Page 25

Lilith

I wake to sunshine flooding into the room, warming me. While we were gone, the guys had the beds moved out and one big one moved in. Now, we can all sleep in the same bed, like we did at Dad’s house. They will move me, so I end up sleeping next to all of them at some point in the night, and I love it. I love every moment of being close to them. When I am lying in bed with them, none of the bad in the world can sneak their way in. It’s just me and my mates.

“Good morning,” Daemon says sweetly, kissing my forehead.

“You know that you glow in your sleep?” Kael says, kissing my neck.

“What?” I ask.

“Mhmm,” Daemon says with a smirk. “What were you dreaming about?” My face immediately turns red as I flip over to my belly to bury my face in the pillow.

“Come on,” Kael says. “Don’t be shy. What was it?”

“It was all three of you,” I say laughing.

“Oh? How did that go?” Daemon asks, a hint of amusement in his voice, making me roll to face him.

“Well… I was on top of you with Kael behind, and Callum was… standing close by,” I say, still blushing.

“You must be missing a detail somewhere to be blushing that hard,” Daemon grins, cupping my blazing hot cheek.

“It was just different,” I say.

“How?” Kael asks.

“It’s dumb,” I admit, shaking my head.

“Unless it was you, shifted, no it’s not,” Daemon says. “Say it.”

“It was consensual, just…”

“Forceful?” he asks, and I nod. “Baby, that’s not dumb. That’s normal.”

“How’s that normal? I was raped daily for five years, and I got off to a dream of you doing it,” I frown.

“A forced sex kink is very normal for survivors to have,” Daemon says softly, stroking my cheek. “It means that you are seeking out control over the situation. You know we won’t hurt you. You know we will respect your boundaries and listen when you say stop.”

“I like the overwhelming feeling of it with you all,” I say. “It gives my mind a break.”

“Then do you trust us with that? With force?”

“I do,” I say. He glances behind me and smirks.

“Safe word,” he says simply.

“What?”

“It’s a final no. You say it, it’s done. That allows you the freedom to act on the fantasy as a whole and even say no if you want but still have a way to communicate your limit,” he says. “If you can’t speak, you can mindlink.”

“Uh… pineapple,” I say.

“Pineapple it is,” he says. “Use it if you get overwhelmed.”

Before I can say anything, he grabs ahold of my underwear and rips it off of me before Kael does the same to my shirt. I whimper as the sudden force arouses me.

Daemon pulls me on top of him while Kael moves to get behind me. “Woah, woah, woah. Wait. You both can’t fit,” I go to protest, but Daemon slams both of his cocks deep inside of my pussy as Kael covers my mouth and shoves himself into my ass. I scream into his hand as pleasure and pain sweep over my body. They immediately fall into an aggressive pace. Callum comes around to the side of the bed and grabs my face.

“Open wide, my sweet little slut,” he says, rubbing the head of his cock against my lips. When I open my mouth to take him, he begins to fuck my face. I am screaming around his cock as they all relentlessly fuck me. They bring me to my first orgasm so fast that it makes my body convulse.

“Our dirty little witch likes it when we make her scream,” Kael croons as he surges into my ass over and over.

It feels phenomenal to be used this way by my mates. They move with force, but they do it in such a way that I feel safe and secure between them.

I whimper and moan through my muffled screams as orgasms pour out of me. I am positive that everyone in this house can hear us, but I don’t care. I never want this feeling to end, and it doesn’t for a while. I can feel my brain trying to drag me into a vision. I recognize the feeling, so I relax into it as everything goes black.

I feel detached from my body as it rushes through the doors of a warehouse. I can see groups of people huddled in the filth. They are in various states of undress. I can hear the wails as the cracks of whips sound off. My heart breaks as I witness a handful of maidens tied to tables being surrounded by wolf shifters and forced against their will to their sadistic desires. Hundreds of my people are in collars and chains inside the walls of this warehouse. Some appear to be unconscious, but at least they are all alive.

I see a door crack open as shadows move into the building, one by one as the shifters have their collars removed, they turn and run, escaping quietly from this hell.

This vision seems to go on forever; eventually, I come out of it. I am lying on the bed surrounded by all three of my mates; their faces are filled with worry.

“Sorry,” I say with a smile.

“What in the fuck was that?” Kael asks.

“Apparently if you make me come hard enough, I have visions,” I say.

“You’ve been out of it for nearly twenty minutes, Lilith. We almost went and got your dad,” Kael says, and I grin as I sit up.

“Well, you guys fuck like monsters, so take it as a compliment,” I say, laughing, trying to break up the somber mood.

“What did you see?” Daemon asks.

“Someone freeing the fox shifters,” I say. “It was reassurance that I’m on the right path and not rushing things.”

“Why would you be rushing things?” Callum asks. “Have you had other visions?”

“Uhh….” I say slowly, licking my lips as I try to avoid answering the question.

“Lilith! Have you?” Daemon demands.

“Yeah,” I say slowly. “The night you guys did that sensory deprivation thing. I had one then. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you.”

“What did you see?” he asks.

“I don’t think you want to know,” I say honestly. He’s just going to be mad and get himself killed trying to keep me safe. It’s inevitable.

“I do,” he says. “Even if it’s bad.”

“Well,” I say as I turn on the bed to face them all. “It was simple. I was restrained by chains in the center of a concrete room. I was completely naked, and it looked like I might have been whipped or something. Either way, I look weak. Like… very weak. So, I’m either not able to access that reservoir, or I haven’t been able to get it down yet. Maybe I’ve gone mental, and I forget to fight back. Who knows? Anything is possible. I couldn’t see the location or who else was there. I don’t know when it will happen, but I will get captured at some point. I don’t know if I am meant to survive that, but I get the feeling that I do. I feel like whatever this is, it must happen for us to win.”

“And this will happen? It’s not something you can prevent?” Daemon asks, calmer than expected.

“Uhm… Yeah. One way or another, it’s going to happen. I’d like for people to not get killed, so if I can, I’d like to try to limit who’s around me at any given time,” I say. “I handled that for five years… I can handle it for a day or two.”

“You need to tell your dad,” Kael says softly.

“I need to,” I agree.

“What can we do?” Callum asks.

“Honestly? I don’t know. I just need help to make sure I don’t die. All I saw was that I would be captured. I know it will be bad, but I’m not sensing that I’ll die. That means I need to just focus on staying alive and tapping into that energy. If I can get to it and master it… I can get myself out of basically anything,” I say.

“Alright. We are still making you do everything with your dad today but talk to him today and see if he can give you any kind of insight,” Daemon says.

“This went differently than I expected,” I say.

“You hid it from us because you were afraid of our reaction. That could have gotten you killed, and it would have been our fault because we made you feel like you couldn’t talk to us. What kind of mates are we if we can’t just listen to you and trust what you are saying? We know you are smart and capable of so much, so I think it’s time we show you that we do believe in you,” Kael says, as he looks into my eyes.

“I appreciate that,” I say as I lean forward to kiss him.

“If someone puts their hands on you, though,” Kael says as he grabs my face so I can’t pull away. “They better pray to their gods that you kill them and not us.” He kisses the tip of my nose, making me giggle, before letting me go.

“Let’s go get breakfast,” I say. “I’ll tell Dad about the vision, and we’ll get to see him demon out again.”

We get up and dress for the day. We are making sure to dress in preparation for leaving. Last night we focused on packing backpacks for us to bring. It has everything from spare clothes to a warm sleeping bag to food. I am bringing things for magic, like certain herbs and salves, to help with healing. We set those bags by the front door before going into the kitchen, where Striker and Dad are cooking.

“Morning,” I say as I pull my hair up into a ponytail.

“Morning,” Dad smiles.

“You have very loud sex,” Leli says as she comes into the kitchen behind me.

“Yeah. So, about that,” I say. Dad narrows his eyes for a second. I think he knows I wouldn’t just randomly talk about fucking my mates with him, so he knows something is up.

“What’s wrong?” Dad asks. “You’re not pregnant, are you?”

“No,” I laugh. “No, I apparently have, uhm…. visions. When I…”

“I understand,” he says, cutting me off. “How many visions have you had now?”

“Three,” I say. “The first time was the war. I sense when we leave here, I’ll get to see that vision.”

“And the other two?” he asks as he cooks. I look at Striker and sigh. His face falls into a frown.

“The third one, earlier, was the fox shifters being freed. It just reassured me that I am making the right choices and that we do save them.”

“And the second?” he asks.

“I’m going to get captured at some point. I don’t know by who, or when, but it’s going to happen. I just know that I’m going to be held in a concrete room. I know that I’m probably going to get whipped. I know that I’m going to get raped more times than I can comprehend right now. In the vision, I was very weak, as if I didn’t have magic. My theory is that something happens to prevent me from reaching that energy, or I have not mastered it yet. We focus on me learning how to access it so that when I’m able to, I will, and I will be able to save myself. I don’t get the feeling that I’m gonna die because I don’t think it’s been decided yet,” I explain.

Dad sighs heavily as he hands the spatula to Striker and walks over to stand in front of me. He cups my face and runs the pad of his thumb across my cheekbone. He looks like he’s lost in thought. I give him this moment to process everything, because I know that it’s scary. He has already lost Mom, and I know that he’s terrified of losing me again. I have known him for all of two weeks, and he has never been hesitant to show his feelings. He is trying to process them in a way that doesn’t freak me out. Right now, I am calm and accepting of this, but that might not always be the case.

“We will focus on basic attacks and defensive spells,” he says after a while. “After that, we focus on reaching that stored magia. Real-world experience with actual combat is the only way you are going to learn how to spellcast under pressure. You have plenty of people around you to help you and make sure that no one actually hurts you. I want to lock you up here, on this property, to keep you safe, but I know that I can’t. I know that I have to let you do this your way because you are the one being guided through life for this prophecy. You wholeheartedly believe that this has to happen for the prophecy to lead us to survival… then I will support whatever you have to do. Understand I will never stop fighting for you, though. Anyone who attempts or succeeds in hurting my daughters will suffer. No matter if you survive or not, I will avenge you, and they will beg for death by the time I’m done with them.”

“You know you do this thing where you say very violent things in a very sweet voice?” I say, and he smiles.

“I love you so much, Lilith. I’m trying hard to not treat you like a little girl. Part of me wants you to be a little girl forever so I can protect you, but know that you have to be the one to do this. No matter how much pain it brings me, I know that I have to step back and let you be your own person. Your mom would not want me to prevent you from growing into the person you should be. You have three loving and protective mates at your side. I will happily stand behind you no matter where you lead us.”

Tears fog my vision as they begin to spill down my cheeks quicker than I expected. Dad grabs me into a hug and squeezes, holding me tight as if it’s the only thing keeping me together. It pains me to see him feel helpless, but it brings me so much joy to know that he will always be behind me. I prayed my entire life to be surrounded by people who love me, and now I have that. I have my mates, my siblings, and my father. I may not be invincible, but together with their help, I am. We will win this war because they helped me.

When we get done with breakfast, the guys go off to get updates for me while Dad and I go to the courtyard to practice. He wanted to make a point of having me practice in front of everyone, so I was comfortable. People must see me practice and know that, although I am young and I am new to this, I am still trying.

The first spell we work on is putting up a protective barrier. It is important to be able to protect myself. When all else fails, I can put the barrier up and wait. There is no sense in getting myself killed when I could just put a barrier up and block everything out.

I practice for what seems like hours. Dad tests me by throwing random things at me. When I fail, he thinks it’s hilarious, but when it works, I think it’s hilarious. He eventually has people come over and try to get through the barrier that I put up. If they can get through it, I’m not doing it right. There are ways to be selective when putting a barrier up and who can get through it, but if I am in a situation where I need to use it, I don’t want anyone around me. My barrier will protect anyone who is directly beside me. If they are not there whenever I put it up, they are out of luck. If two witches simultaneously cast the same barrier, it will make it that much stronger, like when the plane first took off. Now, if you get a group of five to ten putting up the same barrier, you can spread it to protect an entire property like we are right now. They are far more advanced than I am, so they can be selective with who can get in.

For the most part, I am able to quickly get a grasp on the spells. Once I get it the first time, I’m okay. Some spells come easier than others. The barrier, for instance. Anything that protects me I pick up on is far easier than any attack. There are some attacks that I can’t actually practice because they are deadly. Dad makes sure that I understand the basics of it, and we do practice a little, but not to completion. For example, there is a spell that will allow me to boil somebody from the inside out. For whatever reason this one attracts my attention the most, but it’s not something I can realistically practice. Anyone that I practiced it on could suffer irreversible damage. These types of spells are reserved for when I have no other choice. It is far preferable for me to stick to things that I can actually practice and hone my skills instead of trying to use a spell that I can’t actually practice and then failing and getting myself killed. The best offense is a good defense.

Although I can learn any spell, nature-based spells are the easiest for me. Offensive spells that involve the natural elements are going to be the most efficient attacks for me. This is likely why the shock spell that I used on Kael came so easily to me. That spell in particular is my favorite because I can adjust the strength of it. Even when I first mated with the guys and shocked Kael, I very well could’ve laid his ass out. The more I practice it, the more strength I develop with it. Once I am actually able to tap into my reserve of magia and learn how to control it, all of these attacks are going to be a breeze.

For the last part of the day, we focus specifically on attack spells. Some of these include fireballs or ice spears, but shocking people is where I am the most comfortable. This allows me to keep my distance and also attack if someone gets too close. I can’t necessarily throw a fireball in someone’s face if they are two feet in front of me, but I can electrocute the shit out of them without doing the same to myself.

Vash volunteers to help me train. Dad gives him simple instructions. Pin me. Shifted or not, his goal is to get me down, and he is not to go easy on me just because I am the queen. If anything, he should go harder because I am the queen. I am a vital part of this fight, and I have to survive to make sure we win. I can’t do that if I’m dead.

While Vash tries to take me down, Dad will advise me in the moment what to do. The guys are standing off to the side with a few others. I can tell they’re uncomfortable with Vash rushing towards me, but they brought this on themselves. Now they get to watch another man try to pin me down.

By the time Vash steps up, everyone is watching. “Ready?” Dad asks me.

“Absolutely not,” I say, and Vash laughs.

“Are you scared, my Queen?” Vash taunts me.

“I will electrocute you, Vash,” I give him a stern warning.

“See… I was going to be nice and not shift,” he says, stepping closer to me.

“Okay. That’s not nice. You have to give me a second before you do that,“ I laugh and back up.

“Please don’t break her,” Daemon says.

“We don’t have all day, Lilith. You’re stalling,” Dad says.

“Fine. I’m ready,” I say.

Vash doesn’t charge at me like I expected. Instead, he is slow and methodical. He moves around me, watching my every move. He doesn’t attack first, so I do. Everything I send his way, he either dodges, or my spell is too weak to do anything.

“Alright. This is annoying,” I say as I turn to Dad. He smirks at me right before Vash takes me down and pins me.

“Don’t take your eye off the person coming after you. Ever,” Vash says. “Your enemy will not hesitate to take advantage of your distraction.”

“That was rude,” I say with a frown when Vash gets off of me and helps me up.

“That was realistic, Lilith,” Vash says. “You think Zypher will fight fair?”

“No,” I say.

“Exactly,” he says. “Survival is the only way you win. Even if you are pinned, you never stop fighting. I don’t care what he is doing; you never stop fighting. If he gets you down, you find a way to fight, even if only with your mind. The second you give in, he wins.”

“I get it,” I sigh.

We go through several more rounds, and he takes me down each time just as easily as the first time. At a certain point, it starts making me mad whenever he pins me. No matter what I’m doing, he still gets to me. Over and over, he pins me down and lectures me about what I did wrong. Dad guides me by pointing out what I should be doing, but nothing seems to make it easier.

I start to doubt my ability to save myself. I can’t access that energy. I can’t defend myself or protect myself against someone who isn’t actually trying to hurt me. But maybe that’s what I’m doing wrong. I’m not treating this as a threat, so I’m not actually trying as hard as I should be. When I make this realization, I take a second to think about what I would actually do if it was Zypher coming after me and not Vash. Once I can visualize a scenario like that, I am quicker to center myself.

Vash attempts to get me down, but I slip away from him. He starts to circle me, but I keep my eyes on him, moving in sync with him. As long as I keep my body facing him, he stays in my line of sight. Every time he has done this, I end up getting distracted, but I channel that knowledge of what it would feel like for Zypher to come after me again.

When Vash suddenly lunges at me, I realize what I’m doing wrong. Vash sat there this morning and listened to me explain my visions. They all know that someone is going to get me. Zypher is going to get me. Vash is not looking for me to prevent myself from going down. We all know I’m going to go down, but he wants me to keep fighting. I have to keep fighting, or all of this is for nothing. The five years of abuse and the thirty-six hours of rape that Leli endured will never get avenged if I don’t keep fighting. We don’t get retribution for our trauma. The bad guys win, and I fail to fulfill the prophecy. If I don’t keep fighting, my mother will have died for no reason.

Vash tackles me and gets me pinned with my arms above my head. Before it was not a full restraint, because I wasn’t fighting him. When I started trying to wiggle away, he started fully restraining me.

“ Inpulsa ,” I mutter. I conjure up every bit of strength that I have so that when the surge of electricity enters him, he is immediately pushed off of me. I roll away and jump up so I can back away. It takes Vash a second to recover from what I just did, but then he immediately shifts. “Fuck.”

“Barrier, Lilith. Use a barrier. If you are in over your head. Use a barrier,” Dad says.

With my arms extended out from my body with my palms facing out, I put up a barrier just in time for Vash to smash into the side of it. He continues to try to get through the barrier, seeing if I have a strong enough hold on it.

“What do you do now?” Dad asks.

“I call for help,” I say, watching Vash.

“You call for help. You mind link with your mates, and you get help,” Dad says with a smile as he nods. He signals to Vash that he can shift back. I don’t let the barrier down until Vash smiles and turns to hug Leli.

“I’m proud of you,” Dad says, hugging me.

“Yeah. Only took me all fucking day,” I grumble.

“It takes a lot of strength to hold a barrier to keep a dragon out, Lilith. Be proud of being able to do that after one day,” he says.

“Ready?” Daemon asks from behind me. I turn and hug him, burying my face in his chest. “What’s wrong, sweetie?”

“I can’t do this,” I say quietly.

“Do what?” he asks, pulling away to cup my face.

“Any of this. Lead. Fight. All I’m going to do is get people hurt because I feel damn near useless,” I say honestly. “Why the universe would choose the most incompetent witch to save the world, I will never know.”

“You are learning, Lilith. You are far more advanced than anyone who has been training for as long as you have. No one catches on immediately, but you are catching on so damn quick. Your father showed you that barrier spell twice. You get that, don’t you? You just kept a full-grown dragon shifter away from you with a spell that you were taught twice.”

“I practiced that shit almost all day, Daemon. That’s not just twice. It’s dozens of failed attempts.”

“But you still did it, Lilith. That is what matters. If all else fails, electrocute the shit out of someone and put up a barrier.”

“And if I can’t speak? What do I do then? I don’t know how to do that spell without saying the word.”

“Then you move on to something else,” Daemon says. I try to pull away from him, but he holds onto my face tighter. “If Zypher has you pinned on the ground, you don’t stop fighting. I don’t care if he is buried inside of you; you fight. I don’t care how many tears you cry in the process, but you never stop fucking fighting. Physically or mentally doesn’t matter. Just fight. Do you understand? You are the High Witch; the Queen of Grimitara, and the mate of the Three Kings. You do not go down without giving it everything you’ve got.”

“Okay,” I smile.

“Now, are you ready?” he asks again.

“Yes,” I say.

“Go on,” Daemon says before kissing me.

I go back to where I was, and Daemon, Kael, and Callum stand back from me. When they shift, everyone gets quiet. “Fuck,” I sigh.

They immediately separate, so I can’t keep my eyes on all of them. They fall into a predictable pattern, though. Daemon remains in front of me while Kael ends up behind me. Callum is off to one side, leaving my left side open. I know that the second I take my eyes off of Daemon, he will lunge. In all reality, he could get me from where I’m at right now.

I can hear Kael moving around behind me while I try to keep my eye on Daemon and Kael out of the corner of my eye. Anytime he shifts, so do I. They are all massive, so I know that this won’t last long. One of them is going to lunge at me. When one of them does, they all will. I don’t stand a chance if all of them come at me at once. There’s no way I could get away.

Unless… Unless I’m small enough to maneuver around them. I never considered shifting, but if I’m supposed to be utilizing everything I can to survive, shifting into that tiny arctic fox would allow me the chance to get away. But where would I go? If I ran, they would eventually catch me… but if I went towards the other shifters, would they protect me? Of course, they would. They are still here. If this is a training exercise for me, then it very well could be for them also. This could give me a chance to see what they would do if I was in a crisis and needed to run to them and that I can’t defend myself.

I’m expecting it to be Kael to lunge first. He’s the most impatient. That would be too obvious, though. Daemon would be too obvious as well because he’s directly in front of me. But Callum is quiet. He is off to the side just enough in my peripheral vision that I know he is there, but if I wasn’t looking for him, I would miss him.

As soon as I predict that Callum will be the one to move first, his growl startles me as he takes a large step forward. Right as he is about to wrap his claws around my arm, I let out a yip as I shift. Once I am shifted into my tiny arctic fox, I turn and dart towards the other shifters. Daemon, Kael, and Callum are hot on my heels, so when I’m close enough, I leap into the air, and Vash catches me. Suddenly everyone around me shifts and creates a physical barrier between me and my mates. They have a bit of a standoff to see if anyone will stand down against them, but no one does. When the guys shift back, Vash sets me down, and I shift back, laughing.

Dad laughs as he comes over to hug me. “Good job, Lilith,” he says softly.

“I don’t know if that counts considering I just ran away,” I say.

“The point is to survive. You trusted your people, and they protected you, and they did. A leader is nothing without their followers. It is your job to lead them in the right direction. You have to trust them to follow, and they have to trust you not to walk them into their own death,” Dad says.

“You are a quick little thing,” Callum says as he wraps his arms around me from behind. I turn to face him, and he kisses me deeply.

“It took me a second to realize that you were going to be the one coming after me,” I say.

“I won’t lie, I expected you to try and put up a barrier,” Kael says, hugging me.

“You were too close. I would’ve just trapped you in it with me,” I say.

“So, what now?” Daemon asks.

“Now you three back the hell off and we leave in the morning,” I say.

“Yes, ma’am,” he chuckles. I turn to everyone who is patiently waiting. “We will be leaving at first light. Get some rest.”