23. Oria

23

ORIA

M y body was sore, especially in between my legs, but it was the best feeling in the world. I opened my eyes, feeling all my mates around me. I was laying on top of someone with two arms thrown over me and one was grabbing my ass.

It was perfection.

I leaned up to see I was on Max, who looked angelic as he slept. Our bond was strong, beating in me like my own heartbeat. Ryder was to my right and the twins cuddled together on my left. It was rare to see the twins sleep, but after last night and our bond settling, I guess we all needed to sleep. My heart felt full, years of being alone made me think I would never find anyone to share my life with and it definitely was not with four people.

"Happy?" Ryder's voice was raspy.

"More than I ever imagined," I said, feeling so many emotions.

Tears gathered in my eyes and for once I felt safe enough to let my emotions go. I hid my face in Max's chest.

"Who the fuck made her cry?" Soren's scratchy voice yelled.

"Sunshine, what did he do?"

A hand ran down my back as I tried to say something, but the tears kept coming.

"Ryder." Soren growled.

"I didn't say anything. I just asked her if she was happy," Ryder said in a panic.

"She's not sad." Max's voice made his chest rumble. "She's overwhelmed with happiness."

"Oh, Sunshine." Gray's voice was close to me.

Before I knew it, they all hugged me. Our scents mixed together, but I realized we all made one harmonious aroma. I took a deep breath, taking comfort that we were all here together. I finally felt like I belonged somewhere.

Once the tears dried up, I got sleepy again.

"As much as I love this, my back hurts," Max said, his voice strained.

"Oh no," I said, trying to get off him, but he held me close.

"I was talking about everyone else, Sol." He tightened his arm around me. "The bond needs time to settle anyways."

"Lucky bastard," one of the twins said, but it was so faint I shouldn't have heard it.

I looked over at the twins who were already on the other side of the room. Had my hearing gotten better? Feeling inward, I didn't notice anything different, but what if it had?

"I'll get some breakfast started," Ryder said, putting on his black pants. "As much as I want to cuddle in bed all day, we should get going."

I wanted to throw a tantrum. This wasn't fair. The guys left the room leaving Max and I in bed.

"Nothing in life is fair, Sol." Max tilted my chin up to him.

"The sooner we can be free from the chains of Laima and my brother, the sooner we can begin our life without worry." His baby blues saw into my soul. "We won't have to look over our shoulders every five minutes or wonder about the next time we might encounter either of them."

"Ok," I said, kissing him softly. "Doesn't mean I have to like it."

He chuckled, "I know, Sol, I don't think any of us do."

I rolled off Max, stretching my body, enjoying the delicious pull from my muscles as they reminded me of what we had done last night.

"Don't start, Sol," he growled. "I don't think I'll ever get the image of you sucking on my cock out of my head. To be honest, I didn't even know that was an option."

"Oh, Max, I'm going to enjoy showing you all the things we can do together," I laughed as he grew pink in the cheeks.

"I look forward to all the ways I can make you scream, Sol," he said with a devious grin. "Shower?"

The thought of washing them off of me felt like blasphemy, but I was sticky, and I knew I needed one.

"You'll always smell like us," he said, as if reading my thoughts. "Our scents have been mixing together all night and what you smell now is what we all smell like. To keep other people aware that this is our… I guess, pack?"

I blushed and loved that we all smelled the same. It was nice to know that I had claimed them, and they had claimed me so everyone could know.

"That sounds fitting," I said. "A pack of misfits?"

Max laughed. "I'm sure Soren and Gray would love that, I don't know about Ryder."

"I'm sure I can get him to say yes." I waggled my eyebrows.

"You naughty woman, thinking you can get your way by just using your body," he said, tickling me as he rolled me onto my back. "You can use your feminine wiles on me any day, Sol."

Max thrusted against my pussy.

"How about we start now?" I pulled him in for a kiss, wanting just one more moment of serenity before we had to face the world.

"There are five doorways into the Fae lands," Max said, as we drove down a road that went along the ocean.

We had been in a bigger car for a few hours already and I was content to just enjoy seeing the ocean, but now we were inland.

"Of course, one is in Death Valley," Soren said.

"Well, we don't know for sure. By the description and location he described, it's our best bet," Gray said, looking at a map, with a sexy furrowed brow.

"And what if it's not there?" I asked, knowing everyone was thinking the same thing.

"I've got a list of other possible places it might be, but I'm pretty confident we are going the right direction," Gray said, looking at me with those brilliant green eyes.

He was in the same row as I, so it was easy to lean over for a kiss that quickly turned heated.

"Please, don't fuck in the car," Ryder growled from the driver's seat.

"Aww, poor Ryder is just going to have to miss out on all the fun," Soren taunted, and brought me in for a kiss as he leaned over the seat.

Max turned around from the passenger seat. "Be nice," he chuckled.

"Come on, Max, you can join us," I said, in a sultry voice.

"No fucking in the car unless we are parked," Ryder growled.

"No fun," I pouted, but I saw the glint in his eyes like he wanted me to keep going.

"Ryder, this is your exit," Gray said, looking back down at his map.

The car jerked a bit as he tried to make the car go across a couple of lanes.

"Dammit, don't be distracting me with sex talk," Ryder growled, but I saw the teasing in his eyes.

My heart was content that we all ended up here. Ryder didn't seem like he was going to give into the bond. A part of me wondered if he wanted to do it or the bond was just pushing him to do it, but seeing him teasing and playing with me made my heart soar.

When Gray put the map away, I leaned on his shoulder as he directed Ryder to this Valley of Death. The name was daunting, but Gray said it was a desert that had scorching temperatures. Its name was given by men in the eighteen hundreds because they thought it was going to be their grave, but when they were saved, one of them said, "Goodbye, Death Valley". Apparently, the name stuck, but it felt like this wasn't a good sign at all.

The sun was getting ready to set when we left the car in a spot with trees. The unease in me grew, but I also sensed magic that felt oddly familiar. I looked over at Max who was standing on a rock as he looked over the barren terrain. They guys gave him clothes similar to theirs, black pants, a shirt with a tactical vest that had knives and other assortments of artifacts and potions. We locked eyes and I knew he felt it too.

I was sucked back into a memory of him in a similar position, but his hair was long like Taylin's, with braids. He had a suit of armor with a sword on his back. The power he exuded was palpable. I walked up to him, and he looked down at me with all the love in the world shining in his eyes; until I was taken away by Taylin.

I soured as the memory faded. He had taken so much from us and the hate that rose in me was hard to contain.

"He will get what's coming to him," Max said confidently.

"They both will," Ryder said sternly.

"We will make sure of it, Blondie," Soren said, coming on my right.

"They will pay," Gray said, coming up on my left.

With them at my side everything felt possible.

"The doorway should be close," Max said, jumping off the rock.

Butterflies were dancing in my stomach, I watched him and Ryder walk in front of us. Was this my life now? Horny all the time?

"God, I hope you stay horny all the time," Soren said, pulling me closer to him.

"You'll never have to worry about needing relief, Sunshine," Gray said, kissing my cheek. "I'll get on my knees for you anytime to relive that ache, you just say the words."

"Am I going to have to separate you?" Ryder looked over his shoulder. "I don't think we need a fuck-fest in the middle of Death Valley."

"We could give it a new name." Gray chuckled.

"Fuck Valley sounds way better," Soren said, running his nose along my neck.

Max barked a laugh, looking back at us. "I don't think I'd want everyone to see how Oria looks as she's coming."

"We definitely need an invisibility stone and a silencing one, so we can have our way with her whenever we want." Soren nipped at my neck.

How he walked and turned me on was a mystery.

"I think that's a dangerous combination," I laughed.

"I think it's a perfect one," Gray said, grabbing my hand.

My heart warmed at the simple gesture. We walked hand in hand for about an hour as we followed the magic. It grew stronger and stronger the closer we got to it and when I felt the magic sitting on my chest, I knew we were very close. Nerves bloomed in my abdomen at the possibility that I could finally meet my family.

We arrived at a wall of rock, and I looked around for a door or something to show us that it was here. Max placed his palm against the rock, whispering something as he drew something that made a door glow. As he stepped away from it, the outline transformed into an actual door.

"Oh man, this is like some Lord of the Rings shit," Soren said, looking up at the wall in awe.

Gray and Ryder chuckled while Max and I looked confused.

"It's a movie," Gray said, like that was the answer, but I still didn't get it.

"Never mind, Blondie, we will just have to have a Lord of the Rings marathon when we get done with this," Soren said, kissing my temple. "I'll make sure to make a list of all the most important movies to catch you up on."

"Sounds perfect," I said, excited for whatever I would be able to experience with these guys.

The door swung open showing us a long corridor. Max's uneasiness immediately put me on edge.

"Max?" I walked up to him, putting my hand on his back as he stared ahead.

"There should be guards here," he murmured, looking defeated.

"Maybe they are on break?" Ryder said, looking inside.

"I don't think so, but let's go find out," Max said, grabbing my hand. We walked through the magical door and once we all went through, it shut behind us, leaving us with light only coming from the end of the hallway.

My body tingled with magic as we walked further and it felt like home. The corridor was musty, and it didn't seem like it had been in use for a while. My heart sank in my stomach the closer we got to the open space.

It was like we had been transported to another world. We walked out into a lush forest. Max stopped looking around which made him furrow his brows more. Something was not right.

"Keep your eyes open," Max said. "I don't know what we will run into, but I don't think the Fae are here anymore."

My heart sank. I clenched my jaw to keep the tears at bay. We knew it would be a miracle if the Fae were still here, but I still held out hope that maybe I would find my family. A warm hand rested on the middle of my back, giving me comfort.

I didn't know how long we had walked, but when we arrived at the city, my legs were hurting and so were my feet. There was no sign of anyone here. The streets were empty, and every building had dust accumulating on every surface.

Max was getting angrier and angrier the more we walked. Ryder carried me on his back when he noticed me slowing down, apologizing that they didn't think to carry me. The more we walked the harder it was to keep my tears at bay until I cried into Ryder's neck.

He set me down, kissing my tears before picking me back up. I wrapped my arms around his neck and my legs around his torso, burrowing my face into his neck to cry in silence, attempting to keep my heartbreak away from Max.

"Max!" Gray yelled.

A crash made me flinch as I looked over my shoulder. Max punched a column over and over again. His sadness hit me like a boulder making me cry harder.

"He's going to hurt himself," Soren said, walking over to him.

"Soren, let him get it out," Gray said, following his twin.

I couldn't look at Max without sobbing again, so I looked around, wondering what had happened. The city was enormous, and it was like a ghost town. Everything was old, dusty and overgrown with grass and weeds.

"Max!" one of the twins yelled.

Looking over my shoulder, I saw Max hitting the column with bloody hands.

"Put me down, please," I said to Ryder, pushing him when he didn't put me down right away.

"Heaven, he's hurting, he might hurt you unintentionally," he said, holding on to me.

"Ryder, he would never hurt me," I snapped. "Put me down, please."

He hesitated before letting me down. I ran to Max, dodging one of the twins who tried to hold me back, but when I saw Max's tears, I knew I needed to go to him.

"Max," I said, getting close to him.

He didn't even look at me, lost in his anger when I touched his shoulder. I expected his wrath, but when he looked at me, all I saw was a man in pain.

"Sol," he whispered, the tears in his eyes making his normally bright eyes look stormy.

I wrapped my arms around him, holding onto him tightly as he fell to his knees, making me flinch. I didn't know if it was because we were touching or so close to each other, but his heartache was my own.

"Max, I'm so sorry," I whimpered, fighting against the need to cry hysterically.

"If I had done my job, this wouldn't have happened," he whispered. "I knew something was wrong and I didn't trust my gut, leaving you vulnerable because I trusted the wrong person."

"Max, this isn't your fault," I said, running my hand through his hair.

"It is, Sol." He pulled away from me. "I should have pushed harder to make people see Taylin for what he was. I should have fought harder for you, instead of…."

He looked up, not finishing his sentence.

"Hey, it's no one's fault except Taylin and Laima; they are the ones who orchestrated this entire thing. You are not to blame," I said, cupping his face so he would look at me. "You did everything you could have done. We will always have doubts and question whether we did things right, but don't let the past consume you, Max. Stay in the present with me, let's figure out how we can stop it now."

"I miss my family," he said, exhaling harshly. "I'm sorry."

"There is no need to apologize, Max, and I'm sorry you never got to say goodbye or have closure," I said, crying again because while I didn't remember my family, a small part of me missed them, and I felt cheated too.

"All we can do is live in their memory and make things right," Ryder said, throwing his arms around us along with the twins, surrounding us in a big hug.

"We have a chance to bring them some vengeance, they will pay for this," Soren said, anger lacing his voice.

"You have a second chance, and you have us to make it right, Max," Gray said. "This time we won't fail, we will bring them to their knees."

Max took a deep breath. I felt the small flicker of hope growing and that's all we needed. They took everything from us, and it was time to do the same to them.