Page 32 of No Potions Needed

I opened my mouth to speak again but forgot what I meant to say when Ormund’s endless patience ran dry and his teeth grazed over my claiming gland. I squeaked as the liquid inside it sloshed around underneath the taut skin and a second later one of his sharp teeth punctured the gland. I sighed in relief as the pressure was immediately lessened and the stuff inside my gland ran down my shoulder for Ormund to lap up the way he’d done my slickness not so long ago. He smiled against my skin, his hips still pumping his cock inside my body. I squeezed him tight, wanting to keep all his attention on me. Both he and the healer had tried to explain what the claiming vows would do but I didn’t quite get it. How could I understand something that I never experienced? How could I know something that had never been part of the culture I grew up in? I wouldn’t. Not for a few more minutes anyway. Not until Ormund nudged me to bite him. That’s when my wolfy side took over.

One of my canine teeth elongated as soon as I sniffed out Ormund’s claiming gland. His was squishy and full of liquidy stuff too. I took a long, deep breath but my furry side urged me forward and I bit him hard. He growled but that didn’t stop me. I kept steady pressure until the gland exploded with clear fluid. I lapped it all up, a happy wolf tasting his mate’s magic. He tasted like rosehip tea and caramelized sugar. I couldn’t stop lapping at him. Then my vision faded and my inner eye saw what had already passed for a change. I saw my mate’s parents and the other chicks who hatched around the same time as him. Suddenly as if brought by the vision I spoke fluently in all the birdy sounds and body language. I knew what it was to fly and how to stay upright in a storm. I knew the names of the other peck members and who their mates were. I understood that they had long watched the eight wolf packs but were careful of us because there was always some war playing out. I couldn’t blame them for that. Wolves did like to fight a lot. I’d never been in a war but after taking Elke’s life I understood the thrill. Only, that thrill wouldn’t have tickled in all my predatory spots if Elke hadn’t been the son-of-a-bitch who ordered the tearing apart of my life.

“No one blames you for reveling in his death, mate,”Ormund’s voice sounded off inside my thoughts as my wolf’s often did and I startled beneath him, nearly sliding off his dick. He thrust hard, keeping his warm home inside my body secure. I let out a long moan and grappled with the pleasure until I clawed my thoughts back to the forefront of my mind.

“You’re in my head?”I thought back at him testing our new link out.

“This is our mating link, mate,”Ormund chuckled.“You’ll eventually be able to filter it and close it off when you want but yes, for lack of better words, I am indeed inside your head. It’s cozy in here.”

I kissed him again. I couldn’t think of anything else to say but it occurred to me we could make out and hold a conversation at the same time now. That might be handy one day. I sank into our connection and his pleasure from our lovemaking mingled with my own. We rode out the waves together, taking solace and rapture in each other’s bodies. I came hard and then came again before Ormund spilled his warm sticky seed inside me. I was his through and through, but he was mine too and before my first heat of our mateship ended, I marked my territory more than once.

Chapter Twenty-Four

Othoni

“You have to cut that out,” Mori said as we walked back into the B&B. I was surprised that he waited that long before trying to scold Teddy. My jaguar grumbled inside his inner sanctum, and I took a deep breath to hold him back. His leg muscles were already coiled to pounce, and I didn’t want to knock Mori down in the lobby. That would probably scare the bird man who worked behind the counter. He didn’t want Teddy. At least, he hadn’t shown signs of wanting my mate.

“Cut what out?” Teddy asked, playing innocent and wrapping an arm around my waist to pull me closer to him.

“Let him tell it his way. You have to give dying people grace, Teddy! He’s someone’s carrier after all!”

“Where are his kids then?” I asked.

“In the Other World,” Teddy answered, and Mori and I blinked in bemusement.

“How do you know that, mate?” I asked, hoping to soften the tension before my jaguar grew too irritable with the whole thing.

“Astral told Marsin and me. They knew each other before all this, you know. They had two wolf sons. They’re living in the safety of the Other World. They probably can’t come over to visit him. Which sucks for them but there is probably some mechanism in life and death that will let them see him over there. At least they’ll probably get to do that much,” Teddy sighed and turned on his heels toward the door.

“What?” Mori asked.

“Are you okay, alpha?” I asked, following him.

“I’m going to get something to eat,” Teddy said. “Mori’s going to want to lecture me and talk this in circles all night and I can’t do that without food.”

“We can order in a pizza,” I offered.

“And we can wait until tomorrow to talk about it all. I just wanted you to cut him some slack. He’s a jackass. We all know that. Life made him a jackass. This is his last hurrah. It’s not like he can go out fighting a monster or something and guys like him would always prefer to go out that way.”

“What does he remind you of your carrier?” Teddy asked, his voice losing some of its angry edge.

“My sire, actually,” Mori grinned. “Rough start to life and all that. Forced into being someone they probably wouldn’t have been otherwise and all of that.”

“Are you two going to be okay with each other?” I asked.

“We are,” Teddy nodded. “Death and dying makes assholes out of everyone around the dying person. Everyone has their own ways of dealing with it. Hell, Sequin and Daliah still haven’t totally gotten back to where they used to be. I don’t think any of us can.”

“Death makes us all something more,” Mori whispered. “It leaves this giant hole and then we have to fill it up and whatever we fill it up with grows in that dark space. We just have to ensure we fill it up with something worthwhile.”

“Well, I have a hole to be filled,” I announced, knowing it would catch Mori off guard enough to leave Teddy alone about Dern for the rest of the night. “So, I think we should call it a night. Are you okay to sleep by yourself? If you wake up with another nightmare and we don’t hear you, wake us up, okay?”

“Okay,” Mori blinked and nodded.

“Will you be alright?” Teddy double-checked.

“I will be. You two have fun.”

“We’ll send pizza,” I laughed and grabbed Teddy’s hand.

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