Chapter 21

“Your lucky Vampires don’t use guns... We finally found something you’re bad at!”

“Shut up!”

Sylvie put down the pistol with a frown, shaking her hands to eliminate the recoil sensation. “I hate them. Can we go back to archery? I got pretty good after I figured out the distance.”

“Maybe tomorrow. We still have that run, remember.”

Rosie picked up the discarded weapon, ejected the clip and emptied the chamber before storing them in a black chest, snapping them inside and locking the box with a combination code.

The sun had long dried Sylvie’s clothes, but the residual sweat and lake algae were beginning to chafe.

“Seriously, maybe I should go change before we go.”

Rosie chuckled. “No way. You need to embrace the dirt and shifter way of life. But I promise you can have a proper hot shower after we finish the loop. I’ll even let you borrow my shampoo.”

Sylvie grinned, palming her face in her calloused hands. “I might not survive this day.”

“If you were going to die, I reckon you’d of done it already. Come on, let’s go.”

She started jogging through the trees after another group of shifters, with Rowan at the lead. His back stole her attention again, nearly sending her headlong across a tree root.

“Watch it!” A sultry voice cut to her from her left, its scathing quality not diminishing any of its beauty. Claudine.

“Nice to meet you too,” Sylvie said, earning a giggle from Rosie.

Claudine sneered and picked up her speed until she was almost shoulder-to-shoulder with Rowan, the act forcing fury through Sylvie’s chest.

“What a fucking bitch.”

The surrounding shifters winced in unison, and Claudine froze on the leafy earth, her back twitching. Sylvie slowed much later, almost skidding into her. Rowan also stopped, turning towards Sylvie’s heavy breathing form when Claudine was almost on top of her, staring her down with her two extra inches.

“What did you just call me?”

“I’m guessing you heard me,” Sylvie replied with equal venom. She wouldn’t be anyone’s bitch, especially after her less-than-polite introduction.

“Say it again. I’m afraid my Alpha took my attention.”

Refraining from pulling a sickened face, Sylvie just laughed humourlessly. “What is your problem? I don’t fucking know you. You haven’t even had the decency to say hello, so cut the bitchy attitude.”

Claudine’s voice dropped to a harsh whisper, but the shifters around them still hung off every word. “And why don’t you go find your pretty fairy boy, considering how obvious it is that you play favourites.”

The mate marks on Sylvie’s chest throbbed as she processed the words, and before she realised what her balled fists were doing, she swung, only missing by a hair, when Rowan dragged Claudine back and dropped her against a tree.

“Stop. Now.”

“Yes, Alpha,” she replied with the perfect demure expression, her breasts heaving as she reigned in her anger. Sylvie, on the other hand, pulled a face.

“Let me finish it, Rowan,” Sylvie growled, trying to push past him to reach Claudine, who jumped up with fire in her teal eyes.

“I won’t let you.”

“What happened to a unified front? Aren’t mates not supposed to undermine each other?” Sylvie’s voice raised as Claudine edged closer, her dainty hands reaching out to curl around Rowan’s bicep.

“No, they aren’t. But I won’t let anyone touch my fucking mate.” He turned and shook Claudine off, shooting her a strange look and shaking his head no. The action seemed too intimate, and Claudine noticed Sylvie’s agitation.

“Do you understand?” He addressed her again.

“Yes, Alpha.”

Jutting his head in the direction of the other shifters, Claudine followed his silent directions and ran off as gracefully as a swan. Fucking asshole. “You too, Rosie.”

Rosie, ever the silent observer, let out a small, “Yes, Alpha,” and disappeared quick as a hare into the trees.

He turned his attention back to Sylvie, his shoulders rising and falling with controlled breaths. “What are you doing?”

“What the fuck was that?” Sylvie shouted over him, taking a few steps from his reach. “Are you two a thing? Are you together?” She wished the thought didn’t infuriate her, but it did. Another lover scorned because of her.

“We are not.”

“Then why-”

“It may have been a plan amongst the elders, but I was never set on her. I knew deep down I had a mate, and I put off the relationship as much as I could-”

Rowan closed the gap between them, guiding Sylvie backwards until a tree halted her steps.

“But you fucked her.”

“What I did before I met you isn’t your concern-”

He was right there, in a sense. But...

“Yes. But not when that person shows up and intends to make my life miserable.”

“You don’t know she would do that-”

“You don’t understand. I’ve been in this situation with Kian already, and it wasn’t pretty. It brought up a lot of trauma I’d rather not rehash, and if I could, I’d get out of your way so you two can carry on whatever it is you were. But...” She gnashed her teeth and relaxed back into the bark along her spine. Maybe she could just-

Rowan gripped her waist and spun her until the tree was out of reach. How did he know?

“But what?”

“But I can’t,” she ground out. “You know that. This fucking bond traps us together, no matter what I feel about it.”

Pulling her closer, he dipped his head to her neck, sniffing her scent. God, she hoped she smelled okay.

“And what do you feel about the bond?”

What did he want her to say?

“I don’t know,” she gasped, trying to pull away from his powerful touch. She wouldn’t let him distract her from his earlier faux pa. The way he looked at Claudine- Even the memory sickened her.

The understanding.

The kindness.

The history.

“You’re driving me insane, woman.”

“Ditto,” she breathed against his chest, her mind fuzzy with emotion. What if she just-

“Head back.” He turned her body and spoke with such authority her hazed mind had no other option but to follow.

Washing off the day, Sylvie’s limbs hardly worked, the fatigue settling in with jarring clarity.

“Princess?”

“I’m in here!” she shouted from the bathroom of the main house. Kian appeared through the doorway with a tired smile and slowly stripped off his shirt.

“May I join you?”

“Please.” Just what the doctor ordered. After Rowan’s insane, sexually charged encounter, she really needed to blow off some steam— the orgasming kind.

“Are you alright?”

“Much better now.”

Kian hummed, pulling his clothes completely off and stepping beneath the warm shower spray. His movements seemed so natural and so carefree they almost brought tears to Sylvie’s eyes.

“What’s wrong?”

She leaned into him, kissing his shoulder. “Nothing at all, husband. I was admiring your beauty.”

He gripped her chin and tilted her head back, peppering kisses along her lips and jaw. Her hands trailed up his abdomen to his ribs and around his back. He stiffened slightly but relaxed as she pressed herself against him wantonly. Between them, his cock hardened, pressing against her belly.

“Not here, Princess. The room echoes.”

She flushed and groaned, burying her face in his neck. They swayed together for a few seconds before an idea came to mind. Risky and potentially dangerous but sexy.

“What about after sunset? In the forest. Or by the lake?”

Kian’s chuckle forced a flush from her head to her toes. Did she sound desperate?

“Don’t panic, my love,” he admonished, pressing his nose to hers with a soft boop. “I’m not rejecting the idea. You just happened to catch me after a particularly strenuous warding, and I’m disgusted to say it, but I’m tired.”

Sylvie laughed and groaned at once, pulling back with a grin. “Oh. Is my perfect husband too tired to pleasure his wife? Hmm, whatever shall I do?”

She bent her knees, hoping to take him in her mouth, but Kian stopped her gently with a cradled grip on her face.

“If you are so determined to find pleasure, I can think of another man who might help you.” The suggestion immediately doused the flames in her belly, and she crossed her arms.

“No thanks. He’s probably busy with his girlfriend anyway.”

“What are you talking about?”

She groaned, stepping out of the shower and reaching for a fresh towel, wrapping it around herself with a pleasured sigh.

“I nearly got into a fight today with a shifter that has a ‘history’ with Rowan. She was so rude, and I couldn’t keep it together after everything with Lazuli. I just wanted to rip her head off Kian. What is wrong with me?”

Kian followed, taking a towel from her outstretched hand and stroking her cheek. “Nothing is wrong with you, Princess. This shifter bond is bound to feel different, perhaps stronger, as it connects to your primal self, and your marks are not complete. I imagine Rowan is struggling to suppress his animal instincts with you because of it.”

“Yeah, whatever.” Sylvie waved her hand dismissively. “He seemed pretty composed.”

Kian tutted. “In any case, anyone who stands in your way should beware.”

“Damn right.”

He kissed her again before walking with her hand in hand to their room, changing into some comfortable clothes— A loose cotton t-shirt and a pair of grey sweatpants.

Perhaps she didn’t need ‘orgasm therapy’ after all.

But as she lay atop the bed’s covers as Kian settled into a deep sleep beside her, his slow breaths matched hers even when her eyes refused to close. The sky outside long grew dark, and the sounds of the night danced in through the ajar window. Heart pounding in her ears, she took one long last look at Kian and steeled her resolve.

She didn’t need it. Nope. She didn’t need it.

But her feet weren’t listening to her mind, and before she knew it, they were padding out the bedroom door, down the stairs and out the front door, her hands softly closing the door behind her.

The hour was late as she couldn’t see any other shifters’ lights on in their cabins nor hear the soft murmurings of conversation.

Asleep.

Everyone was asleep like she should be.

Like a marionette on a string, she felt pulled to the left, towards the sparring squares. Despite the pitch blackness, she felt safe walking around and touched the nearest tree she stumbled into to guide her with its energy lines. Seeing through their eyes was her favourite ability, and she managed to maintain it better as the minutes went on. Soon, her bare feet on the earth were enough to stay connected to the trees’ root network.

Behind her, a crack sounded, making her heart race and her hands sweat. It was probably just a rabbit, a bird, a furious Clauding looking for retribution, or a leering Matthias... Vampires?

This was an extremely bad idea.

“What are you doing?”

Shit.