Page 12

Vince smiled tensely before he began creeping forward.

I longed to pull him back against me, as I had immensely enjoyed the feeling of his face pressed against my chest. It had been right—his small form tucked against my larger one.

I wished to experience it once again. No, I needed more than that.

I needed… I needed to feel his slight form beside me at all times.

I shook the random thoughts away and followed Vince. We rounded the different jagged rocks, searching. Seth and Kalvoxrencol had turned quiet. I heard Kalvoxrencol’s thoughts, but I tuned them out to keep the battle fair.

In front of me, Vince froze, and I stopped behind him.

Caleb and Zoltilvoxfyn were in front of us, but they were otherwise occupied.

Caleb was braced against a rock, and Zoltilvoxfyn stood in between his legs, wings out and tail wrapped around his mate’s leg.

They were in the middle of a frantic kissing session.

Caleb had his hands buried in Zoltilvoxfyn’s hair and he rocked against him in steady movements.

Ridiculous. They could barely go an hour without inhaling each other.

Vince covered his mouth as he smothered a laugh. “You were right.”

I laughed, head lowering near his shoulder.

His shock at my laughter, followed by a warm, pleased feeling, went through him and sparked awareness within my own body. I ignored it. Vince was allowed his privacy, even if I sensed him better than others.

“They are insatiable,” I commented. “At least Seth and Kalvoxrencol have the sense to only copulate in their room. I’m not sure about Serlotminden and Bartholomew yet.”

Vince’s hands fisted, and it was because of the thought of Seth and Kalvoxrencol together. I wouldn’t apologize for it. My brother and his mate were allowed to fuck, and they did so frequently.

“Shall we interrupt them?” I asked, lifting my blaster.

He smirked as mischief gleamed in his dark eyes. “I’ll take Fyn.”

I inclined my head before using his shoulder as a level and aiming at Caleb who was half-hidden behind Zoltilvoxfyn’s broad frame. Vince took aim and thought clearly, One, two, and three!

While I’d never used such a counting measure, I understood his desire and squeezed the trigger on three. An orange beam burst out of the tip of my blaster at the same moment as Vince’s did—the two of us perfectly in sync. We both hit, and the couple jerked.

Zoltilvoxfyn snarled while Caleb burst into fits of laughter. Vince recoiled from Zoltilvoxfyn, pressing against me. I didn’t react to the feel of his cooler body against my chest, though my soul beat faster, and said to my brother, “You’re out.”

Caleb kept laughing as he snagged Zoltilvoxfyn. “We are. You found us.”

“It wasn’t hard,” Vince remarked. “You were sucking each other’s faces off, so that helped.”

Zoltilvoxfyn glared, arms crossing, but embarrassment mixed with arousal curled in his mind. His thoughts were of stealing his mate away and stripping him bare before fucking him.

This was one of the worst downsides of my inner fire.

I was witness to each of my brothers’, parents’, and many others’ private thoughts that I would much rather not know.

I didn’t want or need to know how my different siblings enjoyed their mates, or how my parents desired each other.

I couldn’t shut it off. My static shield could block the general thoughts of others at a distance, but physical proximity or emotional closeness eliminated its effectiveness.

“Come on,” Caleb said in a husky voice that made both Vince and I roll our eyes. Zoltilvoxfyn glared at me, but his thoughts had already turned to his mate and their shower.

Vince lifted an eyebrow at me, and I chuckled, head dipping toward his, but I didn’t touch him.

Zoltilvoxfyn paused, looking at me with an open mouth.

His gaze flicked between me and Vince while a clear question formed in his thoughts.

My expression cooled as I stared at my younger brother.

He didn’t say anything, but he thought of Kalvoxrencol, and I knew I’d have at least two brothers asking unnecessary questions.

Where they led, Serlotminden, Hallonnixmin, and our cousin Monqilcolnen would follow.

Just because three of my four brothers had chosen to mate with humans and I enjoyed this human’s presence did not mean anything. Besides, he was in love with Seth and not planning on staying. No future existed.

“One more couple,” Vince said.

“Let’s find them.”

We crept around the different outcroppings, searching. We couldn’t go far. The program only extended to the length and width of the suite, and unlike other programs, it wouldn’t follow us, slowly transitioning to new places, because this experience was intended for group play.

Muzzles sweeping, we searched but didn’t find our prey.

They were proving to be elusive, which didn’t surprise me.

Both were skilled in experiences, and Kalvoxrencol was a crafty warrior and a master at evading people when he so chose.

Seth was his equal in many ways. He’d taken to strategy and war with surprising ease.

Though perhaps not too surprising, given he was the purest warrior soul ever recorded in written Drakcon history.

The slightest flap was my only warning before two shots in quick succession hit me and Vince. Seth laughed loudly as we turned. Kalvoxrencol was flying with Seth trapped in his arms. Seth lowered his gun with a smirk. “We win.”

Kalvoxrencol flew up higher with a laughing Seth. He kissed his mate’s neck, and they whirled through the sky.

Vince stared at them with sadness like a dark cloud gathering inside of him, blocking out all light and hope. “He’s happy.”

“He is.” The truth could not be denied.

“Hmm,” was all he said.

I didn’t know what that indeterminate noise meant, and I chose to remain silent. Vince didn’t need a reminder that Seth’s affection lay somewhere else.