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Now that the door was properly closed, Avi pressed his hands to it. A soft blue glow started at his touch, spreading until it coated the walls and door. When he turned to me, he gave a small, reassuring smile.
“Our words are safe here,” he promised, giving me a quick hug before settling on the couch in the common room. Stoking the fire, Niko shifted his body so he could keep a stern eye on both me and the flames.
“We’re mates. You don’t get to go off like that and not tell us,” he ordered, alpha command filling his words. He took a breath and reined it back in, his gaze softening to something more apologetic. “We have a right to know what’s going on, and we wouldn’t have stopped you. We had no idea you could handle that weather. A simple witch could not have.”
“You thought I was a simple witch?” I teased. Honestly, they’d guessed I wasn’t a witch early on, but not many knew of our strengths and abilities, even men as knowledgeable as Niko. He didn’t dignify it with a response, and any other conversation was cut off when Levi stepped in front of me. The glassy sheen to his eyes had my heart beating double time. “Levi? What’s wrong?”
“I thought I was alone,” he said, his voice breaking over the simple words. “It was so hard watching them all die. I only escaped because I was hidden away, starving and alone for days before I dared to leave.”
“What?” I asked, trying to make sense of what he was saying. The overwhelming sadness coming from him was one that I knew well.
“Living my life unable to trust anyone until I found Niko,” he continued on, unfazed. His voice was full of heartbreak and raw emotion, and I found myself triggered by his grief. My long-standing relationship with pain and loss was rising up, reopening those wounds that had never truly healed.
“They raided at night. Waited for a storm, then hit us, and as it calmed, they struck—burning our buildings, breaking down our walls, slaughtering our people and collecting their blood. Do you know how many nightmares I have? How alone I feel even with my coven around me? How I’m always afraid that someone will realize?” He finally broke then, a tear escaping as he ripped off his bracelet and threw it on the ground. My eyes tracked the movement, unsure how to take his tirade. Then it hit me—literally. A harsh blast of familiar magic slammed into me. My jaw dropped as the smell of magic and embers surrounded me, a taste of home I thought I’d never experience again.
He’s a dragon.
That thought broke my brain, and even Zehra was stunned into silence. I could feel her presence in my mind, but neither of us formed the words aloud. Niko moved to his boyfriend’s side, wrapping his arms around his mate from behind, his chin resting on his shoulder.
“He doesn’t mean to be accusatory,” Niko reassured me.
Levi let out a long, shaky sigh. “He’s right. It’s hard to talk about, and I just don’t know how to process this.”
My resolve broke. He’d bared his soul to me, and now I wanted to do the same. They deserved my whole truth as well, and after telling Niko, it was somehow easier.
‘It’s time,’Zehra agreed. She sent a rush of reassurance into me, and the words started to spill out.
“My mom and dad warned me that they’d come for us. I was ten, so it always seemed like a scary story, a legend, something that happened to others but couldn’t happen to me. I was safe in our stronghold, protected within the manor walls,” I said.
Avi moved closer to me even though my voice was still strong. As if sensing what I needed, he sat down, settling me in his lap, facing the fire. Levi sat next to me, taking my hand, while Kane took my other side. Niko settled in beside Levi, though he was focused on me too. “They also struck at night. The smells of magical war filled the halls while explosions shook the earth underneath us. The screams of pain still echo in my nightmares. The heavy aura of death and despair was so strong it was hard to breathe. I called out for my parents as I ran through the halls, desperate to find someone. Gods, I was terrified.” My voice broke, and four hands reached out to settle on me, giving me strength when mine started to falter.
“We’re here,” Avi said. Those simple words hit me harder than they should have, and a sob escaped even though I tried to rein it in. Something about these men had me letting down my defenses, allowing myself to be vulnerable, to feel.
“I nearly gave myself away, but my sweet teacher and protector Anya stopped me. She gave me this amulet, told me hard truths, and said I had to go on her signal. I’m dark enough to blend in with the hazy night, so I made it safely to the edge of the territory before I felt it. She gave her life to protect me. She was the last person I knew and treasured, and she refused to come, knowing they’d spot us.”
“Gods,” Kane breathed, pulling me away from Avi so he could hold me. My eyes stayed locked on Levi’s as my alpha held me together. Neither of us spoke, but our souls did. We shared a camaraderie that no one should be forced to, being two people who’d had to witness hell and a loss so deep it could never truly fade. Yet we’d made it. We were survivors, and somehow, blessedly, we weren’t alone after all.
“Cadmus told me you weren’t a witch, but I never would have imagined the truth,” he finally said.
“Zehra said the same.” I smiled as the tears faded. “She’s been yelling at me to tell you since the moment we found each other. It’s just…”
“Hard,” he finished. “We’ve been forced to rely on ourselves and only those who proved we can trust them. Even if we were mates, we knew the consequences of trusting the wrong people.”
“Exactly,” I sighed. “I’m really sorry for worrying you. I didn’t mean to. I just needed to finish healing, and I’m so used to being independent.”
“We’re glad you’re safe,” Niko said gently. “We’re not angry. We were just worried. That was a long time in the snow. Even for a dragon, right?”
“Yeah, if I wasn’t in dragon form, I’m sure I wouldn’t have lasted long. I have a cabin,” I admitted. “It’s kind of a hidden away place, but I'll take you there sometime.”
“We’d love that,” Levi said before we fell into silence again. I settled in Kane’s lap, turning sideways so I could nuzzle into his neck. Breathing deep, I let my emotions settle as his low rumble and the sweet and smoky scent of a campfire surrounded me. Letting my head fall back, I looked up at the alpha who’d surprised me the most. He met my eyes, silently claiming my lips in a searing kiss. I whimpered at the possessive touch, Kane’s way of telling me how he felt without saying it aloud. I knew the scent of my arousal would fill the air, but I didn’t care. Something had settled, unspoken between us all. We’d bonded on a new level, our coven settling into a trust I never imagined I’d have. And at this moment, I wanted and needed them all. I needed to truly let my past go and forge a new future. One with them in it.
As he deepened the kiss, I felt a feverish warmth overtake me, along with a need so strong that I could barely breathe or think. It was reminiscent of my heat, but they never hit me so unexpectedly.
“You’re in heat?” Niko asked, shocked. “How did we not notice it coming?”
“I’m not,” I argued. “It’s still a few months out.” But my voice broke into a whimper, followed by a spike of my scent as slick ran down my thighs. All four of them breathed deeply, their eyes darkening with pure, raw lust.
My pussy throbbed, and I dragged Kane back into a kiss, desperate to feel relief. Someone started pulling my jeans off, wiggling them down my hips and peeling them off of my legs. My body was now covered in a sheen of sweat, making their job difficult, but they were undeterred, yanking my underwear off with it. My head fell back as fingers brushed over my pussy, and Kane took that as an opportunity to pull my sweater and bra off, leaving me naked for my mates.
