With mouths agape, we all share incredulous looks. We’re going to another realm?
I pull my eyes from Zedd’s at the sound of some weird-ass chanting, only to see Witch Bitch swirling an oval-shaped blob of purple, pink and teal in the air in front of her.
Are those fucking sparkles?
“Don’t worry, I’ve cast a glamour over this area. No one can see us. Time to go, Anal and mates. Step through the portal and try not to puke. You’ll be fine.”
I look to the sky in exasperation. Gaia, why her?
Not wanting to look like a pussy in front of her, I square my shoulders and walk straight towards the portal, ignoring the guys’ calls to let them go first. I refuse to show any weakness in front of this woman who seems to get off on challenging me.
Glancing at her face, I step through the portal, catching a glimpse of Serenity’s shocked face. I think I see a hint of begrudging respect.
Oh, fuck, I’m definitely going to puke, I think when the sensation of my limbs being pulled apart and jumbled in my body hits full-force. Fuck you, Witch Bitch.
Chapter Twelve
Ash
Did that sound like a challenge? It sure as fuck did to Lana apparently. I can see her ego rearing its head at Serenity’s words.
Lana takes a step towards the portal and I resist the urge to grab her and throw her over my shoulder like a caveman. If I undermine her in front of this strange woman, my girl may actually kill me.
I decide then and there that I owe Lana a pink ass for trying to prove herself to a woman we should be cross checking, instead of blindly believing.
A deep growl vibrates through my chest as I watch her delectable ass vanish through the portal. As soon as her body disappears, it’s like someone zapped us with a one-thousand-volt shock and we all instantly run after her to make sure she’s safe, rushing to jump through the unknown magic.
Witches with magic portals sent by unseen Goddesses? What a clusterfuck.
Gaia, you better keep Lana safe.
I take the rear as the rest of the guys file through in a single line, refusing to leave my brothers unprotected from behind. Without removing my eyes from Serenity’s face, I watch her intently, trying to read her.
She glances over at me and arches an eyebrow, staring right back with a chin lift that says defiantly that she isn’t intimidated.
You should be scared, little witch. I’ll do anything to protect my family.
She drawls like she’s bored. “You really shouldn’t stare at me so much. It’ll rile up your mate.”
Mate?
Rolling my eyes at her assumption that I was checking her out, I say, “First of all, I’m not interested in you. I just don’t fucking trust you, which is why I’ll be watching you. Secondly, what do you mean by mate?”
Her eyes look like they’re going to bug out of her head at my question and she bursts into laughter at my words. “You mean to tell me you don’t know you’re all Lana’s mates?”
I frown. “Well, of course we’re friends. We grew up together. We’re just starting to approach the subject of dating her.”
As she looks at me like I’m the dumbest person, alive or dead, I begin to worry about taking too long to go through the portal. I know the guys will take care of her but I need to see her myself.
She scoffs. “Great. Another thing I’m going to have to explain to you guys. As if I needed more on my list. Did your mommy have the birds and bees talk with you or would you like a labelled diagram while I’m at it?”
I glare at her. She better not fucking mention Beth again. “I don’t have time for this.”
Putting her out of my mind, I walk through the portal, instantly gritting my teeth at the sensation. This is not something I’ll be in a rush to do again. Bright colors and patterns assault my vision for what feels like an eternity before my vision goes dark and my body flops onto a hard surface.
Well, that was graceful.
Please let me have ended up in the right place in one piece.
I open my eyes to a hazy purple sky with more stars than I could ever imagine seeing. It’s an incredible view, though I get the sense I’m in a preschool girl’s cotton candy, fairytale land. Fuck, I hope the Fae realm is all red and masculine and shit. I need a little of me, Tarzan, you, Jane to recover from this girly world.
As I stare at the sky, copper hair and blue eyes fill my vision. Finally, something familiar. She leans over and pokes my cheek. “Pretty neat, huh? But if you don’t mind, we’ve been waiting on you and Witch Bitch to come through the portal for a while so get your ass up. Time seems to work differently here. It’s already late afternoon.”
Detecting a hint of jealousy in her words, I smirk. “Why are you acting like I’m interested in the witch?”
She glowers at me. “Maybe because you were blatantly checking her out and then stayed behind for some unknown reason?”
Groaning at how wrong she has the situation; I do the only thing I can think of.
I put a hand on the back of her head and drag her lips to mine. She falls on me, her knees falling on either side of my body, as she hesitates to return the kiss, clearly caught off guard. But only seconds later, she melts into me as her hands make their way to my chest as I deepen the kiss, teasing her tongue with my own.
Finally.
“Are you done pissing on your territory, Anal?” Serenity calls out with her arms crossed over her chest, lightly tapping her foot against the ground.
Lana pulls up, a beautiful flush staining her cheeks as she glances around, clearly forgetting we had an audience. I happened to relish in it.
Good. Let them see I’m not afraid to take what’s mine.
I frown at the intrusive thought. No. She’s ours. Where did that come from?
Shaking off the strange possessive emotion, I sit up and kiss her on the cheek, enjoying the heat of her blush. I jump to my feet and offer her a hand, pulling her up and tucking her into my side. My hand rests in the dip of her narrow waist, enjoying the flare of her hip when I rub up and down. She’s so fucking sexy and doesn’t even know it.
I glance at all the guys and they all look mostly unbothered by the display of affection, which is fan-fucking-tastic. Zedd looks uncomfortable, darting his gaze away, but that’s likely because he’s nervous about how he’ll progress with Lana physically than anything else.
We definitely need to have an open, group discussion about how to proceed because we’re all just winging it. I don’t want to offend anyone with my affection for her but I’m tired of holding it back so we need to get shit straight.
With the blackout rage at the inn, I have enough going on in my head without needing another load to worry about. When Zedd told me what happened after I woke up, guilt consumed me. My mind still can’t comprehend what happened. I don’t remember anything past going to the shower to calm down from the events at the house.
The last thing I would ever want to do is hurt one of the guys that I’ve called my brothers my entire life. I’d lay down my life for my family in an instant, no questions asked. I’m just glad Zedd is giving me the benefit of the doubt and a second to figure this out without the rest of the group knowing.
As Lana and I walk over to the rest of the group, I take in the surrounding landscape, noticing there are a lot of similarities to the human realm. Large magnolia trees surround us and I take a deep breath in to take in the unique, floral scent, richer than on Earth.