20. Valentina

The fake sky above us shimmers every shade of pink and purple as it emulates a sunset. I sit on a bench in a gorgeous, modern seating area in the middle of the portal station, watching as monsters come and go. They seem to marvel at how easy it is. Two minotaur males holding hands emerge from the portal to Rainbow, in America’s New York state. The smaller male cries quietly. Once they’re out of the portal, the bigger one pulls him into his arms.

I don’t mean to eavesdrop, but vampiric hearing is so good that I pick up their conversation. They haven’t visited home in years because there used to be over forty portal stops between Hearth HQ and Rainbow. Now it’s one portal. They just saw a friend for the first time in decades.

Smiling, I move my gaze around the room. How many families will be reunited because of this station? How many love stories—like mine—will have happier endings because of it? Tears fill my eyes until I hear the familiar clack of Evenia’s signature heels. Brushing the tears away, I stand and smooth my jacket and skirt.

My boss stops next to me, hands clasped at her waist. She eyes me up and down, her gaze cool and assessing. Like always, I lift my chin and return her vicious smile.

To my surprise, her smile grows wider, seeming almost genuine. She looks around the portal station and sighs.

I don’t dare say a word.

Eventually, she looks at me. “You did a good job, Valentina. You convinced me to do something that many monsters have tried to convince me of over the years. But I always found fault with their plan. Well done.”

I’m almost too flabbergasted to respond, but I manage to thank her as gracefully as I can.

Her smile goes thoughtful. “You almost remind me of me, a little bit, when I was younger.” She casts her eyes down my figure and back up. “I was more cutthroat. You’re softer around the edges, but moldable, I think.”

Gods, I hope she doesn’t think that was a compliment?

She stares at the portal directly in front of us. It leads to Azuro, my home haven. “We’re overwhelmed with applications for the first wave of monsters to move from Azuro to Tesoro. That’s because of you, too. You’ve shown enormous creativity in the design of that haven. I can’t wait to see what you come up with for the next one. Rainbow grows large; we should tackle another New York location next.”

“Of course,” I say as smoothly as I can. That she wants to start another project so soon speaks volumes about her confidence in Tesoro’s success. We’re not even done building it yet!

Evenia turns on her heel, glancing at me over her shoulder. “Don’t let my praise go to your head, little dove. I’ll be expecting more from you now that you’re Chief Haven Designer. You’ll be working many nights and weekends. Who knows if you’ll even have time for those two pretty mates of yours.”

That said, she stalks off toward the exit, leaving me in a cloud of ecstasy despite her parting commentary.

The work ahead of us will be time-consuming, but doing it has always been my dream. Grinning, I grab my bag and head for the portal to Ever.

Time to go home.

A quarter hour later, I push through the front door of our apartment above Higher Grounds. The scent of blood calls me, Pietro and Alé teasing me through our bond. It’s not their blood, though. No, it’s my elf’s.

Smiling, I toss my bag onto the counter and walk down the hall to the playroom. When I enter, I find Diavolo hung from the ceiling by a series of ropes, his cock dripping precum onto the floor as Alé laps fervently at his sack.

“Hello, boys,” I greet them as I kick off my shoes.

Pietro rises from a chair and comes to me, pulling me into his arms for a kiss that steals my breath. When we part, he spins me to face Diavolo, whose face is scrunched up as he pants and cries out, begging for relief.

“You’re home,” he croaks. “Gods, please let me come. They said I could come when you got home.”

Pietro moves to my back, piling my hair on top of my head. He brings his mouth to my neck and bites. Orgasm hits me, and I thrash in his arms, liquid heat soaking my panties as I come hard enough for my knees to buckle. My mate holds me steady, the rock keeping me safe and secure as bliss barrels through me.

“Please,” Diavolo begs again. “Let me out of these ropes. I need you.”

“Join me, mate,” Alé offers before returning his focus to Diavolo’s cock and balls.

“Let him down,” I command. “I need a ‘welcome home’ kiss.”

With a beleaguered sigh, Alé pulls a few bits of rope, releasing Diavolo carefully to the ground.

In moments, the dark elf is on his feet, crossing the short distance between us. He grips my throat and pushes me hard against Pietro, hovering his lips over mine with a soft snarl. “They’ve been torturing me for hours, Valentina. Hours.”

I reach up and stroke my knuckles along his sharp jawline, eyes locked to his as he breathes hard, chest heaving.

“My poor, needy elf,” I croon. “Do you need relief, my sweet?”

“Yes,” he moans. “But I want to give you something first.” He looks over his shoulder at Alé, then back at Pietro and me. “Something I’ve wanted to give you for a while.”

He drops his grip on my throat and takes a few steps away from us as Alé joins Pietro and me.

My beautiful mate plants a kiss on my shoulder. “Welcome home, by the way.”

I smile as we stand together, staring at Diavolo. The elf’s expression is serious—more serious than I’ve ever seen it in the months we’ve known him.

“Dia, are you okay?” I start forward just as I hear the first crack of bone. Shocked at the loud noise, I rush to him.

He pulls my hands to his chest. His skin is scorching hot. Another crack rends the air, followed by another. Before my eyes, Diavolo’s body grows. His arms, legs, and torso grow longer. His horns flex and thicken.

“My gods,” Alé whispers.

“Are you sure?” I look into pitch-black eyes, and what I see there is something more than the playful relationship we’ve developed with the dark elf. I see commitment. I see desire. I see…adoration.

“I’m sure.” He holds my hands on his body as he grows and grows until he’s nearly ten feet tall. His beautiful black horns easily add another three or four feet to his height.

“I’ve never seen a dark elf in their true form,” I whisper.

He smiles at me. “I’ve never shown anyone my true form. Not a single time in my entire life.” He looks around as my mates join us. “But I wanted to show the three of you. I want you to drink from me like this.”

Pietro gasps. “Are you sure, Diavolo? This is a gift beyond measure.”

Dark elf blood is priceless, more valuable than gold and gems all together, due to its ability to strengthen any type of magic and heal any illness or wound. Thousands of years ago, they were hunted for that very reason. But some smart ancestor devised a way to bind their blood with magic. Now, its magical properties only work when the blood is freely given.

“I want to share this with you, all of you,” he repeats. “It would be a great honor for you to drink from me.”

“Of course, my sweet,” I whisper, the first tear spilling down my cheek. “How would you like us to take you?”

He moans, reaching down to pull me up into his arms. His lips brush against mine. “Violently. Over and over. Take me any way you want to, Val.”

I love his nickname for me. Both of my mates call me Valentina, and I love the way they say it. But with Diavolo, we’re Val and Dia. It’s different.

It feels right.

“Me first,” I spit out, bloodlust rising at the idea of taking him. I’ve learned in a short time that Dia loves being attacked by us. The more violently we take him, the better for him. He loves to be chased, bitten, subdued, bound. Lifting my ziol necklace, I press the button on the back to release the blades. Moving quickly, I slash the ziol across his throat.

He grunts, eyes rolling into his head as crimson blood spills from the wound. The scent of his pure-form blood hits me like a truck, and I press my face closer to him just to smell it.

Fucking divine. His blood smells better than any blood I’ve ever smelled in my entire godsdamn life. Like berry and moonlight and glittering gems all rolled together. His scent bursts across my senses, igniting my need to drain him dry. The lust overtakes me, and I surge forward, lapping at his neck as he cries out, bringing a hand to the back of my head.

I barely notice as Dia begs Pietro and Alé to join us. But then they bite him, and his soft moans turn into deep, earthy growls that rumble his chest and force blood spurting from the wound, coating my mouth and tongue. I can’t drink him down fast enough. Liquid moonlight flows down my throat, igniting me from the inside out as I drink and drink.

Somehow, we make it to the bed, Dia pulling us down on top of his enormous figure. Pietro and Alé join me, biting and sucking at his neck wound while our big elf moans and writhes beneath us.

I pause long enough to press my hand to the side of Dia’s face. He turns immediately, kissing and licking at my palm, sucking my fingers into his mouth.

Heat flares through me, my predatory senses narrowing and homing on his beautiful lips. But I force that instinct down.

“Thank you for this gift, Dia,” I whisper, rubbing his cheek until he halts his ministrations and looks at me.

“You’re the only ones I ever want to show this to,” he says quietly.

Pietro and Alé stop lapping at Dia’s delicious blood, moving closer to me as we stare at the dark elf. Dia shifts onto his elbows, the wound at his throat still flowing freely. His blood calls me. But his need, his sincerity…they call me more.

“What is it, my sweet?” I press a hand over his heart, rubbing soft circles over his ebony skin.

Black eyes move between the three of us, midnight lashes fluttering against his cheeks as he seems to compose his thoughts.

“I want you to keep me,” he says after long, quiet moments. “I want to enjoy this form with the three of you, and no one else. I…I want to be here all of the time.”

The three of us.

That makes me think of Alé and Pietro and how it was always the three of us. How we knew it would always be the three of us.

Yet when I examine my heart and the bond I share with my mates, they’re both excited, almost relieved to hear Dia’s words. They want him. We all want him.

“We want that too,” Alé whispers, pressing forward to take Dia’s lips in a passionate kiss.

A black tear streaks down my elf’s face as Pietro moves in and steals a kiss, whispering something sweet into Dia’s mouth.

And then he looks up at me, eyes full of adoration.

“I love you, Dia,” I whisper.

“Good,” he manages with a low growl. “Now come fuck me before my cock falls off from neglect.”

Laughing, I wait for him to shift out of his pure form and back into a manageable size. Pietro and Alé guide me to Dia’s lap, and then we obey his command over, and over, and over.

Mine. They’re all mine. And I couldn’t be happier.

T HE END