Page 21 of Beyond the Mountain (Fae's Captive 4)

“Treasury?” Selene picks at her new dress, the emerald green covering her odd angles far better than her tattered white funeral gown. “Anything for me in there? High witch should get something, yes?”

I’m on the verge of saying no when Taylor takes Selene’s elbow. “Well of course. There has to be something in there for you. Right, Leander?” When she looks up at me with those sparkling blue eyes, there’s only one answer that blooms on my lips: “Yes.”

I would tell her yes if she asked me to go to the Spires for her.

When one side of her mouth quirks up, I suspect she knows it.

21

Taylor

“This is … This … I …” I give up and stare.

“To your liking?” Leander carries us on the winter wind as the carriages with our friends make their way up the steep mountain.

The castle is enormous, crouching on the snowy peak like a great, beautiful bird. It’s made of the same shiny granite as the town below, but it rises in the winter sun, the turrets flying flags of gray and white as smoke floats from a dozen chimneys. A dark forest flows away from it on two sides, the rest of the peak a mix of sheer cliffs and stone, all of it covered in snow.

“It’s so beautiful.” I look up at Leander, his eyes on me. Always on me.

“It’s yours.”

“I can’t believe you live here.”

“We live here,” he chides.

“Yes.” I hug him closer. “We do.”

“Branala has been arranging the mating ceremony while we’ve been traveling.”

“Is it going to be big?” I still can’t take my eyes from the massive castle, soldiers dotted along the battlements at intervals atop the high outer wall. Inside, a courtyard is filled with people dressed in furs and thick cloaks, their dark hair and pointed ears marking them as winter realm high fae.

“The biggest mating this realm has ever seen.”

“That sounds … intimidating. And what if the nobles aren’t into having me as their queen? But maybe they’ll get used to me during the engagement and—”

“Engagement?” He arches a dark brow.

“Yeah, we’re engaged, right?”

“Engaged?”

“You know, when people are going to get married, they are engaged for a while first and plan it all and then get married.”

“This isn’t a marriage.” He presses a sweet kiss to my lips. “This is a celebration of our unbreakable bond.”

That doesn’t sound so official. “Okay.” My nerves settle a bit.

And it happens tomorrow.”

My brain seems to freeze. “Tomorrow?”

“I won’t wait to crown my queen. They will love you as I do.” His confidence in me brings tears to my eyes, and the time frame creates panic in my mind.

“Did you say tomorrow?”

“At sunset.”

“That’s so … so sudden.” I press my palms to my cheeks.

“You would prefer to wait?” A hint of hurt colors his question.

“No.” I shake my head. “No. It’s just a lot. But—” I rest my hand over his heart. “I’m ready. I’m yours.”

“As I am yours.” He tightens his hold. “Don’t worry about the nobles. They will accept you.”

“Even in this changeling body?”

“In any body you choose.” His never-ending faith in me still strikes a note of wonder in my heart.

I glance back at the waiting nobles as Leander drops us slowly to the courtyard. “I don’t think they’re going to like my ideas.”

“They don’t have to like them.” He laughs low in his throat. “I get the feeling that if they don’t accept the equality you seek, your feral side may take matters into her own hands.”

The tips of my ears prickle, and my back starts to itch. “Your feeling is dead on.”

“Control it, little one.” He nuzzles my hair. “Don’t let her control you.”

I relax in his arms, my feral heart calming under his soothing touch. “I want to be me.” I shake my head, and when I stop, my ears are pointed. “But I also kind of like the ears. Is that weird?”

“Not at all.” He kisses the tips. “They’re quite sensitive, no?”

A tingle rushes through me, and I have to pull away from him. “Stop. You’re going to have me all, you know, excited. And then the scent thing will happen. And, oh my god. I can’t have other fae smelling me.”

“If you insist.” But he kisses my ear when he sets us down in the courtyard.

We approach the nobles, many of them staring at me in open shock.

Leander’s voice booms over the crowd, power soaking every word. “I have returned from battle with the evil of old, Shathinor. With my mate, we defeated him. He is no more, his soul sent to the Spires.”

A murmur ripples through the crowd.

“He lured many unsuspecting lesser fae and changelings to his cause with promises of equality in the realms.”

I squeeze Leander’s hand.

“Shathinor lied, of course. He never intended for changelings and lesser fae to be treated as equal to the high fae.”

A few nods of approval in the crowd has me grinding my teeth.

“But that changes now.” He holds up our joined hands. “Bow before your new queen. You owe her your allegiance as the ruler of the winter realm.”

Some of them gasp, but none of them dare disobey Leander. I can see why. Fierceness emanates from him in waves of command, his demeanor one of controlled power. If I thought he was alpha before, this is a whole new level of badassery. I bite my lip as the entire courtyard kneels before me.

He leans to my ear, his voice soft for me. “I can scent you, little one. Power excites you.”

My cheeks heat. “You excite me,” I whisper back.

“Rise,” he commands, then wraps his arm around my waist and leads me into the castle as his stunned nobles gain their feet and stare.

“This place is amazing.” I catch sight of a silver throne bathed in light from stained glass windows, but Leander pulls me away.

“Where are we going?” I hurry along with him as each soldier we pass stands at attention.

“Taking too long,” he growls and picks me up, slinging me over his shoulder.

“Hey!” I cry, but he takes off, sprinting through several rooms—some grand, some rustic, each of them with a roaring fire and cozy-looking furs. “Where are we going?”

He enters a long corridor, the soldiers there s

traightening and giving Leander deferential nods as he races past.

I push up on his back and see the hall receding behind us. “What in the hell are you—”

He bursts through a set of doors and before I can blink, he tosses his crown aside and has me pinned to a huge bed, his mouth on mine and his hips settling between my thighs.

“The way the males looked at you,” he growls and yanks up my dress. “I wanted to gut them, to destroy them, to freeze their hearts, shatter them, and burn the shards.”

I whimper, my arousal hitting me like a bolt of pure heat.

Ripping my panties to shreds, he grinds his cock against me and fastens his mouth to my throat.

“I need you.” I rock my hips up to him.

He frees himself and plunges inside me, my cry swallowed by his mouth as he masters me, body and soul.

I squeal when he pulls my dress down, exposing my hard nipples, and drags his fang across one.

Sucking it into his mouth, he pumps his hips as I meet him, each impact shaking the massive bed and stoking my arousal.

“More,” he growls and rolls to his back.

I slide down onto him, my heart pounding as I savor the feel of him. He pulls my dress down my shoulders and cups my breasts as I rock on top of him.

His eyes linger on my mouth, my breasts, and then lower. “Show me, my beautiful mate. I want to see what’s mine.”

I moan and pull my dress up, and his eyes go to where we’re joined. A blast of cold hardens my nipples even more as he grips my hips.

With a hard pull, I strip off my dress and toss it to the floor.

His purr of approval resonates down the bond, and I ride him slow and sultry, learning this new position and letting my pleasure lead me. He locks gazes with me, both of us here, relishing the moment together. My hips move faster, the pleasure demanding I chase it in earnest, so I do. I grab the wooden headboard and grind on him as he leans up and licks my breasts, his hands kneading my ass.

When he moves one hand around to my front and massages my clit, I explode, a keening sound rising from me as my hips seize and my body gives itself to pleasure. He surges inside me and groans low and masculine, his cock kicking inside me as I collapse onto his chest, my body so alive it almost hurts.

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