Fae- Beginnings Page 11

  “Oh no, you definitely are.” Arthur stood and stalked toward her. “I almost killed Selina and her father for their actions today.”

  “Why would you do that?”

  “Because she threatened you, Mor. It made me want to do very violent things to her.” He was standing directly in front of her but she refused to move. Slowly, as if he thought she would bolt, he raised his hand and caressed her face. His hand brushed her cheek before slipping into her hair. He moved his head down, lips hovering over hers for a moment to give her a chance to move away.

  Mor couldn’t move, entranced by his smell and his eyes. They sparkled with mischief and lust down at her. When his lips finally touched hers, it was as if her world exploded. Her arms wrapped around his neck as his other arm snaked around her waist, pulling her tight against his body. She moaned as she felt his hard length press into her belly. At her groan, Arthur’s arm dropped down and scooped her into his arms. Mor lost herself in the kiss, her whole body on fire. Until several coughs finally got her attention.

  Reluctantly, she pulled back from the kiss. She could feel how flushed her face was but she couldn’t bring herself to look away from him. He leaned forward and rested his forehead against hers. “I’d say I’m sorry, but I’m really not.” Arthur’s voice was deeper, rougher, and Mor pressed against him a little harder.

  Suddenly, there was another voice in room that didn’t belong to her mates. “I hate to break this little scene up, but we’re being attacked.” Morgana’s voice was tense.

  Arthur straightened up and gently set Mor down. Without turning away from her he said, “Protect our mate,” kissed her hard, and then strode out of the room.

  Ben immediately came to her side saying, “Where’s the most secure location in the castle?”

  “Probably the throne room. I’ll take you there and then send guards to assist.” Morgana turned and led them out of the room.

  Ben, Sebastian, Max, and Atreyu surrounded her as they followed Morgana. Once there, Mor stopped her as Morgana turned to leave. “What about you? Wouldn’t it be safer for you here?”

  Morgana turned, a slow, cold grin spreading across her face. “I’m a dragon with witch powers. I’m not the one who has to be afraid.”

  Mor blinked. “Well, fuck.” She turned to look at her mates. “What?”

  “The legends have some basis in truth. Morgana isn’t evil, but she is damn powerful and has had centuries to hone her skills. Arguably, she’s more powerful than Arthur but she would never do anything other than protect her little brother.”

  “One day, the surprises will stop and we’ll have a mostly normal life. We’ll settle into the castle, I won’t find more mates, there won’t be imminent death hanging over us.” Mor waved her hand vaguely in the air.

  “Well, one more mate isn’t a bad thing. And he’s a king, so that’ll actually be helpful, darling.” Sebastian sat on the steps leading to the throne and pulled her into his lap. “That’s one thing we couldn’t help you with.”

  “What do you mean?” Mor looked up at Sebastian.

  “Actual knowledge of how to rule. Maybe that’s why fate has led you to him.” Atreyu smiled at her, sitting next to them on the stairs.

  “I guess. I’m still not convinced.” Mor shook her head.

  Max rolled his eyes and then turned to watch the door. “Sweetie. You would have fucked him right there without even remembering we were there. The bond is pushing you.”

  “No, no, nope. It’s just that he’s hot.”

  Laughter burst out from Ben. Mor stared at him, mouth hanging open. “When we first saw him you couldn’t take your eyes off of him, love. It was like you were magnets.”

  “Well, fuck.”

  “You’re saying that a lot.” Sebastian tipped her head up, finger under her chin. “Darling, we can’t predict what happens. But I do know that fate brought us to you. So I know fate is bringing this to you as well.” He kissed her softly.

  The room filled with silence while they waited for the guards promised by Morgana. After several minutes, the door finally creaked open. Max stepped forward. “Thank fuck, what to- “

  The door slammed open and a bang filled the room. Max went flying back and crashed into the stairs next to Mor and Sebastian. Ben immediately flung a shield around them all as laughter filled the room. “Well, well, well. What do we have here?” Selina strode into the room, a gun in her hand. “Awwww, the little Fae Queen. How sweet.” She faked a gasp, hand going to her mouth. “Oh no! Have I hurt your mate?”

  Mor had thrown herself toward Max. His eyes were closed and blood was coming in a steady flow from the gunshot wound on his chest. “No no no no,” Mor whispered. Her hands pressed to the wound, trying to stop the blood flowing. “Max. No.” Selina laughed again, but Mor couldn’t focus on it. She was talking again, but Mor couldn’t concentrate on what she was saying. Max was bleeding out in front of her. “I can’t lose you.” Selina kept shooting at the barrier. But she didn’t shift.

  “Heal him.” Atreyu’s voice was hard behind her.

  “I can’t! I don’t have that power, that’s Max!” Her voice rose in panic and she heard Selina start laughing again.

  Sebastian was kneeling on the other side of Max. He reached over and grabbed her face. “Mor, listen - listen to me!” He waited until she focused on him. “The royal line had all the powers. Do you hear me? All. Of. Them. It’s why we’ve all been training you. You can do this.”

  “I don’t know how!’

  “Focus on Max, focus on how he should be.”

  “What do you mean?”

  Atreyu leaned over her, whispering in her ear, drowning out Selina’s rambling and the occasional bang as she tried to get through the barrier. “Close your eyes. Think of what Max’s body looks like. When his shirt is off, what does his skin look like?” Mor closed her eyes, tears slowing as Atreyu’s voice surrounded her. “Now, push your power into him. Make him whole again.”

  Mor thought about how his skin looked when his shirt was off. How his skin was so pale it gleamed. With freckles dotting across his skin, muscles rippling just beneath the surface. And then she felt her power flow through her and into Max. When she opened her eyes again, she was staring into Max’s deep green eyes. “Sweetie. Thank you.”

  Just then, the screams of Selina registered with Mor. This bitch had hurt her mate. Had attacked all her mates. She bent over and kissed Max’s forehead as he slipped into a deep sleep. Standing, she turned toward where Selina was pacing like a caged animal in front of Ben’s shield. Ben just watched her, not saying anything, a bored expression on his face.

  “Stupid bitch! I will KILL YOU!” Selina was screaming now. “HE’S MINE! I worked too hard for you to come in and take what is MINE!”

  Mor stared at her. “Yours? He was never yours. Just as Atreyu was never yours. You are nothing but a conniving little bitch. You tried to mess with Atreyu’s family, you tried to mess with Arthur’s kingdom, and now you tried to kill one of my mates.”

  Selina screamed, “This kingdom is MINE! I’ve worked too hard to let some slut of a Fae pretending to be a queen take what’s MINE!” Her last word turned into a roar as she shifted into a red dragon. But she didn’t look - right. Her scales were streaked with black and looked dull. She threw her head back and roared again. This time, fire came billowing out of her mouth.

  “Mor, we need to get out of here.” Ben’s voice was quiet beside her and he pulled on her hand.

  “No. We will not leave.” Her voice rang through the room as her hair started flowing. She felt sparks dancing across her skin as she said, “Let me out of this shield. Protect the others.”

  “Mor - “

  “Do it now, Ben! She touched what is mine!”

  “Let me help you, my queen. Please.” His voice was formal.

  “Very well. Atreyu - “

  “Nope, I’m helping too. Sebastian took Max to the far side of the room and is shielding him.”

  Mor glanc
ed where he was pointing. “Fine.” Turning away from them as they sighed in relief she strode forward, trusting that Ben would drop the shield. Selina’s tail was whipping around as she watched them. Going on instinct, Mor raised her hands again and sparks flew from her hands just as Selina opened her mouth to blow fire on them. The sparks hit Selina and she yelped as they flickered across her scales. Ben ran forward, a sword in his hand. “Where the fuck did you get a sword?”

  “Focus on the battle, Mor.” Atreyu winked at her lifting his sword and taking off after Ben.

  “What the fuck?” She watched as they slid under Selina’s legs and slashed, dancing back as she turned and tried to snap them up in her jaws. “Fuck!” Mor ran in, fire flowing from her now.

  “She’s a dragon - fire won’t work!” Atreyu yelled at her.

  “Well, fuck, that makes sen - “ Her mumble turned into a gasp of rage as Selina’s tail whipped into Atreyu and hit him, sending him flying across the room. As rage filled her again, she felt the sparks flowing again. This time, instead of aiming them at Selina, Mor ran up to her and put both hands on her leg. Selina’s body lit up with sparks of lightening dancing across her scales. She threw her head back with a roar of pain and then shoved herself off the ground. Her wings beat down once, blowing Mor and Ben back. She slammed herself into the ceiling and exploded upward. Mor threw her arms over her head, fully expecting to get hit by the debris falling, down only to be pulled into Ben’s arms as he formed a shield over them.

  “What about Atreyu?” She looked around frantically only to see him standing right next to wall, his mouth hanging open as he looked up at the hole in the ceiling.

  As soon as the chunks of ceiling stopped falling, Ben dropped the shield and Atreyu ran over to them. “Are you okay?” He started checking her over.

  “I’m not the one who got hit by a tail.” Mor rolled her eyes at him.

  Laughing, Atreyu pulled her into his arms. “Not bad for a first battle with a dragon. Although, I am surprised at how fast she ran.”

  “Maybe my sparks are hotter than you think.” Mor looked up at him indignantly.

  “No, I don’t think that’s the case. Did you see those black streaks?” Ben looked thoughtful.

  “I did. It didn’t look - right.”

  “She also was a hell of a lot crazier today that she ever was before. She was a vindictive bitch, but she definitely knew when to back off before.” Atreyu shook his head. “Something’s wrong with her.”

  Arthur’s massive cobalt blue dragon flew over the hole. Atreyu and Ben pulled Mor out of the way as he circled back around and landed. He changed as soon as his feet touched the ground and ran over to Mor. “Are you okay? What happened?”

  “It was Selina - she came back in here and shot Max with a gun. Then she changed into a dragon and we fought and she flew off.”

  Arthur stared at her blankly for a moment. “That has to be the worst battle report I’ve ever heard.” He pulled her against him, putting his face in the crook of her neck and breathing deeply before saying, “Are you all right?”

  “I’m fine.”

  He lifted his head and caught Ben and Atreyu in his gaze. “Did you let our mate fight alone?”

  Ben rolled his eyes. “Of course not. There’s no way we would let her out by herself. She’s too untested.”

  Atreyu coughed. “But she is the one who drove Selina off with those pretty sparks she shot out of her fingers.”

  Arthur looked between them all, confused. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

  “When I have a strong emotion, my hair floats and I have little sparks all over me.”

  “Any strong emotion?” He raised an eyebrow.

  “Yep. And I can confirm - the sparks feel good.” Atreyu smirked.

  “So how would they drive off a fully grown dragon?” Arthur looked confused.

  “Well, it’s a different kind of spark.” Now Mor rolled her eyes. “What, did you think I could only make one? There’s happy sparks, and rage sparks, and, um…”

  “Horny sparks?” Atreyu laughed.

  “I don’t think we should call them that.” Mor frowned.

  “Oh no, we’re definitely calling them that.” Arthur was grinning.

  “Right, um, on topic. We need to get Max to a healer. And there’s a hole in your throne room. And Selina got away. And how did she get in here? And - “

  “She’s a little shy, isn’t she?” Arthur asked.

  “Mostly about sex stuff. She did grow up human in America. You know how repressed they are.”

  He laughed hard and Mor blushed harder. “We need to make sure Max is okay.” She turned and strode back behind the throne. There was no sign of Sebastian and Max, but there was an open door so Mor ran through it. Sebastian and Max were just on the other side. Max was still sleeping but didn’t look like he was in pain. “How is he? We need to get him to a healer.”

  “He’s just fine, darling. You helped him in time.”

  Just then, Arthur came through. “Come on, let’s get him to the healers. We need to make sure our brother is safe.” Ever so gently, he picked Max up and carried him out the door.

  “Holy fuck.” Mor felt heat creep throughout her. He had just scooped Max up like he was nothing. And calling him a brother? “Why did he call him brother?” she blurted out.

  “Because he’s our brother now, too. Although, it won’t really be official until you complete the bond with him.”

  “Oh. OH.” Mor’s eyes widened. “So, I guess that means y’all have all decided he’s my mate.”

  “Darling, we don’t make that decision. Fate, or magic, or whatever, makes that decision.” Sebastian took her hand and led her down the hall after Arthur with Ben and Atreyu following behind.

  “Well, fuck. I didn’t expect that when we came here to get help.” Mor frowned.

  “It’ll be okay, Mor. We already know how to share, and we can help him if issues come up. Although with what we’ve seen so far, I don’t know that there will be any.” Ben rubbed her back as they came to a stop in front of the door Arthur had disappeared into.

  He was giving instructions to the healers to care for Max as if he was the king. Mor smiled softly as she watched him fuss over her mate. Maybe she was overreacting. Maybe this would be a good thing after all. With that thought, Mor went into the room and sat by Max’s side, ready to wait until he woke up. Everything else could wait until she knew he was fine.

  Chapter 12

  Ben

  Ben watched from the doorway as Mor settled in next to Max. The healer was telling her that she had managed to save him and just need a little bit of fine work to complete the healing. All of them breathed a sigh of relief. Arthur kissed the top of her head and then strode toward him.

  “We need to talk,” Ben said as Arthur came to stand next to him. “Let me tell Mor.” He walked up to Mor and knelt by her chair. When she turned to look at him, he tucked her hair behind her ear and said, “I need to go meet with Arthur. We need to figure out how Selina got back in.”

  At her nod, he kissed her softly and walked out. Atreyu and Sebastian had settled in to stay with her. He followed Arthur down the hall toward their suites. He led Ben inside his suite and through a side door. The room they entered was an office with a huge desk toward the back of the room. Bookshelves lined the walls and a fire-place was opposite the desk. Comfortable-looking chairs sat in front of the desk while a couch was in front of the fireplace.

  “This is a very - cozy - office.” Ben looked over at Arthur as he went and sat in one of the chairs in front of the desk.

  “This is my personal office. The formal office is much colder.”

  Ben sat in the other chair and leaned forward, arms resting on his knees. “First thing we need to figure out is who let Selina in.”

  “How did you end up in the throne room?”

  “I asked your sister where Mor would be safest, and she brought us there. She was supposed to send guards but we got
Selina instead.”

  “That’s where we start. We need to talk with Morgana and find out who she sent.”

  “How do we reach her?”

  “Already summoned her.” Arthur tapped the side of his head. “She taught me how to speak to her mind to mind.”

  “The Dragon Witch. She said something earlier - I had wondered if the stories were true about her.”

  “Oh, they’re true,” Morgana’s voice rang as she strode through the door. “That bitch Selina got back in? How is your mate?”

  “Worried about Max, last we saw. But she healed him and then fought off Selina, so….” Ben shrugged.

  Morgana grinned. “I think she is worthy of my brother.” She walked over and shooed Arthur from his chair. “Go sit at your desk. I hate that chair.”

  Heaving a sigh, he went around and sat in it. “Now, business. Who did you send to help guard Mor?”

  “I sent Lance to get back-up and go to the throne room.”

  “She was in there almost just a few minutes after we walked in.”

  They were silent for a few moments longer. Ben spoke up, “What if she never left the castle?”

  “I banished her. Of course she left.”

  “Technically you gave her one day,” Morgana reluctantly chimed in.

  “But she doesn’t live here in the palace!” Arthur looked indignant.

  “Come now, brother. You know what Selina is like. She’s a manipulative bitch. It’s absolutely probable she had a back-up plan in case her father’s proposal was denied.”

  “So when things didn’t go her way, she had our border attacked, knowing I would go defend it.”

  “Leaving Mor open to attack.” Ben shook his head. “Fuck! You should also know she didn’t look right. Her scales were dull and she had black streaks running across her body. Atreyu also thinks she was - and I quote - ‘a hell of a lot crazier’.”

  Nodding slowly, Morgana said, “She was always cold - calculated. But today she took risks that were not logical.”

  Arthur sat up straighter. “Find her father. Have him questioned to see if he knows anything about this. If he doesn’t, call Lance in and have him start vetting all the palace guards.” Morgana stood, bowed her head, and left the room.