Chapter 47
Chapter Forty-Seven
Violet
Goddess weep, they are beautiful, resplendent men, naked and proud… and they have tails. Further, they seem as surprised by this development as I am, as they look between one another and peer under their wings at their swishing tails.
Barely have I assimilated the splendor of their half-shifted forms when the air crackles, and with a shower of sparks, a giant furred beast that must be easily twice my height appears where Lark was.
“Oh, my,” I say as I take in his vast size and intimidating facade.
A thin thread of drool escapes the corner of his lips. His tongue lolls out to catch it before he snaps his jaw shut. Then he stretches his arms wide, flexes gnarly fingers tipped with lethal claws, lifts his chin to the air, and howls.
Above, griffins flap their wings and screech in a deafening chorus of approval that echoes off the chamber. Like a trigger, the wing leaders who have stood on ceremony around the edges of the room slam fists against their chests and spread their beautiful wings.
“The sleeping griffins come to witness,” Aldric informs me, voice deeply reverent. “Today, you become our Queen.”
So that is who they are… I had wondered if they were another pride, but no.
Moisture gathers at the back of my eyes, but I blink it away. The knowledge cements the rightness of what we do. The multifaceted hope that underlies it all.
My mind releases its hold on the now, on the regal griffins, and the wing leaders. They fade away.
There are many reasons why we should do this, for our situation is perilous. Selfishly, I do this for Rafe.
Atlas
It is time.
The wing leaders are present, the unbound griffins have roused from their sleep, many for the first time in eons.
Master Pugstone and Master Lychen are on standby in an antechamber. I pray that we shall not need them.
I pray this shall be enough.
“Trust your instincts,” Aldric says. “You are a Pride Leader. One who has waited long and patiently for his Queen. The unbound griffins have risen. Resonance awaits.”
Violet
A quickening sensation rises inside as my four mates step forward like predators about to circle their prey. I feel a pull upon my soul as they draw closer, forming up around me.
Beyond us, Rafe lies unconscious.
My anchor.
The man who tethers me to this earth when the other four might lift me away.
And then Atlas leans in, slides his fingers into my hair, grips it with the perfect amount of bite, and slants his lips over mine.
I melt into his kiss. Moan. Our tongues tangle. I’m already breathless when he hoists me into his arms. My legs wrap around his waist, my arms around his neck.
Another body slides up behind me.
Darrion.
His lips press against my throat. He nips on the shell of my ear just as Atlas breaks the kiss.
“Such a good girl,” Atlas says, his big hand warm against my cheek. “But tell me, do you remember your lessons?”
Lessons? Why does my mind jump to that day, what feels so long ago now, when Atlas spread me out over his desk, and Darrion pulled up a chair…
Darrion rips my gown in two. Somebody tugs it away.
Atlas is watching me, waiting, then his lips curl into a smile. “Such a sweet princess, kneeling for your griffin master. It is for the best that you learned how to be patient.”
Oh Goddess. I’m already unraveling.
“You don’t get to come,” Fenix says bluntly, his lips pressed to the other side of my throat.
A deep, rumbly purr emanates from Lark’s chest, as though approving of what Fenix just said—the knuckles of a huge, gnarled hand slide down my side.
“That’s how this works,” Atlas continues. “Resonant bonding. The higher you go, the greater the reward.”
“You’ll hold it for us, won’t you, my Queen?” Darrion says it softly, taunting me. His fingers slide over my ass, cupping me intimately from behind as he pushes his big body against mine, letting me feel how hard he is for me.
Slow beating wings, fur, soft tails, and hard male flesh fill my senses.
Atlas’s lips on mine once more. I’m ready.
The worry that once held me captive is gone.
The rightness of what we do is clear. The ceremonial setting.
The unbound griffins who have risen from their sleep.
I didn’t know if I could do this—worried I could not.
But now I see that I can.
And I will.
Whatever it takes.
I’ll withstand anything.
If only someone would fill this empty feeling inside, one that demands.
My fingers sink into Atlas’s hair and tug. His lips slide from mine, his breathing heavy, his beautiful silver eyes whirling with primal power. A soft leonine tail brushes over my hip and slides across my belly.
“Hold her,” Atlas says, never taking his eyes off me.
Darrion’s hands slide behind my thighs. He holds me open as Atlas takes his cock in hand and teases my pussy with it.
“Please,” I beg, shameless.
“My sweet girl, you don’t even know what you’re begging for yet. But you soon will.”
I believe him.
The many days and weeks he teased me in his study, he was molding me, making me ready for this point.
Nothing matters but the moment when the thick head of his cock snags my entrance.
He wraps his fingers around my hips and, with Darrion holding me behind, pushes straight in.
A cry leaves my lips. The twisting corkscrew swelling of his cock is an otherworldly pleasure.
He slides out slowly, only to slam back in.
“Steady,” Fenix says darkly.
“Just warming her up,” Atlas says gruffly. And then he fucks me with an agonizing slowness that has me seeing stars.
I gaze up into his eyes, feeling something building inside me—something beautiful, something wild, something untenable. And all the while the griffins softly hum.
Slowly in and slowly out. All the more devastating because. My jaw hangs slack. I am a vessel for his lust. One who receives what he gives me gladly and without reservation.
He is going to come. Release hangs just beyond my reach. I cannot grasp it. Nor claim it. And then he slides deeply and simply holds.
A low masculine moan sets the hairs on the back of my neck prickling and a sharp thrill through my core.
Not Atlas.
But familiar…
Could it be Rafe?
Something shifts inside me. Pressure. Followed by a sting as a series of sharp ridges prick my inner walls, locking him in place. I gasp, my body clenching around him involuntarily.
Oh Goddess, I’m going to …
“Hold it!” Atlas’s command cracks like a whip in my mind.
The pulse between us builds. Heartbeats. The sensation of being one, of being held perfectly as a hot flood fills my womb, held suspended from space and time.
Then he slides out. His gaze shifts to Fenix, and a silent communication passes between them, reminding me they can speak with their minds.
Fenix gathers me into his arms. “I have not had this particular pleasure yet,” he says, a devastating smile upon his lips. “Let us remedy that now.”
Fenix
I take Violet boldly from between Darrion and Atlas and drop her onto the waiting platform where I stand between her spread thighs, Atlas to her right, Darrion to her left, and Lark to her head.
The stone is softened by thick padding and a layer of decadent silk.
It is of the perfect height for fucking.
There, doesn’t that look nice… Pretty little offering spread out for the appetite of her mates.
“So control is your forte,” I mind-speak to Atlas.
“Fenix,” Atlas says, a warning in his voice.
I don’t know why, but the push and pull between us only adds to my recklessness.
Darrion’s amusement ripples through the bond.
“Such a tasty little treat, ready to be feasted upon,” I say. “It will probably get a little rough on you, my Queen. But I have the greatest faith in our illustrious leader to hold your climax at bay.”
Her eyes widen.
Atlas curses.
I slam into her, feeling her hot, slick passage welcome me home.
Galeor offers an approving clack of his beak in my mind.
Violet squeals, sharp with sudden ecstasy.
My tail lashes from side to side, and my wings stand rigid as pleasure courses through me.
She wants to come. I can feel it beating like life itself through the bond.
Can Atlas’s iron will hold it at bay?
“I swear I will beat you godsdamned bloody when this is over,” Atlas promises.
Yeah, he’s got this covered… Might not be happy about it. And you know what? We all have our part to play.
I grasp her hips, brace myself over her, and then I fuck her hard and fast, unleashing everything I feel for her: love, desperation, the missing piece of my soul.
Atlas is in denial or delusional if he thinks I’m going to claim her gently as he did.
With every clap of our meeting flesh, he’s finding out that’s not what I’m about.
The sensation is sharp and visceral.
Smack.
Smack.
Smack.
Tail lashing violently now, snaking around to lightly pepper the sides of her tits, hips, her belly, her thighs, wherever it can reach.
Our flesh meets wetly under the rapid cadence of my thrusts.
Each one shooting sparks the length of my shaft that sets off a familiar tingling at the base of my spine.
I pour everything into it. Love. Lust. Passion.
My sheer force of will, that we will have our resonant bonding even if I must drive it with my cock into her flesh.
The power is building, arcing between us; my skin already glimmering with the potency of her gift.
“Hold it,” Atlas commands.
Her rapturous cries are a thing of beauty, driven by a desperation to climax and the denial of it. They ignite the dark debauchery at the core of my psyche.
The increased humming of the griffins seems to reverberate through the very stone of this room.
I’m going to come. My barbs are tingling. I’m going to come so fucking hard.
Smack.
Smack.
Smack.
Lash goes my tail, the soft, fluffy tip spanking against the top of her mons.
“Ah, Gods!” Pleasure explodes through me.
I’m feeding, power surging from her to me and leaking beyond.