Chapter 23: Gold and Glitter 🌶️🌶️🌶️

REYNA

As the sun rose, it hit my face, warming my skin as I lay next to Derek in bed. He snored softly, like a little growling wolf.

It was cute, and I was glad that I was waking up next to him, but…

Last night wasn’t what I’d expected.

I was so sure that I was ready, but when the moment came…

I just hoped that I’d made the right decision.

I quietly snuck out of bed and opened my door, peering down the hallway. I could hear Dad getting up for his morning coffee.

I’d just have to make Derek go out the window. At least he was a werewolf. He could handle a two-story drop.

I felt so bad waking him up when he looked so peaceful. The last couple of days had been ~anything~ but. We all deserved a little rest.

A buzzing sound drew my attention to the nightstand where my phone was lighting up. Who was texting me this early in the morning?

Jed

hey

Jed

so last night was crazy

Jed

actually everything has been crazy lately

Jed

but in all that craziness I had some clarity

Jed

we should talk

Jed

maybe I can stop by on my way to the pack house this morning

Jed

fuck sorry I’m sending so many texts

Jed

just a little nervous

Jed

fuck!

Jed

okay stopping by soon

I set down my phone, feeling confused. What was all that about?

What did Jed need to talk about?

And why was he nervous?

Maybe the Haze had scrambled his brains too.

“Good morning, gorgeous,” Derek said in a low growl, suddenly pulling me back into bed. “Should we continue what we started last night?”

I quickly pulled away and pushed him off the side of the bed.

“Derek, are you crazy? My dad is right downstairs!”

“You weren’t worried about that last night,” he said, sounding annoyed.

“Yeah, well, last night was last night, and now it’s this morning,” I said, throwing his shirt at him. “Get dressed. You have to go or I’ll be grounded for the next millennium!”

JED

I had never been this nervous before in my entire life. There had always been a spark between me and Reyna, but it had only developed into a friendship.

But that was only because I was too chickenshit to tell her how I really felt.

I was a damn Delta. I needed to be up-front with her about my feelings.

As I walked to her house, my nerves getting the better of me, I began to think there was another Fear Creator fucking with me.

~Just be a man, Jed! Don’t get cold feet now!~

Raphael had always trained us to be able to handle any situation, but somehow he had glossed over how to tell the girl you liked how you really felt about her.

Given his rocky track record with Eve, maybe that wasn’t such a bad thing.

But I still felt completely unprepared for this.

I paused as I reached the end of her driveway.

This was it.

I was going to tell Reyna that I…

My heart suddenly dropped.

Because climbing out of Reyna’s window was ~Derek~.

I jumped behind a tree as I watched Derek perching on the ledge. Reyna leaned outside and kissed him on the lips, before cautiously looking around to make sure no one was watching.

It was clear that he had slept over.

But had he slept with Reyna?

~Fuck, the thought makes my stomach churn.~

Derek jumped down to the ground and adjusted his half-buttoned shirt. He started walking down the driveway, and I ducked out of sight.

I leaned up against a tree and slumped to the ground. Any confidence or momentum that I’d built up was gone.

And so was my shot with Reyna.

EVE

As I wandered down the winding halls of the West Coast pack house, I began to tire of their monotony.

Sure, it was one of the biggest pack houses in existence, but no amount of space could make these walls feel less claustrophobic.

It wasn’t about square footage; it was about adjusting to my new life.

I was a mate and a mother now, but my whole life I’d been running. Now that I was finally in a place that I could call home, it felt strange.

I didn’t have to run anymore.

After five hundred years, I’d made peace with my fate, but it seemed that fate had other plans for me.

It would take some getting used to, but maybe a more subdued life would actually suit me if I gave it a chance.

A pair of hands suddenly shot in front of my eyes, and my defenses went into overdrive.

I grabbed my assailant by the wrists and flung him into the air, materializing my scythe and holding it to his neck.

“Any last words?” I growled, instinctively.

“Uh, just a few,” Raphael said, laughing. “I was going to ask you if you’d accompany me on a date tonight.”

~Fuck, I must really be losing my touch if my own mate can sneak up on me.~

I put my scythe away and eyed him suspiciously. “What’s your angle? Since when did you take me on dates?”

“Since I wanted to start reconnecting with you,” he responded, holding out his hand. “So will you come with me? I have a surprise.”

I took his hand, and he led me down several corridors and up even more staircases until we came to a stop at the top of a tower. An old wooden door separated us from Raphael’s surprise.

“You brought me to an attic?” I asked skeptically. “So far I’m not impress—”

My words caught in my throat as Raphael swung the door open.

The room was ~covered~ in glowing, gold flowers, their luminescence creating a majestic hue that touched everything in sight.

Including the large canopy bed in the center of the room…

“What is… How did you…” I was at a loss for words.

“These are a rare form of magical flowers called ~gargoldenias,~” he said, looking satisfied at my reaction. “Not the prettiest name, but the golden aura they create is unparalleled.”

They really were beautiful. And thoughtful.

I couldn’t believe he had done this for me.

“What do you think?” he asked with a grin.

I wasn’t going to tell him what I thought.

I was going to ~show~ him.

I grabbed Raphael by the collar and pushed him down on the bed, straddling him. He grunted in approval as I started unbuttoning his shirt and pants.

His dick was throbbing through his briefs, and I massaged it with my hand, teasing it through the thin fabric.

The anticipation was too much for the Alpha; he grabbed my waist and threw me on my back, ripping open my blouse.

I shuddered with pleasure as he started sucking and biting at my hard nipples.

He slid his hand between my legs and bypassed my lace panties with his fingers, shoving them into my pussy.

“Yes…deeper…” I moaned.

Within seconds, he had stripped me naked. He slid his own boxers down, his dick creating a huge shadow on my stomach as he hovered over me.

As I spread my legs with expectation, I realized how much we needed this. Our sexual appetites were always ravenous, but since we’d both taken on our new parenting roles, it had fallen by the wayside.

Raphael plunged his cock inside me, and I gushed like a fountain. He always made me so fucking wet.

He thrust into me over and over again, looking like a golden god as the flowers shone their light on him.

His rippling muscles tightened even more as he put all his might into fucking my brains out. My eyes rolled back as my mate made me come.

He pulled out and ejaculated on my body, his cum like an unraveling spool of golden thread. I licked my lips in gratification as he leaned in and kissed me.

“You’re my world,” he said, stroking my face softly.

“And you’re mine,” I replied.

JED

I turned another shot glass upside down and slammed it on the bar.

“Pour me another!” I shouted gruffly at the bartender. He eyed me warily but knew not to deny a Millennium Wolf.

Reyna was my best friend. And then I realized she was so much more than that. But now…

I didn’t know if we’d be anything at all. Her heart wasn’t with me. It was with Derek.

I downed more alcohol, hoping it would numb my pain, but it only made me more frustrated.

Those fears I had in the woods were right.

I’d never be enough for Reyna.

As I held my head in my hands, I noticed two girls eyeing me from across the bar.

There was something off about them, they were too…

~Enchanting?~ Yeah, that was the word.

Both had long, flowing blonde hair with flower petals sprinkled between the golden strands, almost as if they had sprouted there.

Their eyes were a deep forest green, and they sparkled like magic.

Their clothes were…well they were almost non-existent. Their supple bodies were on full display underneath glittery see-through jumpers.

I was starting to get aroused. I couldn’t help it. These girls were sexy as fuck.

They definitely weren’t werewolves, and they definitely weren’t from Lumen.

So who were they?

They both got up and approached me, seductive smirks playing across their rosy faces.

“Hello,” they said in playful unison.

“How would you like to have a threesome?”