Chapter 21 #2
“Yes. You did mean it. Jessamine is our guest. It was decreed by the council for all the clan to hear that she would be welcomed and protected by the clan. And you have broken that oath. You will not eat tonight.”
Her face shot up, tears pooling in her dark orange eyes.
“You will not sit with us tonight, either. You will return to your tent at once.”
“Redvyr,” whispered Jessamine, “I don’t—”
She flinched when I turned my glare to her and shook my head, before turning back to Velga.
“You will not eat tomorrow, either. You will not have one meal until you have apologized to Jessamine.”
“I’m sorry,” she muttered in Jessamine’s direction, keeping her eyes on the ground, her voice shaky.
“Not now,” I snapped, silencing her. “Only after you’ve had a night to contemplate your actions. Now, go.”
Velga ran from the cave crying. I didn’t fucking care. I turned to face the room, waiting for any other protests. There were none, though there may have been a few disagreeing looks. That, I could handle. But there was no question that Velga was out of line and should be punished.
Movement to my right drew my attention to Jessamine marching back over to the cooking table and whispering some words to Shearah, before heading for the exit.
By the time I had marched the length of the cave to catch her, she was gone through the flap.
Once through, I caught her quickly enough, grabbing her by the forearm.
She spun back toward me, fury painting her expression. “You were too harsh, Redvyr.”
“No, I wasn’t. I wasn’t harsh enough.”
She tsked. “If you think that is the way to get your clan to welcome me, you are wrong.”
“I want my clan to obey our oaths and decrees. It is known that you are here with the council’s approval.”
“And after that, they may hold another council meeting and kick me out.”
“Over my dead body.”
She rolled her eyes. “Redvyr, you can’t get everything by force.”
“Sure I can. I am the beast lord of Vanglosa, the head of this clan.”
She closed her eyes, her lips thinning in a disagreeable way. “By punishing Velga, you have only made her hate me more.”
“Why? It is her fault that she was punished. She tried to humiliate you in front of the clan.”
“She may not see it that way. And you’re drawing even more attention to…” she sighed heavily, looking away.
“To what?”
“To us.” She pointed back and forth between us.
“I don’t care.”
“Redvyr, you’ve put my feelings over those of a clanswoman. Many will see that as a betrayal. They won’t like me more for it.”
“They don’t have to like it. They simply have to accept it.”
She spun and marched away, turning right between two tents and heading toward our own, muttering, ridiculous and idiot and some other word I couldn’t hear. I followed quickly at her heels.
“Jessamine. You must understand that I cannot allow any of the clan to disrespect you. If it goes without punishment, others may try.”
“And now they all hate me because Velga was punished too greatly for her offense,” she yelled over her shoulder.
“It was not too great. You do not know our ways.”
She growled her frustration, sparking my arousal. “I know that when a woman is humiliated, it can grow into anger and then hatred. Velga has many more allies in the clan that she can turn against me.”
I wrapped my arms around her, pinning her arms to her sides, drawing her to a stop. She struggled in frustration, but I held her tighter.
“Listen to me.” I had my mouth at her ear, her sea-flower fragrance seducing my senses. “If you are to be my mate, they must respect you as they do me.”
“What do you mean, if?” She turned her head to look at me. “Are you saying you were mistaken last night?”
My cock pressed against her ass. I ground my hips against her. “I was not mistaken.”
She gusted out a breath, seeming to try and get away, while also pressing her ass back against my cock. I growled.
“That’s what if means, my lord. It means that you don’t know for certain. Perhaps the knotting our first time was a fluke.”
“Let’s find out.” I lifted her the last few feet into our tent.
She twisted out of my arms and fell to the ground. But I was on her, dragging her onto her knees and shoving up her skirt.
“Redvyr! You’re being an animal.”
“That’s what I am, darling,” I told her as I spread her lips from behind and opened my mouth over her cunt, thrusting my tongue inside her.
“Ah!” she cried out, flattening her chest to the rug, giving me better access.
I licked and coaxed her higher, taking note of those familiar whimpers she made last night, knowing when she was getting closer to coming. When she moaned louder, grinding her hips back against my mouth harder, I released her and straightened.
“No. I was so close.”
I yanked on the laces of my trousers, jerking my cock free. “You’ll only come with my cock inside you tonight.”
Gripping her hip, I wet the tip in her slick juices before pushing slowly inside her, knowing she would still be tender.
The slowness of entering her drew out the pleasure, spiking my need toward desperation.
“Unh,” she moaned, her skin beginning to glow with her magick.
I grinned, relishing the fact. I leaned over her, reaching for her neckline and pulling down her gown so I could squeeze her bare breast. Her sex clenched around my cock, her skin gleaming white, the pattern of syrenskyn markings dotting her shoulders and arms.
“You see that, Jessamine,” I whispered in her ear, nuzzling her hair aside so I could lick her neck. “I can summon your magick by fucking your sweet cunt. Your gods know you are mine, too.”
She gasped as I pinched lightly at her tight nipple and pumped inside her, thrusting with long, slow glides.
“I’m going to come,” she moaned.
I pumped faster, determined to get there with her.
I wanted her cunt squeezing the seed out of me.
Licking the slope of her neck and shoulder, my fangs itched to sink into her.
I needed my mark on her, but I promised I’d give her the choice first. And right now, with my cock balls-deep inside of her, wasn’t the time to have that delicate conversation.
Right now, all I wanted was release. And to prove to her that my gods weren’t wrong.
“Oh, gods, I’m coming,” she said on another moan, and then she was, her sex clenching tight.
I buried myself deep and let go, releasing inside her. Her thighs trembled as I ground deeper, growling as my knot formed and tied her to me yet again.
“There now,” I whispered in her ear. “You feel that, darling. There’s no mistake.”
“It feels so good. So intense.”
Brushing my lips along her jaw, I angled my head and pressed her chin toward me so I could graze my mouth along hers.
“This is how it’s supposed to be.”
After the knot loosened, my seed deep inside her, I pulled out and lifted her off the floor, taking her to our bed. We didn’t speak as we undressed completely and curled up in the furs together.
I felt restless, knowing I had been harsh with Velga and that some might not agree with my punishment. But I knew I was right, even if I had grumbling council members to deal with tomorrow.
Apparently, Jessamine’s mind wandered as well, but not on the same issue.
“That dryad stag.”
“Yes?”
She traced a finger through the hair on my chest. “He said that I was more than a mouthful. I was sure he planned to eat me. Until you came, of course.”
“What made you think on this?”
“I was thinking of Tylok’s family. The dryad seemed to be infected with this dark illness the shadow fae spoke of. I think the grimlocks are taking the females and the children for food.”
I pondered this for a moment, wondering how I didn’t make this connection earlier. “Grimlocks are an abomination. They are not born, but created. A mesh of creatures brought to life with black magick. They serve a master.”
“But who?”
I breathed out a sigh. “That, I don’t know. I’m wondering if the shadow fae know but just aren’t saying.”
“Why wouldn’t they tell you? Aren’t you working together?”
I chuckled. “One thing you must know about the three dark fae races. None of us work together—unless we have to. We prefer to stick to our own. Even so, I’d say the wraith and beast fae are more allied than we are with the shadow fae.”
“Why is that?” She propped her chin on both her hands atop my chest, gazing up at me.
“There is no reason why. The shadow fae live farther apart from the rest of us, high in their city of Gadlizel in the mountains. They are very secretive, but there have been rumors that their king is dying.”
“The prince’s father?”
“Yes.”
“It’s surprising, then, that Prince Torvyn was down here chasing grimlocks. I would expect him to leave that to his warriors.”
“He may be a cold bastard, but Prince Torvyn is a man of honor. When there is a problem in his lands, he prefers to take care of it directly himself.”
“Hmph.” She turned her head to lay her cheek on my chest and wrap an arm at my waist. “That makes sense. I was thinking of how my father handled his problems. He never risked himself to do what needed to be done.”
I coasted a hand up and down her spine, the length of her pale back a lovely sight, an unsettling thought now surfacing that had been pricking my conscience for some time. I decided to ask her, though I truly didn’t want to know the answer.
“Did your father ever force you to use your syrenskyn magick on someone for him?”
She was quiet for a moment, and I knew he had. I buried my rage and kept soothing my hand up and down her back.
“There was a merchant,” she began softly.
“He’s stolen from my father more than once, skimming from the coin he was supposed to tithe to the king.
So Father told me I was to prove that I was a worthy daughter and kill the man for him.
His own guards could’ve killed him just as easily, but I didn’t think about that. I knew that I had to prove my worth.”
I tightened a hand on her hip, willing myself not to interrupt her story with the curses I wanted to throw at her abysmal excuse for a father.
“I was sent into the chamber where the merchant was waiting. I’d been forced to go in nothing but my chemise so that my glowing skin could be seen, could bewitch the merchant.
” She sighed. “It did. He was frozen and in a trance, just waiting for me to swipe my claws and kill him…but I couldn’t do it. ”
I held her close as she finished her terrible story.
“Father was both furious. He scorned me on my knees in front of his guards for not finishing the job, then he warned that I’d better do as I was told next time, when the lord who won my hand came calling. The next thing I knew, I was betrothed to Lord Gael and preparing for his arrival at court.”
We were both quiet for a moment, me trying to wrangle my fury under control and her trying to come to terms with the fact that her father used her abominably.
“Your father misused his power. And he betrayed you in betrothing you to that noble from Mevia. But worse, he didn’t protect you or cherish you the way a father should.”
She remained silent for a time, then finally squeezed her arm tighter around me. “Thank you,” she murmured softly.
“There is no reason to thank me for speaking the truth.” I pressed a kiss to the crown of her head, inhaling deep. “You are a treasure, Jessamine. You should be treated as such.”
Her heart sped faster, beating swiftly against my abdomen where she lay across me. But she didn’t say another word before sleep took us both.