32. Anevae

When the carriage arrived the next morning, Maeyve climbed in first with our belongings and helped me up. As I settled into my seat, I couldn"t help but wonder aloud, "Maeyve, what if my grandfather doesn"t accept me?"

Sitting across from me, she cupped my cheek and smiled softly. "We know he"s not going to be pleased that you"re a half-breed, but anyone would be crazy NOT to love and accept you, especially your grandfather. From everything I"ve heard, he adored your mom. I"m certain he"ll adore you as well."

Returning the smile, I muttered, "Thank you. You"re such an incredible woman. I"ve never met anyone like you, nor did I ever think I"d be treated like this in my life. Before you, I didn"t think I deserved this kind of love; I thought I"d always be alone."

When the carriage began to move, Maeyve and I sat back in our respective seats, and I stared at her for a while. I didn"t know what I"d done to deserve someone as amazing and perfect as her, but I never wanted to let her go. Then, I began to wonder what would happen to her when we got to the castle. She was a half-breed, and my grandfather wouldn"t like that I was keeping one so close to me. She wasn"t even part fae, either. It crossed my mind that he could dismiss her or force her out of the castle if he desired, but if he wanted me to stay for any length of time, he"d likely try to do everything he could to please me.

Maeyve dared a glance at me, and my gaze shifted to her plump, pink lips. Biting my lip piercing, I could only think about having those soft lips on mine. Just the thought of it had a pulse running through my center. Our eyes locked, and I couldn"t handle it any longer. I crawled onto Maeyve"s lap to straddle her. As our lips collided, an intense spark coursed throughout my entire body. I tangled my hands into her soft hair and pulled back, momentarily separating our lips.

Her beautiful orange eyes had darkened with desire. I needed her, and she needed me, too. Her hands fell to my hips and gripped tightly as she murmured my name. Smirking, I lowered my lips to her ear, trailing kisses down her neck. As I reached the crook, I licked my way back up. The soft moans coming from her lips caused the pulsing in my center to intensify tenfold.

Releasing her hair with one hand, I continued to kiss her neck, trailing my now free hand down her arm to her hip. Once I reached the hem of her shirt, I slid my fingers underneath it to her breast. As I lightly skimmed my fingertips over her now-hardened nipple, my deepest desires took over, and I bit down on her neck. This time, I wasn"t soft about it. My canines pierced her skin, and her sweet blood coated my tongue, sending a comforting warmth through my body. She attempted to stifle a moan, and her grip tightened on my hips as she climaxed under me.

After a moment, I withdrew my teeth from her neck and sat back to meet her gaze. Licking my lips, I thought, What did I just do? She looked back up at me, breathing heavily as she slid her fingertips across my lower back. Her pupils had taken over her irises, and there was only a tiny slit of orange left.

Moments later, she had me on my back. Eyes wide, she reached up to her neck, where blood was still trickling from the wound my teeth left. Pulling her hand away, she saw the blood coating her fingers, and her mouth dropped open.

Still staring at her fingers, she mumbled, "We need to talk about this before this goes any further." Her voice was husky and full of lust. Licking her lips, she met my gaze again before continuing, "I know you didn"t mean to, but you just initiated a mating bond with me. I"ve never heard of two women being mated. That"s why I never stopped you from biting me; I didn"t think this could happen. Fuck. I think we should stop. I wouldn"t feel right completing the bond with you right now. You don"t understand what that would mean," Maeyve said as she pulled away.

I instantly wrapped my arms around her neck to keep her close and smirked. "I may not understand it, but being mated to you doesn"t sound so bad. I don"t want us ever to be separated. Now, we can make sure that happens. What if this was always meant to happen?"

"Anevae, you don"t understand. If we complete the bond, we will become physically and mentally unwell if we are separated for too long. There are too many unknowns going to the castle. Besides, your grandfather has enough power and resources that he could have our mate marks removed if he wanted to." She blinked back tears, and her voice cracked when she tried to start talking again, "I love you, and if this were under different circumstances, I may not be fighting it. I wonder if this means your magic is awakening. We need to discuss so many things before we go through with this."

Frowning, I considered her words before replying. "Maeyve, I love you. And I want you forever. My grandfather can have whatever opinion of our mating he wants, but I will fight for you until the end. He will not separate us; I"ll make sure of it." I cupped her cheek. "I"ve already initiated the bond. Who knows what will happen if we don"t finish what I started? Call me crazy, but I feel this was destined to happen."

Maeyve bit her lip, growled, and pushed herself out of my arms onto the seat opposite of me. She began running her fingers through her hair and bouncing her leg as she clenched her jaw, fighting with herself.

I clasped my hands together in my lap and dropped my gaze. I wasn"t sure what to do or say. She just wanted to do what she thought was right. I appreciated her concern for me, but it was misplaced. The taste of her blood lingered in my mouth, and I touched my fingertips to my lips, replaying the way she came for me the instant it happened.

"Gods damn it, Anevae. You"re not making this easy. I can smell your arousal from here. I want to be a good person right now, but I"m already hanging on by a thread. My body is begging me to complete the bond, but –"

"So do it," I purred, glancing back at her and biting my lip.

She sprung at me and straddled my lap. As she ground into me, she kissed my neck a couple of times before she bit me. A blazing fire spread through my body from where her teeth sunk into my skin. An orgasm hit me hard and fast as the fire wore off. I couldn"t help but scream as waves of intense pleasure overcame me. Thankfully, the driver didn"t seem to hear us or be affected by our sounds at least.

Maeyve retracted her teeth from my neck and hummed against my skin.

Fuuuuck. Her blood tastes almost as good as her pussy.

Her voice echoed in my mind, but her mouth wasn"t moving. What the fuck? My eyes met hers as she sat up.

Giving me a sinister smile, I heard her voice in my head again. Sweet Anevae, it"s a perk of being mated. We can communicate telepathically, but sadly, we can"t read each other"s minds. This is going to be amazing. Imagine the pictures I can place into that mind of yours at the most inappropriate times. A picture of me lying on my back, playing with my nipples while I had my head thrown back, was on full display for me.

"Maeyve!" I shrieked, and then I gasped. "Oh, my god. That"s why my parents seem like they"re having a full-blown conversation without saying a word!"

Maeyve giggled. Blood seeped from the wound on my neck and trailed toward the fabric of the seat. When I moved to sit up, she shoved me down and latched onto my neck again. She ran her tongue over the wound, then sat back up. I brushed my fingers over the wound, and my mouth popped open. The indents were still there, but the wounds had closed, and the bleeding had stopped. My gaze landed on Maeyve"s neck. Hers had stopped bleeding on its own.

"Mates can heal each other"s mating marks with their blood, but we shifters in the canine family also have saliva with healing properties," Maeyve said.

She rifled through our bags and retrieved a new shirt since hers was now soaked in blood. As she removed her shirt, my eyes roamed over her bare chest, which had a trail of blood from the mark to the swell of her breast. I stood and wrapped my arms around her waist before licking the blood trail clean, savoring the flavor of her.

"Your blood tastes as sweet as you smell, like vanilla and berries. What do I taste like?" I asked teasingly.

"You also taste sweet but floral, like chocolate and lilies almost, but your blood has an electric feeling to it," Maeyve claimed. "It could be from your magic or your lineage. Thank you for cleaning up the blood a little bit."

Kissing me lightly, she unraveled my arms from around her and finished cleaning her neck with her blood-stained shirt. When she finished, she put on her clean shirt and sat back down. I took the seat across from her again. She kissed my knuckles and then released my hand, relaxing against the seat to look out the carriage"s window. Following suit, I stared out the window behind her as I thought about our mating and what that meant for us now.

We rode silently for a while, but when I least expected it, I heard Maeyve"s voice in my head again. What are you thinking?

When she did that, I yelped and about jumped out of my skin. Quickly glancing back at her, I scowled. "I"m never going to get used to that."

Maeyve smiled and jested, "You will eventually, love. Especially if you"re going to be stuck with me for the rest of our lives."

As I smiled, I thought of her lying on my island at home, completely naked. Two can play that game, sweetheart. I giggled.

"This is going to be way too much fun," Maeyve said, chuckling as she moved to sit beside me. Planting a quick kiss on my lips, she sighed. "I love you, Anevae. While I"m glad we"re mated, I"m concerned about how your grandfather will react. Not only am I a half-breed, but I"m also another female."

Reaching up between us, I gripped her chin and gave her a small smile. "We will cross that bridge once we get there. Everything will be okay." Leaning in, I kissed her again, released her chin, and rested my forehead against hers. "I love you, too, Maeyve."

When we separated, I leaned my head on her shoulder and said, "Seeing as we"ll be in this carriage for the rest of the day and night, why don"t you tell me what you remember about Caellaias?"

Maeyve sighed but got comfortable and began telling me about her travels throughout Maiviraea. In between her stories, she asked me about my ventures through the human realm. We continued this cycle for hours.

Just as the sun began to set behind the mountains, she said, "It"s getting late. You should try to get some sleep. I"m not tired quite yet."

She scooted over as far as she could and patted her lap. I laid down, hair splayed across it, and snuggled in.

While I lay there, I thought about my parents. If they were aware my sister and I were in Caellaias, they"d do whatever they could to get us home, but I didn"t want to involve them unless I had to. I was still confused and hurt about why my dad would downplay Caellaias. Clearly, my mom wanted us to know about it. She likely knew they couldn"t keep us from Caellaias forever, but my dad seemed to think he could protect us for the rest of our lives. I pondered whether that was the reason they got so upset when I said I"d be moving to the mountains. Did they know the portal was near my cabin? Was that how they escaped Caellaias?

Finally, my mind cleared enough that I fell into a deep, dreamless sleep, protected by my mate.