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“No, no,” I scream breathlessly as I feel it rolling from my toes, wildfire consuming every inch of me. I claw at my skin, trying to stop it.

“Stop, Lora, Matitus is on his way. You’re making yourself bleed.” Dragus sounds strangled. I am in too much pain to care. I crawl toward where I think the pile of snow is, reaching out my fingertips brushing the snow. I force myself to move, slumping on top of the pile like a lizard sunbathing on a rock. The snow melts almost instantly when I scream as searing pain consumes me. I can hear the blood in my body pumping through me, pulsating as I try to find relief. The pain becomes too much and all I can focus on. Bright light suddenly comes on and I squint, trying to adjust to the light’s brightness when I see Matitus run down the stairs, keys clutched in his hand.

Silas hurrying down the stairs behind him, a worried look on his face. Matitus fiddles with the keys with shaky hands, trying and fumbling to get them in the lock. Silas takes the keys from him, opening the door. Matitus rushes in while Silas unlocks Dragus’s cell door. I fight against Matitus when he picks me up. The heat from his body makes it worse. I’m thrashing so much he drops me with a thud.

“Just grab her, Matitus,” Silas growls.

“She won’t stop thrashing; I will hurt her,” he spits back at him. I am too far gone, the pain all consuming. It would be nicer to just kill me; at least the pain would be gone. Never in my life have I prayed for death to come as much as I do now.

I hear Silas growl as he walks in and grabbing me. I scream as his heat seeps into me, and I am sure I’m going to combust. Air rushes around me and a rapid temperature change. So I can tell I am outside.

“Break the ice,” Silas yells and I hear the sound of ice cracking then I feel it all around me, dulling some pain but not enough for me to stop screaming.

“Let me mark you.”

I shake my head, words failing me besides the agonized screams escaping my lips. Silas growls.

“Hold your breath, then.”

I don’t even know how to do that, my brain refusing to function even for the most basic survival instincts. Suddenly, I’m underwater. My temperature drops and I gasp, choking on water. Silas pulls me back above the water’s surface, and I choke, coughing on the water that rushes into my mouth.

The heat eases and I slump against him, my head on his shoulder. I open my eyes and see we are in the frozen lake that runs behind the castle. I try to catch my breath once more as the heat grows hotter, and I try to slip back under the water.

“Let me mark you, it will stop. Lora”

“No, kill me. Just kill me, please,” I beg, screaming after another wave washes over me, making my entire body tense.

“If one of us marks you, it will ease, and the third wave won’t be as bad,” he says, but I shake my head. Marking me would mean I am stuck with them forever, and I don’t want to be stuck with Silas forever.

“Let Matitus then,” he says. Matitus rushes into the icy water toward me, stopping next to me, worry etched on his face. Shaking my head, I try to get away from them. Silas holds me tighter and moves my wet hair, revealing my shoulder and neck.

“No,” I gasp, thrashing, I would rather die.

“If you won’t let me mark you, one of them has to,” he says. I hear Matitus groan as Silas grabs his shirt pulling him over. I find myself trapped between them. Silas hands moving to my ass as he hoists me up higher and I wrap my legs around his waist, not wanting to be pulled even slightly from the icy water and the relief it offers.

“I won’t let you kill her, Matitus,” he says, grabbing his face and kissing his lips. The sight of them makes arousal flood me, but not long enough as heat wraps itself around me and I scream in agony again. Matitus kisses my shoulder. His teeth bite deeply into my shoulder near my neck, and I feel his tongue lapping at my blood. The pain leaves as another feeling washes over me and I can feel foreign emotions rush into me. The heat leaves, being replaced with intense pleasure making me moan loudly. My legs around Silas’ waist tighten, and pleasure makes my core pulsate, and my toes curl.

I can’t help but rub myself against Silas, making him groan, his hands on my ass tightening.

I feel his teeth get ripped from my neck painfully and I whimper, missing the feeling of his bite. Opening my eyes. I see Dragus has Matitus by his shoulders and Silas’s hand on his chest. Staring at Matitus, His flickering pupils constricting and dilating and I can see the hunger in his eyes.

The bond is overwhelming and the feeling coming from him is hunger and lust. His emotions are running through me and igniting my own as arousal coils within my stomach and I feel my walls clench making me moan breathlessly. Matitus moves away from me when I see Dragus tug on his shoulders. I can see he is fighting with himself, trying not to attack me.

Once out of the water, he takes off with Dragus fast on his heels, leaving me in the water with Silas. I rest against Silas, the heat dissipating, and I shiver at the icy water. My temperature plummets and I suddenly feel cold.

“The heat won’t come back now?” I ask, resting my head on his shoulder.

“It will until we all mark you, it won’t kill you now,” he says, kissing the side of my face. I am too exhausted to care about his closeness.

“You said it would stop?” I murmur into his neck.

“It will once we all mark you, then the second heat starts.”

“Second heat?”

“Yeah, the mating heat. It will make you want to mate with us.”

“What?” My voice came out in a squeak, horrified by his words.