48. Chapter 46 Arden

Chapter forty-eight

Chapter 46: Arden

L ivarius and I take a seat on the grass in the middle of the training ring. There's no one out sparring with magic today, so it's safe for us to watch from inside the bounds. I sit with my legs stretched out in front of me and propping myself up with my hands behind me.

Tavin kicks off his shoes, then pulls his shirt over his head revealing his muscular chest and abs. I chew my bottom lip, waiting for him to strip out of the rest of his clothes.

His eyes catch mine, and he holds my gaze as he slides his pants to the ground. The only other time I saw him naked, I was mortified. But this time, I drink him in. He's beautiful. Long lean muscles encase his tall frame. I swallow hard, and watch as his beautiful body shifts and molds from one powerful shape to another. Beside me, Livarius is having a similar reaction.

"Is this the first time you're seeing him shift?" I ask.

"Yes," he breathes.

The enormous orange tiger pads its way over to us. The rumbling in his chest can be heard from several feet away. When he approaches, he goes to Livarius first, and nuzzles his cheek. Then he moves to me and does the same. He's a predator. One bite and he could kill me. But I've never felt safer.

He pushes against me with more force and knocks me over into the grass. A laugh bubbles out of me as he rubs his face against my torso. When he finally relents I sit up. He crawls about halfway into my lap. He's heavy, and I won't be able to let him stay like this for long, so I enjoy it while I can. I run my hands through his soft fur, and scratch under his chin and behind his ears.

Livarius pats him on the butt and says, "Hey big guy, come get me." Then he jumps to his feet and takes off running. Livarius is impossibly fast. I've never seen him run before, and I don't understand how he moves like that.

Footsteps approach from behind me, and I don't have to look to see who it is. My skin comes alive.

"Hi," I say, glancing up at Camus before he plops down on the ground next to me.

"Hi, yourself. How has your afternoon been going?"

"Good. I'll tell you about it as soon as I can."

"What's that supposed to mean?" he asks, narrowing his eyes at me. "Why can't you tell me now?"

"Something happened, and I want to tell you about it, but Zorvan's just being all protective of his kingdom. Which I get. I'm equally protective as the people here."

He seems to accept my answer. "They respect you, you know?"

"Who?"

"Everyone. They see everything in you that I've seen since we met. Even that grumpy old dragon who's skulking around up in his castle."

"He does now, but only because he knows I'm a dragon," I say with a scoff.

"You and I both know that isn't true."

I don't respond. I won't allow myself to imagine a world where Zorvan isn't cold and mean to me, because if I do, I'll cry. The ‘nice guy' act he's been putting on is exhausting. He'll snap soon. I just don't know when.

We watch Livarius and Tavin run around the field. Liv keeps changing direction and darting out of the way. It's comical to watch the big kitty try to catch him.

Eventually, Tavin catches Livarius, and I'm not convinced that Livarius didn't let him. He tackles him to the ground and lays his full weight on top of him before shifting back to his fae form.

He presses his body into Livarius' and kisses him, threading his fingers through his hair. The growl in my throat doesn't tell the whole story of what I'm feeling.

"You like that," Camus says with a smirk. "I might be into it if it wasn't my brother."

I snort. "There's a part of me that likes it. I mean, my mates getting touchy with each other will always do something for me. But another part of me wants to rip them to pieces for touching what's mine. That's the traumatized part, though. Hopefully that goes away. I don't want them to have to hide their relationship away from me to appease my dragon."

"There's no part of Arden the fae that feels jealous?"

"A little. But mostly because I'm not in a place where I can even consider being intimate with Tavin right now. My previous two matings have not gone how I would have wished," I say giving him a stern look. "And I don't want to rush anything with the others."

"You should just do it. You'll be stronger."

"Not everything is about power and status, Cam. Not to me anyway—you know that. I want to get to know them and enjoy our time together before we just jump into the bond. I already care for them. But because of the way that they distanced themselves from me, I was barely getting to know them before..."

He pulls me to him so I'm straddling him and I am so glad that I didn't wear a dress today.

He takes my face in his hands. "Before you were kidnapped. You can say the words. It was horrible, and it was hard, but you got through it. You've been through worse than a lot of other fae, and you survived. And you found me. Say the words. Own it." Staring up at me with love in his eyes, he adds, "I missed you today."

"We were only apart for a few hours," I mutter.

"Tell me you didn't ache for me, too."

"Maybe a little," I say with a smile.

He digs his fingers into my thighs and presses his erection against me. "I want to fuck you right here where everyone can see. Would you like that?"

"I would rather I didn't see my brother's naked asshole," Livarius says, as he approaches.

"Hmm, well you're going to have to get over that. Cause one of these days I'm going to fuck Arden while your little boyfriend fucks you."

Fuck I want that. I'm sure my scent gives away exactly how much I want that.

He leans in and whispers, "Ever since I found out you were mated to all these fuckwits, I've had fantasies about us all sharing you. Three cocks buried in your holes. One in each hand. And you can watch these two or Emyth and Lysander take care of each other."

I chew my lip. "Maybe once this stuff with Cyndair is done we can all take a couple days off from the stressful stuff and spend time together. They're still standoffish toward you, but in time, they'll like you. You're a lot more like them than they think."

"And the only reason you want to spend time together is for them to get to know me better?"

"Well, not the only reason. I want to be a little selfish for a while."

Livarius sits next to us and I glance over my shoulder just as Tavin pulls his shirt on. He strolls over to join us.

"You've earned the right to be more than a little selfish," Livarius says. "You've handled all of this in stride, and I will give you whatever you want."

"Ah fuck," Tavin says, staring past Camus.

I look up to find Bravina, Calliope, and Faylin walking toward us, but still a ways off. I had hoped that I was done enduring mean girl behavior since Iona was in a cell, but apparently I was wrong. Here we go again .

Camus looks at where we're staring and snorts. "The third string squad."

"What?" I ask in amusement.

"That's what we called the females who weren't good enough for Solardinite royalty, so they sent them here to shut them up. Iona was the only one who was worth anything and Grandmother only sent her so she could get her devious little hooks into Jarrah."

I push myself off of Camus and stand, brushing my pants clean of the grass. When the dirt on my knees won't come off, I sigh. Tavin offers Camus a hand getting off the ground, and Camus angles himself so he's just slightly between me and the other girls.

Despite being 'third string', it seems he still considers them a threat to me. Which, considering my current non-magical state, I can't say I blame him.

Once they're about ten feet away, Bravina says, "Prince Camus. We heard you were slinking around Feldorn now."

"I thought a change of scenery might be nice," Camus replies.

"And settling for a part-human who had already fucked your brother was the change you were looking for?"

Camus isn't fazed by the accusatory way she talks to him. He wraps his arm around my shoulder and on my other side, Livarius takes my hand.

"Fate is a fickle bitch. It would seem that even though she accidentally met and mated my brother first, Arden and I were also meant to be." He kisses my temple and I look up at him with a smile.

"I just don't understand the appeal of someone so weak," Calliope says.

"You're making a pretty big assumption there," Tavin retorts. "Part human or not, she can still shift into a dragon. You wouldn't find her so weak if she were burning you alive."

Bravina's eyes go dark. "Even giant lizards have weaknesses."

"Are you threatening my mate?" Camus asks with a laugh. "Ballsy, even for you. You know I could kill you for that, right? I'm a prince. She's my mate. Threatening a royal is treason."

"So is drugging your grandmother."

Camus lifts an eyebrow and smirks. "She does still have her little spies in the castle. Is it you, or is someone else feeding you the information?" He clicks his tongue. "Committing treason in two separate kingdoms. I hope you have a plan to run to Kildara at the next possible opportunity."

All the bravado in Bravina seems to ooze out of her, and she pales. "N-no. Of course I'm not spying for her. News travels fast."

"That particular news would not have traveled that fast. Grandmother would never want random fae to know that a magicless, part-human prisoner got the drop on her. It wouldn't be good for her reputation.

"I suggest, Bravina, that the next time you want to threaten my mate, you think long and hard about what exactly it is that you want to accomplish."

"I just want her to leave Ta—"

"Drop it!" Tavin snaps. "You and me, our mating, it's done. It's not happening. Emyth already dissolved things with Faylin, and Lysander will not be taking Calliope as a mate. End of fucking story."

Bravina's eyebrows shoot up, and she scoffs. "Why not?"

"Because Arden—"

"Is important to all of us," Livarius jumps in. "Isn't that right, Tavin? We all care about her and we will not tolerate being with or around anyone who wishes her any ill will. Iona wanted nothing more than to have her gone or dead and it seems like you've taken up that mantle. Catty bullshit isn't something that any of the keepers find attractive. Now if you'll excuse us..."

Livarius takes my hand and pulls me past the girls. Faylin gives me an apologetic look, and I gently touch her shoulder as we step through them.

Once we're far enough away, keeping my voice low, I say, "I don't know why Faylin has anything to do with the other two. She hates the games that they play and she's so naive to a lot of what they do."

Camus laughs. "Yeah, Calliope has the personality of unbuttered toast and just follows the loudest person in the room. But Faylin is capable of thinking for herself. I think she just feels some weird sense of duty to the others since they're all in the same boat."

"Emyth said that she was a little upset when he broke off their mating, but I think that was just because she was scared to tell her parents. She seemed relieved after that," Tavin says.

"With the rumors about Emyth's sexual preferences, I'm not surprised," I say. "You should have seen her face when..."

I stop myself from finishing that sentence. I don't want to tell Camus about the choking incident, because then I would have to tell him exactly why it happened, and I'm not sure that Emyth would want him knowing.

"Nevermind, the point is that she was scared of him."

"Did she have good reason to be?" Camus asks, giving me a look that says I was right to keep my mouth shut.

"Not at all. Emyth is kind and wonderful. But his reaper magic is off-putting if you don't know him, and he has a certain amount of danger to him. Especially in the bedroom."

"I thought you hadn't been with any of the keepers except Jarrah," Camus' brow furrows.

"I haven't. Emyth just gave me a little..." I pause, struggling to find the right word, "taste of who he is. Twice, actually."

I chew my lip as my mind drifts back to the time he broke into my room and used a knife to slice open my dress. The sting of the knife against my skin paired with his intensity, and his weight on top of me...

"Arden?" Livarius asks, grabbing my arm and pulling me to a stop. "Are you okay?"

My skin feels hot. Fuck .

"I need to go see Airen. Right this second. I cannot deal with this right now." I turn and head toward the castle with more urgency in my steps.

"Deal with what?" Livarius asks, having no trouble keeping up with me.

"She's going into heat," Tavin says and stops short.

I pause and glance back at him, doing a double take when I find his eyes glowing and his canines elongated.

"I can't be with you right now. Go see what Airen can do."

I nod and race to the infirmary. When I burst through the door, I find Emyth and Lysander inside. Airen is checking Emyth's wounds. At the sight of her hands on him, something inside of me snaps. I snarl and move toward them, but Camus grabs me around the waist.

"Deep breath, sweet girl. She's just helping him."

"What's going on?" A voice to my right catches me off guard. Walden.

"Shit!" Airen says. "Fuck. Shit. Your dragon picks the worst fucking times Arden!" she calls as she runs to the locked room where she keeps the good stuff. When she returns she has a vial in her hands.

"Drink this. It might be too late, but we won't know unless we try."

"What is it?"

"Basically a really strong heat suppressant. It might make you a little sick for a few hours, but it'll be better than taking you out of commission for a week. Bottoms up—quickly."

I uncork the vial and toss the contents back.

"Oh my god that tastes like shit," I gasp after gagging so hard I almost throw up. "What the fuck Airen?"

"I'm sorry. I'm also sorry for what's about to happen."

"What do you—?" A wave of nausea followed by extreme wooziness rolls over me. "I need to sit down."

I plop down on the floor and sit cross-legged before cradling my face in my hands.

"I'm really sorry," Airen says, crouching down beside me. "I would have warned you, but we didn't have time for you or your mates to stress about the side effects. You cannot be in heat right now."

I nod my head an almost imperceptible amount. "I get it."

"Why didn't you offer this the last time she went into heat?" Emyth asks. "That week was hell for all of us."

I pull my hands away from my face just in time to see Airen give Emyth a leveling look.

"This is going to get worse for her before it gets better. We only give that type of suppressant in emergencies. In a couple of hours she'll be cramping and vomiting. She's about to have twelve hours of the worst sickness you could possibly imagine."

"Why have I never heard about this?" Lysander asks.

"Because it's rare that we even need to use it. Most shifters welcome their heat cycles. Especially since it can take several heat cycles to actually conceive."

"Vampires don't have heats, but it's not that difficult for us to reproduce. Why is it so hard for shifters?" Livarius asks.

"We're biologically programmed to want to reproduce, but because of all of the possible things that can go wrong with a shifter pregnancy—especially between two different kinds of shifters—the body is extremely selective about what embryos it accepts. Pair that with only going into heat a few times a year, and it can take years to finally conceive viable offspring."

"So it'll be easier for me or Camus to get her pregnant than it would be for a shifter?" Liv asks.

"Yes. So it's a good thing the Stars saw fit to pair her with a couple of vamps." Her voice is sarcastic as she gives me a knowing look.

I glance at Emyth and Lysander whose eyes are glowing, but they're keeping their distance.

"Bucket," I whisper.

"What?" Airen asks.

"I need a bucket."

Lysander grabs a small trashcan from the floor and brings it to me just in time. Camus holds my hair back as I wretch repeatedly into the trashcan.

"Can you walk?" Airen asks once the vomiting subsides. "You're welcome to stay here, but I think you'll be more comfortable in your own bed."

"Can I take this trashcan with me?" I ask with a half-hearted laugh.

"Consider it a gift," Airen says, holding a hand out to help me to my feet, "and an apology."

She pulls me up and Camus immediately swoops in to hold me upright.

"I'm not an invalid. I can handle walking to my room."

"And I'm your mate. Let me help you, you stubborn mule."

"Such a smooth talker," I grumble under my breath. "Thanks, Airen."

As I turn to leave she places her hand on my forearm and says, "Just...be aware that you may go through all of this and still go into heat. I think we caught it fast enough, but if we didn't, you'll know in about twelve or so hours. I would keep the shifters away from you for now. Probably the vamps too, but they shouldn't go quite as feral."