Chapter 14

Chapter

Fourteen

My fists curled by my sides as I tilted my head back to glare at the full moon like the floating rock was all to blame for my inability to shift. Barric had attempted to help me for two hours, forcing his alpha power on me, growling, and trying to gently coax my wolf side out.

This was so humiliating.

Nothing worked. All I'd gotten were talons, teeth, and a considerable dose of embarrassment. The head alpha probably thought I was the worst shifter in this realm.

Eventually, Jax retrieved him for some alpha business, and Barric couldn't mask his relief at exiting the awkward situation.

Hot anger flooded my bloodstream, and I whirled around, smashing my fist into a pine tree so hard bark splintered, and needles rained down around me. After a moment, pain registered, and the anger took a back seat.

Son of a bitch!

My skin split over two of my knuckles, and blood oozed down my fingers .

"It's not enough that I have to endure your nightmares, the emotional chaos of your failure to shift, but now I get to feel the physical pain because you decided to punch the fuck out of a tree."

A snarl curled out of my mouth as Fane materialized through the foliage, stepping over a fallen log and piles of leaves. If I hadn't been focused on the throbbing in my hand, I would have felt his approach.

He pretended the other night, when he held me in the bed and confessed that he killed the sadistic Mr. Bowden, never happened. The moment he woke that morning, he reverted to the uber prick, the kindness evaporating.

"Go away, Maverick. I'm not in the mood to deal with your shit right now." The crushing loss of hope after Venna killed Kaspin still clung to my heart, creating deep fissures. Fane might not care that the spell making him thirst for my death would never be broken, but every time I thought about it, I couldn't breathe.

Logan promised he'd find a way to shatter the spell without Kaspin. There were witches more powerful than him in Illyria, and the high demon would talk to every last one if he had to.

Could Venna have lied about Kaspin being the only one who could break the spell? Sure, but with my luck, the demon princess was right. And now Fane was forever stuck like this.

I turned around and leaned against the tree I'd assaulted, letting my hand drop to my side even though it intensified the pain.

Of course, Fane wouldn't leave me alone in my misery. His mismatched gaze roamed over me, burning a trail across my body. "I'm not in the mood to deal with your shit either, Teague, but I don't really have a choice with this damn link." His jaw clenched, the tiny muscles feathering. "I feel what you feel, and it's annoying as hell."

I pushed off the tree until the tips of our boots met, and I had to crane my neck back to look at him. "I'm well aware of how you feel, too, Maverick. This bond goes both ways. I irritate you to no end, and you'd rather choke the life out of me than endure a bond with your brother's murderer." I jabbed my finger into his chest. It was like hitting a titanium plate. "I also know how much desire you have for me."

He could deny his feelings and lie to himself, but I knew the truth. I felt it in my soul. Literally.

"If you want me dead so badly, stop saving my life," I snapped.

A scarlet hue swam into Fane's cheeks as fire erupted in his eyes. The tattoos on his arms twitched, his beast longing to break free. "Don't push me, Teague, or?—"

"Or what?" I refused to back down. "You'll kill me?"

His nostrils flared, and this time, red flashed in his irises as his rage reached a fever pitch. If I had any sense, I'd leave the vicinity before he flipped his shit. Fane only had so much control, and I knew damn good and well how thin I was wearing it.

Still, his constant denial pissed me off.

The low, threatening growl that curled between his teeth had the hairs on my nape rising. "You have no self-preservation." Instead of ripping my throat out, Fane's mouth descended on mine in a bruising, punishing kiss.

As far as attacks went, I definitely preferred the demon shifter's current style. His tongue twirled around mine as he owned my mouth, and his hand tangled in the back of my hair, tilting my head to deepen the angry kiss. I came alive under his touch, jolts of electricity crackling over my flesh and hitting me in my belly.

"I fucking hate you." He brutally nipped at my lips.

My hands trailed down his torso, running over the massive bulge in his jeans. "You call this hate, Maverick?" I didn't think about what I was doing, how much I was provoking him, and unzipped his jeans, pulling his hard length out.

His rough groan vibrated my bones, and his head fell back as I stroked him. "You're playing a dangerous game, Teague."

The smell of his arousal had me trembling with desire. The angrier he got, the more desperate I became for him. His grip on my hair tightened, burning my scalp and making me whimper. The sound made delight flare in his smoldering gaze.

I wanted to show him how much he didn't hate me, how much he craved me. I wanted him begging for more and screaming my name until there was no possible way he could deny the attraction between us.

Fane sensed my intent and paused as if he would stop me. But he didn't.

My knees hit the ground, his hand still tangled in my strands following, and my tongue glided against his hot, silky cock as I took him in my mouth.

A husky, broken moan burst out of him, setting my blood on fire. His pleasure ricochetted through the bond, and more moisture collected between my legs, soaking my underwear. His scent washed over me, leather, fire, spice, and musk, and I could barely contain the whimper that wanted to tumble out.

"What the hell are you doing, Teague?" The words came out in choppy pants, and his hips began to buck, forcing him deeper inside.

"I'm showing you how much you really want me."

His teeth bared, and his hand tightened in my hair. "I'd enjoy any woman on her knees, choking on my cock. "

"Liar."

Fury mixed with Fane's arousal, and a terrifying smile suddenly pulled at his lips. Moments later, his phantom hands smoothed down my body and traveled between my legs. His invisible fingers bypassed my jeans and thrust inside of my entrance, making me moan around his hard, pulsating length.

"Two can play this game, fiera mika."

The forest turned blurry as Fane owned my mouth and took away my sanity with each plunge of his fingers. My heart pounded, and my limbs trembled. If he wasn't gripping my hair, I would have fallen to the ground.

Would he have followed me, pinning me with his weight and taking me like a beast?

Fane cursed as his rhythm increased, the veins in his neck popping as his head fell back. "That fucking mouth, Teague." His thumb rubbed my bundle of nerves while he added another finger, pushing me closer to the edge. When I whimpered, a wave of fine tremors ricochetted through him.

We were both so damn close.

The demon shifter lowered his head again, his irises glowing brighter than stars and burning every square inch of me. "Come for me, fiera mika. Now ."

As his words hit me, I heeded his command, and the building tension in my core erupted. I cried out around his thickness as ripples of pleasure assaulted me. The sensations traveled through the bond, and as he felt them, he roared and shoved himself impossibly deeper, hitting the back of my throat. He spilled inside of me, his salty taste exploding in my mouth.

The look in his eyes, pure bliss, had another orgasm ripping through me as I swallowed him down.

Fane finally pulled out of my mouth and yanked me to my feet, our heavy breaths echoing through the forest. His nostrils flared, his jaw clenching and teeth baring while his hand gripped the back of my neck to keep me barely an inch from him.

"You really know how to prove a point, don't you, Teague?"

The edges of my lips twitched. "So do you." The feel of him in my mouth and between my legs was branded into my mind. As I tucked him back into his pants, pain flared across my knuckles again, and I hissed.

Fane seized my hand, holding it as his fiery stare hypnotized me. The throbbing in my knuckles slowly faded.

The shock of his actions overshadowed the relief. "Why did you take my pain?" I whispered.

"I didn't mean—" He dropped my hand and drew back, his brows furrowed and gaze averted to the pine-covered ground.

Fane hadn't meant to take my pain, but his instinct had taken over, and the desire to ease my physical suffering was greater than Kaspin's spell.

"You should go back inside. You've been trying to shift for an hour. It's not happening." He motioned his finger around the forest. "You're not going to change into a little wolf and run around like everyone else in Silver Ridge."

His harsh words extinguished the fires in me and cut me to the bone. I choked back the hot tears, shoved him away, and marched through the forest. Fane's intent had been to hurt me so he didn't have to think about why he'd taken my pain, but knowing that didn't make it any worse.

"Don't be mad." He quickly caught up to me, his steps somehow silent on the crunchy leaves and pine straw blanketing the ground. "I'm just stating the obvious."

"Go to hell, Maverick." I stomped over a pile of broken twigs and leaves, wishing I could hide under them and disappear from this world. "You're an asshole for saying that. You know what it's like not to fit in."

He pulled me to a stop, his mouth opening and closing like he was at a loss for words. "Maybe I shouldn't have said that."

"Maybe?"

A growl vibrated his chest. "I shouldn't have said it."

I choked back the lump rising in my throat. "I've never fit in. I was always the freak kid in foster care or the quiet weirdo in the corner people rarely noticed." My cheeks flamed when a tear slipped free, and I angrily swiped it away. "Even as a raven, I was the rebellious one who didn't belong, and then I became the one who excelled too fast and was too good."

"You shouldn't be ashamed for being too good at something." Fane's fingers loosened on my arm.

"I was too good because I wasn't normal . I was born human but not from humans. Or we really don't even know." Another tear ran down my chin, falling onto a dead leaf with a splat. "And now I'm a shifter-demon hybrid who can't even shift. Let's not forget the other thing inside of me." I poked my sternum where the sun tattoo inked my torso.

Fane's head bowed, his lips thinning. "You're right, Teague. I know what living in two worlds is like, not fitting into either one. I shouldn't have said it. I'm sorry."

My eyebrows shot up my forehead. "Did you just apologize? To me?"

He dragged his thumb across my cheekbone to rub away a tear. "Don't make a big deal. It won't happen again."

But it was a big deal. A few weeks ago, he would have stormed off after hurting me.

I couldn't stop myself from falling against him and burying my face in his chest. I just needed his comfort. He might toss me in the dirt, so I remained on high alert .

But after a few awkward seconds, Fane's arms reluctantly lifted and held me against him.

My muscles relaxed, and I melted into him as my heart squeezed. It felt like coming home after being gone for years. A tiny sob slipped out, and I snuggled deeper, soaking in this moment because it wouldn't last, no matter how much I wanted it to.