Page 61 of Villainous Greed

“You can,” I said.

“Not everyone has power like you.” Melinda had entered the room without me hearing.

While everyone greeted her by bowing their heads, I remained focused on Isabella. “You can,” I said again.

Isabella snorted. “Melinda’s right. Not everyone has magic like yours.”

“You don’t have my magic, but Harvest no longer has me,” I whispered, then my eyes widened as my words hit me like an unexpected attack. “He no longer has me.”

Suddenly, the witches and their dark home seemed so far away. My head spun. I could hear myself breathe and my heart beat. I knew I was awake, but the realization wouldn’t rest inside me.Everything felt like a dream.

I was free and surrounded by other witches. Their energy pressed against my skin and seeped into my bones. I couldn’t pinpoint what I was feeling. Then my shoulders sagged and the echo in my head stopped. They were my kind, my people. We were kindred spirits. I felt peace.

“Harvest no longer has me either,” Isabella said. “Which is bad news for him. Everyone knows you don’t anger witches.”

“Izzie, you can’t do anything if your sloth doesn’t stop babying you,” a witch piped in, and the others giggled.

“If you’re jealous, Callie, find your own mate,” Isabella countered.

Everyone laughed.

They reminded me of my family. I had never been good with jokes or having fun, but Sofia and the boys hadn’t cared. A little flutter, like magical waves, pinched my stomach. I yearned to be accepted, to have an identity, and to be Sofia’s family again.

“So, you’re the toad’s mate?” asked a cloaked witch, stepping forward.

“More like a snake,” someone whispered.

I felt a wave of relief when the woman took off her hood and chuckled. “Oh, Hades. What have you done to that poor man so long ago to make him hate witches so much?”

I arched a brow. “Huh?”

“August came here once, threatening to show his cock to everyone.”

Isabella palmed her forehead.

“And let’s not forget he tried to kidnap Isabella from his brother!” someone yelled.

I narrowed my gaze. My gut twisted with such intensity that I nearly trembled. I felt neither fear nor coldness. It was as if I wanted to battle August again.

Isabella exclaimed, “August thought I could help his curse, similar to how I helped Sebastian! It was before we discovered I was Sebastian’s marked mate.” She faced Melinda. “If people were more straightforward, we would have discovered the Reapers’ mates earlier.”

“You know why I must be careful,” Melinda replied.

Isabella sighed. “Yes. You can upset the balance or change the future. Yada, yada.”

I crossed my arms beneath my chest. “What else hasmymate done?”

It didn’t escape my notice how sharp my voice got when I said my. August hadn’t lain with anyone, but he was threatening to show his private places to witches. Why? And why could I hear my blood roaring in my ears?

Chapter Twenty-Four

August

There was a fire beneath my skin. I burned from my stomach to my cock, which was painfully engorged. I wasn’t used to being so out of sync with my body that it hurt. A hand was up my shirt, and I knew who it belonged to. Only one woman could rouse such torment from me. My libido was nonexistent in those years without her.

Nova’s fingers moved through the hair on my chest, making circles on my flesh while her fucking breath fanned my neck. By my damp flesh and heavy pants, she had me a wreck long before I woke. My little star probably didn’t know what she was doing to me, either.

Slowly, I opened my eyes, not wanting her to stop touching me. If it meant getting her attention, I would pretend to be asleep for a century. The lower her hand went, the more agonizing my arousal became. Because of the jeans I had on, I felt trapped and on the verge of climax as my mate explored me.

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