18. Flame

My jaguar purrs with want. He wants to bite his intended mate, make her ours, then pin her to the earth and claim her.

Most Shifter Fae mate other Shifter Fae.

But I'm a half-breed.

And my jaguar doesn't seem to care at all that Alina is a human. He's addicted to her sweet scent, that delectable mix of strawberries and cream, a dessert we both long to taste.

She's walking alongside my beast, my clothes tucked under one arm while her opposite hand brushes my coat. My jaguar practically melts beneath her fingertips, each stroke a hypnotic caress that soothes his chaotic energy and calms my inner fire.

I feel at peace.

Like I've finally found the rest of my soul.

She's ours,I think, sure of it. She may be human, but there's something in her that's decidedly fae. Whether that's her Omega soul or something else entirely, I don't know. But it's there.

This woman was destined to be ours.

My jaguar wants to sink his canines into her soft flesh and leave behind his mark.

But I hold him back.

She's not ready to accept us yet.

And that's okay.

I'll take her gentle strokes and admiring looks for now.

We walk for at least an hour, her hand on me most of the time. She doesn't comment on carrying my clothes, just holds them like it's the most natural thing in the world.

When we reach a particularly large tree, my animal pauses and I know what he intends to do a split second before he does it.

He leaps onto a branch, his tail swishing with victory as all four paws connect where he expected. Then he practically smirks in response to Alina's startled yelp. Because that yelp is now paired with a look of awe.

Show-off, I tell him.

He preens again, pleased with impressing his chosen mate.

Alina giggles, the sound one I commit to memory. It's the second time she's made that sound tonight, and each occurrence has made me feel like a king.

I love that she's happy. No sign of fear. No sign of stress. Just… pleased with our walk. With me.

"Well, if you're going to rest up there, then I'll just rest down here," she says, picking a spot beside the tree trunk to drop my clothes before plopping down beside them.

She leans back against the bark, her legs stretched out and crossed at the ankles.

"This is perfect," she breathes, seemingly pleased. "I only wish I had a book or something."

My animal's ears twitch at that. A book? I would ask her if we were mentally linked. What do you like to read?

I'm guessing this realm hasn't offered her much in the way of literature.

From what Orcus observed, the humans are still educated—primarily to appease potential supernatural mates—and the academic levels vary by village.

I'm not sure how many villages he found while peeping about the world, but it was enough for him to notice trends. Such as teaching habits amongst the humans.

Alina closes her eyes, her face the picture of peace.

My animal watches her closely, his tail lazily swaying off the branch while he rests his big head on his front paws.

Minutes pass and her breathing evens out, indicating that she's fallen asleep.

It's quick. But it suggests she needs the rest. I'll give her a few more minutes to fall into a deeper sleep, then I'll jump down, shift, and carry her home. She can nap against my chest.

My cat remains alert, observing our little panther while she rests.

The rise and fall of her chest is hypnotic, and the way the breeze teases her long, dark hair has my jaguar itching to play with her silky strands.

It's perfect.

A beautiful moment in time.

I sigh inside, content.

This is?—

My jaguar stills, his ears straining as the whisper of footsteps catches our attention. Our nose twitches, a familiar scent making my beast growl as we pounce onto the ground.

Strigoi.

It should be impossible. The portal to the Netherworld closed last night, and Strigoi were not on the invitation list.

Yet, I know that smell. They reek of the Morpheus Realm.

It's a metallic fragrance, one denoting their vampire nature. Only, these are no ordinary vampires. They feed on dreams.

Like the dreams of my mate.

My beast growls again, louder now, and prowls forward. I shift as we walk, needing my voice. By the time I reach the path they're hunting on, I'm back in my human form.

Both men freeze the moment they see me, their eyes widening in shock.

Because yeah, they recognize me.

Just like I recognize them. "What the fuck are you two doing here?" I demand.

Sebastian Sanguinis and Cage Van Drakken.

Fuck, if Lucifer catches wind of this, he's going to lose his godsdamn mind. These two are rival Strigoi heirs, both of them coming from vastly different royal families.

Royal families that hate each other. Primarily because they're both eligible for the same throne—the Strigoi King's throne. Technically, Sabre is next in line. But Cage could challenge him for it. And from what I've heard, the Van Drakken family is urging him to do so.

Like vampires, Strigoi are extremely dedicated to their family covens. Consorting with outsiders is frowned upon.

Yet here they are, waltzing hand in hand down the path.

Well, they were waltzing.

Now they're just frozen and gaping at me.

"Flame?" Sebastian—who prefers to be called Sabre—says, blinking at me like I might not be real. Considering they live and feed off dreams, it's possible he thinks he's lost in one.

But that dream is about to become a nightmare.

Because Orcus is going to fucking kill these guys.

"What the fuck are you doing here?" I repeat. "How are you even here? Maliki should have closed the portal by now." And we were well beyond Monsters Night hours now, too. Which is why the streets were so clear before.

"Flame?" Alina calls, causing both men to glance over my shoulder toward the female I now sense behind me. "What's…?" She trails off. Probably because she sees the two intimidating men on the path.

They're both tall, broad-shouldered, and aristocratic in nature. But the hint of red flickering in their eyes reveals the predators inside, especially as they study her now.

Because they were just fucking dreamwalking in her head.

"Keep looking at her," I dare them. "See what happens."

Sabre is the first to glance away, his dark eyes meeting mine. The red is entirely gone now, confirming he's no longer linked to the dream plane.

Good.

Because if he spent another minute there, I might kill him. Mainly because my mate is probably the one who lured him there.

"Apologies, Flame," he says. "We didn't realize she was yours."

Cage clears his throat, his focus shifting toward me as well. "Yes, sorry. We… we were just wandering."

"In a realm you have no business being in," I say, my tone a show of dominance. Not because I have any royal status to stand on, but because I represent a very different level of power. Godlike power.

Sabre and Cage are high enough in rank to know that Orcus is Hades's primary enforcer.

Just as they both know Reaper and I are Orcus's seconds-in-command.

"How did you get through the portal?" Maliki was only supposed to let Ghouls through. But Ghouls and Strigoi both share the Morpheus Kingdom, so I suppose word of the portal could have spread to a few Strigoi, which means there might be more of them meandering about.

Fuck.

This is a mess.

"Maliki helped us escape," Sabre says, his spine straightening. "He told us about the portal and offered us a way out. We took it."

My eyebrows wing upward. "He told you about the portal?"

Sabre nods. "He knew we've been searching for a way to escape our fates and told us about this realm. Said how the portal would only be open for an hour or two and that it would likely be closed off and never used again."

"Clearly, he was wrong," Cage drawls.

"Clearly, he didn't tell you the actual purpose of the portal," I correct. Which was to provide a cover for our mission here in this realm. At least Maliki did that right. But he shouldn't have let these two Strigoi Princes escape into this world. "You can't stay here."

Sabre releases Cage's hand and folds his arms. "That's not what the Queen's Emissary said."

"Jones?" I ask, already wary about where this conversation is headed.

"No. Emissary Sheila." Sabre's brow furrows. "Who's Jones?"

"No one that matters," I mutter, running my fingers through my hair. "Let me guess, though—you're staying at the Queen's tower?"

Cage nods. "They gave us a suite. She wants to meet with us next week. Until then, they're providing everything we need, including sustenance."

Great,I think. This is… just fucking great.

But it's honestly not my problem to deal with. Orcus will have to tell Hades, and Hades will talk to his cousin Morpheus. And they'll figure out how to handle these two rebel Princes.

Princes who are supposed to hate each other, I think, eyeing their closeness. Yet that's clearly a lie.

I shake my head and turn toward Alina, saying, "I need to get you back to the tower."

Only, she doesn't appear to hear me at all.

Because her gaze is on my abdomen.

Then it slowly lowers to my pierced cock.

Her eyes widen.

Her lips part.

And even in the dark, I can see the blush coloring her cheeks.

Despite the situation, I smile. Because that look on her face is worthy of a responding grin.

She's intimidated, probably by the bulb she can see near my base. Or perhaps by the piercings, too. Or maybe the size. Or all of the above.

But a strong sense of interest underlines that intimidation, and that interest is something I can work with.

I saunter toward her, forgetting the Strigoi at my back, and press two of my fingers to her chin to draw her gaze up to mine. "You can touch it later," I tell her softly. "After we get back to the tower."

She swallows. "I… I didn't… I don't… I mean… I…" She snaps her mouth shut, her pupils fully dilated as she gapes up at me.

"You did," I tell her. "You do. And it's fine. I want you to touch me. Just not in front of these two assholes. They've already seen enough of you."

Cage and Sabre both snort.

I ignore them and lean down to press a kiss to Alina's fiery cheek. "I'm going to go grab my clothes," I tell her. "If one of them comes near you, knee them in the balls."

While I can't see them, I sense both Cage and Sabre rolling their eyes. They might have snuck into this realm, but they're both honorable men. They won't harm Alina in any way. And not just because she's mine, but because she hasn't consented.

Still, they are in for a world of pain when their God finds out about their little adventure.

Or maybe Morpheus won't care at all.

He's often lost to his land of dreams, too deep in his mind to care what his worshippers are doing in his kingdom. He leaves all the political management to the Kings, just like Hades does.

And those Kings report to Lucifer, the King of the Hell Fae Realm.

But the Gods are the ones who bestow gifts upon the kingdoms, basically functioning as an entity for everyone to pray to.

It's a different kind of governance.

One Cage and Sabre should probably fear, considering they've just earned their almighty's judgment.

Not my problem, I tell myself again as I step around Alina to go find my clothes by the tree.

When I return to her, she still hasn't moved. But she's staring at the Strigoi with interest. They are obediently not looking back at her, something that appeases both me and my beast.

Except I don't like the way our little panther is admiring them. "They won't be joining our mate-circle, Alina," I tell her.

She blinks away from them to look at me. "What?"

"I know they're beautiful, but you're going to be too busy with me, Orcus, and Reaper to even think about them." I palm her cheek. "I promise the three of us will do everything in our power to be enough. To make you ours, not theirs or anyone else's."

She licks her lips, her gaze darting down my body in a brief glance before flicking back up to my face. "Okay," she says, not bothering to fight my claim.

I'm very aware that I'm being possessive.

Fortunately, she doesn't seem to mind.

Pleased, I kiss her other cheek, then thread our fingers together again. "Good girl," I whisper against her ear. "Thank you for exploring with me."

She gives me a small smile. "I enjoyed it."

"I did, too," I tell her, giving her hand a squeeze. Then I face the two Strigoi. "Follow us." It's not a request but a demand. "Orcus is going to want to talk to you."