Page 78 of Bound to Three Fae Beasts

Then I slapped her hard across the face, grabbed her arm, and shoved her toward Freta. “Get this bitch out of my sight before I lose my temper.”

Azriel let out a startled cry and her friend Silas started forward, looking so furious I thought he was going to attack me. I felt Gareth’s aura sidle up beside me and turned my back on the small, grieving group. My heart hammered wildly as I briefly met his gaze.

“Do you really think that’s good enough?” he asked under his breath. “You’re going to give yourself away, acting that obvious. Fucking hell, Jasper. You’re smarter than this.”

I didn’t answer.

The next hour went by in a blur. Gareth introduced me formally to his father and uncles, who would be the ones to hire me on after the Academy if I chose to work for them. They were very much like Gareth, seemingly laid-back and taking everything as a joke. Seb didn’t join us. His family had left after he came through the maze, but he was forced to stay with Flora and socialize with her family.

Finally, I broke away and headed straight for the Vespa room. My palm still stung from where I slapped Azriel. It felt so wrong to have laid hands on her in that way, but I prayed she would understand why I did it.

She was already there when I entered. As soon as I straightened, she launched herself at me. Her fist landed a hard blow on my chin and I stumbled back, lifting one arm to fend her off. Another blow came at my chest, and I batted her fist away.

“If you ever hit me again like that, I’ll kill you,” she hissed. She reared her fist back again, but her anger seemed to drain out and she lowered it again.

“I’m sorry. I panicked.” Cautiously, I slid out of my defensive pose. “People were watching, and if they suspected any sort of—”

“I know.” Azriel shook her head as she turned away. Her shoulders slumped and she took one step toward the couch, only to stop. “Doesn’t mean I forgive you. Doesn’t mean I like you. You’re high fae. You’re just like the rest of them, and I hate you all.”

Her words hurt to hear. But… “You’re right. If I didn’t have a wrong beast, I’m not sure I’d think any differently from them.”

“You laughed.”

My brow furrowed as I stepped closer to her. “Laughed?”

She turned again. Tears glimmered in her eyes as she lifted her chin. “When Quincy was giving us his welcome speech. You, Seb, and Gareth all laughed when he talked about killing your fellow students in the trials. You killed Robert without batting an eyelash. Do you feel any regret about that? Any empathy for the people who loved him?”

Why should I, when it was to save her life?

“Did the trials kill Penry, or did her partner?” Azriel’s legs gave out and she slowly sank to the floor, her breathing becoming ragged. “If I had worked with her more, or if I had tried harder to find leverage, maybe she wouldn’t be dead. And her family doesn’t even want her body back. They don’t even want to give her a proper funeral.”

If I died here, my family wouldn’t want my body back, either. I’d be cremated and put with the other hundreds of students who had died in failure. So would Azriel.

“This system is too big for one person to change. The only thing that could have saved your friend was her beast form.”

Tears slid down her face as she looked up at me again. “Silas doesn’t have a beast. Freta’s badger is weak. I can’t save them, either. Can I?”

Just like I couldn’t save her. Something inside of me cracked. I’d always prided myself on my control. Even when my father told me I was no longer his son, I hadn’t shown anything. Merely accepted it and walked away. When my baby sister sobbed and screamed, fighting her nanny to follow me when I left, I hadn’t looked back.

I couldn’t stop myself now. I fell to my knees next to Azriel. A howl of fury and grief caught in my chest as I pulled her into my arms. I wanted to comfort her, to have the words to ease her pain. But what words were there?

I caught her mouth in a wild kiss. My hands tangled in her hair, and I drew her closer, so close I could feel her heart beating. Her lips opened for me and she pressed herself closer. One of her hands wound into my hair and the other grabbed my shoulder, steadying herself as she straddled me. She rocked her hips, pressing her core against my cock. It hardened in response.

Need burned through my body as we melted together. The heat of her skin warmed me, even through our clothes. Our faces grew wet, and I wasn’t sure if she was the only one who was crying. When she dropped her hands to my trousers and started to undo them, the need inside of me was so strong it almost overran my good sense.

Almost.

“Stop. Stop.” I kept one arm around her to keep her from falling, but fended off her hands with the others. “Azriel. We can’t. We’ve already gone too far, we can’t go any further.”

She panted, lips and eyes both swollen. “I want more. I want you inside of me, Jasper. I want—”

“They’ll kill you.”

Azriel grew still.

I rested my forehead against hers, struggling to bring myself back under control. “It’s forbidden. Anyone who is mate-bound to me will be executed. If anyone were to find us, they’d kill you for this.”

“It’s worth the risk.”