Page 17 of Stormbinder King
But now I had a spell to protect me.
Jack took me around to show me the boundaries of the village.
There were over a hundred shifters here, spread out in neat gleaming tree top homes.
All the shifters were tall and sleek and well-made, all different colors and ethnicities, golden-bright women with gleaming eyes and sharp-eyed men who bowed their heads respectfully when Jack passed by.
“Our top Beta, Cormac,” Jack said, gesturing to a heavyset man with a scarred face and thick blonde hair.
I stuck out my hand without thinking and after a moment’s hesitation he took it.
Instantly I saw the Beta’s face twitch, his jaw going slack and I watched in astonishment as his whole body shook violently.
There was a smell of burnt flesh in the air, and finally I got the presence of mind to snatch my hand away.
“Be careful,” Jack said lightly, and I saw Aurelia hovering in the background, an axe in her hand and a stack of wood in the other.
“I take protection of my fated mate very seriously.”
The tips of Cormac’s fingers were a terrifying unnatural scarlet, with black charred patches on them.
The protective spell had donethat?
“Will that go away?” I asked breathlessly as Jack drew an arm around me and pulled me onto his back.
“In time,” Jack said. “I don’t fuck around when it comes to your safety.”
I hung on tight as he strode through the trees, his legs moving with a predator’s grace and the wind rushing past me, tangling my hair.
He laughed delightedly as I clutched his neck tightly, cresting through a slope to see rolling, distant hills laid out in front of us.
My binding mark burned on my skin, the pain so intense that sometimes I didn’t know if I could stand it.
But as my chest laid on the prince’s back, I began to feel my body heat, and a throb grew between my legs.
Flesh of my flesh
I tried to ignore it, shifting to try to ease the pressure on my cunt.
“All this is Stormbinder territory,” Jack said as we passed through the trees.
How much easier it was to go with him, as he padded with light feet around the heavy, dripping forest greenery.
“What does Stormbinder mean?” I asked curiously.
“It’s mostly superstition,” he replied carelessly.
God, he smelled so delicious, the scent of his skin filling my nostrils, his skin velvety smooth over hard cords of muscle.
“Oh, it’s an old family power that has lain dormant for generations. But my brother the king still insists on keeping the name.”
I digested this information.
“What’s your brother like?” I asked, trying to ignore the throb that pounded between my legs, the heat seeming to grow the tighter my thighs pressed against him.
“He’s an arrogant bastard,” Jack said shortly. “He’s used to getting everything he wants. But you don’t have to worry about him bothering you.”
“Why would I worry about him? When is he supposed to come home?” I asked apprehensively.
