Page 64

Harlow

Dark Haven Institute

“ Y ou’re not sacrificing yourself,” Kol said as he stared me down, arms crossed and wings out, twitching in agitation.

This was the third time someone told me that, and I was ready to send them all back to Helheim.

“I never said I was,” I countered, flopping back on my chair and rubbing my temples. Pain wasn’t a thing I experienced much in this new life but my head was throbbing thanks to this conversation.

They were stubborn and refusing to listen.

Monty was pacing between us, his shadows trailing behind him and obscuring my vision for a few moments each time he passed.

Hiro and Roman were sitting on the window seat in the common room. They’d been the first to grasp my intentions, but Monty and Kol always had to act like everything I planned to do was some great martyr act.

“We have to do something. Odin is not going to be patient for much longer,” I said, breaking the tense silence.

I already told them every detail of my recent encounter with him. Outside of Monty’s frustration at my lack of filter and dangerous habits, they all agreed we had to act.

There had been a terrifying warning look thrown my way by Odin that I couldn’t get out of my head. It replayed on repeat, a horrifying reminder that my time was as limited as his patience.

I would not bet on any of our lives.

We had to figure this out, and I was relying on them to help me, not just argue about things that didn’t matter.

“Stop. She already said she isn’t going to sacrifice herself. Can we move past that?” Roman shouted.

“Okay... an even exchange,” Drake said. “Someone needs to be exiled for that to happen. If that’s the case, you have to choose who it is.”

“It would make sense for Stravos,” Hiro said in such a low voice I had to strain to hear him. “He’d rather stay with Layne than return to Helheim.”

“It’s not about staying,” I corrected him. “Exile from Helheim will cut off his connection to Helheim. He’d be a gargoyle without power and without a home. Layne would die one day and he couldn’t follow her to the afterlife.”

They all winced at that. I’d never risk her happiness like that. Call me selfish but I had to protect my people and my group.

“You don’t know that,” Monty argued. “He might still have his connection, he just can’t ever go back, and honestly with the way that gods work, that would be the most accurate. Imagine knowing what you had, feeling it strongly every day, and experiencing the pain of knowing you could never have it back.”

“For tonight, it doesn’t matter. In the end, this is not a democracy, it’s my decision and I’m choosing to deal with it tomorrow,” I yelled to stop the back and forth.

“And for tonight?” Hiro asked, tilting his head.

“For tonight I believe I have five mates who are more than capable of making me come in very creative ways.”

They all paused at my words and Drake raised an eyebrow.

“You can’t just use sex to escape, Harlow.”

“I can and I will,” I said with a shrug.

This was not a normal society, and we weren’t humans.

“Drake, you have a beta to claim,” I pointed out as if that would be the final straw for him.

“You want all five of us together?” Kol questioned slowly, as if I couldn’t possibly understand what I was asking.

“If one more person talks down to me today, like I’m too stupid or human to understand what I’m saying, I swear to the gods I’m cutting your dick off and throwing it through the portal so you can’t heal.”

Drake held up his hands, when in reality, he should have been covering his own cock, too.

“Yeah, I think some relaxation is in order,” Monty said, letting out a rumbling laugh.

Kol apparently agreed, moving forward and wrapping me in his wings.

“Catch us if you can.” The words were a taunt but we were out in the stairwell and heading for the roof before I could protest.

“Kol, I know you like being outside, but I am not fucking you on the roof where all of your soldiers can see me.”

“Oh, we are fucking up here,” he said as he pulled out his horn and blew it. “I want them to know where we stand.”

“Great.” I sighed.

The gargoyles landed on the roof around us, bowing to their commander and awaiting his orders.

“This rooftop is now off-limits. Everyone needs to stay on the ground tonight.” The order was met with obvious confusion but they nodded and flew back to the ground.

I had a feeling they all knew exactly why, and the thought of fucking Kol was enough to keep me from protesting.

“Now who hears you, is up to you, Harlow,” he rumbled.

“Aren’t you clever,” I deadpanned. The snark tonight was unreal, but I couldn’t help myself.

They’d tested my nerves for the last two hours. I was running out of patience. If someone didn’t give me an orgasm soon I might smite them all.

Kol let out a low hiss at my words, his claws slicing straight through my clothes so they fell to the ground in tatters.

The night was cool enough my nipples pebbled, goosebumps sweeping over my skin as a breeze blew past.

“Why don’t you conjure a bed since you don’t want me to fuck you on the rooftop,” Kol said, waiting for me to do as he commanded. With a wave of my hand, a pillowy mattress was waiting for us. The moment it hit the roof he was moving, throwing me on the bed and grabbing my ankles, spreading me wide open for him.

“I’ll never get bored of the sight of you.” His voice was so low and gravelly that it radiated through me, stirring a desperation I didn’t know I possessed. Silver eyes drank in every inch of my body. His nostrils flared as he was hit with my scent, eyes fluttering closed as he savored it.

“Alpha. Please,” I begged, needing him to do something about the growing ache between my legs. “Give me your knot.”

My back arched off the bed as he let go of one ankle long enough to tease his claws through my pussy, coating them in my wetness and licking it off as his eyes locked with mine.

“You’ll wait as long as I want you to, little omega.”

I growled in frustration but he didn’t care, booming laughter rumbling up from his chest as he trailed that claw over my skin. I might not be delicate but the sharp sting was just as delicious as before.

He took long enough that we were no longer alone. His scent hit me first, the storm an electric sharpness to the cool midnight skies of my gargoyle.

A shadow slithered over my body, icy and buzzing with power as it moved downward. It slowly slid into my pussy before Kol could fill me.

“You said catch you,” Monty called out. “So, I did.”

“And you think I won’t fuck that shadow right into her?” Kol asked with more than a little malice. They could fight all they wanted if Monty kept controlling his shadows so beautifully. Between the buzz of energy and the slow pace, I was writhing and moaning as he fucked me with it.

Finally someone was giving me what I needed.

Kol noticed how much I was enjoying it and dropped the fight, instead lining himself up and pushing in alongside the shadow so I was stretched more than I ever had been.

“It’s too much,” I protested with a whimper. My fingers were clenching in the bed sheets as I tried to escape the intensity of it.

He grinded his hips against mine as if it would help ease the pain. Just when I thought pain wasn’t an issue, these two showed me how wrong I was.

“Oh, I think our Queen can handle us, don’t you, Kol?” Monty teased as they let go of the pissing contest and worked together.

He clicked his fingers and the buzzing turned into powerful vibrations that had Kol and I both cursing him.

“Ivar,” Kol ground out, glaring at the demon who looked pleased with himself.

“Let’s see how long it takes before I break you both,” Monty drew out as he paced closer, dropping his own shadow-clad robes to expose himself. My eyes trailed down and I was glad he wasn’t the one fucking me alongside his shadows.

There would be nothing of me left.

As if we were his playthings, Monty used his show of power to lift us into the air and flipped us over so I was now straddling Kol.

“I’m not going to be left out,” Monty teased as he pushed my back so I was crushing my chest to Kol’s.

Icy shadows trailed down my spine, a soft tendril winding around my front and wrapping around my breasts, teasing shocks going to my nipples as he continued to pulsate between me and my gargoyle.

“My ass can’t take your knot,” I protested, my voice a broken whisper as my alpha destroyed me in the best and worst way.

Even though I knew what was coming,I still screamed out against the intrusion as his shadow slid into my ass. It was a blinding pain but somehow the icy shadow soothed it at the same time, letting him stretch me out by growing slowly until it would fit him.

I could barely breathe. He somehow caused pain, yet was being gentle at the same time.

Apparently, he also thought lube and shadows were the same.

As if he could hear my thoughts he slid the shadow from my ass as another trailed through my pussy, collecting my slick before taking its place.

This time the pain was lessened, the cold slick just the right amount of contrast to the overwhelming fullness of my two monster alphas.

“I’m not going to be able to save the world if I can’t walk, Monty,” I complained. The words morphed into a moan as he pushed himself inside of me, filling the absence his shadows left behind.

Our bond flared to life, full of feral need, pleasure, and pain. It fell over us like a blanket, ensuring not one of us could escape.

The warring sensations of the two monsters filling me was as if I were being torn apart and then put back together over and over again. The thin barrier my body had between them was stretched beyond comprehension but they didn’t care. I would likely heal and they would be satisfied.

In their minds, that was a win, and the shockwaves of pleasure rocking through me agreed.

Even Kol’s protests had died away as he fucked me again, thrusting into me from below while Monty fucked me from behind, the shadows playing with my clit and buzzing around my gargoyle, and as a result, Monty.

They made no attempt at setting a rhythm, instead falling into an alternating synchronicity that ensured I never had a moment to adjust, breathe, or think.

“Breathe, Harlow,” Monty growled, pinching my nipple to force the air into my lungs. The fresh air smelled like sex, night skies, and rain, the mix of my monster alphas and me.

Monty knew I was at my breaking point, his shadows working together over my clit, my cunt, and my nipples, to throw me into an orgasm he refused to let ebb away.

When one turned to two, then three, I was screaming and sobbing into the night, no longer caring that the entirety of Dark Haven and Ridgefield knew I was being claimed on this rooftop.

And there were no signs of stopping.

Demons and gargoyles had insane stamina. I’d lost count of orgasms twenty minutes ago. Instead, every moment was a jolting mix of pleasure and intense pain as they used my body in some sort of dominance battle.

Both of their knots were swelling, pushing the last of my control until I reached some sort of blissfully empty place between consciousness and nothingness.

Kol was the first to break, a loud roar bursting free as he came, his knot forcing me to cry and scratch at him as he filled me from below.

My body shuddered as his knot hit the bundle of nerves inside of me. A fresh wave of pain and euphoria carried me in and out of that dreamlike state.

Even Monty couldn’t hold back, filling my ass right after with a low hiss that snaked through me.

With two knots and two huge monster cocks, I doubted even my new and improved body would come out unscathed.

Monty continued to push into me in lazy, slow thrusts, his shadows now painfully cold as they slithered over me. They were no longer tendrils but a soothing cloak that wound around every inch of my body and even seeped into my core and ass, soothing away the pain and healing me as they went.

They held me, soothing and praising me in hushed voices as my mind came back online and their knots released me.

My alphas were careful as they untangled themselves from me. Monty didn’t let the shadows recede yet, letting the cold soothe me without the energy. Even after Monty’s power healed me some, the ache was maddening.

“I think we broke her this time,” Kol mused with a rough laugh.

“She’ll be fine,” Monty said with no remorse or sympathy. In fact, he was smug. “We couldn’t have done that if she were still human.”

If I could have told them to fuck off, I would have, but I couldn’t make my mouth open.

Had I been human, I’d have passed out long ago.

Instead, my body slowly mended. Monty was attuned to me enough he knew the moment it was bearable and slowly pulled his shadows free.

“I’m going to shower. Alone. I no longer want any more sex,” I grumbled as I wrapped the sheet around myself, somehow managing to climb to my feet. Once I was steady, I headed for the door.

Roman and Hiro were waiting to give me the sweet contrast to my monsters’ harshness. They said nothing as I walked into the third-floor hallway, only taking my hand and leading me to the showers.

“Come on, Harlow, let us take care of you,” Hiro said in a gentle tone, ghosting a kiss over my temple as his fingers wound around mine.

“We’ve got you,” Roman promised, voice strong and sure.

My mind was still half-empty as they gently rubbed soap over my skin and massaged shampoo and conditioner into my hair. The warmth of the water and their gentle touches and sweet and smoky scents mended me until I was myself again.

They dried me just as carefully and waited while I conjured us all matching pajamas. Cute black fabric with bats and moons on the surface and stars sparkling between them.

“These are cute,” Hiro laughed, running his fingers over the soft fabric. Roman rumbled out a laugh and rolled his eyes, but indulged me anyway.

“Come on, let’s go snuggle,” Roman said as he scooped me into his arms. His face nuzzled my neck as I tucked my face into his chest, breathing him in. It was another reminder that at the end of the day, we were still ourselves.

Soon the three of us were tucked into their old bed, the covers clean and fresh as they wrapped me in a cocoon.

In a moment that was purely Hiro, he pulled out his old mythology book from the drawer of their old room and read.

It took a solid hour for my body to recover fully and the fatigue to ebb away. The lack of sleeping was strange, but as if Helheim could sense my loss of power, it doubled its efforts, feeding a fresh supply into me until I felt like myself again.

“It’s kind of embarrassing that Helheim just helped me heal from being fucked by two psychos,” I blurted out.

Hiro fumbled over the words he was reading before they burst into laughter.

“Only you would say something like that,” Roman said with a shake of his head. His hands trailed absently over my body, and I felt relaxed for the first time in a long time.

“What have you guys been up to?”

“Well, when those two ran after you, we figured we’d let the three of you battle it out. Which turned out to be the right choice,” Roman joked.

“Drake, Roman, and I were talking about bucket lists. But then his mom had a nightmare, so he went off to help settle her and we decided to wait for you,” Hiro added.

“Bucket lists?”

“Yeah, things we wanted to do before we died. Even if we’re a bit late for that now,” Hiro explained. “Though I’m not complaining. I gained an entire body from my death. And immortality.”

“Now I want to know what was on your lists,” I said, sitting up and studying him. A soft glow grew on his cheeks that was distinctly Hiro. I pushed the affection I was feeling straight into the bond. His eyes softened but Roman saved him from answering right away.

“For me, it was cooking, but I knocked that out with the pizza,” Roman said with a hint of vulnerability. “It sounds like such a stupid little thing, but I never got the chance to learn.”

“You did amazing with the pizza,” I reassured him.

“That was only because Stravos and Layne helped,” he admitted. “I also wanted to swim in the ocean.”

“We can do all of those things still. As long as I do my job, we can go anywhere. To the ocean, visit big cities, take random vacations. We can have whatever life we want afterward.” I don’t know how long we can be away from the portal but I’d be willing to find out. “Odin gave us the ability to leave. It was part of the deal I made with him to stay in Helheim and fix this mess.”

For the first time in our entire existence, we had control of our future. It was a strange feeling, but an amazing and freeing one, too.

“Only if we do his bidding,” Hiro pointed out.

“Let’s not anger the gods tonight with our words,” I said, turning to Hiro. “What’s on yours?”

“Driving.” Hiro laughed. “I never got the chance to learn. They don’t let you get a license with all the meds I had to take. I’d be a danger to society.”

“I bet Drake would get behind that one,” I said with a smile. “He’s a big softy these days, I bet he’d be a patient teacher. Especially if you give him road head.”

Hiro burst out laughing and Roman and I couldn’t resist joining in. The warmth of our bond grew a bit more between us and I loved that we were forging all these intricate webs inside the bond, strengthening it in ways normal packs could never experience.

“It’s stupid, but do you know what I always wanted to do?” I added.

“What?” they asked. Their voices were eager and I didn’t hesitate to answer. Even in this new life they were my safe space.

“I want to go back to my grandma. Show her that she didn’t break me.”

There was silence after the words fell from my lips. “See, I told you it was stupid. And honestly what I’ve become is exactly what she feared.”

“Dead?” Hiro questioned.

I laughed. “She wishes. No, she thought I was a demon, or rather I was possessed by one. Little did she know I was going to give my soul to the demons and become their leader.”

Roman was the first to speak. “So, you’re telling me you want to pop in on dear old grandma and scar her for life? I don’t think I’ve ever been more in love with you.”

A startled laugh escaped me, shocked they weren’t just laughing me off. But out of all the things in my life I couldn’t shake or move past, it was how shitty I was treated by the ones who were supposed to take care of me and love me.

Though, I suppose if anyone could relate, it would be Hiro and Roman.

“I’m here for it,” Hiro agreed. “I vote that we pop in at the dead of night, really shake the old woman.”

“Even better,” I agreed. The image was playing out in my head, and I could almost hear her terrified screams.

Maybe it was wrong for that vision to satisfy me so much, but it settled something within me. It would honestly be the final bit of closure for my humanity.

But it would have to wait.

Our conversation was cut short by Loki popping in and sitting across from me. His legs were crossed like mine but there was no amusement on his lips. I was just glad he didn’t pop in an hour ago while I was being railed by a demon and gargoyle.

“We need to talk.”