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Chapter Fifteen

The way he’s looking at me can only be described as primal.

His eyes are dark, hungry, and filled with need. His grin is feral, and his tongue swipes over his lower lip before his mouth crashes against mine in a deep, all-consuming kiss. I break the kiss, only so I have more motion to fuck him. Leaning back with my hands resting on his thighs, I start to move, rolling my hips with abandon. His hands skim my waist before sliding down to my clit, his thumb lazily circling. A golden glow emanates from us, our magic swirling around us as it joins as one.

“Come, love,” he demands in a deep, husky tone.

“Yes,” I whisper, unable to form any further words.

As we finish together, the bond starts to spark, and a ripple of powerful magic hits me hard. My wrists begin to tingle as the mating bands burn into my skin, a permanent reminder of our commitment to each other. It’s more than just our magic joining—our souls are now interwoven. It’s the deepest connection anyone can have.

I breathe shakily as I fall against his chest, his arms coming around me, keeping me together. This feeling is so overwhelming but so incredible. I can see why you can only do this once in a lifetime. When the sparks of magic start to die down, I pull back from August’s neck to look into his eyes. Traces of magic are still swirling in them, but they are locked on me.

“Milana,” he whispers, planting a soft kiss on my lips. “ Mine .”

“Yeah.” I smile softly.

I can feel him.

And I know I made the right choice.

His hands circle my waist as he slowly starts to move against me, hard once more. I’d bond with him again for his recovery time alone.

“You feel amazing,” he grits out, his throat working as he swallows. “I never knew it could be like this.”

“Me either.”

I wonder if he can boost magic like me now. I never even asked him what his magic could do, but I feel it inside me.

“Most beautiful woman in all eight kingdoms, and she’s All. Fucking. Mine .” He thrusts harder with each word, then rolls us over so he’s on top. Lifting my arms, he grips my mating bands, pinning them above me. He then fucks me hard, kissing my neck until I’m panting.

“August,” I choke out, needing to come.

He covers my mouth and goes extra hard and faster. “You’ll take what you get, mate .”

I seem to like that because I feel a tingle in my spine that turns into another climax, my moans muffled beneath his hand while he watches me with rapt fascination and heat in his eyes. He follows closely behind me, throwing his head back as he comes.

He spreads my thighs and pulls out, staring down at my pussy. “You look so beautiful with my cum dripping out of your pussy.”

That would make my cheeks heat if I had any shyness left when it comes to him. I’m pretty sure he’s fucked all that right out of me.

His finger traces the outline of my lips before he kisses me. Softly. Gently. Deeply. “I love you,” he whispers, making me gasp.

He cleans me up and then holds me against his body.

Skin to skin.

Nothing between us.

How we were always meant to be.

A love like this can never be caged.

“August? I love you too.”

And with that, I fall asleep with a smile on my face.

All eyes are on us when we head downstairs. I don’t know what the occasion is, but everyone is there.

“Did I forget someone’s birthday?” August smirks, pulling out a chair for me.

“No, my mate won’t stop stressing about Rion, so here we are,” Rave replies, his eyes slowly roving over me with distaste. I guess he’s not going to forgive me as easily as Astrid over the trying-to-kidnap-Vale thing.

Axe’s gaze drops to the golden mating bands around our wrists. “I guess we all have something to celebrate after all.”

“Congratulations!” Astrid beams, sharing a look with August. Her hazel eyes are filled with emotion. I know the two of them have a history, and for a moment, I almost feel like I’m the one intruding.

I sit next to Pandora, the Witch Queen. I know of her, but I don’t know her personally, although I have met her mate, Soren, at a party.

“Congratulations to you both,” she says, offering me a small smile. Her violet eyes are stunning, ethereal-looking.

“Thank you.” I beam. “And it’s so nice to finally meet you.”

She clears her throat and tucks her black hair back behind her ear. “Yeah, you too. I’m glad August found his person.”

She seems a little awkward, but maybe that’s just her personality. However, when August’s hand possessively splays on my thighs while he looks across the room at Soren, who is smirking, I know something is up. There’s tension in the room, but I don’t know why.

“What’s going on?” I blurt out, glancing around the table.

Astrid is studying her plate, and Rave murmurs something that sounds like, “Here we fucking go again.”

“Just a little karma going around,” Soren mutters softly, then grunts when Pandora hits his chest.

She slides her eyes to the side before looking back at me. “It’s nothing, really, it’s just that?—”

“August took Pandora’s virginity,” Kai blurts out, frowning when Axe slaps the back of his head. “What? It’s better she knows. I’d fucking hate it if everyone knew something except me!”

I stare at them all, slack-jawed, processing this news.

“He’s right. It’s better to get it all out in the open,” Soren agrees, rubbing the back of his neck. “I’m sorry, Milana. I don’t want to hurt you. But every time I think about it, I want to kill him with my bare hands.”

August slept with Queen Pandora.

Took her virginity.

The rational side of me knows that we didn’t even know we were mates then, but the newly mated side of me?

She’s fucking pissed.

I picture draining the woman next to me of all her magic, watching her drop to the floor in a boneless heap.

“Milana,” August’s soothing voice reaches me. When I look over at him, he looks worried, like maybe he’s been saying my name for a while now.

I stand, pushing my chair back and sending it flying to the floor.

Astrid holds up her hands and puts a shield around Pandora, protecting her from me. Smart because one touch of mine could weaken her.

I’m not proud of what I do next. But later, I’ll blame it on the mating bond hormones.

They made me crazy.

I slam my palms down on the table, shaking all the plates and cutlery. “So let me get this straight. Astrid and August have some connection, and I was told he used to be in love with her or something, and now I also have to deal with the fact he took the Witch Queen’s virginity?”

“Milana—”

I hold my hand up to stop him. “Anyone else I need to know about?” I look at Saylor, sitting there quietly with wide honey-brown eyes. “How about you?”

“She didn’t touch him,” Bane growls out, pulling his mate closer to him. He shifts his jaw and scowls at the thought.

“But she did fuck Rave,” Kai points out. That earns him another slap. He probably won’t have any brain cells left after this lunch.

“Wow, what a busy group of friends. Do you guys have any hobbies other than fucking each other?” I mutter, and Saylor’s lip twitches like she wants to laugh.

“Yeah, we like to fight as much as we fuck, too.” Axe grins as August pulls me back against his chest.

I take deep, calming breaths. It’s not like I came to him a virgin, and we’ve already run into Reef, someone I’ve fucked. But still!

“You okay?” he whispers into my ear, sending shivers down my spine. “Astrid and I are friends and friends only. The same goes for Pandora. They both have their own mates now, love. You have nothing to worry about. You’re the only one I’ll ever want.”

He’s saying all the right things, but I can’t seem to control my jealousy.

“I’ll be right back,” I announce, letting my pettiness win out. In the next moment, I’m back, except this time, I’ve brought Reef back with me. The merman looks confused as fuck, staring around the table with wide eyes. “Ahh, Milana?”

“Have a seat, Reef. We’re all having a meal with people we’ve fucked, so I thought I’d even the score,” I say with a straight face and nod to an empty chair.

The air in the room becomes charged, almost suffocating. I chance a look at August, who is staring at Reef with undisguised anger.

Now he knows how I feel.

Reef awkwardly takes a seat, clearing his throat and eyeing the food.

A weird sound comes from Kai, and when I look over at him, his shoulders are shaking with repressed laughter. “You have something to say?”

He sucks in his lips and shakes his head.

“You know mermen are good in bed, right? They are used to being underwater, if you know what I mean. They can go down for a long time…” Yeah, I’m not proud of myself, but I’m on a roll.

August stands up, his body visibly vibrating with anger. Rave’s shadows seep out from him and hold August back.

Fuck, the things he must be able to do with those.

“Milana,” August warns, struggling against his wispy binds. “Rave, let me go! I’m going to fucking kill him!”

Reef clears his throat. “Milana, maybe don’t…”

I should listen to my ex-hookup and take the high road at this point, but I don’t.

“Do you guys fuck when you’re underwater too? Like how does that work?” Saylor blurts out to Reef. “How does your cock come out when you have a fin?”

At this stage, Soren is laughing uncontrollably, and Kai and Axe join him.

“August, calm down,” Astrid says, which only pisses me off further.

She doesn’t get to tell my mate to calm down!

Now, I’m more upset than angry, and I just want to be alone.

“You know what? I’m not done. I’m going to go and get that Vampire Prince I fucked a few months ago…” I zip away, needing a moment before I do something else stupid like actually bringing that vampire back here.

I end up in our spot in the gardens where we sat yesterday.

It was a simpler time.

Magic explodes out of me, lessening my tension, and I feel a lot better. I get like that sometimes, like the magic I take from others becomes too much pressure and needs an outlet.

We should have been each other’s firsts.

But he didn’t wait for me, and I sure as hell didn’t wait for him.

Knowing it, though, and seeing who he has been with are two different things.

Astrid is stunning, and so is Pandora.

And I’m older than all of them.

“I’m sorry, Milana. I know how uncomfortable you must have felt. Trust me, I’ve been there,” comes Astrid’s soft voice from behind me. She walks over and sits next to me.

“I shouldn’t have done any of that,” I admit with a sigh. “I’m not proud, trust me.”

She laughs softly. “You don’t need to be sorry around any of us, believe me. I know how our relationship must look like from an outside perspective, and I completely understand if you want August to have nothing to do with me.”

“He even has a pet name for you… Star. I heard him when you came down to the dungeons.”

“A childhood nickname. I know August, and I’m a seer. I can see his path. If you wanted him to walk away from all of us, he would. He probably would have joined the rebellion if he had to, to be with you. You have all the power with him. I’m his friend, one he shares a lot of history with.” She plays with the end of her braid. “He has taken care of me since both of our parents died, and finally seeing someone give that back to him is all I could have ever dreamed. I love you for him, and I would love to be both of your friends if you’ll let me.”

“I’d like that. You know, I never knew I was the jealous type until I met him,” I grumble.

She smiles, her eyes bright. “Our mates tend to bring that out in us. August is usually the calm one. He’s never had a big ego or anything like that. And he’s one of the more mentally stable ones out of the lot.”

“Milana! If there’s another fucking male out there with you, I’m going to drain his magic until he’s dead!” we hear August roar.

“Well, maybe I spoke too soon.” She smirks, lowering her voice to a whisper, “You know I’m curious about the merman cock situation too.”

I burst out laughing.

She leaves before August appears, pulling me against his chest and stroking my back. “I love you, Milana. I don’t give a fuck about any other woman. You want to leave here, just you and me? I’ll do that. You’re all I need.”

I realize then that Astrid was right.

He would walk away from it all for me.

He has a past, we all do, but at the end of the day, August is mine .

And that’s all that matters.