Page 24 of Bound By the Wraith: Northern Realms

“You never said anything about my mother,” Cali snapped back. “You were going to force yourself on me!”

Cillian growled. “She is not yours. She is mine.”

“Only for a short time,” Gootch growled, his shit-like skin glowing a darker shade of brown-black along with his eyes. “When this is mine, I will take her."

“She is mine,” Cillian roared.

“Then you better relieve her of that virgin blood. Others will want it and you can’t protect her always.” There was a burst of flames and Gootch disappeared.

Cali’s heart returned to a normal beat. “Deal?”

Cillian didn’t respond, but his nails shrunk back into their nail beds, though his horns were still very prominent. “What were you doing out here alone?”

“I wasn’t alone. I had Honk and if it wasn’t for them, well…I don’t want to think about it.” Cali smiled down at Honk. “Besides, you should be nicer to your half brother.”

Cillian’s eye color returned to normal and he looked at her quizzically, and then down to a cowering Honk. “You told her?”

“Yes, sire. She asked which topiary was mine and I showed her my mother,” Honk replied nervously and pointed at the unicorn.

“Huh, I guess I did forget you were part unicorn at one point.” Cillian sighed and then walked over to the topiary, staring at it curiously. “Cali, did you bleed on this?”

“I scratched myself.” She held up her arm.

“It’s growing a flower,” Cillian remarked, amazed.

“A flower!” Honk exclaimed with glee. “Sire!”

Cillian rolled his eyes. “Honk, don’t get over excited.”

Cali found the whole exchange kind of cute. “You need to thank Honk for saving me.”

Cillian frowned. “I suppose a thanks is in order, Honk. You did well.”

Honk’s smile wobbled. “Thank you, sire.”

“Now, be gone. Scuttle off somewhere else,” Cillian growled.

Honk squeaked and took off.

Cillian continued fingering the flower blooming on the bush.

“You need to be nicer to your siblings.”

“I am nice!” Cillian stated. “My shit of a father wasn’t so nice. He’d bang anything that was magic.”

“Gross. Honk said something about trying to control magic.”

“Yes. When my sister Aoife was born, he was going to kill her when she came of age to take her magic, but I took care of him to protect her.”

“He’s dead?” Cali asked.

Cillian nodded. “Very much so. Like I said, I’m the one who killed him.”

For one brief moment she forgot what he was and who he was. He was not a fairy-tale prince. He was cold and very secretive, and yet she was completely drawn to him. She didn’t know why, but she was, and then there was the way he pleasured her. Although he was mercurial, he did take care of her in his own way.

“Gootch said that others will be drawn to my blood. Is that true?”

Cillian nodded. “Virgin blood is potent. It’s why your husband was able to make such a deal with Gootch in the first place.”

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