28. Aurelia

Chapter 28

Aurelia

P oker is a favourite game of the beasts who rule the underworld. I've seen people killed in brutal games during the time I secretly worked for my father. I see some vaguely familiar faces amongst the three poker tables, though I can't exactly place where I know them. Scythe leads us to a table being set up by a group of hyenas. I spot their matriarch immediately. A wizened old lady with heavy black eyeliner and brows, and an intricate tattoo rounding the bottom of her right eye and temple. Her beady, dark eyes mark me as I approach. She is as shrewd as she is cunning. I've always wanted to know her secrets.

I double check my shields. The hyenas have no precise order power, but they've always been known as witches. Whatever dark spells and incantations they brew in the midnight hours are often successful. That's why they're hated by the other orders.

"My lady," I greet, inclining my head.

"Bah! I'm no lady, which you know quite well," she spits. "And you "—she points an arthritic finger at me—"are a little girl in a monster's world. I remember you as a hatchling slithering under my feet with your dolls."

"That was a long time ago," I reply evenly. "Another lifetime."

"Aye," she continues. "Back then, I told Mace you'd be walking these paths before he knew it, and here you are now. A snake might shed its scales, but it's still the same damn snake ."

Xander snorts behind me before taking a seat at the table next to her. The Hancock witches alliance with the Nagas has lasted over a hundred years. I have to tread carefully.

"I heard she can do a possum as well," Xander says mildly.

The hyena matriarch tilts her head back and cackles, then looks at me and waves her hand. "Oh, don't fret. I won't be tattling to your father. I won't need to. Hah! Are you playing, or are you going to keep gawking at me?"

But now that I'm looking, all the high-backed leather seats at the table are taken. Scythe, Lyle and Xander take up three seats, with Savage being mysteriously missing, the Lady Crocodylus in one, and the last seats are claimed by two brutish, black-haired tigers who rake their gazes down my body.

I recognise both because of their resemblance to their son and brother, and Minnie's ex-mate, Titus.

Cain Clawson. The Clawson patriarch, brother-killer and in alliance with my father, is even more imposing than Titus. He's a huge, striking male, thick black hair, and midnight bushy brows over dark, plotting eyes. His skin is deeply tanned, and he's just as tall as Lyle, only wider, but not because of muscle. Hairy, meaty fists rest on the table before him as he regards me with a glimmering malevolence that borders on hate.

The other male can only be Cain's second son. Brutus. A slightly younger version of Titus. He has scarred knuckles that have dried blood and dirt caked on them. In fact, he's shiny with sweat and dirty all over. He shows me his teeth in an entirely feral way, and I remember Cain had a nasty habit of keeping both his sons rabid for his own use. Lyle coached Titus out of his rabidity, and it looks like Brutus has been upgraded to plain feral.

"Going to put your money where your mouth is, Cain?" the hyena matriarch asks rudely.

Instead of replying to the hyena, Cain smirks at me. "Titus told me you were a specimen, but now I understand what all the fuss is about."

Brutus chuckles darkly.

"Aye, she's prettier than her mother," Lady Hyena says, shuffling her newly dealt cards. "And she was something to look at."

I look at her sharply.

"Patience, Aurelia," Scythe says smoothly into my mind. "We don't react. We respond."

"Brighter eyes," Lady Crocodylus muses between puffs of her cigar. "More fight in them."

I don't like the way our opponents chuckle.

While The Collector's chained beasts wait silently behind her, the perimeter of our table becomes crowded with spectators, both male and female.

"What are we playing for?" The Collector asks innocently, stroking her cards with her gloved hands.

A dark feeling coils in my stomach before every eye on the table turns to me.

"Offer yourself." Scythe's mental order surprises my brain like a slap on the ass.

"What the actual fuck?"

Lyle shifts in his seat.

Scythe hasn't moved at all. "If you can't handle this, Lyle, leave."

It's then that I see my lion's power pulses around him in overt lethal dominance.

"Never. It'll be alright, angel."

"Trust me, Aurelia," Scythe says.

For Sabrina. I can do this. But damn Scythe for the order. That must be why he sent Savage away.

Letting my hate for Scythe show in my eyes, I toss my head back. "How about me?"

Cain's head snaps in my direction, but it's The Collector who drawls, "What about you, exactly?"

It's out of my mouth before I can stop it. "The winner gets a night with me."

Lyle's and Savage's growls flood my mind, so loud I can barely hear external conversation. Scythe gives Savage a warning message in the group chat and his mental presence leaves, letting me hear again.

"Very well," the Lady Hyena cackles. " This will be interesting."

"Since she is Mr Khakorous' guest, she is his to barter." The Collector smirks at her cards.

Lyle wants to respond to that, but I can tell Scythe is dissuading him from an outward argument. Scythe scoots out of his chair a little and crooks two fingers at me.

I'm both annoyed and aroused.

That Scythe would beckon to me, and that he is calling me and me alone to sit on his lap when no other is allowed so much as a touch. Forcing down the oncoming blush, I saunter towards him, making sure I shift my hair so that everyone can see exactly how low my dress scoops at the back.

"Exhibitionist," Xander's sneer comes into my mind.

"Don't be jealous, scales," I purr back to him. Just as he's about to retort, I add, "I'm sure you'd look lovely in this dress."

Scythe's face is hard as an iceberg as I tentatively step between his legs and sit on the broad expanse of his right thigh. His power and scent envelop me as the arm that's holding his cards wraps around my waist. I have to take a slow, measured breath to calm myself.

I've never been closer to him. His embrace. I'm at home here and I realise it with a jolt. The regina in me wants to sigh and bury my nose in his silver hair. My core throbs a rhythm alongside my heartbeat. I want it so bad that the backs of my eyes burn in dire frustration. I want to tear my clothes off and be filled up by him. By every part of him. I want him to give himself to me. And I want to give myself to him.

I need --

"Settle," comes the sharp, cold command.

And because I made a fucking vow to obey him, I take yet another deep, measured breath and choke down my anima's wanton dance. Is there something in the air? Are there drugs in the cigar smoke? Knowing these beasts, there very well might be.

Despite my measured breaths and smooth, unbothered face, my skin is hot. A fine sheen of sweat coats my chest and I wonder why the air-conditioner in here isn't working.

"Are you alright, sweetheart?" Lyle's voice is concerned as his words slide into my mind.

I take a moment to smirk at him. "I'm fine. Do I not look fine?"

"Pull yourself together," Xander mentally chastises me as a falcon deals everyone in. "You're embarrassing Scythe."

I glare at the dragon.

It's then that Scythe shifts his hand and everything in my universe suddenly stops. His left hand comes to rest lightly on the bare skin of my thigh, thumb stroking in a slow motion as if to soothe.

I swoon, my head light and airy as the moment echoes down into my pussy. I could almost sprout wings right here and explode into nothingness.

Gods, I want him so badly. I wonder if I could get away with touching him. Just a bit. The others are talking, but I can't hear anything of what they're saying. Xander's voice is snide and someone laughs. I feel so very far away.

"Focus," Scythe commands.

I sigh, turning my nose away from his utter perfection and looking at the table instead. I don't really know how to play poker, let alone this who-can-have-sex-with-Aurelia version. I giggle under my breath and Lyle looks at me with concern. But that's exactly what this is. They're gambling my pussy. I hope Lyle wins. I hope Lyle and Xander win, because then I can ride both of them on this table.

I'm suddenly slick. So slick that I'm sure it's gone through my underwear. I wiggle my bottom to check.

Scythe shifts.

Oh shit. It has. I've wet Scythe's thigh.

"It's alright," the shark says calmly. "Just ignore it."

But the sweet scent of it has hit my nose and I'm sure if I can scent it, then Scythe can too. Heat floods my face.

And if he can, then it's only a matter of time before the rest of the table does.

"What do I do?" I ask the group chat in panic.

"What's wrong? " Lyle and Savage ask at the same time.

"Nothing. It's fine," Scythe says quickly, then just to me, "The entire place is dripping in arousal, Aurelia. No one will notice."

I swallow the massive lump in my throat as the game goes on. "I'm sorry."

Silence stretches out and I want to melt into the floor just as he says, " Do not apologise, Aurelia. Not for that."

A tiny tear slides down my cheek. It's a tear of combined humiliation and frustration. I keep my head looking straight and away from the table so no one sees my left eye.

But Scythe sees it.

Discreetly, he raises his hand and wipes my cheek. I stare at him and he stares at me back. His eyes flick down to my parted lips before he licks the tear off his thumb.

I swallow again and tear my eyes away from him and his heinous mouth. Dear Goddess, help me.

"Is she still a virgin?" comes the heavy voice of Cain. "Or have you ruined her already, lion?"

I stare in shock at the Clawson tigers.

"Mind your fucking tongue," Lyle snarls.

"And mind your fucking jaw ," Scythe drawls.

The table goes deathly quiet.

He can't mean what I think he means? But also, that's twice in one hour the status of my lady parts has been discussed. Must be some type of record for me.

"I don't understand what the big fucking deal about a Boneweaver is, anyway," Brutus says, slurring his words a little. "If they all died out, they can't be so powerful."

"I heard the dragons hunted them to extinction," Lady Hyena drawls.

"Or was it the phoenixes?" The Collector smirks. "Neither could handle the competition."

"Everyone wants to be top dog," Lady Hyena says. "But no one watches the things that sneak in the shadows." Her eyes flick briefly over to something behind me. The serpent's corner, I think.

The game goes on for a little while, until it's just Scythe and Brutus holding cards. Scythe has fantastic luck, Xander even more so, but I'm sure he lost his hand on purpose.

Everyone watches the two of them battle it out with bated breath.

Brutus smirks and lays down his cards. A king, two queens and an ace.

But looking at Scythe's cards, my stomach roils with nausea. Scythe has lost the hand. He's fucking lost to the Clawsons. He lays down his cards. Somebody gasps.

"Oh, hell no," I hiss into his mind.

And then I have the thought that Scythe is getting rid of me because I've been wet all over him and he hates me for it.

I want to cry.

"Come here, little Boneweaver," drawls Brutus, eyes practically glowing with malice.

"It's alright." I say into the chat because Lyle is just barely fighting his animus and I am determined to do this for Sabrina.

Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. I want to vomit. Instead, I get up from Scythe's knee and saunter over to the killers of my mother's mate. I'm actually dragging my feet to delay this torture, but the overall effect is the same.

Cain leers at me as I walk past him and Brutus shoves back from the table like he can't wait and licks his fleshy lips.

Fighting disgust, I perch on his lap, setting as little weight as possible on his knee. He finds my thighs and squeezes them with both hands, kneading them like dough before tugging me close. He stuffs his nose into my hair and inhales deeply. "Ah, it's like the most expensive wine."

"You wouldn't even know what that smells like," Xander scoffs.

But Brutus isn't listening. He growls, rubbing his nose between my breasts and making an appreciative sound.

I gag. Vomit actually surges up my throat, and I swallow it back down. Holy. Shit. I snatch up a glass and down it, not caring who's it is. I need to cool off.

For Sabrina. For Sabrina. For Sabrina.

Trying not to look at him, I drag my fingernails through his mop of oily hair. It's sort of gross because I'm sure my fingers will be shiny now, but he purrs in his throat, rubbing himself against me.

"Guess what?" Savage drawls into the group chat. "The cat's in the bag. I repeat: the cat's in the bag."

They have Sabrina.

"And Minnie?" I ask him.

"Yeah, kitten's in the bag too," comes the reply.

Relief floods through my veins, golden and honeyed. My entire body takes a relieved exhale, relaxing where I sit.

"I should take you here, before we leave," Brutus drawls, reminding me I'm still perched on his putrid lap. He's been drinking. Or there is something in the cigars. It's probably Lady Hyena's doing. "You're so ripe."

Huh? Ripe? Who says that?

"Wait a minute." Xander sounds like he's choking for some reason.

Lyle must think that's silly too, because his snarl spreads across the table. And then it gets out of hand because he jumps to his feet and leaps right onto the table and lands in a crouch, his business shoes thudding.

What the fuck is going on? With me? With everyone?

Xander roars into the group chat like the devil himself has shat on the table. "She's in fucking heat! That's her heat scent! Everyone get the fuck out of here!"

It's then that Brutus Clawson explodes in a shower of blood and flesh.