Page 106 of Bound to Three Fae Beasts

Briefly, I wondered if Gareth and Seb claiming him as part of this lovers’ circle they were discussing would save him from the fate that awaited him after graduation. But that made me feel angry, made me want to tear down the fae world bit by bit, so I put it from my mind.

Instead, I nestled my head into the crook of Gareth’s neck and let myself fall asleep, safe in my mates’ embrace.

***

When I woke, I had been dried off and wrapped in a thick, warm towel. I lay on the couch in the main part of the Thunderwood room. Gareth, Jasper and Seb all slept on the floor in nests of blankets. As I gazed at them, a smile tugged my lips.

I didn’t know what this meant for my future, but I couldn’t regret the passion I’d shared with the three of them.

I slipped from the towel and found my clothes to redress. Someone had folded them neatly, with my amber brooch sitting on the top. I dressed quietly, but my movement woke up my three golden boys. Seb rolled his shoulders as he sat. He pointed to a small vial on the coffee table.

“I picked up a healing potion for you. Are you still sore?” he asked, concern in his voice.

Heat rushed to my cheeks. “A little,” I admitted as I picked up the potion.

After I drank it, I sat back down on the couch. Jasper moved to my side and started to massage my legs while Gareth grabbed some water. As they took care of me, I was overcome with embarrassment. Nobody had ever fussed over me like this before, and it made me feel like they thought I was helpless and weak.

“I can do it myself,” I told them, fending off their attention. I drank my water and attempted to tame the fire in my cheeks. “So what happens now?”

“We’ll continue your training,” Seb said. “And we’ll continue to act as though there is nothing unusual between us. If anyone suspects that all three of us are your mates, they’ll know you’re a shape-thief. Our best course is to keep fooling everyone. Get you into a spot where you’re ranked high enough in power to stop being a target, while not so high that people start wanting to challenge you.”

Jasper nodded. “There are a few tricks that will help you with that. Especially the last resort options.”

I lifted my eyebrow at him. “Last resort?”

Gareth answered, “If you find yourself unable to call on Seb’s wolf form for whatever reason, you’ll need to pretend that your beast failed you, and so these tricks will help in that situation. All high fae are taught them.”

Even Freta? Was that how she survived so far, even with a weak beast? Would knowing these tricks help Silas even though he didn’t have a beast?

Would they have been able to save Penry?

Trying not to dwell on that unsettling thought, I asked, “Is it a common thing that beast forms fail?”

“No. There are certain magics that other fae can use to bind a beast form, though rarely on those as strong as us,” Jasper answered. “Even I have never had trouble commanding mine.”

Gareth rumbled in his chest. “Rusco has a spell that binds the beast form. He’s used it on me before. I’ll teach you all how to break it.”

Seb’s eyes glittered as he nodded. The bliss from our passion faded away. No matter how things had changed between the four of us, the world outside of these walls was the same. It held the same dangers, the same threats. Only now I had even more to lose.

“What happened to the student we saw unbinding?” I asked. It was a question that had been tapping around my skull since it happened, one I had tried not to think about. But it was important to know.

The three glanced at each other, but it was Jasper that answered, “We told the teachers what we saw and presented it as a partial unbinding. That student was taken away. Likely imprisoned or otherwise worked on to strengthen the binding once more.”

Only, he was the one that told me Hilda was doomed the moment she started to unbind, because imprisonment wasn’t an option, not really. He was only saying this as an attempt to soothe me, and it didn’t work. That student was dead, just like Hilda.

The only question was whether the unbinding had been spread through the courts. Manilow had threatened Quincy’s position because of the first one, and he’d been adamant that it happened outside of the Academy’s protective wards. But this had happened inside the building, so he couldn’t give that story again.

Unless he could, because the four of us were the only witnesses. Quincy and the other teachers probably lied about where that unbinding happened.

“Is it because of me? I read that the unbinding happens because of shape-thieves, but I haven’t done anything. Not on purpose. I never interacted with that student before,” I said hesitantly. “Am I putting you three in danger just by being here?”

Gareth got to his feet and shook his head as he started to put away the blankets in various hidden drawers. “I know more about shape-thieves than most. There are a lot of crimes we can put on your ancestors, but the unbinding isn’t one of them. That’s a myth that came about because shape-thieves are immune to the unbinding magic. But so are humans. You’re only immune because you don’t have a binding in the first place.”

Would he lie to me about it? I wasn’t sure, but I chose to cling to his words. I wasn’t putting my mates in danger. Well, not in that sort of danger, at least.

***

The next few days continued as they did before. Seb, Jasper and Gareth focused their attention on training me, only working with Silas and Freta when I asked them to. The rumors of what I was doing in exchange for the golden boys’ protection grew more lascivious. Though they swore they didn’t believe the rumors, Freta and Silas slowly put more distance between us.