually, he does not have his wings out—none of the griffins do, which is for the best given the limited space around the table.
A giant map is laid out in the center, and his eyes rest upon it.
“But it is possible if their objectives align.” He glances across at Vander, the wing leader, who often puts Lark and me through our paces under the guise of a training session.
“What was the word from the other eyries?”
Vander lists three Pride Leaders who have pledged, and another two who wish to meet with Atlas first. “Then there is Ador, who is already bemoaning compensation before he will commit.”
“He has a short memory,” Darrion mutters with a scowl.
They have a history with this Pride Leader, I surmise, and it is not a good one.
“We do not necessarily need him,” Atlas says. “But united is always better. I will meet with the others tomorrow. Tonight, we take what rest we can and remain alert.”
Decisions made, Atlas dismisses the room. He asks me to wait, along with Darrion and Fenix. Standing a little apart from me, he shares a quiet word with his second and third.
With a nod, both men leave, and Atlas turns his attention back to me.
“There is nothing else we can do this day. The communities are on alert. They will light the beacon if there is trouble. We may expect some restless nights ahead, and possibly restless days. Come, let us see our mate.”
When we enter his quarters, there is no sign of Violet.
I fully expected her to be napping on the couch…
or maybe even on his bed. There is no sign of Lark either.
But my nose, which has become disturbingly sensitive of late, latches onto the tendril of aroused female, potent enough that I cannot blame it on Atlas’s earlier feeding.
My senses home in on double doors that are presently closed.
Atlas grins. “I had a feeling she would pick that room.”
Well, that is very fucking cryptic.
He strides over to the doors and flings them open. I am hot on his heels. There is a short corridor beyond. At the end, there is another door. He throws it open and comes to an abrupt stop. I peer around him. He glances over his shoulder at me, then steps to the side to make space.
Lark lifts his head from where he is lounging at the foot of her nest, in wolf form, faking innocence, while the little omega lies in the most decadent-looking nest I have ever seen.
It is worthy of a princess. Which I suppose she is.
Soft-looking fabric in every color of the rainbow is strewn across the mattress.
A sweet smile plays on her lips as she slowly sits up.
If I’m not mistaken, she is naked, although she holds a lilac blanket modestly to her chest, as if I have not seen her pretty tits before.
I glance at Lark, who is still lying but has pricked up his ears. “If you thought changing back to a wolf would fool me, you thought fucking wrong.”
Violet blushes. Lark emits a deep chuffing sound, almost like he is amused.
“They have been busy,” Atlas says with an arch of his brow. He steps away from the doorway and gestures with his thumb out of it. “You have indulged yourself already, mutt. You can guard her as well from the end of the corridor as you can from here.”
Lark rises, glances back at our mate, who is blushing prettily in the nest, and then brushes past us.
“You have an excellent sense of smell,” Atlas says, sliding his eyes to me. “For a human.”
He seems amused.
“The scent is enough to choke me,” I say weakly.
The bastard looks even more amused. “If you say so.”
“It was my idea,” Violet blurts out, eyes darting between us.
“Of that I have no doubt,” Atlas says dryly. He glances around the intimate space. “I hoped you would pick this room.”
“Why?” she asks.
“Because,” Atlas says, “from the moment I first met you, this was where I imagined you.”
His words arrest her. They likewise arrest me. But the well-fucked woman, whom I love, has the effect of distracting me from sentimentality toward matters of rutting.
My cock is hard. That little show Atlas put on earlier when he ate her on the dining table had me fucking primed. And then I had put the matter aside as we waded through the treachery of her sister’s arrival and all that entails. But now, now I’m here with her, the moment feels present.
I do not know what tomorrow brings, nor even tonight. Perhaps the bell will ring, and the griffins will fly, and I must ride out with the other soldiers to defend a village or town. But the raider bell is not clanging yet, and there is a sweet, pretty omega waiting in her nest.
I missed her. I’m desperate to rekindle what we have shared.
Atlas walks over to the velvet wingback chair beside a small table.
Picking up the decanter, he pours himself a drink and sits back before meeting my eyes.
“She is your mate as much as mine. You do not need my permission. There will be times when I might make assertions about how things are done. We understand each other. We understand that she has claimed me as much as she has claimed you. I have a mind to consummate the matter fully, but I am also in no rush.”
He takes a sip of his drink. My heart is hammering in my chest.
“But know this. It is the nature of me as a man, and not uncommon among griffin shifters, that I very much enjoy to watch. She is not yours alone, nor even yours and Lark’s. She is precious. To all of us.”
My gaze returns to the bed and the woman I love. “She is,” I agree.
Violet
Rafe begins to peel out of his clothing. My heart is beating too fast, and my pussy is weeping in anticipation of feeling him inside me, stretching me around his girth, his body against mine, his lips on me anywhere will be heaven.
He was right about Lark, about all of it.
My eyes are glued to him as he strips down, dropping his clothing onto the floor.
His shirt catches my eye. I already fully intend to steal it so that I might layer it in my nest. But it does not hold my attention, for I’m feasting my eyes on the resplendent man whom I have long loved, but only recently called my mate.
His cock is hard, long, ruddy-looking, and already leaking pre-cum. He slides his fist around it, strokes it once, and then releases it.
I swallow and snatch my eyes away to meet his. “What are you waiting for?”
“I believe it is customary for an omega to invite her mates into her nest.”
It is? Lark swung me into his arms and pitched us both into the finished nest. Still, I had been taunting him… “Please get in my nest,” I say weakly.
He drops down to his knees, rips the blanket from my grasp, and crawls over me. “What did Lark do to you?” he asks. “Did he fuck your sweet pussy?”
“He knotted me,” I blurt out, a little woozy on his rich scent that I have not noticed so potently before. “I begged him to. I’m a little obsessed with his knot, if I must be honest.”
On the other side of the room, Atlas chuckles darkly. I had almost forgotten he was there. That he likes to watch. He has done a lot of watching since this began… Rafe braces over me, heat radiating from his body and a low rumble emanating from his chest.
“You have made that noise a lot,” I say inadequately, trying to lighten the moment. His expression is very intense, and there is a danger I might spontaneously climax without him touching me at all. “Are you sure you don’t have a wolf in there?”
His lips curve into a smile. “Only me. One of us knotting you is already plenty enough. Still—” he smirks. “Atlas is not the only one who enjoys watching. I look forward to the pleasure of watching you bear Lark’s knot in your hot little cunt. Did you lock together?”