Chapter 23

ANITA

Floating in a cocoon of warmth, I resist waking, not wanting to leave the delicious dream. I don't remember a time when I ever felt so safe, but then logic intrudes, and my brow furrows. The only time I'm warm is if I set myself on fire.

Or I'm somewhere I'm not supposed to be.

Not daring to move, I crack my eyes open, and it takes my brain precious seconds to process that I'm sprawled across Soren's chest. Stryker is cuddled up next to us, his arm across me, his hand cupping my ass, and warmth fills my cheeks as I remember the many ways we christened the bed. And the floor, the dresser, the chair. Even the small window seat didn't escape our sexcapades.

Besides the ears and tail, Stryker retained his human form while he slept. Faint patterns from his leopard bleed through his skin, almost like shadows, and I'm surprised he was able to remain human for so long.

Movement in the darkness catches my attention. I turn toward the door to see Cassius peering inside the room, and heat flushes my face when his eyes sweep down my bare back. His indifferent expression should be off-putting, but it only makes me want to crack it to see what he's hiding underneath.

The basilisk tips his head, indicating he wants to speak, then backs out the door to give me privacy. Maybe I should be embarrassed to be caught in bed, cuddled between two men, but my body is just too sated. I stifle my groan at the thought of leaving the comforting warmth, but the longer I dawdle, the more people will be after me.

If we want to get ahead of my family, then we need to make the first move.

I shift carefully, not wanting to wake the men. They need their rest after the last few days.

The instant I move, I suck in a shocked breath, forgetting for a moment why I'm still sprawled across Soren. Every time I shuffled away in the middle of the night, he would growl and not settle until his cock was nestled inside me once more, and never once did he wake.

After the third time, I accepted defeat and fell asleep stretched out on top of him. Stryker thought it was a mix of being newly mated, me being taken and injured, and just pure possessiveness.

I suspect he might be right on all accounts.

When I shift positions to get out of bed, my core muscles engage. Even at the simple movement, his cock hardens. The way he stretches me has my pussy tingling. He gives a hum-slash-growl of pleasure, his hand tightening on my leg, then he hitches my knee over his hip and gives a couple of shallow thrusts.

I squeeze my eyes closed, lost in the delicious sensations, when he lets out a happy sigh then stills. By the time I catch my breath and open my eyes, it's to see that Soren is still sleeping and completely hard inside me.

Humor tugs at my lips, and I suspect I could ride him to orgasm and he wouldn't wake. As much as I'm tempted to test my theory, now is not the time. If I delay too long, Cassius will come back. I'm not opposed to having my mates watch me when I'm with them, but it's different with Cassius. Maybe because he's not my mate? Yet despite that, my skin feels a little too tight at the thought of him watching.

To my surprise, it's not fear that has my heart skipping a beat, and I shake my head at the foolishness. I already have two mates, that's two more than I ever expected. Something tells me that Cassius wouldn't be an easy mate, and would demand everything from the woman he finally claims.

Shaking off my wandering thoughts, I focus on getting out of bed.

If I linger much longer, we'll fuck again, and I very much doubt either of them will let me leave the bed until I once more fall into an exhausted sleep. Stryker chuckles lightly, as if sensing my predicament. Before I can pout, he slips his hands around my waist, then lifts me away and deposits me on the edge of the bed.

Soren grumbles in his sleep before flopping onto his stomach with a scowl.

Stryker leans up, kisses my naked shoulder, then nudges me, silently pointing to a pile of clothes by the door. "We'll follow shortly."

I stand, not the least bit bothered about being naked in front of them, not after everything we did to each other. I grab the clothes, blinking in surprise when I find they are new, and I can't help wondering how they are magically able to keep bringing me new outfits.

Not that I'm complaining.

As I slip on the shoes, I marvel that everything fits like they were tailored for me. Lifting my arms over my head, I stretch lazily, surprised I'm not sore.

Hmmmm, magical dick indeed.

I should be walking bowlegged and wobbling.

Instead, I've been dickmatized.

Or maybe I'm adickted.

Or Soren is just adicktable?

I could definitely see where a magical dick could come in handy. I smooth my hands over my wild hair, but it springs up just as unruly around me, and I give up without even trying.

I glance at the guys over my shoulder, a smirk on my lips at seeing the two of them sleeping side by side. I'm not sure what draws my eye more—Stryker's gorgeous chest, or Soren's firm ass.

Both are a work of art.

With one more appreciative look, I detour to the bathroom. I finish quickly, then splash water on my face to help me wake up. When I turn off the water, my eyes catch on the deep gouges in the wood next to the sink—claw marks.

A deep blush fills my face as I recall what happened, and I dip my fingers into the grooves, loving that Stryker lost control because of me. I've never considered myself beautiful and accepted that a long time ago.

Yet, when he looks at me, I feel beautiful for the first time.

Smiling down at the already healing counter, I head into the kitchen with a skip in my steps…only to falter when I see Cassius and Porter waiting expectantly at the counter. Porter is hidden behind a large cup of coffee, only his burnt orange eyes visible as he scans me from head to toe.

Cassius doesn't pretend to do anything else but blatantly watch me. His bright green eyes are unblinking, but I don't miss the yellow specks of his basilisk peering out at me.

"Wait." I blink in surprise. "You're not wearing your glasses."

Without his glasses, he looks different. You'd think he'd appear less intimidating, but it's the opposite. His gaze is so piercing, so intense, it's like he's reading my soul.

Most people would recoil from the uncomfortable sensation, but there is something steady in his gaze that dares me not to flinch or turn away. Maybe I'm an idiot—he is a basilisk and dangerous—but it's not fear or stone that captures me when I look into his eyes.

It's fascination.

Something about him draws me to him. I'm not sure if it's the mile-high walls he's put around himself or the way he isolates himself from everyone, but I recognize the loneliness clinging to him.

I've been struggling with the same thing my whole life.

Being so isolated can be debilitating. It's nearly impossible to drag yourself out of the pit once you've hit bottom, so I throw him a lifeline and don't look away from his gaze. "I can make breakfast. I can't guarantee it will be good, but it will be filling."

Humor brightens his eyes, but he turns away before a smile can escape, waving his arm toward the counter. "Already done, little rabbit."

My stomach rumbles at the delicious smells, but when my fangs throb and threaten to lengthen, I freeze. My eyes widen in panic, and I tentatively run my tongue over my teeth, afraid of what I would find. Cassius steps closer and pinches my chin before I can retreat. His thumb pulls my bottom lip down, and he rubs the pad of his thumb along my teeth, lingering on my newly emerged fangs, and my gums throb at his nearness.

"Most fangs appear around puberty and react with our hormones. It takes a while to get used to them popping up all the time." He smirks, and I struggle not to blush. He drags his thumb over my bottom lip once before releasing me and stepping back, and I immediately miss his touch. "The size and length of the fangs differ from species to species. We will teach you how to control your fangs and venom."

CASSIUS

The scent of sex lingers on her skin like a perfume. I should be repulsed that others were pawing at her all night, but when I walked in on them this morning, it wasn't jealousy I felt.

I'm not usually one to share a female, and I limit my contact with the opposite sex as much as possible, but my cock throbs at the idea of sitting in the corner of the room and telling the others how she should be touched.

After she was taken yesterday, any idea of keeping my distance vanished. I was so worried I would harm her that I ignored the fact others wanted to do her harm, and that thought enrages me.

No one is allowed to lay a finger on her.

I'm unable to repress my possessiveness any longer. She belongs to us.

No one is allowed to take her, not even death.

To keep from barging in on the guys and laying my own claim, I occupied myself by cooking breakfast. I might have gone a little overboard, and I rub the back of my neck when I survey the dozens of dishes scattered across the counters. Cooking did nothing to soothe my beast, my basilisk desperate to see our fang marks decorating her neck.

When Anita grabs a banana muffin and takes a big bite out of it, my beast finally settles, oddly pleased she's eating the food we prepared.

While most beastlings like to consider themselves human in some respects, I do not.

The first part of mating for most beastlings is providing food for our potential mate. That she accepted my offering shows her interest. Logically, I doubt she's aware of it, but that's fine by me. It will give me enough time to woo her properly.

I know I'm not mating material, not for someone like her, but I am an excellent hunter and fighter, and I would make a good addition to her pack.

Our first priority is to keep her safe. It's an impossible mission for one man alone.

No, she needs all of us.

I'm a patient man, and the rest can come later.

"So you're saying I'm going through puberty again?" Though there is humor in her voice, the way her nose curls in disgust is adorable.

I turn away before she can catch my amusement. "Beastlings usually change at puberty, but each species is a little different."

Anita nods, nibbling absently on the muffin, and my chest puffs up that she's eating what I provided. "It's the same for magic users. Most of us come into our abilities around our teen years. A few can take longer, while some with stronger abilities manifest earlier. I've already been through this once. Why am I being forced to go through it again?"

When she sets her muffin down, I can't help but scowl. I grab one of the few empty plates, then hand it to her with a silent prompt for her to grab more food. It's only when she absently takes it and fills it that my shoulders relax.

Porter shoots me an amused look, but I scowl and turn away from the fucker, pretending I didn't see it. Thankfully, Porter takes over the conversation. "When did your powers emerge?"

"I'm not really sure." Anita shrugs as she shoves a full slice of bacon into her mouth, her cheeks puffing out adorably, and I discreetly place another slice on her plate when she takes a sip of coffee. "I've always had some type of magic. When my parents discovered it, they started doing tests. Each year, they became more and more brutal, and it worked—each year, my powers grew."

With her plate piled high, Anita turns and takes a seat across from Porter at the island. It's only after she takes another bite that she notices the silence and peers up from under her eyebrows.

"What?" she asks with her mouth full.

I slowly slide a napkin toward her. I should be appalled by her manners, but when her tongue flicks out to clean her bottom lip, my cock doesn't care.

"You're a hybrid. A demon." Porter sets his coffee down on the table, cupping his hands around the mug. Most do that to keep their hands warm, but Porter's shadows are as cold as ice. He does it to fit in with others, but the way he's clutching it right now, I suspect he's also trying to resist the urge to touch Anita.

His control is slipping. He's so focused on her, I'm not even sure he's aware of the way his shadows slowly creep across the counter.

"Your parents probably don't know anything about demon heritage. When they saw your powers, they must have assumed your abilities were manifesting and pushed you to harness your magic." He rubs his jaw, his burnt orange eyes hardening. "Why settle for the powers of one demon when you can have two?"

My basilisk hisses at the torture she must have endured at the hands of her family, and the spicy burn of venom fills my mouth as I struggle to control the need to hunt those assholes down and remove every trace of their existence from the planet. I clench my fists as my scales ripple across my skin, the basilisk prepared to go to war.

It's been decades since my basilisk reacted in such a way other than to protect me or the men on my team. My family was basically a den of vipers who wouldn't blink to eat their young. I got out as soon as I could, but the damage had been done.

My basilisk is an antisocial asshole, even with the guys, who are the closest thing it considers family. Around Anita, my beastling is as tame as a pussycat, almost timid for fear of scaring her off.

His abilities seem muted when around her. At first, I thought it was the basilisk choosing to spare her, but I suspect it's her heritage that allows her to look directly at me without being affected.

My dick aches at the thought of being able to touch her without fear that my poison will affect her, and I curl my hands into fists to resist the urge to test my theory.

Not yet.

I'm not ready.

Because if I'm wrong, it would destroy me.

No, I need to ease my presence into her life. Small touches, microdosing her with my poison so even if I slip up and touch her while I sleep or lose control when fucking her, she won't be affected.

My cock throbs in protest at being forced to wait, my balls aching to fill her with my seed, but the torture will be worth it when I finally claim her for my own. I casually walk behind Anita, brushing my fingers against the back of her arm as I move past.

She shivers deliciously, her breath catching, and the dry sound of scales rubbing against each other fills my head as my basilisk coils in my chest, just lying in wait for the perfect opportunity to claim our mate.