6. ONE

ONE

Wren

Steppingoutofthe shadows and onto Cursina lands sent a chill down my spine.

The first and last time I’d visited Cursina was when I went to the desolate Necromancer village with Kian and Lachlan. But I couldn’t even tell it was the same territory.

Alister, Damien, and I stood at the mouth of a cave nestled at the base of a volcano, and it brimmed with life. Lush grass faded into dirt and stone within the cave, but blooms of flowers surrounded it.

Damien leaned down, brushing his lips against my ear. “All you have to do is say my name, and I’ll be there.”

“Okay,” I breathed as heat spread across my cheeks.

“She won’t be saying your name. She’ll be screaming mine,” Alister purred, crossing his arms as his gaze dragged down the length of me.

Desire sparked in my lower abdomen, and Damien let loose a growl as he grabbed my shoulders to spin me around and captured my lips with his, slipping his tongue in my mouth and tangling it with mine.

My arms wrapped around his neck as I pulled him closer, and he moaned in my mouth as his shadows twined around my legs and parted them, picking me up for my legs to circle around his waist.

Alister huffed. “It’s my time.”

Damien’s shadows slipped away as his fingers dug into my butt to keep me up as he broke the kiss. “For now, but all she has to do is say my name, and I’ll be back.”

“Like I said, it’ll be my name she’ll be screaming.” Alister gripped my hips and pulled me off Damien to set me on the ground.

Damien’s lips curved into a wide grin as he faded back into the shadows of the cave. “We’ll see about that.”

“Who says I’m going to be saying anybody’s name?” I teased, patting down my skirt.

“I only hope is all.” Alister nodded toward the cave. “This is where I played as a kid all the time. There’s a vast amount of crystals in here.” His gaze swept over it, and his eyes twinkled with excitement.

“Show me.” I reached over and laced my fingers through his.

“My father showed me this cave. He said it was my mother’s favorite place to be when she was still with my father.”

The sting of his pain ebbed through the bond. “Did Rebeka ever explain more as to why she had to stay away from you for so long?”

“Just that she and her sister were just trying to prevent what’s happening now. Their magic is connected to their great grandfather’s, so they wanted to correct the wrongs he did, I guess. I asked why she couldn’t have visited or at least stayed in contact, but she said she had spent her time constantly using magic and searching for the relic while keeping the magic they were connected to hidden.” He shook his head as we stepped into the cave entrance. “It’s ironic that the humans were able to stumble upon it so easily.”

The walls were bumpy stone with fingerlings of tree roots growing throughout, but the deeper we walked, the more the walls were formed with crystals. Crystals of reds, greens, yellows, and blues. They seemed to glow as we passed, illuminating us in beautiful colored lights.

Stalactites hung from the ceiling, and stalagmites protruded from the floors. Small rivulets of water trickled down the stalagmites, plopping onto the cold stone beneath our feet.

I inhaled the stale air, reaching out to run a fingertip along a vein of quartz. The quartz was smooth but slimy with condensation. The cold of it seeped into my body, cooling my core temperature that always spiked around my mates.

The cave was truly beautiful.

“There are a ton of crystals here. There’s amethyst and red crystals, high quality green crystals, diamonds… There are so many powerful crystals in here.” The glow of the crystals made his red eyes look hauntingly beautiful, and I squeezed his hand tighter.

“It truly is stunning. I don’t blame you for coming in here a lot.”

“These are the crystals that kept me going and growing into adulthood. Especially with my vampiric aging.” He forced out a chuckle. “Meeting you has made my life worth living.”

My heart stuttered as I moved forward and cupped his face, running my thumbs over the scratchy hair on his jaw line. “You don’t mean that. Your life had meaning before me.”

“Maybe, but I wasn’t fulfilled until you.” His hands curled around my wrists and brought my hands down. He brushed his lips over mine slowly, letting his fangs glide over my bottom lip.

Our magic swirled around us, and the crystals brightened. “I love you.”

“And I love you, sweet ruby.” He pulled back, and we continued our trek into the cave.

“The relic… What does it mean for the war?”

His body tensed as he faltered his step. “Since both teams that the Supernatural Council sent to retrieve the relic have come up empty, I’m afraid it’s not looking to be in our favor.”

“The council is sending a team again today to check it out,” I murmured, wanting to provide some hope. But dread settled heavily in my gut.

I thought once the dragons caught wind, they’d be all over the area. The human specimens are strong, especially in numbers. But the dragons and few drakes on their side would wipe them out if it came to it. Yet, the dragons hadn’t made a move yet.

“According to my mother, there isn’t a lot of hope for a supernatural to get close enough to retrieve it without losing their magic. The fact that we were able to withstand being in its presence and maintain our magic is still a mystery to her.” He swept a hand through his hair with a sigh.

“What if the relic’s power weakened from being underground for so long?” I nibbled my bottom lip in contemplative thought.

“Maybe, but with the magical energy it did siphon off of us, it’s probably charged up enough to be just as powerful as we were warned.”

I blew out an air of frustration.

The agents of the Supernatural Council hadn’t been able to get near the relic since it was still covered in the remnants of the collapsed structure. Every time the teams went to the site, human specimens attacked them. An entire army of them. It’d been like this for the past three weeks. The only positive was that the humans hadn’t recovered it yet either.

“It’s going to be okay,” he promised, but worry swirled in his eyes and thrummed down the bond.

“Yeah, it will.” I moved my hand and shifted my attention to the crystals glowing with magical energy surrounding us. “On a positive note, I’m happy the council decided to abolish the hierarchy.”

“I hate that list,” he muttered bitterly. “It just further divides us.”

Scrunching my nose, I shook my head. “There’s too much divide among us. Every single one of us are different, sure. But the majority are focused on our different powers and abilities. I just don’t understand why Kalista can’t just get along the way they do in the Bizarre.”

“It is remarkable how well they get along for being different supernaturals.” He hummed.

“All of my other mates, you, and I are different supernaturals, and we get along just fine.”

“Yes. If only everyone had the same mindset. They’re signing the contract today with the Bizarre council members to bind them into abolishing it publicly.”

“Good.”

“Just… prepare yourself for an uproar, even at the academy.”

“I know.” My voice dropped lower. “I had heard how divided Kalista was when I lived in the Arctic Wolf village. But to see it firsthand is unsettling.”

Fate Hollow was a place they deemed habitable for every species of supernatural. It was a goal the entire Supernatural Council fought for. It was something Rowan strived for after having the cult views of the dragon’s shoved down his throat.

The discrimination between species made me wildly uncomfortable and sick to my stomach. We were sentient beings, deserving of the same amount of respect, no matter what we were.

Something I learned by seeing the prejudice between other students was that we didn’t need people who just believed we all deserved the same treatment. We needed people who would stand up for equal treatment and be against discrimination loudly, viciously, and passionately. It was the only way we would see a real change.

The humans and the dragons of Blezen had one glaringly obvious similarity: they wanted to destroy all of the other species so they would be the last ones standing.

“Sweet ruby…” Alister reached behind his neck and unclasped a locket I hadn’t noticed he was wearing and held it up in his palm to show me.

The glows of the crystals reflected off the silver.

“My mother gave me this after the meeting when she first showed up.”

“How has it only been three weeks?” I ran my fingers over the cool metal, and magic erupted.

Electricity zapped my finger, making me jerk my hand back as an image of Rebeka and a man that looked just like Alister became visible from the locket.

“We know that you’ll understand when you’re older, but we’re still sorry that this had to happen,” the man said in a gruff voice.

“If only my great grandfather hadn’t created that relic,” Rebeka clipped bitterly.

The man gripped her chin and dropped a kiss on her lips. “It’s not your fault, darling. What you’re doing is making sure that Alister has a safe place to grow up in. A place where he can be what he’s supposed to be. A vampire with a witch mother.”

“I have a feeling that was a little bit like an insult.” She giggled as tears filled her eyes, and she turned to face us again. “I love you, Alister. I know that your father is going to do such a great job raising you. I’m leaving you with a gift. Since you seem to love crystals just as much as your father and I…”

The vision faded, and the crystals dimmed around us.

Alister’s jaw ticked as he gripped the locket in his hand.

I slipped my fingers under his to pry them off it and plucked it from his hand. “This is so special.” I stepped behind him and wound the locket around his neck and clasped it back. I stepped back beside him. “Your mother really loves you. And clearly, your father did too.”

“It feels like closure, but it opened another wound I didn’t know I had. I didn’t know I had resentment for her. My father never did.”

I nodded. “I can feel it through our bond.”

“I shouldn’t feel resentment. Everything she did was for us, for me, and for all of Kalista.”

“But she’s your mom. I understand.”

He cleared his throat, flicking his gaze to me. “Rowan and Damien are still searching for the facility holding your dad, right?”

A sigh slipped out of me, and I nodded. “It’s almost been a month, and they haven’t found the facility the woman had told us about. It’s extremely frustrating.”

“It is, but we’re here for you if you want to talk.”

When the human had claimed they took my father to a facility deep in the south of the human territory, I had been so hopeful. At least we had something to go on to find him, but everything we’d tried hadn’t led us to him.

“I don’t think I have the energy to talk about it anymore, honestly.”

I hated not being able to do anything when all I wanted to do was help my father. Nobody had been successful locating the facility. Not even Kian, Blair, Jan, Trixie, or Tabitha. They had tried everything.

“I’m disappointed that you’re not going to be in my class again this term.” Alister huffed, pushing his bottom lip out as his fangs dug into it.

“I know. It’s not fun having professors other than you,” I teased as we went deeper into the cave.

He chuckled. “Well, I have to admit, I’m more productive without you in my class.”

I gasped, whipping my head to the side to stare at him. “Why do you say that?”

“Because I’m not distracted by thinking of you bent over my desk constantly.”

My giggle echoed through the cave as my shoe slid on a wet stone.

Thanks to his vampire speed, Alister caught me before my entire body hit the ground, but a stinging pain seared through me.

“Fates!” My leg twisted to the side, and my inner thigh snagged on a sharp crystal sticking out of the floor.

I growled in pain as he hissed from all the blood oozing from the gash.

He held me to his chest and sped us farther into the cave where there was a flat surface of the stone floor, free of debris and stalagmites. He set me down before spreading my thighs and running his tongue over the gash, shooting sparks of pleasure mixed with the pain.

If that crystal had cut any higher… I winced. Ouch wouldn’t have covered it.

“Fuck,” he moaned, pulling away and looking at me with blood smeared on his mouth. “Your blood is too tempting.”

“Fuck is right. It hurts so bad, doesn’t it, little bird? Why don’t I feed off some of that pain?” Damien’s dark chuckle boomed off the walls, sounding like it was coming from every direction as he stepped out of the shadows behind Alister.

“Damien,” I breathed, catching his glowing silver eyes just as Alister’s head dipped and his fangs embedded into the gash on my inner thigh. “Alister!”

His venom shot through my veins as he bit down, and a strangled moan fell out of me as he pulled them back out and licked the wound until my magic sealed the flesh on my thigh again.

“Looks like we were both right,” he mused.

“Yes. Seems so. She did say my name,” Damien said.

“But she screamed mine,” Alister purred, gripping my thighs and hooking my knees over his shoulders.

My back connected with the stone ground with a thud as his nose pressed into the heat between my legs, over my incredibly wet panties, and he inhaled. “You smell so sweet.”

“She tastes even sweeter.” Damien’s growl reverberated off the walls as Alister gripped my panties from under my skirt and tugged them down my legs with his vampire speed, landing his hot mouth on my most sensitive spot, sucking hard. His fangs pricked either side of it, digging in enough to insert his venom as he sucked and licked me.

Pleasure streamed through my body, and I screamed out as my pheromones exploded out of me.

My legs clenched together, burying his face deeper.

Damien’s gaze connected with mine as ripples of ecstasy swept through me. He swallowed hard, tonguing his lip ring and keeping eye contact with me as Alister’s tongue worked around my flesh as his venom overtook me.

Damien stepped closer and bent down to where Alister had thrown my panties, and he snatched them up, clutching the soaked fabric to his face and inhaling before pocketing them.

I opened my mouth to protest when pleasure tore through me, singeing my veins in a scorching wave.

“Oh, Fates, Alister!” I thrashed and moaned on the ground of the cave as the crystals glowed even brighter, reacting to our magic combining again and again.

Alister pulled away, licking his lips of blood and my desire.

My mind splintered, staring at them, and my pheromones spilled out more. Damien’s lips curved into a predatory smirk as his shadows snaked around my body, hiking my skirt further up and pinning me against the ground to where I couldn’t move.

A stray tendril slipped up my thigh and plunged into my heat.

My entire body shattered, and my head tilted back as a soundless scream of ecstasy slipped out.

Damien hovered over me the next moment, plundering my mouth with his cruel kisses. He broke the kiss by biting my lip and drawing blood.

I yelped in pain, but his shadow working in and out of me made the pain bearable.

He pulled himself out of his pants and stroked himself, trailing his lips down the column of my throat and back before he teased the jewel on the tip of his erection down my slit. “Tell me you want my cock, little bird.”

Alister’s breath caught in his throat as our gazes connected.

I let my eyelids flutter shut as heat raced over my body. “I want your cock, Damien.”

“Didn’t hear you. You want what?” The jewel circled around the same spot that Alister had brutalized with his mouth, and I cried out from the sensitivity.

“I want your cock, Damien, please. I need it. I need you!”

“You need my what, little bird?” His shadow slipped out of me, and he lined himself at my entrance.

“I need your cock inside of me!” A feral growl ripped from my throat as my pheromones exploded in the cave.

“Oh! Why didn’t you just say so?” He wrapped his hand around my throat as he pushed himself into my heated core.

I cried out again, attempting to arch my hips even though his shadow tendrils held me tight. I tightened around him as an orgasm blew through me, his girth stretched me as he pulled almost all the way out before plunging deeper again and again.

I screamed as he drove into me with fierceness, coming again. Our magic combusted, making the crystals around us glow even brighter.

My shadow snaked out, wrapping around Damien’s throat snugly as he moaned, and my pheromones increased to the max.

Alister’s eyes rolled back as his magic joined in the mix, and a rope of cum exploded from his tip and onto the ground as he watched us.

Damien slowed before pulling back out and resting his forehead on mine. “I love you, little bird.”

“I love both of you,” I breathed out.

My pheromones were wild and out of control in the cave, and I blushed as I called them back inside of me. Both of their muscles relaxed visibly with the lack of pheromones in the air, and I giggled. “I can’t get enough of you guys lately.”

“That’s the pheromones, thanks to the incubus.” Damien gave a sly smile before kissing me again.

Alister held a new pair of panties with a tag still attached in the air. “Figured he’d steal more panties, so I came prepared.” He gave a stern look to Damien. “You can’t have these.”

“Those don’t have her sweetness, so no thanks.” He turned his nose up, and I giggled.

We really needed this. A break from all the stress before term four started this week.