Page 32

Sierra looked at my hand, then at Rowen and Archer, as if seeking their input.

"Your choice," Rowen said with unexpected gentleness. "Always your choice, Sierra."

She squared her shoulders, lifted her chin, and placed her hand in mine. The contact sent another surge of heat through me, the bond between us practically purring with satisfaction.

"Answers first," she said firmly. "Then we'll... discuss the rest."

I curled my fingers around hers, savoring the softness of her skin, the way her pulse raced beneath my touch. "Agreed."

As we turned toward the path that led to the palace, the meadow around us burst into even more vibrant life – flowers blooming out of season, grass growing visibly underfoot, tree branches swaying in a nonexistent breeze. The realm recognized what was happening, even if Sierra herself did not fully understand.

The four of us were coming together, and all of creation rejoiced.

13

Sierra

My body was no longer my own.

As Callum's words echoed in my mind, about claiming me, about the four of us belonging together, something primal and hungry inside me snarled to life. The rational part of my brain tried to fight it, but the burning need coursing through my veins didn't care about rational thought or pride or independence.

I felt my legs moving before I consciously made the decision. One step toward him, then another. The earth beneath my feet seemed to hum with approval, wildflowers literally turning their faces toward me as I passed.

"Sierra?" Archer's voice sounded distant, concerned, but I couldn't look away from Callum's pale green eyes, which darkened as I approached.

My skin felt too tight, too hot. Every nerve ending sparked with awareness. The bond between us. This thing I'd barely begun to understand. It pulsed with a greedy hunger that stole my breath.

"I need..." The words caught in my throat as a wave of dizziness swept through me. My knees buckled, and the world tilted sideways.

Strong arms caught me before I hit the ground. Callum's scent, pine and night air and something wild I couldn't name, enveloped me as he gathered me against his chest. His touch against my feverish skin wasn't the relief I expected. It was gasoline on an already raging fire.

"Fuck," I gasped, my back arching involuntarily. "What's happening to me?"

Callum's expression was intense, his pupils blown wide with desire, but there was concern there too as he cradled me against him. His hand pressed to my forehead, and I moaned at the contact, embarrassingly wanton.

"I thought this was a Fae heat," he said, his voice rough with restraint. "But it's... more. Your omega nature combined with your witch bloodline has created something rarer—a primal heat."

I clutched at his tunic, my fingers curling into the fabric as another wave of need crashed through me. "It wasn't this bad before..."

"It's accelerating," Rowen's deep voice cut through my haze. He stood close, his obsidian eyes glittering with worry. "Faster than we anticipated."

Callum shifted me in his arms, lifting me effortlessly in a bridal carry. "We need to get her somewhere secure. The meadow is private, but too exposed."

I buried my face against his neck, inhaling deeply. His scent made me dizzy with want. My teeth ached with the urge to bite, to claim. "Callum, please," I whispered, not even sure what I was begging for.

"I've got you," he murmured, his lips brushing my temple. "We all do."

He turned toward Archer and Rowen, his expression deadly serious. "Follow me to my private chambers. They're even more secure than this meadow."

I barely registered their nods of agreement as Callum started moving, each step sending little jolts of sensation through my oversensitive body. I writhed in his arms, unable to stay still as the heat consumed me from the inside out.

"It's worse," I gasped, my head falling back. "Worse than before. When Archer..." I couldn't finish the thought, remembering how Archer had eased my symptoms in the Underworld, how his touch had provided temporary relief.

"The heat is progressing," Callum explained, his pace quickening. "What worked before won't be enough now. You need more."

"More what?" I asked, though some primal part of me already knew the answer.

His lips curved into a predatory smile. "More of us. All of us. To put it bluntly, you need our cocks, our knots, and our cum."