Page 9 of A Fate of Wings (Autumn Court #1)

Chapter eight

Rozronuuk

Cossgarth

Q ueen Thea Callixera tasted like a small slice of demon heaven. Considering I was a Rage Demon, that was saying something. The presence of her lips still tingled on mine. If only sirens understood what it was like to have a fated mate. Alas, they didn’t. I’d recognized she was mine. I’d known the fact for years since the day I’d first seen her in the Spring Court, but I hadn’t bothered with attempting to claim her. Sirens were unpredictable at best. At worst, they’d eat your heart, then hand it back to you all while singing merrily to make you smile while they did it.

Once she announced her preposterous quest for a king throughout the realms, then I had no choice but to claim her, and at least she’d be willing to accept me now. If I’d come to her before, then who knows how it would have turned out for us? Her trials had been a touch of fun. The fighting and pitting skills were nothing new to me. It also gave me a chance to see the threats hanging over my mate’s head. Fetching her a chimera heart was nothing but sport even if she’d intended it to be difficult. Now she was being ridiculous with her requests that as her mate I couldn’t touch her or kiss her.

I snorted. “I won the quest. Therefore, I’m your mate.”

“Not yet, you aren’t.” She advanced on me with the staff, ready to clobber me over the head.

I laughed and snagged her wrists, wrenching them behind her back, and she fell into my chest.

“I told you this idea of yours was stupid,” her twin said.

“Shut up, Melanie.” She jerked her chin up to meet my gaze. “You’re making a big mistake here, Beast. We still have a mating ceremony to perform.”

“I don’t need formalities to claim my mate.” I tightened my hold on her arms in one hand, kicked the heart up into my other hand, and launched us into the sky. “The mistake was mine for not claiming you the second I realized you were mine.”

“Your majesty,” her guard said, launching herself after us.

“She’s my queen now too,” I said. “And I’ll treat her as such. She’ll be safer with me than here in her court.”

Thea’s lips thinned, but then she said, “Leave us. My future mate and I have things to discuss.”

The air shimmered with my demonic powers as I created a portal. I soared into the growing aquamarine mist that eerily matched her eyes. Displeasure shone back at me. She wouldn’t stay that way long. Once I got her alone, she’d see they meant us for each other.

With a ripple of power, we left the Autumn Court of the siren realm, and I transported us into Cossgarth, the Lost Dimension, which wasn’t so lost since I knew where it was. It was the only place chimeras existed anymore. The queen had sent me on a nearly impossible task. She hadn’t expected me to return, but return I had.

I lowered us to the uneven, moss-carpeted ground and released her. She wrenched back as though she couldn’t stand my touch, but I scented her arousal. Her desire coated her body with an ever-increasing aroma. It wouldn’t be long before she begged me to take her.

“How did you find this place?” She narrowed her eyes to slits and surveyed the area.

Bushy trees of a deep green dotted the horizon, and in front of us lay the heartless chimera. Its blood pooled around its chest as though the liquid didn’t want to leave the creature. Once I returned its heart, the three-headed creature would draw the blood back into itself and resume its fire-breathing ways.

“I can find anything.” I swept a hand at the animal. “Shall I restore it now?”

“Who are you really?” she asked, her voice tinged with suspicion.

“I’m the Beast.”

“Beast.” She tossed back her blonde hair. “You may act like a beast, but you are not a beast. I demand to know who you are.”

“You demand?” I rose my eyebrows. “Oh, little woman, you’re not the siren queen here.”

She lifted her shoulders. “I’m the siren queen in any realm. This.” She waved a hand at the surrounding bare landscape. “Doesn’t mean a thing to who I am.”

“That’s right.” I stepped closer. “Who you are is my fated mate.”

“Stop saying that.”

“The truth holds some punch to it, doesn’t it?” I ran my knuckles over the back of her cheek.

A tiny shudder rippled over her skin.

“See, your body can’t deny you belong to me.”

She huffed and stomped over to the chimera. “Restore him now.”

“Oh, the queen has issued a command?” I walked over to her with the heart in my grasp. “I suppose I should follow it?”

Her chest puffed out as she inhaled a deep breath. Then her lips pursed. I slammed my mouth over hers, thrilled when she gasped in surprise and then opened to me as she had before.

Well, well, if my little queen wants to play, then play we will.

I stopped kissing her. She huffed. I smirked and stepped out of her reach before she struck me again. Not that her slap hurt, more so that I’d frustrated her much more than I already had. It was such a delight to see her battling her feelings for me when I’d battled mine for so long.

Bending over, I shoved the heart back into the chimera. Its body twitched the instant the organ was inside. I yanked my arm out before the wound closed around it.

“You may want to step back. He’ll wake a little grumpy.”

“If you’re not moving, neither am I.” She planted her feet and folded her arms.

“Don’t blame me if he singes your hair.”

Stubborn woman. See, this was another reason I hadn’t claimed her. Women were so difficult. Why couldn’t they just do what I said?

The chimera’s legs twitched. Its tail swished. The creature lurked to its feet with an almighty roar and a flame of fire. Thea jumped back before the chimera’s flame singed her. Damn, I would have loved to tell her I told her so. The animal caught sight of me and dropped to the ground at my feet. Only a beast controlled another beast. I planted a hand on its snout and murmured a few demonic words. The chimera chuffed before scrambling to its feet and bounding away.

“You cheated,” Thea said.

“How did you come to that conclusion?” I gave her my full attention.

“You are friends with the chimera. There was no fight to get its heart. You’re a cheat.”

“If you think for one second that the creature didn’t put up a fight for its heart, then you’re mistaken.”

“Then why did the chimera act like it was your friend?”

“Because I beat the creature fair and square in the fight.” I flung my bloodied hand out and captured the back of her neck. “You’re so infuriating already. What will it be like after an eternity?”

Her pouty pink lips pursed into annoyance. “I’ve changed my mind. We. Are. Not. Mating.”

“Yes. We. Are.”

She grabbed my horns in both hands.

“Love,” I rumbled. “If you wanted to get straight down to me claiming you, all you needed to do was say the word.”

“What are you on about?” She frowned. It was cute the way her dainty blonde brows dipped over her eyes.

“You taking me by the horns.” I grasped her wrists and held them in place as she sought to remove her hands. “It’s the ultimate of foreplays for demons.”

My horns warmed beneath her touch. I longed to roll my eyes back in pleasure, but I wanted to see every look flitting across her face.

Her fingers ran around the hard ridge where my horns protruded from my skull. It was the most sensitive of places she might touch me. A deep rumble exploded in my chest.

“You like that?”

“A lot.” I groaned as her touch grew bolder.

My grasp faltered as my cock grew to granite hardness inside my leather pants. For a minute more, she stroked me unfettered. Then she snapped her hands away as she came to her senses, tugged out of my hold, and spun in a blur of multi-colored material. She raced across the uneven countryside. I shook my head. As if she would outrun me, but that was beside the point. She was running, which only made me insane with the desire to claim my mate.

She may as well have dropped to her knees and sucked my cock with her little act of stroking my horns and then running.

Wait until I caught my little queen.

She’d learn the very hard way how much running from me turned me on.