One

Moon

M y head throbs, my eyes feel like they’re filled with sand, and my lips are dryer than a nun’s knickers. I try to swallow, but my throat feels like there’s a turkey leg lodged in it. My muscles ache over what feels like every inch of my body, and I’m shaking like a leaf. Daire’s head is in my lap, his teeth buried in my wrist as he drinks my blood. This is not a good day.

A tear falls down my cheek as I stare down at the man I couldn’t bear to lose, and a sob catches in my throat as I think of Odas and Cato. Where did Lust take them? What happened to my best friend? The empty, soulless void I saw when I looked into his blue eyes will haunt my every nightmare for the rest of my life.

“Drink,” Silas demands once more, his voice rough with barely restrained emotion. He’s trying to hide his rage, but I can hear it in his tone. He’s worried about me, and more than that, he’s worried about my kidnapped mates. Or maybe that's just me. The fear consuming my chest threatens to overwhelm me with every breath I take. So I exhale, and hold it, trying to calm my racing mind.

Holding his wrist out for me, Silas moves until he’s beside me. His cool, pale skin presses against me, and I wonder if my heated skin burns him.

I tip my head with the slightest acknowledgment of his offer to drink from him. I know I need to, or at least that's what feels right, but I haven’t done this before. Drank blood. I inspect his wrist, the blue veins so easily visible against his translucent skin. I lick my lips, trying to wet them, but fail. My body is severely dehydrated.

I’m wondering if maybe they have things all wrong. I don’t crave the taste of his blood. Heck, the thought is a bit gross, but there’s a little voice in the back of my head whispering that I need to do this. Some part of me that knows this is right. This is the missing piece.

When I bite his wrist, he flinches, probably because I don’t break the skin. I chomp again…and again. I’m not getting a good bite. I don’t have fangs… It’s like bobbing for apples. My teeth can’t get a good hold. I use the free hand that I’m not using to feed Daire and grab his forearm for leverage. I turn my head a bit to the side, so I can get more of his wrist toward the back of my mouth where my stronger teeth are, and bite as hard as I can. When Silas grunts, and I still have not managed to break the skin, I release him and frown. This is not working! But now my mouth is watering. I need a taste of blood. Now.

“Shit, sorry.” I nibble my bottom lip as Silas rubs at the gnawed-on skin of his wrist. I wince. What the fuck do I do? Everything is such a fucking mess.

Daire groans, stirring in my lap for the first time. Other than drinking, he hasn’t moved. I push my fingers through his hair as he feeds. It’s wet with blood from the still open slit in his throat.

I almost lost him.

“You just need to–”

“Where do you think Lust took Cato and Odas?” I ask, cutting Silas off as tears fall from my eyes, and my heart aches. We’re still trapped in this fucking trial. This hospital looks like something from a horror movie.

The body of the dead beast that attacked Daire is just lying there beside him. Smelling like putrid rotting flesh.

Despite the heat of the bodies gathered around me, it’s freezing in here.

“They’ve been taken back to my mother’s dungeon,” Fen says, as he drags his body across the floor to get closer to me. Tristan helps him as Arlo stands and starts surveying our surroundings. He checks on me first, then turns to look over his brother. Tristan looks like he’s struggling more than the rest of us, excluding Daire. “She’s been trying to get them back since they escaped,” he adds.

“What?” I gasp, looking up at my Fae mate as he climbs to his feet. The grim look in his ever-changing blue-to-black eyes tells me all I need to know. I watch as he strips off his shirt and looks at the rest of us. His body is bruised and marked, and the rage that fills me as I look at the state of my men is unlike anything I’ve ever felt before.

His mother took my mates? Someone has been targeting my men and hurting them. Attacking all of us. I’m fucking over it.

The sudden urge to burn the world to ash is so unexpected that I gasp. It steals my breath. This anger. This pure fucking hatred. I need to win these games, if for no other reason than to save Daire’s sister. But all I want to do at this moment is cause chaos and mayhem. I want to bring those who would harm my mates to their fucking knees. And then I want Cato to set them on fire.

“I’m sorry, Moon. We’ll get you out of here, and then we’ll go get them together,” Fen vows, the look of pain and guilt in his eyes has my heart pounding. That guilt isn’t his to carry. He turns to Silas, who is supporting my body now, so I can hold Daire more easily. “Keep her safe, I’m going to go out there and clear the way to the exit.”

“No, Fen…” I shake my head, tears still falling. I feel so out of control. So lost in this chaos. Teresa said I was a Chaos Goddess, but I sure as fuck don’t feel like I’m thriving.

“And please show her how to take a proper bite,” Fen snaps at Tristan, whose bite mark still decorates my neck.

“If you see Teresa and Percy–” I whimper.

“I’ll send them this way.” Fen gives a slight bow of his head before slipping out the door the beast came in.

“How did everything go so horribly wrong? Did you see Lust’s eyes? He looked like an empty vessel. He told me to stop fighting, that ‘she’ was watching. Whatever the fuck that meant!” I say through the tears, as Arlo paces the room around us remaining silent but keeping his eyes on me, and Tristan comes over to my side.

“We’ll figure this all out later, my pretty Badger. We need to survive these trials first,” Tristan says soothingly, and I can feel him trying to use his coercion magic. I don’t call him out because I know he’s just trying to comfort me. Hell, he might not even know he’s doing it. I think we all feel a little out of control right now. “Let me show you how to drink,” he adds, holding his hand out to Silas, who gives his hand to Tristan. I pat my bra, feeling the pebbles. I need to find my men, but Tristan is right, we need to survive here first.

“Come on, my little Chaos Goddess, you need to drink. It’ll help replenish you,” Silas says encouragingly, and Daire stirs in my lap again, his eyes blinking open. He looks up at me, cringing.

“He’s right,” Daire says, licking the rest of my blood off his lips. “You need to replenish. Blood will help you some as a Fae, but as a Blood Fae, I’m not sure.”

“Okay.” I part my lips in acceptance as Tristan lifts Silas’s wrist to my mouth.

“Imagine your teeth piercing his skin and the taste of his blood on your tongue. It won’t hurt him for long, just keep biting until you break through,” Tristan offers, and Silas scoffs.

“It won’t hurt at all, I can assure you.”

“You just flinched when I bit you,” I point out, and he nods.

“Yes, because you didn’t break the skin and kept gnawing like a toothless newborn.”

“But it didn’t hurt…”

“Nope.” He shakes his head, but I'm not sure if I believe him. I take a deep breath to try and calm my nerves, but it fails. The scent of the room makes me gag. I close my eyes, trying to catch my breath as panic consumes me. What are my sweet mates going through? What is that Fae cunt doing to them?

“I need to get out of here,” I gasp, but Silas holds me tight when I try to jump to my feet. Good thing too, or I'd have dumped Daire on the floor.

“Patience, we can’t save them in this condition,” Silas says calmly.

“First, bite him, and then we will get up off this floor,” Tristan agrees.

“You need to be at your full strength, my Goddess. You’re in no condition to storm the castle. The stronger you are when we get out of this, the better off we’ll all be. Drink, and then we fight,” Arlo says, speaking for the first time. I glance up at my half-Orc mate and nod. His words filling me with a confidence I didn’t earn.

I grip Silas’s wrist, lift it to my lips, and bite. I allow my eyes to fall closed and imagine my teeth breaking his skin. I imagine his blood filling my mouth, and I imagine drinking. A tingling sensation at my gums is the only warning I get before blood fills my mouth, and Silas hisses.

The first taste is so unlike what I imagined and so much better. I moan as the flavor of the sweetest fruit I’ve ever eaten slides down my throat. Instinct prevails, and before I even realize I’ve moved, I’ve dropped his wrist. Straddling his hips, I lunge forward and sink my new fangs into his throat. Silas grunts but catches me easily.

“Woah there, killer!” Daire chuckles, and the sound of his laugh eases a frayed edge of my soul. Taking long, hard pulls from his neck, I feel stronger.

It feels good to fill up on my mate. To have him inside me like this. To have his life between my lips.

“Moon,” Arlo snaps, as a fist is wrapped around my long purple locks, and I’m yanked off my Light . “Drink,” the Orc demands, as he grips my hips and lifts me into his arms. I waste no time wrapping my legs around his waist and sinking my teeth into his throat.

“This is not the time to get a boner…” I hear Tristan grunt, but I’m too distracted to understand what he’s just said. If Silas tasted like a juicy, ripe peach, then Arlo tastes like roasted marshmallows. The kind that has passed the toasted edge into a slightly burnt crisp. I groan as I drink from him, my hands buried in his black hair. He supports my weight in his big hands but makes no moves to touch me otherwise. So respectful.

“You good?” Daire asks, and I hear Silas grunt. This pulls me out of my blood-drunk stupor. I jerk away from Arlo and spin to look at Silas. He’s still sitting on the floor. If it’s possible, he looks slightly more pale than usual.

“Did I take too much?” I gasp, launching myself out of Arlo’s grip and dropping beside Silas. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine. Just need a second.” Silas smiles up at me, and I nod but don’t feel any less worried about him.

“FUCK!” The door to the room we’re in launches open, and a blood-covered Fenrick dives inside. He’s panting, his eyes wild as he searches the room frantically. “I didn’t believe her! I thought she was wrong! In all my life, the only person who’s ever touched my skin, and lived, was you, Moon!” Fen rushes me, but before he can reach me, he turns, looking at the other men in the room.

He paces the room, hands in his hair, blue eyes still wild as they morph to black.

“None of them…none of them died. I had to kill them with my blades. My skin was like nothing. No poison!” Fen shakes his head before meeting my eyes. Faster than any of us can stop him, Arlo reaches out and places his bare hand on Fen. I scream, reaching out to shove Arlo back, but Silas wraps an arm around my waist, pulling me down onto his lap.

“He’s fine, Moonlight, be still,” Silas whispers in my ear, and we all watch as Tristan also touches Fen’s bare chest.

Neither of the brothers drops dead. They’re fine. Perfectly fine.

“What the fuck,” I whisper, Fen’s wild eyes meeting mine as he dips his head in agreement.

“It was my mother. It had to be. It’s the only thing that makes any fucking sense. She was trying to hide the fact that I’m not Blood Fae. She fucking cursed me!” he shouts, and we all freeze. I glance at Tristan, seeing he has his necklace on, and let out a shallow breath. Thank fuck for that.

“No offense, but your mother sounds fucking awful,” I say, as I finally manage to wiggle out of the arms of my mate.

“I always knew she was the worst, but this is beyond anything I thought she’d do.” Fen shrugs in agreement, still looking shocked.

“We need to get moving,” Daire says, and I turn to see him and Silas both standing now.

“What did it look like out there?” I ask Fen, and he shrugs.

“Chaos.”

“Oh, good then, Moon should thrive,” Tristan says helpfully, and I roll my eyes at him.

“You hush, or I’ll give you a matching one,” I say, gesturing to the bite mark on my neck. Tristan winks at me, smirking in that golden boy way that makes hearts melt. I’d like to say I’m immune, but I’m absolutely not.

“I would be honored, Badger.”

“Behave, you two,” Arlo teases. I make my way to the door, straighten my shoulders, and lift my chin. I’m ready. I can do this. I can get us through–

A naked man, covered in unidentifiable ick, sprints past me, screaming. I pause. I wasn’t ready to see naked, strange-man ass. Or his wiggly bits. Okay then.

“Does anyone have any theories on how I’m supposed to channel the chaos?” I ask because I was feeling ready a minute ago, but then there was that floppy penis… That really fucked me up.

“The next time you find yourself in a moment that appears to be pure chaos, close your eyes, and try to access your magic. Maybe you’ll feel it in the air around you. Or maybe you need to look for it,” Tristan says.

“Got it. Let's do this shit.” I take one single step forward, and then I’m in the air. The world spins, and a second later, I’m staring down at man ass again. “Put me down,” I demand, but Silas smacks his palm across my ass.

“No chance. Fen, stay by me. Tristan and Arlo in front. Daire in the back,” Silas commands, and to my surprise, all the men listen to him like he’s our general. As one, they all move, making their way into the hall.

“This is shameful. How can I possibly win the games from here?” I ask, attempting to wiggle free, whatever Goddess-blessed dignity I have taking a hit as I try to throw myself off his shoulder.

“This isn’t the final trial. I’m removing my cloaking necklace, so no one say anything stupid,” Tristan tells us.

“No one is going to respect me as a champion if you all just carry me to the end!” I grumble, put up one last ditch effort to break free, and then give up. “Fine, I don’t wanna win anymore then.” I pout, and all the men chuckle.

“I’m not putting you down until we’re safe. And who gives a shit what people think of you?” Silas asks as he gives my ass a reassuring pat.

“This is bullshit,” I gripe, grinding my teeth as my dangling hair brushes his ass.

“You’ll get over it.” Silas shrugs, jostling me. I nibble my lip as tears spring to my eyes. I have to get down. I need to move. I need to act. I need to do something, anything! All I’m doing up here is thinking of my two kidnapped mates. I can’t do anything for them, but I can protect my men in this final trial.

I do the only logical thing in this situation. I goose my mate. With two fingers pointed to hell, I shove them between Silas’s butt cheeks. He yelps, loosening his grip on my thighs, and I take the opportunity to launch myself off his shoulder. This sends me plummeting face-first to the floor, but I manage to catch myself.

Before any of the other men can react, I’m rolling between their legs and putting distance between us.

“If you don’t let me fight for you, I’m going to spend the rest of the tournament crying!” I shout, throwing my hands up to keep them back. Arlo looks sad for me. Tristan looks ready to tie me up. Daire and Fen are smirking. But Silas looks the most disturbed.

“Was it necessary to shove your fingers in my ass?” he demands, and I scoff.

“Oh, please, at worst, I grazed your butthole. No holes were penetrated.” I roll my eyes, and he chuckles.

“Next time…” Silas pauses. “Never mind, I wouldn’t have listened. You did what you had to.”

“Great. Now listen up, unless you want some next,” I threaten, wiggling my goosing fingers at the five of them. “I’m not fragile, breakable, or useless. I will not be tossed on a shoulder and kept out of harm's way. I’ll remind all of you that I’m the one who saved us most recently. I can’t learn to use my magic if I’m always tucked away.” I take a deep breath, allowing myself a moment to feel all the pain that's been building up inside me. “And I will not sit around, twiddling my fucking thumbs, doing nothing, when every instinct I have is screaming at me to protect all of you.”

“We’re not going to leave you defenseless,” Daire starts as he shakes his head, but I prop my hands on my hips.

“How do I go from safe on his shoulders to unprotected on my feet? Your logic is dumb. I’m not asking any of you to stop protecting me. I’m telling all of you that you will treat me like an equal and not like a paper doll!” I stand my ground and stare them down. Shockingly, it's Silas who agrees first.

“Fine,” the Light grumbles, looking at the others. Leave it to the Murder Noodle to get it first.

“Okay, Moon,” Tristan agrees, and the others all nod along.

“Good. Now let's go,” I huff, spinning until my back is to them. They surround me on all sides, but none of them tries to toss me over a shoulder.

Small victories.