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Fairy lights. Hundreds of them, strung in graceful arcs above the bed, creating a canopy of twinkling stars. They weren't brightenough to be noticed in the daylight, but as the sun began to set, they glowed like captured fireflies.

"Do you like them?" Callum asked, a rare vulnerability in his voice. "I put them up while you were sleeping last night."

I looked at him, this powerful, ancient fae who had climbed on furniture in the dark to hang tiny lights because he thought I might like them. My heart swelled with emotion so powerful it stole my breath.

"They're perfect," I whispered, a smile breaking across my face. "Absolutely perfect."

The answering smile that lit Callum's features was dazzling in its openness. That boyish grin transformed him, softening the usual sharp edges of his face.

"I thought they might help when...when the time comes," he said, gesturing vaguely. "Something beautiful to focus on."

Another cramp seized me, this one stronger than the last. Heat pulsed between my legs, and I felt more slick gather there, coating my inner thighs. My breath caught, and I couldn't hide the tremor that ran through me.

46

Rowen

The weight of Sierra in my lap was the sweetest torment I'd endured in my immortal existence. Each tiny shift of her hips sent fire coursing through my veins, the heat of her body against mine a constant reminder of what was coming. Six days. Just six fucking days until her heat fully broke, and I was already coming undone.

I buried my nose in her silver hair, inhaling deeply. The scent of her was changing, growing headier by the hour, honey and jasmine layered with something wild and primal that called to the darkest parts of me. Her normal sweetness was still there, but now it was edged with a musk that made my mouth water and my cock throb.

"You smell like sin," I murmured against her ear, my voice rougher than I intended.

Sierra hummed in response, the sound vibrating through her back against my chest. She turned her head, exposing the delicate curve of her neck in what I recognized as instinctual submission. My demon surged forward, claws pricking at my fingertips as I fought to keep it contained.

Across the kitchen, Callum moved with easy grace, the muscles in his back flexing as he flipped pancakes at the stove.The domesticity of the scene would have been laughable once, my brother, king of the dark fae, cooking breakfast in sleep pants slung low on his hips, but now it felt right. We were all circling Sierra like planets around a silver sun, pulled into her orbit by forces we couldn't resist.

"Stop squirming," I warned as Sierra shifted again, her perfect ass rubbing against my already painful erection.

Instead of heeding my warning, she deliberately wiggled in my lap, a teasing smile playing at her lips. "Make me," she challenged, her voice husky with need.

I growled low in my throat, my hands tightening on her hips to still her movements. The demon in me wanted nothing more than to bend her over this very table and claim her until she screamed my name. But that wasn't what she needed—not yet.

Leaning forward, I let my lips brush the shell of her ear. "Keep moving like that, little omega, and you'll find yourself over my knee for a spanking."

The subtle catch in her breath told me she wasn't opposed to the idea. A wave of her arousal hit my senses, the sweet tang of it making my nostrils flare. Gods, I could taste her in the air.

"Is that supposed to be a deterrent?" she whispered back, rolling her hips once more in deliberate provocation.

My control slipped, just for a second. My hand moved of its own accord, sliding up to wrap gently around her throat—not squeezing, just holding, feeling her pulse jump beneath my palm. "It's a promise," I rumbled, my thumb tracing the line of her jaw.

"If you two could behave until after breakfast, that would be appreciated."

Archer's dry voice cut through the tension as he strode into the kitchen, his hair still damp from a shower. His ice-blue eyes took in the scene with a knowing glance—Sierra's flushedcheeks, my hand at her throat, the obvious tent in my lounge pants.

"Spoilsport," Sierra muttered, but she stilled in my lap, her body still radiating heat against mine.

Archer raised an eyebrow as he poured himself coffee. "Don't pretend you're not hungry. You need to keep your strength up."

"I am hungry," she replied, her tone innocent but her meaning anything but. "Just not necessarily for food."

That earned a chuckle from Callum as he expertly flipped another pancake. "Food first, then play. Those are the rules."

"Since when do we have rules?" I asked, deliberately trailing my fingers along Sierra's thigh, just high enough to make her breath hitch.

"Since we discovered our mate needs actual sustenance, unlike the rest of us who could go days without eating if necessary," Archer replied, leaning against the counter. "She's burning through calories at an alarming rate."

He wasn't wrong. Sierra had been ravenous lately, her body demanding fuel for the changes it was undergoing. The primal heat was transforming her, unlocking powers that had been dormant her entire life. She needed her strength.