Chapter 23

Harlow

Considering the death sentence hanging over my head, the next few days passed in relative peace.

I was… happy.

Hendrix, the traitor, ratted me out for my mini freak out, and Kylen proposed we work on some grounding exercises to help when I felt overwhelmed by my power. I wasn't sure it would help, but I couldn't argue the point when he reminded me of how he and Ranto had helped me calm the energy before.

Ranto, who had been watching people walk past outside, had volunteered to help.

Bruin continued to be a pain in my ass at every opportunity, but where before I took his death threats seriously, the last few days, he'd made it seem more like foreplay.

I never claimed we weren't fucked up. Sue me.

Despite the happy news that Hendrix had found Ranto's bag in the woods, he continued to wear Lindsay's gaudy clothing. I smiled at the bright yellow sleeveless hoodie he'd picked out for the day. His shoulders bulged in a way that made me shift in my seat every time I saw him move. It would have been impossible to resist him if it weren't for the Pikachu ears sticking up from the top of the hood. His beautiful white hair was neatly tucked away, and I wondered if he'd agree to take it off while we trained.

"Are you listening?" Kylen asked, drawing my attention to where he crouched in the grass beside the gallows. Bruin and Hendrix had taken a seat on the wooden monstrosity to watch.

"Ahhh…"

"You're staring at his arms." He waved a hand at the arms I had very much been watching closely.

"Do you blame me?"

"No. But you can play later. Now it's time to work."

I sighed and closed my eyes, focusing on the power inside me.

"Now, let it out. Just a little."

"That's what she said."

I opened my eyes to glare at Bruin. Unconvinced by the innocent look he sent me.

"Ignore him. Feel it build deep in your core until you're overflowing with it."

A loud snort behind me broke my concentration again. Hendrix pointed at Bruin.

"Oh, come on. That was you!"

"Can you both shut it, please?" Kylen snapped, scowling at them until they held their hands up in surrender.

"Okay. Let it build until you're ready to explode, and then—"

"Come your brains out?" Hendrix asked.

I flinched at the sharp crack of the two idiots behind me high fiving. Ladies and gentlemen, the men I'd decided to sleep with.

Kylen huffed, glancing over his shoulder. His posture screamed his desire to disappear into the woods with his plants. I cupped his elbow, keeping him in place while hoping he could read how much I appreciated him.

"Oh, come on. You're making it too easy," Bruin whined.

"One more word out of either of you, and I'll use you for target practice," I growled, shooting Kylen a small smile. He nodded, and we repositioned ourselves to try again.

Okay. I could do this. Deep breath in, long breath out. Focus the energy in my center…

A loud cough pulled my attention away just as I let go of the energy, and a bolt of lightning streaked toward the gallows. Hendrix and Bruin dove toward the ground just as the wooden structure caught the energy and absorbed it.

Huh.

No wonder the thing had stood for hundreds of years.

Hendrix pushed to his feet, throwing me an apologetic look while Bruin took his time getting off the ground.

"You did that on purpose."

"Nope, but I can if you want me to." I smirked.

"I think we need to try a new approach," Kylen muttered, rubbing his forehead. "Has it occurred to anyone that this could be what we need to do to break the curse? We saw Harlow's ancestor doppelganger basically vaporize herself when she lost control of her powers. It seems like it might be a good idea to start there with saving her life. Think about it. We all ended up here at the same time. All our powers complement each other. Air, electricity, weather, nature. All of them. It has to be fate."

"There's no such thing as fate," Hendrix muttered.

"Still sticking to that belief even after you found your treasure?" Ranto asked, the challenge clear in his tone.

"Let's just take a break. I need some air."

Before anyone else could jump in to argue, I left them to it. It had been days since we had witnessed the death loop, and I still couldn't talk or think about what had happened. I wasn't at panic-attack levels of distress anymore, but the reality that I might have witnessed what fate, or whatever, had in store for me was a little too close for comfort.

Despite my claim, I found myself drawn toward my ancestor's home. Hurrying through the front door to avoid looking at the gardens for fear of seeing the death loop reappear, I took the stairs to the second floor and stalled out in one of the bedrooms. By the silver mirror and glass vials lined up along a vanity table in the corner, I guessed I'd found Levina's room. A layer of dust coated the contents of the room, and I wondered if they had cast cleaning spells back when there was a family in residence. It seemed like the kind of thing families would have done. Picking up one of the old vials, I caught the faintest whiff of lavender. Perhaps Levina had sleep troubles? I eyed her bed, then, following an impulse I didn't understand, stripped off the heavy, dusty covers and lay down on the mattress.

Had she known about the curse? I wondered if she had lain in this spot and contemplated her fate like I was now. Or maybe avoidance was a family trait, and she'd ignored the problem. An even worse thought occurred to me. What if she'd thought she could break it, too? Maybe I was destined to go out in a surge of energy regardless of what I did.

"You're thinking pretty hard in there, Treasure."

I rolled my head to the side to find Hendrix leaning in the doorway with Ranto right behind him. With a sigh, I sat up and craned my neck to see if anyone else had ignored my need for space.

"Kylen took Lindsay and Addie into the woods to play in the dirt, and Bruin is off somewhere being Bruin. It's just us."

"What are you guys doing here?"

His lip ticked up in a small smile as he crossed the room uninvited and sat beside me on the bed. Ranto followed him in and leaned his hip against Levina's vanity table.

"Can you please take off the Pikachu vest? It's really hard to take you seriously in it," I moaned, my hormones confused about whether we were turned on by his sculpted arms while the damn ears bobbed on his hood. He flashed me a wicked grin and reached for the hem.

"If you insist." He removed the fabric with a flourish, revealing a long, lean torso with defined six pack and divots over his hips that I suddenly wanted to trace with my tongue more than anything.

Whelp, that cleared things up. We were most definitely turned on.

"Keep looking at me like that, mate, and we're going to need some privacy."

"Oh, hell no. I'm not going anywhere." Hendrix shifted closer to me on the bed.

I shot him a smug look, thinking of our conversation and wondering whether he was intent on voyeurism… or joining. A shiver of delight worked its way over my shoulders, and I realized either way I'd enjoy the hell out of the next little while.

Ranto shrugged. "As long as Harlow doesn't mind, it's fine with me. As long as you're okay with sharing."

I raised my hand as though we were sitting in a classroom.

"I, for one, am very okay with sharing."

Ranto chuckled but made no move to cross the room. I arched a brow at him, hoping he'd close the distance, but his smile only grew.

"I think we'd better start by getting our mate naked. Wouldn't you say, gryphon?"

Hendrix hummed low in his throat as he shifted to press his front to my back. His hands squeezed my shoulders, then slid down my arms until he reached the hem of my t-shirt. Running his hands up my sides, he pushed the fabric up and encouraged me to lift my arms while I panted at the sensations his touch evoked in my body. We'd barely started, and I was already so wet I worried I'd leave a stain on the mattress. Sorry great-, great-, whatever grandmother. If she was anything like Melisande, maybe she'd be impressed that the bed was seeing action again after all these years.

I was keeping them both, I decided as my bra was removed and Ranto's eyes darkened at the sight of my piercings.

"Damn, girl."

Without an ounce of shame, he reached down and adjusted the impressive tent in his sweats. I licked my lips, tracking the movement as Hendrix reached around and tweaked my nipples.

"Please," I whimpered, unsure what I wanted, but unwilling to wait for it.

"Pants," Ranto ordered, his eyes locked on Hendrix's hand as it slipped down my front to tease the waistband.

Why hadn't I worn a skirt? Except for the fact I didn't own one, the easy access would have been super handy right now. Strong hands grasped my hips and encouraged me up off the bed, and rather than waiting for the slow undressing, I decided to take matters into my own hands. In one quick move, I pushed my pants and panties to the floor, bending at the waist to give Hendrix a show. What I hadn't expected was for him to palm my ass cheeks and lick me from clit to asshole.

"Shit!" I squeaked, almost losing my balance as he took another, slower lick.

"Doesn't she taste divine?" Ranto chuckled from his perch on the other side of the freaking room.

I wanted him closer. "Ranto."

"I know, mate. Why don't you lie back and let Hendrix feast first? Then we can all have some fun together." How could he be so calm when I was jittering out of my skin?

Hendrix seemed to be on the same wavelength as Ranto, and with a small tug, he guided me back to the mattress, hooked my leg over his shoulders, and began eating me like a man starved. I gasped and shuddered at the scrape of his beard over my sensitive flesh as he stroked me hard, not playing games in the pursuit of pleasure.

Locking eyes with Ranto, I saw the same hunger reflected back at me. He wasn't unaffected at all. He was showing me that he could share.

I couldn't have appreciated it more, especially as Hendrix thrust two fingers inside of me and pleasure washed through me. He sat up and wiped a hand down his beard, flicking his gaze to Ranto in invitation. Finally, my raiju was ready to play.

"Shuffle up on the bed, Treasure. Let him use your mouth."

I did as I was told, hanging my head off the edge of the bed and sticking my tongue out, so ready to taste him. Ranto smirked, leaned down, and sucked my tongue into his mouth, in a dirty upside-down kiss. When he pulled away, I wanted to follow him, but he clicked his tongue.

"Are you going to let Hendrix inside you?"

Hendrix cursed. "Condoms. I didn't think about it."

"It's fine," I said hurriedly. "I'm protected, so it's only if you want to use one."

If Hendrix's groan was anything to go by, I thought it was safe to say we were good. He stripped out of his clothes in record time, and I barely had time to appreciate his body before he blanketed mine.

"Are you sure?" he asked, eyeing me carefully as he positioned himself at my core.

"Absolutely." I hooked my heels behind his thighs and encouraged him to surge into me. Dropping my head back, I caught sight of Ranto, sweats pushed down around his thighs and erection in hand, pumping it slowly. My mouth dropped open on a moan as Hendrix pulled back on a long stroke and thrust back in hard.

Ranto slid a hand behind my head, lifting me to the angle he wanted before tapping my cheek with his hard cock. "Are you ready for me?"

I opened wide, smiling around his length as it slid easily into my throat. Upside-down blow jobs were so much easier on the throat.

It was the last coherent thought I had before the men found a rhythm between them that took my brain offline. I was so full. So connected with the men that all I could do was take all they gave to me and hope it kept coming. Hendrix adjusted his grip and began to pound into me as Ranto pulled out of my mouth so I could breathe.

"Are you going to come in her throat? Or do you want this hole when I'm done?"

I groaned at the lust that dripped from Hendrix's words, not at all concerned that he talked as though I wasn't there. If I said stop, they would. Immediately.

"Make sure you give it all to her. I want her dripping before I fuck it back inside." Ranto moved around the bed as Hendrix stiffened above me, burying his head in the crook of my neck as he growled through his orgasm.

When he pulled out, Ranto moaned, running his fingers through the mess left behind before he took over the position between my legs. My body was Jell-O. Floppy and sated. But when Ranto turned an assessing eye on me, I still held my arms out, ready to welcome him in me.

Using two fingers, he pumped into me slowly, his whole body shuddering at the squelching noise that came from my used pussy. Heat burned my cheeks, but I shook the emotion away. Why should I be embarrassed when he was so obviously turned on? Still, I couldn't keep myself from checking.

"You like it?"

He paused. Sharp eyes flicking to meet mine. "Babe, you have no idea how sexy you feel. How impatient I am to slide into this soft, wet heat that Hendrix has prepared for me. I'm taking a moment, so I don't come the second I get inside you."

"I mean… it's okay if you do."

His growl was more wolf than human as he finally let himself go, gripping my hips and slamming home before I could finish speaking. Gone was the careful lover. There was no finesse as he pounded into me, the obscene sounds coming from the collision of our bodies filling the room with a lust-drunk soundtrack. A hand brushed over my hair, and I rolled my head to the side to find Hendrix stretched out beside me, watching.

Ranto adjusted his angle and reached between us, pulling a whimper from me as he thumbed my oversensitive clit.

"Come on, babe. One more for me. I know you can do it. You're such a good girl for us."

That did it. My eyesight went white as my climax crashed over me. Ranto snarled as he followed me into bliss, and from far away, I heard a shout. I couldn't care too much about it as I drifted in a state of post-orgasmic bliss.

"Treasure."

My ears came back online a few moments later. When had I closed my eyes? I blinked them open lazily, slowly swimming up through the layers of dopamine flooding my system.

"Something's happening to Ranto."

That got me moving.

Sitting up quickly, I barely missed headbutting Hendrix, who pulled back just in time.

At the foot of the bed, Ranto stood, arms wide as sparks danced along his skin.

"I didn't do it," I blurted, wondering how he could look so full of power. Had I accidentally discharged during orgasm? I snorted. Technically, yes, I definitely had, but not electricity.

"What…?"

"I think my powers just came in." Ranto's voice was full of wonder, and it occurred to me I knew nothing about raiju.

"Another gap in your knowledge?" Hendrix asked.

I glared at him, silently asking for an explanation without the judgment, thank you.

"Raiju come into their powers when they find their mate. Usually after sexual intercourse." Beneath his curls, his ears colored. He could have a filthy three-way with us, but the mention of sex made him blush? Be still my heart, that was adorable. Because I had to do something to save the poor guy—or possibly make him blush harder—I decided to go to my tried-and-true coping mechanism. Humor.

"So what I'm hearing is I have a magical pussy. We should all get matching t-shirts. I'm sure Lindsay would be happy to bedazzle them for us."

A sharp jolt hit me in the butt, and I turned a scowl on the super-powered raiju in the room as I rubbed my poor, abused posterior.

"No. That's my trick. No zapping the zapper."

Ranto chuckled. "Turnabout is fair play, my love. Deal with it."

Shrugging back into the stupid Pikachu hoodie, he pulled up his pants and left with a wink while I turned a dumbfounded look on Hendrix.

The ass was no help. He shrugged and began collecting his clothing before he, too, left with a quick kiss goodbye.

I lay back on the bed, completely naked and sated as my brain started to run hard, obsessing over the one little word I never expected to hear.

Love.