Page 26 of A Bond So Deadly

“It isn’t a usual symptom, no,” Galen drawls, running his hand along my arm. A trail of sparks follows his touch and I gasp, breathing heavily as another wave of pain hits. Crying out, I fist Thane’s shirt until the pain dulls again.

“Whatever is causing it, we can’t leave you like this,” Thane growls. “Did you say it went away for a while after you were with Galen and Raith?” He searches my face.

It feels like it takes considerable effort just for me to lift my head. “Yes,” I rasp.

Thane nods, and he slides his hands around me, lifting me as he climbs to his feet. “Then we shall take care of you, mate.” His gaze goes to Knox. “Both of us.”

Chapter Nine

~ Shade ~

Despite their obvious desire, Galen and Raith don’t complain as Thane carries me away. The four of us can’t be together at the same time or it would trigger the bond, and Queen Krosia would definitely kill me then. Not to mention, I have no idea what would happen to my mates. Beware the bond of your beloved mate. We can’t risk it. Not when our bond could destroy them and make us lose this war.

More pain goes through me as I remind myself that bonding is impossible, and I focus on dragging shallow breaths into my lungs. Thane takes me to his room, and when we’re beside the bed, he gently lowers me onto the mattress. My head sinks into a silk pillow, and he takes the nest from my hands, resting my creature’s egg on the bedside table.

“How bad is it?” Thane asks me, moving onto the mattress as well.

I’m not sure if it’s the intense desire or the pain that’s making me dizzy. “It hurts,” I whisper. It’s bad enough that I want to cry, but I hold back my tears. I don’t want to worry them.

Knox is staring at me like he can feel the waves of agony as they hit me, and he moves to my other side on the bed, his fingers tracing gently over my skin. It’s weird to think it wasn’t too long ago when he’d acted as if he hated me. Now he looks at me as if I’m his entire world.

When I whimper again, he catches my cry with his lips, swallowing the sound, and just that contact, that one searing, fiery kiss dulls the pain a little. It’s just enough to take the edge off. When he kisses me it’s like light and darkness colliding in a single touch.

I grab hold of him like he’s a lifeline tethering me to sanity. I feel him unravel, falling into the kiss, and I know he’s not just doing this for me. I saw it in Knox’s eyes in that amphitheater. If I was taken from him, he would have risked it all to see the shadow queen dead no matter the consequences. The thought should leave me terrified, but really, I just feel…seen. It’s weird thinking someone would miss me if I was gone. That multiple people would miss me. Especially now that I remember that wasn’t always the case when I was growing up.

Shadows curl around us, and when they clear, we’re all naked. The air is cool against my skin, and Knox takes my pebbled nipple between his teeth as Thane moves his hand between my thighs.

Despite their touch, the pain increases again, and I squirm, my stomach clenching. The confusing mix of pain and desire has my heart racing, and I gasp when Thane’s fingers slide through my wetness. The pain dulls again, but an insistent sense of urgency rises in me. I’m sure I’m imagining it, but I can’t help but feel like I’m being rewarded for having Thane’s fingers between my legs.

My mates work me into a frenzy, teasing and kissing me, and making me squirm, and when I shatter, it’s as if the pleasure heals my pain. Like something inside me is encouraging me, urging me on. More. I feel the word echo through me. Bond. Call for the others.

I push the thoughts away. Stop it, Shade. You know that’s impossible. You can’t bond with them. The moment I tell myself that, the pain inside me surges again, and I cry out.

“Shade,” Thane growls as he watches my face with concern.

“Yes, daddy?”

He doesn’t react to the nickname, his expression remaining serious, and I swallow thickly.

“I need more,” I admit softly, hating how vulnerable I feel, but loving that my mates are here. “It’s helping but it…it still hurts.”

I don’t tell them about the insistent urge to bond. It wouldn’t do any good anyway.

“We’re here,” Knox murmurs as he presses soft kisses to my skin.

He lays back on the bed, and his shadows curl around me, lifting me and pulling me onto him. I study Knox’s dark eyes as I straddle him, and my shadows twist and wind, weaving with his.

“We’ll always be here,” he whispers, like even though we can’t bond, he’s making a promise to me.

The pain in my stomach dulls, and I gasp as I slide onto his cock.

Pleasure takes over, and my breathing becomes ragged as I rock my hips.

“Thane,” I rasp, and my other mate comes up behind me.

Thane drags his teeth over my skin and kisses my shoulder. I lean forward, and he grips my waist as he slowly enters me from behind. So full. I feel so freaking full of my men.

My mates are gentle at first, and as we find a rhythm, I tumble into ecstasy. By the time we’re falling over the edge together, the pain is completely gone. My breathing calms, and when I stop shuddering, Knox’s shadows gently lay me back onto the mattress. My men move to either side of me, their warmth comforting against my skin.