Chapter 23

The week that follows Axil and Vanessa's daughter's birth is extremely hectic. I spend a lot of time at their house with Harper and Ryan, checking in on Vanessa and little Mona Monroe. Vanessa's healing remarkably well, which I assume has a lot to do with her altered DNA. From what I can tell, this is happening as a result of the mating bite, or through the brothers' sperm. It's a discovery Harper and I are excited to learn more about.

Kyan and I are staying with Mylo and Sam, since the four of us are the only ones without kids. My mate and I have started planning the renovations we want to make to the new house, and Mylo begrudgingly agreed to let us crash with them until the house is done.

After the office fire, Kyan resigned as the CEO of Monroe Media Solutions, promoting Thea to the role. She agreed to take it, especially after Kyan offered her a two hundred thousand dollar signing bonus as an apology. He told her she can sell the company if she wants. It's her choice to make. His employees were set up to work remotely during Covid, so until they can find a new office to lease, the entire team will work from home.

My relationship with Kyan's family got a fresh start after Mona's birth, and the girls have invited me over for lunch every day since. They're all such unique, fascinating women. I'm thrilled to finally have a core group of female friends again. I didn't know how much I missed it until they took me in.

Kyan and I take our nightly walk together back to my trailer to visit Felix, and I bring him a jumbo jar of unsalted mixed nuts, dumping it out on the floor next to the fridge once we get inside. "Don't eat it all at once, and share some with your friends, okay?" I say as I open all the windows.

The trailer is a mess, but that's because I've let Felix take over. It's his house now, and if he wants to leave peanut crumbs on the floor for several days, that's on him.

My hope is that I can lure him to the new house once we're settled and set him up with a really cushy cage/greenhouse that makes him feel at home. I know he's a creature of the woods, but he also deserves a soft blanket and gourmet food whenever he wants.

When we head back and climb into bed at Mylo's house, Kyan lets me cover his eyes with a blindfold while I run my tongue all over his body. I take his cock deep into my throat and moan as his piercings scrape along my tongue. His grip on my hair tightens as he fucks my mouth, my scalp burning slightly. Knowing his strength and how easily he could overpower me though he chooses not to is so fucking hot; I feel my pussy gush as he throws his head back, letting out a guttural groan. He tastes of salt and musk on my tongue; as I massage his balls, and I can tell he's close. I tap my fingers twice on his stomach, letting him know he's allowed to come, and he does. Hard.

I swallow as much as I can, but it's too much. When Kyan rips the tie off his eyes, he sees the come dribbling down my chin and wipes it away with his finger, then uses that finger to trace the outline of my lips.

Using a damp washcloth, I clean the stickiness from our bodies before climbing in bed next to him. I fall asleep listening to the sound of his steady breaths as I watch the snow falling in fluffy, fat flakes out the window. Winter is officially here, and everyone in the Monroe clan has begun their holiday preparations. Sam and Mylo decorated immediately after Halloween, and even our bedroom has little Santa figurines along the dresser and a plastic tree in the corner.

At some point during the night, my sleep turns restless, and I can't seem to get warm enough, despite the thick blankets piled on top of us and the fact that my body isn't supposed to experience the sensation of being too cold, since I'm technically dead.

A darkness hovers above me, an ominous presence that makes my skin prickle. Tossing and turning, I try to shove it away and fall back to sleep.

"Naomi." It's just a whisper, but not only do I hear it, I feel it. The voice hisses again, "Naomi."

I wake with a gasp, sitting up so fast that it makes Kyan jump. He looks around the room, ready to attack. "What? What is it?"

Wheezing, I struggle to catch my breath as my gaze turns to the window looking out over the backyard. "Xavier," I whimper. "He's here."

Kyan leaps out of bed, throwing clothes on before opening my closet and grabbing the first sweatshirt and pants he can find. I hastily get dressed as he runs down the hall to wake Sam and Mylo. They're already up. Mylo sensed something around the same time I did.

"Ready for battle?" Mylo asks as the four of us head downstairs. From the umbrella holder, he grabs two hand-carved stakes Kyan made and tosses one to his brother.

"You're staying here," Kyan says to Mylo as a wicked grin spreads across his face. "I'll be handling this one on my own."

"Kyan," I say in protest. "Please let Mylo go with you. You need backup."

He strides toward me on his long, powerful legs, never breaking his gaze. Grabbing me by the chin, he kisses me hard, leaving me dizzy when he breaks it. Stroking a finger down the slope of my nose, he says in a growl, "No, sweetheart. This is what I'm best at. You keep bringing new life into this world." He takes my lips once more, this time softer. So tender. "I'll keep taking it out."

Snow is dumping on us when Kyan steps outside, and I can see the terrifying glow of Xavier's eyes from where he leans casually against a tree.

"I believe you have something that belongs to me," he says with a sneer. I had almost forgotten how basic Xavier is. His hair hangs in limp black strings, hitting the center of his chest. Black makeup is smudged around his eyes, and if it's not made of leather, he doesn't fuck with it. He looks like a vampire who just got a gift card to the goth store at the mall and shopped for quantity over quality.

I think it's his form of rebellion. He looks so much like a typical vampire that he dresses like one, as if daring anyone who sees him to make the assumption. He encourages confrontation and always has.

Kyan stops in the middle of the yard, dropping his stake in the snow. "I'm afraid you're mistaken. She's mine." I wait for the shift, but it doesn't come. Kyan remains in his flightless form, which makes me anxious. As a dragon, I'm almost positive he can take Xavier. Like this, I don't know.

"You have a choice, friend," Kyan says, holding his arms out, practically begging for a fight. "You can leave here now in one piece and never come back."

Xavier walks toward him, leaving about five feet between them when he comes to a stop. "And the other option?"

"I shower you with enough fire that you beg for a stake."

Xavier opens his mouth, showing his extended fangs before charging at Kyan. He's a blur of shiny black as he cuts through the falling snow, and when he launches himself through the air, I stop breathing.

Kyan still hasn't shifted, and his feet remain planted in the same spot. I know he regained his ability to shift the day after Vanessa gave birth, so I'm not sure why he isn't right now.

What the fuck is he waiting for?

I hear commotion behind me, but I don't turn around to see what it is. I can't take my eyes off my mate.

"What's happening?" Julian says next to me in his slithery, velvet voice. "Does he need us?"

The pack is here. I don't know how they knew Kyan was in danger, but they showed up to support him.

I'm about to send them outside to gang up on Xavier, but just as I open my mouth, Kyan catches Xavier by the neck in midair and slams him onto the ground hard enough to cause a shaking beneath our feet. It's hard to tell what happens next, they both move so fast, but I smile when I count the many punches Kyan throws into Xavier's stomach, ribs, and face.

"No," I finally answer. "I think he's good."

I hear the arrival of Axil, Zev, and Luka, and we all crowd against the doorway as we watch the battle unfold.

Xavier gets the upper hand at one point, shoving Kyan to the ground and crawling on top of him. He uses his spindly legs to pin Kyan's down as he opens his mouth wide, ready to strike, fangs first.

That's when the air starts to change. The crisp white snow whips into a tornado around the two men, and before long, Xavier is a hundred feet off the ground, perched on top of Kyan's head like a fly on a horse.

Laughter fills the room the moment Xavier realizes how fucked he is. He scrambles to climb down but Kyan plucks him off with one of his claws and slams him onto the ground. He does this several more times, and I wonder if there will be anything left of Xavier to kill. By now, he's probably as flat as a pancake.

But Kyan isn't done. His shimmering blue wings extend behind him, the injured one still split in the middle and looking like a torn flag. My heart squeezes at the sight, angry and devastated he has to live this way for who knows how long.

That's when he shows off his draxilio's versatility. His wings flap as he pushes off the ground. He doesn't shoot into the sky like before, but he gets high enough to spit a ball of fire on the top half of a tall, thin tree on the edge of Sam and Mylo's yard. The house shakes when he lands, but he quickly jumps again, burning the branches off and molding it into what looks like a ten-foot-tall spear with a deathly sharp point. As the flames continue to lick down the length of the tree, Kyan adjusts Xavier's position inside his claw, and once he's in the air, Kyan raises his claw and slams it down onto the tree. The tree becomes a skewer, and Xavier a sad, lonely kebab.

Xavier's lifeless body hangs in the middle of the tree trunk, his chest completely hollowed out and his insides coating the charred, splintered edges of the top.

Kyan shifts back and can't hide the smile on his face as he stomps through the snow. His gaze is heated and remains fixed on my face. I hear cheers and applause as he sweeps me off my feet and kisses me like he hasn't seen me in years.

"You're free, little vampire," he says, rubbing the tip of his nose against mine.

"Because of you," I reply, wondering how I ended up with such a remarkable man to spend my days with.

"Are you sure you're okay with this?" he asks, tucking a lock of hair behind my ear. "Me doing the things I do? Being the way I am?"

My answer comes easily. "I wouldn't change a thing." Moonavi.