Page 116 of Her Males

“Going to bed?”

I hold back a smirk and point to the cot Rock sleeps on. Aziel snorts and makes himself comfortable on my bed.

“You’re more than welcome to sleep on that, but I sure as fuck will not be,” he says when I continue to stare.

His lips twitch as I huff and crawl in next to him, my body stiff until he curls around me. For the first time since he rescued me, he’s not hard, and I realize just how tired he must be after all the work it took him to shift back and forth to Lust.

I wait until I’m sure he’s asleep, his breaths deep and steady, before turning and kissing his cheek. I have no idea why he’s being so kind, but I like it.

__________

Echo stands above me with a devious smile, and she smacks the back of my thighs with her stick as I scramble to get up. Kato wasn’t lying when he said she wouldn’t go easy on me.

“Son of a bitch,” I cry, landing in an ungraceful heap on the ground.

“I’m the daughter of a bitch, thank you very much,” she retorts, still not entirely up to speed on human expressions.

“Hey!” Chev shouts, eager to jump to the defense of his mother.

He hasn’t spoken much to me, not that I blame him, and I shoot him a friendly smile before Aziel steps in front to block my view. He crosses his arms over his chest, and I assume he’s angry by Chev’s presence and my willingness to be smacked with a long stick.

Still, I’m shocked he hasn’t put a stop to it. Aziel’s been making genuine efforts not to limit me, which I appreciate, but it’s starting to freak me out. Maybe he got a head wound while he was in Lust and it scrambled his brain.

I should check for one later.

“Get up,” Echo says, her stick swiping my shoulder blade.

I groan and bury my hands into the ground as I struggle to stand, my movements slow and uncoordinated after the sheer number of hits I’ve taken today. I even sent Aziel out while the sky was still dark to find me a new, bigger stick, but it’s not helping.

Echo circles me like prey, her eyes darting around as she decides where to strike next. I jump to the side and swing for her neck when she lunges, and I barely graze her skin before I’m knocked to the ground by a pointy elbow. My skirt flies up at the force of my fall, but Echo bends and fixes it in a heartbeat.

I appreciate the gesture and roll onto my back with my arms sprawled.

“Get up, human,” she taunts, crouching over my limp, pained body.

I close my eyes, ready for death.

Aziel interjects. “That’s enough.”

Echo seems to quietly agree as she grabs my arms and helps me stand. My knees buckle almost immediately, but I get myself steadied with minimal help.

“I feel much better after this,” she admits, patting my shoulder and dropping her stick. “Thank you for letting me beat you.”

I snort. I wouldn’t necessarily say ‘letting’ is the correct word. I would’ve stopped it if I could.

Echo pulls me into a warm hug and squeezes me until I groan.

“I’m happy you and the Wrath are getting along so well, but I feel I should tell you we can smell his ejaculate on your skin,” she quietly whispers.

I clear my throat and back away, absolutely humiliated. I know they can smell it, but I was hoping nobody would comment. It’s wishful thinking, though, and I should’ve known Echo would bring it up.

She has no shame, and she’s mentioned multiple times that she finds it fun to make my skin red.

“My turn!” Chev shouts.

He grabs our sticks off the ground before turning to Aziel.

“My bloodline makes me stronger than the other shifters,” he explains, throwing my stick at Aziel’s feet. “I want a challenge.”

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