11

ELIAS

WAKING up to Ivy in my arms gave me more peace than I ever thought possible. More than I ever thought I deserved. Her soft features glowed in the light of the early morning sun, and a gentle smile played at her full lips.

We’d slept maybe a couple of hours. There was something so intimate about having her in my arms; about the way she tucked her head into the crook of my shoulder and wrapped her arm around my waist, how our legs tangled in the sheets.

Sex had always just been just that—sex. But with Ivy…

I rubbed my hand up and down her bare arm, drawing circles on her skin. With the blankets pooled around our hips, I got a very pleasurable view of her full tits and the hard nipples pressing into my side. My cock twitched to attention, and yet I didn’t feel the need to continue where we left off in the early hours of the morning.

I was…content, simply lying here and watching her rest.

She’d looked pale and tired after the attack, but some of the colour had returned to her full cheeks. The dark circles around her eyes were disappearing, and I knew she hadn’t had a single nightmare in the few hours she’d slept.

Having her in my arms when I’d believed that could never happen felt unbelievably amazing. And she wanted me—needed me. She wasn’t worried, even though I knew others might be. Queen Greer would question it since all her mates had been of status before meeting her.

Ivy’s eyes fluttered open, and she stared up at me with a happy, content smile before frowning. “You’re thinking too much,” she murmured, reaching up to touch my face, thumb smoothing over the skin between my brows. “It’s too early.”

I chuckled and took her hand in mine, pressing a kiss to each finger. “You have no idea what it feels like to be me right now,” I replied, eyes dropping to her exposed chest. Her gaze followed, and her cheeks turned a sexy shade of pink.

“Perv.” But she didn’t move to cover herself. Instead, she rolled on top of me, straddling my hips, hair falling over her naked shoulder. Ivy pressed her hands against my chest. Her wet heat teased my already straining cock.

I ran my hands up her thick thighs. Soon, I would have her sit on my face. The thought made me grin up at her as she rocked against me.

My hands stopped at her ass, and I gave it a squeeze. “I thought you’d be too tired for another round.”

She raised a brow. “Are you telling me I should stop?”

“Fuck no, Angel.” I squeezed her again, earning a moan as she threw her head back, giving me a good view of my mark on her shoulder. “Ride me, Ivy. I want to watch you use me.”

She rose up on her knees and palmed my hard cock, stroking it as she guided me to her entrance. Our eyes locked, and she pulled her lip between her teeth.

The head of my cock nudged her opening, and she slid down my shaft, eyelids fluttering shut, a silent cry forming on her lips as she took my length in one thrust. She was beautiful, straddling my body, claiming my cock, claiming my soul as her own. And as she rocked forward, eliciting a groan from me, fire and lust burned in her dark eyes.

She was so tight and wet I had to hold back from coming straight away. I had to take it slow, think of anything else, but her tits swayed with each rock of her body, nipples hard and begging for attention.

I guided her movements as she hovered above me. In this position, I filled her so completely. I’d meant what I’d said about putting a baby in her, but not yet. She was all mine until she claimed another.

As she rode me, I palmed one of her heavy tits and twisted the nipple between my fingers, eliciting a moan from my beautiful mate. Her hands clawed at my chest, nails digging into my skin, leaving her own mark on me.

I pinched her nipple again, her pussy tightening around me. “You’re so good, Angel. Your cunt is so tight, it’s strangling my cock.”

Her responding whimper had me leaning up on my elbows and pressing light kisses to her chest. My name became a whisper on her lips as I sucked one of her dark nipples into my mouth.

“Elias, I’m so close,” she whimpered, her movements stuttering. She clamped around me, her fingers digging into my chest with each plunge on my cock.

I flipped us and caged her in my arms before slamming into her swollen cunt with one hard thrust. My lips found hers, and she cried out against my mouth as I swept my tongue against hers.

Ivy’s pussy fluttered with her approaching climax. I was already so close, and if she kept tightening around me, I’d be fucked.

“You’re doing so well,” I said, reaching between us to pinch her clit. “You were made for me. Use me.”

Our kiss grew hungry, wanton sounds passing her lips as we raced towards the edge together. In my head, I could hear her voice chanting my name as her channel tightened.

“That’s it, Angel,” I grunted, “milk my cock. Take everything.”

Ivy threw her head back with a cry. Her magic rose around us as she wound her legs around my hips, and my thrusts turned hard as I came inside her again.

I didn’t slow until she came down from her climax. Her chest rose and fell with harsh breaths, her tits brushing against my skin, sending sparks of fire throughout my body. Before I could do anything, she captured my mouth in a chaste kiss.

“That was great, and I could definitely go again, but I should clean up.” Her eyes dropped to where my cock slipped from her wet pussy, and the cum leaking down her thigh.

With a smirk, I gathered my seed and pushed it back inside her. Ivy gasped, back arching. “I did say you’d be filled with my cum, Angel.”

I pulled my fingers free of her and stared at the glistening digits. A mix of her and me.

“Open,” I ordered.

Ivy eyed me for a moment before parting her lips. My cock twitched at her compliancy. The fact that she’d let me spank her last night had almost been enough to have me finishing in my jeans. I’d barely been able to hold myself together.

She watched me curiously as her lips closed around my fingers. Her eyes closed as she moaned. Ivy sucked my fingers clean, tongue swirling over my digits. I released a shuddering breath as I pulled free of her.

“That was fucking hot,” I muttered.

Ivy grinned up at me and looped her arms around my shoulders. “I still need to get up and use the bathroom.”

“Not just yet,” I murmured, lowering my forehead to hers. “I need to know that you’re okay.”

Her brows lifted. “Why wouldn’t I be okay?”

I shrugged and kissed her, tasting us both on her lips. My cock twitched again, but she tugged my hair in warning. As I pulled back, a frown played on her lips.

“We bonded quickly,” I finally said, shivering as her hands trailed from the back of my head to my shoulders. “There wasn’t much time to…talk back in the forest.”

Ivy shifted beneath me and sighed. “It’s a little overwhelming, but…” She bit her lip, her eyes dancing over my face. “I promise you, if I wasn’t okay, you’d know.”

I watched her for a long moment, searching for any sign that she might be lying. Her scent didn’t give anything away. At this point, I was sure I wouldn’t be able to tell if it would betray her. My scent all but overwhelmed hers. And her thoughts gave no indication of whether she believed her words—or mine.

After a long moment, I pressed a soft kiss to her forehead. “We do need to discuss this further.”

“Right after I clean up,” she quipped, her eyes bright with amusement.

Pulling away, I rolled off of her with a grunt. “Fine. But be back here as soon as you’re done.”

Our eyes met, and she snorted. “I do need to see if the girls are okay, remember?”

Worry and uncertainty played in her eyes as she sat up; running a hand through her hair, she looked out the window at the foggy forest and gnawed on her bottom lip. “I feel a little…bad for leaving them last night,” she whispered, turning back to face me.

I sat up beside her and tucked her into my side. I tried to brush away the hurt over how she might have regretted the mating, but it turned my stomach anyway. “I’m sorry.”

She shook her head. “No, don’t be. I don’t regret last night. It was amazing. And having you, it just…” She looked up at me through her lashes. “Trust me, I don’t regret it. I just hate leaving them for too long, especially with so much up in the air about Kerry. I don’t want them to feel abandoned by me, either.”

Selfishly, I felt relieved over her not regretting our mating. “None of your mates will want to come between you and your sisters. And if any do, I’ll put them in their place,” I said, nuzzling her neck. I pressed a kiss against my mark and added, “The kids aren’t alone here, either. And you need your mates, now more than ever. This is protecting them as much as it is you.”

Ivy sighed, shoulders loosening as she melted into my arms. “Yeah, I know.” She glanced up at me again, smiling softly. “Thank you, Elias.”

I gently kissed her, and with reluctance, I pulled back before either of us could deepen it. “Didn’t you say something about needing to clean up?”

A laugh spilled from her lips as she climbed from the bed. “I’m going to need to borrow something from you since you destroyed my pants.”

The wolf inside me preened over having her wearing our scent. “I did what needed to be done, and I don’t regret it.”

Ivy shook her head and turned away from me, gathering her hair over her shoulder as she did.

I caught a glimpse at her back, at the swirling marks that appeared and disappeared down her skin.

Only two didn’t.

Her mate marks.

~

I waited with my arms crossed as the rest of the team filed into the office. Leaning against the window, I kept my eyes on Ivy, taking in her worried expression and the fear dancing in her eyes. The last thing I wanted was to frighten her, but her confusion when I’d noticed the mark had been enough to warrant an emergency meeting.

Grey was the last to enter. Her eyes went to Ivy first, then flickered to me. “What’s going on, Elias?”

I stiffened. “Close the door.”

Her nostrils flared, and her chest moved. She’d scented the bond, and her eyes danced with darkness as they met mine. “What did you do?”

Jaw clenched, I dropped my hands. “This isn’t about mine and Ivy’s mate bond.”

“What?” Kingsley stopped dead next to Ivy, his hand outstretched. He wasn’t looking at me, though. Pain filled his eyes as he stared down at my—our—mate. “You and Elias?”

They had learnt of their bond first. I didn’t blame him for expecting to be the first to complete it. But that ship had sailed long before either of us had walked into her life.

Ivy’s face softened. “Yeah. Kind of worked it out last night.”

“And you completed the bond?”

She bit her lip, and her eyes flickered to mine hesitantly.

I took control. “Yes, we did, Your Highness. But this meeting isn’t about that.”

Kingsley swallowed and took several steps back from Ivy. Good, I thought. Last thing the wolf and I wanted was her upset, and the longer Kingsley gave her those sad, puppy dog eyes, the more likely it was that I was going to snap.

“I noticed something on Ivy that shouldn’t be there.” My eyes found hers. “Mind taking your shirt off, Angel?”

Her brows lifted, and she frowned. “Ah, yes. I do mind. Why do I need to take my shirt off?”

I smirked. “Show them your back.”

Hesitantly, she rose. Her mind whispered: The mark. Did he see the mark?

I rubbed my chin as she turned her back on the rest of the team. She lifted the shirt but didn’t pull it off completely, instead wrapping her arms around herself and hiding her stomach and chest. I pulled her hair away from the marks, fingers brushing her skin, and smiled as she shivered.

Grey was the first to move, her eyes darkening as she took in Ivy’s skin. The visible magic I’d noted earlier was gone, leaving the two marks following the path of her spine. One belonged to me, a crescent moon, and the other to a full-blooded Fae.

“How is that possible?” Grey murmured. She didn’t touch the marks, but she eyed them with suspicion.

“How is what possible?” Ivy asked, turning her head to look over her shoulder.

Is it the weird tattoo?

I snorted. “It’s not a tattoo, Angel. It’s a mate mark. One that shouldn’t be there.”

Ivy’s cheeks flamed, and unease filtered down the bond. “What do you mean?”

I traced the mark left for me, the crescent moon. “This is for me. The mark of the wolf. You’ll get power from this, and it ties our souls. But this—” I traced the second mark, a rose surrounded by thorns, and grimaced “—this mark is for the Fae.”

“The rose?” Her voice came out as a whisper. “But…how? I’ve never met a Fae, let alone bonded with one.”

Grey met my stare. Not even she could be certain. “At some point, you might have encountered one,” she started, shaking her head, “but surely you and the Fae would have known about the bond.”

Ivy quickly tugged her shirt—my shirt, covered in my scent which now mingled with hers—back over her head and turned to face the room. Neither Kingsley nor Archer had moved, the former looking pale, the latter emotionless as he sat stiffly at one of the desks.

“I think I would know what the bond feels like, especially now, but I can’t remember. I—” She stopped, pressing her lips together.

The wolf, caged within me, growled as her thoughts filtered down the bond. Does this have something to do with the voice?

My eyes narrowed. “What voice, Ivy?”

Her head snapped in my direction, eyes widening. I hadn’t meant to snap, but if she’d been keeping something from us—from me…

“When I was kidnapped, I heard this voice,” she whispered, tears filling her beautiful eyes. Guilt immediately filled me as she wiped her cheeks. “It told me how to get to the girls and Thea. It—it told me how to kill the guards.”

I stiffened immediately. She’d killed during the attack? By the look on Kingsley and Archer’s faces, they’d also had no idea. Grey, however, looked eerily calm, like she’d known for a while. The urge to take Ivy into my arms and wipe away her tears overwhelmed me, but for her sake, I simply stepped towards her and offered her my strength.

She released a shuddering breath. “The voice had guided me to my sisters and Thea. It had offered me this calmness, which is why I was able to do what I’d done. Without it, I don’t think I would have been able to fight as hard.”

I pressed a hand against her hip. “It saved you.”

She nodded. “Yeah. It told me when you were nearby. I don’t even know how.”

I found Grey’s hard stare, and she frowned. “Then your mystery mate must have been close. Have you heard the voice since? Do you recognise it at all?” the vamp asked, keeping her voice even despite the clear rage she felt. How she was staying in control, I wasn’t sure. My wolf wanted out. He wanted to tear through the forest, find this mate, and force them to tell me why they’d left Ivy.

But I breathed in her scent, and it calmed me enough to stay in control.

Ivy shook her head and leaned into my touch. “I’ve heard it since. At first, I thought I’d just made it up because, you know, the stress and fear. But then I heard it again last night after completing the bond with Elias.” I ground my teeth together to keep from snapping again. “It said they’d see me soon.”

Archer and Kingsley shared a look. “What are you two fuckers thinking?” I snapped, tightening my hold on Ivy.

Kingsley looked back first, eyes narrowed. “We might be able to track this mate. Ivy should be able to track all her mates once the bond is established. Unless the mate has blocked her, that is.” His eyes went to her. “My mother’s mates would play a game when I was a child where they would close their minds to the mate bond, and my mother would have to find them other ways. It usually happened around her birthday because they wanted to hide surprises from her.”

“So, you think this mate is closing the bond?” Ivy asked. “The only time I’ve spoken to them is when they reach out first. When I tried searching for the voice, or at least the magic behind it, I couldn’t.”

Kingsley rubbed a hand over his face. “How in the hell dimensions does this asshole know how to block the bond? My father said it took him years of practice to even get close to Sir Ya’Dahir’s blocking ability. Mother is strong at breaking through the blocks because one of her mates is a mind mage, so he taught her how to get around it.” Kingsley stopped and shook his head.

I felt Ivy’s confusion through the bond at Kingsley’s words. Apparently, he hadn’t let slip yet that his mother was the current Queen.

“Then whoever this mate is has a mind mage or witch on their side,” Archer stated. “It’s the only thing that makes sense.”

“What do we do, then?” Ivy asked. “Just wait until this person shows up and introduces themselves?”

I pressed her closer into my body. “We wait until we get to Avalon. Queen Greer will have some idea of what to do.”

Grey turned from Ivy and me and stalked over to the enchanted tablet. “I’ll let the Queen in on this new development. She’ll either be pleased Ivy has taken two mates or be just as confused as the rest of us. Hopefully, she has an answer as to how the bond hid itself for so long.” Ivy nodded against my chest and closed her eyes. “In the meantime, we should evaluate any romantic relationships you’ve had before meeting us. Someone in your past might have hidden themselves well enough to leave you none the wiser of their species.”

Ivy tensed. “You want me to tell you about my sexual partners?”

“Is that necessary?” I asked through gritted teeth. Even Kingsley looked uncomfortable.

Grey looked back at me and rolled her eyes. “If it makes you and the wolf uncomfortable, then go do a sweep of the forest and leave it to Ivy and me.” Her blue eyes fell on Ivy, and they softened. “Perhaps Thea will have some input since she’ll know about each partner?”

The last thing I wanted was to leave Ivy at this moment. The need to be at her side was far more overwhelming now that we’d completed the bond. Before, just being in the same room as her had been enough. Having her in my line of sight, her scent close to me, calming enough to keep the wolf happy.

Now, I needed her touch more than anything. My arms around her thick body, her fingers tangled in my own, the warmth of her flesh pressed against mine.

And being away from her after the bonding seemed excruciating, so I shook my head. “No. We figure this out. Now.”