Page 40

MARLOWE

After the initial novelty of the other fae’s appearances and proclivities wore off, the ball just seemed a little… boring.

Not that I was some big party animal or anything, but all anyone was doing was just freaky sex.

Yeah, been there, done that.

I thought about asking Ezra if they at least had any good drugs, but then again, I didn’t really feel safe being high around the king. Even the alcohol seemed risky, and I nursed the wine in my glass slowly as the party went on.

Eventually the center of the ballroom cleared. My interest piqued, I looked around for a singer, or perhaps a group of dancers. Anything was better than watching and listening to other people fuck nonstop.

Long columns of silk fluttered down from the ceiling, and three nude male acrobats slowly slid their way down, the crowd silent as they watched.

A female fae, her skin spotted and sleek, tumbled into the room and climbed her way to the males above, expertly guiding their erect cocks inside her as she swung between the strips of hanging fabric, until finally she managed to braid them together, each male fucking her from a different entrance.

I watched the female closely, and the look on her face was nothing but pure joy as the males worshiped every inch of her. She somehow managed to weave a pattern while still grinding on and sucking the cocks of her partners.

Granted I didn’t think I’d ever be that flexible, and maybe they were just talented performers, but I could feel a connection greater than sex passing through them by the way they looked at each other.

It made me think of my pack. I hadn’t been with them for over a week, and it was killing me. Not the lack of sex, although that was part of it, but I missed the love and the intimacy. The feeling of happiness from being surrounded by their affection and care.

Alaroth watched my movement carefully from where I sat beside him. “Does this arouse you, beloved?”

I took a long, shallow sip of my wine. “She looks very happy,”

I replied dryly.

He laughed and leaned over, resting his hand on my knee. “I’m certain I can make you look that happy, if you’d like.”

My skin crawled at the thought of it, and I ignored him to watch the end of the act. One by one they began to climax, and I heard several roars and whimpers of pleasure coming from the audience as well, getting off on watching the acrobats.

Alaroth shifted in his seat, but I kept my attention glued on the female. Her eyes opened and met mine, and she winked, pulling her partner out of her mouth for a moment to blow me a kiss before returning to the final orgasm.

King Alaroth grunted his approval. “I think she likes you. Would you like me to make an introduction?”

I took another sip of wine and shook my head. “I’m not interested in females like that, sorry.”

“Hmm, I’m not sure whether I should be disappointed or not,”

he replied, tapping his thumb on his own cup. “The thought of you with another female is extremely enticing.”

Oh wow, how original.

“But knowing you’re hungry for cock and cock alone also makes me irrationally excited to finally give you mine.”

I held the bile that rose up my throat at bay. I’d rather be with all the females in the world than even see his cock.

The acrobats ended their performance as they came, tumbling down the silks and bowing to the cheering crowd.

Two more erotic acts followed—a male who commanded magic dildos like he was a conductor of a symphony, directing them to pleasure ten fae with perfect precision, and a magic mirror that created temporary replicas of volunteers, allowing them to try to fuck themselves.

I yawned, wishing I had my phone so I could check my email, or doom scroll on Instagram, or literally be doing anything other than this. For an omega with an insanely high libido and five virile alphas at home, getting bored of all the sex was definitely saying something.

These fae needed another hobby.

The next performance was thankfully cock-free, and I perked up when a male and female duo brought a wild creature I’d never seen before into the room. It looked like a tiger but with scales in lieu of fur. A forked tongue slipped through its lips, and its tufted ears were flattened against its massive head. The handlers guided it through a series of tricks and obstacle courses, but when it hesitated to leap through a wall of flames, they whipped it and yelled at it to move.

The animal hissed and growled, backing up in fear.

I gripped the arm of my seat in anger. “They’re hurting it.”

The king had barely been paying attention, but seeing my distress caused him to sit up straight, and he eyed me cautiously. “You wish for them to stop?”

“Of course!”

I snapped. “You’re the king, do something!”

I could practically see the wheels turning in his head, a malicious sneer forming from the neutral set of his lips. “And what would you give me in return?”

I closed my eyes, gritting my teeth so hard I was afraid I’d crack a molar. “This isn’t about an exchange, it’s…”

“Everything is an exchange, Marlowe. We’re fae, nothing is done out of the goodness of our hearts.”

Bullshit. I was fae, apparently, and I’d never operated my life like that. But there wasn’t a lot of time to argue, and the sound of a whip cracking through the air pushed me to make a stupid deal.

“What do you want?” I asked.

That son of a bitch vocalized a slow sigh, tapping his fingers together as he thought. He knew I wanted this dealt with quickly, so the longer he took, the less time I had to negotiate.

I winced as the creature roared in pain. “What do you want?”

I repeated.

He pouted dramatically. “You’re entirely no fun, you know that?”

After another few moments, he turned his head towards me. “I will spare the creature if you spend the night with me.”

Before I had the chance to tell him to fuck off and get up to take care of the situation myself, he added, “Just to sleep. I merely wish to hold you in my arms and breathe in your sweet scent while I slumber.”

The whip cracked again, and I gave him a small nod. This was going to end poorly, but I couldn’t sit here and ignore that poor creature’s suffering a second longer.

“Enough!”

the king bellowed.

Silence fell over the room. The duo’s faces turned red, and they bowed quickly. “We apologize for the beast’s behavior, she isn’t normally so disobedient,”

they stammered. The female who held the whip wrung it nervously in her hands.

Alaroth looked down towards me, a small smile on his face. “Yes, I know a thing or two about unruly creatures.”

He turned to face the crowd again. “But I’m afraid my beloved does not care for the way you treat your vryscral.”

Vryscral… that’s what the creature was called.

The male of the duo adjusted his hat. “I don’t quite understand…”

Alaroth nodded towards a few of the guards that lined the room. “Your vryscral is hereby surrendered to the throne. You will leave the castle immediately.”

“Your Majesty!”

the female begged. “We’ve raised the beast since she was a kit! We’ve spent countless hours and gold in her training and upkeep, she is the source of our livelihood!”

I studied the creature and stood up slowly. Her long ears perked up, and then he sniffed the air. I took deliberate steps, cooing my intent as I approached.

“It’s okay…”

Ezra snapped to get my attention. “Marlowe,”

he whispered loudly. “Stop, it could kill you in a second.”

By the looks of the fangs that protruded from her large mouth, and the claws that scratched the marble floor, he was probably right. Yet something told me the vryscral wasn’t interested in my blood.

Her eyes darted between the guards, the performers, and me, the creature’s face contorting as she released an anxious hiss.

I paused, holding out my empty hands. “Come here, check me out. I’m not going to hurt you. You’re a beautiful thing, aren’t you?”

The performers steamed in anger as the vryscral took a tentative step towards me. Once she was assured no one else was going to attack her, she trotted over, smelling my hands and then rubbing her head into my palms. A deep trill reverberated through her chest, and I kneeled down to scratch her scaly chin.

A male fae came forward from somewhere in the shadows, bowing along the periphery of the open space. “All hail the future Queen Marlowe, Tamer of Beasts!”

“Hail the future Queen!”

Crap, I’d kind of forgotten about all the other people here. This ball may have been thrown in my honor to celebrate and engagement I didn’t want, but I’d hoped not to stand out in anyway or cause a scene.

I did my best to ignore the cheering, focusing all my attention on the vryscral in front of me. “What’s her name?”

I asked the two performers.

“She doesn’t have a name,”

spat the male. “How absurd. Your Majesty,”

he begged, looking back towards the king. “If your betrothed wants her own vryscral, I’d be happy to help procure one…”

Alaroth stepped off the dais and joined me in a crouch, one hand on my back as he gazed at the creature. “I’m afraid my beloved has already bonded with this one. Leave now and you will be compensated for your loss, or you may protest further and find yourselves in my dungeons. Which do you prefer?”

They grumbled their response and were escorted out by a pair of guards.

Ezra came to my other side, wincing as he crouched down. Yeah, those boots were totally killing him. “Well, congratulations on the pet. You’ll have to think of a name now, I guess.”

He reached quickly to pet the vryscral on her head, but she reared back and hissed, causing Ezra to snatch his hand back.

“Oh, I’m calling you Wasabi,”

I laughed.

Ezra lifted his lip towards my vryscral in a retaliatory snarl. “Wasabi?”

I shrugged. “She’s green and a little spicy.”

Alaroth wrapped his hand around my arm and pulled me back up with him. “I look forward to you holding up your end of the bargain tonight, beloved.

I closed my eyes, imagining myself shifting into a wolf and running through the wilds with Wasabi by my side. Playing. Jumping.

Feasting on the flesh of our enemies, starting with the one in front of me.

“As am I.”

The ball was still going strong hours later, and after some exaggerated head bobbing, Alaroth allowed Ezra to take me to my new rooms, where he would be joining me later.

“My chambers aren’t too far,”

Ezra explained. “And the king’s are just down the hall.”

I remained silent, trying to memorize the way. I still wasn’t going to be allowed to wander around by myself, but who knew when an opportunity would come up? “So, what exactly happens now? Do you know how much longer until Alaroth forces me down the aisle?”

“Honestly, I don’t know what the king has planned for you.”

“Terrific,”

I muttered under my breath. “As ‘Commander,’ do you at least know when he plans to start his war?”

Ezra didn’t reply, our footsteps echoing in the cavernous hallway.

“You really mean to go through with this, then? To lead an army of magical warriors to Earth and kill a bunch of people just because Alaroth thinks it’s a fun idea?”

He sighed deeply, fishing a ring of keys out of his pocket as we reached a set of doors. “If the humans surrender, there won’t be many casualties.”

Ezra opened the door, but I reached for the knob and shut it before we could enter. “Guns. Drones. Bombs. Missiles. Nukes,”

I said, listing them off on my fingers. “Do you really think magic can stop all those? And if they can’t, how much of the planet is going to be left for Alaroth to rule once it’s all over?”

“Then it’ll be their own damn fault,”

he growled. He turned to face me directly, anger simmering in his eyes. “We were born to do this, Marlowe. Why do you keep resisting?”

“War or peace,”

I said. “The prophecy said we cause an eternity of either one. What makes you so certain Alaroth can achieve the latter?”

“Because!”

he yelled, his face turning red. “I will ensure it! I am the sword that protects all, and that includes you! Just… just fucking believe in me for once!”

I swallowed, catching the way his hands balled into fists at his sides. He clocked his reaction and closed his eyes, taking a deep breath and opening the door. “Go to bed, I’ll talk to you later.”

Then he pushed me in and locked it behind me.

The dark, hardwood floor was polished to a high gleam and covered in thick, muted rugs. A fireplace on one end roared to life in front of me, illuminating the large poster bed on the opposite side.

I kicked off my shoes and headed towards the dresser, looking for something comfortable to wear but finding only sexy little nightgowns.

Figured.

The attached marble bathroom had a giant clawfoot tub in the middle of the floor, the water already full and heated to the perfect temperature.

Aside from that lovely little stay in the dungeon, I hadn’t really been alone in… damn how long? Maybe that afternoon in the hotel before I went into heat?

Since then I’d almost always been with someone—my pack, the alpha females, the omegas…

Being alone made it harder to distract myself from everything that had happened, as all I had to keep me company were my thoughts.

I tried to reach through the bonds to my pack again, but it was useless. Even if they were getting anything, I certainly wasn’t.

Steam rose from the water, and I brought my knees up to my chest as I soaked, missing the feeling of being surrounded by my pack’s love and strength. What I wouldn’t give to be sitting around the kitchen island with them all. Cam would pull me on his lap while Archer made some announcement, Elias would challenge him, Julian would just observe quietly, and Nolan would interrupt to make some pedantic comment. Then, Cam would wait until the end to make some harebrained comment that was actually really insightful.

I held back my tears, because what good would it do to cry right now? I needed to make a plan—figure out how the fae had created more portals, how many were in operation, how we could close them after I got back to Earth, and how we could defeat Alaroth for good.

And finally, how could I deprogram my brother and help him realize the king was a sadistic fascist who didn’t deserve an ounce of his loyalty? Because I didn’t think I could leave here without him.

I finished washing up and slipped on one of the nightgowns, heading back into my bedroom.

“Is everything to your liking?”

“Christ on a cracker!”

I screamed. I clutched my chest and grit my teeth at Alaroth, who was lounging way too comfortably on my bed. “Stop doing that!”

He patted the space next to him and smiled. “Hm, perhaps not. I find your reaction far too amusing.”

I stayed in place, my eyes glued to the spot where we wanted me to lay. “This deal—it’s only for tonight, right?”

“Oh, Marlowe,”

he replied. “Perhaps tonight you can see this as a transactional exchange, but I hope with time you will shed some of this animosity towards me and, dare I hope, come to enjoy my company?”

I crossed my arms in a huff. “You’re the one who quite literally just told me that everything is an exchange for the fae. You can’t blame me if all I see is a means to an end.”

A flash of what looked like genuine hurt crossed his face. “Is that truly what you think of me?”

What the hell was with this guy? I couldn’t believe for a moment, that after everything he’d said and done to me, he’d assumed I would come to care for him. Was he really this dense, or was he just trying to trick me into feeling bad for him?

“Alaroth,”

I said slowly. “What exactly did you expect this to look like? You sent my brother to take me from my home, from my pack, and threatened me into an engagement. Can you really be surprised I’m not super enthused about all of this? Besides, you were convinced I’d be your queen before you’d even met me. Don’t act like you’ve loved me for anything other than my designation and supposed role in this stupid prophecy the whole time.”

He wrapped his fingers behind his head and laid back, humming as he thought. “You’ve presented some compelling arguments, beloved. However, I am a king, and as such my hand in marriage has never been one to offer for mere love. So yes, I wanted you before I knew you. But trust me, spending time in your presence has only helped to convince me that you are the right choice. I am all the more motivated to sway your stubborn heart, and that cannot be achieved through distance. We must spend time together, get to know each other better.”

If the lives of my pack weren’t on the line, I think I would have preferred torture and a cell.

This is for them, I told myself. And I guess Wasabi, now, too.

I laid down next to him, trying to keep as much space between us as possible, but he pulled me into his side immediately.

His lips trailed down my neck, and he inhaled me deeply. “Oh, how I desired you tonight,”

he whispered, his breath tickling my skin and giving me goosebumps. When my nipples hardened, he mistook it as a sign of arousal and grabbed my breast, kneading it roughly as he ground his erect cock against my back.

“You said we’d only be sleeping,”

I sighed, taking his hand off me. “Are you going against your word?”

He chuckled darkly and moved his hand back to my chest. “What can I say, I find it difficult to control myself once your intoxicating scent invades my senses.”

I tried to remove his hand again, but it didn’t budge. “Alaroth!”

I barked. “Knock it off!”

My pack had always respected my barks, even if they didn’t carry the same commanding tone as those from alphas. Alaroth seemed more annoyed than anything, though. “I don’t appreciate your sharp tone, omega. Perhaps a hard cock will dull its edge.”

He moved himself on top of me, pinning me to the bed. No, no, no, this wasn’t good. I wriggled as best I could to get out from under him, but he was too heavy and strong to budge.

“Please,”

I begged, as he nestled himself between my legs and grabbed my wrists, holding them captive in one large hand. “You said we’d just be sleeping!”

If I screamed for Ezra, would he hear me?

Would he even come?

Alaroth’s lips skated across my jaw, his clothed lower half thrusting into me. “Shh,”

he said, sucking and biting my skin. “I’ve been fucking for hundreds of years, I know exactly how to make you feel like the goddess you are. What can an alpha do, hammer you with his knot? That is not sex, that is mindless breeding. They are no better than the animals they shift into. One night with me and you’ll forget you ever had a pack.”

He couldn’t do that, could he? Not that I thought getting raped would feel so “amazing”

that I would forget the males I actually loved, but I was afraid he might possess some kind of magic that would mess with my head. I knew he could induce both immense pain and pleasure—what else was possible?

And did Ezra know his true feelings on shifters? If only I’d been able to record this, would watching his bestie bad mouth him and assault his sister be enough to finally wake him up?

Even if I couldn’t stop Alaroth tonight, at the very least I wasn’t going to make this easy for him.

“Stop!”

I screamed, bucking my hips and thrashing as hard as I could. “I don’t want you! I’ll never want you! I want…”

MARLOWE! MARLOWE, WHERE ARE YOU?

I gasped. “Cam? Cam, is that you?”

“Cam?”

Alaroth repeated. He raised himself on his hands, his face contorting into anger. “Who is this ‘Cam,’ and why do you call his name when you’re in bed with me?”

Marlowe! We’ve crossed, we’re here.

Elias… it couldn’t be, how could they be actually speaking to me through the bond?

I was scared to death, but hearing their voices brought tears of joy to my eyes. How they had found the portal, how they’d accumulated the Aetherium needed for the crossing, and how they planned on saving me, I didn’t know. But they hadn’t forgotten me, and they were still fighting for me with everything they had.

And now that we could communicate with actual words, and not just feelings and emotions, I might actually be able to help.

I’m in the king’s castle, it’s heavily guarded.

How guarded? Nolan asked. What kind of soldiers? How are they armed?

Are you safe? Archer interrupted. Have you been hurt?

Alaroth grabbed my shoulders and turned me towards him, shaking me slightly. “Are you communicating with your pack?”

I opened my eyes, about to lie, but he saw the evidence written in my teary smile.

Julian, are you here too?

Of course I’m here, Lowe. We’re coming to get you, just hang tight!

He snarled, getting up to sit on my stomach. I winced from the full weight of him. He placed both his hands around my head, his eyes drilling into mine as he spoke through me. Oh my god, could he hurt them through the bond?

I will find you, and I will kill you. Marlowe is MINE!