Lux in Shadow: Children of the Goddess Book 2

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Lux in Shadow

ISBN: 1-60504-136-X

Edited by Bethany Morgan

Cover by Anne Cain

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First

Samhain Publishing, Ltd.

electronic publication: August 2008

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Lux in Shadow

Chapter One

“No!”

Lux shot up from the grassy riverbank, his eyes haunted. He ran a shaky hand

through his hair, the sounds of water and scent of the new spring grass recalling him to

the present.

Another one of those damned dreams. Penance for the blood on his hands.

Joel.

The handsome young Trueblood had lived to please him. The lover Lux had sent

away with a thoughtless smile, his mind on other things.

An image of Joel’s corpse, wide eyes surprised in death, heart torn out of his chest,

was burnt into Lux’s brain. If only he’d protected him. If only he’d bade him stay at the

family sanctuary.

If only you’d truly cared about him.

Lux snarled at his traitorous thoughts, his knuckles white as he gripped the cool grass

beneath him in a stranglehold. Of course he cared. Given time, he might have—

You liked him. No more than that. You know that now.

He fell back on the grass and flung a strong arm over his eyes, as if that could hide

the truth. No, he hadn’t cared, hadn’t loved Joel.

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He’d enjoyed him, reveled in his responses to their sexual play, his submission.

Never considered another when he wanted to extend that play with a willing female

partner between them…but beyond that?

The guilt of his apathy was eating him alive. Joel had died because of his connection

to Lux and the Sariel family. And he wasn’t even mourned, as he deserved to be.

“Bad dream?”

Lux dropped his arm, turning his head as he watched the recent bane of his existence

emerge, dripping, from the narrow river.

Arygon Dydarren. Until recently he’d been nothing but a name cursed in the letters

Liz, the founder of the Deva Clan, had sent him over the years.

Alpha of the Dydarren Pack. An arrogant blond Were who’d seemed to have it in for

the predominantly female clan of Unborns. Grey Wolf had changed all that. And along

the way Joel had been murdered.

Ignoring the question, Lux sat up, resting his chin on his raised knees as he fixed his

gaze on the stray shafts of moonlight flickering on the surface of the water. The

temptation to study the naked body walking toward him only added to his shame. “What

did you find?”

The silence was thick with tension. He heard Arygon sigh. “We’re close, but she’s

good at covering her tracks. Grey Wolf taught her well. And she’s not alone. A female.

Older, but not related. You?”

“I went into town for supplies and made a few calls. Zander and Regina are back

from their honeymoon. She told me a little more about what to expect when we find the

girl.” He felt his lips kick up in a genuine grin as he recalled the conversation. “She also

told me I’m going to be an uncle.”

“That was fast.”

“Yeah, well, the Sariel men are known for—” Lux looked up with a smile, forgetting

for a moment why he’d turned away in the first place.

His throat closed. The pants he’d slipped on after his swim grew painfully tight as he

took in the well-muscled body of the Were. Arygon had the broad, muscular build

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Lux in Shadow

common to his species. His skin was burnished golden by the sun. And his cock—thicker

than Lux’s own, though not as long—turned dark and hard with excitement as Lux

watched.

Mother, give me strength.

Arygon made no effort to hide himself or his own growing arousal as he stared at

Lux. But then he’d made no secret of his desire from the moment they’d met. And since

then the sexy pup had been pursuing a physical relationship with the dogged tenacity of

his kind.

He was damn near irresistible.

The Were stilled for a heartbeat, dropping beside Lux and covering his body with his

own in one powerful move. The breath left Lux in a huff as he hit the ground. “What in

the—”

He was about to push him off, angry at the fiery need that blazed to life at the feel of

the rough blond chest hair scraping across his piercings, when Arygon’s hot breath

scorched his ear.

“She’s here. Watching us.”

Lux froze. Sylvain. Sister of the Shadow that had almost destroyed his entire race.

Regina had sent them to find her after Grey Wolf’s death, he still wasn’t exactly sure

why. Maybe his powerful little sister knew that, as a Healer, he was the only one who

would bring her in without killing her first.

“Oh now that is interesting.” He shivered at the low whisper as it caressed his neck.

“What?”

“Can’t you feel it? I can scent her from here. She’s aroused to see us like this.

Shining Mother, she smells amazing.” Arygon rocked his hips, groaning as his hard cock

rubbed against Lux’s cloth-covered erection. “Almost as good as you.”

Lux reached out with his senses. There she was. Hidden in the tree line. He could

hear her breathing, shallow with the same excitement that coursed through his veins.

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Her heartbeat pounded out a rhythm to match his own. She was just as turned on as

he was, her soft, broken whimper echoing his rumbling groan as Arygon bent his head to

tongue the small metal bar in his right nipple.

“Arygon, stop—”

“No fucking way.” The blond took the bar between his teeth with a threatening

growl. “She’s curious. If she doesn’t know we’re aware of her presence she’ll come

closer. And there is no way in hell I’m stopping now. Not when I’m finally exactly where

I want to be.”

Oh shit. He’d been celibate for months. Months spent fighting the all-consuming

attraction he’d felt for Arygon since the moment their gazes had met at that damned Clan

Trust gathering. All his pent up need crashed around him, the avid gaze watching from

the woods making it impossible to evade the hard lips that sought his out.

Lust rode him like a beast clawing to be free. Lost in the moment, he flipped a

growling Arygon on his back, his pants disappearing with a thought as he ate at the

sensual lips that had taunted him for far too long.

“Is this what you wanted?”

“Fuck, Lux. Yes.”

His cock already dripped with need, increasing the delicious friction as they

struggled to get closer. Thoughts of the little voyeur only added to the inferno inside him.

Was she touching herself? Fucking herself with her fingers and wishing she could join

them?

He ate at Arygon’s lips, nipping him as he tilted his body to one side, giving the

mysterious female a clear view. He gripped the blond’s thick shaft along with his own,

thrusting them against each other inside his fist.

The man beneath him growled in approval, spreading his legs wide and pumping his

hips in a gesture of submission that brought Lux close to the brink. Had he ever wanted

this much? He wanted to flip Arygon over and take him, hard and fast out here in the

open. He wanted the girl in the darkness to watch as he came inside him, as he sunk his

teeth into that strong neck and drank his blood.

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It took him several minutes to realize that the desire he’d been sensing from the

female Shadow was gone, replaced by horror and…fear?

An angry growl, followed by a sharp scream coming from her hiding place had Lux

rolling from Arygon to rise to his feet, making the inhuman leap across the water and into

the brush.

He heard his companion roar with his transformation, saw pure silver fur catching up

with him out of the corner of his eye as he continued to run with the speed of his kind,

following the trail of their prey and the unknown predator.

Another Were. Male. A big one if the broken limbs and mangled bushes were any

indication. What did he want with her?

Lux could smell blood now, hers. She must have cut herself while fleeing. It called

to him. He felt his fangs extend instinctively from his gums, his stomach clenching with

the need to protect her. He would kill whatever dared to harm her.

They entered a clearing and stilled abruptly at the scene before them. The male

they’d been chasing was massive, but he was nothing compared to the ferocity of the

diminutive female Were currently attacking him.

The male Werewolf hesitated for a moment when she let loose a battle cry. Then he

sprung from his crouched position, claws outstretched.

It was apparent to Lux right away that the feral female was outmatched. The Were

swatted her down with one paw as if she were a bothersome gnat.

But the gnat wouldn’t quit. Blood matted her fur from his strikes as she came at him

again and again. She was a fighter. And she was wearing him down. She barreled into the

large, surprised male and knocked him into the tree line.

Lux stumbled as Arygon’s large sleek-coated form nudged him, moving to stand in

front of him with a protective snarl as the other male was thrown a bit too close to where

they stood. The female noticed them, her hesitation all the opening her assailant needed.

A dark foreboding raised the hair on the back of Lux’s neck as he heard the garbled

chant coming from the muzzle of the battered male. His arm rose in slow motion, the

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rumbling hum hypnotic, the male slashed into her side, an animal scream of pain echoing

in the clearing.

She dove for the soot black assailant. She seemed to grow before their eyes as she

delivered a killing blow, ripping out the male’s heart and tossing it into the trees as Lux

and Arygon watched in awe from the sidelines.

The Were fell to the ground, changing and reforming as he did into the bloody, nude

figure of a man. A dead man.

The female collapsed beside him, her breathing shallow as she too shifted.

It wasn’t her. Lux tried to hide his relief as he realized she wasn’t the one whose

blood he smelled. The one who had watched he and Arygon as they’d embraced at the

river’s edge.

Instead, an elderly white-haired woman, her dainty body curled up to clutch at her

wounded side, lay before them.

Lux rushed over to her as she moaned in pain. “Let me help you.”

“The Trueblood Healer. At last. You’re late.” The old woman coughed wetly and she

tried to laugh, a grimace of pain on her lined face. “And the young, arrogant pup who

follows him. Glad you came to your senses, lad.”

Arygon stretched, his body shrinking, fangs retreating before he took a step closer,

looking at the woman with confusion and suspicion. “How do you know us, old mother?”

She shook her head, her breathing coming with more difficulty. “It doesn’t matter.”

“I heard him chanting. Was that a Shadow? I need to know if I’m to heal your

wound.”

The elder’s eyes were clouding. “Not Shadow. Not quite. One of Grey Wolf’s

followers. Probably caught a trace of his scent around here and was looking for his

‘Master’. Damn fool. Come on out, girl, they are here at last. Take them back to camp.

I’ll need someone to ca—”

Lux caught her as her eyes rolled back in her head, lifting her in his arms and

standing in one smooth motion.

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Lux in Shadow

Inhaling deeply, he looked into the shadow of a large hollowed tree, his own breath

stalling in his chest at the face peering back.

Mother Goddess, she was exquisite. Ethereal and fae, almost unreal in her beauty as

she stepped from her hiding place, eyes unblinking on Lux. He heard Arygon’s sharp

inhalation and he knew the Were was in the same state as he.

Her hair hung free to her waist, white gold and moonlight. Eyes black as the starless

sky. She was small, almost as small as the old woman. But where the latter was round,

what he could see beneath the misshapen dress she wore was perfectly proportioned.

“Sylvain.”

Her eyes widened and he realized he must have said her name out loud. At least he

hadn’t let loose the ridiculous poetry his mind was spewing. Shaking himself out of his

stupor he looked down at the woman he held. “I need to get her somewhere where I can

treat her. She mentioned your camp. Is it far?”

Sylvain shook her head and, after one last anxious glance at the limp figure in his

arms, led them onto a path he hadn’t noticed before. She moved so silently it hardly

seemed her feet touched the ground.

This was Grey Wolf’s sister? This innocent beauty was related to the loathsome and

psychotic shaman of Les Loups De L’Ombre? It was unfathomable.

He glanced over his shoulder at Arygon, who walked close behind him, alert to all

dangers. Those intense eyes the color of Irish moss met his own, and he flushed, recalling

what they’d been doing only moments before.

She’d been aroused.

He broke away from the all too knowing gaze and turned back toward the swiftly

disappearing female. Why did he suddenly feel guilty?

Before he’d seen her, scented her blood on the wind, the mere thought of her eyes on

him as he took his pleasure with Arygon had him near climax. What had changed?

Is she the one?

The Clan Trust had been disturbed by his brother Zander, their Mediator, finding his

grathita mate in an Unborn. And they’d yet to be made aware of the fact that Regina was

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a Reader. What would they think of the last heir of the previously “untainted” Sariel line

mating with the enemy? A Shadow?

He was a fool. She aroused him, his protective instincts and his cock. That was all it

was. All this romanticizing must be a side effect of long-term celibacy.

She was not his mate.

Her visions hadn’t done him justice. He was more beautiful than she’d ever

imagined.

She sat with her back pressed against the cool cave wall, knees drawn up tight as she

looked around her makeshift home, worrying for the first time at the less than stellar

accommodations.

Mysha had said that the ancient tunnels would be the perfect place for them to make

shelter.

Long ago, the Were and Vampire ancestors had sought refuge here, evading

slaughter at the hands of the humans rebelling against them. But this place had been

forgotten, along with the Shining Mother’s wisdom. So for now, at least, they were safe.

Furs had been piled as bedding around the fire. Further down another tunnel, salted

meat reserves were hanging, ensuring they wouldn’t starve. Nearby, was a hot springs

where they could bathe. All the comforts of home.

Though from what she’d been told of Vampires, they were used to more luxurious

trappings.

Mysha had chosen this particular section of the caves to set up camp because of the

carving on the far wall. The Goddess stood out in bright relief on the limestone, her

favored wolf by her side and the rays of her cloak warming her children. Vampires,

Weres and Humans, all depicted together. Sylvain wondered if the men would even

notice.

She watched them in silence. The one who’d introduced himself as Lux worked with

tireless focus to heal the deep wounds Mysha had received at the hands of that wild

Were.

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Lux in Shadow

The other, who hadn’t bothered with introductions, hovered nearby, gaze shifting

between the entryway of the tunnels and his companion.

Though their species were quick healers by nature, there were times the wounds

were too deep, or the enemy too powerful in the dark magick of the Shadow.

The attacker hadn’t been an assassin from what was left of her family’s pack. She

knew their tactics. They wouldn’t have shown themselves. She knew she’d have been

dead before she realized the danger. Not that it hadn’t almost happened anyway.

She’d been so distracted that the oafish Were had been practically upon her before

she’d noticed she wasn’t alone. Heat stole into her cheeks as she recalled what she’d been

distracted by.

Mysha moaned, still unconscious. What had her brother done? It was against the

laws of the Shadow to teach outsiders the dark magick. To imbue them with the

knowledge needed to inflict an injury that wouldn’t heal without help.

She’d learned at Mysha’s knee how to heal such a wound, but she could sense the

Trueblood’s power. She wasn’t needed. The old mother would soon be well. Besides, she

wasn’t sure she could still her trembling long enough yet to be any benefit.

He was here.

His profile was stunning. Dark burgundy hair pulled back in a loose queue, revealing

a face that could have been chiseled in marble—as strong and lean as the rest of him.

Every inch the elegant predator.

The blond Were who eyed the Healer as a starving wolf would a feast was no less

handsome. Large, golden and heavily muscled as were most of her kind. But he was far

more attractive than any Were she’d ever met. Of course those included only the males of

her pack and the rogue who just attacked them, so her knowledge was limited.

He didn’t have the stunning blue spiral tattoos that Lux sported down both his arms,

or the same fascinating metal piercing his nipples, but his was a body that called for no

embellishment. He was raw magnetism. Intimidating.

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Her face heated with the memory of how she had ogled the two men when they’d

lowered Mysha onto the furs and she’d seen that they were both still naked.

Lux had apologized smoothly, startling her when clothing blocked her view in the

blink of an eye. She had tried not to let the disappointment show on her face.

From birth she’d been raised to be comfortable around nudity. Weres often went

without clothing, especially during hunting and mating seasons. But it had been a long

time. A hundred years since she’d left her home. And her reaction to Lux, to both the

men, had been anything but natural.

She wanted to look closer. To touch. The feeling was confusing and a little

frightening.

“You’re distracting him.”

She jumped in surprise. This Were was nearly as silent as her brother had been.

“Wha—what?”

“He’s a Trueblood Healer. He connects telepathically to the old mother, attempting

to help her heal the black magick running through her.” Arygon looked over his shoulder

from where he knelt beside her, studying the tensed back of his companion.

“He smells your blood and it worries him. Why haven’t you changed? You know our

wounds heal more swiftly in our other form, don’t you?”

She nodded jerkily, feeling the blood leave her face in a dizzying rush. She tightened

her grip on her knees, pulling her legs closer to her body.

They mustn’t know.

“I’m fine. I scratched my arm, that’s all.” Shock held her immobile as he pried her

fingers from her elbow, pulling the pale arm streaked with blood up to his mouth.

“He would have fucked me while you watched.” He licked her arm, cleaning the

small wounds and she trembled at his words as well as his improper behavior. He wasn’t

family. He wasn’t even a member of her pack. But her throat closed before she could

admonish him. Aroused beyond measure at the images his whispered pronouncement

conjured.

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“I’ve been trying to get him to touch me for months, but it was the thought of you

watching that made all the difference. I wonder why that is.” But his tone said it wasn’t a

question. His tone was telling Sylvain everything…and nothing.

The calloused fingers tightened on her skin as he leaned in to offer another healing

swipe of his tongue. He inhaled, and she stiffened beside him.

Green eyes full of surprised knowledge rose to hers. Whatever he would have said

next was lost as Lux stood abruptly, drawing their attention.

“Dydarren.” Harsh and short, the one word demand was instantly obeyed. Arygon

rose and, with one last, speculative look at Sylvain, strode toward the opening of the

tunnels, disappearing in the shadows cast by the fire.

Sylvain leaned around his legs to focus on where her guardian Mysha lay, shifted, in

the deep healing slumber of her kind.

“She’s better. There’s no need for concern.”

“I know.” She stood to face him as he arched his brow. “She said you would come.

And she said you were the greatest Healer of your race. More natural power than the

great Glynn Magriel.”

“My teacher? How would she know that name? How did you know we were

coming? Who told you?”

She’d expected his disbelief. Vampires knew nothing of the female of her species.

Even the male Weres’ knowledge had its limits, but they had only themselves to blame.

The women of her race didn’t choose the life they led. No. That was decided for them.

She reached out her hand, hesitant, all of a sudden terrified to feel his skin against

her own. “Come. The hot springs will restore your energy. I’ll answer your questions

there.”

Tell no one. You must never tell anyone the truth of what you are. She flinched,

trying to ignore the voice that beckoned from beyond the grave. She could trust Lux. Isn’t

that what her vision had told her?

Weeks ago Mysha had guided her through her vision quest, telling her it was time to

find her true path. She hadn’t known what she expected to see. Out of all the possibilities,

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it certainly hadn’t been the too beautiful Trueblood smiling down at her as she lay naked

beneath him. He’d called her his mate, his look so loving it brought tears to her eyes.

When she’d haltingly shared what she’d seen with her guardian, the elder had smiled

and patted her hand before getting up to make the evening meal. There was no

interpreting of the symbols, no clues as to what her teacher could be thinking. They’d

never spoken of it again. A few days before, Mysha had mentioned that the two travelers

were coming, that one was a Trueblood Healer. The way she’d smiled had made Sylvain

anxious, made her recall the image of her phantom lover. Mysha’s visions always came

true, but Sylvain didn’t know if her own experience had been real or symbolic—until Lux

arrived.

Her mate? All of her senses seemed to confirm her vision. So how could she not trust

him?

He would be a fool to trust her. She was a member of the Shadow Wolves. And yet,

Lux couldn’t help but reach for her hand, allowing her to lead him down a small side

tunnel to the hot springs.

Iron torches, rusted with age, were fixed inside the limestone walls. He watched as

she pulled a flint from the pocket of her dress, lighting the newly trimmed wicks and

casting a warm glow on the circular “room” that housed the bubbling pool.

His body ached, as it often did after a healing, and the heated oasis called to him.

The telepathic link Mysha had allowed him to establish so he could remove her pain had

taken most of his energy, forcing him to physically undress before he could step

gratefully into the soothing water.

The wound had been similar to the one he and Zander had been forced to heal on

Regina when she’d collapsed in their bar. Similar, but nowhere near as intricate, and far

less life threatening.

Mysha had shown him exactly what to do to remove the darkness. No blood sharing

had been required.

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He sunk deep into the water. At once he felt its magick. Nothing sinister, this was all

nature’s doing. Although this haven hadn’t been made by nature. He would ask her how

they’d found this hiding place…later.

The heated fingers of massaging liquid eased his tight muscles, clearing his mind. He

closed his eyes and leaned back against the smooth rock rim with a sigh.

Regina. She had told him that before Grey Wolf died, she’d been shown a vision

hidden in the deepest corners of his heart. In it she’d seen Sylvain, and the silent terror

the Shadow had known at the thought that she would not be protected if he were killed.

Trust his powerful new sister to have found the single spec of light hidden inside that

dark monster.

Grey Wolf had tortured her and stalked her across half of Europe because he’d

known what she was before she had. A Reader. Something straight out of the myths his

mother had told them as children.

In ancient times, when humanity was still in its infancy, the Mother had created

Vampires and Werewolves to protect and guide the fragile humans from the

unpredictable elements and all the wild things that roamed the earth. But her guardians

were just as unpredictable…just as wild.

When the Weres and his own kind began the first Great War, battling for supremacy,

they gave no thought to the innocent victims they left in their wake.

A cult of human women, devoted followers of the Moon Mother, were given the gift

of knowing. Recognizable only by the black bindu mark tattooed on their foreheads, the

Readers had the abilities needed to seek out the “godlings”, and the goddess-given ability

to destroy them all.

The Weres and Vampires who survived learned to avoid Readers at all costs. The

Trueblood community, his community, went so far as to create laws. No mating with a

Reader. No turning a Reader into an Unborn. And most importantly—kill any Readers

that crossed your path.

Lux grimaced. He wasn’t always proud of his people. They were arrogant

xenophobes at best. Although after their vaunted Mediator mated with Regina and she

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saved their collective asses, Lux had a feeling a few things were about to change for the

better.

She didn’t know about his plans. About his crimes. He protected her, hid her. I can’t

get over his concern for her. She could be in danger.

He replayed the last phone conversation in his mind. He trusted his new sister’s

instincts completely. In fact, he was a little in awe of her ability. And he couldn’t doubt

what his own eyes, his own instincts were telling him. Sylvain was an innocent. In every

sense of the word.

He kept his lids closed when he heard the gentle splashing that indicated she had

joined him in the pool. His body reacted to the thought of the bare beauty so close. What

was it about her?

Before that cold winter night, he thought nothing of following up any and every

attraction he felt—regardless of gender.

He reveled in controlling their pleasure, helping them to experience a height of

ecstasy most had never known until he brought them to it. He’d never given it a second

thought.

And then little Reggie had arrived, wounded and desperate, at Haven. That she was

Zander’s grathita saha asan, his mate bound in blood, was a fact made immediately

apparent as soon as Zander had tasted her.

Lux had been envious of their connection. He knew that now. When he should have

been alert, guarding the two from the danger they’d known was out there as Reggie went

through the transformation process, he’d been playing with Joel and some shapely human

whose name he could not recall.

When the dark magick of the Shadow had lit the bar in flames that could not be

extinguished, Lux had compounded his mistake by deciding to take his lovers to his

family’s secret compound.

He could have blindfolded Joel and put the human female immediately in thrall. One

of the Sariel guardsmen could have taken them home. The guards were specially trained

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Lux in Shadow

to protect his family from Were and Vampire alike with their unique gifts. One of them

could have stayed with Joel until the danger had passed.

Again he’d thought only of himself.

And now the ghosts of his mistakes were haunting him, rearing their tortured heads

each time he felt a spark of desire. Though he had to admit what he was feeling for

Sylvain, what burned in him for Arygon—well, it wasn’t the same as what he’d felt for

others in the past. It was more.

Which was why he could never pursue it. He couldn’t take the chance.

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Chapter Two

“When are you going to tell me about Grey?”

“Wha—damn it—what did you say?” Her soft question startled Lux. He reached up,

rubbing the back of his head where it had jolted against the hard stone in surprise.

“My brother?”

His throat felt dry as cotton, gaze riveted to the surface of the water that swirled

around her breasts as he tried to concentrate on her words instead of the blood pulsing

nervously along the side of her ivory neck.

“Mysha said you know the woman who stopped him, as well as the Vampire who

finally allowed him to return to the Shining Mother.”

“You’re not upset that he’s dead?” He couldn’t begin to imagine how he would react

if he learned that his brother had been murdered. He watched her take a deep breath, a

broken sigh slipping past her lips before she could stop it.

Not so calm after all.

“Grey protected me. Kept me safe when my pack—when they would have…” She

shook her head. “It doesn’t matter. I knew what he was. What he was destined to become.

And we, Mysha and I, both knew how it had to end. He’d hurt too many people.”

Lux moved closer, his hand absently caressing her shoulder in response to her pain-

filled words. She sounded so alone, so fragile. He wanted to sweep her up, make her

laugh, make her scream his name as she came against him.

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Berating himself for being a selfish, hormone driven bastard, he started to remove his

fingers from the temptation of her cream-soft skin.

Her hand covered his, holding it where it was. “You lost someone too. But it wasn’t

your fault.”

Shock had him gripping the hair at her nape, pulling her head back to look him in the

eyes as he towered over her. “What else does your black magick tell you, Shadow? How

do you know so much about me, so much about my loss?”

He spat out the words, anger and guilt battling inside him at her mention of Joel.

“No black magick. That is for the men. A tool they use out of envy.”

“Envy of what? Of who?”

“Of us. Our abilities.”

She broke away from his grip and floated backward until she felt the damp wall of

the spring against her spine. What was wrong with her? All these years of hiding who and

what she was, the secretive nature of her people and their mistrust of the Vampire race in

general, all of that seemed to disappear in his presence.

So distracted by the emotions he brought to the surface, her need to heal him that she

had forgotten the law every pack must abide by. Protect the knowledge of those gifts.

The female of her species were given certain gifts from the Shining Mother. Those

abilities allowed them to heal others, deeper wounds, spirit wound healing.

She was surprised, though Mysha had told her as much, that the Healers of the blood

drinkers that Lux and the High Priestess Glynn Magriel were a part of did something very

similar.

It also allowed them to seek visions, and find that which was lost. To communicate

with nature in a very profound and personal way. That is why though the males were the

hunters, the women were known for helping to make things grow. Herbs, vegetables,

children.

She was always told that it was this that proved the Werewolves were favored by the

Mother. Wasn’t her totem, her spirit animal, the wolf?

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It was an argument with a dozen holes. Especially when you knew anything about

the Vampire’s capabilities. But the fanatical belief in their own superiority made any

rational discussion with the pack Alphas impossible.

The men of her society had never understood why the gifts were given only to the

women of the packs. They had no natural abilities beyond that of transformation and

highly adapted instincts. How was it that the weaker sex was shown such favoritism?

Unless it was an obstacle to be overcome.

Or a defect to be hidden.

Though they claimed it was for the protection of the women and children, she

thought perhaps it was shame that had created the law of silence. The laws that kept the

women separate, unable to lead.

Were males were notoriously egotistical and aggressive. Her brother was a prime

example. If their enemies knew that it was the female that held all the natural magickal

ability, wouldn’t they be seen as lesser in the eyes of a species that, regardless of gender,

could call the storm?

The Shadow males had long ago found a way around their lack. No one knew who

had initially taught them the dark spells and the knowledge of cursing herbs that they

used with so little compunction. But their abilities didn’t make them kinder to the women

of their pack. They warded themselves against their females, trying to insure that their

mothers and mates never learned their secrets, shared their knowledge with others.

She’d been taken from the Shadow Wolves when she was only ten years old, but her

brother had spent every visit he could manage filling her head with the beliefs of their

people.

He had never shared his magick, but he did describe the results of his lessons, and

the punishments inflicted by any who attempted to take what belonged to their people.

And then he would remind her of what would have become of a woman like Mysha, of

Sylvain, if he had not intervened. Not protected them.

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If it hadn’t been for Mysha’s corrections, her tales of the true history of connection

between all three species of the Mother’s offspring, Sylvain would no doubt be just as

warped and twisted as Grey Wolf had become.

“I said—what do you mean by that? What abilities do you have that the males would

envy?”

She blinked, blushing as she realized she’d been so lost in thought that she hadn’t

heard a word he’d said. Or noticed how close he’d come.

His arms, roped with lean muscle, had caged her, trapped her against the rock. He

bent his knees, dipping his head to catch her eye, and that too was a prison. How could

she look away from that hungry, mesmerizing sapphire gaze?

All at once she wished to end the pretence. Forget that Mysha lay vulnerable in her

healing sleep. Forget the danger that had come too close to their hidden sanctuary to be

ignored for long. That he had no knowledge of her, didn’t trust her. That he was wounded

and heartsick because of what her older brother had done.

So many obstacles. And all she wanted was his mouth on hers, his hands on her skin.

An unfamiliar fever seized her body, clenching her womb tight as her thighs pressed

against each other to still the foreign ache.

Desire had darkened his eyes, those heavy lids lowering as he brought his lips a

hairsbreadth away from her own. His breath warmed her as he spoke, the seductive

timber from her dreams.

“Why, little goddess? Why do they envy you?”

“I know why. So why don’t you stop torturing the girl and kiss her already? Or better

yet…come torture me.”

A bucket of ice water dumped down her back could not have surprised her more as

she whirled toward the smirking man standing in the cavern opening. Disappointment

stung her as Lux pushed away with a mumbled, “Arygon, great timing.” He retreated

back to the far side of the steaming pool as Arygon came closer.

Sylvain knew a momentary fear when he lowered himself to the ground behind her

head. She’d been about to violate the law of her people—his people. Had already told

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Lux enough to be punished. The males she’d known would not hesitate in executing that

punishment.

She heard Arygon’s soft chuckle and her head jerked up in surprise. “You look like a

scared little rabbit. I’m not here to judge you. I’ve already broken what few laws our kind

have.”

He looked over at Lux with a hard smile. “Most of them for this stubborn Trueblood.

Not that he appreciates it.”

Lux tried to appear as if he was no longer paying attention to either of them, but she

knew without a single doubt that he had never been more aware. He had been this way

when she’d watched the men from her hiding place in the woods. He desired, but he did

all that he could to remain aloof. From what Mysha had told her, denial of pleasure was

not the Vampire way.

She sensed that he wanted her, and it was obvious that he wanted Arygon as well.

Why was he denying it? Denying himself?

She knew what Arygon had been trying to say. It was forbidden for males to join

intimately in the pack community. That had been true for as long as anyone could

remember. The mating, the increase of their scarce numbers was all-important to the

Werewolf leaders. How could you wage wars and fight for territory if you did not have

an army?

Arygon’s open pursuit of the Trueblood male went against many of their people’s

beliefs. And yet, when she’d seen them locked together on the river’s edge, it hadn’t been

disgust she’d felt. It was impossible to get the arousing images out of her head. How

could something so beautiful be wrong in the eyes of the Mother?

“He wants to know about the secret we’ve kept for generations, rabbit. But you

should never give away something for nothing. What should we ask of him in return?”

He was taunting Lux. Trying to get a reaction. And it was working. That chiseled

jaw clenched, blue eyes burned bright from behind the lashes shielding them as he

watched the daring blond behind her. It took her a moment to realize he was talking to

her.

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“What are you, Sylvain? Tell me what I want to know.”

She was tempted. She wanted to give in, but the gentle rasp of Arygon’s fingertips

tracing her neck and shoulders stilled her speech. He wasn’t finished pushing.

“Isn’t that a telling question. Not, ‘What’s the secret?’ but ‘What are you?’ I know

what you are. I can smell it. And knowing what I do about the females of our species I

know that you, sweet rabbit, know what you are as well. I even think Lux knows, he just

doesn’t want to admit it.”

He pushed the pale, damp strands of her hair out of the way as he pressed a kiss to

her shoulder, breathing deeply. “Shall we tell him anyway? Surely information as

important as that deserves a—special reward. You choose, Sylvain. What is the price?”

He knew? Her whole being froze until she realized what he was referring to. Of

course. Grey Wolf had told her all about the unique scent their kind emitted when a Were

found its mate. It had been a sore spot for her brother. He saw the lack of choice in

mating, the instinctive chemical reaction base and disgusting. Of course Arygon would be

able to sniff it out.

Did Lux know? Some daring part of her that had only emerged in her daydreams of

freedom reared its head. She licked her parted lips, watching as Lux followed the

movement with an intensity that had her voice emerging in a husky whisper.

“A kiss.”

The hand on her back stilled its caress. “You want him to kiss you?” Arygon tried to

hide it, but she could hear the vulnerability in his question. The soft light from the torches

flickered across Lux as he too seemed to still—waiting for her reply.

“Both. I want him to kiss us both.”

She couldn’t believe she’d said it.

And from his stunned expression, Lux was having a hard time believing it as well.

She barely knew either of them. Yet, hadn’t Mysha told her that the attraction between

mates was undeniable? That it would bring out the best and the worst in even the most

well bred female?

“Man, I really like this girl.”

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“You would.” Lux snorted softly as he stood, the water dropping low on his hips,

revealing the smooth chest, clearly defined muscles of his abdomen and beyond.

She couldn’t stop the gasp that escaped at the sight of his erection, proud and fully

aroused. Arygon noticed her slip. “He is a pretty one isn’t he, rabbit? But don’t drool.

Vamp egos don’t need any extra stroking.”

“I know what you’re trying to do, pup. But this one…” Lux was too close to where

she sat and her neck strained to meet his gaze, trying not to lower her eyes toward the

mouthwatering flesh less than an arms reach away.

“This one perplexes me.”

She swallowed thickly as Lux gripped Arygon by his nape and pulled him closer.

She could feel the heat of the Were’s body close in behind her, over her as he leaned

forward in the tense silence.

“You want me to kiss him? Want to watch us, as you did in the forest?”

His tone was soft, skimming Arygon’s parted lips as he formed each word. She’d

never seen anything so erotic. So beautiful. She wanted to touch them too, to have those

lips against hers. She nodded, unable to tear her gaze away.

“Watch.”

As if she could do anything less as the two men came together. Mouths straining,

tongues tangling in a hunger that echoed through her, her nerves vibrating with need as

she stared, mesmerized.

Their eyes were closed, faces tight with passion as they lost themselves in the kiss.

She felt Arygon slide his fingers through her hair and she knew that for all their focus,

neither man had forgotten her presence.

With gentle movements he pressed her forward, her heart pounding as she felt the

damp, heated flesh of Lux’s arousal brush across her cheek. It was clear what he wanted

her to do. She pulled back, taking a moment to study the object of her fascination. Lux

was beautifully built…everywhere.

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Long and thick, curving slightly upward, his shaft was flushed with arousal.

Shimmering pearl-like liquid trembled on the velvet head, and before she could second

guess herself, Sylvain leaned forward to lick it off, his taste exploding on her tongue.

She heard a rough moan as Lux’s hand joined Arygon’s in her hair. He clenched the

strands in his grasp as if to pull her back, but she wasn’t willing to take that chance. Her

lips parted as she took in the dark, salty taste of him, sliding down his cock until she felt

him against the back of her throat.

He tensed for a moment, but then she felt Arygon pressing closer, knew he was

doing his part to distract Lux from retreating. She could do no less.

She’d seen this done as she hid in the women’s house during the mating season. This

and more. All at once she wanted to do it all with these men. With Lux. She wanted to

please him. Make him howl.

She could feel his pleasure. Not his thoughts, not yet. This was just the initial mating

empathy of her kind. It would get stronger the longer she stayed in his presence.

He loved what she was doing. Reveled in the sensation of her tongue tracing the

veins of his cock as her lips tightened around him.

More. More. More. The word pounded out a drumbeat in her head and she breathed

out, loosening her jaw to take him deeper.

More.

She heard Arygon’s growl, Lux swallowing the sound just as she swallowed him and

she shivered, her hand lowering beneath the water to slip between her own legs, body

desperate for relief.

“No.”

A hand tightened in her hair and then she was gasping. Lux gripped her hips, raising

her to the small pool’s edge. His features were tight, lips swollen and fangs extended with

desire.

He grabbed her wrist, pulling the forgotten hand from between her thighs to place it

behind her back. She loved it. The aggression, the passion she could see in his eyes. All

of it.

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A haze had clouded her vision, wild frenzied feelings that seemed to be his and hers

all at once. It scared her, excited her and embraced her like a lover. She lifted her face

eagerly to his.

“Don’t think I forgot about you. Tempting as your hot little mouth is—your price

was a kiss from me.” He nodded and a new set of hands slid over her shoulders.

Arygon. He caught her gaze as he lowered her to the ground, smiling tightly at her

confusion. “You’re new at this type of bargaining, rabbit. Next time remember to be

more specific about where you’d like to be kissed.”

A cool breeze hit her clit as his words sunk in, her head swiveling back toward Lux

just as his lowered between her spread thighs.

Damp strands of wine colored hair clung to her skin. His mouth brushed against her,

just grazing the bare lips of her sex. She whimpered and she could feel him smile at the

sound. Was he teasing her?

Those impossibly blue eyes narrowed on the man beside her, watching as Arygon’s

fingers brushed against the curve of her breast. A thrill shot through her at the touch,

knowing both men were focused on her, wanting her.

The Were had paused in his caress at Lux’s glance. But only for an instant. She

moaned, arching in surprised arousal when he cupped one breast in his palm, squeezing a

hard, tingling nipple between his fingers.

They stared at each other in silence for one, breathless moment. It felt like forever.

Some battle of wills was going on between the two Alphas—and that’s exactly how they

were behaving, like two stubborn, posturing Alphas—but she couldn’t focus enough to

sort it out. Every inch of her skin was on fire. Inside her, she could feel the spirit of her

beast roaring for her mate.

Her hands speared through Lux’s mane, tugging until she got his attention. And boy

did she get it. Fire flared to life in the deep blue. There was a challenge in his eyes. And

maybe a hint of erotic warning. But she was beyond caring. “You promised me a kiss.”

At her words he inhaled sharply, hands tightening on her thighs. His mouth opened

in a silent snarl, fangs fully extended toward Arygon. “Only her breasts, Dydarren.”

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Lux in Shadow

That cryptic command was all the warning she got. His head disappeared between

her thighs, Arygon’s fingers twisting and plucking at her nipple more aggressively as she

felt the first broad swipe of Lux’s tongue.

“Oh my Shining Mother.”

Arygon laughed at her gasped words. “Feel good, rabbit?” He lowered his mouth,

closing his teeth on her nipple for a small teasing bite before wrapping his rough tongue

around the peaked bud. His hand slid across her chest to stroke her neglected breast and

she arched off the cool stone floor.

Lightning flashes of sensation flayed her. The hot mouth on her breast causing her

womb to clench. The tongue thrusting inside her pussy, gathering the heated arousal that

coated her sex. It was too much. She’d never imagined it would be this powerful. This all

consuming.

Then there were his emotions. Lux. His need was a tidal wave. A hunger so strong

she wasn’t sure how he could contain it. He groaned low as he pressed deeper, eating at

her, consuming her as if he’d never get enough.

Arygon lifted his mouth from her breast. “Fuck, that is the sexiest thing I’ve ever

seen. He loves it, rabbit. It’s enough to make me wish he’d kissed you first, just so I

could get a taste.”

Lux growled a warning, continuing to drive her to distraction with his tongue. She

cried out at the vibration, unable to still her movements as her hips thrust against his

mouth. Tears streamed down her cheeks, the boiling wave crashing around her as she

came with his name on her lips. “Lux. Oh Goddess, Lux.”

He rose up from the water, climbing over her, his lips panting against her own.

Arygon’s mouth and hands disappeared and all she could see, all she could feel was Lux.

His cock slid against her sex and she trembled. The feel of his skin pressed against

hers renewed her need for him. The need for her mate.

His jaw was clenched tight. She could feel his restraint. His gaze dropped to her

neck, at the pulse she felt pounding there. “I could take you right now. You’re so ready

for me. So wet. I could take you and drink your blood down. Then I would know all your

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secrets. Know why the male Weres fear the women. Know if I should fear you. If I can

trust you.”

He nipped at her lips, leaning down to nuzzle her neck, lapping at the pulse point.

“Let me, Sylvain. Let me taste you in everyway there is. Let me sink my cock inside you

like I’m dying to. Invite me in.”

Her blood cooled at his words, panic replacing desire. She wanted to. If only he

knew how much she wanted to. But her brother’s ghost was too strong a presence.

Voicing her own insecurities.

He’ll know. If he bites you he’ll know. If they find out what you are—this lifetime of

hiding will mean nothing. They will kill you. No one can know, little sister. No one can

ever know.

He must have seen the answer in her eyes, his own growing cold, shutting her out. In

one fluid motion he left her, towering above her with a humorless smile. “Forgive me for

offending you, Shadow. I forgot myself for a moment. It won’t happen again.”

She flinched at his words. He’d called her Shadow again. Did he think she was like

her brother? That she hated him because he was Vampire? She caught a glimmer of what

might be regret in his expression before it went hard once more. As hard and

impenetrable as the rock around them.

“I’ll take first watch. Get some sleep, both of you. Maybe tomorrow the old woman

will wake and tell me why you are in hiding, what danger stalks you. If there is a way to

resolve this, perhaps my sister-in-law will be satisfied—and I can leave you in peace.”

He turned without another word. She felt her heart breaking with each step he took

away from her. No matter what choice she made, it seemed, he would be lost to her.

“Why would you deny your mate?” Arygon’s somber voice broke the oppressive

silence that had descended on the small, warm room. Her pulse stuttered as she glanced

over at Arygon.

“It’s an undeniable aroma. You’ve begun emitting the pheromone that precedes the

mating cycle. Since we’re not in mating season that can only mean one thing.”

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Lux in Shadow

“Yo-you won’t tell him?” He tilted his head, studying her for long, silent moments as

she held her breath.

“You won’t tell him he is your mate and you wouldn’t let him bite you. A female

who has found her mate is usually compelled by an instinct she cannot control to tie her

mate to her—and yet you resist. You are not the average Were, even for a Shadow Wolf,

are you?”

“Neither are you.”

Arygon grimaced as he stood, heedless of his nudity and still flagrant erection,

walking over to where his clothes had been folded neatly by Lux and his interesting

abilities. “I won’t deny the obvious, rabbit.”

He laughed as he pulled his shirt over his head. “Aren’t we a pair? Both far from our

packs, from our families. Both of us holding tight to our secrets.”

He knelt down beside her, looking into her eyes and giving her a quick kiss on the

forehead. Before he stood he repeated the formal words usually reserved for the males

during season. “Thank you for honoring me with your body, little sister. I hold you in the

highest respect.”

Before he left he smiled over his shoulder with a wink, making her smile in return.

“And I hope you will honor me again.”

She slid back into the hot spring, dunking her head under the water, rubbing her

chest at the ache in her heart. She was so confused. Everything in her told her that these

men could be trusted. Mysha had known they would come. Her guardian’s power for

vision was legendary. She would have warned Sylvain if they were dangerous.

So why had she hesitated? The voice in her head had been too loud to ignore. So

strong it had felt like a physical restraint holding her back from confessing.

And she was afraid. Not that they would physically hurt her. She knew Lux was a

Healer. It wasn’t in his nature to harm. But she couldn’t deny that it was fear that had

kept her from inviting Lux into her body, into her mind. And she hated herself for her

weakness.

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She closed her eyes and replayed the night’s events in her mind. She saw the

expression on Arygon’s face as Lux kissed him. So much need and vulnerability hidden

behind the bravado. She realized that they had yet another thing in common.

They both desperately wanted Lux Sariel. And they were both terrified that their

feelings would not—could not be returned.

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Lux in Shadow

Chapter Three

How can you take this away from him, Alex? It’s his calling. His abilities are a gift.

Priestess Magriel claims she has never seen the like in one so young.

Nya, my love, we have been over this before. He is a Sariel before he is a Healer.

The agreement with the Clan Trust is nonnegotiable. Until Zander mates and produces

an heir, Lux must be trained to take his place should the need arise. It was the same with

my father and I. It is how it has always been done.

“Why am I seeing this again?” Lux walked through his dreamscape, watching his

parents as they argued over his future.

Over three hundred years had past since that fateful night. The night his path

changed dramatically. Time enough that he had resolved his bitterness, his anger at

having his choices taken away.

“Have you really, my dear one?” He turned to see the beloved face of his mentor

through the mist of his memories. The blue spirals tattooing her face stunning him as they

always did. The badges of her struggle for enlightenment, her battles with the darkness.

He took his time answering her question. Hadn’t she been the one to help him

understand his father’s choice?

The elder Sariel had not made his decision lightly. Zander hadn’t found his mate

among the Trueblood clans after several centuries of life. Their father had to step down

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and pass the role of Mediator on to his eldest, heirless son. He simply didn’t believe he

had any other choice.

“That doesn’t mean you didn’t feel betrayed by those that you loved. That you

weren’t shaped by it.” Glynn Magriel responded to his thoughts as she lowered herself

gracefully into a chair at the table where his parents were arguing. Lux moved to join her,

the bickering memories going on without noticing the intruders.

“Teacher, why are you here?” It was obvious she wasn’t a part of this dream.

Dreamwalking was a difficult skill to master, but for a Healer, it was a necessity. The

subconscious was a powerful diagnostic tool, showing hidden truths and information that

was often invaluable to the treatment of the ill and infirmed.

It was also a good way to get around the mental obstacles Vampires were so good at

erecting while fully conscious. That is why only those with sincere interest in the healing

arts were taught the skill.

The scene around them began to shift and change. As he realized what was forming

in the mist, he tried to stop it, but he seemed to have no control over his own

subconscious.

This was not a scene from his memories.

He couldn’t meet his mentor’s eyes, but he knew she was smiling at him as he

watched the three lovers entwine on the soft, moss-covered forest floor.

It was them. Arygon and Sylvain. Both were wrapped around the dream Lux, hair

bright as shafts of moonlight gliding across his bare skin as they kissed and caressed him.

Arygon bit his neck gently, lowering his mouth to wrap his lips around Lux’s piercing.

Sylvain mimicked his movements, her soft lips caressing his flushed skin, tugging on the

small metal bar until the dream Lux arched with a feral roar.

He felt the blood flowing swiftly to fill his cock. The desire to lose himself within

the dream, to feel what his mirror image was feeling—was strong. He slowed his

breathing, focusing on the Healer beside him as he waited for her reply.

“She’s here because I asked her to help me reach you. Oh, is that Sylvain? She’s

gorgeous, Lux. And it looks like she likes you. Looks like both of them like you,

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Lux in Shadow

actually.” The soft, teasing lilt reached him a heartbeat before he saw her. Regina? What

the hell was Regina doing walking through his dream?

“Has something happened? Is Zander—”

“Zander’s fine, Lux. A little overprotective, but fine.” She placed her hand over her

still flat belly and rolled her eyes.

The moans of the trio in front of them were a bit distracting. He enjoyed a little safe

exhibitionism as much as the next sensualist, but this was ridiculous. Ignoring the heat

climbing up his neck, he focused on his sister-in-law. “Why?”

“Danger is coming, dear one. I have sensed it, Regina has seen it…and something

has recently come to light that might explain it.” Glynn looked over at the petite, golden-

eyed Reader and nodded.

“The Clan Trust and, from what we understand, several of the most prominent

Alpha’s of the Werewolf community received identical missives containing information

about Grey Wolf.” Regina’s hands were twisting together, knuckles white with anxiety.

Grey Wolf? That didn’t make any sense. The bastard was dead. Zander himself had

insured it. “Sent by whom?”

“Apparently the Abaddons had one or two loyal family members left. And Sebastian

was not as controlled by the Shadow as we believed him to be. He left instructions in the

case of his death, believing he held something over Grey Wolf. And from the reports

we’ve received from the Were community—he was right.”

“Sylvain.”

How Lux knew he wasn’t sure, not surprised as Regina nodded her head in

confirmation. The information had been about Grey Wolf’s hidden sister. Why? What

was it about her that the mere knowledge of her existence put her in mortal danger?

“She is unique.”

His mouth opened to demand answers but as usual, Glynn was one step ahead of

him. “The how is for her to tell you when you have earned her trust. Your knowing will

do nothing to change the situation. There will be more seeking her out now that they

know she exists. You and Arygon will need to be vigilant.”

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“Until we can send help to get you back here.” Regina jumped in and looked at Lux

a little guiltily. “Zander’s sending a guard or two your way. He wants me to tell you he

knows you can handle the situation, but he’d rather err on the side of caution.”

So this would not be the easy fix he’d been hoping for. They were bringing her back

with them—and it was obvious she would never be safe with her own kind. It wasn’t just

her pack seeking her out. Who in the name of the Mother was this girl that she was such a

threat to the entire Were community? Did he even want to know?

The darkness around him alerted him to the fact that his dreamscape had changed

once more. The shouting and growls were familiar. He knew what he would see when

lifted his head.

“Oh, Lux, no.” The pity in Regina’s voice had him snarling, his neck jerking back as

he forced himself to face his old nightmare. The night Joel was killed.

The snow fell on the clearing, just as it had that night. He watched from a distance as

Grey Wolf laughed, the crowd of drooling Weres parting, a limp corpse being flung to

the ground in front of Lux and his companions.

No wait. Not a single corpse—three. He strode past the worried women, past the

snarling crowd and pushed his dream self aside. Staring at the ground in disbelief, a

scream of denial rose up from his soul. No!

Arygon and Sylvain lay still and silent beside his old lover. Their necks cut, hearts

ripped out of their chests. The rest of the scene disappeared and the cold bit into his knees

as he collapsed beside them, a pain unlike any he’d ever known piercing his heart.

“You fear love so much, my dear one. And yet, it is the greatest healing agent there

is.” The Healer’s hand brushed his hair back from his eyes, but he felt no comfort in her

words.

“Tell the guards they cannot come swiftly enough. I swear to you she will be safe

until they do.” He needed to get away from Sylvain as soon as possible. And Arygon.

Sylvain’s dark eyes, so different without the spark of her soul shining from their

depths, stared at him in silent rebuke. He would not let her die, whatever she was. But if

these illusions were this painful now—he could not allow himself to care for her.

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Lux in Shadow

Too late. He hissed at the thought, willing himself to wake up. He didn’t need to see

anymore.

This was a nightmare he would never forget.

She was restless. Arygon watched her pace around the large cavern, her attention

returning, as it had every two minutes, to his post by the tunnel’s entrance.

It was the female mating cycle. It would only get worse for her until she was mated.

Which did not bode well for him. Her pheromones were driving him crazy.

He shifted uncomfortably, adjusting his erection and craning his neck toward the

fresh air filtering in from the outside. If only the old mother would wake up. Mysha had

been in her healing sleep for several days. He thought it was unusual but Sylvain didn’t

seem worried. She’d mumbled something about dreamwalking before resuming her brisk

stride around the room.

Sylvain needed her guardian, needed someone to talk to. Someone to distract her

from her rising agitation. And her stubborn, noticeably absent mate.

Since that first evening, Lux had been disturbed. Distant. His blood runs into town

were taking longer and longer. Tonight it seemed he was attempting to break some kind

of record.

Thoughtless bastard.

Arygon wasn’t sure how much more he could take. He was not immune to Sylvain’s

charms. It surprised him at first, his attraction to the fragile little rabbit. He could count

on one hand all the times he’d been attracted to a female, let alone one of his own

species.

He’d accepted long ago that he was an aberration, a freak of nature. He’d been raised

to believe that his desires went against the Shining Mother’s plan. That those who felt as

he did needed to be stamped out, eradicated, before their wicked longings spread like the

disease they were.

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Until Lux, he had believed it. Hadn’t one of his few forays into sin led to his father’s

death? And wasn’t that secret the very reason he’d been so blinded with the need for

vengeance that he had invited Grey Wolf into his den?

He’d been such a damn fool. And it had almost cost him his life, had killed several

Weres in his charge.

When Nicolette and Liz had saved him, he’d known the only way he could right

some of the wrongs done to the Deva Clan, to atone for his ridiculous mistake, was to

offer himself as witness.

Of course he’d believed the Truebloods would sacrifice him as an example. Exactly

what he deserved. But those damn Vampires never did anything he expected them to.

When he had first set eyes on Lux, he felt as if the ground had turned to quicksand

beneath his feet. In an instant all he knew was changed. His beliefs, that the Shining

Mother had made him in error, were tested. If the way he felt was a mistake, then why

had the Goddess made him a mate?

He’d never heard of a Were or Vampire finding his mate in a member of the same

sex. But there was no denying the symptoms.

His species knew in an instant when their mate was found.

Females entered into their cycles, their pheromones increasing, hormones raging

until they were taken and marked. Perhaps the female cycle was created to insure that the

women gave in to the more aggressive male. He didn’t know.

Males felt the same increasing need, though from what he understood it was more

tolerable, less dangerous for them. There could be no doubt that the desire to mark Lux as

his own was difficult to resist. Being close to him and giving him his space had been a

punishment he forced himself to endure.

He had been half hard every day since he met that blasted Healer. He’d left his world

behind to be near him, only holding back because he knew Lux was in mourning,

blaming himself for something he couldn’t control. But now with this new

development—well, he didn’t know how much longer he could last.

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Lux in Shadow

He almost felt sorry for Lux. Almost. The man who was so determined to steer clear

of attachments had not one mate, but two.

Maybe Arygon should have been jealous, yet somehow it seemed right. And his own

desire for Sylvain didn’t hurt. Now he just had to convince them that three was the

perfect number. And get Lux to admit his need.

“Shouldn’t he be back by now?”

He leaned back against the limestone wall, folding his arms across his chest to keep

himself from touching her, pinning her down as his instincts demanded.

She would let him. Lux may be her mate but she was not immune to him either. And

her body was demanding satisfaction. Inhaling sharply, he tried to hide his wayward

thoughts with a smirk. “I think Lux is too busy trying to prove something to notice the

time.”

That’s what she thought. She could feel Lux’s emotions, even from this distance. But

having Arygon confirm it made it that much more difficult to swallow. Was her mate so

disgusted by her that he would sleep with another, leaving her to suffer through these new

needs and desires alone?

And she knew that was what he was planning to do. His conflicting emotions were

part petulant defiance, part need and all dominant male.

Vampire mating was a mystery to her. She knew that the Shining Mother gave them

the soul mate gift along with the Werewolf species. But maybe their species were

different in that regard. Maybe they didn’t have to remain faithful. It was possible they

weren’t swamped with the same feelings of lust and longing for their mate as her kind.

She prayed that wasn’t true. But then what did one do if you were mated to a

creature you despised? Someone you couldn’t stand to be near. A Shadow. She

shuddered as she remembered his words.

“You are so easy to read, rabbit. If you want to live among them you really need to

work on your game face. Sharks attack when they smell blood in the water.”

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Leaning against the wall opposite Arygon, she tilted her head as the thought struck

her. “Aren’t you upset? That he isn’t with you?”

“Alphas don’t get upset, didn’t you know? We plot our revenge.”

She couldn’t stop the surprised chuckle at his wry delivery. She wished she could be

more like Arygon. Nothing seemed to rattle him. She told him so.

His smile disappeared at her laughter, his expression intense. “Don’t be so sure,

rabbit.”

Her womb contracted, body trembling with a wave of arousal at his tone. Damn Lux

Sariel. Did he have no idea how much she needed him? “I’m going.”

Arygon jerked to attention, leaving his slouched position against the wall. “Like Hell

you are. I haven’t been playing guard dog in this hole in the ground just so you could run

off and get yourself killed.”

“I’ve done it before. Mysha and I would dress in disguises when we had to go into

towns for supplies. I have to go Arygon, you know I have to go. I’m not sure how much

longer I can…” Her words faded off and she shook her head.

He started to take her into his arms but hesitated, nostrils flaring, and she realized

that he must be aware of her worsening condition. He was Were after all. She had to

convince him.

“I can do it, Arygon. I’m good at hiding. You should know that. And we haven’t

caught the scent of another Were, Shadow or otherwise, since you found us. It was a

coincidence. He wandered this way by accident. No one knows where I am.”

He was thinking about it. Elation bloomed in her chest and she held her breath as she

watched the wheels turning in his mind. He wanted Lux back with them as much as she

did. Okay, probably not as much. She felt as if she were crawling out of her skin.

Arygon ran a hand through his hair, a rough sigh escaping as he shook his head. “It’s

a crazy idea, rabbit. Not only for the obvious ‘you could be horribly killed and then Lux

would kill me’ issue, but also you’re, well, you’re in your—”

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Lux in Shadow

He stopped speaking abruptly, his eyes widening. And then laughed. A low, sexy

chuckle that drew her attention to his mouth. “Damn, we could get in so much trouble for

this.”

Fifteen minutes later she was in one of her traveling disguises. She wore a ball cap

on her head to cover her distinctive hair, tattered jeans and a long, baggy T-shirt. “I look

like a little boy. He won’t want me looking like this.”

Arygon raised her chin, smiling into her eyes. “Trust me. He won’t be able to resist. I

cannot believe I am letting you do this. If you weren’t Were I wouldn’t even consider it.

But you have to promise me you’ll go directly to him. No stopping to window shop along

the way. And once you get there, no hiding. Make sure he sees you.”

“I promise.” Her eyes narrowed. “What made you change your mind?”

“A little payback. His brother’s mate once told me how Lux tried to help her make

Zander jealous. He needs to be shaken up. This might be just the thing.”

She snorted in disbelief. “I won’t be making anyone jealous in this getup.”

“I keep forgetting you were raised in a bubble. Rabbit, you could be wearing a paper

bag over your head, and the men will still be lining up in droves. A female Were emits

enough pheromones to power a small town when she’s in her mate heat. That’s the main

reason we need to end this standoff once and for all.”

She watched him inhale, eyes dilating as he swore beneath his breath. “If I have to

spend another night swimming in your scent, seeing you suffering, I’ll fuck you myself

whether he likes it or not. And then we would both lose him.”

It was amazing the debauchery you could discover if you looked hard enough. Who

would expect to find this den of delights hidden within a local, small town bar?

Well, the French were known for their sensuality, he supposed. Still, when he’d been

approached by the lovely couple beside him, he’d had no idea that they were a simple

wooden door away from hedonism.

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R. G. Alexander

Humans of all ages and body types were engaged in carnal activities that would

make the apathetic Trueblood community blush. For Lux, however, it was just what the

doctor ordered.

He watched from a pile of silk cushions in the corner as the couple, Simone and

Henri, removed their long coats. Beneath, both wore strips of leather, metal and plastic

imitating clothing.

They smiled at him, and all he could think of was Sylvain. He’d never actually seen

her smile. He’d seen her face flushed with passion, pale with his rejection, but he had

never seen her smile.

Could Arygon make her smile?

He would not feel jealousy. He didn’t care what those two were up to. Isn’t that why

he’d come? To gain some perspective? A little sexual release would help him focus on

his duties until the Sariel guard arrived to save him from himself.

“Monsieur Sariel, we are so happy you agreed to play with us. We knew from the

moment we saw you that you would be our perfect match.” Lux looked at the statuesque

redhead beside him.

Her husband, his dark skin tight across broad muscled shoulders as he pulled an

available duvet closer to their small table, nodded with an easy going grin.

They were beautiful. Though nothing like the two waiting in the tunnels. Their hair

wasn’t the color of moonlight. Their eyes, neither Eire green nor deep, endless black,

held no secrets. Neither wanted more from him than an evening of sexual pleasure.

So why was he not aroused?

What was wrong with him? If he didn’t know any better, he would think he had

found his grathita, his blood mate.

But that wasn’t possible. Because the overwhelming need inside him was not for

one. No. He wanted them both. Sylvain and Arygon. If either truly belonged to him,

wouldn’t his desire for the other wane?

So instead of giving in to his urges, he played the seductive third. And these humans

wanted from him exactly what he needed to maintain. What he excelled at.

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Lux in Shadow

Control.

“Are you ready?” Both nodded quickly at his question, standing close beside each

other, nearly trembling with excitement. He would direct their pleasure. And they would

nourish him as he fed. Maybe that would distract him from his self-destructive desires.

“Simone, sit on the duvet with your hands at your sides. Don’t move them until I

say.” The redhead did as he asked, her face glowing with excitement. He knew from their

short conversation that she was a businesswoman, used to being in charge.

She’d come here to watch a few times with her husband, and she had found herself

craving the release of giving up control to him.

Henri was an artist. Sexy as hell, a gentle spirit, but he wanted to please his mate.

They believed that their first foray into this sort of play needed supervision. The

natural magnetism his species engendered had drawn the couple to his side immediately.

“Henri, I want you to take off your clothes. Slowly. Tease her. Let her know that if

she moves her hands to touch herself or you, she will be restrained.” Simone whimpered,

her legs shifting a bit as she watched her lover strip.

Lux studied the dark cocoa skinned man, appreciating his beauty and symmetry as he

would any other work of art. Simone was a lucky woman.

Henri slid off his snug leather pants, smiling at his wife as his impressive erection

was revealed.

She licked her lips, her neck straining closer without realizing she was moving. Her

husband made a tsking noise and stepped back, his elegant fingers encasing his shaft and

stroking himself in front of her.

“Very good, Henri. You set the pace. You are in control.” He was staring at the

Frenchman, but Lux imagined golden skin, smooth to the touch, that thick cock flushed

with need as he made him wait, made them both wait for their pleasure.

Following his instructions, Henri removed Simone’s leather bustier, revealing small

breasts with long, stiff nipples. She would be very sensitive there.

When he directed her husband to place the clamps on her nipples, her eyes grew

wide with trepidation. But she didn’t resist.

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R. G. Alexander

She arched her back, crying out as Henri sucked each nipple strongly between his

sensual lips, lapping at them with his tongue before applying the small devices. Her

hands jumped instinctively to his shoulders, squeezing tight as she adjusted to the

sensation.

“And she was doing so well. You know what to do, Henri.”

Henri was trembling, his body shining with sweat and restraint. Lux knew he wanted

to take her. Wanted to stop teasing and shove his cock deep inside her.

If it were he and Sylvain had disobeyed him, he would be tempted as well. Her

breasts, so full on her petite frame would be flushed and trembling, her pussy soaked with

need for him. He would barely be able to hold himself back from the need to claim her, to

feel her hot sex tight around him as he fucked her, possessed her.

His body grew unbearably warm. He took off his shirt and slid his chair closer to the

couple. “She picked out those cords. She wants you to restrain her. She needs it, Henri.

Tie her and then you will be free to pleasure her. Free to do what you have always

wanted to do to her. What you’ve always wanted but never dared.”

Henri shuddered and complied.

“Good girl. Isn’t she a good girl, Henri? So sexy, bound for you this way.” Simone

was moaning, her head thrown back in ecstasy at the feel of the silk around her wrists.

Her lover lifted her up, positioning her on her knees and climbing onto the duvet

behind her. As Lux watched, he spread her lush ass cheeks wide and began to rim her

anus with his tongue.

Simone squeaked in surprise, struggling in his grip for a moment, but she was no

match for the determined Henri. In moments she was pressing back against his face as his

tongue rooted deep, one hand releasing her hip to play with her drenched curls, tweaking

her clit.

“She likes it, don’t you, sweetheart? Loves your tongue in her ass. She’ll love your

cock even more I bet.” Henri moaned and his hips jerked instinctively at the other man’s

erotic words.

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Lux in Shadow

Lux rubbed his own cock as he watched them. His mind went once more to Arygon

and Sylvain, pleasuring each other at his command. Such a beautiful sight.

He would have them begging for release, but he wouldn’t give in. He would take

them to the brink over and over. And then he would take them. Stretch her ass with his

cock, pack Arygon so tight he howled. Fuck them both again and again until neither

could stand. Until they were out of his system. Or until he no longer had the strength to

fight, whichever came first.

This was not distracting him as he’d hoped. The only people he wanted weren’t here.

He needed to finish it and get the hell out of here. But he couldn’t leave these two

humans in such desperate need. “Lay down beneath her, Henri.”

The artist lifted his head, eyes glazed as he focused on Lux. After a moment the

order registered.

Lux stood and knelt behind Simone, between Henri’s thighs as he positioned her

above her mate’s dripping cock. He lowered her onto her husband, his hands firm on her

hips until he knew she was filled. She called out Henri’s name at the feel of him inside

her, and Lux struck.

He tugged hard at her bound wrists, arching her back. His jean clad erection pressed

against her ass, one hand sliding around to cup each breast in turn, twisting the clamps off

her nipples with a flourish.

The confusing sensations—the blood rushing back to her breasts, the stranger at her

back, the fullness of Henri’s cock—threw her into a hard, pounding orgasm, just as Lux

had known it would.

Now.

He dipped his head, incisors extending, sharp and deadly as they pierced her neck.

The blood warmed him. He felt her passion, felt her love for Henri, her gratitude to the

strangely stunning man who had helped them. He sent her into a light thrall. She would

remember his kiss, but not the bite.

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R. G. Alexander

He felt invigorated, as he always did after a feeding. But the arousal had only

increased. They were his, he thought of the two Weres he left alone in the tunnels. They

belonged to him.

No. No, not his. He had to stop thinking like this. He purposefully recalled his

dreamwalk. Remembered their sightless eyes as they lay so still in the snow. He could

not let himself get close. Could not lose himself in passion—put them in danger.

He was terrified that despite his efforts, he was too late.

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Lux in Shadow

Chapter Four

She’d done exactly as Arygon had said, reaching out with her senses to avoid all

contact until she reached the small bar’s side entrance.

Guilt at deceiving the handsome Were churned in her stomach. She hadn’t lied,

really. She just hadn’t corrected him when he assumed that she was just like any other

female of their kind. That she could protect herself if someone were to come after her. He

never would have let her come if he’d known.

Her first scan of the bar had been confusing. She’d felt him here. But there were only

a few drunken old men cozied up to the bar, one or two tourists with maps spread out

across their table, drinking wine and trying to speak French to the cocktail waitress she

knew for a fact was from Germany.

No sexy as sin Vampire in sight.

A woman in a trench coat walked past her, waving to the bartender before she

disappeared down the hall with one last, suspicious look over her shoulder.

Sylvain followed. Turning the corner, she didn’t see the woman standing there until

it was too late. They collided, and she fell to the ground, her white blonde hair tumbling

around her as her hat rolled down the hall.

“Oh! Hello there. My, my, aren’t you beautiful?” She looked up to see the woman’s

nostrils flare as she leaned closer to Sylvain, her hand reaching out to help her from the

floor.

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R. G. Alexander

“You’re incognito too, just like me. My boyfriend doesn’t understand. I had no idea

when he swept me off my feet that he would be quite so—old-fashioned. And I thought

the men in Nebraska were prudes. He doesn’t approve of these kinds of things at all.”

What kinds of things? Sylvain was more than a little confused by the talkative

woman who slid an arm through hers, pulling her closer as she walked to the door at the

far end of the hallway.

“My name is Jane. You smell wonderful by the way. I have a feeling you and I are

going to have so much fun together. And wait until you meet Antoine. He’s going to love

your hair.” Jane paused to take a breath as she stopped in front of a door, lifting her fist to

tap some kind of rhythmic code out against the wood.

The door opened and Sylvain looked up…and up a little more. A large man with

dark hair and lovely brown eyes was staring down at them, a frown on his bearded face.

“You’re late.”

Jane pushed Sylvain ahead of her, a sweet, submissive smile on her lips. “And I

deserve to be punished. But first, I brought you a gift.”

This must be Antoine. He leaned against the door, looking her up and down as if she

were completely naked. His nostrils flared and his eyes went dark. “She looks delicious. I

can’t wait to unwrap her.”

He gripped her shoulder and Sylvain couldn’t suppress her shudder of trepidation as

they pulled her inside the dimly lit rooms.

She took in the scene before her. Her eyes opened so wide they felt as if they would

fall completely out of her head. What kind of place was this?

It looked like a human torture chamber, the kind she’d read about in the history

books Mysha would sneak her from the library. Yet she had a feeling the agonized looks

on the faces of the men and women came from pleasure, not pain.

They had metal racks that bodies were splayed across, bound to as others stood

around them, touching and slapping and licking whatever they could reach.

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Lux in Shadow

Women and men in every available corner, some clothed, others not. And what they

were doing to each other. Sylvain pressed her palms against her burning cheeks. Mysha

had never told her anything about that.

One couple in a far corner caught her eye. The woman was bound, naked but for the

lace thong dangling around her ankles. She was laying face down over the lap of an

attractive older man.

She appeared to be struggling, but Sylvain saw her face as she looked over her

shoulder toward the others gathered around to watch. She was smiling.

The man laid his hand possessively over her bared ass in warning and the woman

ceased her wiggling. Calmly and methodically, the man began to spank her. He curved

his palm as he struck one cheek, then the other in a random rhythm that left the recipient

sobbing out in ecstasy.

Sylvain bit her lip, unable to stop herself from imagining her and Lux in their place.

She could practically feel the heat from his hand branding her, stopping to trail his

fingertips between her legs to feel how wet she was for him.

A masculine groan brought her attention back to Antoine and Jane to find them

watching her reaction with matching smiles. “Damn, girl—the look on your face may be

the sexiest thing I’ve ever seen. Antoine, if you wanted me to wear that strap-on tonight, I

promise you I wouldn’t say no.”

“Of course you won’t say no to me, Jane. Not if you want to come. Besides, I might

want to fuck her myself. But not until I’ve gotten my fill of you.” He grabbed Jane

roughly, pulling her close for a passionate kiss.

Antoine’s hand pressed roughly between the flaps of the trench coat. Sylvain heard

fabric tear and Jane moan, arching against her lover as he pumped his hand between her

legs.

Sylvain turned her head, giving them a little privacy, when her eyes caught on a

familiar figure.

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R. G. Alexander

Pain and anger slammed the breath from her lungs. She was too late. A sob lodged in

her throat. The bare-chested Lux pressed against the back of a beautiful redhead, mouth

on her throat as she rocked back and forth, her head thrown back in ecstasy.

One hand cupped her breast, his other arm wrapped around her waist as she moved

in an unmistakable rhythm. Lux lifted his head, licking her blood from his lips, blue eyes

glowing with pleasure.

He turned in her direction, but before their gazes could connect another man blocked

her view. “Antoine, mon ami, what do you have here?”

He pressed his nose against her neck, his hands gripping her slender hips tightly.

“Mmmmm. So fresh. I think he will not mind if I steal a taste, oui?”

The lips pressed against hers did nothing to lessen the ache in her heart. She was not

woman enough for her mate. He had sought another to satisfy his cravings.

Antoine and Jane had come up behind her, pressing their barely clad bodies against

hers, lifting her shirt over her head as they touched her bare skin.

“So beautiful.” The stranger drew back long enough to fling the T-shirt away,

looking down at her breasts with lust in his eyes.

His head bent toward her and panic fluttered in her stomach. She had to get out of

here. But the hands behind her were pushing her forward, closer to the man’s mouth.

She twisted, positioning her leg for a maneuver Mysha had taught her for just these

types of situations. Before her knee could hit his sensitive flesh, he was gone.

“Mine!”

Sylvain gasped at the snarled words coming from the wild thing that leapt from the

shadows. The stranger who’d been about to kiss her was flung against the wall, his feet

dangling off the floor, hands futilely plucking at the curved claw cutting off his air.

“Never. Touch. Her. Again.”

It was Lux. She looked over to where she’d seen him last and saw the woman, still in

the throws of passion. She seemed unaware that he had disappeared, too busy kissing the

man beneath her as she rode her way to completion. Had she misunderstood? Had Lux

just been feeding?

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Lux in Shadow

“S’il vous plait, oh God, please!” The gasping man was turning purple from lack of

oxygen. The terror in his eyes reflected in the crowd frozen around them. His cry for help

drew her attention and she pushed past the mass of bodies closing in around them to get

to him.

“Lux. Lux, you have to stop now. You’re killing him.” Her hand on his arm seemed

to bring him back enough that he loosened his grip. The man slid down the wall, his feet

touching the ground as he gulped breath after grateful breath.

“He kissed you. Touched you. He has no right to look at what is mine.” It was wrong

of her to feel relief, joy at his possessive words and yet, she thrilled at his display.

Lux turned her way, his expression feral as he slid his arm roughly around her waist,

dragging her up until she was straining on the tips of her toes, her nipples grazing his

chest.

He took her mouth with near violent intent. She knew what he was feeling. He was

marking her, claiming her. His lips and teeth and tongue were wiping away the memory

of the other kiss, all evidence of it from existence.

Her body blazed with liquid fire. Yes. This was why she had come.

She could feel the heated gazes on them, knew they could scent her need thick in the

air. She didn’t care. She wanted him now. Wanted to open her mouth against his neck

and mark him, tie him to her. The feelings welling inside her were so new, so primitive

that she cried out with their force.

His head jerked up at the sound and he looked around at their audience. Several of

them had moved closer, their eyes on his woman as if mesmerized. Something was

definitely not right. They should be running in terror, not sidling closer as if awaiting

their turn.

He felt his lips curl back in a snarl, but he released the man he still held in his grip.

Denial screamed through his veins. He wanted to kill the son of a bitch. Drink him dry,

rip his throat out.

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R. G. Alexander

The dark thoughts brought him back to his senses enough that he realized he had to

get her out of here, before one of these leather clad humans decided to brave his wrath.

They would not live long enough to change their minds.

He kept his arm around her as he half carried, half dragged her to the door.

“My shirt—”

“Don’t say a word.”

They were out of the bar and at the edge of the woods before anyone realized they

were gone. She had no idea Vampires could move so fast.

Lux pressed her against the nearest tree, the rough bark scraping against her back

only exciting her more. His lip curled upward, the light sifting through the trees glinting

off his menacing fangs.

She wasn’t afraid. She struggled against him, not to escape. She wanted to be closer,

to taste him again. Needed her mate.

“Where is Arygon? Why did he bring you here? Was there an attack?” His voice was

harsh with need but he held her away from him. Those blue eyes were shuttered, closed

off—his lips set in a grim line.

It hit her like a stake to her heart. He wasn’t planning on finishing where that kiss in

the bar left off. He didn’t understand why she was here. Didn’t care.

Unfamiliar rage consumed her. She was tired of being the helpless, hopelessly

scorned female. He reacted as a lover, as if she were his possession when another touched

her, but he wasn’t willing to claim her as his own.

He abandoned her, left her in pained arousal with another unmated male and an

unconscious chaperone. These were the actions of a mate?

“Let me go.”

He studied her in silence. She didn’t cower, glaring directly into his eyes until he

released her and took one cautious step back. In an instant she was headed back toward

the safety of the tunnels.

“Arygon is with Mysha where I left them. I’m sorry.” Her voice cracked. “It was a

mistake to come to you.”

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Lux in Shadow

He watched her storm angrily through the brush, no attempt at stealth evident in her

stride.

He knew something was wrong. That he had done or said something—again to hurt

her. But he couldn’t focus. A dark demon he hadn’t even been aware of lived inside him.

It was awake. And it was pissed.

His gaze lingered on her bare spine, those cream soft shoulders that looked like they

would shatter in his grip. He knew he should have covered her. He had the ability to

manipulate matter, clothe her.

He didn’t want to. The sight of her, bare to the waist for his eyes alone was too

satisfying to the demon.

Arygon had done this. Sent her alone into the night.

Lux thought about what could have happened to her, what almost happened before

he’d been aware of her presence. Did that stupid pup not understand the danger stalking

her?

How could he when you never told him? But logic wouldn’t stop this blood rage.

Sylvain was his to protect. And Dydarren had put her in danger.

They caught sight of the entrance to their hideaway. Arygon was there, pacing

restlessly back and forth. He stilled, sniffing the air before turning in their direction, a

smile of welcome freezing on his lips.

He took in the shivering, half naked Sylvain. She met his gaze in silence, angrily

wiping the wetness from her cheeks before moving to walk past him without a word.

Arygon turned toward Lux, one eyebrow raised in disbelief. “Welcome back. I see

that hard head of yours is still lodged firmly up your ass.”

The demon in Lux attacked. A veil of red covered his eyes as he dove for Arygon.

No magick. No elemental manipulation. The feel of flesh meeting bone was far too

satisfying.

His head snapped back with the full force of Arygon’s fist. Good. There would be no

holding back.

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“You’ve been asking for this for months.” The Were caught him in the gut and Lux

doubled over with a grunt of pain, his back to his opponent. When he stepped closer, Lux

swung his leg high, catching Arygon in the chest.

“Yeah? Well you’ve been asking for it too. Only I’m not interested.” His fist swung

hard but Arygon was faster, blocking the punch and throwing one of his own.

“Your lips say no but your cock—oomph!”

They wrestled for supremacy, too evenly matched to win, too stubborn to give up.

The Were spun low, sweeping his legs out from under him.

Lux hit the ground rolling, knocking Arygon flat on his back beside him. He

straddled the angry blond, pinning his arms to the damp grass with his knees. “How could

you let her leave the protection of the tunnels? Why did you let her come into town when

you know she’s in danger? She could have died out there alone. I trusted you to keep her

safe.”

Arygon roared in anger, his head ramming upward, aimed straight for Lux. It was an

unexpected move.

The reverberation in Lux’s skull distracted him long enough to lose his grip. He was

flipped over on his back, their positions switched before Lux could take a pained breath.

“You are a fine one to talk about trust, Sariel.” The hands on his wrists tightened,

Arygon turning his face up to the sky as if praying for patience.

“I would have told you, but when you weren’t exploring one of the far tunnels to

escape conversation, you were out on another blood run. Are you so self involved that

you didn’t stop to wonder why her scent had changed, grown stronger? Didn’t you, Great

Healer, notice how agitated she had become? How pale?”

He hadn’t. Her scent had called to him since the moment he’d first seen her. Every

moment in her company it became more addicting. That was why he had stayed away.

Everything about her beckoned him. And he couldn’t afford to give in.

Arygon leaned down until his lips were a breath away. Lux was startled to feel a

stirring of desire. He shouldn’t have been surprised. Five seconds ago all he’d wanted to

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do was kill the arrogant ass for putting Sylvain in danger. Now he was using all his

restraint not to lift his head and taste the tempting mouth above him.

What in the name of the Mother was wrong with him?

“I’ll make this simple for you. Female Weres enter their heat when they find their

mate. Until the mating is complete, the intensity of that heat increases. If mating is

denied, they can become ill.” Arygon speared Lux with his gaze.

What was he saying? Sylvain had found her mate? His eyes narrowed. “You—”

The Were rolled off him with a bitter chuckle. “I give up. If you can’t stop thinking

about yourself—your guilt and your pain long enough to figure it out then you just don’t

deserve her. Or me.”

Arygon strode into the tunnels, leaving Lux on the damp ground to think about his

words. Alone.

Damn Dydarren.

For what? Telling the truth? The moon seemed to mock him as it shined a spotlight

on his foolishness.

He’d been trying to protect them all by keeping his distance. Now he’d hurt Sylvain,

embarrassed and, in her mind, rejected her. And Arygon. The man who’d saved his life

the first night they met and had since become the most loyal friend Lux had ever known.

He’d hurt him too. He could see it in his eyes.

The demon inside him vanished as swiftly as it appeared. Mate? He was Sylvain’s

mate? None of this made any sense.

He lifted himself off the grass, rubbing his sore forehead as he headed for the tunnel

entrance. He had to find her. Talk to her.

Arygon got to her first.

She was crying. She knelt beside her sleeping guardian, stroking one fur-covered

arm as she wept silent, bitter tears.

Lux watched from the dark entryway as Arygon lowered himself to the ground and

took her into his arms, heedless of her shirtless state. “Why didn’t you tell him?”

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She snorted, scrubbing her eyes with her fist. “How should I start? Excuse me, Lux,

but even though you seem to despise my species, my pack and everything I am. Even

though you prefer to offer yourself to strangers than spend anytime in my company—

you’re my biological mate and we’re supposed to be together. I may have been raised in a

‘bubble’ but I still know what pride is, Arygon. And I have a little left.”

His heart twisted at the hurt so clear in her voice. He’d done that. Fuck, he was a

bastard. Arygon brushed her hair off her forehead as he rocked her. He’d never seen such

a tender expression on the Were’s face.

“If you’d let him bite you that night by the spring you wouldn’t have to tell him

anything. He’d know.”

“I was afraid. I am afraid. No one was ever supposed to know about me. I can’t

believe I’m telling you.” She pushed off his lap and distanced herself from Arygon before

turning to face him, body tensed, arms crossed defensively around herself as if preparing

for a blow.

Her mouth opened and closed several times as she struggled to get the words out.

The determination in her expression kept both men silent until the word burst forth.

“Antara!” Her breathing was heavy but there was a look of profound relief on her

face as she said it. “Don’t waste your compassion on me. Mysha says the correct name

for what I am is Antara.”

Antara? Unless Lux was mistaken that meant “the space between”. It wasn’t

anything he recognized but he could see Arygon did.

He jumped to his feet in reaction, studying Sylvain as if she were some specimen

he’d never seen before.

There was fear in her eyes and Lux reacted to it, ready to come to her aid. Her fear

turned to shock and Lux relaxed as Arygon began to laugh.

Arygon came toward her, lifting her off the ground and spinning her around, his

loud, boisterous laughter contagious.

Sylvain smiled hesitantly, seemingly unsure what to make of his reaction. “My

brother told me any Were who knew what I was would stop at nothing to kill me.”

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Lux in Shadow

“I thought you knew by now that I am not your average Were.” He set her down,

tender smile returning. “You and I are more alike than you think, rabbit. Neither one of

us should exist according to our people. My desires make me wicked in the eyes of the

Shining Mother. You are a scary story told to children at night before they learn how to

shift.”

Arygon wrapped an arm around her shoulders. “Come on. You’ve had a rough night

and I have more than a few bruises. Let’s relax and think about all the fun and exciting

ways we can get back at a certain burgundy-haired Trueblood with a chip on his

shoulder.”

Lux caught Sylvain’s small huff of laughter and his gut clenched. He walked into the

main cavern, his eyes fixed on where the two had disappeared down the tunnel leading to

the spring.

He wanted to be with them. He wanted to be the one to make her laugh. Wanted

Arygon to look at him as he had looked at Sylvain.

Not that he deserved it.

Shame ate at him. Had he been so busy feeling sorry for himself that he had missed

what was right in front of him? So he had to stop his training as a Healer. He still had

everything he ever wanted. A loving family that accepted him exactly as he was. The

freedom to love and mate with whomever he chose.

He’d had no idea that the Were species had such puritanical beliefs about sex.

Zander once told him that Werewolves clung to rather old-fashioned ideas about a

woman’s place, but never anything beyond that. He should have paid closer attention.

He looked back on the handsome Were’s pursuit with new eyes. Arygon had

certainly never told him he was risking the acceptance of his entire species to be with

him. Then again, he hadn’t asked had he?

Antara? What did it mean? Was that what Sebastian put in those missives to the

Were Alphas? He needed answers. And then he needed to make up for being such a

stubborn jackass.

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Lux in Shadow

Chapter Five

Lux followed Mysha through the tunnels cautiously.

She’d startled him. Woken as if she’d shut her eyes only moments before. Shifting

back into her human form and jumping spryly to her feet, she’d grabbed a nearby torch

and bid him to follow.

He looked at the endless honeycomb of branching tunnels on the path ahead. He’d

been exploring—avoiding Sylvain and Arygon for the past few days by wandering

through some of them, but he’d never been this way before.

This place was massive. When he’d realized where he was he’d had to catch his

breath. He could hardly believe it, but all the evidence—the carvings scattered randomly

on the walls, empty room after empty room carved out of the stone all led to the

inescapable conclusion that these were the ancient tunnels most of his kind thought were

a myth. There was certainly enough room down here for his ancestors and the Weres to

have lived until humanity forgot they existed.

Mysha followed a smoothly rounded corner, her torchlight disappearing as she

entered a room even grander than the cavern where they’d set up camp.

“Where are we?” His instinctively hushed tone echoed through the chamber.

Awareness flooded his veins. He knew where they were. Hallowed ground.

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“The Temple of the Mother. Created after the human Readers chased both our

species below ground. This was where the elders prayed for salvation and forgiveness.

And it was here that the Mother came to deliver her judgment…and offer us hope.”

He listened to the older woman’s hypnotic voice as he studied the room. It was a

masterpiece of craftsmanship. Long benches of smooth stone, a platform style altar, large

enough for a body but draped in dried flowers.

The high ceilings were bordered with exquisitely detailed reliefs, the columns and

the archways carved with familiar symbolism.

Several scenes depicted the one he’d seen in the main room. The Mother with her

three offspring—Human, Werewolf and Vampire. But there was also the gruesomely

realistic depiction of the first Great War and humanities uprising. And beyond that a

representation of the Mother’s judgment.

Lux lifted his hand, his fingers tracing the images as Mysha spoke. “She tethered our

spirits to the moon, gave us the gift and the challenge of the mating—but though the story

usually stops there, it is not the end.”

He saw it then, what could have been a replica of Regina with her golden eyes and

the black bindu mark of the Reader tattooed on her brow. On either side of her a

Werewolf and a Vampire, both reaching toward her as if in supplication. “The Message

of the Goddess.”

He caught Mysha nodding out of the corner of his eye, his gaze still riveted to the

scene on the wall. “Yes, The Message. A Reader who will find her mate with Vampire or

Were. Whose children will help to change our world, to bring us out of our self-imposed

darkness. Sometimes I have regretted showing the temple to Grey Wolf. On the other

hand one must wonder if I hadn’t, would that part of the prophecy have come true at all?”

He turned to look at her, his eyes narrowing at the Shadow’s name. “You showed this

place to Grey Wolf?”

Her eyes grew blurry and sightless, looking at a point above his shoulder. “Hundreds

of years ago, before Sylvain was born, before the Shadow’s war with the Truebloods. He

was so full of joy and natural ability. So different then.”

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Lux in Shadow

She shrugged. “I was always given a wide berth, the most outspoken of the females,

and a widow to boot.”

She pinned Lux with her gaze. “A Were is not tied to their mate in the same fashion

as a Vampire. We do not die the instant they do, though we often wish we could. The

males consider it a mantle of pain, a badge of courage for them to continue fighting for

their packs once they have lost their true mate. A woman is expected to honorably take

her own life to join her husband in the afterworld.”

Her smile was rueful. “Those of us who have the audacity to live are largely ignored

and ridiculed. Which gave me a lot more freedom than I did as a bonded mate.”

He felt ill. Suicide? How could they sentence a woman to death when she’d done

nothing but suffer the loss of her mate? He abhorred that his mate would be condemned

to follow him into death. Most Vampires did. Though the idea of a life alone once you’d

known that kind of connection was difficult to imagine.

“Something in me knew that my work was not done and so I became a healer, used

my visions for more than aiding my husband in battle. I took care of the cubs whose

mothers were too weak or too apathetic to do so. Eventually I became less of a pariah,

and I was gifted with the responsibility of guardian over the eldest son of the Shadow’s

Alpha. Grey Wolf.”

“My mate had shared my passion for the truth, had allowed me to evolve in my

powers. I had no children who survived beyond a few days and it was a gift I wanted to

pass on. I chose Grey Wolf. And he ate it up. The myth, the prophecy. He would make

me bring him here and stare for hours at the carvings. I would share with him the Shining

Mother’s teachings of our need for organization and cohesion as a species. At one point I

wondered if he was the one. The one who would bring a positive change for our people.”

She frowned. “But then his father began training him. Readying him for the mantle

of Alpha, teaching him about the importance of land and power—of war. Gyvain was not

a gentle tutor. It changed Grey. And then the war came. After that he was no longer the

boy I knew. He was the monster your brother killed.”

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“There was some good left inside him. Regina saw it. His fear for Sylvain, his

concern for her well being.” Lux had no idea why he was defending the bastard. But

Mysha looked so shattered as she remembered the child he was, the man he could have

been. He wanted to comfort her.

“Thank you for that. And maybe it was true. But I know that his main reason for

hiding Sylvain once he discovered that she was Antara was The Message. She was his

ace in the hole. His last resort.”

“I don’t understand. Why do you call her Antara? And what does that have to do

with the Mother’s Message?”

“Antara means between. But the word has become skewed amongst my people. To

them it defines abomination, change and great upheaval.”

She began to pace. “Female Weres who reach adolescence and cannot shift are

labeled Antara. If they cannot shift then to the Alpha it means they are not true

Werewolves, unattractive genetically for the mating season and unable to protect the

males’ offspring. Gyvain had never made a secret of his lack of respect for females in

general. There have only been two other potential cases, although I personally believe the

claims were made a bit prematurely. Both times those young women were brutally

murdered in front of their packs, sacrificed on the altar of ignorance and fear.”

“So how did you—”

“Grey Wolf planted blood and strands of her hair, a torn gown and a bit of the

magick he was so good at weaving. They believed she had been killed by a Rogue, like

the one who came upon us the evening you arrived. She was only a woman, so the men

mourned the loss of a potential mate and then moved on with their lives. We’ve been

hiding ever since. Moving around now and then but always returning here. I knew this

was where her destiny would find her.”

They’d all been through so much. And it wasn’t over yet. “You mentioned The

Message?”

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Lux in Shadow

“The first part has been fulfilled. Regina has chosen and is with child. That child will

have the abilities of Reader and the blood of the purest line of Vampire running through

their veins. But there is another section of the prophecy.”

Lux’s gaze was drawn upwards once more, searching for the next panel, the next

relief. What he saw made his breath catch as Mysha recited by rote.

“You will know I am with you and change is coming when a girl child is born who is

called Antara. She is Werewolf and yet, not Werewolf. She is human but more powerful

than any that walk the world. She is of the Earth, with the ability to control it hidden in

her soul. Her power will make her a leader, the bridge between that links my offspring

together as one. She will not choose one, but both—and my children will flourish once

more.”

Sylvain. The woman on the relief looked exactly like Sylvain. The ground appeared

to bow at her feet, vines encircling her ankles and flowers blooming around her.

Her arms were spread wide, hands reaching out to touch the man on either side of

her. One was a blond Werewolf with a cocky grin. The other was a Vampire, the symbol

of a Healer around his neck.

She will choose both? It had never been done. Yet, as he stared at the image of the

three of them together—it looked perfectly natural and right.

“Her powers have not manifested themselves yet. We believe that Grey Wolf found a

way to block her abilities. He also planted a command in her mind, insuring that she

would be able to tell no one what she was. But if the conversation that woke me up is any

indication, her feelings for the two of you have become stronger than his suggestion. He

always did underestimate her will. We are guessing the rest should fall into place as soon

as she mates with you.”

“How do you know I am the one? You said she would choose both. Arygon could be

her mate. And why do you keep saying ‘we’?”

“Glynn and I have long suspected the two of you were mates. Call it woman’s

intuition. And you are her mate. I have been asleep, not dead. She is well into the mating

cycle. As for Arygon, don’t ask foolish questions if you’re not ready for the answers.”

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“Mysha? Are you down there?” Lux spun toward the entry.

It was Sylvain. And Arygon was with her. They must have finished bathing and

returned to find the old woman up and gone. There was something he had to know before

they arrived.

“How do you know my teacher?”

“Did you think that only Truebloods could dreamwalk?” Mysha winked at him and

disappeared through a hidden exit on the other side of the temple just as Sylvain and

Arygon came into view.

“Is Mysha here?” Sylvain was flushed from her time in the hot spring, strands of her

shimmering hair still wet and curling around her neck as she sought out her guardian.

“She’s fine. She went to—give us some privacy.”

Her smile disappeared and she leaned closer to Arygon, as if he would protect her

from the big, bad blood drinker.

His gut wrenched. It was no more than he deserved. He looked closer. She was

trembling, the scent of her reaching out to him. The signs had been there all along, from

the moment he’d first laid eyes on her. How had he missed it?

No more running. In spite of his determination and fear, in spite of her recent

antipathy—she was his mate.

Before they left this temple, there would be no denying it. For any of them.

He was making her nervous.

Why had the Mother chosen to mate her with such a complicated man? She never

knew what to expect from him. Would he be cold, possessive, angry? Every time he came

near her she felt she’d been thrust into the heart of a storm, her emotions in turmoil. What

did he want from her?

“Sex.”

Arygon couldn’t have been plainer as he had soaked beside her in the spring. “It’s no

different with Vampires, rabbit. Sex makes all men crazy. His reaction at that S&M

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Lux in Shadow

social where you found him is pretty damn encouraging. He’s just stubborn. Trust me on

this. He wants you.”

“He wants you too. And just because I can’t shift don’t think I don’t have other

abilities. I know for a fact you are in the exact same boat as I am. But wanting does not

mean having. It doesn’t mean mating. And it certainly doesn’t have to include loving.”

She leaned her head back against the stone, allowing the water to clean away this

humiliating night.

She was so damn restless. You couldn’t die from sexual frustration, could you?

Arygon’s fingers traced her cheek, her lips. “Thank you, Sylvain.”

“For what?”

“For admitting it. For accepting what I am without hesitation. I’ve never had that

from another Werewolf before. As his female mate, the one who can bear him children,

you are well within your rights to lay claim and send me away.” There was wonder in his

tone. As though he couldn’t believe she wasn’t scratching his eyes out.

Her heart broke for him. She understood what he was going through—better than

anyone. All she had ever wanted was acceptance for what she was. Not adoration and

certainly not fear. Just acceptance.

Maybe that’s why Lux’s rejection tonight had hurt her so much. If she wasn’t good

enough for her mate, then there was no hope.

She blinked away fresh tears and forced a smile. “Why would I send you away? It’s

nice to have someone who isn’t afraid to talk to me, to touch me. Even knowing that, at

least according to our people, I’m the worst thing this side of the apocalypse.”

His green eyes sparkled with wicked intent a moment before he pressed his lips

against hers. She moaned at the pressure, her need rising swiftly to the surface as he

kissed her.

He pulled back, hot breath against her cheek. “So sweet, rabbit. I knew you would

be. Lush and ripe and ready. I can’t wait to have you.” He growled, a tormented sound

before pushing himself up and out of the water.

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R. G. Alexander

“I think it’s time we found that Trueblood. Force him to admit his feelings, his

need…pin him down if we have to.” With those rough words he lifted her up, drying her

brusquely and throwing her old dress over her head.

Arygon was on a mission, half dragging her down the tunnel to the main cavern. Not

that she was complaining. Her body was one big mass of trembling need. She didn’t

know how the other females of her kind stood it. Of course, their males usually weren’t

playing hard to get.

It took her a moment to realize that Lux wasn’t there. Neither was Mysha. She was

awake at last. She knew the sleep her guardian had been in was more than a simple

healing sleep. It was a dreamwalk.

It wasn’t the first time she’d slumbered for more than a day, but Sylvain could only

be thankful that she’d returned. She needed Mysha’s wisdom now more than ever.

This time it was she who’d led Arygon down the tunnels. She knew they would be in

the Temple. And she knew exactly what Lux would see.

A part of her was thankful that the old mother was taking it out of her hands. She

could be telling him the truth about Sylvain at that very moment. Another part of her was

terrified that she could lose him. He could decide her path was too dangerous to follow,

that what she was—Antara, made her unworthy to be his mate.

Now, as she looked into his eyes, she could tell that he knew. She tried to feel what

he was feeling, but her own emotions were too chaotic. She couldn’t focus. He was

smiling that same dark smile she’d seen in her vision. It drew her.

She reminded herself of his multiple rejections. She reminded herself of her pride.

Her body was, unfortunately, suffering from amnesia. All it could think about was his

head between her legs, body pressed against hers as it had been that first night.

Her tongue flicked out to moisten lips that had gone alarmingly dry. It made her

remember the taste of his cock in her mouth and how aroused she had been when he’d

kissed Arygon.

Great Shining Mother! How could logic or pride defend against that?

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Lux in Shadow

Arygon edged her forward, hands gentle on her shoulders. She looked deep into

Lux’s blue eyes, dark with desire and something more. Hope? When she stood directly in

front of him she raised her chin, one last show of bravado. Before she could put him in

his place, he did it to himself.

“I am a selfish bastard. Controlling at the best of times, though all you have seen is

my worst. I am responsible for the death of an innocent man who committed no crime

apart from loving me. Because I did not insure his wellbeing, he was slain.”

His expression was so lost in that moment Sylvain felt she might cry.

Arygon’s fingers tightened painfully around her shoulders. He was just as affected

by the confession as she. “It wasn’t your fault, Lux. If any blame is to be cast it rests

squarely on my shoulders. I invited Grey Wolf into my den. I asked for his aid with the

Deva Clan. I am responsible for Regina’s capture, the turning of my Beta and his

followers…everything. You did nothing wrong.”

Sylvain was overcome. They’d both been so terribly wounded by her brother. Her

mate and this wonderfully brave Were whom she felt closer to with every passing day.

Lux’s behavior didn’t matter. She couldn’t turn her back in the face of all this pain. A

light went on inside her. They needed her. Needed what she could give them.

And she needed them.

Before she could say a word Lux knelt before her, his clothes disappearing in a

manner she was beginning to get used to. He snared her gaze with his own as he took her

hand.

“I’m sorry that I hurt you. I am not perfect, but I am your mate. Do you deny me?”

The formal words that fell from his lips made her smile, despite the small tremors of the

mating heat rocking her body.

She slid her hands through his hair. “What you are is a Healer. Compassionate,

loving and kind. You are a protector, always ready to fight for those who cannot, even if

those instincts hold you back from your own happiness. That is the man I have seen since

we met. How could I deny you? How could I deny my mate?”

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She watched his eyes close tight, leaning forward until his forehead rested on the

curve of her belly. Their declaration, a remnant of an older time, seemed to fit perfectly

here in this sacred space.

Arygon’s hands left her and he stepped toward the door. She looked over her

shoulder with shy smile. “Where do you think you’re going? I thought you were going to

pin him down for me.”

Lux pulled away just enough to catch her eye as she turned back toward him. He

studied her, eyes full of questions. He must have found the answer he was looking for

because he smiled as well, standing and turning her around so they were both facing the

frozen Arygon.

“Pin me down? Is that what he said?”

Arygon’s eyes grew wide at the intrigued tone. She smothered a chuckle. He was

anxious? “Mr. Confidence”? His hands fidgeted at his sides, breathing a little shallow. He

looked back and forth between Sylvain and Lux, unwilling to mistake their meaning.

“From what I’ve heard, mating a female Were is a dangerous business. I may need

you to help me pin her down. You game, Dydarren?”

She did laugh then. Dangerous indeed. Her laughter seemed to relax Arygon, who

grinned and took a step forward. “Always, Sariel.”

There was something so sinful, so forbidden about what they were doing.

She loved it.

The cool limestone altar still smelled of the flowers she and Mysha had laid as

offerings upon their arrival. Every spring they arrived here from their winter hiding place,

bringing the first blooming flowers to the Mother’s temple.

Lux removed her clothes and lifted her onto the smooth slab. He kissed her softly,

reverently. The feel of his mouth caused her heart to hammer wildly, as if it would leap

from her chest.

He brushed her hardening nipples with the back of his hand, knuckles rasping against

the tips, causing her to shiver.

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He didn’t push, didn’t demand entry. Soft as a butterfly’s wing against her lips, a

gentle request she could not deny. She’d seen him dominant, aloof, angry. But this side of

him, this sensual lover—it was irresistible. And he was hers. Her mate.

He raised his lips from hers with a slow smile, stepping back to focus on the man

beside him. The injuries from the scuffle Arygon had told her about earlier were nearly

gone from both men. A fading bruise on the Were’s jaw line the final remnant of their

wrestling match.

Lux lifted his hand to caress it, Arygon inhaling sharply at the light touch. He

replaced his fingers with his lips and Arygon’s eyes closed tight. She knew exactly how

he felt.

As their lips came together she could feel an answering response in her sex. They

were beautiful, the visual raw and erotic and full of passion.

Love.

It was so easy for her to see. So clear in the way they held each other, neither willing

to let go. Arygon gripped Lux’s shoulders as her mate unbuttoned his lover’s jeans,

slipping his hand inside.

The Were growled and her thighs went damp with arousal, imagining those talented

hands on her, imagining how they looked wrapped around Arygon’s cock.

She must have made a noise. Lux broke away, his breath coming in rough bursts,

gaze locked on Arygon. “I believe it’s time to worship our little goddess.”

Something passed between them, both turning identically reckless smiles her way.

She shivered at the potent affect they had on her. She needed her mate. Needed them

both.

Her attention was riveted to the open placket of Arygon’s jeans. He’d pulled off his

shirt and she could see the head of his cock visible above the fabric. It was pressed

against his hard belly, the tip flushed and damp with need.

“Ah. I do believe she wasn’t feeling neglected at all. Just upset with the poor view. Is

that it, Sylvain? You enjoyed watching me touch him?”

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R. G. Alexander

He knew she did. At her nod Lux slid his fingers through her hair to pull her close,

delivering a quick, hard kiss. “The Mother has given me such a gift in my mate. The one

woman in all the world for me.”

Lux took her hand in his. Slowly so she knew exactly what he was doing, he slipped

their entwined fingers into Arygon’s jeans. She gasped as her fingers tried to wrap around

the hot, thick shaft.

Lux’s large hand guided her movements, gliding over the velvety skin. The

difference in textures, her mate’s rough fingers, the smooth cock, even the harsh fabric of

the jeans pressing her closer felt illicit, arousing.

“There is something to be said for revealing your treasures slowly. Savoring the

moment.” His breath skimmed her breast, tongue flicking out to tease her nipple.

He chuckled when her back arched with his action. “Then again, sometimes the most

delicious treats are hiding in plain sight.”

Her fist continued to slide up and down the moaning Arygon’s shaft, her mate’s lips

latched onto her breast, his cheeks hollow as he sucked her deep into his mouth.

The scent of lust was thick in the air and that familiar haze seemed to be clouding her

vision. The three of them rocked together, focused only on sensation.

She leaned forward, pressing her heated sex against the cool stone, desperate to ease

the building ache. Her beast was waking again, closer to the surface than it had ever been.

She wanted freedom, wanted to be pinned and marked by her mate. Now.

Her muscles were vibrating with the intensity of what she was feeling. She heard a

pained keening cry, low and continuous, and realized it was coming from her. Moments

later her hand was gripping air, Lux torn from her breast by a panting Arygon.

“No more of this teasing. She needs to be mated.”

Lux nodded, his jaw clenched. He breathed in slow and deep, she knew he was

attempting to regain his control. “You’ve been told how a Vampire mates?”

She nodded. It was hard to still the chaos in her mind but she remembered Mysha’s

teaching. Vampires shared blood three times in order to alter the genetics of their mates

enough for procreation. They called it Unity.

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It was harder on humans and the ones called Unborns, they fell into a deep sleep

resembling a coma for several days. Between a Were and a Vampire, the reaction was a

bit more complex. Both species had a powerful genetic code. When mated, it was hard to

tell whose would become the dominant genes. That was one of the issues the elders had

with the interspecies mating the Mother had allowed.

Sylvain didn’t care. She reached for Lux, ready to wrap her legs around him and take

him inside her, pin him down as Arygon had jokingly threatened. But Lux was having

none of it.

He caught her wrists, laving one of the pulse points with his tongue. “Please,

sweet—leave me some control.”

She didn’t want him in control. Arygon came forward, pressing down on her thigh

before she could hook it around Lux. “Easy, rabbit. You’ll get what you need. We all

will.”

Lux lifted one eyebrow at the Were. “You’re getting a little cocky there aren’t you,

Dydarren?”

Arygon’s hands went to his jeans, skimming them off swiftly. He gripped his cock in

one tight fist, milking it as Lux watched with undisguised hunger. She knew her

expression matched his as Arygon smiled at them both. “More than a little. What are you

going to do about it?”

Lux’s lip curled, revealing his fangs, his hands tightening around her wrists as he

stared Arygon down. “I’m going to give you what you’re asking for soon enough. Right

now, let’s put that big…talk of yours to good use.”

He hopped up on the altar beside her, lifting her to straddle his lap. She groaned loud

and long.

Yes. Oh yes, this was what she needed. He stopped her before she could guide him

into her clenching sex, so wet his cock was already drenched with it. “Patience, sweet.

I’m going to fill you so full of cock you’ll be screaming from it.”

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R. G. Alexander

Arygon joined them on the smooth limestone, kneeling between Lux’s spread legs

and pressing his heated body against her back. “You’re gonna love it, rabbit. So much

you’ll start to crave it. I promise.”

His hard arousal slipped between the cheeks of her ass and she realized what they

planned to do. The only sane part left in her mind felt a jolt of fear. Surely they

wouldn’t—that couldn’t possibly…

Her beast distracted her by howling in pleasure as Lux took his cock in hand, sliding

it back and forth over her slit. “You’re so wet. I don’t think I can wait much longer.”

Her fingers dug into his chest to show him her impatience. Her palm scraped against

his piercings. He gasped, biting his lower lip, blue eyes going dark as she tugged on one

with her fingers. “That’s dangerous, sweet.”

“As dangerous as you denying a Were her mate?” Was that her? Where had this

aggression come from?

It was him. Lux. He was driving her insane with his restraint. One more twist of her

fingers on his nipple and she knew she’d won.

She held her breath as he positioned himself, entering her inch by excruciatingly

slow inch. Something within her was building, the small pain an exquisite agony as he

stretched her wide. It was indescribable, the sense of merging.

She cried out when a sharp pain pierced her gums. “What—”

“Fuck, yeah.” Arygon growled against her neck, watching as she lifted a surprised

hand to her mouth.

His fingers slipped between her legs, circling Lux’s cock for a moment as he

gathered her arousal. She felt his thumb probing, pressing into her ass. “Don’t panic on us

now. You may be Antara, but you are still a Were. You will bite and mark your mate

while he fucks you. While I fuck you.”

Too many sensations. The taste of blood in her mouth as her fangs grew out for the

first time. Lux inside her, his hands on her hips as he lifted her slowly up, then down his

cock. Arygon pushed another finger deep into her anus, preparing her body to take him.

Too much.

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Lux in Shadow

“Arygon, now.” Lux groaned and she immediately felt release as the fingers left her,

only to be replaced by the wide head of Arygon’s erection. His hands covered Lux’s on

her hips, hers clawing at her mate’s shoulders as they all stilled, frozen for one heart

racing moment.

“Mine.” Her womb clenched at his words and Lux groaned, sinking his teeth into

her neck. At the same moment, Arygon thrust home, pushing through her virgin ass until

his hips were flush against her.

“Rabbit, oh shit—so tight.”

Her head fell forward on a shout and Lux drank from her while both men pumped

inside her. The beast within her hungered, and she fed, opening her mouth on Lux’s

shoulder and biting down.

Yes. Shining Mother, the taste. So rich and pure. Life. As his blood filled her mouth,

mingling with her own, she felt it.

Doors opened wide in her mind. Her memories, her thoughts and fears opening to

him like a flower to the sun.

And he was there too. She saw him. The empathy she’d experienced before was

nothing compared to this knowing.

She sensed his joy at being inside her, how much he loved the feel of her so tight

around him. And the feel of Arygon’s cock sliding against his own, such a thin barrier

between them.

It wasn’t as intense as she now knew it would be once they had done this twice more.

She could hardly imagine it. Already the memories of his youth, his apprenticeship were

filtering into her consciousness. She wasn’t seeking it out. It was as if the memories were

becoming hers as well, a part of her.

She could tell when he found her knowledge about Arygon, the fact that he too was

Lux’s mate. He was so surprised she thought he’d pull away. Deny her again.

“Never, grathita. I will never leave you. I was just…startled.”

“He—”

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“My grathita—Great Mother yes, do that again! Sylvain, I can only focus on one

mating at a time. You are too distracting, my love.”

His voice resounded in her head. She could feel him everywhere, physically,

mentally. Inside her heart. He called her his love.

“You are my heart. My mate. You’re in my head. How can you doubt my love?”

“So good, rabbit. You feel so good. Lux, I can’t—”

Arygon’s words brought her instantly back into her body, the fire blazing through

her overwhelming her once more. She lapped at the mate mark on Lux’s shoulder, feeling

him do the same.

“You can. Just a little. Bit. Longer.” He picked up the pace, showing her how to ride

him, take him all as Arygon shafted her from behind.

“That—oh, Lux I feel so—”

“I know, my love. Let it happen. Come for me. Come for us.”

She couldn’t hold back. She was falling, flying, burning in the fire and reborn as

more than she’d been before.

A buzz filled her ears but she heard Lux give Arygon permission to come, their harsh

shouts as they came hard inside her. Arygon shuddered against her. Through their newly

awakened connection, she shared in her mate’s climax and cried out, joining him as she

flew again.

“I love you, Lux.”

“And I you, grathita.”

Muscles trembled and went lax. Both men wrapped their sweat-slicked arms around

her as they attempted to recover. Feeling their heat surrounding her, two pairs of hands

caressing her skin, something clicked inside her. A peace she’d never known.

She was home.

Arygon kissed the back of her neck, sliding out of her to step down off the altar with

a humorous grunt.

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Surprise had her opening her eyes when Lux lifted her as if she weighed less than

nothing, handing her over to the waiting Were. In minutes they were all heading down

the dark tunnel, Sylvain cradled in Arygon’s muscular arms.

“Where are we going?”

“Back to the hot springs, rabbit. It’s time for round two.” She raised her eyebrows at

Lux.

Round two? The male laughter echoing in her mind was the only answer.

Men.

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R. G. Alexander

Chapter Six

Boneless. That’s how she felt. She was lying by the side of the pool, her hand

dangling in the water, watching Lux as he told Arygon about the temple and all that

Mysha had shared with him.

The Message. She’d been raised on it. But she’d believed her brother when he told

her that he was the Were in the image. A mate and a brother. She never imagined that her

heart and her body would belong to two men. But it did.

She thought it was just acceptance. After all, who was she to judge the Mother’s

gifting of two mates to one Vampire? But the link with her mate, stronger now that he’d

taken her again, had made the truth inside her undeniable. She loved Arygon as well.

She looked at his face, pale beneath the natural bronze and thoughtful as he

considered what Lux was telling him. She had a feeling she knew what he was thinking.

He’d thought he was an abomination.

When he realized Lux was his mate he’d allowed himself to hope that perhaps he

was wrong. To realize you were part of a story told before you were born, part of a

message from the deity you were taught would despise you…it was a lot to take in. Not

only was he not a mistake. He was vital to the future of his people.

“The only thing I am still confused about is why it is they fear Sylvain so much.

What does it mean to be Antara?” Lux looked over at her and she shrugged.

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Lux in Shadow

“No one really knows for sure. Grey thought he did and I think Mysha and your

Glynn Magriel have a few ideas. But since there have only been two possible Antaras

before me, and both were killed before they reached maturity—well, it’s a mystery.”

“The old mother said her powers had been blocked by Grey Wolf?” Lux nodded at

Arygon.

“I recall a story my mother use to share with Jasyn, my brother and I, before she

died. She said some believed the Antara was the bringer of destruction, punishment to the

Weres that had left the Mother’s true path. The Reader’s could destroy your mind, kill

you from the inside out. But Antara could call on the elements of Earth to do her bidding.

To seek out those who would hide from judgment.”

Sylvain shivered, an unseen breeze of foreboding chilling her damp skin. Was that

what she was? A destroyer? Mysha had once called her a light bringer, told her when it

was time Sylvain would lead their species to the true path. She had no desire to hurt

anyone. She just wanted to be left alone with her mates. To stop hiding.

“Sweet, you are not a killer.”

“But what if—”

“Sometimes stories are just that, stories. We’re trying to find the truth in thousands

of years of retellings and exaggerations. But that relief on the temple wall was not coated

in blood. Trust your mate, my love.”

“I do.”

Arygon had gotten out of the spring to stretch. She lost track of the silent

conversation, her eyes drawn to the Were’s powerful physique.

“He is beautiful isn’t he?”

Arygon caught them both staring and struck a pose, waggling his eyebrows as he

showed himself to best advantage. “Like what you see?”

“Yes. Kneel and put your hands behind your back, Dydarren.”

The soft command from Lux froze Arygon in his tracks. A shudder wracked his body

and he felt blood rushing to his cock so fast his head spun.

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He’d imagined this a thousand times—yielding to Lux’s control. He caught

Sylvain’s fascinated gaze and it only aroused him more. He resisted, long enough to see

the flame catch in eyes of Sariel blue. God he loved that look.

He knelt on the hard floor, his hands going slowly behind his back. He raised his

eyebrow in challenge, though it was all a farce. He wanted whatever his mate was willing

to give him.

Lux and Sylvain seemed to communicate silently and he felt a stab of envy. He

wasn’t jealous, far from it. Watching them bite each other, come together as the three of

them fucked was the sexiest thing he’d ever seen.

The small mark that could never be removed from Lux’s shoulder kept drawing his

eye. He wanted to mark him as well. It was killing him, this waiting. But Sylvain had to

come first.

She was an amazingly sensual woman. He’d loved being inside her. He understood

that they weren’t mates and yet, he found himself drawn to her. There was just something

about the little rabbit that called to his protective instincts.

He watched in silence as she rose from her reclined position and walked over to him,

kneeling to face him, hands resting on her thighs. Her face was flushed with arousal. He

had the feeling she knew exactly what Lux was planning. He couldn’t wait.

“That is a pretty sight.” Arygon felt his breath on the back of his neck. Lux wrapped

a soft cloth he seemed to have pulled from the air around his wrists, tying the knot firmly.

He knew he could break free if he wanted. So did Lux. Both men knew he never would.

Not without permission.

“But this is even better. Now I can do whatever I want without distraction. To both

my mates.” The last word was said so softly into Arygon’s ear he almost missed it.

Sylvain smiled at him and he knew he must look as surprised as he felt. Hearing Lux

acknowledge it—he’d waited so long.

Lux circled him and knelt behind Sylvain, but not to tie her up. She arched against

him like a cat longing to be stroked. Arygon’s throat grew tight as he watched her nipples

bead. If he leaned forward just a little bit he could take one into his mouth.

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Lux in Shadow

A large hand shielded her from view. Lux cupped both her breasts in his palms,

stroking them, squeezing them—waiting for Arygon to meet his gaze. “I loved watching

you suck on these, loved you fucking her ass. Did you feel it? My cock sliding against

yours inside her?”

Sylvain moaned. One of Lux’s hands slid down her belly, fingers sifting through the

blonde curls to enter her. Her hips jerked against him. He could see fingers wet with

arousal as they thrust deep, could smell her intoxicating scent growing stronger.

Arygon felt like moaning too. He’d almost come the instant he felt her tight ass

gripping him, Lux packing her pussy so full that it seemed there was no barrier between

them. He closed his eyes.

“I don’t believe I gave you permission to do that.”

“Does the phrase ‘you’re not the boss of me’ mean anything to you?” He heard a hiss

and knew that his target, as raggedly delivered as it was, had hit its mark.

“You will watch. You won’t even blink. Because when I’m done making my grathita

scream with pleasure, come again and again on my cock until she doesn’t recall a time

when I wasn’t inside her—then I’m going to tame that tight ass of yours, drink your

blood and make you mine.”

Need like lightning flashed up his spine, his dick grew painfully hard and wet with

pre-come.

He opened his eyes.

“That’s better.” Lux held his gaze as he slid his wet fingers out from between

Sylvain’s thighs, leaning forward to press them against Arygon’s lips.

He took the fingers in his mouth, groaning at the taste. Lux smiled. “Doesn’t she

taste like heaven?”

He drew back, gently lowering Sylvain onto all fours. Arygon glanced down. She

was even with his erection, her gaze glued to it, soft pants of breath tempting him. Just a

little closer. She looked like she wanted to, but Lux pulled her back.

Sadistic bastard.

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R. G. Alexander

“Look at that delicious cock, sweet. So thick and hard—a work of art really. Did you

like it when he filled your ass? Did it feel good?”

“Goddess, yes.” Sylvain’s whimpering reply lashed across his shaft. Arygon growled

a warning, pinning Lux with his gaze.

Lux’s jaw clenched, his eyes never leaving Arygon’s as he entered Sylvain from

behind. They all moaned. He couldn’t look away from his mate’s magnetic gaze as Lux

powered into her pussy.

The Vampire’s eyes grew dark, lips drawn back to reveal those sharp white fangs

that Arygon had fantasized about. He wanted to feel them sink into his flesh as Lux came

inside him. Wanted it so much he thought he might beg.

He felt more than saw Sylvain fall onto her elbows. Lux reached out to grip the back

of Arygon’s neck, pulling him in for a hungry, primal kiss.

Yes.

His body was quaking with the need to tear off his restraints and pin Lux down. He

ate at his lips, sucking Lux’s tongue deep into his mouth, nipping hard at that sexy lower

lip.

Sylvain cried out with the force of her first orgasm. Lux snarled but didn’t lift his

mouth from Arygon’s, didn’t still his thrusts.

Arygon was so lost in the taste of his mate that he jolted, surprised at the hot, wet

mouth that sheathed the head of his cock, tongue lapping at the pearly liquid clinging to

the tip.

Shining Mother that felt amazing. He wanted to come, shove his cock deep as it

could go and come down Sylvain’s pretty little throat. “Fuck, rabbit.”

He didn’t realize he had spoken aloud against Lux’s lips until he ripped them away,

his breathing labored as he watched Sylvain gift Arygon’s shaft with one last, lingering

stroke. “You said I didn’t have to tie you up, sweet.”

“I couldn’t resist.” She smiled up at her mate, pressing her hips back to take him

deeper and he groaned out a chuckle.

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Lux in Shadow

“I’ll let it go this time.” He lowered his body over hers and, ensuring that he had

Arygon’s attention, he swallowed his cock and sucked hard.

“Shit—Fuck—Lux!” Stars burst before his eyes until with a loud pop, Lux released

him.

“No coming until I say.” The orders were distractedly given as Lux flipped Sylvain

over, spreading her legs wide and entering her once more.

Arygon inhaled deep and slow, attempting to cool the burning fever inside him, to

slow the race to climax. It had never been so hard to hold back.

Lux lowered his head and slid his fangs into Sylvain’s ivory throat. She screamed his

name and Arygon could see her Were fangs glint in the torchlight. She caught him

staring, her eyes dark with passion as she bit down on the already formed mark on Lux’s

shoulder. Her heavy lids closed with the obviously ecstatic first rush of blood.

He watched them climax. Knew that with this last blood sharing their mating would

be complete, unbreakable. Unity. That is what Regina had told him they called the mate

bond. Nothing could separate them now. Not even death.

He was shivering. His muscles actually trembling with desire, a low growl he

couldn’t subdue rolling up from his chest. Lux set Sylvain onto the furs that had appeared

beside them, kissing her gently on the mouth. She smiled and nodded.

And then those blue eyes turned on him.

The bonds around Arygon’s wrists disappeared, Lux’s doing he knew. Before he

could reach for him he was there, pressing him down on the cave floor, taking his mouth

as if he would consume him.

Arygon felt the erection, slick with Sylvain’s arousal pressing against his abs. Thank

the Goddess, he was still hard. He spread his thighs wide, cradling Lux’s body against his

own, his hands sliding into dark silken hair as the kiss went on.

Lux pulled back with a sharp nip. “Do you deny me? Deny that the Mother fashioned

you for me? That you are mine?”

Arygon didn’t blink. “I never have. Do you deny you are mine?”

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R. G. Alexander

In answer Lux slid his hands beneath Arygon’s thighs, lifting his hips high against

him. He locked his legs around Lux’s back and moaned low at the first probing of his

cock against his ass.

Lux hesitated. “We don’t have anything—”

“You’re covered in her come—it’s enough. Don’t you dare stop now.”

That was all Lux needed to hear. He gripped his hips, working his cock through the

tight ring of muscles, stretching him wide. It had been so fucking long. And it had never

been this good.

“Lux—so full—Shining Mother that feels…”

“Oh yeah. Arygon I have to—I don’t know if I can go slow.”

Arygon tugged him close, tightening his legs around him, his hands in his hair until

those sexy lips were a heartbeat away from his own. “I don’t want slow. I haven’t craved

slow from the moment I met you. Fuck me. Hard and Fast. Now.”

Lux’s control seemed to leave him at the rasped words. He filled him with one

forceful thrust, both of them shouting with the intensity of it.

He didn’t hold back, Arygon thought he might have killed the Vampire if he’d tried.

He needed this. Needed to be claimed by this man—had to claim him, mark him as his

own.

He felt Lux’s hand wrap around his cock, shuttling his fist up and down to the

rhythm of his thrusts. Arygon growled his pleasure as he felt Lux hit that spot, that

perfect fucking spot.

Shit, he wasn’t sure he could hold out. But there was no way in Hell he wanted it to

be over. Not until the Trueblood was marked. Finally his.

Lux beat him to the punch, lowering his head to Arygon’s neck, licking the pulsing

vein with his tongue. “You are mine, Arygon Dydarren.” He sank his fangs deep,

drawing the fast flowing blood into his mouth.

“Yes!” Arygon felt his beast clawing to break free, to dominate. His own incisors

grew as he aimed his mouth for the unmarked shoulder and bit down.

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Lux in Shadow

The blood was rich in his mouth, so delicious he wanted to howl with it. He had

marked his mate. Lux belonged to him.

“Ever the Alpha, aren’t you, mate. Even when you have my cock shoved up this

sweet ass.”

“That’s amazing. I can see—”

“You can see?”

“I can’t concentrate—I have a cock up my ass, remember?”

Arygon heard Lux laugh in his head. But it was more than that.

This was Unity? He could see Lux’s memories, feel his feelings. It was all happening

at once.

And he felt another presence. She was faint, but she was there. Sylvain? He opened

his eyes and looked over Lux’s shoulder to see her watching them.

She was close to coming, he could see it on her face. She was squeezing her breast

with one hand, three fingers thrusting inside her dew covered pussy with the other.

Lux groaned as he plucked the image from his mind, slamming against him, hard and

fast and impossibly deep.

“I would have to mate with two insatiably kinky Weres.”

“You’re the only one who could…my mate.”

He sensed it then. Love. What he’d been holding back, what he’d never expected. So

much love. And it was for him. Lux loved him.

And so did Sylvain.

Fire blazed through him and he came with the force of a hurricane. He heard the

primitive, conquering howl echoing off the cavern walls. The warm spill of his release

coated them both and he removed his fangs from Lux’s shoulder, healing the puncture

wounds with a broad swipe of his tongue.

“Mine.”

He heard it, felt Lux join him in the storm, coming inside him, filling him. Finally.

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R. G. Alexander

Lux pushed himself up on one elbow, stroking Sylvain’s hair as she slept between he

and Arygon. They’d worn her out poor thing.

His mate. Mates. He and Arygon had made love again, something in Lux not

allowing him to stop until both his grathitas were truly and irrevocably his.

The Mother only knew what he had done to deserve them. But he knew he would do

anything to insure their safety, keep them happy. He would protect them with his life.

“You’re thinking too hard. I can’t get to sleep.” Arygon lifted his head from where it

was cushioned on Sylvain’s soft breast.

Lux studied his strong features somberly. “Do you still want revenge on the Deva

Clan? On Nicolette?”

“No.” Arygon seemed surprised by his answer. “No, that’s over. Too much damage

has been done already, none of it for any other reason than pride. I may have inherited

authority as Alpha after my father died, but he was right. Jasyn should have led—I didn’t

deserve to.”

“You’re wrong. You may have trusted the wrong people, but you had every right to

feel the way you did.” Unity had shown Lux more than he’d ever wanted to know about

what Arygon had gone through because of his sexuality.

His father had not been a loving man. Arygon’s mother had died when he and his

brother were very young. The boys were old enough to join their father on the hunt, their

livelihood, as well as training for battle to defend their land from other packs. But the

Alpha could not be bothered.

They were given into the care of their uncle, a good man—but not their sire. No

matter how much the two young Weres tried to please their father, he didn’t seem to

notice their existence.

They had a comfortable relationship with the Deva Clan in those days. The women

were harmless, and they kept off the Dydarren’s property.

Arygon knew his father met regularly with Madame Nicolette, the co-founder of the

clan. He believed it was part of the business of being Alpha, in the interest of neighbor

relations.

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Lux in Shadow

He and Jasyn discovered them quite by accident. It was the first time he realized that

a Were male could be with someone who was not his mate.

Jasyn went into a rage. He’d never seen his brother so angry. He confronted his

father and Nicolette, Arygon standing uncertainly behind him. It didn’t take much. The

Alpha, already ashamed of what he’d done in a fit of loneliness, ended the relationship

then and there.

Years passed and the short affair forgotten by everyone. Except Nicolette. It seemed

she had never forgiven the boys for separating her from their father. She loved him.

She was just an Unborn. She didn’t understand how it was between mates. Didn’t

understand that he could never love her in return.

In her bitterness, she waited.

The Dydarren Pack had been warring with a band of rogue Weres looking for a pack

to make their own. Arygon, young randy pup that he was, took the opportunity to entice

one of the handsome butcher’s sons into the woods.

Nicolette had taken it upon herself to send the Dydarren Alpha an urgent message,

requesting a meeting where the two young men were sure to be discovered.

The shame and disgust on his father’s face when Arygon looked up from his position

on the ground—the human’s cock deep in his ass, was burned forever in his memory.

“Jasyn will be my heir. I have no other son.”

Those were the last words his father ever spoke to him. He tossed the note from

Nicolette on the ground and walked away. On his way back he was set upon by three of

the rogues, who couldn’t resist a chance to take on the isolated Alpha.

His father had been a warrior, a strong and vicious Were. Arygon always believed he

hadn’t bothered to fight. That he had died because he’d been too ashamed of having an

abomination for a son.

In his grief he blamed Nicolette. Blamed her entire clan. He was named the new

Alpha, but his only agenda was to remove the unwanted element. Namely, those

irritating, posturing Unborns in the castle bordering their land.

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Soon it became habit. He didn’t know until Jasyn decided to leave the pack that

Nicolette had struck again. She’d turned a young flapper before his brother could claim

her as his mate.

Jasyn had always despised Nicolette, grown to hate all Vampires. Arygon could do

nothing to make him see reason. Couldn’t make him stay.

His need for vengeance had been renewed. And it had eventually led him to Grey

Wolf.

“It was all so foolish. Nicolette hadn’t turned her on purpose. Hannah had been in an

accident. She asked to be changed. She wanted to stay alive—to be with Jasyn. And it

was wrong of me to blame her for actions brought on by heartbreak. Especially when my

father didn’t have the balls to tell her he didn’t love her.”

Lux leaned over Sylvain’s slumbering body and tenderly rubbed Arygon’s lips with

his own. His mate smiled softly, looking down at Sylvain with a wonder that Lux could

only share.

“You don’t need to worry about me, Sariel. But this other mate of yours—of ours…

“Were’s rarely work together. They fight each other for land and for hunting rights.

They fight each other over hangnails. Alphas are determined to maintain their power and

unwilling to share it with anyone.

“Only two things bring us together. Mating seasons. And fear of the arrival of

Antara.”

“She is no destroyer.”

“Well I know that and you know that. That makes two of us.”

Lux pulled Sylvain closer protectively. Something was coming. They had to keep her

safe.

Arygon caught his gaze as he rose to stand above them. “I’m going to take over for

the old mother. Let’s hope those guards of yours get here soon.”

He wobbled on his feet and Lux narrowed his gaze. “Are you able? Mating affects us

all in different ways.”

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Arygon raised one eyebrow, his confident smirk returning. “My ass is a little sore but

other than that…” The two men laughed softly. “I feel—different, but nothing I can’t

handle.” Without another word he turned and headed toward the main tunnel.

Lux closed his eyes and focused on Glynn. Maybe she would hear him. He had a

feeling they were going to need more help.

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Chapter Seven

“You stupid little bitch. Is this how you repay me? I protected you.”

“Grey?” Her brother was alive? Sylvain watched as he paced in front of her, his rage

apparent in every step.

He looked just like her sire Gyvain. Handsome and dark, his long black cloak

flapping behind him as he stalked around the temple. He’d always intimidated her,

frightened her. And now he knew what she had done.

“Of course I know. I always know. Do you know what our Alpha, our father would

have done to you if I hadn’t rescued you before anyone found out the truth?” He smiled

that dark, twisted smile that terrified her.

“He would have dragged you before the other Shadows, denounced you as Antara

and left you to fend for yourself as you were raped by every male in the pack and

sacrificed to ensure continued prosperity for our people. Maybe he would have been

right.”

She shook her head, backing away from him as he approached her. “Why are you

saying this?”

“Because you are weak—useless. Mysha taught you nothing. I don’t know why I’m

surprised. She never understood the true meaning of the Mother’s Message. She never

realized that I was the chosen one. My sister the Antara. My mate the Reader. It was clear

to anyone with the eyes to see. I was supposed to rule.”

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He flung his hand toward the markings that bordered the ceiling. “This was my

destiny. And you have stolen it from me. Gone lusting after some male and allowed him

to take the power that should have been mine.”

His arms lowered, hands fisting at his sides as he studied her, hurt transforming his

expression for a moment. “I thought you understood what I was trying to do. You were

family. My sweet, innocent sister. I was going to make a new world. Change our father’s

laws.”

She took another subtle step back. He noticed. His eyes narrowed and his voice grew

louder. “Didn’t I seek to teach other packs the way of the Shadow? To show them the

path of power our entire species was meant to take? They didn’t always understand my

teachings, but all of them knew and respected my power. It was only a matter of time

before we ensured the destruction of all of Vampirekind. And I did it all for us. For our

future. But now…you’ve left me no choice.”

A strange wind began to whip through the temple. Grey’s eyes started to glow. A

sinister sound rumbled from his chest. He began to chant, ancient words of the Shadow

that wove around her.

She couldn’t catch her breath. The breeze seemed to be stealing all the air from her

lungs. Her hands clutched at her throat and she fell to her knees. No. Shining Mother,

save her. She couldn’t die now. She couldn’t leave Lux—not like this.

“Then don’t, child. Grey Wolf is gone. This is the last remnant of his control, of the

magickal wards he placed in your mind to keep you from your abilities. You must fight

it.”

The two women beside her lifted her to her feet. She was still gasping, but she was

able to drag in a few labored breaths. “Mysha? And—”

“Call me Glynn, child. This may be a dreamwalk, but you’re still in danger. You

must fight the hold he has on you. You’ve already been able to remove the magick that

kept you from telling others what you were with your will alone.”

Glynn Magriel? They were dreamwalking?

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She looked over at her brother, his eyes red now, the chant so loud she could barely

hear herself think. How could she fight him? Hadn’t everyone said he was the strongest

Shadow Wolf they’d ever seen? She couldn’t even shift.

She started to forget why she should resist him. Maybe he and her father were right.

Maybe she wasn’t meant to exist. A mistake. A freak of nature. She deserved to be

punished. For the good of all her kind she needed to be destroyed.

The women seemed to vanish in the mist that settled over her. She should just give

in. It would be the best thing for everyone.

But no. No. There was a reason she had to fight. A reason she had to stop Grey Wolf

from continuing. Wasn’t there?

“No! You will not take her from me!” She focused on the desperate voice. It was so

familiar. A man or an angel appeared from the mist, his burgundy hair wild about his

shoulders. He dove for her brother.

It was her mate. Lux. He was trying to save her but he was no match for Grey Wolf’s

black magick. She had to stop him.

“Have a little faith in your mate, grathita. This is the dreamtime. I am more than a

match for this foul memory.”

But it was more than a memory. It was a dark and twisted power her brother had

perfected over centuries.

The chanting had stopped, magick swirling around Grey Wolf as he studied the

intruder. “There is another mind joined to yours, little sister. You’ve completed a mating.

See what you’re making me do? Now I have to kill him too.”

The dreamscape changed. They were outside in the snow, Weres that Sylvain didn’t

recognize circling a small group of Vampires. She saw them all. Lux, Arygon, her

brother. Dread formed a knot in her stomach. Oh no.

Her mate’s gaze was riveted to the scene. It was his own personal nightmare. The

night Joel had been killed. She felt his guilt, his horror as his dream counterpart took in

the gaping hole in his lover’s chest.

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Grey Wolf’s magick was stealing around Lux like a dark snake, coiling and

tightening, pulling him into the vision. She had to do something. Had to help him.

“Lux! Lux, it’s just an illusion. Grey Wolf is dead, he’s been punished.”

His head jerked, turning toward her. Two hands closed about her own and she saw

that Glynn Magriel and Mysha had not deserted her. They were trying to help.

“The mating has been completed, Sylvain. You three are tied together now—you

will live or die as one.” Mysha shouted over the icy wind, over the shouting and growling

of the fight replaying before their eyes.

The memories of Unity rushed back in, warming Sylvain.

All her life she’d felt so isolated. So alone. Decades spent in the shadows.

Mysha had been a wonderful teacher, more loving than any mother she could

imagine. And because of what Sylvain was, the elder had been forced to hide as well. For

a Were in touch with their beast, with the ability to shift, it must be tantamount to

captivity.

But since she’d joined to Lux, touched Arygon’s mind—well—she felt different.

Stronger.

She would not let Grey Wolf win.

Sending Lux a wave of love that had him struggling against Grey’s pull she stepped

forward. “It’s over, brother. Your last bit of magick has failed.”

Grey Wolf swung around to throw her an incredulous look. “Are you really such a

fool? My magick is stronger than any Shadows’. Stronger than this pathetic Vampire.

Certainly stronger than you. It is over only when I say it is.”

She could hear Mysha and Glynn beginning to chant in the background. A

counterpoint of light began to form in the darkness. “There is a magick you have never

been able to master, never been able to feel. That kind of power is stronger than your

incantations or sacrifices—stronger than your potions or mental wards.”

“But you, broken and wretched little thing that you are—you have it I suppose?”

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The light tore through the dark bonds holding Lux. She could see beyond Grey’s

shoulder as he began to pull the lightning from the sky, just as his dream counterpart was

doing. The electric energy gathered in his hands.

“Yes, I finally do. It’s love, Grey. And I am sorry for you that you never felt it.

You’ll never know how sorry. But this is my mind and you are no longer welcome.”

Grey Wolf snapped. He began to shift, claws raised as he dove for her. But Lux’s

aim was true. The ball of lightning struck Grey Wolf and he stumbled. His gaze locked

with his sister’s. For a moment she swore she saw gratitude. And then he was gone.

Vanished.

The snow covered field disappeared as well. Only the four of them remained. And a

door. A golden door with light emanating from around every edge.

She was being pulled toward it but she wasn’t afraid. This was her destiny. This was

what it meant to be Antara.

Lux was calling her name. She couldn’t go to him. She had to do this. She reached

for the door and it too turned to light, absorbing her until she was behind it.

And then it seemed…she was everywhere.

“Tell me again why we have to go back to Dydarren lands?”

Sylvain smiled. Arygon had been griping and grumbling every since she woke to

find them all huddled worriedly around her.

Mysha had risen to pack up their few belongings the moment Sylvain had told them

it was time to go. Her men, on the other hand, were a little harder to convince.

“There are guards on the way, sweet. Sariel guards are not ordinary Vampires. They

are a breed of warriors unsurpassed by any other. I don’t want to take any chances with

your well being.”

She’d patted Lux’s hand. “You know my thoughts, my mate. You must know all of

what I’ve seen.”

“Not all, Sylvain. For some reason there is a part of your mind I can no longer

penetrate. It worries me.”

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Mysha walked by with a hiker’s backpack that she was busily filling. “You can still

touch everything that is Sylvain your mate, yes? But only she can touch what is Antara.

The knowledge is only meant for one.”

Sylvain reached out to squeeze Mysha’s arm affectionately. “You’re right, my

mother. Thank you. For your faith, your patience…for everything.”

She turned back toward her mate. “The guards will not arrive in time. And now that

the ward on my abilities has been removed I am like a beacon to the Shadow. To all the

Weres. They will follow me.”

“Okay then, I will take you to Norwich. My brother and Regina will—”

“No.”

“No?”

“No, Lux. We go to Dydarren lands at the border of Castle Deva.”

Lux sighed loudly, studying her as if she were a puzzle he needed to solve. “What

happened to you, my love? What was it behind that door?”

“Our future.”

“My people are just as ignorant as any other Werewolf pack, rabbit. Just because you

belong to me doesn’t mean they’ll forget you’re their bogeyman.”

Arygon’s argument brought her back to the present. They were hiking with only the

stars to light their way.

Their route was one that she and Mysha had traveled many times. Sticking close to

the Alps, and then into Italy. It wasn’t an easy walk for humans, but it wouldn’t be a

difficult or slow journey for them.

There were abandoned caves and rock shelters all through the mountains to make

camp during the day. They should reach Lago Maggiore in two nights at the most.

He was a few steps behind her. Mysha had taken the lead and Lux had decided to

investigate the path in his animal form. Each Vampire had a totem animal they could shift

into. Very different from the beast within the Werewolf but fascinating nonetheless. Of

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course Lux’s animal form was a large black wolf. There was a certain poetry to the

Mother’s plans.

“Arygon stop. I want you to look at something.” She set down her backpack and

walked to a tree that had been felled by a storm. The base and roots were still upright, but

the rest of the tree lay upon the ground. It was still partially attached but it appeared to be

dying.

She felt Arygon come up behind her. “Watch.”

Her hand spread wide and pressed against the wounded wood. Before her eyes green

shoots broke through the grain. Leaves unfolded and more shoots intertwined with each

other, braiding together—healing the tree.

Her hand was warm but it didn’t hurt. All she felt was gratitude. After so many years

of fearing what she was, to find out she could do something so wondrous brought tears to

her eyes.

One night had brought so much change. She was mated. She was Vampire and Were.

Trueblood and Antara.

In “the space between”, all things existed together. And she could see it. Touch it all.

So much knowledge inside her. It had always been there. She’d been made for this.

“Holy shit, rabbit.” Arygon placed his hands on her shoulders, caressing them as

they watched the tree mend. When she was done, the pine stood tall and whole once

more.

“I’m not a bogeyman.”

He turned her toward him, wonder in his expression. Taking her hands in his, he

kissed the palms of each one in turn.

“No. You’re not, are you? I’ve never seen anything like that, Sylvain. It’s

miraculous.”

It wasn’t until she felt the relief flowing through her limbs that she realized how

much she’d wanted him to say exactly that.

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She’d connected with Arygon during the last few days. Their lovemaking during

Unity, sharing Lux’s mind and emotions as he’d mated with the Were—only enhanced

what she already felt for him.

A restlessness stirred inside her as they continued to stare at each other in silence. It

was almost what she felt for Lux before they’d—but that didn’t make any sense. Arygon

wasn’t her mate, Lux was. Why was she suddenly feeling the desire to mate with him?

“Why would you be surprised, sweet? I am your mate as I am his. You are both a

part of me now, changed on a fundamental genetic level to be mine. You’ll need blood.

The sun will affect you though I am still not sure how much. And you will need each other

as I need both of you.”

She was still getting used to sharing her thoughts with her mate. “Where are you?”

“Not far. Close enough to know you just showed Arygon something that blew his

mind. He’s right, you know. You are a miracle. And though you haven’t opened your

mind completely to each other yet, he feels the same way you do.”

Arygon cared for her? As a mate cares?

“Yes, rabbit. Let me show you.” Arygon lifted her up and she automatically wrapped

her legs around his waist.

“You heard that conversation?”

“Lux was translating. But I caught some of it. I don’t completely understand it either.

To my knowledge there has never been a mating of three in the history of either species.

Another miracle.” He pressed her against the bark of a sturdy tree, pressing his growing

erection against her sex.

She imagined those mental doorways opening, attempting to communicate with him

directly, as she could with Lux. “What if we’re just confusing Lux’s emotions for our

own? What if you don’t really…?”

“Want you? Love you? Rabbit, you know better. I was drawn to you before Unity,

when I believed we would never be true mates.

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“Your heart makes me feel like I’ve finally found my home. Your scent makes my

cock so hard it’s all I can do not to pin you to the ground and fill you full of come. I want

you, Sylvain. Antara or no. You are my mate.”

She couldn’t deny his sincerity, or the proof of his desire against her. She knew Lux

was there too, in the back of their minds, his arousal feeding on theirs.

“Voyeur.”

“You know it, sweet.”

Arygon growled, demanding she focus on him. It was no hardship, he was the most

beautiful Were she’d ever seen.

She became aware of the confining clothes she was wearing. Already spoiled with

Lux’s ability, she wished they would just disappear. She wanted to feel Arygon bare

against her—inside her. Her pussy tightened, juices wetting the coarse fabric of her jeans.

His nostrils flared as he caught the scent. Slowly, so she could feel every hard inch

of his body, he lowered her feet to the ground. “Take them off.”

The gravelly tone of his voice made her shiver. She whipped the T-shirt over her

head, more concerned with speed than finesse. He didn’t seem to mind, gaze honing in on

the revealed flesh as he unzipped his fly.

By the time they were both naked she was panting. Her skin was hot, nipples peaking

under his stare.

Arygon had a white knuckled grip on his cock, stroking himself as she stood there

trembling. What was he waiting for?

“Tell him what you want, sweet. Show him where you want him.”

She moaned at the whispered advice, leaning against the tree once more. Show him

what she wanted? Excitement raced through her as she watched him lick his lips.

Her legs spread and she slid her hands down through her wet curls, spreading the lips

of her sex wide. She was a little shocked at her actions. But not enough to stop.

Arygon’s dark green gaze narrowed with laser focus on her clit. It was puffy and red

with arousal, soaked with her own dew. She circled the sensitive nub with one finger and

he groaned. “Is this what you want? What you want to taste?”

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He fell to his knees in front of her, watching as she slid two fingers inside her pussy.

She was so wet she was soaking her hand, dripping down her thighs. Watching him

watch her was making her crazy.

She pulled her fingers out and, imitating Lux’s actions from the night before, placed

them against Arygon’s lips. His smile was carnal. He met her gaze, sucking her fingers

deep inside his mouth, swirling his talented tongue between each digit, licking her clean.

She shuddered.

“Tell him. Tell him to stick that tongue up your pussy, to fuck you with his mouth.”

Lux sounded so impatient, so aroused she expected him to round the corner any

moment. But he stayed away. This was their time. She slid her hands into Arygon’s thick

blond hair and tugged him closer. So close she could feel each breath against her clit.

“Please, Arygon. Please lick me, fuck me.”

“All you had to do was ask…mate.” The words seemed to unleash his restraint.

Arygon spread her pussy lips wide, pushing between her legs until she was nearly

straddling his shoulders. The flat of his tongue laved her from clit to anus and back again

to lap at the hardened bud.

He moaned, tongue spearing the tight hole of her pussy again and again as he

gathered more at the taste of her. One hand gripped her thigh, lifting it over his shoulder

so he could root deeper.

Sylvain cried out. Her leg buckled and they were tumbling to the ground, Arygon

beneath her. Somehow they landed with her knees on either side of his head, his hands

gripping her ass tight.

“More, rabbit.” His voice was barely recognizable. “Feed me more.”

He pulled her down on his mouth, her hands grasping the cool grass for purchase.

She was so close. His tongue was thrusting inside her, wild and insatiable—as if he’d

never tasted anything so sweet.

“He hasn’t. He loves it, grathita. Loves eating your sweet cream. Come down his

throat, Sylvain. Come down his throat and then he’ll fuck you—bite you until you come

again.”

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She came. Lux’s command and Arygon’s voracious tongue sent her spinning out of

control. But it wasn’t enough. She felt her teeth lengthening, mouth open wide as she

screamed out her orgasm. She needed to mark him. Needed his blood.

He rolled, mouth still buried in her sex until she was on her back, looking up at the

stars glittering through the trees. She pulled at his hair, aggressive and crazed with the

desire to make him hers. She heard Lux in Arygon’s mind, still foggy with distance, but

clearer than it had been.

“She needs you, Arygon. She wants that deliciously thick cock inside her. You think

she tastes good? Wait until you feel that tight, wet pussy cling to your dick. Wait until she

comes and those muscles grip you like a fist, milking you of every last drop of your come.

Fuck her…Fuck her…”

“Fuck me, fuck me…” Her voice caught on a gasp as she echoed Lux. Arygon held

her clit gently between his teeth and growled in warning.

“Please—I need—”

He heard her.

One last lingering lick and he rose over her, tongue sparring with hers. She tasted

herself on his tongue and moaned into his mouth.

The flared head of his cock pushed through her clenching muscles. He was so big.

She wondered for a moment how he’d fit in her ass without rending her in two. She had

been a bit distracted.

“Fuck, rabbit. You’re drenching my cock, baby. I never imagined…oh shit—” He

lifted himself up on his arms, biceps rippling, jaw tight as he began to thrust deep.

There was no gentleness, but she didn’t want gentle. His hips pounded against hers,

sliding her across the forest floor. She grabbed his tight, flexing ass, pulling him harder

against her. Faster. Deeper.

Yes.

She watched his pulse beat against his neck, could smell the scent of the blood. A

hunger she’d never known made her mouth water. She had to bite him. Had to taste his

blood. Now.

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Her back arched off the ground, nails scraping up his back to grip his shoulders. His

gaze clashed with hers, upper lip curling, baring his fangs. Instinct took over and she

realized she was snarling back, demanding her rights as his mate.

He held back, daring her. Her nails dug into his shoulders in retaliation. He threw his

head back with a roar, slamming into her so deep she could feel him pressing against her

womb.

Her mouth clamped on the curve where his neck met his shoulder, teeth sliding

smoothly into flesh. The salty warmth of his blood had her coming around his cock with

the first swallow.

“Yes. Shining Mother, yes. Mate. My mate.”

She felt him marking her in return, a rumbling purr issuing from his chest as he

climaxed inside her. They drank from each other, marking their mates, claiming each

other as surely as Lux had claimed them.

All that was Arygon filled her mind. Her hold on him tightened protectively as she

felt his loneliness, his loss.

The last piece of the puzzle had fallen into place. The three of them were linked now

in a way that could never be severed. Together they were healed, stronger than they had

ever been alone. They were whole.

She understood now why they had to return to Dydarren lands. It all seemed so clear

to her. She lapped at Arygon’s shoulder, kissing his jaw as he continued to feed.

Her body tingled with renewed arousal. Arygon’s cock began to harden once more

inside her. His hips began a gentle thrust and withdraw, slow and smooth and—oh that

felt good.

He licked the wounds he’d inflicted and bent his head down to nuzzle her breasts

tenderly, taking one into his mouth as he continued moving against her. She pushed his

hair back from his forehead, smiling softly as his mouth journeyed to her other breast.

“So beautiful. My mates. That was so fucking beautiful. But if you don’t get a move

on, we won’t reach shelter in time for me to punish you for not waiting so I could watch.”

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She shivered at the erotic promise. Would he tie her up as he had Arygon? Would he

spank her like the man she’d seen in that club?

“I like the way you think, sweet. Arygon, mouth off her breast—now.”

Arygon licked her nipple regretfully, lifting his head to gaze into her eyes, his smile

almost shy.

“You’re mine now too. My mate.”

“Always.”

Lux was so focused on his mates, so aroused by their impromptu tryst that he didn’t

sense the strangers coming.

Five scruffy Neanderthals with more beef than brains appeared on the path in front

of him.

“It smells like a Trueblood. I didn’t know Truebloods could shift.”

“Everybody knows that—do you live in a cave, Hans?” The Were’s laughed,

slapping each other on the back at the bad joke.

Great, Lux rolled his eyes. Big and stupid. Always a lovely combination. He shifted

back to his normal form and leaned against the nearest tree.

Affecting a look of Vampiric disdain had never been easier. “Good evening,

gentlemen. I didn’t know I was near any pack lands. Am I trespassing?”

“All lands belong to us, bloodsucker.”

One of the men jabbed his elbow into Stupid Number One and shrugged. “No. We’re

just passing through. Anyone traveling with you?”

Was he working on nonchalance? Lux snorted silently. The men looked anxiously

around the woods, nostrils flaring as they searched the shadows. They were looking for

Sylvain.

“Need a hand, Sariel?”

“Find Mysha, keep Sylvain close and out of sight. Down wind if you can handle it.”

“Okay, but you better hurry. Sylvain can’t stop thinking about that spanking you

promised.”

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He couldn’t help smiling when he felt the wave of outrage she sent to both men. And

she definitely didn’t like the idea of him taking on five grown Werewolves alone. But he

could handle these cretins.

“I’m traveling alone. Why?”

“We’re tracking a rogue bitch.”

The biggest of the lot took a few steps closer to Lux, sniffing him rudely. “You sure

you’re alone, Trueblood? Cause you smell like you’ve been rolling in Were.”

“Maybe you and your men have been going without for too long. Not to be rude or

anything—but I’m just not into you that way.”

Four of the Weres laughed but the leader growled. “Funny. I wonder how long you’d

laugh if I had you staked out to bake in the sun.”

“Without sunscreen? Beat me, bite me—but please, don’t make my nose peel. Where

do you people learn about Vampires? The movie theater?” Lux glanced up casually and

called the lightning.

The smell of scorched hair had four Weres shifting while Stupid Number One

writhed in agony on the ground.

“What’s your plan after pissing them off—lay down so they won’t wear themselves

out chasing you before they rip your throat out?”

Lux smiled as he dodged the large furball swatting at him. “Kit? Is that you, old

friend? What are you doing here?”

“Looking for you.” Kit punched the nearest Were’s muzzle so hard the beast spun in

a circle before stumbling to his knees. Another dove on his back, claws tearing through

his leather uniform. “Oh look, they wanna play.”

The Sariel guard began to expand. Taller and wider, his muscles burst the seams of

his jacket. He reached back and pulled the seemingly pint-sized Werewolf over his

shoulder with one hand, shaking him roughly before tossing him on top of the stunned

Were rubbing his jaw.

Lux was circling the leader, who was smart enough to keep clear of the massive

guard. “Why don’t you run along so I don’t have to order my giant to step on you?”

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“Can’t fight your own battles? No wonder we are favored by the Mother. She cannot

abide cowards.” The words were garbled through his extended muzzle, but clear

nonetheless.

“I’m really more of a lover. But if you insist.” Lux leapt above the Were’s head

placed a booted foot between his eyes. He yelped but his reflexes were still keen,

grabbing Lux’s ankle and slamming him hard against the ground.

He shifted back to partial human form, pacing in agitation as he studied the dark

shadows of the forest. “I can feel her. Antara is here. You could not hope to understand

what I’m talking about but you have to trust me. She will destroy us all unless you tell me

where she is. She must be sacrificed.”

A black rage, dark and deadly in its intent, erupted in him at that moment. The

demon was back.

This foul, flea bitten pile of excrement was talking about his mate. Killing his

woman. It could not be born. It would not be tolerated.

He hissed, teeth and nails growing, the air his species controlled buffeting him up

from the dirt path until he hovered above the Were. “You cannot have her.”

He could hear the animal’s heartbeat, pounding with fear or righteous anger—it

didn’t matter. Soon his blood would flow out, the beating would slow until it stilled

completely.

Kit called his name. He sounded worried but there was no need. What he had to do

had never been so clear. He swiped at the partially shifted face of his enemy, movements

too swift to be seen leaving welts swelling with rich blood.

Another swipe across the beast’s belly had him falling to his knees with a howl of

pain. More of that delicious liquid spilled from between the paw-like hands.

The other members of his band were whimpering, pleading softly as they huddled

together under Kit’s watchful eye. Gazes fixed on the talons aiming to rip out their

leader’s heart.

“No! Lux, please don’t do it. You are a Healer. Do not take his life.”

“Sylvain?”

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“Yes, my mate. I am here.”

A loud chorus of strange sounds assaulted his sensitive ears. The creaking sounded

like the warping of a ship. He turned in the direction of the noise. A ship—or the parting

of trees in the forest.

He lowered to the ground, coming back to himself as he watched the unbelievable

event. The pines were bending on either side of her, creating a clear, wide path as she

walked toward them. Mysha was smiling at her side.

Arygon was less than a step behind her, obviously as unhappy with this turn of

events as Lux was himself. He’d told her to stay out of sight.

The leader of the small group of Werewolves had dragged himself to his feet, eyes

wide with horror at the display. He began to growl, taking a step in her direction.

There was a rumbling beneath their feet. Moments later a rolling wave of earth

emanating from Sylvain gathered in size and speed, lifting the Were up with a force that

tossed him against his friends, knocking them down in a terrified mass of fur and flesh.

“Go back to the packs. Spread the word amongst the Alphas. If they want the Antara,

they will have to face The Challenge. The old mothers of the packs will know of what I

speak. In two days, all who wish to accept must be on the shore of Lago Maggiore, at the

edge of the Dydarren Pack lands near the Castle Deva. If they make war with any along

the way their lives are forfeit.”

Another rumbling of the earth had the Weres climbing over each other in panic to

return the way they had come.

The Antara had arrived.

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Chapter Eight

Sylvain was thoroughly intimidated. A century of solitary existence had not prepared

her for the occupants of Castle Deva.

Kit, the fascinating Sariel guard, had taken them all to the shore of Lago Maggiore in

a helicopter of all things. A loud, metal beast that Sylvain was sure she could go the rest

of her life without riding in again.

She’d heard him tell Lux that he’d been sent by the Mediator to get them to safety as

soon as possible. Both her mates had turned toward her suspiciously when the guard

mentioned that Regina, Zander and Glynn Magriel had all found their way to the home of

the Deva Clan.

The question was clear in their eyes. How had she known?

Other than that, Lux had refused to acknowledge her presence since she’d used her

abilities as Antara and informed the terrified Weres that she would be the prize in The

Challenge.

She hadn’t had the opportunity to tell him of her plans, of the Mother’s wishes. And,

if she was honest, a part of her knew that the moment she did he would reject it as too

risky.

All of their lives were in danger if this didn’t work. But she had faith. What she had

seen behind that doorway of light, the power inside her now—this had to work.

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Her plans to drag her mates off to have a private conversation were immediately

thwarted at the steps of the lavish castle dwelling. The door flew open and a large group

of women descended, a petite golden-eyed siren leading the charge.

She threw her arms around Lux. He picked her up and embraced her warmly, a

genuine smile of delight on his lips.

“You’re growling, rabbit. Sheathe your claws. Regina is Zander’s grathita. The little

Gypsy is no rival to us.”

Regina Sariel. The Reader.

Sylvain stopped the jealous snarl gathering in her throat, feeling her cheeks heat as

she noticed the other women studying her.

These were the Unborns. Most of them sired by Elizabeth Abaddon, widow to

Malcolm Abaddon. He’d been one of the greatest enemies the Shadow Wolves had ever

known. During the last war between the Shadow and the Vampires, Malcolm had

survived every attempt at assassination, every dark spell thrown his way. The Shadow

thought him some kind of demon.

When Grey Wolf had returned from one of his long hunts to spread the word that he

had been mysteriously murdered in his home by a band of rogue Weres, the Shadow had

hardly dared believe it.

The great Trueblood who had nearly single handedly wiped out the Shadow had been

taken by surprise by ordinary Werewolves? Even they believed that Elizabeth must have

betrayed him. She’d disappeared soon after, reemerging decades later as the leader of a

growing clan of Unborns.

From her mate’s memories, she knew that the woman standing apart from the rest,

her curly auburn mane fanning out behind her like a wildfire, was the widow herself.

“If you scratched my new toy I may have to hurt you.” The warning in her voice was

aimed at Kit.

Sylvain turned to see the large man bow behind her, a sexy grin transforming his

stoic features as he studied the Deva. “Your helicopter is safe, sad to say. But I can go

kick a door in if you had your heart set on wrestling, Lizzie.”

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Liz narrowed her eyes and Regina laughed, drawing Sylvain’s attention back to the

affectionate grip the Reader had on her mate. “Only you would try to intimidate a Sariel

guard, Liz.”

“She doesn’t have to try. Trust me, I’m intimidated.” Kit’s sotto admission had the

men chuckling.

A fiery blush stole over Liz’s face before those sparking eyes turned toward Lux.

“Bring your mates in, Lux. Maybe they can help me understand why my castle has

suddenly become such a popular vacation spot.”

Sylvain felt a soft hand reaching for her own to lead her inside. Regina. Her unusual

eyes were open, curious and kind.

She was strangely drawn to the Reader. Was it because of Lux’s feelings? Or did the

two of them share a special bond, their parts in the Mother’s Message tying them together

somehow.

She’d almost reached the top of the stairs when an invisible blow of shock and pain

hit her solar plexus, bending her over with its power.

Nicolette. The woman who had betrayed Arygon to his father. She’d stopped the

Were from joining the others, was speaking to him in hushed tones. Whatever she’d told

him had stunned Sylvain’s mate so strongly that she’d experienced it as well.

“You’re sure he’s back?” Arygon sounded as surprised as he felt.

“Yes. He came here as soon as he arrived—demanded to speak to Hannah. She

wouldn’t tell me what he said and I refused to pry, but neither looked happy by the time

he returned to your lands. Your cousin was willing to step down but he refuses to accept

the mantle of Dydarren Alpha. He’s been spotted nearly everyday walking the border of

our lands. I’m sure you’ll find him there.”

“What is it, mate? What is she saying?”

“Jasyn. My brother has returned. Go inside with Lux. I’ll be back. I have to—see

him.”

Arygon gripped Nicolette’s shoulder in thanks, then disappeared into the woods

surrounding the castle. Sylvain moved to follow him.

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“No. He needs to do this alone.” Lux stood in the doorway with a tall blond male that

could only be his brother.

“But I think I should—”

“What you should do is follow Regina to our bedroom.”

“And when you get there, grathita, you will remove your clothes and kneel in the

center of the bed. When I’m done here you will receive your punishment for putting

yourself in danger. Don’t even think of defying me in this.”

She gasped, her heart beginning to race at the silent command. She caught the

meaningful look Regina and Zander shared before the petite ebony-haired Reader slid her

arm through Sylvain’s. “Come on. I’ve been dying to meet you. Please, call me Reggie.

We can chat about what pains in the asses Sariel mates can be.”

Lux’s brother sputtered but Lux didn’t even crack a smile. The intensity in his eyes

was alarming. And more arousing than she’d ever imagined. Her clit throbbed as she

thought about all the things he could do to her. All the things she wanted him to do.

Reggie pulled her toward the winding staircase that led to the bedrooms. Her jeans

rubbed against her sensitive sex and sent shivers up her spine. Just before she passed him

he stepped in her path.

“If you come before I get to the room…you won’t be allowed another climax for the

rest of the night. No matter how much you beg.”

He moved out of her way and Sylvain swallowed. Surely he wouldn’t? But she knew

her mate intimately. He absolutely would. The tyrant.

Her hand traced the exquisitely made balustrade as she followed Reggie up the stairs,

trying to distract herself from her mate’s wicked behavior. This place was a wonder. It

was huge, though not remotely ostentatious.

She’d always imagined a castle would be a cold and drafty place, forbidding in

nature. But Castle Deva was warm and inviting. Everything about it screamed family.

She looked down into the living area, the giant couches and soft throw pillows that

invited conversation. Colorful rugs covered the hard stone floors, paintings of summer

fields and seascapes covered the wall.

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The table hockey game and a well-used gramophone from a bygone era told of

evenings filled with fun and companionship. Sylvain envied them that.

And everywhere she looked she saw them. Devas. She was surprised to note that

there were a few men among the clan, she’d assumed the Devas were all female.

Regina saw the direction of her gaze. “Michael and Robert. Apart from Andrea, who

came into our fold unwilling to leave her young son behind, those are the only male

Unborns here.”

Liz met Michael during the California Gold Rush. Robert was an English lord

with—interesting proclivities.”

She winked at Sylvain. “You gotta love ’em. Any man who can live with all of us,

definitely deserves a lot of credit. Possibly even sainthood.”

They reached the landing at the top of the stairs. Sylvain was amazed by the number

of doorways they passed. She was used to hiding out in the tunnels, caves here and there.

She could count on her hand the number of times they’d taken shelter in an abandoned

cabin, and only once had they rented a room. Talk about a culture shock. But none of it

could compare to this—decadence.

Reggie opened a door far away from the others, gesturing for Sylvain to follow.

Paradise. That was the only word for it.

The bed was unbelievably wide. And it looked so soft, covered in cloudlike pillows

and a soft down dark blue comforter. She and her mates could easily fit on it, with room

to spare. She blushed and looked away.

There was a television with a large assortment of movies on the shelf beneath, a

couch and a recliner beside a romantic fireplace. A small refrigerator that she could tell

with her heightened senses contained fruit and chocolate and—synthetic blood? It had a

different aroma, but it was definitely blood.

Everything she and her men could need. Paradise.

“This is our VIP suite. You should feel honored. Liz usually reserves this room for

the celebrities she thralls into performing when we throw a party. Or when

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she’s…um…doing some private entertaining. She never lets anyone in her bedroom.

Don’t ask me why. It’s a thing with her.” Reggie smiled a little sheepishly at Sylvain.

“Sorry. Anyway, you should find everything you need and more in here. And the

bathroom is fully stocked. We even have bubbles.”

Bubbles. Something purely soft and pink and feminine came alive inside Sylvain at

the word. A bubble bath. She’d read about those. It sounded amazing. Reggie read the

yearning in her expression. “Don’t tell me you’ve never had a bubble bath?”

The Reader didn’t wait for an answer. Sylvain saw her disappear through a smaller

doorway and moments later, she heard the distinct sound of water running. Reggie came

back out flourishing a large hair clip.

She was so tempted. She thought of all the rough rushed cleaning. The hot springs

were wonderful but all those cold streams she had to bathe in could not compare to being

pampered with scented water and creams. She almost gave in. But Lux had told her she

needed to—

“Grathita, you are breaking my heart, sweet. Please, for the love of the Mother—take

the bubble bath.”

“Really?”

“I’m not a monster. Pamper yourself. But when you are done…”

“Kneeling. On the bed. No coming. I promise.”

She heard him snort in mock irritation at her bouncy response.

“Why do I feel you aren’t taking my punishment seriously?”

Sylvain was too busy being led to the bath by her new friend to reply.

He couldn’t stop the soft smile he felt curling his lips. Regina had obviously decided

to give Sylvain the entire experience. Lux took in the small plate of half eaten

strawberries and empty champagne glass lying beside the tub.

The bubbles were nearly gone, not that Sylvain would notice. Her head slumped on a

bath pillow, white-blonde hair piled high on her head, soft tendrils curling in the damp

heat. Those beautiful lips were tilted in an enchanting half smile as she slept.

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Gorgeous.

To think that this simple bath was a luxury for her. From what he was learning from

Arygon and Mysha, a female Were’s lot in life was spare in comparison to a Vampire’s,

but Sylvain’s had gone a step beyond into deprived. At least the packs had housing,

plumbing. She had been in hiding for most of her young life.

He’d monitored her quietly as she’d taken in the bedroom and bath, her joy and

wonder at the simplest of pleasures.

He hadn’t missed any of her reactions.

She’d felt terribly inadequate next to all the well manicured and stylishly dressed

Devas. Tugging at her faded T-shirt, pushing her long hair self-consciously behind her

ears, he’d felt her insecurity as if it were his own.

She would never feel that way again. If he had his way she would be draped in silks.

Every luxury would be hers and she would never want for anything again.

Reggie had come down the stairs once Sylvain had been settled, her cat eyes welling

with tears of sympathy. When Lux asked her if they had any clothes that might fit his

mate, she held up her hand. “I’m on it.”

Moments later she, Nicolette and several other Devas were gathered in the living

room, plotting fashion mayhem, he was sure.

He should wake her before she turned into a sweet smelling prune. But he was loathe

to do it. Not only because of how peaceful she looked. He needed to gather his own

control for what he knew had to lie ahead.

Her punishment.

They both knew he would never hurt her. He would rip out his own heart than harm

a hair on her head.

But he needed to convince this woman, this being who held the power to move the

very earth beneath his feet—that she could not put her life at risk. That he meant to keep

her safe in spite of whatever destiny she believed she had. That he refused to let her

sacrifice or harm herself in any way. The Mother be damned.

She was awake. His inner turmoil had pulled her from her daydreams.

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His experience with Reggie and lessons with Glynn had helped to teach him how to

erect light barriers in his mind. He did it when Arygon went off in search of his brother.

He was monitoring him in case of trouble, of course. But he knew his mate wanted

privacy for this.

He lifted another to keep his plans from Sylvain. Her dark eyes went wide. Yes. He

wanted her unsure. Wanted her waiting—wondering.

He held out a towel for her. He could sense her sudden excitement in the pulse

pounding at her neck. “Come on out, grathita. Time for all good Antaras to take their

medicine.”

She rose, hesitating at his smoothly delivered words. He tried to look at her body as

one might a statue or a painting. Tried not to notice how she smelled of lotus blossoms

and that fragrance that was uniquely hers.

She stood still and silent as he rubbed her down. He studied the goose bumps rising

on her arms and legs at the rough sensation of the coarse fabric against her skin. Her

nipples tightened. When his fingers caressed her shoulder instead of the towel, she

shivered in arousal.

He loved how sensitive she was. How responsive. And he hadn’t even begun. He

stepped back and dropped the towel. “Go to the bed and kneel in the center, facing the

wardrobe mirror.”

She didn’t hesitate, her mind filled with images of what he might do. He wouldn’t let

her thoughts distract him. He walked to the bedside table where he’d placed a few

surprises, watching from the corner of his eye as she crawled up onto the high mattress.

Her hands lingered on the soft material of the comforter, knees bouncing as she

tested the resiliency of the mattress. Her movements made her breasts jiggle and he bit

back a groan.

Finally she settled herself in the center of the bed, facing the mirror as instructed.

She didn’t look at her reflection. He couldn’t allow that. He stepped to the side of the

bed, skimming his fingers over her hips and up her back until he reached the back of her

neck.

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“You are so beautiful, grathita.” He lifted her chin so that her gaze met his in the

mirror. “When I first saw you I wasn’t sure you were real. Look at yourself. See what I

see.”

He followed her gaze as she studied her breasts, surprising handfuls on such a small

frame. Her body was femininity incarnate, small waist and curving hips, the pale triangle

of curls hiding her damp sex. His little goddess.

He let her feel his arousal, how his cock pressed insistently against the fabric of his

pants. Just the sight of her kneeling naked on the bed had him rock hard and ready to take

her now.

But first they would talk.

“Put your hands on the bedpost.” She obeyed and he smiled. So eager. “That’s good,

sweet. Now I’m going to fill that luscious ass of yours with this.”

He reached over to grab the plug he’d picked out to use on her. He wouldn’t be

surprised if Liz and her Devas owned stock in a toy company, they had so many to

choose from.

He noticed her swallowing hard and chuckled. “Spread your legs a little. Yes, just

like that.” He covered the butt plug with lube, holding it up so she could see what he was

doing.

He poured a little more on his fingers and slid them between the cheeks of her ass.

She was trembling when he pressed inside, feeling those tight muscles squeeze around his

fingers as he stretched her.

When he pulled them out to place the plug against her she whimpered. “Just breathe

out, grathita. I know you liked Arygon’s cock inside you. You were made for this, made

to be filled by your two mates.”

She pushed out and he worked the plug deep inside her. He looked at her in the

mirror as the last inch of the plug slid home. Her eyes had grown heavy and her face was

flushed with need. She bit her lip and met his gaze, her eyes so dark he felt he could lose

himself within them without regret.

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Focus, Lux. He walked to the edge of the bed, blocking the mirror as he stepped

close. “Now that I have your attention—there are a few issues we need to clear up.”

She flinched as if he’d struck her, but he couldn’t give in. He placed his hands gently

on her hips, his thumbs not quite touching her dewy curls as they drew soft circles on her

skin. “You are Antara. After that stunt you pulled earlier, I think I’m beginning to

understand what that means. The Mother has touched you, given you a powerful gift.”

She opened her mouth to speak but he shook his head, lifting a finger to her lips.

“You are also my grathita, Arygon’s mate and the only woman who makes our hearts

whole. You are the most precious thing in this life to me. And I am not willing to stand

on the sidelines while you follow a destiny that puts you in harms way.”

He kissed her, sucking her lower lip between his teeth and licking the sensitive flesh

with his tongue.

He pulled back to look in her eyes, willing her to hear him. “You are not going to

sacrifice yourself for your people. If that is what the Mother wants, than she will just

have to be disappointed. I’ll stand beside you and fight for you in all things. But you will

not be a martyr. And you have to promise to listen when I think you need to stay out of

harms way—and fill me in on these great plans of yours so I can help you.”

Her eyes welled up as she nodded. “I promise.”

“Good. Now that that’s out of the way—it’s time for that spanking I promised you.”

Sylvain barely had time to blink before Lux had her face down over his lap on the

bed.

She’d known he’d been worried about her. She kept forgetting that the Mother had

shielded the knowledge of what she was and what she was meant to do from her mates.

She silently vowed to tell him anything he wanted to know.

Later.

Whack! The first loud crack of his hand against her ass shocked her, had her

stiffening beneath him. The stinging sensation soon gave way to a tingling heat. Again

and again his cupped palm landed randomly, until her skin was on fire.

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She was shaking. Her bottom was filled with the plug, her ass clenching around it

with each blow. Soon she was lifting her hips, her body begging for more, so turned on

she knew she was soaking his pants with her arousal.

“Shining Mother please.”

“Please what, my love? Please stop?” Lux slid his fingers between her thighs,

slipping through her damp pussy lips to circle her clit. “Are you sure? It doesn’t feel like

you want me to stop.”

He lifted his hand away and she was sure she was going to cry. “Don’t stop, Lux.

Please don’t stop.”

He pulled her thighs apart slightly. “Your wish is my command, grathita.” One

moment passed, then another.

She was close to begging again when his palm came down again. Directly between

her legs. She cried out in surprise. Her sex was ablaze with a shock of sensation. He did it

again.

The third time she was so close to coming she knew all it would take was one more

tap of her clit, just once more and she would be there, falling off the edge into oblivion.

He stopped. “It’s not going to be that easy, sweet.”

It wasn’t? Oh Goddess, he planned to torture her. He spanked her ass hard once to

regain her attention. As if he’d ever lost it.

“You revealed your abilities to a group of wild male Weres.” Spank.

“You put yourself in danger when I expressly told you to stay away.” Whack.

“You offered yourself as a prize for this Challenge that you didn’t tell us about,

practically gave written instructions leading all the Alpha’s here.”

He turned her over, lifting her up so she could wrap her quivering legs around his

waist.

“You scared me.”

She was sure he hadn’t wanted her to hear that admission. She slid her hands into his

hair and kissed him hungrily. In this position the plug pressed deeper, her pussy aching

and empty. For him. Always for him.

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“I love you. Please, Lux. I want your cock inside me. Punish me again later—love

me now.”

She heard him groan and then he was kissing her back. Ravenous. Starving for her.

She could feel his love pouring over her, sheltering her as he tightened his arms around

her. Heaven.

“The two of you always steal my control. How do you do that?”

“Talent?”

Lux laughed against her mouth, his clothes disappearing with a thought so they were

pressed together, naked flesh to naked flesh. “You’ve been hanging out with that Were

too long. You’re getting sassy.”

“You like it.”

“Yes. Oh Goddess, yes I do.”

She pressed her sex against his cock, reveling in the feeling, in his growling reaction.

He hands squeezed her reddened ass and she pulled back with a moan, her gaze

clashing with his. He read her thoughts.

“Ride me, grathita. Show me how much you want me.”

He released her, lowering his body onto the bedspread, arms out at his sides. “Show

me.”

She lowered her gaze to the body beneath her. Goddess, he was the sexiest man

she’d ever seen. She remembered what she’d thought when she’d first seen him. Elegant

predator. He was that—and so much more.

Her hands traced the whirling blue tattoos covering his biceps and forearms. She

knew now how he’d gotten them. Facing the darkness, searching for the light within

those who resisted healing.

Glynn Magriel was covered in them, but the fact that Lux, who’d been so young

when he had apprenticed with the Priestess, had so many—how brave he must have been.

“Or foolish.”

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She ignored him, leaning forward to kiss the spirals that marked his courage. The

glint of metal caught her eye and drew her lips. Smiling up at him, she opened her mouth

to take his pierced nipple between her lips, tugging lightly.

“You’re playing with fire, grathita.”

She knew it. But she couldn’t resist. Her fingers rolled one hard nipple while her

mouth sucked on the other. Lux arched his back, his hips lifting against hers in a silent

command she refused to obey. She wanted to tease him a little. To make him feel a little

of what she felt when he had control.

“Shit—I can’t. Damn it, Sylvain! Time’s up.”

Lux had run out of patience. She was rolled onto her back, his cock powering inside

her before she had a chance to argue. Not that she would. Wasn’t this exactly what she

wanted? Needed from him? For him to be so wild for her he lost all control?

She screamed his name as he drove her into the mattress with his thrusts. The plug

stretched her wide, her pussy squeezing around his cock each time he tried to withdraw.

“Fuck. Grathita, my love you’re tight. So tight your pussy’s gonna bruise my cock.”

Lux ducked his head and sucked her nipple into his mouth. He was fucking her so

hard and deep, all she could do was hold on for the ride.

It was building inside her again. The feeling she was about to soar, to shatter into a

thousand pieces. Her fangs extended.

“That’s right, grathita. Take it. Take what belongs to you. Come for me, sweet. Come

on my cock while you drink me down.”

His mouth left her breast and kissed his way up her neck, baring his for her bite.

Her teeth sunk deep, blood rushing down her throat, filling her, transforming her.

“Yes.”

She could feel him, everything he felt. How hard it was for him to hold back. How

desperately he needed to come. The merging threw her over the edge.

“Yes. Sylvain—grathita—”

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He was with her, flying into fire together. Her name was a hoarse shout on his lips.

She lifted her mouth from his neck and he kissed her, tasting his blood on her tongue

while he continued to thrust inside her.

Shudders wracked her body as she came back to herself. She could barely open her

eyes, even when she felt him lift himself off her. He rolled her to her side, gently

removing the plug before she felt him leave the bed.

He returned with a washcloth, cleaning her with a tender efficiency that had her

smiling. She’d never known this kind of intimacy with another. What little she recalled of

the Weres hadn’t prepared her for this kind of union. This outward affection after mating.

They didn’t know what they were missing.

“Get used to it, my love. I intend to spoil you for the next century or two.”

He pulled her beneath the blankets, tucking her into the curve of his body with his

arms tight around her. Thoughts of the Werewolves had sobered her. She really wanted

those centuries. She had faith in her plan but the Mother only knew what price she would

have to pay to see it succeed.

“Tomorrow night you will tell me everything. No more secrets, mate. Remember

your promise.”

She drifted off to sleep, her thoughts a chaotic jumble. She could only hope the

Mother knew what she was doing—giving the power of Antara to her. If faced with a

choice between what was best for the whole and the welfare of her mates…

She prayed she would never have to choose.

“You’ve been away from your kind too long, Ary. You move like an elephant

through the brush.”

“I wasn’t hiding. But I’m wondering why you are.” Arygon turned in time to see his

brother emerge from a copse of trees and worked to maintain a neutral expression.

Jasyn. Back home after all this time. Nearly eighty years. He didn’t think he’d ever

see his brother again. “You look like shit.”

Jasyn laughed, but didn’t come any closer.

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He did look different. His hair was unkempt, body lean and spare. There was a

hardness to his eyes that hadn’t been there before. A pain that made Arygon’s heart ache.

“No wonder they called you the charming one. You always did have a way with

words, brother. I heard you had some trouble recently.”

Arygon grimaced. “Father would have been so proud.”

“Father didn’t have a leg to stand on in that department. Besides, you were just

trying to rid yourself of a few whores. Who can blame you for that?”

So, he still hated the Devas that much? “He was training my men behind my back.

While I was lying in bed dreaming of shaming the woman who I believed had ruined my

life, he was teaching my Beta by sacrificing a human boy, torturing that little Gypsy

Regina and…he hurt Hannah.”

His brother inhaled sharply, eyes flying to the direction of the castle as if he could

see the sassy Unborn even from this distance. “Is he dead?”

“He is. But he took a lot of innocents with him.”

He tilted his head to study his brother. He wanted to know where he’d been, why

he’d left his pack for so many years. He wanted to embrace his brother who had been his

only friend for so many years. “Why did you come back?”

“I never left. I’ve been everywhere—went to South America for a while, the States. I

wandered through the human cities, even took a job here and there. Construction mostly.

But it didn’t matter where I went. I never left this place. So I had to come back. There

was simply no other choice.” The hoarse words were a knife in Arygon’s gut.

He understood. Lux had only resisted their mating a few short months but each

minute had been agony.

Jasyn knew his mate. She’d been a young, wild American girl who’d come to Italy to

visit her relatives. He had loved her on sight. Loved her so much that he’d attempted to

woo her as a human woman wishes to be wooed. He did not want to force her. Not into a

life he knew would be so hard for a human to understand.

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His waiting had cost him everything. When he found out Hannah had become

Unborn, sired by his own father’s mistress, he hadn’t stopped to question why. He

thought he knew.

And he blamed Hannah as much as Nicolette. In his mind, his mate had joined the

enemy ranks. She could never belong to him.

But he was wrong. They’d both been wrong for so many years. “Nicolette and

Elizabeth saved me, Jasyn. I would have died. And she apologized. Father never

explained—her heart was broken—”

“She has paid us both back in kind, hasn’t she? How can you make excuses for that

courtesan—that overpriced bloodsucking doxy? She stole my future.” Jasyn stepped away

when Arygon would have approached him. He closed his eyes for a moment, visibly

collecting himself.

“What are you doing there, brother? And why is it that you bear the mark of a

mate—yet smell of male Vampire?”

Arygon did flinch at that. Jasyn was the only other besides his father to know what

the heir to the Alpha line of Dydarren was. They’d never talked about it, but he’d known.

“It’s a long story, Jasyn. I am mated. And I hope you, as my only brother, will welcome

them into our family.”

“Them?”

“Yes. Both of them.”

Jasyn shook his head, a bitter sound escaping his snarling lips. “So you have two

mates while I have none. And father thought you’d never amount to anything.” He turned

to stalk away but Arygon stopped him.

“You need to ask the old mothers of our pack about The Challenge.”

Jasyn stopped and looked over his shoulder. “What are you talking about?”

“In less than two days the borders of our land will be swarming with every pack

Alpha in Europe. They are coming for this Challenge. Coming for the prize being offered

to the winner.”

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Chapter Nine

“Trust me, this dress will look amazing with your coloring.”

Sylvain’s head was spinning. No sooner had night fallen than the group of women

currently surrounding her had come banging on her bedroom door, throwing Lux out in

order to give Sylvain a “Deva makeover”.

Mysha, who’s been holed up with Glynn Magriel since they arrived had joined the

boisterous crowd, clearly enjoying their antics as they paraded clothing and jewelry in

front of Sylvain, sticking her feet and hands into bowls of warm liquid and rubbing green

gook on her face. She almost wished she was back in the tunnels.

She touched her mind to Lux’s for a moment, relieved to find him in the library with

Kit, Zander and Arygon. Her other mate hadn’t returned until the late morning hours,

stripping and climbing into bed to curl up to her other side without a word.

“I’m fine, rabbit. Enjoy yourself.”

“Easy for you to say.”

Both her mates sent her a wave of male amusement at her expense. Laugh it up, she

thought morosely, yelping when one of the Unborns began pushing back her cuticles with

a sharp little torture device.

They were grilling her for information. They called it girl talk, but she knew an

interrogation when she saw one.

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What was it like to be mated to Lux and Arygon? Had she really lived in hiding her

whole life? Was shifting different for a Werewolf? Painful?

“She doesn’t shift at all, do you? From what Kit says this one bends trees and makes

the earth move—literally. Now that’s something I want to hear about.”

Sylvain’s gaze flew to Liz. The Deva leader was flopped carelessly across her bed,

but her expression was alert. The other women grew silent, sensing the tension that had

suddenly filled the room.

“Now is not the time, Liz. She deserves a little bit of a break after all she’s been

through.” No one was more surprised than Sylvain to find her champion was none other

than Madame Nicolette.

She stood in the doorway, tall and elegant in a grey silk with her hair up in an

intricate twist that reminded Sylvain of a queen. She stared at Liz for long, silent

moments.

The Deva leader gave in. “Of course, you’re right. I apologize, Sylvain, my hostess

skills are a little frayed of late.”

Nicolette smiled at her friend before her sparkling eyes turned back to where Sylvain

sat, surrounded and covered in goo. “Ladies, you have been wonderful and I am sure she

feels honored by all the attention, but Regina, Liz and I need some time alone with her

and her guardian. Before her men return and sweep her away.”

So graceful. Sylvain was awed by how skillful she was. Nicolette had the rest of the

Devas out of the room, smiling and feeling good about their contribution to the makeover

of the poor deprived Were in moments. She hadn’t even raised her voice.

“Hannah, I’d like you to stay as well.”

Hannah? Why did that name sound so familiar? The facts filtered into her mind, as if

they were a memory. She was the destined mate of Arygon’s brother.

This Unity business was still taking some getting used to.

Hannah was lovely. Unlike the others who all seemed to embrace the current fashion

and trends, this Unborn still dressed as if it were the nineteen-twenties. She reminded her

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of the pictures in some of the books Mysha had given Sylvain to read about human

culture and history.

Her hair in a short strawberry wave, swooping off to one side, high-waisted pants

with a flare at the bottom, and a draped white top that made her look like a starlet. Her

warm brown eyes were large and deep set and shadowed with something…sad. Sylvain

wondered if she was thinking of Arygon’s brother Jasyn.

She felt something clumpy fall from her face and grimaced. Pulling her hands and

feet out of the little bowls they’d been placed in, Sylvain headed for the bathroom. “I’ll

be right back.”

“I’ll help you.” Nicolette followed her into the bathroom. The classy blonde wet a

washcloth and began to wipe away the pasty avocado mask, dumping the excess into the

sink.

“Your dress—”

“Will be fine,” she interrupted. “I wanted to talk to you.”

Sylvain could feel the tension in Nicolette as she spoke. “From what I now

understand of this Unity business, you and Lux should know what Arygon does, yes?”

Sylvain nodded. “That is what I thought. There is nothing I can do to make up for

what I have done to them, to my Devas—to myself.” Nicolette rinsed the washcloth, her

expression distant.

“When I was human I was a courtesan for a king. He wasn’t a bad king, he gave me

everything my heart desired. And I understood my position, knew what was required of

me. I was content.

“One night he was entertaining foreign dignitaries and asked me to ‘make them

happy’. So I did.

“A man who seemed too beautiful for words, wealthy and handsome and so

charming—swept me off my feet that night. Before the next moonrise I was an Unborn.

Everything in my life had changed.”

Nicolette grimaced. “He changed as well. He said he had made a mistake. I wasn’t

his mate. His kind eyes and romantic promises never returned. He treated me with

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contempt, but what choice did I have but to stay with him? I knew nothing of this new

life—I had nothing of my own.

“I will not tell you all that I went through during those years, but my belief in the

Mother got me through. One night when I could take the humiliation and hatred no

longer, when his threats about revealing me to the Truebloods and leaving me to the sun

became too much to bear…I killed him. And as I escaped, I vowed to never again be led

by men. Never to give my heart to another.”

She chuckled, but it wasn’t a happy sound. Sylvain didn’t dare breathe, afraid to

interrupt Nicolette’s tale.

“Time heals, I suppose. But it wasn’t until long after I’d met Liz and we created the

Devas that we built this castle and I met Arygon’s father Brynn. He was gorgeous, strong

and arrogant. Arygon reminds me of him.

“He’d lost his wife, his mate, years before. I didn’t understand the Werewolf way.

Liz had been married to a Trueblood who wasn’t her mate. As far as I knew it was an

official title, nothing more.

“When the boys demanded their father end things with me I was so sure he would

explain things to them. That he wouldn’t allow them to end what we had.”

Sylvain couldn’t help herself. She reached for Nicolette’s trembling hand to comfort

her as she continued. “I loved Brynn. When he walked away, I think something inside of

me snapped. When I sent that note to Brynn so he would find Arygon, there is no excuse

for that. But I had no idea it was that taboo. And I certainly had no idea that Brynn would

get himself killed only hours later. My betrayal of his son, my lie the last thing between

us.”

She noticed Hannah standing in the bathroom door, her own eyes full of tears. “She

thought saving me would be her own salvation. I was driving too fast through the

mountains, looking for Ja—Arygon’s brother. I crashed close to the castle. When

Nicolette found me, there was no time. I would have died before she could have sent

word to the Weres. She told me what she was, gave me the choice.”

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“But Jasyn didn’t understand.” Sylvain knew. Arygon’s memories of his brother’s

rage were clear in her mind. She saw the pain and regret on the faces of these women. It

hurt her to see it. It was obvious Hannah still loved Jasyn. If they were truly mates,

maybe she could find a way—

Arygon’s voice was a tender caress in her mind. “Oh, rabbit. If only. I don’t think

Jasyn is ready yet. But I love you for wanting to try.”

“Are we done with the maudlin confessions? I believe we have a makeover to finish.

Stick with us, Sylvain, your mates’ jaws will be hanging on the floor by the time we’re

done with you.” The tension was broken as everyone smiled at Liz’s entrance. Everyone

but Sylvain.

“Do I have to put that green stuff back on my face?”

Zander looked grim.

Lux had told him everything they’d learned in the tunnels. His eyes had lit up at the

mention of the temple and the rest of the Mother’s Message. When Lux told him that

Sylvain was Antara—that he had seen first hand a bit of what she could do—he didn’t

seem surprised.

Apparently the letter Abaddon had sent posthumously explained the Were belief in

what his mate was. The Clan Trust had been intimidated.

The Shadow was a dark power that they’d barely been able to contain. If there was

any truth to the claim that not only had a Were been born with abilities that surpassed all

they’d ever known, but she’d been born to Les Loups De L’Ombres as well—it was a

frightening thought.

“In your Mediator studies, was there anything in the texts about something called

‘The Challenge’?” Zander had spent his entire life studying the politics of the two

species. Lux thought if any Vampire would know about it, his brother would.

He’d been right. “She’s instituted The Challenge? That hasn’t been in effect since

the end of the first Great War. I doubt there are any left who know what it entailed—

Werewolves rarely live as long as we do.”

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“She said the old mothers, the elder women of the packs, will know.” This was the

first Arygon had spoken since they’d risen this evening. Lux tried to catch his eye but his

mate was trying to block his emotions from him.

He knew seeing his brother again after all this time must have been hard. “Don’t hide

from me, my mate. I know you told Sylvain all was well, but don’t shut us out.”

Arygon’s lips tilted slightly, his green eyes tender as he met Lux’s gaze. “Just a few

lingering ghosts, Sariel. I’ll be fine. I am a little jealous that I missed that spanking,

though.”

“Don’t worry. Knowing my two mates, I’m sure I’ll have occasion to repeat the

performance.”

“The information we have is sketchy, but I know it’s similar to the games humans

compete in. In fact, some believed that human ancestors got the idea from the

Werewolves themselves.” Lux focused as Zander described The Challenge.

“Of course, with the natural aggression of the Were species, it’s nowhere near as

simple as tossing a caber or running a race. If the texts are right, only the Alphas and

Betas are allowed to compete. They fight to determine the top Alpha for the next ten

years. The only rules are that no fatal injuries may be inflicted.”

“What was the original purpose?” Arygon had leaned forward in his chair, his

interest peaked.

“My husband Malcolm told me that Alexander Sariel said the Weres were not always

so separated, battling amongst themselves. That they were a single civilization, led by

one Alpha and a council of Betas, male and female.”

Zander nodded to Liz as she walked into the room, joining the conversation.

“That’s what the texts claim. We aren’t sure what scattered them into opposing

packs, though there are theories about land shortage or a few power hungry Weres who

had never been able to defeat the reigning Alpha through Challenge.”

“Malcolm intimated that there were a few Truebloods who helped to sow dissention

in the Were ranks. After all, an enemy divided amongst itself is not as much of a threat.”

Liz lifted her chin, challenge in her eyes.

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“I wouldn’t doubt it at all.” Zander sighed. “The question now is, what is Sylvain

thinking to accomplish by reinstituting this custom?”

“You can ask her yourself. She’s on her way down for dinner.” The sparkle of

mischief in Liz’s expression had Lux and Arygon launching themselves from their seats,

a laughing Kit following close behind.

The sight of his grathita coming down the main staircase literally took Lux’s breath

away.

Sylvain had always had an otherworldly beauty, even in her hand-me-downs and

tattered jeans. But the Devas, no doubt with the fashionable Nicolette at the helm, had

enhanced those attributes to spectacular effect.

Her glorious mass of white-blonde hair had been cut to land in a soft curl at her

shoulders, the sides held back with combs studded with small diamonds. He loved her

long hair, but this seemed to fit her perfectly.

She was wearing a white gown of light muslin, a scoop necked sundress with capped

sleeves meant to look young and innocent, though on his mate it was far too erotic for his

piece of mind. The material was nearly sheer enough to see the outline of her nipples.

Lux’s cock grew painfully hard. She was a goddess.

“She’s an angel.”

“I hope she likes it here. I may never let her leave the castle again.”

Arygon agreed silently. Lux could see a blush staining Sylvain’s cheeks as she

paused on the landing, catching their mental conversation.

At that moment Reggie joined her, and Lux felt as if he’d been kicked in the

stomach. They were so different, these two Sariel mates.

One woman—dusky golden skin, dressed all in black, her ebony hair and black

bindu mark tattooed on her forehead giving her an exotic flare. His mate—skin of the

richest cream, all in white. The women of the Mother’s Message were the ying and the

yang, night and day, Reader and Antara.

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“We were blessed in our grathitas, my brother.” Lux could only nod at Zander’s

whispered observation. The moment was broken as the two women continued down the

stairs, their heads together, giggling as if they had always been friends.

Her two mates were determined to drive her to distraction. As soon as they’d sat to

dinner, one on either side of her, the torture had begun.

While the large, crowded table laughed and chattered over samples of braised

mutton, timpano and freshly baked bread dipped in olive oil—more food than Sylvain

had ever seen at one table—Arygon and Lux were focused entirely on their mate.

“I find I am starving, grathita. Will you feed me?”

Her belly tightened as she pierced a medallion-shaped piece of mutton with her fork

and lifted it to his full, sensual lips. She watched, mesmerized as his mouth close over the

meat. Slowly pulling it off the tines, moaning softly in her head as if it were the best thing

he’d ever tasted.

She pulled the fork away with a shaky hand, only to have it clatter noisily on her

plate as Arygon’s hand slipped under her dress to caress her thigh beneath the table.

“I’m hungry too. But for some strange reason, I’m only craving rabbit.”

Did she whimper out loud? She wasn’t sure. She knew a few of the Devas were

watching them out of the corner of their eyes, smiling knowing smiles as Sylvain’s face

heated.

She wasn’t used to so much attention. And she certainly wasn’t used to having to

pretend to eat while Lux and Arygon were exchanging erotic pleasantries in her mind.

“She’s wearing stockings, Lux. But they are nowhere near as silky as her—oh fuck,

rabbit—garters?”

“When we get her back in the room we’ll strip her down. Everything but the garters.

Can you imagine it, grathita? Imagine both of us fucking you? Ever since I saw you walk

down those stairs I’ve been dreaming of bending you over and taking your ass. Will you

let me, goddess?”

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Arygon’s hand had reached her white lace panties. His fingers caressed her through

the fabric, circling her clit. She tried not to squirm in her seat. “Say you’ll let him, rabbit.

I know for a fact you’ll love it. And while he’s cramming you full of that long, hard cock

I’m gonna fuck your mouth. But we don’t want to neglect this wet pussy do we, Lux?”

Arygon slid her panties to the side and pressed two fingers into her drenched sex.

Lux slipped a mouthful of pasta into her mouth as she moaned, praying the others would

think she was just enjoying the food. But she was past the point of caring. She would lift

her dress and lay across this table right now if that was what they wanted.

“That is good to know, grathita. But let’s get back to that wet, empty pussy. We

wouldn’t leave you wanting. Right now in the bedroom there is a thick dildo. Have you

ever seen one?

“Well, I can promise you it will fill you up, little goddess—and while Arygon is

fucking that sweet mouth, and my cock is deep in your ass, I’m gonna fuck that tight

pussy with it. Think of it, grathita. There will be no part of you not being taken, claimed

by us.”

She couldn’t take it. She leaned her head over to take Lux’s mouth with her own, one

hand pressing Arygon’s fingers deep as she came around them, the other pumping her

blond mate’s shaft beneath the table.

“Shit, rabbit I’m—”

“Sylvain, wait—”

Her climax came fast and hard and she pushed the sensations toward her mates. She

felt Arygon come through his jeans, knew when Lux jerked against her lips that he was

coming too. She pulled the hand from between her legs, ended the kiss and took a deep,

shuddering breath.

Silence.

She opened her eyes and discovered that everyone was looking in their direction.

Broad smiles and a few giggles that were quickly stifled made her cover her blazing

cheeks with her hands.

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Even Mysha and Glynn Magriel, sitting on the far side of the table wore proud,

maternal grins and nodded toward each other like conspirators who had planned the

whole thing.

She couldn’t believe Mysha was so calm. The first part of her life she’d been raised

in the women’s house, and exhibitionism—even with your mate, was frowned upon apart

from mating season. She’d just climaxed at a table full of people. She’d never be able to

face any of them again.

“These are not ordinary people, grathita. These are Vampires. The other end of the

spectrum from what you are used to. Sex is a natural part of our lives. Like the air we

breathe. Do not be embarrassed, my love. What the three of us share is miraculous and

beautiful.”

She sensed his sincerity. Looking around the table once more, she realized that many

of the Devas had resumed their conversations, continued eating. Her guardian was once

more involved in conversation with Glynn and Nicolette. As if nothing had happened.

“I think it’s time Sylvain tells us about this Challenge she has planned.” Liz, Sylvain

was beginning to realize, was never one to hold her tongue.

“You have no idea, grathita. But she is right, they deserve to know. As do your

mates.”

“We know the basics about what The Challenge is and why it used to be held, what

we need to know is why now? What is your plan? And why here?” Several people

nodded around the table at Zander’s words.

“It’s hard to explain. When Grey Wolf’s wards were removed from my mind a

doorway appeared. The Mother was there on the other side. She told me what I would

need to do to help my species, help both our species. And she said it had to be done

here.”

“You actually spoke to the Mother? And this mythical deity said bring all the

Werewolves who hate Vampires with the fire of a thousand suns to a castle full of

newborns. Sure. That makes sense.”

“Liz!” Nicolette’s voice was sharp.

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“What? We are just supposed to take her at her word? What if what Kit saw was

coincidence? A convenient earth tremor? They’ve happened before. We are trusting her

with the lives of all the Devas. You have to admit the story sounds far—”

Liz’s voice broke off as Sylvain placed her hand at the base of one of the four vase

centerpieces filled with flowers. Instantly they came alive, vines extending to grow and

sprout blooms along the table, connecting with the other vases, circling the plates of food

as if with minds of their own. As they watched, Glynn Magriel spoke in soft, reverent

tones.

“It was no coincidence. She is Antara. Created by the Mother to help the Weres

embrace their past and thrive in the future. And it is no coincidence that she was sent

here, Elizabeth. Malcolm was a strong voice for change—the reason you began this clan

of Unborns. You sired Regina, a Reader who would mate with the Mediator of the purest

blood. More growth and change. It is only fitting that the Antara comes here, that the

Mother’s Were children also find their new path here. Without growth, without change,

species die.”

Sylvain took her hand away and the vines ceased their wandering. The Healer’s

words seemed to echo through the hush of the room. She felt her mates’ hands on her

back, offering support as she waited for some response.

“I think Liz is actually speechless. Anyone who can do that is the bee’s knees in my

book.” Hannah’s eyes were twinkling with a mischief that broke the somber atmosphere.

Sylvain relaxed as everyone began talking at once, marveling over the growing table

decorations and discussing what the next day would bring. Vampires were an amazing

breed. They had been around so long, it was rare that anything surprised them.

She knew they had powers of their own. The Vampire species controlled the air,

could affect the weather and bring the lightning. But both of their species were so long

lived that they were more used to death than life—apathy as opposed to growth.

Maybe that is why she’d known the flowers would get through to them. Either way,

if Liz’s wide-eyed glances in her direction were anything to go by, it was obvious she had

relieved the Deva leader’s doubts somewhat.

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She looked across the table at Regina, who seemed to sense her regard. “What is it,

Sylvain?”

She kept her voice soft, not wanting to draw the Deva’s attention. “I will need you—

you and Zander. Zander’s skill and knowledge as a Mediator is known and respected by

all the Werewolf Alphas.” Zander, who was listening as well, nodded immediately.

“I would like Zander to judge The Challenge.” His blue eyes, so similar to Lux’s,

went wide with surprise. He nodded again, a little slower this time.

“What do you need me to do?” Reggie leaned forward, golden gaze bright with

curiosity.

“I need you to help me with the most important part of this plan. You and I are going

to deliver the Mother’s final message.”

Before the Reader could respond a wave of sound traveled through the castle,

causing everyone to jump in their seats and turn toward the door. The noise grew until

there could be no mistaking what it was.

The howls of the Alphas.

“This could get interesting.” Kit, who’d been unusually silent, stood and made his

way to Liz’s chair—hand at his sword.

“They’ll never make it through that door. Although, if they keep that racket up for

too much longer I can’t promise not to hurt them.” Liz tried to sound confident, but she

stood beside Kit, her body tensed and ready for a fight.

“What do we do now, my grathita? Lead and we will follow.”

She smiled absently at Lux, scooting back from the table and standing to walk

toward the stairs. “Now we face our destiny. May the Mother protect us all.”

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Chapter Ten

Arygon’s instincts were screaming at him to take action. His jaw clenched as he tried

to suppress the need to howl back at the growling, posturing masses, to leap from the

second story balcony and assert his right as Alpha.

Dydarren land was within view. His land. And invaders were trespassing.

Love and serenity poured into him from his mates, helping him to cool his boiling

blood. If it was this hard for him, when he understood—even agreed in theory with what

his mate was planning—how on Earth would Sylvain convince these strangers? These

Weres who had no desire to change their ways?

“Have faith, mate.”

Sylvain stood proudly between her mates on the wide balcony looking down on the

ten Alphas and their seconds.

Mysha and the Trueblood Healer Glynn Magriel stood to one side, Zander and

Regina on the other.

Arygon noted with some surprise that several of the Weres had also brought an elder

female with them. To bring a woman into a dangerous situation was unusual to say the

least.

The tallest and fiercest looking of the males stepped forward. “We have come to see

the Antara.”

“Then your mission has been successful. Here I am.”

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“You?” A smaller, stockier Alpha came forward with a laugh, though there was fear

in his eyes. “You are too small and too pretty a female to be the destroyer of our species.

Is the Antara afraid to face us?”

His face turned purple, eyes bulging as the ground trembled momentarily beneath his

feet. Sylvain raised her eyebrow. “I assure you, I am the Antara. Have you come for The

Challenge?”

“The old mothers told us some fairytale about a single ruling Alpha earning the right

to lead—not in battle—but by winning a child’s competition. Surely that is lie. Our

ancestors held no councils or contests, we are now as we have always been. Warriors!”

Howls of agreement met the fierce Alpha’s words.

Arygon noticed Lux step aside for his brother Zander. When the Weres realized that

they were in the presence of the Mediator, their roars died down once more.

“Your old mothers speak the truth. Our texts from the time before the first war attest

to it. Listen to my sister. She speaks the truth.”

“Your sister? Your sister? Do you claim that title because you murdered her brother,

my son and heir Grey Wolf? Or is it that the unholy thing you call a brother has mated

himself to her—and the Dydarren’s old Alpha?”

The voice came from the darkness and the crowd of Weres stirred at the words,

looking up at Sylvain and the others with suspicion and disgust. Arygon felt his mate’s

flash of fear.

“Gyvain.”

“You know him?”

“Gyvain is the Alpha of Shadow. He is my sire.”

Arygon and Lux stepped closer to Sylvain protectively as the old, silver-haired

Alpha strode to the middle of the gathering. His dark traveling cape billowed behind him

and many of the Weres stepped back, intimidated.

Shadow.

“This Challenge is a remnant of days long gone—a piece of history better left buried.

Why did you come here, my brothers? For peace? There can be no peace between us. We

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are not meek humans, not spoiled self-indulgent Vampires. We are Werewolf. We fight

for what is ours.”

He turned eyes brimming with burning hatred toward Sylvain. “And if you have

come for the prize—the Antara—you will not find satisfaction. The honor of killing that

bitch is mine. My mate bore her. And I demand the rite of sacrifice.”

“She is of age, Gyvain. She is mated and she has come into her powers. You no

longer have any claim.” Mysha leaned over the balcony, the guardian’s protective

instincts stirred.

“Ahh, Mysha. This is what comes when we allow a break from traditions. A widow

who shamed her mate by refusing to join him in his passing. I allowed her to live,

allowed her to care for the pups she could never have. And how does she repay me? She

brainwashes my son, leads him to his grave. She steals my daughter whose sacrifice

would protect my people—our people from destruction. I will take great pleasure in

killing you as well. But only after you witness your little prodigy die by my hand.”

Arygon couldn’t stop the growl that emerged from his throat. He would sacrifice

Sylvain over his dead body. He knew the other Alphas were being swayed by the Dark

leader. Knew that many were ready to return to their lands, or to rush the castle.

Something had to be done.

“We are losing our way as a species. Dying out, our packs growing smaller every

year. How many have never found their mates within their own packs or those of their

Alpha’s allies?

“How many have died in unnecessary raids to assert superiority and increase our

land? How many wise old mothers, teachers have we lost because they must take their

own lives when their mates dive recklessly into battle? If we do not change our ways we

will disappear altogether. And that is not what the Shining Mother wants for us.”

“Stirring speech, Dydarren. I wondered if you were going to let your bitches do all

your talking for you. But you are no Alpha. You abandoned your pack to chase after a

bloodsucker’s cock. Why should we listen to you?”

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Lightning flashed in the distance as Lux snarled and the ground roiled beneath the

Were’s feet at Sylvain’s anger. “He is Alpha. He is mate of the Antara. Brother in blood

to the Reader of legend. You will listen. If not to him, then to us.”

Regina stepped forward and Sylvain placed her hand on the Gypsy’s shoulder.

Arygon saw the Werewolves fall to their knees, even as his own legs gave out. A

light appeared in his mind, a powerful ringing in his ears that grew louder and louder

until—

Pain. Oh so much pain. A sorrow unlike any he had ever known. How could he bear

it? So deep he was sure he would drown. So large it could encompass the globe. What

could cause this sadness?

“We have caused this. Feel the pain. Her pain. Weep the Mother’s tears. She is

crying for us. We have lost her words, lost our way. No longer can she be silent, not

while her children are destroying themselves before her eyes.”

He could feel the wet tracks on his face. Tears? Through his blurred vision he could

see the elder Mysha and the Priestess kneeling, heads bent to the ground in prayer. The

Devas who stood just inside the balcony doors had fallen too, the Mother’s heartrending

message reaching everyone.

“The Shining Mother is calling for you to return to each other, to come together as

one once more. To follow her path and allow her love to light your way.”

The pain ripping through his heart warmed, transformed. It was love. The love of the

Shining Mother. How had he lived without her light? The feeling was so profound he felt

as if he were being reborn. Is this what the ancients had felt? How had they forgotten?

The ringing left his ears and he felt himself returning to his body, aware of the hard

stone under his knees, aware of the chill of the night. The feeling was still there, vibrating

along his skin, but it was already fading. A warm glow instead of a blinding inferno.

He looked up in time to see Zander catching a dizzy Regina. He leapt up to wrap his

arms around Sylvain, who was swaying a bit, but still on her feet. Lux joined them,

reaching across their mate to wipe a tear from Arygon’s cheek with tender fingers.

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Below them the Weres knelt or lay on the ground. The old mothers were praying and

hugging each other. The men were scrubbing their eyes, looking at each other as if they’d

never seen another Were.

Something had happened to them all. He knew none who’d witnessed it would ever

be the same.

He turned a hopeful smile toward Sylvain. It froze on his lips when he saw her

worried expression. “What is it, rabbit? You’ve done it. Look at them. They all felt the

Mother. All understood her Message. You’ve given them a miracle.”

Her eyes never strayed from the dark tree line beyond the castle. “Gyvain. He’s

gone.”

Her body was burning, gasping for air as she struggled to escape. Her fist lashed out,

pounding against the heavy weight that was pressing her down.

“Urgh! Damn, rabbit that hurt.”

Arygon rolled over, partially freeing her from the wall of flesh that had closed in on

her as they slept. Lux moaned as she poked him in the side, pushing off the covers and

attempting to crawl over him and off the bed once she could move.

“Don’t be mean, grathita. It’s not becoming of the Mother’s Messenger.” Sylvain

stuck her tongue out at Lux before disappearing into the bathroom.

Mother’s Messenger. That’s what the Weres were calling her now.

Once they’d all recovered from the experience, the Alphas had entered Deva castle

under a mantle of peace.

Gyvain and the few Shadows that had come with him were nowhere to be found. But

all the others sat around the conference table in the library, looking decidedly

uncomfortable in the luxurious surroundings.

With the Devas hovering and Kit in all his large, intimidating glory standing guard,

Zander and Sylvain laid out the rules for The Challenge.

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The winner would be the reigning Alpha for the following decade, and he would

choose his top contenders to sit on the Beta Council. Eleven in all, representatives from

each of the packs or families.

As Antara, Sylvain vowed to pledge her loyalty and serve the reining Alpha

throughout their rule. She would ensure that the land they settled in would be fertile and

secure—and that the laws of the Alpha and his council would be enforced.

It was a powerful argument. What Alpha wouldn’t love to have the Antara of

legends, shaker of the earth, on their side?

“But what do we get in return should we lose? We are Alphas. Our pack’s leaders.

You are asking us to cede all our power, our family’s well being to another.”

“No.” Zander had leaned against the table, making eye contact with every Were

present. “We are asking you to work together for the entire Werewolf species. As a

council member you will be speaking for your families, protecting them. The head Alpha

will get the final say but his power is not absolute. In ten years he can be challenged

again. And the Antara will not allow harm to come to any of the Mother’s children.”

Sylvain looked in the bathroom mirror, splashing water on her face as she

remembered their reaction to his words. She knew they still weren’t sure what to make of

her.

No one could deny that something special had happened to them all. And each of

them knew, in their hearts, that what was being proposed could only benefit their people.

Many of the Alphas admitted that they were tired of war, tired of seeing their people

embrace violence to the exclusion of all else.

One had even pulled her aside to explain his own distaste for the treatment of the

female Weres. It was his father’s way, it was the Were way, so he had never done

anything to change it.

It had been a very encouraging evening. So why was she still so terrified? She

couldn’t help thinking that her sire had something up his sleeve. Had he even felt the

Mother’s tears? Was he so dead and dark inside that her plea had no effect on him?

She paused in the doorway, all worries forgotten.

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Lux and Arygon were laying naked on top of the covers, hands caressing each other

as their mouths sparred in a passionate tangle of tongues and teeth.

The golden Were’s muscles rippled as he pulled his lover closer, gripping that silken

wine-colored hair in his fist. Lux moaned, sliding his hand down Arygon’s broad chest

and chiseled abs to wrap his fingers around his swollen shaft.

“Sweet Mother, I love your cock, mate. One taste was not enough. I need more.”

Sylvain’s thighs squeezed together at the sight of Lux ripping his lips from

Arygon’s, his open mouth traveling down that smooth torso until he reached his goal.

“Fuck—Fuck yes, Lux. Oh suck me! Yes, just like that. So deep and hot—Shining

Mother that feels—”

Her body heated as their need flowed through her, inside her. She could practically

feel the hot, salty cock in her mouth—feel Lux’s lips wrapped around her clit as he

sucked the swollen nub. She came closer.

Arygon arched up on his hands, looking down at Lux as his cock disappeared into

his mouth. She hesitated, her body trembling with arousal.

“You enjoying the view, rabbit? Lux—oh shit, Lux! He’s hurting, mate. He needs

that sweet mouth of yours.”

A whimper escaped her throat as she hurried to comply. Lux tilted his hips to the

side, his mouth never leaving Arygon’s thick shaft, his cheeks hollowing, eyes closed in a

pleasure that held Sylvain riveted.

“Please, grathita. Let me fuck that pretty mouth.”

She lowered to all fours and took his cock into her mouth. Goddess, he tasted good.

A deep groan rumbled from his chest as she lapped at him with her tongue, tasting the

salty pre-come that had gathered at the tip of his shaft before sucking him deep.

Arygon’s hand caressed the cheeks of her ass, his other buried in Lux’s hair. “I’m so

close, Lux. So fucking close I don’t think I can wait.”

“Then don’t. Come down my throat, mate. Give me what I want.”

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Sylvain cried out around Lux’s cock as Arygon slid three fingers deep inside her

pussy, fucking her with his fingers as he growled his climax. His pleasure washed over

all of them, pulling them quickly to the brink and over the edge.

The thick, salty taste of Lux’s release filled her mouth and she swallowed every drop

as her own orgasm roared through her.

The three of them collapsed on each other as they caught their breath. Arygon kissed

her hip, his gaze caressing hers before meeting Lux’s dark blue stare.

“I love you, mate.”

“You’re just saying that because I sucked your cock.”

“Well, sure—but you didn’t have to point it out in front of Sylvain. She thinks I’m

romantic.”

Sylvain laughed at their light banter, so at odds with the tenderness in their eyes. She

was just about to suggest a shower when an impatient banging sounded outside the door.

It flew open.

“Ack!” She dove for the covers at the foot of the bed, scrambling to cover herself

and her mates as a tall angry man stormed into the room. He hesitated at the sight of them

sprawled together on the bed.

“Good evening, my brother. Ever heard of that new fangled invention called the

telephone?” She stilled at Arygon’s sarcastic drawl. Brother? This was Jasyn?

She could see the family resemblance, though Jasyn looked harder, colder than

Arygon. Sandy brown hair with sun kissed highlights hung shaggily to his shoulders. His

jaw was shadowed with rough stubble. The eyes were the same—a beautiful emerald

green. He bowed in Sylvain’s direction as she tried to adjust the comforter around her

body.

“Antara. It is an honor. I’m sorry to intrude but we have an emergency. The

Dydarrens need their Alpha.”

Arygon lowered his legs to his side of the bed, reaching for his jeans. Lux hadn’t

moved or made any attempt to cover himself. Sylvain glared.

“Where is Ty? He is the current Alpha, isn’t he?”

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Jasyn ran his hands through his hair in frustration. “We came last night, same as the

other Weres. We stayed on the sidelines out of sight. When the Shadow Wolf arrived, Ty

ran.”

“He what?”

“He ran. Not back to the den, not to the nearest human bar. He’s gone, Ary. There

will be no Alpha to represent our pack in The Challenge.”

Sylvain watched her mate pull himself to his feet, his lip curling as he growled,

tossing the lamp beside the bed onto the floor with a crash. “Coward!”

“Yes, that was the general consensus within the pack. There was a vote this

afternoon. They have chosen their new Alpha.” He waited until Arygon met his gaze.

“You, brother. They’ve chosen you.”

Arygon fell back a step in shock. “How could they? After all I did?”

“Other than that whole vendetta thing they seem to agree you were a good leader.

Fair and honest. They know everything, Ary. The vote was unanimous.”

Her mate turned her way, his expression so painfully hopeful she felt her stomach

tighten, eyes welling with tears of happiness he would never shed. He’d thought his pack

lost to him forever. Was so sure they would hate him for all he had put them through out

of selfishness and shame.

She smiled through her tears. “They couldn’t have made a better choice.” Lux

squeezed her hand as he nodded in agreement.

Arygon straightened his shoulders as he addressed his brother. “As Alpha I have the

right to choose my own Beta. Will you fight at my side in The Challenge?”

Jasyn studied Arygon in silence. Something passed between the brothers in those

long, tense moments. Finally, his head lowered in agreement. “I would be honored to be

your Beta. I felt the Mother’s Message. I know what’s at stake.”

He backed out of the room without another word. Sylvain wondered where Hannah

was. Maybe after this was all settled—

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“Can you stop matchmaking long enough to join me in the shower, rabbit?” Arygon

smiled, seeming happier than she’d ever seen him. She hadn’t realized how much leaving

his pack had affected him.

She squealed as he lifted her up in his arms, tossing her in the air as he headed for

the bathroom. At the door he winked over his shoulder at Lux, who still lay sprawled

across the bed. “Ever scrubbed an Alpha’s back?”

Lux pounced, beside them before Sylvain had time to blink. “I’d rather make an

Alpha beg.”

***

“I think this may actually work.” Lux turned to find Kit leaning against a tall pine, a

plate piled high with food as he watched the fighting in the makeshift ring.

The Devas and Dydarren Pack had done an amazing job on such short notice. They’d

picked the clearing between their two properties, marked out the fighting arena and filled

long tables full of food and refreshments.

Even Liz and Nicolette had joined in, serving the cheering Werewolves as their

Alphas wrestled.

The tension hadn’t disappeared entirely, but after what they’d experienced last

night…there seemed to be some residual magick in the air. After you’d been touched by

the Mother, petty quarrels didn’t seem that important.

“I think you’re right. My mate is a marvel.”

“Which one?” Kit chuckled when Lux made a rude gesture in his direction.

“Seriously, Lux, I’m happy for you. Your parents will be too. I think they’ll be kicking

themselves for missing this.”

Lux smiled in agreement. His mother would have loved this. He saw Zander and

Regina across the clearing, their eyes focused intently on the current match. His brother

took his job very seriously. There would be no point awarded unfairly, of that he was

sure.

“Liz keeps looking your way big guy.”

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“Good. Then my evil plan of crowding her and being incredibly obvious is working.”

And it did seem to be. The Deva founder had been Lux’s friend for a long time, since

she and Malcolm had been together. Kit had known her back then too.

She’d changed, hardened, but she was still Elizabeth. Always trying to save the

world. She was a fighter that one.

He hoped she took Kit up on his less than subtle offer of companionship. Lux didn’t

like to think of her alone. It wasn’t what Malcolm would have wanted.

With a bang of the judge’s gong, proudly donated for the occasion by one of the

Devas, Lux’s attention was drawn back to the fight. The two Alphas had broken apart—

shifting into Were form before his eyes.

According to the rules of The Challenge, each Were was to fight in both forms,

proving control and mastery in every situation. Points were awarded for blows that hit

certain target areas, and an Alpha that could take the other to the ground three times

automatically won the round.

The Betas were also permitted to fight if they chose. They could even challenge their

Alphas—without fear of reprisal. In The Challenge, all fighters were equal.

“Our mate is driving me crazy, Sariel.”

Arygon caught his eye from the sidelines, where he and Jasyn had been waiting for

their next fight. So far Arygon was undefeated. Whoever won this round would have to

challenge him for the top Alpha honor.

Sylvain was hovering, her eyes continuously darting between her mates and the

surrounding cover of trees. She’d been anxious since they’d arrived. And her nerves were

affecting both her mates.

“She says she’s worried about Gyvain.”

“But they didn’t enter The Challenge—they wouldn’t be able to participate even if

they showed up now.”

“He wouldn’t give up, Lux, I know it. That’s what I’ve been trying to tell Arygon.

Shadows thrive on the dissension between Were and Vamp. I know he’s nearby.”

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Sylvain’s worried thoughts had him scanning the landscape. “Kit, I need you to take

a little walk—see what you can see.”

The guard set down his plate and was gone with a nod. Sariel guards were known for

their stealth, among other things. If Gyvain was out there, Kit would find him before he

knew what hit him.

The gong sounded once more. The Alpha on the ground swore and banged his

bloodied fist in the dirt a few times, but surprisingly, he accepted the winner’s hand to

pull him to a standing position.

Both Weres bowed to Zander and each other, before the loser left the ring to accept

condolences from his Beta.

Lux walked over to join Arygon and Sylvain. Arygon was kissing her softly, his

hand gentle on her face. “I’ll be fine, rabbit. Sariel, tell her I’ll be fine.”

He didn’t respond, sliding his hands into his mate’s blond curls and covering his

mouth with his own. Right there, beneath the moon—in front of every Were present—he

claimed his mate.

When he pulled back they were both breathless, Sylvain watching with a bemused

smile. “Get this over with, Dydarren, so we can celebrate in private.”

“Yes, sir.” Arygon winked at them both before heading toward his opponent, a sassy,

exaggerated sway to his stride.

They all watched in silence as the two Alphas bowed to the judge and each other,

taking up their fighting stances as they waited for the gong.

“I—I just wanted to tell you—both of you…well, you’ve made him happy. I’m glad

you’re his mates. Welcome to our pack.”

Lux watched as his mate smiled, wrapping her arms around Jasyn’s neck and holding

him tight. “Thank you, brother.”

Jasyn was looking extremely out of sorts by her show of affection. He needed to get

over that. Grabbing him in a bear hug, Lux repeated Sylvain’s sentiments.

Jasyn laughed, breaking out of Lux’s hold and raising one eyebrow in mock

irritation. “Are all Vampires as affectionate as you?”

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As soon as the words left his mouth Jasyn paled, realizing what he’d said. His eyes

flicked immediately over to the table laden with food. Hannah was laughing at something

one of the Weres had said.

Jasyn halted the growl emerging from his throat, heading into the woods without

another word.

As soon as Jasyn turned his back, Lux noticed Hannah’s smile fade, her gaze

following him until he disappeared from sight. What a shame. But then, he’d been a fool

himself once, hadn’t he?

He couldn’t imagine it now. Couldn’t imagine denying his mates, living without

them. Sylvain slid her hand in his, smiling in understanding. This was what he’d waited

for all these centuries. This was home.

Sylvain tensed beside him as the gong sounded. Already? Arygon had the other

Were on the ground. He’d won the final competition. His mate would be the Alpha of the

Were race.

He pulled his hand from his mate’s, clapping and cheering along with the other

bystanders as Arygon preened under the attention. He bent to help his challenger up,

when Sylvain hit him at a dead run.

The force of her landing spun him around. He laughed, thinking she was

congratulating him—but Lux saw the terror in her expression. And then he saw the glint

of metal in the moonlight as the sword flew like an arrow through the air.

Time slowed. Lux felt as if his feet were trapped in quick sand, he couldn’t move

fast enough. Couldn’t get to his mates in time.

Their bodies arched, silent cries on their lips as the sword slid through Sylvain’s

back—entering Arygon’s chest before it stopped. Lux could feel the sharp projectile

stabbing him as well, felt their pain as if it was his own.

“No…no…no.”

“No!” He slid to his knees in the dirt beside his fallen mates. Tears streaming down

his face as he took in their injury. The sword had locked them together.

“Arygon, can you hear me? Sylvain, grathita speak to me!”

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“Lux—Gyvain. Coated with—you have to remove it.”

“I can’t it could—”

“We will die if you don’t.”

He nodded, pushing down his sob of pain as he gripped the handle of the sword,

pulling with all his strength. All three of them screamed in agony.

“Priestess, the sword!”

“Yes, Zander. Gyvain has coated it with a dark potion. The sword missed their

hearts, but they will die all the same.”

He heard Zander and Glynn Magriel talking above him but he refused to listen.

“Don’t pay attention to her, my mates. You won’t die. Please, Great Mother don’t let

them die.”

It was his nightmare come to life. He’d seen them like this—both of them lying still,

hearts torn out. He felt his own strength fading. “If you leave me, my loves I will follow

you. If that is our fate…”

“Lux Sariel do not give up! There is still a chance, Healer. You are the only one who

can pull them from the darkness.” Mysha sounded desperate.

He heard Zander shouting Reggie’s name and then the chanting. Who was chanting?

At first it was just Mysha and his teacher. Soon, it sounded as if others took up the

chant. Gruff male and shaky female voices merging together.

It was a healing chant. Lux recognized it from his training. It was a prayer to the

Mother to bring the soul of light back from the darkness.

“Don’t give up.”

Lux tried to focus through the pain, the grey mist darkening around him. He had to

find them. Had to find his mates.

The mist was thick and clinging to his limbs. It tried to pull him down but he kept

resisting. The chanting in the distance was a torch showing him the way, saving him from

the black abyss as he trudged forward.

“Come back to me, my grathitas. Speak to me, mates.”

“Lux?”

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The answer was so faint, sounded so far away but Lux rejoiced. “Sylvain! Sylvain

don’t give in. Fight it, my love. I’m coming to find you.”

He could see the black magick in the mist. The poison that had painted Gyvain’s

sword was a living energy around him.

Glynn Magriel. Once, years ago she had brought another from the brink of death. He

had been her apprentice then. She had fought the darkness and won. He tried to focus,

tried to push the fog away. What had she done?

“You fear love so much, my dear one. And yet, it is the greatest healing agent there

is.” Her words from his nightmarish dreamwalk returned to him in a flash of insight. Of

course.

Lux focused on the darkness, allowing himself to remember every moment with his

mates. Every kiss, every touch—the feeling of Unity.

A strange, electric blue light began to glow from his body, the clinging tendrils of

darkness falling from his arms and legs. It was working.

“I love you. With every breath of my body. I love you. With every beat of my heart.

Let it guide you back to me. Let my love light a path to you, my mates.”

The light expanded, dissolving the black magick in its path. And then they were

there.

Sylvain was wrapped in the darkness, but still she struggled. She was trying to pull

something up from where it lay, covered on the ground. Not something. Someone.

Arygon.

He rushed toward them, his relief causing the blue glow to flash bright as a

searchlight, a beacon that drew his mate’s gaze.

“Lux! Thank the Shining Mother. Help me with Arygon. He won’t get up. Why won’t

he get up?”

He took Sylvain in his arms, the light around him encircling her, removing her bonds

as he kissed her. “I love you.”

“I love you too, mate but Ary—”

“Help me. Focus on him and remember how much you love him.”

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They knelt beside their mate who lay still as death, shrouded in the darkness. The

chanting grew louder and Lux joined the song. He laid his hands directly on the tar-like

prison that kept his mate from him. The energy around his body sizzled at the contact.

“Love you, my mate. Please don’t leave me. I love you so much.”

“Of course you do, I’m irresistible.”

The weak response brought tears to his eyes. He lifted Arygon up and into his arms,

reaching out to pull Sylvain into their embrace.

No matter what came next, he would never let them go again.

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Chapter Eleven

“I will kill you! Don’t think I won’t! AAAEEEEEE!”

Lux looked up the staircase at the shout and took nervous step back. “I thought

Glynn was going to give her something.”

He did a double take as his brother grabbed his stomach, slumping into the nearest

chair with a groan of pain. “She didn’t want it. Wanted the natural experience, or some

nonsense like that. What I don’t understand is why I can’t be with her.”

“You were with her. When you started shouting at everyone and turning green each

time she had to push, they decided you were too distracting.”

Lux received word this evening that his brother’s mate was in labor and he and

Sylvain rushed right over. That had been five hours ago. The little Gypsy never did

anything the easy way.

“I don’t think I can take much more of this.” Zander clutched his sides and

swallowed roughly. “Dad never told us about this part. Never told us about child—damn

it—childbirth.”

Lux went to the bar in the library and poured his brother a drink. “Here. Please, for

the love of the Mother take this before you faint like a girl.”

“Thanks. I can’t tell you how much I appreciate the sympathy. I’ll be sure to pay you

back in kind when it’s your turn.” Lux felt his heart lodge in his throat at the thought.

“To have a child is a blessing beyond compare. I envy you today, Mediator.”

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Lux turned to where Kit had been leaning, silent as a ghost against the wall. He’d

been unusually somber ever since the day of the competition.

Kit blamed himself for allowing the poison coated weapon to leave Gyvain’s hands

before he’d reached the old Were. As for what he’d done to him once he had, well, the

Shadow’s Alpha would never bother his mate, or anyone else, ever again.

Something that sounded suspiciously like a whimper came from his brother’s

direction. “I appreciate the sentiments, Kit. But don’t envy me this. I wouldn’t wish this

on my worst enemy. We don’t appreciate our mother enough, Lux. Not nearly enough.”

Lux chuckled sympathetically. Even Kit allowed his lips to quirk in a small half

smile. Their eyes met and Kit grew somber again, his head dipping in a quick, tense nod

before he disappeared down the hall. They were going to have to have a talk before too

long, Lux knew.

He didn’t blame Kit. The only person he blamed was himself. He hadn’t taken

Sylvain’s concerns seriously. And because of that both of his mates nearly died. It wasn’t

a mistake he planned on repeating.

Zander stood like a marionette pulled by his strings. A second later Lux heard it, a

healthy, highly agitated cry. “Congratulations, brother.”

“A son. We have a—” He was halfway up the stairs before he finished his sentence,

brushing past the smiling Sylvain with an absent minded apology.

“I’m an uncle?” Lux couldn’t keep the goofy smile off his face at the thought.

Sylvain laughed. “Yes, and all the women agree he is already just like you.”

“Handsome? Charming? Brilliant?”

“No, a royal pain in the—” Lux grabbed her close, kissing her silent. He dipped her

in his arms and she giggled against his lips.

“Laughing? How can you laugh? These moves are golden.”

“Come on, Golden Boy. Arygon’s waiting.”

He was? Lux reached out to touch his connection to his other mate. Relaxing at the

wave of loving humor he received in return. It was rare these days that he didn’t feel the

need to maintain the connection at all times.

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It had been less than a year since that night. The night he’d almost lost them both

forever. He’d never be able to thank his teacher enough for giving him the key to saving

his mates.

He knew he’d been a little overprotective since then. But his mates were still targets.

Sylvain was Antara, her powers were enough to threaten anyone who disagreed with the

status quo. And an ally to covet.

Arygon was Alpha. The packs were merging with a minimal amount of fuss and only

a little head butting. His mate was born to be a leader of men.

He was so proud of them both, but he couldn’t relax his guard. Gyvain may be gone,

but though they were few and they had since scattered to the winds, there were still

Shadow. As long as they existed—his mates would be in danger.

Sylvain’s heart twisted at the direction of his thoughts. It didn’t seem to matter how

many times she and Arygon had assured him of their safety. Ever since he had reached

into the darkness to save them—he’d been different.

She didn’t blame him. She hardly reacted any better when she’d thought they were in

danger. But he needed to move on.

Gyvain was dead. The Sariel guard had killed him, she had no idea how. Honestly,

she didn’t want to know. But that didn’t seem to matter to her mate. And if he was this

bad now—how much worse would he be when he found out—

Don’t think about it, rabbit. Concentrate on the block, remember? That’s the only

way this plan will work.

The plan.

Sylvain’s smile returned as she walked out the door and down the castle steps.

“Come on, gorgeous. I’ll race ya.”

She focused her energy and felt her body reforming into her Trueblood totem. She’d

never get used to it. A lifetime full of the fear of condemnation for being unable to shift

and now—her animal totem was a small, snow-white wolf.

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Lux grinned down at her and she watched as his body shrunk and morphed into the

form of the black wolf. They were a perfect match—in everyway.

She took off, loving the feel of the wind rushing through her fur as she dodged trees

and leapt over the small stream that marked the beginning of Dydarren land.

There were signs of eco-friendly construction everywhere. Several of the packs had

chosen to move closer to their Alpha and Council headquarters. The initial meetings had

been tense, but she thought they were definitely coming around.

Sylvain and Mysha had been working with the women, trying to bring them out of

the dark ages. It might take a while to move them out of the women’s houses and into

positions of partnership and authority, but she was determined. And living next to the

independent Devas wouldn’t hurt her cause at all.

She felt so blessed to have them in her life. The Unborns had been her loudest

defenders, her fashion consultants and, on occasion—her haven. To them she wasn’t

Antara, some holy messenger to be held at a distance. She was just Sylvain, mate to two

of the hottest men around. She loved them for that.

She saw their house looming over the rise. She adored it. The perfect combination of

Trueblood luxury and natural elements to make both her mates feel right at home. After a

lifetime of living on the run, it was such a gift to have a home of her own.

It was built into the hillside, carved out in a way that reminded her of the ancient

tunnels where they’d first met. Arygon had assured her any resemblance was purely

coincidental, but she knew better. Her Alpha was a hopeless romantic. And her other

mate—well, he was irresistibly wicked. She was a lucky, lucky woman.

She rose to her feet as she changed back, placing her hands on her hips as she

watched her mate trot casually behind her. “You aren’t supposed to let me win. You think

I can’t beat you on my own?”

He rose up beside her, a devilish sparkle in his eyes. “It’s not my fault. My wolf was

enjoying the view.”

She wrinkled her nose and he kissed it, kissed her cheeks, her eyelids. “Maybe we

should take this inside.”

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“Now there’s an idea I can get behind. How’s the new daddy?” Arygon was leaning

against the open doorway, dressed in unbuttoned jeans and a smile.

“Nauseous, but happy. I thought you’d be in meetings for the next few hours?”

Sylvain followed Lux inside and Arygon slid her a wink before he answered.

“I’m taking tonight off. No one complained. The hardest thing for everyone to deal

with is the nighttime schedule of their new Alpha.”

The fact that Arygon now shared Lux’s Trueblood genetics along with his own had

caused quite a stir among his Betas. But after their experience with the Mother, and the

knowledge that their Alpha’s mate was Antara—they got over it quicker than anyone

imagined they would.

Now if only Lux would get over his issue, everything would be perfect.

Lux’s eyes narrowed as he turned to face her. “What issue is that, grathita?”

Arygon laughed. “Rabbit, you have perfect timing.” They’d just entered the living

room.

It was a cozy nook, sunken floor, giant comfortable couch large enough for three to

snuggle comfortable—a fireplace. But Arygon had moved the furniture. In place of the

couch and coffee table, a mattress from the guest bedroom lay in the middle of the room.

“What’s going on here?” Lux looked as if he wasn’t sure if he should be excited or

angry. Good. He needed to be thrown a bit.

Arygon slid his arms around Lux from behind, rubbing against him teasingly.

“Wouldn’t you like to know?”

He nodded at Sylvain and she wrapped her arms around Lux’s neck, kissing him

with all the passion inside her. Trying to show him without words how much she loved

him.

He responded immediately, eating at her mouth with those sensual lips until she was

sagging against him, putty in his hands.

“Oh no you don’t.” Arygon had taken the opportunity while they were occupied to

guide them closer to the mattress, reaching up to pull something down from where it was

attached to the sturdy beamed ceiling.

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Sylvain kissed Lux harder when he would have broken away at the clanking sound.

She heard the snap and click—and smiled against his mouth. “Got you.”

“What the—” Lux looked up, his eyebrows raised in disbelief. “Handcuffs? You

know I could get out of these don’t you?”

Arygon circled around to face their mate. “But you won’t, will you? Because you

trust us. As much as we have always trusted you.”

He smiled at the suspicious look that crossed Lux’s face before turning to Sylvain

and gifting her with a hungry kiss.

“And you know that somewhere in this plan of ours, we’re both going to fuck you.”

Arygon released her and she stumbled, already so aroused by what they were

planning she wasn’t sure how much teasing she could endure.

Lux had gone still at Arygon’s mental promise. We’re going to fuck you. Usually it

was the other way around. And he’d become even more dominant since the attempt on

their lives. As if being able to control every facet of their pleasure would ensure he could

control everything—even their safety.

He didn’t remove the cuffs and walk away. She knew he could. She snuggled up to

him and pressed her hips against his erection. He was turned on. All good signs, she

thought with a happy sigh.

“How long have you two been planning this, grathita?” His soft tone promised erotic

retribution, but she wasn’t scared. She loved his “punishments”.

“Not long,” she promised, smiling up at him as she unbuttoned her shirt. She wanted

to make it disappear, as he’d taught her to do a few months ago, but Arygon told her to

draw everything out—they needed to drive their mate wild with desire.

“It’s working, sweet. If I were free I’d be inside you now.” She shivered at his

words, tempted to release him.

“Be strong, rabbit. We’ll all get what we need soon enough.” He was already naked,

his cock thick and heavy and damp with pre-come. He was just as affected as she was by

what they were doing.

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There was enough give in the chain to guide Lux onto the mattress and place him in

a kneeling position in the center. Arygon had Lux’s clothes off in a flash.

“I never should have taught you that.” He laughed at Lux’s grumbling, kneeling

behind him and gesturing to Sylvain to do the same.

“We would have gotten you out of your pants eventually.” He gripped Lux’s chin

and turned his head toward him, pressing his lips to his. The kiss was carnal, erotic.

“You love watching us, don’t you, rabbit? Tell him.”

“Yes. So much. You’re beautiful.”

Lux moaned, angling his head so he could take more. Arygon pulled away, tsking.

“This is not about you being in control, Lux. Just the opposite.”

Sylvain scooted closer, running her hands down Lux’s chest, tracing the dark blue

spirals that had appeared after their brush with death. “My hero,” she whispered, meaning

it with every fiber of her being.

Leaning forward, she lapped at his nipples, wetting them. She pursed her lips,

blowing cold air on the sensitive tips, cooling the metal. He arched in reaction.

She loved how sensitive his nipples were. She took one into her mouth, piercing and

all and sucked hard. He shouted in surprised pleasure.

Her hands caressed him, lowering to his thighs to cup his balls—already drawn up

tight in need. “Damn, sweet. You’re playing with fire, grathita.”

“Careful, rabbit. We don’t want him to come yet.” She lifted her mouth, licking her

lips as she gave him one final caress before moving her hands back to the safety of his

thighs.

Arygon had been kissing Lux’s back and shoulders, now he reached behind him,

making no attempt to hide what he was doing as he flipped open the cap on the lube,

pouring the liquid on his fingers. “You have no idea how long I’ve been wanting to do

this.”

“I have a pretty good idea.” Lux caught Sylvain’s gaze, blue eyes dark with

excitement and nerves. Was this the first time anyone had—

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The answer was there in his eyes. “You mean there is actually something the lusty

Lux Sariel hasn’t experienced?”

“It never came up.”

Arygon laughed, a low sexy sound against Lux’s neck that had him shuddering.

“Pun intended?”

Sylvain felt Lux’s body jolt at the unexpected pressure as Arygon’s finger pressed

deep into his ass. His face tightened with concentration, focused on the new sensation.

She bent down to run her tongue around the head of his shaft, distracting him as

Arygon added a second finger, stretching him, readying him for his cock. She closed her

eyes as their connection allowed her to experience it with him, her arousal soaking her

thighs, her hand slipping between her legs to relieve the pressure.

“Arygon, shit—”

“There it is. The sweet spot. Wait until my cock is inside you, every thrust pounding

against that sweet. Fucking. Spot.”

Lux cried out, his need an electric current running through all of them, connecting

them to each other. “Please!”

“That’s the magick word.” Arygon dragged his fingers out slowly, watching Lux

shake with need, before covering his dripping cock with lube.

He was trembling, so fucking ready to fill his mate he wasn’t sure he could hold

back. Seeing him bound like this, watching Sylvain tease him—it was too much. He

couldn’t wait.

He took his cock in hand and placed it at that tight entrance to heaven. He nodded

over Lux’s shoulder to Sylvain, watched with a growl as she took her hand from between

her legs and straddled their mate, lowering her hot, wet pussy onto his shaft.

When she was filled with him they moaned, to Arygon it was the sweetest music

he’d ever heard. “Are you ready for me, Sariel? Ready to let me in?”

A single jerky nod was the only response Lux could give, but it was enough. Arygon

gripped his lover’s hip in one hand, the other wrapped around his chest. He pushed

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slowly into his ass, moaning as he heard the pop and felt the tight, dark heat clinging to

him, bruising his cock as Lux clenched around him with a groan.

“Yes. Yes, Lux—so tight.”

“So big—fuck it’s too much Ary—”

Arygon kept pressing forward until his hips were flush against his mate’s. Shining

Mother it felt incredible.

Sylvain began to lift her hips, riding Lux’s cock as Arygon began a slow thrust and

drag motion that had him praying for patience.

He watched as Lux lowered his mouth to Sylvain’s breast, biting and sucking her

nipples until she was crying out his name. He caught her passion-drenched gaze, smiling

tightly at the erotic sight she made, her head flung back, fangs extended.

His feelings for her, for both of them, continued to surprise him. After all he’d done,

he knew he didn’t deserve their love. But he would spend a lifetime making sure neither

ever regretted it.

“We never will, Arygon. Mate. Now stop thinking and feel.”

Sylvain opened her mind to him, allowing him to share every sensation, every hard,

pounding thrust of Lux’s cock inside her.

“Shit, rabbit.”

Arygon felt his control waning, and knew Sylvain wasn’t far behind. He tightened

his grip on Lux and began to pump harder, faster inside him—angling his thrusts so that

each stroke hit that perfect spot.

He nearly howled with joy when he felt Lux press back against him, body begging

for more of that sweet, hot pleasure.

His fangs emerged and without hesitation he slid them into Lux’s shoulder, over the

mate mark he’d created. Sylvain did the same and Lux’s hoarse shout echoed through the

house as he came.

Sylvain quickly followed and as Arygon felt their climaxes rip through him, he knew

there would be no more waiting. Slamming his hips against his mate’s, he was unable to

go slow as the fires blazed up his spine, into his cock as he came inside him.

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He licked Lux’s shoulder gently, leaning his forehead against his mate’s back as he

slowed his thrusts with the last of his release, watching his cock stretch his lover’s

sensitive ass, unsurprised to feel a stirring of renewed desire.

You think you could take these cuffs off first. My hands are numb.

Arygon snorted, slipping out of Lux’s ass to reach up and flip the release.

With carefully controlled movements, Lux lifted Sylvain off his lap, lowering her

onto the mattress. He stood, obviously a little shaky. Then he walked out of the room

without a word.

Sylvain looked at Arygon, her eyes wide. “What just happened?”

Arygon reached out with his mind, trying to touch Lux’s thoughts to find doors

slamming in his face again and again. From his mate’s trembling lips he could tell she

was experiencing the same thing.

Worry and guilt swamped him. Had they done the wrong thing? Had he

unintentionally hurt him? Been too rough?

They found him in the shower, his hands braced against the tiled wall, head down.

Sylvain walked beneath the spray, wrapping her arms around him without a word,

Arygon held back—uncertain.

Lux’s shoulders shook, when he looked up to meet Arygon’s gaze, he was devastated

by what he saw. He had hurt him.

Lux shook his head. “No, mate. You didn’t—I just—I almost lost you. Both of you.”

Arygon stepped into the shower and spun his mates toward him. “But you didn’t,

Sariel. We are still here. And we aren’t helpless. You don’t have to control everything.

Life happens. None of us knows what the outcome will be. You can’t let fear ruin what

we have together.”

Sylvain nodded against Lux’s chest, lifting her head to look into his eyes. “If more

Shadow Wolves show up we’ll take care of them. Together.”

She bit her lip, looking over at Arygon, who nodded. “All four of us.”

“Four?”

Arygon smiled as Lux’s shouted question echoed through their link. Sylvain giggled.

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About the Author

Stolen away by a free-spirited Gypsy as a child (though she still swears she’s my

mother), I spent my childhood roaming the countryside, meeting fascinating characters
and having amazing adventures. As the perpetual “new kid”, my friends more often than
not were found between the pages of a book…and in my own imagination. I read
everything I could get my hands on. At the age of 11, I read my first romance and I’ve
been hooked ever since.

I’ve been a nurse, a lead vocalist in several bands, a published lyricist and even a

returning university student majoring in Anthropology and Mythology. Throughout all of
my varied careers, I would sigh as I read one fantasy-filled story after another saying,
“Someday I want to write one of those”, until one day my husband said, “So do it.” And I
did. Now I can’t imagine doing anything else.

To learn more about R.G. Alexander please visit

http://www.rgalexander.com

. Send

an email to R.G. Alexander at

r.g.alexander@hotmail.com

There’s only one place left to run-into forbidden arms.

Regina in the Sun

A Children of the Goddess story.

When she arrives at Ye Olde Haven Pub, the sanctuary for Trueblood Vampires,

Regina is wounded and desperate. Her only thought is to save the Deva Clan, her family,

from the dangerous Loups De L’Ombre, the Shadow Wolves. She knows she will not

exactly be welcomed with open arms. She is, after all, an Unborn, the lowest caste of

Vampire.

As a natural born from the purest line, Zander Sariel knows the rules are sacrosanct-a

Trueblood mates with his own kind. But one taste of the young Unborn is all Zander

needs to know that rules were made to be broken.

With enemies at every turn, Zander risks everything to save Regina from the monster

that hunts her, his own kind’s ignorance and-if he must-her lack of faith in her own

unique abilities.

Only together do they have a chance to defeat the shadow that haunts their future,

and save their entire race from extinction.

Enjoy the following excerpt for Regina in the Sun:

Reggie had a hangover. At least, that’s what it felt like. Either that or two irate and

frustrated little gnomes were taking turns using her head as a ping-pong ball. She lay as

still as possible, trying to get her bearings while praying for the gnomes to get bored with

her and decide to pester someone else.

The last thing she remembered was…Haven. She’d made it. She’d actually gotten

there and, if she was remembering correctly, she’d spoken to Lux.

Her shoulders relaxed and the banging began to fade as relief rushed in. Elizabeth

and the others would be safe now. She just knew it. And she could continue with her

plans without regret or guilt at knowing she’d almost been responsible for a catastrophe.

“I think a slight change in plans might be in order.”

She froze at the sound of the voice. It was close. A little too close. Almost as if it

was coming from—she groaned in silent mortification as a large, masculine arm slid

around her bare waist. What did she do last night?

A male chuckle washed over her. The arm, already causing a tingling heat to spread

across her skin, squeezed her gently. “You didn’t do anything, Regina. You were hurt and

we took you upstairs to tend to your wounds.”

The gnomes were renewing their efforts with gusto. He knew her name. And what

she’d been thinking. He shouldn’t be able to read her thoughts so clearly. He shouldn’t be

able to read her at all.

She tried to block him, a gift she’d always taken for granted and rarely had to use,

but she could sense his amused patience at her attempt. She didn’t stop to think that she

might be able to read him in return, her fear turning to anger as she raised up on her

elbow, whipping around to confront him.

Her brain registered several facts at once. The first being the pain in her side that,

while it still stung, was dramatically less than it had been only yesterday. Secondly, she

was lying naked beside quite possibly the sexiest man she’d ever seen. Her eyes glazed

and her mouth watered with desire as she slowly looked him over.

Once.

Pause.

Twice.

Okay, perhaps sexy was too weak of a word. But he wasn’t beautiful. She wouldn’t

even say he was exceptionally handsome. He looked too hard for that. Too raw and

elemental and male.

He lay above the covers in unbuttoned black dress pants and nothing else. His thighs

bulged as if trying to escape their cloth prison, and she knew instinctively that this man

had to have clothes created just to fit him.

A fine line of hair disappeared beneath the lowered zipper, where another growing

and rather impressive bulge looked as if it might be planning its escape. Her gaze flew

upward swiftly, past the enviable six-pack, up to the smooth, hairless pecs and along the

tightly corded neck before working up her courage to face her mysterious bed partner.

Short, sandy hair looking a bit tousled from sleep framed a strong jaw, sharp

cheekbones and a regal nose. It was a face that was saved from being too harsh by the

hint of dimples, which appeared when his firm lips tilted slightly at her scrutiny.

Eyes the color of blazing sapphires narrowed with desire and obvious intent. She

suddenly recalled that this man had been able to read her thoughts. That was why she’d

turned in the first place. She tilted her chin, ignoring the blush heating her cheeks,

determined to retain her righteous indignation even in the face of such edible eye candy.

His blue eyes widened in shock before he rolled onto his back with a surprised shout

of laughter. “Edible eye candy?”

His rude guffawing was cut short with an “Oomph!” as she whacked him with the

nearest pillow. She started to get up, determined to escape the gorgeous mind-reading

lunatic, only to find herself trapped beneath him while he grinned in amusement, utterly

ignoring her warning glare.

“Regina,” he murmured as he focused his attention on her full lower lip. “If you’re

saying you find me attractive, then let me just tell you that the feeling is entirely mutual.”

His head lowered slowly, giving her ample time to reject his advance. On any other

day, she would have been stunned by her own inaction. She couldn’t seem to move. Not

even when she felt the first touch of his lips on hers.

Their fingers laced together above her head, the gentle restraint adding to her

arousal. He took his time, torturing her with featherlight kisses and gentle nips.

The strange, sweet intimacy of the moment stretched out until she found herself

straining her neck to get closer, her mouth opening in invitation. Greedy for more of the

delicious stranger’s kiss.

He sucked her lower lip between his teeth, biting gently before soothing the sting

away with his tongue. She gasped with arousal and he pulled back to look into her eyes

for a heartbeat. Angling his head, he took her mouth in a soul-consuming kiss that had

her moaning wantonly into his mouth. The sound encouraged him to taste her more fully,

their tongues sparring for control in her mouth as he shifted his hardening erection into

the apex of her thighs.

She wrapped her lips around his tongue, sucking him deeper into her mouth. He

jerked against her, and then he was reciprocating in a way that made her entire body

tremble. On and on, lips and fangs and tongues warred for supremacy in a sensual battle

that neither wanted to end.

Never had she experienced anything like the need that flooded through her from the

first touch of his lips. He was like a narcotic, drugging her limbs and causing her heart to

beat a panicked tattoo against her breast. His taste was both darkly mysterious and

achingly familiar. His lips burned against hers with a blaze like the noonday sun, so hot

she was sure she’d melt beneath him.

He thrust his hips gently against her sex and even through the sheet that separated

them she felt an answering rush of arousal dampen her thighs. She’d never imagined she

could be so close to coming from a kiss. A hot, unbearably sexy kiss, but a kiss

nonetheless.

He groaned as she arched against him in return and she reveled in the knowledge that

his desire was just as strong as hers. That he wanted her, his grathita, more than he’d ever

wanted another. She was his and he would—

She must be sensing his thoughts. Picking up on them as if they were her own. At the

same moment the realization struck her, he pressed his body fully against hers, causing

her to cry out in pain at the forgotten injury.

He leapt off her as if he were on fire, the lust in his eyes turning quickly to worry.

Kneeling on the bed, he bent to check her mending wound, ignoring the hand that tried to

slap him away.

“I’m really going to have to work on my timing.”

The wry voice caused the two to jump apart, startled. Reggie felt her cheeks heat as

the man she’d just been groping leaned his back against the bed frame with a sigh, subtly

trying to cover Regina’s naked frame with the blanket, hiding her from the other man’s

view.

Without a word she jerked the fabric from his hands, pulling the cover up to her neck

defensively. She looked towards the glorious creature standing at the edge of the bed, the

memory of being carried from the dance floor surfacing in her mind. This was Lux.

He held up the overflowing bag in his hand, which showed the name of a well-

known clothing store. “I brought you something to wear. Your other clothing was, well,

unsalvageable.”

He waited for her to accept his offering, but she merely nodded her thanks and

looked at him pointedly until he turned his head and shut his eyes.

She reached out with her mind and gasped at the amusement hiding in Lux’s

thoughts, as well as the memory of undressing her after she’d collapsed. At her sound of

outrage, Lux spun his head back around, looking towards her in shock before glancing at

the other man—his brother, Reggie suddenly realized—for an explanation.

“I don’t know why you’re looking at him. Just ask me.” She crossed her arms over

the blanket that she had wrapped around her, realizing her breasts were plumping over

the edge when Lux couldn’t seem to tear his gaze away from the view. Her golden eyes

rolled and she shook her head. “After all the stories Liz told me, I thought you’d be a bit

more, well, genteel.”

The charming smile Lux had been wearing since he’d arrived turned sinful, causing

her to shiver at the change. “Genteel? Ahhh. Well, yes, I like men if that’s what you’re

inferring. But that doesn’t mean I don’t enjoy women just as thoroughly. Especially when

they have such undeniably charming…assets.”

Reggie turned away with a blush to see the object of her recent lust sprawled

casually on the rumpled bed, a sensual smile on his face.

“Of the two, Lux is far more notorious than I, Regina mine. Ask anyone. No one’s

safe when he’s on the prowl.”

Never look back…

Midnight Reborn

A Watchers story.

After suffering years of abuse as the virtual prisoner of a drug lord, Robyn Andrews

has had enough. A carefully planned escape is her only hope for survival. Her past

nipping at her heels, she boards the first bus out of town and heads for Louisville,

Kentucky.

Trigg is a Watcher with two missions in life. One, to hunt and eliminate Rogue

vampires. Two, to be left alone. Yet he can’t bring himself to harden his heart against the

petite woman who looks so lost standing in the rain. And when Robyn joins him in a

battle against Rogues, the little spitfire shows the bravery of ten Watchers. She’s

someone special, someone he needs in his dark life.

Someone he can never have. He’s vampire; she’s human. A future for them is

impossible.

But the past has a way of catching up—and changing destinies with deadly speed.

Enjoy the following excerpt for Midnight Reborn:

Trigg woke up with a start. His dreams had plagued him while he slept and left him

feeling heavy, both inside and out. His mind suddenly jumped to Robyn and he wondered

if she had found the note he had left.

When he had first gone to bed he lay there awhile, trying to drift off to sleep.

Robyn’s clothing situation had popped into his head. He slid out of bed, went downstairs,

and left her a note about the cash they kept in the office for emergencies, as well as the

closest place for her to buy clothes. He hoped she found the clothing store on Fourth

Street easily and enjoyed herself.

Something inside made him want to cheer Robyn up and see her smile. Her eyes held

much sorrow and pain. There was no light, no spark in them and it made his heart ache.

Trigg took a deep breath, let it out and prepared to meet those eyes once again,

dreading to see condemnation in them for the monster that she most likely believed he

was. She had probably spent the day thinking about what she had seen last night, what he

had done to the Rogue, not to mention how he had lost control with Vane.

Robyn removed the biscuits from the oven and set them on the table. The aroma of

roast and biscuits wafted up towards the bedrooms. She smiled when she glanced upstairs

and saw both Rayne and Vane open their doors at the same time and poke their heads out

to check out the smell. It wasn’t long before they came bounding down the stairs.

“Man, oh man, chiquita. Dinner smells muy bueno!” Vane crooned as he walked into

the kitchen rubbing his hands together in anticipation.

“Yeah,” agreed Rayne coming in behind him. “It smells delicious!”

Robyn smiled at their enthusiasm. It was nice to have her cooking appreciated.

“Well, you haven’t tasted it, yet. I just hope I didn’t cook the roast too much for you

guys. Trigg had said that you…uh…” Robyn felt a little weird about mentioning the

ingesting blood issue, but she continued, “…got the blood you needed from meat.”

She walked over to the counter and lifted the lid from the slow cooker, sliced off

pieces of roast and began plating them with vegetables, then poured the bloody juice

from the bottom of the slow cooker over the meat and veggies.

Trigg came in and took a seat as she began placing the plates in front of them on the

table.

“Wow, service too! I could get used to this!” Vane said while smiling brightly at

Robyn, who blushed at his attention.

Trigg was watching her as she went around the table. He wanted to catch her eye, to

discern some sort of thought from her face. When she came around to his chair to set his

plate down in front of him, his hand brushed hers as he reached for it.

They both hesitated, but only for a moment, then Robyn stepped away and Trigg

muttered, “Thank you.”

When Robyn’s eyes met his as she stepped back, Trigg couldn’t find any hint of fear,

anger or repulsion. He saw…peace. And, was that happiness in her eyes? He felt his

muscles relax and his previously knotted stomach ease.

Trigg smiled inwardly while he watched her move about the kitchen as if she had

been doing it all her life.

When Robyn reached up to get glasses down from a shelf much too high for her,

Trigg jumped out of the chair, almost knocking it backwards and was quickly by her side

to get them down.

Robyn jumped, not because of his nearness, but because he had been so quick that he

startled her. Seeing the slight frown crease his, she quickly thought to explain her

reaction.

“Oh, you scared me. I didn’t see you coming,” she said then laughed softly.

“Sorry,” Trigg said quietly. “Sit and eat. I’ll get this.”

His voice had turned a little gruff, but she didn’t give it much thought. She just

turned around, placed some roast and vegetables on her plate and popped it in the

microwave.

When Robyn turned from the microwave, the guys were all looking at her, smiling.

“What?” She asked, feeling a little uncomfortable at their sudden attention.

Rayne laughed.

“Guess you don’t go much for rare meat, huh?”

Robyn bit the inside of her mouth so as not to laugh. “No, I’d rather my meat not

squeal, say “ouch” or howl when I cut into it!”

They laughed and she retrieved her plate from the microwave, then yelped and

dropped it on the counter, making everyone jump.

“Ow!” she cried, putting her fingers in her mouth. “I forgot to use the stupid pot

holder!”

Hissing in pain, she ran to the sink and shoved her fingers under the cold water.

Trigg stopped in the midst of putting the drinks on the table and walked over to her

quickly.

“Here, let me see,” he said as he reached for her hands.

“No, it’s okay. I just burned them. I’ll put some ice on them in a minute. You go

ahead and eat before your food gets cold.”

Robyn tried to smile up at him, but the pain on her face was evident.

Trigg didn’t wait for her permission. He turned off the water and looked at the

blisters forming on the pads of her fingers where she had touched the hot plate. He stared

into her eyes for a moment, then slowly raised her hand to his lips.

Robyn had no idea what was going to happen. Was he going to kiss it and make it

better?

When Trigg opened his mouth and began to run his tongue over the burns, she

thought her knees were going to buckle. The moist heat from his rough tongue invoked

tingling sensations that coursed through her body and pooled in her lower belly.

Robyn realized this was turning her on, and from the look in Trigg’s eyes, he was

there with her, or maybe even more so. They were glowing and showing a tint of red, but

not fully red as they were last night when Vane had her against the wall in the kitchen.

Her breath caught at the look in his eyes—hunger and want. When he finished, he

kissed her palm gently and slowly released her hand.

Trigg smiled at the astonished look on Robyn’s face. He could see in her eyes that

there was something more, she wanted him. When she blinked, breaking the spell, he

spoke.

“Your burns needed healing.”

Robyn blinked again. “Wha-what?” She stammered as if she hadn’t realized he had

spoken.

Trigg’s smile deepened. “Your burns needed healing. Our saliva has a healing agent,

so I healed them.” He watched as Robyn’s eyes seemed to refocus and he could see that

the information finally sunk in. Her face flushed as she thanked him before sidestepping

him on the way to retrieve her plate from the counter.

Trigg handed her a potholder with a chuckle before she could repeat the incident.

When he turned and headed to his chair, he noticed Rayne and Vane staring at him

with arched eyebrows and he scowled. He didn’t need either one of them reminding him

She’s determined to break his eight centuries of celibacy—at any cost!

Healer’s Touch

Darjhian healer Aru has been in exile for eight hundred years, barred from the

Deathless Land and parted from his wife. Now fallen from grace and no longer immortal,

he can never return to her.

Yet he cleaves to his marriage vow and holds himself apart from everyone—

especially Viera, the former prostitute whose sexual energy provides the power needed

for his healing work. She presents a temptation he must constantly hold at bay if he’s to

keep to his vow.

Viera isn’t interested in fighting temptation. She wants Aru. He wants her. What

could be simpler? After three frustrating months working with him, her need for him has

reached the breaking point. He claims he can never touch a woman again, but Viera isn’t

the type to take no for an answer.

Over four glorious nights, she shows Aru everything he’s denied himself for eight

centuries. But a shadow hangs over their passion. Aru is keeping secrets about the nature

of his mortality. And now he faces a terrible choice…

Break Viera’s heart, or risk destroying her with the knowledge of what he truly is.

Enjoy the following excerpt for Healer’s Touch:

Gods, it was hot up here. With a muttered curse, he opened the window, jerking at

the ties of his shirt. He tugged it off over his head and leaned on the window frame to let

the chill spring breeze caress his bare torso. Across the street, a pair of whores plied their

trade, calling offers to passers by, flashing their breasts at those who showed interest.

There was a time when Aru would have watched their games, but he had no stomach for

it anymore. His erection was like a steel rod, but it had nothing to do with any woman

outside.

Crossing to the bed, he reached for the buttons of his trousers, but his straining cock

reacted with a bolt of pain and a wet surge of fluid.

“Paldir help me,” he muttered, flopping facedown on the mattress. He closed his

eyes, but she was there waiting for him, her pale skin dotted with freckles, her auburn

hair like a river of silk pouring over his white hands, her breasts peaked with the dusky

pearls of her nipples. Gods, he had seen her naked in all her glory, had sat beside her, one

hand on her belly as she writhed and screamed in the extremity of her arousal. He had

seen it. He had caused it! It was but a tiny step further down the road to madness to

imagine her breasts filling his hands, her nipples pressed between his lips as he suckled

her, his cream-slicked fingers sliding high up inside her heat. He groaned at the thought

of that pink tongue of hers lapping at his chest, licking a wet trail across his belly and

down to his shaft. Her face, smiling up at him as she took him between her sweet lips and

sucked him in, hard and deep, her hair spilling across his torso and between his legs.

Damn. With a start, he realized he was grinding his cock into the mattress. Sitting up,

he rubbed his hands up and down his face, hard enough to chafe his skin. He’d never be

able to sleep. Downstairs in the kitchen, he had a large cask of mead—the closest thing to

hennath he could find in Anduni lands—but he couldn’t fetch himself any without risking

waking Inella or her family. And to be honest, he doubted even a river of drink would

soften his cock tonight.

Damn, damn, damn. Rising, he tiptoed to the door and peeked across the landing to

Viera’s room. Her door stood ajar, a bar of candlelight slanting across the floorboards.

She always left one burning next to the bed, in case a patient needed her in the night.

Before Aru realized what he was doing, he was standing just outside her door, peeking in.

She slept, her hair like a dark cloud against the stark white of the sheets. She wore no

shift—the dusky tip of one breast peeked at him over the edge of the blanket, and one

long, curvy leg thrust out from the covers. Her bare toes enthralled him—so mundane,

yet so delicate. He thought about taking them in his mouth, one by one. She stirred,

shifting so that her other breast emerged from under the blanket, and he felt his shaft

thicken in response, hardening until he thought his trouser buttons might end up

permanently imprinted along its underside.

Heat flowered from the root of his member to spread its licking fingers all along his

limbs. He pressed a hand to it, closing his eyes on a wave of need that left him dizzy.

When he opened them, he was somehow standing right beside her bed, looking down on

her face.

And she was looking back up at him, confusion etching a delightful crease between

her brows. Her eyes flicked down to his crotch, widening as she took in the state of him.

Her gaze might as well have been her fingers—his organ leapt in response and he let out

a long, shaky breath.

So you can never touch a woman again? Gil’s earlier words resounded in his mind as

he stared down at Viera in an agony of longing.

But what if he didn’t touch her? What if he didn’t touch her at all?

Gods.

His hand pressed against his shaft through the wool of his trousers, stroking upward

the way he wanted her to do. He stared into her eyes, willing her to understand what he

needed.

As if she read his mind, she drew the blanket slowly down, baring herself for him.

Her nipples tightened as his gaze raked them, and she drew her fingertips across them,

plucking them gently as her breath quickened and deepened. With shaking fingers, he

slipped his buttons loose and his cock fell free. He moved to encircle it with his hand, but

she shook her head.

“I want to see it.”

Trembling, he clenched his hands at his sides and let her look her fill, her gaze like

hot liquid bathing the skin of his prick. She stroked him with her gaze until, unable to

stop himself, he wrapped his hand tight around his thickness. The slit at the tip released a

steady stream of fluid. He caught it on the pad of his thumb and spread it all along his

shaft, slicking himself, wishing it was her own sweet honey.

“Let me see you,” he said, taken aback by the hoarseness of his voice.

Her lips curled upward, that sly little smile that never failed to make his belly flip

over inside him. She slid her hands lovingly down her own torso and onto her inner

thighs. As if they were a lover’s hands, they pulled her legs wide apart, until all her

secrets were there for him to see. He stared at the undulating hollows where the tops of

her thighs met her abdomen, at the tightly curled, glistening wet hair that lined her

womanhood, at the engorged flesh of her labia, puffy and pink. At the pink bead of her

clit, the center of her pleasure, standing stiff and straining to be touched. The entrance to

her tunnel beckoned, its walls sealed against each other, seeping translucent white fluid

even as he watched. That was the place he wanted to touch her, more than anything in the

world. He wanted to bury himself there, to sink into her honeyed depths and lose himself,

and never be found again.

His hand worked his cock, stroking up and down in a steadily increasing rhythm.

The scent of her arousal, a rich, earthy musk, filled the small space they inhabited,

mingling with the bittersweet redolence of his seed. Her hands stroked and skimmed back

up the softness of her belly and over her ribs to cup her breasts. She palmed the heavy

mounds, massaging from the outside inward, finishing at the rigid points of her nipples.

With deft fingertips, she drew them into longer, firmer peaks, teasing them until he

wondered how she didn’t go mad from it.

His eyes met hers.

“Put your fingers inside yourself,” he rasped, quivering as his cock released another

surge of fluid.

She wet her lips, and he imagined her tongue dipping into the slit of his cock,

exploring the tiny opening. Her fingers crept slowly, torturously toward her open cunt. As

he watched, she slid the forefingers of both hands into her furrow and spread it wider,

showing him her engorged inner lips. Slowly, as if moving through water, she pushed one

finger into her hole, then drew it out again. A second finger joined the first for the next

thrust, and her back arched up to meet it.

“Is that where you want them?” she asked, sliding them in and out while he watched,

mesmerized.

He glanced at her face, not understanding. “Where else?”

She laughed, low and throaty. “Ah, Aru, for such an old man, you don’t know much

at all.” And as he looked on, transfixed, a single finger of her other hand crept down

toward her other hole, tiny and puckered, a place he hadn’t ever conceived could be put

to such a use.

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