Chapter 2 #2
I was the fucking Iron Prince. I had never been a coward, and I wasn’t going to start today.
Before either of them could stop me, my arm shifted back to human… inside the fire.
“FUCK!”
Our combined curse reverberated through the room as the Eternal Blaze engulfed my hand with a vengeance, spreading up my arm more powerfully than before, and going through the layers of skin in a split second.
I tried to pull my arm out, to get away, but the Vampire cocoon seemed to capture me there, making Natasha’s power twice as vicious.
A ball of deathly Twilight suddenly crashed against my chest, throwing me off her side until my body slammed against the wooden floor. I immediately pushed to my feet, transforming my arm back into the Beast’s to stop the burning… and the torture.
“Argh!” I roared, my voice turning into the Beast’s and projecting through the entire estate. Panting from the mix of pain, anger, and fucking annoyance, I held my twitching forearm—watching the flames slowly diminish and my skin begin to regenerate.
My eyes snapped to D and Dante, but they just held my gaze in silence. They knew better than to add to my torment because it was also theirs. Through our bond with Natasha, the three of us were also mates.
The door slammed open into the opposite wall the next moment, and Alyce barged into the room with Vanessa, both having heard my call of fury. My sister's gaze instantly fell to my partially burned arm, watching the last flame be snuffed, and anguish filled her blue eyes.
I dragged my gaze away from her, unwilling to accept her pity, another labored roar escaping me.
My arm shook even when the fire was gone, its phantom heat still scorching my nerves.
The next roar thundered through the sky as I fully turned into the Beast, the tatters of my clothes exploding everywhere.
“Hannes!”
“No!”
“Wait!”
Everyone called after me as I jumped off the balcony, landed in the frosted garden below, and began to run.
My clawed hands and feet sped over the icy ground, turning into large paws once my wolf took over. The unexpected approach startled the cleaning crew who tried to erase last night’s aftermath, forcing them to jump out of my way.
The Sun God now reigned in the sky, but I knew my Moon Goddess was with me while the pain tore through my chest and into my soul, transcending the physical.
Once and again, my paws struck the earth, cracks spreading with every blow as I made my way around the island.
Structures blurred from my view when I passed them over and over, going in fucking circles.
My run became faster, stronger, and wilder, but there wasn’t enough land, enough fresh air, or a forest to calm the raging storm beating inside me.
Something crashed against me once I passed the beach for the fourth time, the wolf and I rolling straight into the icy waters of the shore from the force of her attack.
“Damn it, Alyce! You know I hate it when you body-slam me!” I growled into my sister’s mind through our family’s link, seeing her stand on all fours.
“I know, that’s why I did it.” Water droplets flew in every direction when she shook her white and caramel-banded coat—the only visible difference between us in wolf form.
“Grrr…”
“Are you done with that?”
“Done with what?” I barked, dragging my furry ass out of the water.
“Feeling sorry for yourself.”
“I’m not feeling sorry for myself.”
“Could have fooled me.”
Sighing, I shook off the water too, and stood across from her on the sand, holding her gaze. “I can’t touch her,” I whispered in her mind. “I’m supposed to be this powerful, indestructible being—”
“You are a powerful and indestructible being,” she retorted. “And a cuddly Hanny bear too, but that’s beside the point.”
“I’m not. I can’t even touch her…”
“You can touch her as the Beast,” she reminded.
… And barely as the wolf.
“How is that supposed to work?” I challenged. “How will she get to know me, how is she to fall in love with me when all I am around her is a Beast? How can she truly love me when I can’t be my full self with her?”
“She can still fall in love with you.”
“No, she fucking can’t.” My growl echoed in the air while I strutted past her.
She followed. “What? You’ve never heard of Beauty and the Beast?”
“It’s not funny, Alyce,” I grunted, turning to face her again.
“It’s a little funny.” My twin grinned, showing her pearly white canines.
“It’s different for me, and you know it… I was not chosen.”
“Weren’t you?” she defied, placing her paw on my shoulder. “You have the bond tattoo just like D and Dante do.”
My gaze lowered to the glowing lines that ran along my bond tattoo whenever I took my wolf form, visible over the white and soft brown speckled fur. They were filled with a magical silverish-blue light that declared my rightful place as Natasha’s third mate.
Even then, my chest sank with the weight of my burden. “She has the power to destroy me, Alyly.”
The light in her eyes softened with my use of the endearment; I’d given it to her when we were kids. The single word told her exactly how distraught I truly was by this.
I let my massive wolf form plump down on the sand, but she nuzzled my face, calling my attention back to her.
“Isn’t that what love is anyway?” she asked.
“Giving someone the ability to destroy you but trusting them to protect you instead?” Resting on the sand next to me, my sister held my gaze.
“Every day, I trust Vanessa will not rip my heart apart, knowing she’s trusting me to do the same.
It would be a real shame if she ever hurt me, but the possibility of it will never stop me from loving her.
She’s my mate, just like Natasha is yours. ”
Considering her words, I remained silent, my attention called to the shimmering waters that danced on the golden horizon. The truth hit me mercilessly.
It no longer mattered if Natasha’s fire was capable of killing me or not, it was too late for me… I was already hers.
With a heavy sigh, I wrapped my front leg around my sister’s torso, pulling her wolf closer to cradle her against me. Her head rested on my right paw. A rumble captured my chest when I nuzzled her ear lovingly.
“See? I knew you were my cuddly bear, twinsie, Hanny boo.”
I snorted. “I should have absorbed you in the womb…”
When Alyce and I returned to the estate, I took a shower to remove all the sand from my fur and skin.
By the time I made it back to Natasha’s room, the Countess forced the guys and me to leave, have something to eat, and rest while she and Isis stayed with our mate.
It was hard to argue when she was right, we’d been by Natasha’s side the entire night after an intense battle with those bastards, and we weren’t good to anyone in this condition.
We all gathered in Dante’s room.
“I don’t think I can actually get any sleep,” I sighed. “You, D?”
The emotion changed in his eyes as he looked at Dante and me. “You guys can just call me André from now on.”
A genuine smile curved Dante’s lips. “Are you sure? I thought only Natasha and Vanessa had that privilege.”
He shook his head. “You, Hannes, and I are bonded too. We are mates, and there is nothing more important to me than that. This is the real me, and that is something I’m no longer willing to keep from you.”
Pulling Dante in, he kissed him, and they exchanged a heartfelt hug to seal his new vow of sharing his true self with us and never hiding again. His arms wrapped around me next, and we kissed, sharing the same vow.
“Let’s get some rest while we can.”
“Sure thing, André.”
He smiled at me.
It felt right to call him that. Things were finally falling into their rightful place.
As Dante disappeared into the Twilight to recharge, André and I passed out on his bed regardless of how much we didn’t want it.
About three hours later, I sat awake, rubbing my still tired eyes to find André was already gone, probably back to our mate’s room. Dante, however, sat next to me while shadow bands disappeared from around him, telling me it hadn’t been long since he returned from the darkness.
“Are you at a hundred percent?” The roughness of my voice accentuated the question.
“More like fifty-five,” he admitted, cracking his neck. “But I don’t want to be away for much longer.”
“Same.” We exchanged a glance that said even if we’d wanted, we couldn’t have enjoyed a restful sleep. Not with everything that was happening.
“Are you alright?” Dante asked, and I narrowed my eyes at him.
“I knew there was a reason you were still here when I awoke.”
His lips twitched. “I suppose you are not that intolerable. Besides, André only left about five minutes ago. We heard you growl in your sleep and knew you weren’t far behind us.”
A smile stretched my lips fully. “You were worried about me.”
“Save the smile. I’m not going to melt in your arms.” His lips twitched as he looked at me.
“Then why is your heart racing?” I taunted, leaning closer to him on the bed until we were only a breath away. “It’s okay, you know I can be gentle.”
His lips twitched again, but his gaze fell to my lips. “You fucking have to. Have you seen your size?”
Chuckling, I cupped his neck, my thumb caressing his lower lip before our mouths slowly closed over each other’s.
He pulled me in by the shirt, deepening the kiss and sending tingles down my body straight into my groin.
Our tongues danced together in an unhurried and sensual kiss, his hand gripping my wrist to guide my touch between his thighs.
Leaning back slightly, Dante lifted his hips off the bed, giving my hand access to slip behind his waistband. He was so fucking hard. I pulled him out and gripped him firmly, stroking him slowly. He immediately responded to my touch, a bead of desire glistening on his slit.
Fuck.
“We don’t have time for this,” I rumbled against his mouth when he reached for my pants too, unbuttoning them and lowering the zipper.