AllFreeNovel
Share Us
She’s a Midicious.Saving her serves a purpose. Anything more than that is like spitting on Elaria’s grave. I’m certain that her soul would haunt me for getting involved with the king’s daughter–no matter what my beast wants–and I wouldn’t blame her for it.
“Just go in there for fate’s sake. We’re withering away here,”my other half pleads. He’s starting to sound desperate and it’s not a good look for him.
He’s been a grumpy asshole since I instructed Vik to take Calamity into the spring instead of accompanying her myself. It was for her own good. He’s been pushing the boundaries today and I’m not sure how much longer I can keep him at bay. Eventually, he’s going to gain control… full control. Who knows what he’ll do.
“No.” I speak the word aloud this time, even though it’s the same word I’ve been repeating in my head for the last fifteen minutes. Maybe hearing it outside our headspace will make him understand.
“You know what, don’t cry to me when you finally decide to use that thing between your legs again and you cum dust.”
A growl rattles deep in my throat, a warning to cut the shit. My patience is thinning.
Jesper’s lips instantly tug into a smirk so wide, his dimples show. “Is he being broody?”
“Something like that.” I pick a card up off the deck, checking my hand before discarding.
“We’re going to die alone–”My dragon starts, and I can feel the heat building in my middle, his fury. Before long, there will be smoke rolling out of my nose.
“No. The answer will always be no, so stop fucking asking.”
“Ooooo, I knew it.” Jesper peers at his hand then the deck before placing down a card and nudging Mira who’s starting to fall asleep at the table.
“Not you, too.” I groan, dragging my hand down my face.
His grin manages to get even wider. “After Asmodeus left and you snapped at Faelor for wanting to tie up Calamity, I had a hunch. You’ve practically tucked the pretty girl under your wing. Then you let her wear your cloak, and I knew you had it bad.”
“I don’t have it bad.He does.And it’s not what you think. The girl was shivering hard enough to give herself brain damage. You saw what she was wearing. She might as well have been in rags.” I grit, feeling the door I’ve locked my other half behind in my head budge an inch.
Mira rubs her eyes, looking between Jesper and I. Even though her lips are pressed into a fine line, it does little to hide the amusement on her face. “How long has it been since he’s been interested in someone? A decade, at least.”
“Longer,” I say on an exhale. “And it’s not mutual. We’ve never once been on the same page about someone, ever.”
“And what exactly do you want, Loric? At some point, you two will have to compromise. No one is perfect, and when mating takes four minds in two bodies, it’s even more complicated.” Brenn stares at Mira as she speaks, and it makes me wonder what they compromised on.
“My beast wants someone to protect, that’s timid and sweet. I prefer my women to stand on their own two feet, that speak their mind and challenge me. The only thing we can agree on is wanting a family one day and there aren’t many shifters that are compatible with our kind. So sure, I could be like Vik and choose a non-shifter mate, someone in the middle of our wants, but look at what she deals with. She’s also not an alpha. It’s different for me. My needs are more cumbersome than going into heat once every few months.”
“You can say that again,” Jesper says, looking over the cards on the table. “I like to think of myself as having three personalities, two in my head and one downstairs, and none of us are on the same page. If it makes you feel any better, Calamity’s creature seems to hold her own, and as for her human side, I’m desperately waiting for the moment when she tells you to go suck a dick.”
Mira rolls her eyes, brushing off his oversharing. “My money is on it being the exploding kitties that did it for him. It was pretty impressive. My beast stirred for a moment, but as for yours, it’ll pass. He’ll find someone else to yearn for once she’s out of sight and out of mind.”
Jesper’s head falls back as his laughter echoes through the cavern, drowning out the crackling of the large fire pit we’ve ignited in the center of the room. “Good luck with that. With her beast onboard, you’ll be lucky to make it to the outer realm without one of you being marked and then it’s just downhill from there. It takes fucking balls of steel to resist the urges after that–so I’ve been told.” Jesper winks at Mira, referring to the way she let Brenn mark her when he got hurt.
They didn’t have feelings for one another before then, but they were friends and he was dying. It allowed him to draw on her power for strength, but it didn’t take long for the mark to settle in. Soon after, they were inseparable–still are–and madlyin love, even if they’re polar opposites and grind each other’s nerves for fun.
“Laugh it up. You just fucking wait,” Brenn says, but there’s not a shred of humor to his voice.
“What could I possibly have to worry about? I’m not the one who agreed to be her knight in shining armor.” Jesper waggles his eyebrows at me and the notion makes my stomach churn.
This wasn’t what I intended… I know that I went against the plan, that I changed my mind at the last second without consulting anyone about it, but it was easy to talk about possibilities when there wasn’t a face involved. The moment I laid eyes on Calamity, she wasn’t just some hypothetical princess or a bargaining chip. She was a person, with bright golden eyes, despite looking like she’d been through hell. How could I put her through more? But I didn’t intend to be her knight in shining whatever, and I certainly didn’t intend for my beast to want her like this.
I glance at Jesper. “I wish you could just zap the bastard into submission, lock him away for a bit.” After taking my turn, I sit back in my seat, letting my cards rest on the table. It isn’t until I smell the burnt ozone that I look up, finding Jesper wiggling his fingers. Small streaks of purple-hued lightning move between them in jagged lines.
“Well, come here, big boy. Let Daddy try.”
Mira snorts, knocking Jesper’s elbow off the table. His hand slams against the wood with a thunk, singeing the grain. “No one is calling you daddy. You’re not daddy material.”
Jesper gasps, holding a hand over his head like he’s been run-through with an arrow. “I’ll have you know, there are some who’d say otherwise, thank you very much.”
“You let him electrocute us, so help me, I’ll cut circulation off to your dick.”
