“So, how does this work?”
Stuart gently set me on my feet, then shifted until he stood beside me in human form, one arm slung around my waist. “I will cut his flesh with my talons, then they need to be sealed with all our essences. Stuart, Gray, and I will do the same to each other. You’re filled with all seven of our essences, infused with the magic of our Nirvanas. It will bind us irrevocably together, even stronger than the dragon marks we gave you earlier.”
“Wow, okay. Are you guys ready for this?”
“More ready than I’ve ever been,” Chayton said.
The others lined up beside him as if waiting for communion. My heartbeat echoed in my ears as I faced Chayton, feeling like I ought to say something special.
“Wait. Are there words I’m supposed to, I don’t know, recite, or something?”
“Only if you wish to. The physical exchange is enough, and honestly, the vow you made a few moments ago was more than enough.”
Nodding, I stepped close to Chayton, then nodded to Stuart, who waited with talons extended and gleaming in the orange glow of the furnace. Chayton stood at attention, head held high. When Stuart’s talons sliced four neat gashes across his right pectoral, he barely flinched, but tears sprang to his eyes nonetheless.
I reached between my thighs, dipped my fingers into the well of semen mixed with my own orgasmic fluid and drew back a glistening measure of the essence inside me, then stepped close, holding it up.
Chayton’s nostrils flared, and his cock grew stiff again. I smiled and pressed my fingers to his wound, swiping the wetness across the cuts.
“My love is yours and always will be,” I said, repeating the words I’d said before, as if it were a mantra.
To my surprise, the cuts on his chest began to glow as the fluid sank in, then slowly knit back together, leaving neat pink lines behind.
I repeated the process with each of them, finishing with Stuart, who stood straight as an arrow while Gray made the cuts. When it was done, they all whooped. Tate hauled me up into his arms, swinging me around, but put me down with a frown when I didn’t react.
“What is it?” he asked, peering into my eyes with creased brows.
“I want one too. Will you do the honors?”
“Me mark you? That’s…not usually how this works.”
“It’s been done before,” Chayton said. “Remember Queen Emma’s cousin marked the Autumn Shaman when they were first mated. The world didn’t end. It just made their bond stronger.”
Tate pursed his lips, but nodded. “I will, but let all three of us make the marks.”
“Have at it.” I stood up straight, waiting. Tate held his hand up, his fingertips morphing into curved black claws before my eyes. He pressed one against my chest over one breast, then hesitated. His gaze dropped to the fresh dragon marks glowing faintly down my breastbone in a series of whorls accenting the mandala tattooed between my breasts.
“I think it belongs here,” he said, pressing the claw alongside one of the dragon marks.
I bit my lip and closed my eyes as his claw dug in, carved my skin, and cut a swooping arc that mirrored the design I could see in my mind’s eye. I’d barely had time to examine it, but I could feel the power of it buried in my skin and knew Tate was right to mark me there. Then he stepped back, and Eddie and Chayton each followed his lead, adding their own marks.
I gasped in surprise when someone’s fingers slipped between my legs. My eyes flew open to see Eddie staring intently at me as he stroked me a little more than necessary to gather the essence needed to seal my new marks. His expression softened when he raised his hand and swiped the magic-infused fluid over the wound he’d given me. I remained breathless as the other two sealed theirs as well. It stung for only a moment and I looked down, watching the wounds begin to glow as they closed, leaving behind three linked scars shaped like parentheses that bound the dragon marks together.
“Now we’re one,” Stuart said.
“And now we’re invincible,” Tate added.
27
Gray
None of us were tired enough to quit for the night despite what had to be the most elaborate, involved mating that had ever happened outside of the nymphaea Haven. But we all agreed that we’d rather take things inside to the comfort of a bed. My chest tingled with the combination of magical marks. Through the newly formed bond, I could close my eyes and sense all six of my mates. April was the brightest beacon among them all. That I was now also mated to my five closest friends was just a bonus.
Some creative furniture rearranging had to be done to move a second bed into April’s room. Luckily, the room was large enough to accommodate two king-size beds pushed together to make one enormous bed all seven of us could fit on. I didn’t expect us to keep this arrangement every night, but all I cared about in the short term was making sure April was safe and happy.
To that end, while Stuart and I waited for Chayton and Eddie to finish arguing about how to deal with the bed linens, and Tate and Murdoc went hunting for a way to clamp the bedframes together, I closed my eyes and reached out with my mind to check the wards. Still intact with no signs of any attempt to breach them. It had been three weeks since I’d placed them, and one of us had diligently refreshed the magic each morning. Tomorrow, I’d make a circuit to refresh their magic again. With my magic now linked to the others, and with the help of Stuart and Murdoc, we could set new wards that would be virtually impenetrable by anyone we didn’t wish to cross.
I opened my eyes again to a frowning Tate, staring at me. “Anything wrong?”
“No, just double-checking that our protection is intact.”
He nodded with a low rumble, but the concerned look didn’t go away. “It’s been three weeks since we got here. I’m not inclined to think that no news is good news. On the contrary, I’m a little worried that we haven’t heard from Deva or Llyr.”
“Do you think they ran into trouble?” Stuart asked.
“Even if they did, I think they can handle themselves against the Bane brothers,” I said. “We know Chaos has a soft spot for Deva, the same as Fate. Not that they could hurt her. I hate not knowing, but we have a responsibility to make sure April’s protected.”
“I agree, but I also think we need to be a little more proactive than we’ve been. I’ll be the first to admit I’ve been distracted, but three weeks is too long.”
“I’ll make a call to Kol Magnus in Los Angeles. He’s the one who got the messages to you guys for me. I’ll ask him to check into it.”
“Let me handle that tomorrow,” Stuart said. “It’s time we started teaching April how to throw some spells, and you two are better teachers.”
“Good. Hopefully that’s enough.” Tate looked over his shoulder to the freshly made bed where April was now sprawled, naked and beautiful, our marks still glowing in the center of her chest. “Because I don’t want to leave her for anything if I can help it.”
“If the brothers find us, we have the power to fight now. We’ll be fine.” I clapped him on the shoulder.
He’d turned and was avidly watching as April tangled with the other three. The bed was covered in a knot of limbs, with her at the core, her sensual moans heating my blood. A low growl emanated from deep within Tate’s chest.