Page 30 of Beta Hybrid

I smile against his shoulder as I reach back to kiss him. I ignited his fire, but he doesn’t stop checking on me through the bond.

He pushes me forward slightly, his fingers finding my throbbing pussy, hungry and wet for him. This time, he pushes two fingers in, and I buck slightly, then push back on him eagerly.

Cai leans forward, his face level with his fingers. A moment of alarm goes through me. He won’t bite me there, will he?

A reassuring no comes to me. He licks my inner thigh, a warning, as his fingers tease me roughly, on the edge.

I close my eyes, bracing myself, as his teeth pierce my soft skin. It’s not as painful as his claiming me, but the hot-needles dig in. I jolt slightly, but he holds me in place, his body caging me. I moan, arching my head back as everything melts together.

His fingers pump, his thumb teasing achingly. Please, Cai. I need him.

He swiftly kisses beside the bite mark, then removes his fingers. In a moment, he aligns himself, then pushes into me. Still slowly, making sure he doesn’t hurt me, but as soon as he’s all the way in, I’m bucking, wanting him to take me.

Cai caresses me through the bond, always checking on me. Knowing what I want, what I need, his thrusts become harder, deeper, slightly faster, until I’m panting. Pressure builds in my belly as he reaches a hand down to press, just slightly, on the bite mark, then to my clit. The combination sends me over the edge, and he’s only a moment behind me as my inner muscles squeeze him.

We still, both panting, and he eases out of me. Gently, he turns me, laying me on my back. He opens my legs to check on my thigh. He takes a moment to catch his breath, smiling. He brushes my leg. Are you okay here? I can heal you. He nuzzles into me, happiness pulses between us, from one to the other and back.

I smile and pull him—he lets me—down to me. He wraps his arms around me. I’m good. I like it. Leave it. I press my face into his chest, inhaling deeply. My legs are trembling slightly, and I’m glad to see my mate a little out of breath and flushed. He holds me as I catch my breath. Holy crap, that was amazing.

Cai kisses the top of my head. I’ll say. And that thing you did earlier… He swears. Is ‘thank you’ appropriate or…?

I chuckle, nipping at his stomach. I’ll take it. I smile, looking up into those silver eyes. I’ve never felt closer to you, I whisper down the bond. Not just because yay, amazing sex, but because of how he trusted me. How he kept checking on me.

Cai holds me, both firmly and gently. Protectively, against his chest. Me too. He rubs my back in small circles, then through my hair, until we fall asleep like that. Together. Entwined, under the stars and the full moon.

Chapter Twelve

Zenna

I carefully disentangle myself from the strong limbs of my mate. Cai rests soundly, his broad, naked chest rising and falling. As I wiggle out of his grasp, his arms close around where I was a moment ago, as though he already misses me. He looks younger in sleep. Less lines on his face. Calmer.

I brush a little hair out of his eyes, my fingers trailing softly over his cheekbones. Smiling, I turn and wade slowly into the stream. My naked body shivers at the cool water, but by the time it’s level with my mid-section, it feels warm. I tilt my head, then float on my back, face up to the wide blanket of stars.

I close my eyes, drifting peacefully, when a sound brushes the edge of my hearing. A low, male voice says something. I open my eyes and look around. Cai is still asleep. Frowning, my eyes trail along the shore. There’s no one else here.

I lean back, floating once more in the gentle embrace of the water.

This time, the voice speaks clearly. Come to me, child. Though I’ve never heard the voice before, instinctively, I know who it belongs to. The Father of Fae. Aldrich. I turn, frowning as an image forms in my mind.

One of a mountain, an ornate wooden lodging settled up high in the branches, nestled securely into the trunks. A house of fae. Come to me, he says again.

I wake with a start, still on the shore of the stream in Cai’s arms. He wakes with me, panic in his eyes. ‘Are you okay?’ His hands immediately touch my shoulders, my cheek, scanning me.

‘I just had the weirdest dream.’ My gaze falls on the stream, its current soft and steady in the middle of the night. ‘Only, it wasn’t a dream.’ I picture what Aldrich put in my mind. How could he do that?

Cai’s hands never leave me. ‘Zenna, what are you talking about?’

‘Aldrich. The Fae Origin. He spoke to me. I know where he is.’ I get to my feet, trying to find my clothes. ‘He wants me to go to him. Come on, we’re leaving.’

I don’t stop to ask permission, of either Noah or Cai. I’m going. My mate is positive we’re going to be stuck in the middle of an Origin-war. I’m done waiting on my ass for Alaric to respond. I won’t sit on this lead. I haul a backpack over my shoulder, waiting with the others. ‘I will leave without you!’ I shout.

Vale and Cai emerge from the encampment at the same time. Vale huffs a laugh, elbowing Cai. ‘I believe that, you know.’

Cai glares at him, then me, but Vale’s gaze is already on Jana.

She and Divina insisted on accompanying us to the mysterious cabin-in-a-tree, which sounded less self-assured about its location than I intended. It’s like I can feel where to go.

‘Wait for meeeeee!’ a young voice bellows. Twelve-year-old Reagan comes shooting down the slight incline into the oasis, nearly tripping over his own bare feet to get to us. ‘I convinced Dad to let me come with you!’

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