Page 63 of A Fate of Blood and Magic (Fated #2)

“I don’t want you to take it easy on me.” Her words came out as a breathy whisper, making the air around us thicken with an animalistic energy that pounded through me with insatiable hunger. She gripped my ass and pulled me toward her. “I want you to fuck me, Elias. Fuck me like you own me.”

I knew what she was offering and why she was offering it. Even without our connection, my soul-bound mate knew me and knew I needed to lose myself inside her and find the release I only found with her.

I slammed into her hard, making the couch move. She moaned, digging her fingers and nails tighter against me.

“Again,” she breathed out.

I thrust into her harder. “I do own you, just as you own me.”

With each hard, fast thrust, I fucked her, telling her how much I craved her. With each biting kiss, I told her the ways she owned me. With each held gaze, I told her how much I adored her.

Her breathing grew turbulent as her cheeks flushed with her mounting pleasure. Just as I smelled her arousal, I brought my hand to her thighs and rubbed my thumb over her sensitive clit, sending her over the edge. Beneath me, she moaned my name, so I pressed my lips to hers to steal it from her.

“Fuck,” she shouted, her body trembling as she came. “Elias, fuck.”

My muscles tensed as pleasure speared through me in a hot burst, coming hard and fast while she continued to shake beneath me. I lost myself inside her, wave after wave that crashed through me while I moaned out her name.

I paced the expanse of our front yard while George circled me. His canines were pulled as low as mine. Anger emanated from every limb while his black eyes shone with betrayal.

Nalari stood to the side, watching us carefully but never intruding in my thoughts. I didn’t know whether she felt my decision had been foolish or selfish since she hadn’t voiced her opinion yet. While I expected her to, it felt as though she wouldn’t.

I wasn’t sure if it was because she no longer saw herself as my Guardian or because she respected that it was my choice to make.

“Did you bother thinking about the repercussions?” he asked, his deep voice carrying over the whipping wind.

“Which part?” I asked, my tone low as I snarled in warning. “The repercussions of tying my life span to Teddy’s or losing my magic to save Donnie’s life?”

“Either. Both.”

“No,” I answered honestly. “The only thought that filtered through my mind was the torment of spending hundreds of years without Teddy.”

“This . . .” He braced his fists up as he continued circling me.

I steadied my feet while I waited him out. I didn’t mind fighting him. We’d done it plenty of times in our youth. It’d been an effortless way to release tension and anger, made simpler since we’d both been able to heal ourselves.

I no longer had that luxury, yet I wouldn’t back away from a fight. Not with George. If he needed his fists to speak the words that swarmed his mind, I’d oblige him. Then maybe, hopefully, we could move on.

“This is madness, Elias,” he said, shaking his head. “Surely, you see the madness in this.”

I dropped my hands, letting my shoulders slump forward. “What’s madness is living a life without Teddy. I can’t. I can’t do it, George.”

“Brent has lived most of his life without his mate so she could be happy,” George said. “For decades, Everly and I ignored our bond because of our allegiance to the crown. But you . . . you couldn’t think past it enough to consider the lives your decision would damage.”

“That’s the thing.” Energy built inside me, needing release, so I started pacing again. “You, Everly, and Brenton have had years of learning how to grow into and control this natural connection. I’ve had months. Mere months, when we’ve been apart, and her life has been endangered too many times. ”

“Then you shouldn’t have saved Donnie.” He tipped his chin up, narrowing his eyes at me. “You shouldn’t have traded anything for him and should have let him die. You saved one life but hurt even more.”

“Donnie is your friend too.” My voice came out foreign as I stared at my best friend through the foggy haze of my frustration.

“And I would’ve mourned his death.” George raked his fingers through his long hair and snarled.

“You saved one life, Elias. One. What of your babes, who will become orphans before they reach adulthood? What of those babes, one of whom will be forced into becoming a king before he is ready? What of your people who were entrusted into your care?”

Each question lashed against me, cutting me deeper with the truth behind them.

I’d been selfish in my desire to stay with Teddy, in not wanting to live a single breath without her.

While Teddy had realized what we’d done to our twins, to our other kids, and Brenton shortly after she’d tended to Alastor’s headache, it hadn’t even occurred to me. It shamed me that I hadn’t thought of anyone aside from myself.

“What of us?” He thumped an open palm against his chest. “What of your friends, who have stood by your side? We grew up together. We . . .” He shook his head when his voice broke.

My primal instincts slipped away when I saw the way unshed tears brimmed behind his eyes.

I stepped into him, forcing him into a hug.

I felt it when his anger began to dissolve, felt it when he hooked his hands behind my back to return my embrace.

I slapped his back before I stepped away, quickly wiping at a stray tear.

“I’m sorry,” I whispered, staring at his black boots that contrasted the surrounding white snow. “I didn’t think about anyone but myself.”

I forced my attention up, meeting his hurt eyes with the guilt that lived inside me.

“I didn’t know what to do,” I admitted. “One beat, I was witnessing Teddy fall apart in our realm, and the next I was in the astral realm. I didn’t have time to mull over my decision and before I could truly think it over, I was saying goodbye to my mother.

It all happened so fast. Too fast. I didn’t have time to think of the consequences.

” And now I was living the torment of my decision.

Every day, my soul yearned for the missing pieces I’d stripped myself of.

But Donnie got to live because of our decision. While I’d wanted to save him for Teddy, I later realized how the people of our kingdom would benefit from having someone like Donnie in a leadership role. It was why I wanted him to become one of my head advisers.

“I’m sorry I didn’t think of you, Everly, or Brent,” I said.

“I didn’t think about my babes or the people of my kingdom.

I thought solely of myself, of the harrowing pain I’d have to live through if Teddy died years before me.

I was ready to live it, though, until Eiran offered to tie my life to hers. It didn’t feel like much of a choice.”

“I understand that, or I’m trying to, but if fate decided it was Donnie’s time to die, then he should’ve died,” George argued. “What right do we have to meddle in such affairs?”

While I’d thought he’d simply been angry with my decision, I now saw that his anger came from hurt. It was why I stayed my own fury.

“Did you feel the same when Teddy saved Brenton?” I asked. “Or when Teddy saved you from Leanora’s attack with fae root? You both would be dead right now if not for her. How could I not do the same for her best friend when she’d been willing to sacrifice herself for both of you?”

He sighed, his eyes lightening in color while his canines drew in.

“Neither of you would ever have asked Teddy to make such a sacrifice,” I said, my throat feeling suddenly dry. “Donnie wouldn’t have asked it of her either. Once he knows the extent of our sacrifice, I anticipate him being upset with us too.”

That made George cough out a dry chuckle, and it felt like a peace offering.

“Have you spoken to him since the attack?” he asked.

“Not really.” We’d exchanged some awkward words but hadn’t even tried to skirt around the difficult discussions that still awaited us. “I want him to heal without me intruding.”

George tilted his head up, his eyes watering again. But he wouldn’t cry. Not in front of anyone at least. His shoulders lifted with his heavy sigh.

“I’m not angry with you, Elias.” The words came out low as he spoke them into the sky. “I can understand why you’d match your life span to Teddy’s. I can even understand your reasoning for saving Donnie. I don’t like it, but I understand it.”

I nodded, searching his features for more. I didn’t anticipate him forgiving me so easily, but he’d stand by my side when the need arose.

“I appreciate that. Do you understand why I told Javier the truth?” I asked slowly, weighing each expression that crossed his face.

Mainly, all I saw was pain. Where before he’d hidden it well, now it washed over him in a flood of emotions.

He opened his mouth, but whatever he meant to say caught in his throat. Meeting my eyes, he nodded and mouthed, “ I understand. ”

“Once he joins the military school, he’ll learn what it takes to be a warrior,” I said, my words far more hopeful than what I felt. “He’ll understand then that you were only following orders. I tried to explain to him that it’s what a warrior does.”

He flexed his jaw like he was grinding back words he wasn’t yet ready to speak.

It took a few beats but when he spoke, his words were measured.

Not calm but as if he were containing his emotions that might shatter if he wasn’t careful.

“He has no reason to trust me around his sisters. I’m happy they will continue to stay with you, though.

They love you and Teddy. I can live with his decision.

I must live with his decision, but it’s easier knowing the girls are taken care of. ”

“They love you too, George.”

Tears shimmered behind his eyes, and I stayed quiet as he stared at the sky. When liquid fell down a single cheek, I wasn’t certain if it was from the snow that fell or a tear that had managed to break loose.

“You’ll still have Tori,” I said, knowing it wasn’t enough. Not that he didn’t love Victoria, simply that that love extended to all three girls.

He pursed his lips and shook his head. “What would Jazz and Juanita think if they saw me playing with Tori and not them? I think the best for them . . . for all of them is if I stay away entirely.”

I gripped his shoulders that he threw back but didn’t quite square, while he steadied his breathing.

“He’ll come around,” I said, not meaning the words.

The way he eyed me let me know how little he believed me too.

“If the girls ask why I’m not around, tell them . . . I don’t know what you can tell them, but don’t let them believe it’s because I don’t love them.” His pleading words slammed against my tremoring heart.

“They’ll always know how much you love them. I’ll make certain of it.” I paused. “I’ll tell them that you’re busy, that your title of commander keeps you busy protecting not just them, but our entire kingdom.”

“Maybe you could . . .” His throat bobbed again, and he coughed to clear it. “Could you station me elsewhere? Somewhere far from them so they don’t have to wonder why I’m not around?”

My saliva thickened at his request. Through the century we’d been friends, we’d never separated for extended periods of time, but I could grant him this if it eased some of his sorrow.

“If that is what you wish,” I said.

He gripped my arm, and I did the same to his.

“You have the weight of a confused and anguished kingdom on your shoulders.” His firm hold on my arm tightened.

“Know it is a weight you do not carry alone. I’m not only your commander but also your best friend, your compeer .

Your family. I don’t have to agree with your decisions to stand at your side. ”

Unsure if I deserved such loyalty, all I could do was nod. “As I will always stand at your side.”

With this one step forward, I didn’t dread the many other obstacles that stood before Teddy and me quite as much. We would rally together and figure out the next best step. And we’d do it with the family we’d chosen to be at our sides.