I sucked in a sharp breath, and she realised her misstep, silently blaming me with a smouldering glare.

  “You said other.” I grinned so widely my cheeks ached.

  An adorable blush shaded her features. “Doona test me, pally.”

  I smirked, trying to contain the fierce joy lighting my soul on fire. “Anything you say… mate.”

  “Where would your idiotic Council have taken a Royal Hunter for punishment?”

  “Ah, so your other mate is one of the Council’s attack dogs, huh?” I tutted, a hand clutching imaginary pearls at my throat. “How scandalous! A Royal Hunter falling for the very Shua’than he was sent to fetch.”

  She gritted her teeth, looking about as menacing as a pissed off kitten, despite the priceless weapon clutched in her palm. “That wasn’t exactly how it played out.”

  Her scowl told me it wasn’t far off though, and a shit-eating grin widened my lips.

  I winked. “Your secret is safe with me.” Cocking my head, I pretended to ponder something as I stroked my chin. “How about we make a deal, hmm? I’ll help you find your other—less significant—mate if—”

  She cut me off with a hiss. “You want me to fuck you for information?”

  I smirked, unfazed by the immediate rage at her misguided assumption. “If I thought it would work, then yes, in a heartbeat. There’s nothing I wouldn’t do to have you. But when you finally welcome me between those toned thighs”—I couldn’t stop my gaze dipping to said thighs—“it’s going to be because you recognise me as your beloved mate and give in to your secret obsessive desire for me.”

  She shot me a flat look. “Keep dreaming, Fluffles. What do you actually want then?”

  I shrugged innocently and had to stifle a flinch as my shattered ribs protested so much movement. “In exchange for my help, all I ask is that you acknowledge me as your mate.”

  She huffed, snorting an adorable, chuffle-sounding laugh. “I don’t negotiate with lunatics.”

  “I’m not a lunatic, sweet siren, I’m a dedicated mate.” I waggled my brows suggestively. “And as you’ll find out soon, a generous lover.”

  Despite the irritation I could see written in her creased brow, her lips twitched with the hint of amusement. “Look, Fluffles, I’ve got serious shit to do. So, if you’re not going to help, get out of my way.” She made a shooing gesture.

  “Accept me as your mate, and I’ll do one better then.” I held her beautiful brown eyes in an even stare, trying to keep my breathing steady instead of the shallow panting my injured side begged of me. “I’ll help you find and retrieve your naughty Royal Hunter.”

  She didn’t know that I planned to, regardless. Mates were sacred. I’d never let mine go without her other mate, whoever he was.

  We were a family now. A mated unit. She cared about him, so I would give my dying breath to save him for her.

  “Get fucked, Vixy.” She turned her back on me and stomped deeper into the woods.

  “If you’re offering!” I called after her, chuckling at my joke.

  I smirked at the sound of her low cursing and let her put some distance between us.

  After another minute, I limped after her, sticking to the shadows. How she thought that I’d just let her walk off was beyond me.

  She’d never be alone and unprotected again.

  Chapter eleven

  Kelsea

  A lump of flesh pulsed, skewered on a low branch like a gory kebab. Blood painted the surrounding bark, dripping onto the grass below.

  I grimaced at the macabre tree decoration, watching with an almost sick fascination as the heart continued to twitch for a few seconds until finally falling still.

  I wasn’t sure if I was horrified or impressed.

  Probably both.

  I ignored the firm possibility it was a twisted gift from a certain unhinged stalker. Apparently, it might be too much to expect him to actually leave me alone.

  For the past hour since I’d stormed away from him, I’d been searching for fae to question. So far, most people I’d run into had either propositioned me for ‘sampling’ or shooed me off like a stray dog.

  I was no closer to finding Rattle, or even figuring out how to escape this cursed forest, and my frustration was building as fast as my anxiety.

  The sensation of eyes on my back made my shoulder blades twitch. I scoured the black oaks, but came up empty. Still, I never ignored my instincts. They’d got me out of more than a few sticky situations before.

  I was being hunted.

  I drew my fae blade, easing away from the bloody heart to slink through the forest, head on a swivel.

  A rustling sound snagged my attention to a dense patch of grass. I kept my only weapon ready. Who knew what monster critter would leap out of it this time.

  I circled a tree trunk as wide as the Mini car I’d left behind in the human realm.

  My grip tightened on the textured handle as I eased closer.

  A twig snapped nearby, and I jerked around.

  A stack of hearts waited on top of a low thorn bush not ten paces away. They vaguely reminded me of a dessert tower, but instead of profiteroles with chocolate sauce, it was twitching flesh, doused in blood.

  My brows hit my hairline.

  That was not there a second ago.

  “Come out and face me!” I hissed.

  A strange buzzing sounded. Something shiny darted into my periphery, and I dived forwards, rolling hard. The forest spun, and I lunged to my feet, knife slashing out.

  A waif-like fae in a suit with shimmery dragonfly wings waved at me, a high-pitched laugh ringing from his plush lips as he avoided my glowing blade. “Hello there, Shua’than!”

  I offered a little wave back, despite the adrenaline pumping through my veins. Granny had taught me manners.

  “Hello there, fae kidnapper,” I said, keeping my weight on the balls of my feet in case I needed to dodge him again.

  His neck vibrated as another laugh rang out. He gave me hyped-up Tinkerbell vibes.

  “You’re pretty, and I’d like to sample you.”

  I’d already been through this charade a few too many times here.

  “No.” I kept my tone firm, leaving no room for argument. “But how about you answer some of my questions instead?”

  He hissed, lips rolling back to reveal pointy teeth, head weaving in a serpentine rhythm and transforming his playful-fairy vibe to killer-fae with the flick of a switch.

  He swept in, grasping my throat before I could move.

  I slammed my knife into his inner elbow, feeling the joint give. He shrieked, dropping his hold, and I wrenched away with a gasp.

  “If you want to keep your life, I suggest you step back from my mate.” A smooth voice drawled from above, and a familiar kitsune dropped from the canopy to land lightly beside us, covered in blood. “You’ve already lost that hand.”

  The dragonfly-like fae froze, features paling.

  “This fluffball again.” I rolled my eyes, even as my dumb heart leapt at the sight of him. “You don’t need to barge in here, big dick swinging, to save some damsel in distress. I have this under control.”

  He chuckled, a rich caress of a sound that was as distracting as it was irritating. “Have you been peeking, hmm? Why don’t you come find out how just how big I am? Your pussy will stretch so sweetly over my knot.”

  I almost choked on my tongue.

  Did he say knot?

  Pure, smutty filth flooded my mind. Being knotted was a fantasy I didn’t know I had.

  Instant kink? Check.

  I shoved the thoughts aside. This bastard kept distracting me, even though I was meant to be some highly trained soldier.

  The fae stumbled back a step, eyes comically wide and iridescent wings fluttering nervously. He held his palms up towards Neiron in surrender, despite the navy blood gushing down his elbow from the wound I’d given him.

  I frowned at the level of terror radiating from my attacker. Sure, kitsune were deadly, but he looked one second from pissing his leather britches.

  “Back off, Fluffles,” I hissed, more than a little annoyed that I was dismissed as a threat. “You. Are. Not. My. Mate.”

  I snapped a vicious kick into my attacker’s middle. He stumbled, caught off guard, and Neiron was there in a flash.

  His hand punched into the other fae’s back, straight through his ribcage towards me. He shot me a roguish grin. “And yet, my heart is yours.”

  Even though I half-expected it, I still gaped at the throbbing mass clenched in his fist. Protruding from his latest victim’s chest, it stained their torn pinstripe shirt. Navy blood drenched Neiron’s hand and dripped thickly to the ground. Jagged bones glinted around his forearm, scraping vicious cuts along his wrist.

  A wet gurgling shook the dying fae’s body, and he wilted to one side.

  Neiron’s hand didn’t even dip as he took their full weight on his forearm.

  “You…” I blinked, trying to comprehend the laid-back brutality yet again. “Need to stop ripping out hearts.”

  A pout curved his lips, but his violet eyes gleamed with mischief. He tipped the fae off his arm and raised the bloody heart between us. “But it’s romantic.”

  A scowl creased my features before I could catch it. The sly fox knew exactly how to get under my skin.

  “How is it romantic, Vixy?” I pinched the bridge of my nose. “Wait. What am I doing? You can’t argue with crazy.”

  He shrugged with an innocent look. “It’s symbolic. If I could rip my own heart out and give it to you, I would. But then I’d die, and I’m far too pretty to waste away as a corpse.” He batted his lashes at me.

  “Aye, what a shame that would be, Fluffles.”

  “I know you think your nicknames would annoy me, but I love them,” he gushed, bouncing closer with a flutter of his wings, but I could have sworn his features pinched for half a second. “They’re terms of endearment from my mate.”

  A savage growl left my lips. “Again. Not your fucking mate. Are those cute fox ears just for show? Or does all the crazy between them scramble sound?”

  His eyes crinkled at the corners as he grinned even wider, only adding to his psycho vibe. He lifted his so-called gift higher between us. “Perhaps I keep trying to give you these because you’re a heartless siren.”

  My mouth popped open. “Heartless!? You’re about two seconds away from getting stabbed again, pally.”

  “Promise?”

  I narrowed my own on the infuriating bundle of fluff and scoured the rest of him, readying to deliver a mocking rejection, but my anger melted into shock.

  Crimson soaked his russet fur in dark patches, half-concealing a network of open cuts. I’d assumed the blood splattering him had been from the poor buggers who’d owned all those hearts he’d left for me, but glimpses of white bone showed within deep wounds and panic stole the words from the tip of my tongue.

  I swallowed hard, jerking my chin at the legion of claw marks gouging his side. “You’re hurt.”

  Chapter twelve

  Kelsea

  Guilt built a fierce ache in my chest. I’d left him buried underground with a monster and a pack of fae trying to murder him, and I’d not thought to check him over for injuries, even though I’d seen him flinching before.

  Maybe I was as heartless as he’d claimed.

  He dropped the playful act. “Sweet siren,” he murmured, eyes tight with pain. “I… I need your help.”

  “What can I do?”

  “I’ve lost too much power to heal myself.” He made a low whimper in his throat that punched through me like a bullet. “I need to recharge, and quickly.”

  The fae used various things to help replenish their magic. Depending on the caste though, it could be anything from blood and sex to rubbing mystical gemstones and swallowing a mouthful of grass.

  I licked my lip, holding his gaze. “What do you need?”

  His weakened state was at least partially my fault. He’d been defending me when we he was buried alive.

  He tilted his face, gazing at me from under hooded lashes. “A taste from your sweet lips.”

  Heat pooled low in my body at his words.

  The poor man was bleeding out, and here I was, getting turned on. Faerie was rubbing off on me, apparently, because I was such a perv nowadays.

  I arched a brow. “A kiss is going to fix broken ribs?”

  Surely, it wasn’t that easy. He looked seconds from keeling over. It also seemed a little too convenient for someone who’d been stalking me obsessively for hours.

  He nodded slowly, looking like a wounded animal even as he closed the gap between us as a predator. He pressed his firm body against mine, bringing his angular face mere inches away. Blood seeped in through my dress.

  “Will you save me, sweet siren?”

  “You’re such a psycho…” I whispered, breath feathering over his lips as I hesitated, caution and desire warring inside me.

  His claws scraped across my scalp as he slid his hands through my hair, and a shudder wracked my frame.

  “So you’d let your mate bleed out?” he purred, seeming a little too unaffected despite the injuries littering his body. “Your violent side is so fucking sexy. Treat ‘em mean, keep ‘em keen, right?”

  I scowled at the smirking fae. Somehow, he wrangled even this situation into a joke.

  I sheathed my knife. “I might have trained to fight your kind, but I’m not that heartless,” I said. “Let me be perfectly clear though; this isn’t me agreeing to your mate claim, Vixy.”

  Ignoring the warning in my tone, he ran his nose along the column of my throat, and I shuddered at the tingly sensation as he inhaled with a low groan. His tongue darted out, tasting my pulse, and it raced for him.

  His lips found mine, stealing a kiss before I was ready. My body locked up for a beat and then I melted against him, unable to resist. The luxurious stroke of his fur against my skin made my thighs clench. A hungry sound rumbled his throat as he deepened the connection, slipping past my lips to tangle with my tongue in a wicked dance.

  His taste delivered on the promise made by his yuzu and whisky scent—sweet, sharp and wholly intoxicating.

  He pulled back, fangs dragging over my swollen lower lip. I had to fight myself not to dart forward for more. He was instantly addictive.

  Our breaths mingled as he rested his forehead against mine, vivid eyes holding me hostage from inches away.

  “Holy haggis, no wonder that could give you a power surge.” I chuckled, struggling to control my racing heart.

  His mouth curved wickedly, and he drew back. “Not those lips.”

  My eyes rounded as his meaning sank in. The trickster dropped to his knees before me, lifting the hem of my ruined dress. He was so much bigger than me. Even kneeling, he came up to my chest.

  I gasped as he pulled aside the scrap of matching lace covering my core. He sat on his haunches like he’d been sucker-punched. His hungry gaze devoured me, need burning in the glowing violet of his smoky eyes.

  “So wet for me,” he purred. “My wicked siren… are you going to drown me with your sweet cum?”

  My core clenched, breath hitching. I couldn’t deny the dark thrill shooting through me even as I narrowed my gaze. “I only agreed to a kiss.”

  A devilish grin bloomed across his features. “So let me kiss you.”

  He planted his lips right where I needed him. A moan slipped free as he pressed gentle kisses along my pussy, from entrance to clit and back again, so damn light I fought not to grab his head and shove him closer.

  Each caress teased me until I wanted to scream.

  “At this rate, you’re going to bleed out…” A small sound of frustration rattled my throat as he pulled away, flashing me a cheeky smirk. He licked his lips, glistening with my arousal as I continued, “Because I’m about to fucking stab you.”

  “Such a bloodthirsty siren.” He tutted. “Do you promise?”

  His claws found my arse and yanked me forward. I fell back with a startled yelp. His wing caught me, cradling my body as he lowered me to the ground. Soft feathers cushioned beneath me, their silky rasp teasing my skin with each panting breath I took.

  Neiron loomed over, one wing cuddling me while the other blocked me in, hiding the enchanted forest from view.

  Savage need glinted in his eyes. Blood drenched his wounded side, darkening his russet fur, and vibrant splashes coated his bare chest before reaching across his face. He looked positively feral.

  He growled, lips peeling back to reveal sharp fangs. A primal beast ready to consume me.

  Claws dug into my flesh as he shoved my thighs apart. “Open wide, little mate.”

  On reflex, I fought to close my legs. Neiron was as wild and untamed as they came. As likely to bite me as pleasure me.

  Without warning, he attacked.

  His mouth descended on my core with lips and tongue and teeth. I moaned at the sudden onslaught of sensation, the sharp contrast to his gentle kisses. My spine arched in pleasure. His tongue flattened, and he laved at me hotly. The texture was slightly abrasive, delivering a harsh friction I craved more with each punishing lick.

  My moans echoed off the cocoon of his wings until I was trapped in a loop of desire. His claws pricked my legs, spicing pain into the mix.

  I raced towards my peak, feeling the edge rush closer with alarming speed.

  “Drown me, siren.”

  His words detonated an explosion of pleasure. I screamed his name as he fed, tasting me roughly as I thrashed in the embrace of his wings, gripped by the orgasm breaking me apart.

  The world fragmented as I writhed and moaned, riding out the waves of bliss surging outwards from my core.

  He didn’t let up, feasting like a starved animal.

  “Neiron,” I gasped, twitching hard. I tugged weakly at his furred ear. “Too much.”

  He snapped his jaws inches from my face like a beast and returned to his prize. A soft growl spilled from his lips, but he lessened his intensity as a whimper escaped me, settling into gentle, lazy licks rather than trying to eat my soul through my pussy.

 

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