“Me, too.”
She shuddered soon after while he kept pounding, her muscles clamping around him. His vision turned hazy. He kissed her hard as his pleasure rose.
“I need to go harder. Please.”
“Go hard,” she whispered back, clutching his hair.
It was all the permission he needed as he steeled his spine and drilled into her repeatedly, abandoning all attempts at control as he took what he wanted. Somewhere along the way, he felt her getting wetter again and flicked her clit, refusing to leave her like that. At her next shudder, he thrust one last time and emptied himself inside her, his body wracked up with wave after wave of pleasure that refused to stop. His claws grew. His teeth turned sharp.
Abruptly, he rolled them around and got off her, collapsing on his back as his legs gave out and his strength left him. He closed his eyes, battling his raging hormones and his beast—internalizing the pain his soul felt at rejecting the claiming of the mate his bear recognized.
“Goodnight,” he said once he had it all under control.
“Goodnight,” she returned, curling up against him as she fell asleep, spent and contented.
But every day, he felt a hollowness in his chest that warned him of how all this perfect façade was bound to crumble if he didn’t listen to the warning signs. Like a ticking time bomb, it nicked away at his defenses until he could no longer ignore it. Her distance was one thing. The hovering truth they were yet to discover was another.
“Charlie, when is Daria’s next visit here?”
Charlie looked up from his notebook, pen still moving on paper. Then it paused. “She is somewhere around here, I think.”
“When?”
“She came here early morning and spent some time with Peachy.”
“It’s already afternoon.”
“It is?” Caught off guard, Charlie straightened and glanced at his watch. Then he swore ripely.
“Does your sister know you swear like a sailor?”
“Of course not,” he huffed. “And I’m late for class.”
There was a frantic gathering of books before the younger man fled away, leaving Nico free to search for the Fae without being asked more questions. He found Daria perched on a tree branch, feet swinging playfully while she stared ahead. But her ears were perked as laughter rang out from a separate area. He cleared his throat.
“Hello, Nico,” she greeted promptly.
“Hello,” he returned, then was at a loss for words. Again, she beat him to it.
“Did you come looking for me?”
“Yes. I have questions.”
“What questions?”
“About Fae. Not your kind but other kinds. Are you knowledgeable of other kinds?”
“I am aware of those I’m not supposed to associate with…not that I ever associate with them.” She shrugged, then jumped from the branch. He reached out, then stopped when she easily balanced herself. “My kind is trouble.”
“What kind of Fae do you know about?”
“Well, there’s my kind. We are the dark Fae because we live in the shadows, and our ancient nature was to do dark things. Then there is the seasonal Fae: Winter Court, Summer Court, Autumn Court, and Spring Court. There are more, but I can’t name them all.”
“Are there Fae that targets animals specifically?”
“I haven’t heard of them. But some Fae do eat animal flesh and drink animal blood. Sustenance, either because they can’t find another source or they just like it.”
“What about Fae that appears in shadow form, speaks in that form, and predicts that evil is close to you? That the evil is going to destroy you eventually?”