Page 165 of Fated or Knot

I snorted in surprise.Kinky bat?I mean, it fits.“Better than ‘nerd,’” the dream warden sighed.

“Or ‘oaf.’ The li’l bird calls me a bear,” Tormund said proudly.

“Fitting. I’m taking the bird away now,” Kauz chuckled. He met my gaze and inclined his head toward the bedroom.

After one last glance at the still-smoldering redcap, I went in that direction, and Kauz closed the bedroom door behind us. “Isthis the last time I get to have you in reality before your heat?” he asked in a low voice.

“I think so.” I couldn’t help a little shiver of fear.

“Sweetheart,” he murmured. He closed the distance between us to rest his hands on my hips and his forehead against mine.

“I know I shouldn’t be afraid.”

“There’s no shame in it.”

“It’s just—that vile pack…” I hiccupped and cursed to myself as a single tear slid down my cheek. I’d known that the news about Pack Ellisar would truly hit me later, and here it was.

He enveloped me in his wings. It remained the safest place for my instincts, being surrounded by his purple leather and stars. “You’ve feared them for so long, you associate them and your heat,” he supplied.

“And now that they’re back?—”

“They’re not.” Sparks flashed in his eyes like lightning strikes. “Between Fal, Marius, and the royal pack, they will be dead before we return to Neslune.”

“What happened to writing to Queen Alora about executing Theli subjects?”

“This is different.” He cupped my face, wiping away the trace of wetness staining my cheeks. “Maybe I shouldn’t tell you this, but the letter was a thin excuse for the royal pack to have time to torture Cymora. They have an equally valid reason to hate her. Your parents’ murders, namely Dorei’s.”

I felt myself teetering over a chasm the moment he mentioned Cymora and death together. It was hard enough to come to terms with the fact that she’d murdered both of my parents. For what? There was never a good reason, only her own desires. So, I didn’t balk at the idea that Cymora was being tortured, perhaps as we spoke.

“They didn’t ask the Theli royal pack about torturing her in the meantime?” I mused.

“They don’t have to. They can do as they wish. The letter was merely a polite formality, and if it’s not answered soon, they’ll proceed with the execution and give the equivalent of a shrug if Queen Alora is upset. The timing will depend on when my parents feel satisfied, not if and when they receive a reply from Thelis.”

That made sense. Perhaps more sense than the idea that they were waiting for permission from Queen Alora to execute her. Rennyn had told me a kind half-truth, so I wouldn’t have to wrestle with the idea of Cymora suffering during my recovery.

“In the case of Pack Ellisar, there are no excuses. You’re the godchild of the royal pack, my brothers’ scent match, and my Always. They will be branded enemies of the crown, if they haven’t already been, with generous bounties for their carcasses. So, they are notbackby any stretch of the imagination. They won’t get within a sniff of your heat.”

As I looked up at him and took in his conviction, I hoped the stars in my eyes danced. “Thank you. I needed to hear that,” I said. “I love you.”

“I love you too. Always.”

My fingers drifted to his waistband, and he caught them before I got far. “We don’t have to,” he murmured.

“You don’t want to?” Star, way for me to kill the mood.

“I didn’t say that. It just strikes me how selfish it is to claim you before Tormund, who has sought a way to control his rage form for years. I have made love to you plenty at night. I can let him have a turn,” he said.

“You were going to stretch me out for him,” I pointed out. “Also, I haven’t felt the mesh yet.”

“Well, my fingers work fine for that purpose. And I haven’t activated it, so of course you haven’t felt anything,” he teased.

He had me lift my leg, and supported it around his hip while he slipped his fingers through my slick. I shuddered from the first contact of his tingling magic. “Whatisthat?”

“Just me casually manipulating your nerve endings. Is it too much?” he asked.

“I didn’t say that,” I echoed playfully.

He smiled, though he stilled his fingers, cupping my pussy. “Lark,” he said, like he didn’t already have my complete attention and focus. “Once Tormund and I make love to you today, you may only need to have sex one more time to trigger your heat. You should save it for Fal.”

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