Chapter Twenty-One #3
Well, that did nothing whatsoever to sate my curiosity. It fueled it even higher. Was that why Stryder had been so interested in mine the night of the ball? Because he had one just like it? But why? How?
Questions to be solved another day, I guess.
My gut told me we hadn’t seen the last of Stryder.
“There you are, milord,” Callum called from a short distance away. He looked at Onyx. “I was referring to Ev, not you.”
Onyx surprised me by softly smiling and bringing my hand up to rest against his cheek. He’d started doing it more and more since I broke his curse. Always touching me and wanting me to touch him. I didn’t mind it one bit.
Fierce demon lords who were half dragon and had a secret clingy side? Sign me the hell up.
“Shoo, rabbit,” Rowan said, still swinging his leg. “You and your stench aren’t welcome here. It’s a sacred pond, you see. Just ask the fish.”
I snorted a laugh.
Callum didn’t find it nearly as funny as I did. He stooped down, snatched a rock, and sent it flying toward our redhead. And as Rowan cursed and nearly fell from the tree, that rock hitting its mark, Lake laughed so hard he fell backward on the grass, resting a hand over his shaking stomach.
“Stop your laughing, pup.” Rowan tossed an acorn down at him.
That’s when Oreo attacked. He leapt up and snagged the bottom of Rowan’s boot, pulling him from the tree. He landed in the grass with a soft thud and rubbed at his ass.
Maddox barked out a laugh and had to put a hand on Callum’s arm to remain steady. My grump of a captain rarely let down his guard enough to find anything that funny.
There was a sudden burning in my throat.
After all that had happened in the past weeks, all the confusion and fear and moments where I wondered how the hell we’d make it through to the other side, here we all were. Laughing together as the stars danced above us.
“You’ve had him long enough, demon,” Maddox said, dropping down behind me. His arms came around my waist, and he tugged me backward against his broad chest, placing a kiss to the shell of my ear. “Evening, muffin.”
“Oh, so I’m back to being a muffin, huh?” My stomach fluttered as though a thousand butterflies had been released. “I like sweetheart better.”
“You will always be my muffin,” he said in that deep voice that still gave me shivers even after all this time. “Just as I will forever be your big glutton.”
I smiled. “Forever is a long time. Think you can handle me?”
“I don’t know about him, but I certainly can,” Onyx interjected, scooting closer to me. He tossed an annoyed glance toward Maddox. There was a touch of playfulness to it though. “Though, as I’ve said before, all six of us are needed when it pertains to you and your insatiable whims.”
“With a seventh still to come,” Lake added, still lying on his back.
The final missing piece. Lupin said I’d need all seven of my mates to face what lay ahead. It made me feel like I was assembling a team of superheroes for a huge, world-saving mission.
Muffin Lord and the Seven Alphas.
As I mulled over who my final mate could be, a pair of soft gray eyes flashed through my mind. Eyes the color of rain.
“The seventh mate isn’t in this realm, is he?” Callum asked. He sat in the grass playing with Oreo, a dimple in his cheek as the puppy softly growled and tugged on his boot.
“I don’t think so,” I answered, blinking away the image of those gray eyes. Trying to put them out of my mind for now.
Maddox tightened his arms around me. “Seeing how the demon is no longer a threat to you, we can delay our plans to leave. At least for now.”
“Yeah?” I smiled. “So we can stay?”
“If that’s what you wish,” he said, then pressed a kiss to my nape.
“When you do leave…” Onyx looked at me. “I plan to come with you. To remain by your side wherever your destiny takes you.”
“What about your realm?” I asked, heart skipping a beat.
“Varys and Koga can oversee the realm in my absence.” Onyx clutched my hand between both of his. “First, I suppose you’ll need that protection stone so that Nocturne won’t be able to detect you. Briar has yet to find a proper gem last I heard.”
“Much to my frustration,” a different voice came from the grass behind us as Briar approached. “There are powerful gems, of course, but this spell needs to be stronger than the previous one.”
Onyx moved his thumb over the gold ring on his index finger. A ruby sat in the center, matching his eyes. He took the ring off and handed it to Briar. “Use this. You’ll not find a more powerful stone in this realm. It comes from the dragon kingdom and contains ancient magic.”
Understanding prickled in my chest. “Your mom gave that ring to you, didn’t she? I can’t take it, Onyx. It’s too special.”
“Nothing is more special than you, little bird,” he said, aiming a soft smile at me. “Nothing.”
Onyx then grabbed my chin and kissed me. I smiled against his lips, feeling a whirlwind of emotions. A touch of apprehension for the future but mostly hope. And so much love I could burst from it.
Whatever happened in the days to come, I’d hold onto the memory of this night. Lock it away inside my heart and keep it safe. Forever.
The End