Chapter 17
KADEN
The bubbling stream is a welcomed soothing comfort to my ears as I recline on the heated stones. The silence is deafening—not in the surroundings, no. But in my head.
He’s gone. The curse. It’s all gone. It’s a wonderous thing.
Max sits beside me, both of us submerged in the water, quiet and pensive. After she did the unimaginable—saving me from a curse that has haunted my family for generations—Baris pulled us away to the decrepit castle behind the altar for a reprieve.
Max was exhausted from pinning me, and my body burned as if on fire that a simple touch made me drop in pain. The fur had shed, leaving behind new skin, my fangs had shrunk and my jaw ached from the change. We were in rough shape, unable to travel for more than a moment. Baris understood it.
“The summer palace,” Baris explained, my arm wrapped around Max’s shoulder and my brother’s. “The royal family would live here during the better weather. This side of the mountain used to gain Sola’s favor. Higher up is the winter palace, shadowed by fog.”
“Is that where…” Max trailed off, pivoting me into the ruined gates.
“Where all the corpses lay?” Baris nods, eyes sad. “I imagine so. This palace will be a safe home for all us and the guards have plenty of room to spread out. From there, we can decide what to do.”
Because no one thought this would happen. That I would survive and change back. Baris had checked one more time before leaving us.
Max’s head falls to my shoulder, and I breathe her in. The silken touch of her hair cascading down my chest, the gentle air that swims across my neck, and the trickling of water around us.
For so long, I’ve been haunted by the curse. Forced to contain it, to work with it, to beat it into submission. Regardless of how I felt or wanted, my entire life was dedicated to being the best at everything—the best solider, the dutiful heir, the only Dark Fae that learned to control the beast.
Then I lost it. Lost everything I worked for in one moment of grief and pain.
My hand runs down Max’s arm, pulling her closer. It was worth it.
I would make that sacrifice again.
I let the beast consume me, swallow me whole, in order to kill the male who fathered me, who killed the male who loved me like a son. I killed a tyrant who tortured my mate and sister. And I took those consequences on gladly.
Because it led me here. It gave me my life back. It gave me a glimmer of a future with the woman at my side.
No more restraints. No more worries. No more caution. I am whole—fully, for the first time ever in my life. Because of the woman who chose to fight for me—like I gave up everything to avenge her.
“What are you thinking?” I ask, words barely a whisper. I don’t want to break this spell, but I need to know.
She turns, looking up at me with eyes so bright, only the night sky can compare. My heart stutters in my chest and I exhale against it the outpouring of love I feel for this small woman. A woman who is half my size and yet dared to save a beast.
“Saving you was my only task,” she admits. “But now, we have the world to think about. We have your kingdom to save.”
Lifting her chin, I rub her bottom lip, still amazed at the color. It’s bright red, a drop of blood on a face so pale, it must have been crafted by the Gods.
“Our kingdom,” I remind her. “And the world can wait. At least for tonight.”
“But Kaden—”
“You saved me,” I say, holding her face. “You risked everything. Death. Poison. Heartache. Just to bring me back.” My lips travel down her jaw, over her throat and to her ear. I inhale, her scent mixed with the clean water and grassy notes. “Do you know what kept me sane when all seemed lost?”
She shakes her head, words stuck in her throat.
“You.” I suck on her pulse point, her body lifting to be closer.
My body hurts, but I’ll be damned if I don’t stop touching her.
“It would’ve been easy to give in, kitten,” I whisper. “To allow the beast to have my body. To be pushed to the recesses of my mind. Forced to endure and watch, an outsider in my own form. It was as easy as letting go of a string. But I kept my mind on the task of surviving—for you.”
“Kaden,” she murmurs, hands digging at my strands. Groaning, my head tilts, seeking more. It feels too good when she does that.
“You kept me going. The thought of you, here, waiting for me. You, as my queen, ruling at my side. You, growing our child.” Cupping her belly, I press my fingers against her womb.
“Our future, Max. That is what kept the fire of my drive going. Praying to all the gods to keep me alive, to give me the strength to hold on, to see you again, and feel your belly swell with our family.”
“Our family,” she says, eyes wide. “You want a family with me?”
“You are my family,” I assure her. “You are another part of my soul, the keeper of my heart in physical form. I would give you the stars in the night sky, consequences be damned, if it would bring a smile to your face. You need only ask. But to have a child with you?” Her eyes heat with desire, submerging the blue to black.
“That would be the greatest honor of my life. Because until I met you, the idea of ever having a family seemed too obscene. It was too fanciful—too unreal to ever imagine. But you gave me that—you gave me that want, that future, that hope for more. You.”
My mouth descends on her and I sink into her warmth, as her hands cup my neck. Fingers dig and pull and I ignore the beating of pain radiating over my body, breathing her into my very being.
Lifting her to my lap, she straddles me, the water lapping at her flesh. I’m instantly jealous of it.
Max devours my mouth with a frenzy I’ve longed missed. The touch explodes like a comet overhead, her heat a welcoming balm to the aches of my transition. She heals me in ways no one else ever has.
Pulling my head back, she bites my lip and I moan, low and long. My cock stiffens to excruciating hardness as her pert ass rubs against me. Rocking back and forth, she teases, seeking me without allowing me access.
Ripping away, I laugh darkly. “You’re taunting me.”
“Did you miss me?” she asks, leaving a trail of hot open mouth kisses along my jaw. Her teeth scratch my throat and I tilt my head, giving her more skin. I would gladly give her my beating heart if it kept her here, touching me.
“More than the sun misses the moon,” I whisper, grabbing her hips. She wiggles, moving more and I bite back a groan. “More than the dormant flowers miss the warmth of spring. There are not enough words to describe how deeply I’ve missed you.”
She tries to evade me, but I wrap her hair around my fist, pulling her back to me. “What of you, kitten? Did you miss me?” My opposite hand travels further, over the dip of hips, across her thighs, parting them to seek her heat.
My fingers glide in easily and I moan into her mouth as she sucks my sounds deep into her chest. It’s fitting. Everything I am is hers.
“Let me think,” she pants, following my fingers. I can’t help the chuckle, watching the rosy hue bloom across her cheeks.
“Your body certainly has,” I murmur, taking one nipple into my mouth. Twisting, sucking, pulling, she cries out, letting me ravage her. Blowing air across her flushed body, I move to the next one, tasting it as if it’ll sustain me alone. “Didn’t find comfort with someone else?”
“You’ve not touched me in weeks,” she breathes, core tightening around my hand. “And you want to know if another has been in my bed?”
“Call me possessive,” I say, smirking. My finger move quicker, her movements jerky. My eyes never leave her face, watching as her mouth forms that perfect O and her eyes roll backwards. “There it is.”
Dropping forward, she moans my name into my ear and my cock jerks. It sounds like a praise coming from her mouth—one I want again. And again.
Lifting her from the water, I place her pale legs on to the edge of the bath. She’s dazed, her lips properly swollen, before I part her legs, looking up at her.
“Divinity exists between your legs, and it’s been too long since I’ve shown my devotion, kitten.” Forcing her back, I scoop under her thighs and dive into her dripping pussy like a starving animal.
Maybe I am. This insatiable need to have her consumes me, drives me to take and claim her in all ways. My tongue spears inside of her, licking every inch I can reach. Lips nibble and tease, I suck her clit until she moans my name again.
Her hands grab my hair and I let her guide me to where she wants me. I’ll gladly worship at her altar, demand penance for ever leaving her, as long as she’ll have me.
Those creamy legs wrap around my head and she mews, sweet sounds of bliss falling from her lips. Her hips follow my tongue, seeking more, begging for release.
Her scent, her taste surrounds me. This. This is what I prayed to the gods for. Just my mate, with me, in the most primal of ways. Her heart, her soul, her body—all of it belongs to me, and I to her.
It’s not long before she screams my name, her body shuddering with release. I crawl out of the water, lying on top of her. Gliding into her with one smooth jerk, she groans, body still tight.
“You think I was finished with you?”
She looks at me with half-closed eyes, delirious with pleasure. A sight I would continue to give her until the world ends. “You’re insatiable.”
“Only for you.” I’m not gentle, hips snapping forward. We scrap across the broken tile, bodies sore and bruised. Her nails cut into my shoulders, arching for each stroke.
“Gods, kitten,” I exhale, fangs skirting her neck. What would it be like to finally taste her without fear? “You feel too good. You’ve turned me into a weak, inexperienced Fae.”
She laughs, breathless.
As her pussy clamps around me, I moan out her name as she cums on my cock. I don’t think, sinking my fangs into her neck, tasting the sweetness of her blood as I fill her. My vision darkens, sound gone and I drink.
It’s cherries on a hot day. Tart, sweet, and I gulp down more.
The need inside me burns and I ground against my mate. Something wants more—needs more from her. This hunger is unlike anything else. It’s all-consuming. A need to have everything she offers and more.
Ripping away, I make myself release her. Under me, she’s pliant and soft, streaked in red. The red against the white mesmerizes me.
A hand traces my chin, and I look up into her sleepy eyes. “We should clean up.”
I blink away the blood lust. The kind of lust that she’s only ever brought in me.
Is this natural? Or is there something wrong with me?
“I’m not going anywhere.” My cock is already hardening again inside of her. “How can I expect children with you, if I don’t make sure you’re properly filled up?”
Her eyes brighten. My mate likes the idea of being filled by my seed, growing with our brood.
“We won’t waste a drop,” I mumbled against her mouth, smelling our mixed essences.
I don’t worry about the rest of the world, nor let the worries of hunger invade for the remaining hours of night. I sink into my mate over and over, until the sun brightens and neither of us know where one begins and the other ends.
If the world needs me, it will wait one night for me to enjoy my wife.
When Reid knocks on the door early the next day, I have an old cloth wrapped around my waist, Max sleeping in the mossy patch beside the pool, covered with what remains.
My brother glances to me, to my mate, and I block his sight. He has the balls to wink.
“Have a good night?”
My body is sore from all the lovemaking, but it’s not something I’ll share with my younger brother. “I’m Fae, again.”
“A feat, to be sure,” he says, nodding. “Any leftover issues?”
At my raised eyebrow, he waves his hand into a circle. “Urge to eat us whole? Fear of fire? Turning all beasty again?”
Tapping my temple, I choose to ignore the need to have more of my mate’s blood. There is nothing in my head, or in my soul. The beast is gone. This could just be a new craving. I’m a bonded Fae, I’ve not had her blood without shackles keeping me contained.
I’ll learn to control this. As I’ve learned to control everything else.
“He’s gone.”
“Thank fucking Azure’s might,” Reid praises. He throws his arms around my shoulders, awkwardly hugging me as I keep the cloth around my waist. “I thought we’d never see you again.”
The relief in his voice breaks my heart.
My brother doesn’t have many people in his life who have cared for him.
My mother died after he was born, and our father ignored him.
Oslo took more interest in me due to our shared curses—but Reid always had me and Fee.
To lose one of us would surely destroy him.
Clapping him on the back, I hold him tight. “I’m here, Reid. I’m not lost.”
“Thanks to Max.”
“Thanks to her.” She amazes me daily. Her strength, her care—all of it. And she chose to save me.
Stepping back, Reid blinks, still in the clothing from the night before. I can only assume everyone slept for the first time in weeks, without worrying for much else.
“I have news,” he begins. “Aoife’s troops are at the barrier. They come with a message, but I didn’t want to let them in.”
That raises my suspicions. “Why not?”
Reid shrugs. “Too much to explain right now. But something isn’t quite right here. I can’t put my finger on it, but Fee sees it. Max as well. Aoife is not to be trusted.”
My immediate reaction is to ignore Reid’s words. Aoife has been my mother’s oldest friend, someone I’ve relied on through dark times. She was the first to support my coup, the first to comfort me when my mother was found deceased.
But I’ve not been where he is—where Max was in the middle of all this. If my mate is not sure about the woman I love like a mother, then I’d rather trust her judgement.
Nodding, I say, “I’ll change and meet you at the barrier. We’ll face them together.”