Page 13 of A Dawn So Dark

Aurora turned around a boulder, a gasp falling from her perfectly bowed lips as she came to a crashing halt. I could feel Daemon's satisfaction across the grove as she spun to look for a way across the river. The nearest crossing was miles from here. She wouldn't make it another ten feet with the two of us corneringher. “Had I known dinner was going to end like this, I would have suggested it yourfirst night here,little human.” I grinned as she stood panting in the moonlight, rage lighting those sweet emerald eyes of hers. She spun towards me, squinting to find my form in the dark. Daemon's laugh sounded behind her and our little human shuddered at the sound. The smell of her arousal made my cock throb, our little Princess liked being chased… and we all knew it. “What do you suggest we do with our Princess, General?” She whirled, skirts flaring as she looked for the King.

I wet my lips, my tongue scraping across my fangs in painstaking agony. I wanted to spread her out on the forest floor and feed from every inch of her, claiming her as ours. But that was a price she wasn't ready to pay. She wasn't ready. She needed time. So tonight we would take all we could without pushing her beyond her limits.

“Let's go back to dinner, shall we?” Aurora pleads with a hopeful and desperate smile. “We didn't even have dessert.” Her breathy pleas made my chest ache in desire to consume her-body and blood.

“Are you sure, Princess?” I tease, stepping from the shadows, Daemon appearing behind her. “It seems to me like our dessert is right here.” Her cheeks turn red in rage and arousal. I step so I am crowding her against Daemon's chest. Her pulse thrums, a melody I could listen to endlessly. I vow in that moment to have the palace musicians recreate its beauty so she could understand our obsession and adoration.

“I should retire, it's quite late.” Her feeble attempt to get away stirs me, her argument weaker than the door that we had taken our time destroying to give her a head start. I gaze adoringly down at her short frame, the crown of her head didn't even meet our shoulders. Humans were innately short, Aurora could not have been more than five and a half feet tall. Nothing compared to Daemon and I’s six and a half frames. She nestled perfectly between us.Our perfect little mate.

Daemon hums as he caresses her arms, tracing her delicately scarred wrists before pulling her back flush to his chest. I could have finished in my trousers at the sight of her melting beneath his touch. The fire inher eyes not once fading. “She does look quite delicious, brother.” Daemon growls, his fingers gently digging into the supple flesh of her hips. Aurora gasps, no doubt feeling Daemon's arousal pressing firmly into her back. Her eyes drift from mine and slowly fall down my front, landing on my groin. My trousers had tented from how engorged I was. I was ready to burst from her gaze alone. I nod, adjusting myself while she watchedmy movements with blown pupils.

“Certainly, brother.” I agreed as her neck began to flush, her nipples hardened beneath the silk of her gown. “I think she should show us our spoils.” My fingers reached out and grasped her chin firmly, my thumb brushing her bottom lip. The plump flesh tempting me to teach her my bruising kiss and comforting caress. Daemon and I both step back from her in unison, vanishing back into the dark embrace of the forest. “Sit on the rock, Aurora.” Daemon demanded, referring to one of the rocks on the riverbed where Aurora could seat herself comfortably and listen to our instructions. She wavered, looking into the tree line in desperation to find us. Anger lit her features, herhands balled into fists at her side as she insisted “This is nonsense.” She moved to make her way back to the palace.

I moved at a speed she couldn't detect, scooping her up and dumping her on the stone as she had been directed. I remained close, my lips grazing her ear as I hummed “This is your only warning to behave,little human.” Before she could rear her head back to headbutt me, I fell back into the darkness of the forest. She huffed in annoyance, shifting on the stone as she scanned the tree line for either one of us. “When we tell you to do something, it is for your own good Aurora.” I promise, knowing she needed to hear us say this. “We are not the men of your court who would force you into submission for their own gain. We want what is best for you. Your safety. Your happiness.Your pleasure.”

Daemons growl echoed across the clearing as Aurora flushed pink. “You turn such lovely shades of pink for my General.” Daemon paused, and I knew he was about to cross the thin line we toed with Aurora. “Lift your skirts and show us your arousal, Princess. Show us how badly you wanted us to catch you.”

Her hands fell to her lap, pressing down on the silk as her eyes desperately searched for us in the dark. Her slender fingers twitched, her breathing shallow and needy. “The King gave you an order, Princess.” I taunted, knowing my push would spur her need to antagonize me.

Aurora clutched her gown, eyes ablaze with desire as she slowly pulled the skirts up. “Does the King have to order around all of your women, General?” It's my turn to growl, an amused laugh lacing my threat “Do you want to beourwoman, Aurora?”

Her emerald eyes flit across the treeline, sparkling with mischief. “I thought you told me when we first met, General…” She brushes a strand of hair from her face, picking a twig from the waves as she grins “That I was wanted by both you and your King. Perhaps I misheard you.” Her fingers traced the edge of her skirt, hands gently shaking as she trailed the fabric up the creamy smooth contour of her legs. I could have finished in my trousers at the sight, like a three hundred year old who just discovered their bloodlust. I groaned as she reached her knees, parting her legs so the fabric pooled over her intimate part. “You were ours long before we laid eyes on you.” I swore, my teeth gnashing together in an attempt to not ravish her. “Now listen to our King and show us what is ours.” Aurora, for once, was obedient. She slowly parted her skirts, trembling in arousal and anticipation. She wore thin undergarments that did little to hide how much she was enjoying this. I nearly fell to my knees when she flashed a teasing smile and shifted her hips so we could see every glorious inch of her supple skin. I needed to see more. I needed to taste her. I needed to consume her.

“Remove them.” Daemon's demand reverberated through the forest, leaves falling at his request. I was certain her cheeks would be stained pink for weeks after this encounter. She searched for him, begging us to reveal ourselves to her. Her body called to ours, her need for us burned my chest like a brand, desperate for her mates. Time stood still, the forest fell silent as she moved the fabric up her legs, revealing the soft tuft of auburn and her slick arousal. I pulled myself free from my trousers, fisting myself so hard I could barely see straight. I hadbeen hard almost constantly sincemeeting my mate. She shyly spread her legs, waiting for Daemon to instruct her further. He was ready to snap. We both were. “Touch yourself for us, Princess.” Aurora looked down at herself, her lashes fluttering as she realized what he wanted her to do. Her hand traced down the silk of her dress. Heat barreled down my spine, consuming me with a damn near painful desire to claim our mate.

The winds shifted, an unsavory scent overpowering the divine smell of our mates' arousal. I knew Daemon sensed it too.Strays. Aurora froze, the lust fading from her gaze in an instant. A branch snapped in the distance. Her skirts fell to her feet as she stood, eyes wide as she looked for us. Stuffing my angry and aching cock away, I move to her side. “Daemon, you should take the Princess back to the castle.” I was going to turn these creatures into ribbons for interrupting us.

“Let me stay!” Aurora demanded as I tucked a Stray strand of hair behind her ears, letting my fingers dance along her cheekbone. “They're here for you,little human. Go with Daemon and we can discuss your misbehavior later.” Her cheeks heated in my hold buther eyes still held that fire that made my soul ache to claim her. “I don't need you to fight my battles!”

I lifted my other hand to cup her delicate and ferocious features. “I would start and end wars for you, Aurora. A sword to bend to your will. I am yours to wield.” I hardly had time to enjoy the look of shock and desire cloud her face before Daemon vanished from sight with her. It was time for me to bring Aurora a platter piled high with the hearts of those who wishedher harm.

Chapter 22

Daemon

Ideposit Aurora in her bed, teeth gritting in restraint. She had writhed against me in protest the entire way back and goddesses above, I need this woman. She had laid herself bare, offered herself to us willingly. She was ready to know, ready to feel what being our mate meant.

Arden and I had shattered her door completely, which was an ill thought out plan. There was no way my mate was going without a door. We may push her limits but privacy is something she would always have. I knew how the Knights had treated her, I saw how they had treated their own Queen. Her comfort and privacy was a priority.

Aurora shot from the bed and made a break for the terrace. I stepped in her path, gently shoving her back down onto the mattress. “All due respect Your Majesty, but I am going back to help the General whether you want to join me or not is up to you.” I heldback a laugh at her proclamation. Goddesses above, she was going to be a divine Queen.

“Arden is fine, darling.” I reassured her, finding her worry for him endearing. She ran her hands through her long auburn lochs, her brow furrowed in distress. “Those creatures- they aren't like you. Are they Vampires?” Her question threw me, her vibrant eyes finding mine in the candlelight.

I lowered myself to a squat before her, a hand gently gripping her knee, needing to feel her after the adrenaline rush I had just endured. I prayed to the goddesses that this position would hide the erection that had not faded since our tristin the forest. “Strays were once like us, Vampires. They could feel love, joy, sadness, and empathy as well as being blessed with power from the goddesses. But they let their hunger and blood lust overtake them. Now, they are simply bloodthirsty beasts.”

Her fingers drummed against her thigh, the smell of her arousal still hung in the air. She had wanted us. Our mate had wanted us. Was it time we told her or did we wait until after we dealt with Arthur so we couldenjoy the bliss of our mating process? Ideally we would take several weeks to ride out the initial highs of the bond in the mountains, far from all civilization. Weeks of watching our mate come undone for us, wrapping us around her perfect little fingers.

“Was that what you wanted tonight?” Aurora asked, toeing her slippers off. Her tone held curiosity, no animosity or disdain. “My blood?” I always craved her blood. Feeding from a mate was different, raw, emotional, animalistic. But she didn't know that. “What drove us tonight, Aurora,” I hummed darkly, my hand moving from her knee down the length of her shin. “Was something just as delicious.” My Princess swallowed hard, her heart hammering in her chest as she gazed at me through heavy lashes. “What exactly is that?”

A dark grin tugged at my lips as I watched her throat bob in anticipation. “You, my fire.” Her skin heated beneath my touch, my mate was aroused at the thought of my animalistic desire for her. Her head tilted, hair cascading across her face at the movement. Her words were flirtatious, laced with curiosity. “Wouldyou drink my blood…?” My knees buckled, the sting of the stone floor biting into my pants. A small smirk overtook her plump lips, a mischievousness that left my shaft desperately hard.

“I would beg at your feet for a thousand years if it meant I would know the taste of one drop of your divine blood.” The reverence in my tone reverberated throughout the room, leaving Aurora stunned. She panted beneath my hold, eyes bright with desire. Our trist had left her primed and just as desperate for a release as Arden and I were. She likely thought it was her attraction to us, the heat of the moment, ignorant to the bond that grew stronger with each day.

I felt Arden enter the room behind me, the stench of Stray blood flooding the dimly lit room. Five thuds sounded. One after the other. A dark grin overtook my features as I watched Aurora turn a stunning shade of pink from where she sat on the bed, her gaze fixated on a blood covered Arden. Each thud of a heart meeting the stone floor sends a shiver down her spine. According to Arden, she had a similar reaction when I had offered her a heart. This woman enjoyedviolence. And more importantly, it aroused her when we committed violent acts for her. “I would slaughter masses,” Arden growled, his steps slow and deliberate as he made his way from the terrace door to where I kneeled at Aurora's bedside, forgetting the half dozen hearts on the floor behind him. “I would bring you a thousand hearts,” He gritted painfully, lowering himself to one knee, then two, kneeling at my side. At Aurora's mercy. “I would live a mortal life just to know your taste.” Aurora's emerald eyes shone bright, overcome with emotions. No one had ever shown her respect as Princess nor as a woman. She owned us,body and blood. We were hers to wield as she saw fit. We werehers. Her next words stunned us both. “Finish what you started in the woods.”

Chapter 23

Aurora Artorias

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