Chapter 13

When I opened my eyes this time, I could see Michael’s face as he slept on the pillow beside me. The dark lashes against his skin made twin crescent moons on his face. Lifting my head, I looked down over his bare chest. I was very thankful I could see right now. I touched his chest and ran my hand slowly down it. The muscles clenched under my touch, so I knew he was awake and aware of what I was doing.

As I reached his waist, he caught my hand and held it still. I looked up to see sleepy blue eyes watching me. “Morning,” I whispered and leaned up on my elbow.

His eyes searched mine, then my face.

“I can see perfectly.” I said.

Relief showed in his expression. “You need to eat.” His voice was heavy with sleep.

“I will shortly.” I moved closer.

He watched me with a wary look in his eyes.

Stretching the last few inches, I kissed his mouth softly. “Thank you.” I hovered by his mouth for a moment, our eyes locked on one another.

He blinked. “I have to go feed.”

I moved back and tilted my head, exposing my neck. “You can from me.”

“You were…”

I put my hand over his mouth. “I’m fine now.” I smirked, “and I find it kind of sexy. Don’t deny me that. You licked my legs last night and I couldn’t even enjoy it.”

His eyes flicked from mine to my throat, then back.

I moved my hand and lay back down. “Please, Michael, let me do this for you.”

He rolled onto his side, his hand resting lightly on my hip. “I shouldn’t.” He whispered.

“I want you to.” I moved closer, resting my hand on his chest.

Raising up on his elbow, he looked down at me. I could see his eye color hovering between the blue of the man and the red of the primal being. With a soft sound, he leaned down, his breath brushing over my throat. He inhaled deeply, pulling me against his chest.

When he bit into me, I moaned. I didn’t know what it was about this man, but every touch from him did it for me.

As he lifted his head, I leaned my head back and looked up to see red eyes watching me. Giving him a gentle shove, he rolled onto his back. I shifted to lay across his chest. Michael grasped my waist and lifted me, so our mouths could reach each other’s.

They clashed in a frenzy of passion. His hand wove through my hair, holding me as he took control of the kiss. I may have been on top, but he was completely alpha now.

I ran my tongue over his fangs. He groaned and broke the kiss, then flipped us over so I was laying under him. He kissed me again and I felt a fire ignite inside.

I struggled to free my legs from the covers.

He lifted up on one arm and yanked them out of the way.

I took that opportunity to undo his jeans and shove them down his hips.

His red eyes held mine.

“Don’t stop.” I pleaded softly.

With a growl in the back of his throat, he lowered his head and nipped across my shoulder with his fangs.

I shoved at his jeans, pushing them down. Once I got them low enough, I used my heels to shove them down his legs.

He moved back to my mouth and kissed me so passionately, I was sure there would be steam coming from us.

Everywhere I touched was muscle. I was easy, a finely toned body did it for me.

Reaching under me, he lifted my hips to align our bodies. I wrapped my legs around him, making sure he wasn’t going to change his mind.

He broke the kiss; I was gasping for air. He lifted his head up, his red eyes capturing mine as he thrust into me.

There was no gentle beginning for either of us. The tension and heat between us had been building far too long. I moaned, deeply satisfied, as he held my hips and rocked into me. Normally I wasn’t the submissive one in bed, but he was playing my body with such mastery, I didn’t have to control.

When I felt like I couldn’t take a moment more, he leaned down and bit my neck again. It was the right combination of pain and pleasure. I crashed over the edge, moaning as my body erupted for him.

Not pausing to let me catch my breath, he increased the speed and intensity of his movements and I was gasping and moaning, my whole body shaking.

He stiffened and growled against my throat. With a gentle touch, he licked over his bite and then rested his head on the pillow beside mine.

Both of us were trying to bring air into our lungs. I ran my hands up and down his back in a lazy motion.

“Did I,” he panted, “hurt you?”

I shook my head slowly. “No.” I inhaled, trying to get a handle on my breathing.

Taking a deep breath, he let it out slowly and then lifted his weight onto his elbows. His blue eyes stared down at me. Leaning down, he kissed my mouth tenderly. Moving off me, he glanced at me quickly. “I have to go.” He whispered. Rolling, he stood beside the bed, his pants in his hands. “Go get something to eat.”

Then he vanished.

I dropped my hands to the bed. Turning I looked at the bathroom. “Shower. Food.” Nodding, I sat up slowly. My breathing still hadn’t slowed. I’d had guys bail right after, no cuddles, but usually we’d at least caught our breath. I looked to where he’d stood. “Yeah, no commitment issues there.”

Showered, dressed, and absolutely starving, I opened the door. A large bald man with a red beard stood outside the door.

He inclined his head briefly. “I’m to take you to the dining room.”

“Oh.” I close the door. “Good, save me following the map.” I put my hand out. “Autumn.”

He looked down at my hand, his brows furrowed. “Woodrow.” He shook my hand quickly, like he shouldn’t be.

“Woodrow. So, what do your friends call you?”

We started walking down the hall.

“Woods, mostly.”

I nodded. “Okay, Woods.”

“I’ll be your personal guard.”

I looked up at him. “I need a guard?”

“My king’s orders.” He said quietly.

I shrugged. “Well, okay then.”

We turned and went down a hall I recognized. “Maybe we can spar after breakfast, if there’s nothing going on.”

He inclined his head. “If you wish.” He motioned to a door and stopped.

I looked at the door. “You’re not coming to eat?”

“In the royal dining room? No.”

“Okay. I’ll see you later.”

He nodded.

I went in to see everyone was at the table, except Michael. Emil sat at the end, so I sat to his left, still close to the door.

“Well, you look much better.” Alona said with a smile.

“I feel great—and I’m starving.”

Mitz came out with a plate and cup. She rushed down to me and set it down.

I looked at it, my mouth watering. “Thanks, Mitz. I’m famished.”

She leaned down and grasped my face then kissed my forehead. “I’m just happy you’re all right, love.” She turned and rushed from the room.

I glanced down the table to Daxx, then to Michael’s empty chair.

“Michael and some of the guards went out first thing.”

“Oh? Just looking or did they find something?” I stabbed my fork randomly at my plate, taking a bite of the first thing I speared.

“Not sure.” Quinton said leaning by Rafael and pouring some juice in my glass. “He’s got a fire under his ass this morning.”

I nodded. “Thanks.”

“It may be because we’ve barred him from going near Eunice.” Chase said. “At least until we get something useful out of her.”

I shrugged. “That would do it.” I turned to see Arius watching me with an odd look on his face. “What?” I patted my chin worried I had food on it.

He shook his head. “Just happy to see your eyes today.”

I snorted. “I am thrilled to see anything today. Yesterday was intense.”

“Oh, speaking of intense.” Daxx pulled out her phone, tapped the screen and slid it down the table toward me. “Got a couple pics you may like.”

Reaching I picked it up and looked. It was me kicking the mountain with green eyes. “Cameras aren’t allowed. How did you manage this?”

She shrugged. “I had Troy and Michael behind me, they’re great blockers.”

I slid my finger across the screen and looked at the second one. She’d captured it perfectly. “Wow, I look like I know what I’m doing here.”

Emil chuckled. “If that was you bumbling, I do not want to see you confidently attacking.”

I grinned and slid the phone back toward her. “I was trying to get him to my level. His only weakness was his head.”

“I think I held my breath the whole time.” Paisley said.

Bethany nodded. “Me too.”

“Took a lot of constant chatter to keep Michael off that platform.” Chase said.

“Yeah,” Leone nodded. “I thought we were going to have to drag him out a few times.”

“Did you really take that hit on purpose?” Troy asked.

I nodded. “I had to get him to think I was down, so he’d relax his stance and lean for me. Of course, I questioned that for hours as my jaw and mouth throbbed.”

Arius pulled out his phone. “Eunice has finally exhausted herself.” He pushed his chair back and nodded to Troy. “Want to come take a look now?”

Troy leaned over and kissed Daxx. “Love to.”

Chase jumped up. “I’m not missing this.”

“I’ll come with.” Emil stood up.

Victor and Leone also got up. Rafael grabbed his cup. “Wait for me.”

Arius looked down at Paisley. “I’ll call if we need you to hold her.”

She nodded. “Okay. We’ll be in the cave.”

After they left, I pointed to the door. “I opened my door to see I had a personal guard.”

The women nodded.

“Yeah, we all have one.” Daxx said.

Crissy sighed. “Anytime we go…”

“Anywhere without…” Beth smirked.

Alona made quotes in the air. “One of the brothers…”

“Our guards are to be our shadows.” Paisley shrugged.

Quinton started laughing. Then stopped and looked around like he just realized he was the only man left.

Daxx motioned to the door. “Aren’t you going to stare at Eunice too?”

He shook his head. “No. I’ve seen her enough in my lifetime. I’m good.”

I leaned forward and looked at Daxx.

She smiled at Quinton. “That’s great, saves me hunting you down.”

He frowned, then looked around the table. “For?”

I set my cup down. “What can you tell me about Lara?”

He looked at me for a second, then pushed his plate away. Exhaling a deep breath, he looked at the table. “She was soft, delicate, graceful.” He looked at Daxx who rolled her eyes. “And spoiled, privileged, and wanted Michael to make her a princess.”

“Were they officially mated?” She asked.

He shook his head. “No.”

“What happened?” Alona looked at him.

“We were on lockdown, not to leave the palace. Michael had Lara and her parents moved up to a guest wing—for their safety, so Willis couldn’t use them against him.” He sighed. “Lara was whining about being confined.”

“Yes, being confined in a palace on a mountaintop is very trying.” Alona said glancing to Daxx.

“She talked him into going for a ride—just the two of them. He was so smitten with her, he agreed.” Quinton picked up his cup and looked in it. “Eunice and some of their followers ambushed them. Lara died while Michael was fighting for his life. If the patrol hadn’t come along, he would have died also.”

Alona covered her mouth.

Quinton took a drink and set the cup back down. “By the time he recovered, she’d been buried, and her parents had moved, wanting nothing to do with the royals ever again.”

I looked around at the others, no one moved or spoke.

“You have to remember at that point, there was just Victor, Michael and I.” He shrugged. “We had no idea we were the men in the King’s sons numbering nine prophecy. We didn’t know that until our father told us about his ninth son born on the other side.”

“Emil.” Crissy said when I looked at her.

“That was only a hundred and sixty years ago. Michael had a hundred and forty years of thinking he lost the love of his life.” He finished quietly.

“Well that puts things into perspective.” Alona whispered.

“And true mates?” Daxx gave me a quick glance, “do people actually resist that attraction? Do they fight fate and win?”

Quinton glanced to me briefly then to Daxx, his brows furrowed. “It’s happened. Usually when one is already officially mated to another.”

“So, love can conquer fate.” Alona said softly.

“I guess.” He frowned. “Now why are you asking me all of this?” He looked back to me. “Michael say something?”

I shook my head.

“I know he has a blood bond with you. Your essence is different, and you’re healed.”

He could smell that? “Just,” I looked at my hands folding in front of me, “just curious.”

“You should ask Michael all of this, not me.”

“Well it would help if he didn’t run from her like his ass was on fire.” Daxx told him.

Quinton rubbed the back of his neck. “Well, figure out how to stop him from running.”

Paisley and Beth exchanged a look. “We’ll work on that.”

He nodded and stood up. “Let me know if I can help. Tormenting younger brothers is one of my favorite pastimes.” He walked out of the room.

“That wasn’t helpful at all.” Alona said with a sigh.

“Soft, delicate, graceful.” I said, then covered my face. “A three-hundred-year-old perfect ghost.”

“Get in his face. He can’t run then.” Daxx looked around at the others. “He can’t resist forever.” She frowned, “if he does, I’m stabbing Troy.”

I gave her a puzzled look, then sighed loudly. “He didn’t resist this morning when we woke up. But he also made the fastest exit I’ve ever seen.”

“You two—” she glanced to Alona quickly, then back to me.

I nodded.

“And he ran out the door after?” Alona asked.

I snorted. “Oh no. He didn’t use a door. He jumped up and vanished.”

“Holy shit. That’s a smack in the face.” Daxx said with shock on her face. She recovered quickly. “Okay, first you have to avoid a repeat of this morning while we’ll all try to figure something out.”

“We need to get her gloves.” Crissy said.

Alona nodded.

I had no idea what that was about. “I’d like to go check on Joe.” They all turned to look at me. “Make sure he made it back all right and grab my stuff, I mean, I can’t stay there right? They’ll come looking for me again.”

Daxx stood up. “Let’s go catch Troy and maybe he’ll allow us to go with our guards.”

“We’ll be in the cave. Let us know what’s going on.” Alona stood up.

“I’m going to my tower. I have to figure out these flashes of light.” She grabbed her pack and ran from the room.

“That doesn’t sound good.” Bethany said quietly.

Daxx nodded. “Probably isn’t, but if she can give us a location—that’s more from team bad in our cells.”

“Team bad?” I stood up.

Paisley nodded. “As in they are so bad, we couldn’t come up with a better name for them.”

Alona laughed. “I think it was Rafael who called them that first.” She headed to the door.

I looked down at my plate.

“Leave it this time.” Daxx motioned to the door. “If we don’t catch Troy at the cells, we’ll be chasing him all over Alterealm.”

I followed her out. Woods stood there and started following us. “Can’t we just port there?”

She shook her head. “Can’t port in the cells. Which makes sense, so people can’t get in and out that shouldn’t be.”

“Oh, good point.”

We weaved through the halls, Woods right behind us. I wasn’t a big fan of someone walking behind me. “So, where’s your guard?”

“He hangs out at the guard’s training yard until I message him.” She said and motioned for us to go down a sloping hall.

I stopped abruptly and turned to Woods. “You could do that. Go hang out with—” I looked at Daxx.

“Tim,” she shrugged, “Sith, Bronx, Mac, Felix.” She rhymed off.

He looked from her to me again. “I was…”

Daxx stepped beside me. “Go. We’ll be in the cells, then we might go on a field trip to the other side. We’ll call if we are.”

He inclined his head. “My huntress.” Then turned on his heel and walked the other way.

She shook her head. “It pays to have rank around here sometimes.”

I nodded. “I guess you are a queen.”

She snorted. “Only when they make me wear a gown.”

“A gown?” I followed her.

She nodded.

“For what?” I frowned. I didn’t do dresses.

“To make me look like a cake topper mostly.” She stopped and opened a door.

Once inside the cells I was gobsmacked. It seemed like miles of clear rooms. Daxx seemed to know where she was going because we made our way through them quickly. When we reached a large open area, we found all the men standing there, except Michael. Even Quinton was there now. He shrugged when Daxx gave him an odd look.

Inside a smaller space were Arius, Troy, Victor and Eunice. They’d put her in one of the grey jumpsuits. I didn’t want to be petty, but that brought me quite a bit of satisfaction to see her in it.

“How are they doing?” Daxx asked Leone.

“Not good. Troy can’t get anything useful from her.” He said crossing his arms and watching.

“Is she blocking him?” She moved closer to the wall and looked at him.

“No. More like garbled crap.” Rafael said. “He can’t see anything useful as long as she does that.”

I stood beside Daxx. “Can she see us?”

Daxx shook her head. “No. They can make it so she could but seeing us standing here won’t help him see anything clearly in her head.”

“What if she could see me?” I whispered.

Daxx looked at me.

I motioned to Eunice. “She had big plans for me.”

She turned and looked at Quinton, then Chase.

“It could work.” He said. “Distract her from doing whatever she is it to disturb access to a clear thought.”

Daxx nodded. “You guys move out of sight.” She pointed to the center of the wall. “Stand there.” Then she went over to the end by the door.

“Ready?”

“Yeah,” I nodded, “let’s do it.”

“Okay. She can’t hear us, but she’ll see you.”

I nodded again. When Daxx did something on the pad, Arius looked at me and straightened from where he was leaning. The other two men looked at me as well. Eunice turned slowly. Her blank expression changed to something harder. One side of her face was swollen and bruised, with just enough road rash to let me know how well I’d connected with that blind kick. She grinned that broken smile and continued to look at me.

Victor said something to her. She glanced at him and answered, then turned to look at me again. She puckered her lips and blew me a kiss.

“Eww.” I whispered.

Troy nodded and went to the door. The other two followed.

“Okay, she can’t see you now.” Daxx said.

“That was brilliant.” Troy said coming in.

Daxx pointed to me. “Her idea. Did you get anything?”

“A few things. I need to think about them and try to make sense of them, but,” he smiled at me. “it’s a place to start.”

“I think Eunice wanted Autumn for herself, not a grand plan.” Chase said with a smirk.

I shuddered. “Just—yuck.”

He chuckled. “What brings you ladies down here to the depths of hell?”

Daxx smiled at Troy. “I needed to ask my king something.”

Troy looked at Chase then back to her.

Chase grinned at him. “She’s batting her eyes, brother, you’re in trouble.”

Troy raised an eyebrow as he looked down at her.

“Shut up, Chase.” She said without looking at him. “Autumn wants to go check that Joe made it back okay and get her stuff.” She crossed her arms over her chest. “She wants to remove all traces of her being there so if they come looking, they can’t take it out on Joe.”

Troy rubbed his hand over his jaw. “I can’t go right now.” He glanced to Leone. “Michael say when he was coming back?”

“Don’t mention his name right now, or I’ll stab you.” She said glaring at him.

He gave her a shocked look.

“I’ll explain later. We’ll take our guards. I can port us in and out.” She nodded.

He turned and looked at his brothers.

“Troy—why give us giant guards if we never use them, because we never go outside these chambers?” She glared at him.

He took a deep breath and looked from her to me. “In and out, no side trips.”

She nodded.

“Wear your devices.”

She held up her wrist and showed him hers.

I did the same. I’d put it back on this morning, deciding I was wearing one for the rest of my life, after being taken once.

“Call me when you leave and when you get back.” He said, his eyes moving over her face.

Smiling, she leaned into him and rubbed her hand on his chest. “We will.”

Arius cleared his throat. “Are just you two going?”

Daxx rolled her eyes. “Yes, your mates are safe in the cave. You guys really need to lighten up.”

Chase hissed out a breath. “Because you would never find trouble.”

She rolled her eyes. “Not intentionally.”

Victor rubbed a hand over his brow. “No, but it finds all of you well enough.”

Daxx turned to me. “Ready to go? The testosterone in here is getting a little deep.”

I grinned then looked at Troy and covered my heart. “I will kick anyone’s ass that goes near her.”

“I believe you would.” He grinned. “Go, before I clear my schedule to come with you, and she stabs me.”