Page 137 of Wicked Magik

“No,” I drawled. “I’ve come to ask you about bonded pairs. Mates.”

Amaris' eyes widened, his breath catching. "Who better to ask than the keeper of forgotten knowledge to the courts?" he said.

Amaris exhaled slowly and gestured toward a weathered table in the corner. A teapot steamed over a small blue flame, itsheat causing the ancient wood beneath to groan in protest. Two delicate cups waited expectantly beside a plain cream pitcher and a chipped sugar bowl.

“What exactly do you want to know, lord Veylor?”

I settled into the chair, waving away the steaming cup Amaris offered. "Everything you know. Leave nothing out."

Chapter 44

Oryx

“We can take off the chain now. Lower your head so I can take it off your neck.”

I remained still as I watched Vesper’s lip turn into a pout. It was cute when she thought she was in charge.

My cock twitched as I took in her outfit. Tight leather pants clung to every curve, the corset cinching her waist. The dark makeup around her eyes was meant to make her look dangerous, but all I could focus on was how it deepened her gaze, how the corset lifted her breasts, how the leather hugged the swell of her hips.

It made me fucking hard.

My tongue slid past my hardened skull and I swiped past where my lips should be.

Vesper put her hands on her hips and stomped her foot. “Seriously, right now? You were just fed. Do we need to supplement with blood or something?”

I growled within the back of my throat and my tail whipped around behind me to find Veylor and pull him close to us.

We’d just returned to the estate, and while they’d eaten in town, I’d had to sit and watch—I hadn’t eaten anything myself.

Was I full from eating prior to leaving? Yes.

But I had room for dessert.

When I pulled Veylor beside Vesper, his grunt of protest died in his throat as his fingers grazed the soft swell beneath her corset. The scowl melted from his face, replaced by something hungry and bright.

The entire ride home, Veylor had been silent as stone after his meeting with that man who supposedly had answers about our bond. I'd reached through our mental link, practically begging for information, but felt nothing but the cold wall of his resistance pushing back against me.

He shut me down.

He closed off his mind, not letting me in.

It either has gone horribly wrong, or he was thinking things through to deal with Vesper.

Fate bond or not, my very marrow knew the truth…we three belonged as one. Every fragment of creature that composed me resonated with this certainty.

I pulled us all closer together, the chains clinked and my shaft pressed against the both of them.

Vesper bit her lip, I felt her hand slide up next to Veylor. His eyes widened in surprise at her attempt to include him and my hearts raced watching the both of them.

Acceptance.

“Do not mess this up,” I told him.

Veylor cleared his throat. “I should get the horses into the stables.”

Just then, two vessels marched up to the carriage and took hold of the horse's reins. “I think they have it handled,” I sniffed into his hair.

What luck that Vesper and Veylor had been creating vessels for the rest of the staff. The house was bustling with people now, the house more lively than what it was so many years ago.