Chapter 29

Aurora

THE DAY IS HOT WITH a touch of humidity, and as I work in the garden, I cast my gaze to the sky. No storm clouds are visible just yet, but I can feel a storm rolling in, can smell it in the air.

My cool-season crops are ripe and ready for harvest: soft green spinach, crunchy carrots, even some potatoes. I’m just brushing soil from a bunch of carrots when I spot a flash of yellow in a nearby raised bed. Lifting my gaze, I find a cluster of early starberries weighing down their branch. Dropping my bunch of carrots into my harvesting basket, I move to the other raised bed and crouch in the soil. Sure enough, when I pluck a starberry from the plant and toss it into my mouth, it explodes on my tongue with juicy sweetness.

Finally, they’re ready.

“Harrison!” I call out, my voice carrying across the garden.

It takes a moment, but he appears on the other side of the garden fence, looking at me through the deep grass.

“What is it?” he asks.

In response, I hold up a ripe starberry.

And he leaps over the fence in one graceful bound.

“They’re ready?” he asks, coming to stand beside me.

“Not all of them. But some ripened early.” Probably thanks to that spell.

I pluck a few more and hold them out to him, and he devours them in just a few bites.

I’ve never known cats to like sweet things before, but I suppose Harrison has always been unique. He is a spirit companion, after all.

“Where’s Lucy?” I ask as he licks the starberry juice from my palm, his tongue rough against my skin.

“Napping on the couch.”

I arch a brow. “On the couch? How did she—” Suddenly, I laugh. “She’s been using the door Alden made for you, hasn’t she?”

Ever since Alden finished Harrison’s cat door, he’s been coming and going from the cottage freely, no longer dependent on me to open windows for him. Most of the time I don’t even know where he is or what he’s up to—hopefully not pestering the fairies.

“Aurora?” he says softly, and when I meet his eyes, they look... sad.

“What is it?” I offer him my other hand, and he accepts a scratch behind the ear.

“When the baby comes, you won’t forget about me, will you?”

Harrison has never liked children, so I know the prospect of having a little one around is probably uncomfortable to him, but I never thought this would be his fear. It’s been weeks since I discovered I’m pregnant; has he been worried this whole time?

With a gentle sigh, I open my arms to Harrison, and he leaps right into them. I hold him close to my chest and breathe in his warm scent, catching a hint of fir and mint, which means he’s been off exploring the forest today.

“You and I have a bond unlike anything else,” I murmur to him as he nuzzles his head into the crook of my neck. “No matter what happens in our lives, we will always have each other. Forgetting you would be like forgetting myself. It’s impossible. You’re my best friend.”

He begins purring, and we sit like that for some time, basking in the summer sun until the first few rainclouds begin gathering on the horizon. Harrison detects them and twitches his whiskers, and I put him down when he wriggles in my grasp.

“Rain,” he says.

I look up, and the clouds are darkening quickly. “Looks like a big storm.”

Without another word, Harrison sprints for the house, and I watch as his fluffy white tail vanishes through the open cat door. Smiling, I stand and dust my skirt off, then fetch my wicker basket of produce and head for the cottage.

RAIN IS ALREADY POURING DOWN by the time I spot Alden and Rowan running up Brookside Road, squinting their eyes against the deluge. Alden had work in the village today, and Rowan is almost always on duty, so I had the cottage to myself all day. I knew they’d be returning around this time, but I didn’t expect them to arrive together.

I open the door for them but hold up a hand as their boots hit the front porch. “Drop them there,” I say, pointing to their muddy shoes and sopping clothes. “I just swept the floors.”

The men exchange a look, then comply, yanking their boots off and peeling their wet tunics over their heads. The fabric falls to the wooden planks with a slap.

And suddenly, seeing them both shirtless and sopping wet, long hair plastered to their faces, I feel a burst of warmth between my legs. It’s been much too long since I last had either of them. But with them standing side by side like this, both slightly out of breath and staring down at me with raindrops dripping from their faces, I know I’ll not be able to choose. I don’t want to choose.

I want them both.

My hand reaches out before I can think twice. Fingers wrapping around the waistband of Alden’s trousers, I pull him toward me. He lets out a small breath of surprise just before his lips touch mine. At first, his mouth is hesitant. Perhaps he’s uncomfortable in front of Rowan. But as my hands slide up his wet chest and tangle in his curly hair, he softens, deepening our kiss. I open my mouth and taste his tongue with mine, then nibble his bottom lip. With the way he’s holding me against his body, I can feel his length harden against me.

But then I pull away, and my gaze finds Rowan. He’s watching us with a mixture of emotions in his eyes, like he wants to join but is holding himself back, unsure and apprehensive.

Slipping out of Alden’s hold, I move toward Rowan, and the look in his eyes shifts. His torso is pale and lean, and I trace my fingers across the gentle ridges of his abdomen, eliciting a soft grumble. Then his hand is on my chin, tipping my head back, and his mouth comes down on mine.

His kiss is more demanding than Alden’s, his hand on my waist tightening as our tongues brush. Feeling Alden’s gaze on us, knowing he’s watching, I feel even more heat curl through my belly.

I want them to take me—together.

Rowan is hesitant to let me go, but I flash him and Alden a taunting look, then hurry through the narrow foyer and onto the stairs. Just as I intended, they follow. Rowan is the first up the stairs behind me, and I hear Alden close the door before his heavier steps tread up the staircase.

In the bedroom, rain lashes the windowpane, and the din of the raindrops on the roof of the cottage drowns out the rapid beating of my heart.

I’ve never had two men before. I have no idea how this is going to go.

But I trust them. There’s no one else I’d want to do this with.

Once they’ve both joined me in the bedroom, I guide Rowan back and push him down upon the bed. The mattress gives slightly under his weight as he reclines back on his elbows, watching me.

“Alden,” I say softly, feeling his presence behind me, “will you undo my laces?”

When his fingertips brush the exposed skin at the base of my neck, I gasp. They’re cold from the rain, still chilled enough to send goose bumps dancing across my skin.

“Sorry, little witch,” he whispers, then uses his lips to kiss away the cold.

Slowly, he unlaces my thin summer dress, and I swear they both hold their breath as I guide the material down my shoulders and drop the fabric into a puddle at my feet. All I’m wearing beneath it is a chemise, and soon that slips from my body as well.

I stand before the two men, naked. The heat from their gazes warms me, and a flush creeps into my cheeks.

“Well?” I whisper, glancing at Rowan’s trousers, then back over my shoulder at Alden.

As if broken from a spell, they both quickly free themselves of their still-wet trousers, and their cocks are hard and waiting.

I sink to my knees on the edge of the mattress, and Rowan balls the blanket in his fists as I slowly lower my mouth toward his shaft. My fingers wrap around his base.

Then I glance back at Alden. He seems to understand the request in my eyes, for his hands soon find their place on either side of my hips, and the tip of his dick presses gently against my entrance. He always takes his time with me; I need it given the size of him.

With a pleasant pressure against my heat, I turn my attention back to Rowan. His green eyes are focused on me like I’m all he can see, and I hold that verdant gaze as my tongue darts out to lap the glistening tip of his dick. He flinches at the contact, and a moan slips from his lips.

Slowly, I ease my mouth over his cock, sliding my tongue along the underside. At the same time, Alden presses a bit deeper into me, forcing me to stretch around him.

As I guide my mouth along Rowan’s cock, Alden sinks farther into my pussy until he’s fully buried inside me, and I let out a muffled gasp. Rowan gets harder in my mouth, and Alden’s fingers tighten about my hips.

I think they’re enjoying this just as much as I am.

Tightening my hand around the base of Rowan’s shaft, I resume sucking him off, drawing my lips and tongue along his hard length. Alden matches my pace. Every time my head bobs down, he sinks his dick into me from behind, filling me to the brim with his size.

The rain still pours down, striking the roof and windowpane even harder now. Its din mixes with the sounds of our lovemaking, with the heavy breathing and hitched breaths.

“Aurora,” Rowan grunts, lifting his head from the mattress to watch as I flick his tip with my tongue. “I can’t hold out much longer.”

“Neither can I,” Alden says from behind me. Their bodies are coiled tight, begging for release.

I pull my mouth from Rowan’s cock, still stroking it with my hand as I glance back at Alden and say, “I want to feel you both finish. At the same time.”

Alden’s eyes widen a bit, and I smile at him before wrapping my lips around Rowan once more.

Rowan drops his head back to the mattress as Alden ups his pace. He’s thrusting into me so hard that he’s driving my mouth deeper onto Rowan’s dick, to the point where I almost choke. It just makes me even wetter.

In my mouth, Rowan gets impossibly hard. Then heat explodes onto my tongue. At the same time, Alden drives himself into me as far as he can go, and my pussy fills with warmth.

Guess I don’t have to worry about getting pregnant anymore.

Their tandem grunts of release drive me toward the edge. I need to be touched.

Rowan releases all he has into my mouth, and I swallow it as he gazes at me, cheeks flushed red.

“Fucking hell,” he murmurs. “You’re incredible.”

Behind me, Alden chuckles, the vibration of it rumbling through me.

With a small smile, I rise up onto my knees, and Alden wraps his arms around my waist as I reach one arm back to hold tight to his neck. Though he already came, he’s still buried inside me, his girth stretching me out pleasantly.

Rowan sits up and shifts on the bed, coming to kneel before me. And without me having to ask, he reaches out to touch my swollen clit.

My breath catches. It feels like it’s been years since I was last touched, last stroked. Rowan’s fingers are warm as they slip through my folds to rub me. I part my legs wider and press my hips forward, wanting more. But Alden holds me firm, and he starts to thrust into me again—slower this time, staying deep inside me. Rowan’s free hand cups my breast, his fingers teasing and twisting my puckered nipple.

My nerve endings feel like they’re on fire. Every part of me blazes with heat. I drop my head back against Alden’s broad shoulder. He holds me aloft, and I go limp in his arms, allowing the men to pleasure me.

Colors swim behind my closed eyelids, and my legs begin to shake as Rowan circles my clit, fingers still tugging at my nipple. My body wants to collapse forward, but Alden won’t let it. He massages my insides with his cock while Rowan continues rubbing and tugging.

And I can take it no longer.

I catch my breath, then let it out in a trembling moan. My legs shake, my body shudders, and I pulse around Alden’s dick as I cum.

Rowan’s lips catch mine, cutting off my moan. His fingers still work at me while his tongue presses into my mouth. Can he taste himself on my lips?

I push my free hand through Rowan’s long hair, the other still wrapped around Alden’s neck. Slowly, my orgasm subsides, leaving me feeling shaky and exhausted. Alden pulls his dick out of me, and Rowan gives my clit one final touch before he sits back. I collapse onto my hands and knees, then immediately fall to my side on the mattress, still breathing hard.

For a moment, we all sit in the quiet, listening to the rain on the roof, and then I begin to laugh.

I just made love to two men at the same time. And it was amazing.

“You come here,” Rowan says, wrapping an arm around me and easing me onto a pillow. He lies on his side next to me, head propped in his hand as his gaze travels the length of my sweaty body. I’m wholly and completely drained, to the point where my limbs feel like they’re sinking through the mattress and cottage and into the warm summer earth.

The mattress dips behind me, and I look back to find Alden sinking onto the pillow on the other side of me. This bed is just big enough for two, so the men have to scoot close, squishing me between them.

“Little witch,” Alden mumbles, his breath tickling the shell of my ear, “you continue to astound me.”

Smiling, I use the last of my energy to press a kiss to Alden’s scruffy cheek, then to Rowan’s smooth one.

As the rain continues to whisper against the windowpane, I close my eyes. And with heat on either side of me, two hearts beating along with mine, I drift away into a sweet summer sleep.

The End

The Witch’s Shifter Sneak Peek

Chapter 1

Aurora

WHEN I STEP OUT OF the cottage, the first thing I smell is woodsmoke. It curls lazily from the cottage chimney, a light gray plume spiraling and twining up into the sky. My toes—still bare despite it being late September—press into the grass, which has started to crinkle and turn brown. It won’t be long now before the snow returns to us. We often have snow on or around Samhain, which is just one moon away. The thought makes my stomach flutter with butterflies. It’ll be my first chance to see Auntie since her passing, and everything needs to be perfect .

Clutching my wicker basket, I set off toward the henhouse. Lucy has two more hen friends—Marigold and Whisper—and all three of them are scratching about the big fenced enclosure Rowan and Alden built, waiting for me to let them out. I knew Lucy would appreciate some company, and it so happened that one of the villagers paid Alden for his work in chickens rather than eldertokens. He looked a bit flustered when he got home that day, one hen tucked under each arm. I still giggle when I think of it.

“Good morning, girls,” I say as I flip the latch on the gate and swing it open. Lucy and Marigold rush out amidst a puff of feathers, but Whisper, the quietest of the flock, takes her time and pauses at my feet. I reach down to stroke her silky white feathers, then smile as she joins the others in searching for early-morning worms. Their claws scratch about in the grass and leaves that’ve started to fall from the aspens dotting the tree line. The sound brings me a sense of peace as I breathe in the fresh cool air and place a hand on my stomach.

I’m almost five months pregnant now, and my stomach has started to show. The bump is still small, but it’s undoubtedly there, as are the back pains and leg cramps. But the morning sickness has finally stopped, and I’m feeling a bit more myself—even if I am a slightly slower and rounder version of myself.

Both Alden and Rowan are gone from the cottage, busy with their responsibilities in Faunwood. Alden is working on a repair at the Golden Lantern, our village’s small inn, and Rowan is on duty today—like he is almost every day. When Rowan is home, though, he tends to follow me around, keeping an eye on me like I might need him to catch me should I fall. The bigger my stomach gets, the more attentive he is, to the point where I’ve had to wave him away and send him off to do anything besides lurk over my shoulder. But I know he means well. It’s his child I’m carrying, after all.

With the hens happily scratching in the earth, I set off toward the forest. On my way past the garden, I spot Harrison asleep on a garden chair. He flicks his ears and opens an eye as I come to stand over him.

“Want to go on a walk with me?” I ask.

With a yawn and a stretch, he leaps down into the grass. “Sure.”

Together, we head for the trees. As soon as I step out of the morning sunlight and into the shade of the big pines, I shiver. In the summer, the forest’s shadows provide a respite from the heat, but now that autumn has settled over us, the cool air is chill enough to nip at my nose, making me grateful I opted for a long-sleeved dress.

“When will Selene arrive?” Harrison asks as we meander slowly through the forest.

I’m on the lookout for mushrooms this morning. It’s the perfect time of year for a creamy mushroom soup alongside a fresh loaf of crispy sourdough; just imagining all the flavors and smells makes my mouth water. Alden and Rowan will be so pleased to arrive home to such a wonderful meal.

“They’ll be here the week leading up to Samhain,” I say, eyes narrowed as I scan the bases of the pine trees for mushrooms. “Ooh, look!” With a skip to my step, I approach a fallen tree, and growing in a cluster along it is a trove of yellow-orange chanterelles. I kneel in the cool dew-covered undergrowth, not minding that my skirt gets a bit wet and dotted with leaves, and begin carefully plucking the mushrooms from the rich earth. Into my wicker basket they go.

“When is that?” Harrison asks. He’s watching a beetle lumber slowly through the fallen leaves, his tail twitching.

“One moon from now.” With a huff, I push to my feet, wincing slightly at the ache in my low back. “Plenty of time to prepare for her arrival.” Casting my gaze about the forest, I spot a beautiful hawks wing mushroom, and that, too, goes right into my basket.

“Will she be here long?” Harrison asks, traversing the forest behind me.

“A week at least,” I say, still slightly distracted as I continue my search for wild delicacies.

“Perhaps she’ll stay longer,” he says in a wistful tone.

His love for her makes me smile. “Perhaps.”

We continue our walk through the forest until my basket is full to the brim with chanterelles, hawks wings, and even some wild strawberries. Those won’t go into the soup, but perhaps I can make a sweet treat on the side.

I’m just standing from a patch of mushrooms when Harrison goes rigid. His tail points up, and his ears flick forward. I follow his gaze but don’t see anything.

“What is it?” I ask.

“I smell something.” He sniffs the cool air, which is heavy with the scent of decaying undergrowth and damp earth. “Something that shouldn’t be here.”

Those words make my stomach clench. “What do you mean?”

But Harrison doesn’t respond. The hair along his back slowly rises, filling me with dread.

Bears are common in this area, and I know wildcats make their home in the forest as well, but they don’t usually come around, opting for solitude instead. What could have Harrison so upset, then?

A moment later, I hear something moving through the brush. My fingers wrap tight about the handle of my basket, and I’m suddenly wishing I hadn’t wandered so far from the cottage. But nothing has ever threatened me in these woods before—not even when I was a child—so fear isn’t something I associate with the trees.

The low growl that rumbles out of Harrison’s throat has me almost ready to run. But the thing that steps from the shadows of the trees turns my veins to ice, freezing me to my spot.

I’ve never seen a wolf before, but I’m almost certain they’re not supposed to be that big. Even on all fours, the canine must be at least up to my shoulders. Its head is massive, and I imagine it could end me in one swift bite with those powerful jaws.

Harrison hisses, and the wolf growls in response, a deep rumbling sound that vibrates in my chest. But then its eyes find me, and they’re such a vibrant blue that for a moment I feel as though I’m being sucked into them, am getting lost in a world of sparkling sapphire, and I forget the fear.

The creature takes another step forward, snapping twigs beneath its paw. When it moves into a patch of dappled sunlight slipping through the trees overhead, I see for the first time that its midnight-black fur is matted along its shoulder and chest, like it’s coated in...

Blood.

It’s injured.

Another step, and this time I see that the wolf’s gait is troubled, hitched. It’s protecting itself, walking slowly. It continues toward me amidst Harrison’s violent hissing. I want to take a step back, to abandon my mushrooms and sprint from the trees as fast as my bare feet will carry me, but something prevents me from moving. The fear? Certainly. But there’s something else too, a curiosity, perhaps even a feeling of sympathy for the creature.

I want to help it.

The wolf pulls its lips back in a snarl, and once more, I see blood. It drips over its sharp white teeth, stark in contrast. Whatever happened to this animal, it’s probably lucky to be alive.

“Run, Aurora!” Harrison yells at me.

But I can’t. The wolf is holding my gaze, keeping me captive with that intense stare.

And despite the fear and panic coursing through me, I’m still standing there when the wolf lets out a pained whimper and collapses forward into the leaves.

Thank You for Reading!

Thank you so much for reading The Witch’s Rite , the second installment in Season of the Witch. If you enjoyed your time in Faunwood with Aurora, Alden, and Rowan, I hope you’ll consider picking up the next book, The Witch’s Shifter , in which you’ll get to meet our snarly new love interest. You can purchase it by clicking this link .

If you’d like to leave a review of this book (which would be amazing! ), you can do so by clicking here . Every review helps, and I truly appreciate it! Thank you. ?