Page 234 of Fated or Knot

“Claim me, then,” he said in a huskier tone. “I don’t need to be an alpha for other fae to know I’ve claimed you too. They only need to see your wings for that.”

They fluttered behind me in awareness, now that he’d mentioned them. The beautiful patterns he’d inked in them with his silver magic would remain with me forever. I would practice until the brush fell out of my hand before I painted the rest of his wings, too. We’d do something special for the new scar. Until then, I bit the trailing tail of his beta mark and hugged his side while he gasped and flapped his wings on reflex, nearly toppling us both over.

Nothing magical happened, like he warned, nor did he taste of anything other than a hint of blood. However, now he would carry my claim. He twisted and pulled me into his arms, kissing me with open-mouthed passion that I met with a burst of warmth blooming over my skin. “Love you, sweetheart,” he murmured once we parted for air.

“Love you too,” I said, tilting my head toward the nest. “Shall we?”

I ended up coaxing all four of my mates into one last group fuck while I was still feeling heated, and squeezed some bruised knots. Tormund, I took first, and I cupped his face between my hands as he let me ride him. “May I claim you?” I asked, looking deep in his eyes. “Before my heat’s up…just so we bond as much as possible.”

“Aye. I’ve been hoping you would,” he admitted. “Just overcome by passion. It’s right here. Almost as easily biteable as yours.” He guided my head down to his mark, which was on the upper right side of his chest.

“What? I wouldn’t do that without asking,” I gasped. “You always ask.” From his claiming bite, to most of the times he’d knotted me, he tried to be polite.

He blinked at me, clearly considering how to respond while I was still riding him. He settled for igniting the little fires in his pupils and rumbling in his deepest tone, “Bite me, li’l bird.”

I nearly came on the spot. He’d been resistant to trusting his monstrous side, but he was learning how to use it for pleasure. I bit into his alpha mark, as commanded, and luxuriated in the feeling of our souls pressing together and us bonding separately from the pack bond as well. In the heat of the moment, we didn’t say it, but we swapped feelings of love and devotion from one heart to the other.

My heat burned itself out shortly after this moment. To my great relief, I descended into a deep, dreamless sleep untouched by the all-consuming need that’d ruled me for the better part of a week.

When I woke, I did so with great reluctance. One of my bonds was rattling, along with a male voice telling me that I needed to get ready. I exited deep sleep in a bleary daze, not even realizing that was Marius seated by my hip until his roughed fingertips skimmed over my cheek.

“Mother wants to speak with you once you’re showered and dressed, p’nixie,” he said.

He was already showered and dressed, himself, smelling of waterlily, mint, and clean cloth. My mind thought,unfortunately, and my body twinged the moment I shifted my legs. I was under a couple layers of my nest, tucked in.

Actually, I didn’t recognize my nest, as the soak mats and the layers that smelled of sex when I’d passed out were all gone. “I re-did your nest a bit, so you wouldn’t have such a big job ahead.” He winced as my lips parted in surprise. Males usually didn’t touch a nest, I thought. “I hope you don’t mind.”

“I…no, I don’t mind at all.” I huffed as I sat up, before scooting into his lap to snuggle up to his warm chest. The air around us felt cool on my skin. What a blessing, to be heat-free again.

He folded me into his arms and purred, nuzzling at my hair as he so often preferred. “Come on. We shouldn’t keep her waiting.” He stood, carrying me up with him.

“Wait,” I murmured. “Before you take me to the shower, there’s somewhere else I want to go.”

He raised a brow, confused.

“Take me up the stairs?” I giggled, pointing toward the back of my nest. This whole time, it’d been a two-story affair. But I’d been given this suite while I’d had a cast, and once it was off, he’d spirited me away to the sea. The mysterious, unused second story of my nesting space was one I wanted to see with at least one of my mates first.

“You and stairs,” he teased. He shook out his shaggy blue-green mane and the braid of my hair woven in it. It, and the hanging metalark feathers, had somehow survived my heat untouched.

“If it gets my protector to carry me…”

He snorted gently. “Please. I would carry you anywhere, stairs or no.”

With the way my legs and core felt, we would be testing that statement shortly. Until then, he took me to the top of the staircase for a rather anticlimactic reveal. The second floor of my nest had a high roof and was overall larger than I expected, with two windows looking out over the gardens outside. The wood flooring gleamed with a recent polish. But it was completely empty.

“I was thinking we could make it like a second library nest. Or, um, something,” I said uncertainly. “Somewhere you and the rest of the pack would want to be.”

“Whatever you want for it.” He smiled with lopsided charm. “The pack wants to be where you are, mate. Don’t stress over this.”

“I need you all with me as well. Can I ask you a question?”

He turned to start back down the stairs. “Like you need to ask permission.”

It was kind of personal and I didn’t know how private it was. But I went ahead and asked, “Is it true you started reading books for their happy endings?”

“Oh, did Kauz tell you that? Aye. His attempt to fix me.” He rolled his eyes. I decided not to correct his assumption. “While I tried to fix him by teaching him how to throw a punch. Look at us now, he’s in great shape, and I’m one of the library tower’s most loyal patrons.”

As he took me to the rain room, he tilted his head back and forth. “Yet friendship didn’t fix us. Well, fixme. Kauz was never really broken. The only happy ending I truly needed was you, mate.”

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