Page 5

Dove

Like this, do you feel my presence in your mind? Seven asked as he sprawled beside me, his elbow crooked as he kept his head elevated.

I did feel it, a gentle nudge against my thoughts.

I nodded slowly, my eyes trailing over his scar, over his exquisite jawline and mesmerized by the tattoos creeping up his neck. Wanting him to take his shirt off so I could explore them in their full glory.

Flashes of him and me against that wall, his fingers sliding between my legs. Of when he and Kairos tasted me and brought me to the edge over and over. Fantasies of my Fated mates each taking me, sometimes alone, sometimes together, their cocks between my legs, driving into my pulsing—

“Whoa,”

Seven said, snapping back to a sitting position and clearing his throat.

And then I felt a series of nudges within my head and realized Seven wasn’t the only one in there. The four men all stared with lusty desire swathing over them. Enko’s teeth and knuckles clenched tightly, holding himself deadly still at my side, his breaths coming out loudly as he struggled to maintain control. Kairos ran his tongue over his lips, his hand covering the bulge in his pants. And the Archfox…

“Whoa, indeed,”

Rhys said, clearing his throat uncomfortably and stuffing his hands in his pockets as he spun around. “At least one of you should have informed me you had mated. I didn’t realize how close you all had gotten—”

My face heated like it had caught fire, shaking my head and trying to push myself up to explain to the Archfox.

“We haven’t,”

Kairos snapped angrily as he approached me, hand stretching over Enko and pressing my shoulder back against the pillows. “Don’t be embarrassed, Dove.”

“We can give you more than fantasies, Fated,”

Seven said as he prowled close to me on the other bed.

“How much of that really happened?”

Rhys asked as he faced me again. “Show me with your mind.”

He cleared his throat, shifting his weight from foot to foot. “It will be good for your training.”

“For her training?”

Seven joked mockingly.

The Archfox snapped his gaze to Seven. “Quiet.”

Seven’s eyes rolled, his smirk holding back his laugh. “She needs to learn blocking, not transmitting.”

As if to save my own embarrassment, a knock came at the door. The Archfox answered, still keeping his distance from me as the others surrounded me on the makeshift king size bed, Kairos sitting on the end and grasping my feet.

“Delivery for—”

The man at the door sputtered, dropping into a bow. “Your Holiness, sorry to disturb you, this is the dorm number listed on the order.”

“Thank you,”

the Archfox said as he took the two gigantic brown bags from the man. He somehow managed to maintain his calm, though I felt the unintentional vibration of his mind shield slipping. Embarrassment.

Was he embarrassed to be seen around me? The insecurity rose within me, so quickly I couldn’t suppress it before the Archfox noticed. He shut the door and gazed at me with apologetic eyes.

Before him and I could speak, my three other mates were on the case.

“Dammit, Rhys,”

Seven began. “You need to get over yourself. How many times do I have to explain she would be safer if people knew she was under your protection?”

The Archfox set the bags on the table next to the small kitchenette. “I should go. It’s not appropriate for me to be hanging out in a dormitory with students—”

“Then maybe we need another solution because you making Dove feel bad makes me want to shift and rip your fucking throat out,”

Enko growled as Kairos nodded in agreement.

I wanted to curl into a ball and die of embarrassment now. How would I ever grow my bond to the Archfox with these three constantly butting in?

“See what you’re doing? Feel her embarrassment at being Fated to such a prat?”

Enko snapped.

I shook my head, reaching for Enko’s arm as he stood up. “No. Stop,” I begged.

The Archfox’s shoulders relaxed as he met my eyes. “Well...the damage is done now, so I may as well eat. But tomorrow, I need to get back to work, and you three need to get to classes.”

“The four of us,”

I corrected.

“Dove, you need to heal.”

I frowned. “I’ve been dealing with pain for a long time, Your Holiness. I think I know my body better than you do.”

Kairos let out an exasperated sigh. “Call him Rhys, Dove. His ego is inflated enough as it is.”

Enko grabbed plates from the kitchenette and began to load up two of them. The smell wafted in my direction and my stomach growled almost as loudly as Enko did when he was mad.

“Don’t make me order you to stay in, Dove,”

Rhys said as he eyed Enko warily. “Are you going to be able to eat both those plates?”

Seven laughed. “Oh, you’re in for a surprise.”

Enko brought a plate over to me and passed over a fork and knife. The steak was perfectly seared, slathered in butter and garlic. I plucked off the green stuff before I devoured the meat. I dug into the mashed potatoes like some kind of ravenous beast.

I was so infatuated with the meal that by the time I had finished, my Fated males, with the exception of Enko who was grabbing another plate, were all staring at me in awe.

“Want more, Dove?”

Enko asked from across the room.

“More? Is she some kind of black hole? How did she eat all that already?”

Rhys joked.

I pouted. “I haven’t had a decent meal in days.”

“I got you breakfast,”

Seven grumbled.

“Eat your vegetables, Dove,”

Kairos said as he eyed the asparagus left untouched on my plate.

I stabbed a spear as I glared playfully at Kairos. My time with plain foods really had made me enjoy the food a little too much.

After eating, the sleepiness returned with a vengeance and Rhys suggested that I sleep shifted into my fox form to help speed up the healing process. “That’s an order if you plan to go to classes tomorrow.”

“Seven, get out of my bed,”

Kairos demanded, but my dark mate was already pulling the blankets up over himself as he rested next to me. “What the hell? I thought you liked to sleep in the Shadow Vale.”

Seven’s arm reached over me, yawning. “Jealous? You can sleep here tomorrow. Besides, it’s not like I need to go to any special place to go into the Shadow. I can manage just fine right here.”

“It’s my bed,”

Kairos responded irritably as the Archfox watched curiously.

“I should go,”

the Archfox said.

“You’re not staying?”

I asked in a panic.

He frowned. “I can’t stay here forever, Dove. I promise I’ll see you soon. Besides, where would I sleep?”

“You?”

Kairos’ eyes bulged. “Where am I supposed to sleep? Tell your brother to get out of my bed. I told you we needed a bigger dorm weeks ago.”

Rhys laughed. “You all seem quite content in the space, I wouldn’t take that away from you. Especially not now that Seven is finally being social.”

Seven scowled defensively. “I’m helping my Fated heal, Rhys.”

“Shifting will help her heal.”

Rhys paused. “Dove.”

I was prepared to grumble about it, but the drowsiness beat out any arguments and I slipped into fox form and then fast asleep.