Page 79 of Her Beasts

“You know love looks good on you, Zev.” Lucien looked at me with red rimmed eyes. “Though I do miss your grumpy scowl sometimes.”

“Katarina’s love has done wonders for you,” Aeon chuckled.

I rolled my eyes, bringing my scowl back. Lucien smiled and my chest lost a little tension.

“Come on, let's get out of here before she comes down and she sees our surprise,” I said, herding them out of the room.

Once they walked out, I let myself feel for just a moment. I cared for Katarina deeply, but loving her seemed like something I couldn’t give her. My wolf loved her, I think he loved her from the first time we laid eyes on her, but I couldn’t cross that threshold. I couldn’t love her when I knew she was only going to be taken away from me. And maybe by not allowing myself tolove her, I could keep some part of myself to help us all survive the aftermath of losing our mate.

24

KATARINA

“Kit Kat.”

A soft whisper pulled me from my sleep.

“Come on, hottie.” They nuzzled my face, placing soft kisses along my neck.

Lucien.

I couldn’t help the smile that formed on my lips when he kissed his and Aeon’s mate mark. He loved to kiss both of them like they were both his and in a way they kind of were. Aeon and Lucien were a packaged deal, they were two peas in a pod, and they were so fucking hot together. My cheeks grew warm remembering what we had done a few nights ago. I was ready for a repeat as I rubbed my thighs together.

“Ah, Kit Kat, as much as I would love to have you squirming underneath me, you have to get ready.” His sultry voice made me shiver.

“I can’t help it if a sexy man wakes me up with his ‘fuck me’ voice,” I said, kissing his cheek.

“I have a ‘fuck me’ voice?” He quirked his eyebrow. “No wonder Aeon wants to fuck me all the time.”

I laughed, nuzzling into his shoulder, missing our tension free moments.

“Now, you’re going to head down to the library, do what you need to do, and then come back in here to get ready,” he said, getting up to sit on the bed.

“Ready for what?” I also sat up.

“It’s a surprise.” he smiled.

“Ok,” I said, a little hesitantly.

“It's a good surprise, I promise,” he said, standing up, and leaning over to kiss my forehead. “We’ll be waiting for you downstairs, so hurry up.”

He walked out of the room, leaving me with my curious thoughts. Excitement hummed through me as I got out of bed. I quickly threw on some pants, grabbed a bag of items I would need just in case, and headed downstairs quickly. It was quiet as I made my way to the library. There wasn’t even a sound coming from the kitchen like most early mornings.

A smile crept up on my lips, making me wonder what these guys were up to. When I walked up to the circle my good mood came to an abrupt end. This was it. This was going to be my last night doing this, my last chance to make this spell work and my last chance to make sure I lived past tomorrow.

I took a step back, not ready to add the last few details to the circle. Getting down to my knees, I sent one last prayer up to the goddesses before I set this spell into motion tomorrow.

“Goddesses, please guide me tonight and tomorrow. I just… I just want them to be free, even if it means I’m not,” I whispered, choking back tears. “They deserve to live their lives outside of these walls. I lo… love them and I couldn’t bear to leave when I know they might be trapped here for who knows how long.”

A rush of warmth enveloped me, making me cough from the surprise.

I cannot help you child, but if it were my choice I would. It pains me that my children are stuck here but I cannot interfere with the problems of man. Always choose love, mydear Katarina. Let love guide you in all things and all of you will be fine.

Her presence lingered for a moment before she slowly pulled away. A tear fell down my cheek, I didn’t know what to feel, but I felt incredibly humbled that she came to me. More tears fell down my face as I tried to remember the feeling of the Goddess. I took a deep breath, calming myself down, grateful for the experience I just had.

I could do it, I needed to fucking do it. My mates were depending on me.

One last deep breath and I got up to grab the last few items I needed with a renewed sense of purpose. I didn’t know what would happen, but I would try my hardest to make sure I stayed with my men.

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