Page 64 of Magic & Secrets
“I will help you build it.”
“And every time we mate, the entire mountain will know because of the commotion we make.”
Calla laughed without worry, causing her entire body to tremble with joy. She wrapped both of her hands around mine touching her chest.
“My sisters share the mate bond with Delta and Koda. Meaning, you and I won’t be the only ones making a commotion.”
“Tempe is even more stubborn than I am,” I explained, and she smiled wider. “He will not believe immediately. Convincing Tempe would be easier if Koda and Delta corroborated our story.”
“My sisters are intelligent. Enya is very well schooled. Mina bears the power of dusk and night. They will help your packmates survive whatever perils befall them on their way back to Mt. Elysium.”
“What does the ‘power of dusk and night’ mean?”
“In the time of the ancient gods, there was only eternal darkness. I represent the change from the shadows into the light. Enya represents the brightest time of day when the monsters are most forced to hide. Mina should be only dusk, when the light begins to wane and the shadows crawl back into power. And naturally, there would be a fourth sister, who represents night when darkness reigns. But the Gathering feared spreading the power evenly.”
“That’s why Mina has trouble controlling her power,” I said and added when Calla frowned, “I dreamt of her losing control. You were children, and a Shifter was hunting you.”
“Mina hadn’t meant to hurt him, but he was a cruel instructor. He also broke the rules by holding her down. Males weren’t allowed to put their hands on us like that, but he viewed us as dumb kids.”
“Is he dead?”
“The Gathering claimed his injuries were too severe for him to stay at the Citadel. Mina was punished for losing control,” Calla explained, revealing a flash of her temper. “They feared us when we were very young. Eventually, they realized we wanted to please them. Once they held the power, their kindness faded. They became colder when several warriors disappeared. I think they feared what they had unleashed into the world.”
“The Murade was no different. I felt their pride in how they created us, yet they also resented our power. Tempe and Bravo were the ones to push back against their programming and demand our freedom. Without such leaders, I suspect I would still live at Operation Overlord.”
Calla’s sympathy warmed the air around us. She stroked my jaw, shoulders, and chest before kissing me softly.
“I can imagine us together with my sisters and your pack at the mountain.”
“Are you sure your sisters will agree to travel to Mt. Elysium?”
“Is there a safer location?”
“No, I suppose not.”
Calla sat up and leapt on top of me. Her hands rested on my chest before she dropped kisses along my ribcage.
“Let’s test if all that earlier noise was simply a result of our first time,” Calla said, sinking her fingers into my chest hair and running her teeth across my nipple. “Unless you’re weary.”
I growled in response to her teasing. Calla threw her head back and laughed. My hands instantly reached for her lovely breasts. I’d never even noticed the female body before. They diedin the same way as male bodies did. There was no reason to take notice of their different curves and grooves.
Calla’s body fascinated me. She was perfect from her bright green eyes to her hard pink nipples. For a century, I had only wanted to be free and left in peace. As magic crackled in the air and I filled Calla’s body again, I was more than willing to spend the rest of my life being her slave.
Calla
ROQUE SEEMED RELIEVEDwhen our mating resulted in far less noise. We still glowed, and the wind swirled around us. The ancient one hidden under Pandorium Forest was far less fussy this time around.
We couldn’t stop tasting and stroking each other. I explored his body, memorizing every curve of muscle and bone. I slid my fingers through every strand of hair. I even counted his eyelashes. Roque was mine to know completely.
Our bodies remained tangled together, lost in desire. Pandorium Forest hid the passing of time. We only felt each other.
Eventually, I dug through my supplies for a meal. We sat on the forest floor and had a picnic. Looking around, I couldn’t imagine how humans felt when they found themselves lost in Pandorium Forest. Their eyes could never adjust to the inky blackness. The experience must have been madness.
I saw perfectly despite the way the darkness moved around us. Roque shone like a lantern, giving me warmth despite the forest’s attempts to distract.
As Roque spoke of his daily routine on the mountain, I felt him accept how he could never return to such a simple life. We were two halves of the same creature now. I couldn’t survive without him. Our mating sealed our fates. If one died, the other was bound to follow.
Within Pandorium Forest, I pretended the world outside the darkness didn’t exist. Time stood still. My sisters felt like memories from another creature’s life. I wasn’t worried aboutthe Gathering or Cult of Ivitithi. I could barely remember the slaughter at Haven Junction.All I saw was Roque.
