“There’s so much we need to do before we even consider having a family.” I stroke my free hand up Rivern’s back, soothing him, the hurt slowly ebbing away.
“I know. I already sense what you want.” His lingering voice stirs my thoughts.What do I want?How can he know something I haven’t even allowed myself to dream of before?Children have never been on the cards for me. My dreams of Castor were always just dreams, and even then, when my mind wandered to what colour hair our children might possess, I put an immediate stop to such extravagant ideas. Those types of thoughts were lethal. I had already lost my whole family. It was hard to imagine having another, only for them to potentially be ripped away again.
“You and our family will always be safe. I will make sure of it.” Rivern reassures my warring mind. A heavy burden—one I know he can never guarantee.
“Godsdammit.” Abruptly, a sharp pain rips through my head, my hands going for purchase at my temples. Rivern tenses above me.
“Dove?”A booming voice finds its way into my mind, sidling up ever so forcefully next to Rivern’s.
“Gods, Fury, what was that?”I admonish the God who suddenly decides to make an appearance.
“Do you forget—I am the God, and I lost you. That shouldn’t happen. I didn’t imagine that serpent brew would cloud your mind so much that I couldn’t get through.”His anger turns almost hysterical, making me nearly want to giggle at the strange turn of events. Imagining the black-horned, winged creature from my dreams stomping around his tower,distressed at my sudden disappearance,is oddly comforting.He cares?
“Of course I fucking care,”his words continue to boom. I rub at my temples, trying to relieve the growing headache from my bonded.
“Do you have to shout?”I ask the crazed voice within.
“Love, are you okay?” Sparkling eyes shine down with concern. Rivern continues to hover over me, our bond not letting us go until I’m thoroughly impregnated, apparently.
“She’s fine,”Fury answers within both of our heads. I can tell immediately it’s not just my head because Rivern flinches—hard.
I feel the wolf glide off the bed.
No, no, no. What is going on? Fury showing up is ruining everything.I want Gideon. I want Rivern.The God is the annoying voice in my head I can do without. He forced me into this.
My gaze flicks towards the wolf shifter, who is now stuffing himself into his pants as Rivern says, “What’s going on, Dove? Who is in my head?”
“Gideon?” I ignore the question. My wolf stalks away, not even giving me a second glance. My stomach clenches.Why did he just walk away?
One movement, I was about to swallow him whole, and now, I’ve got two agitated, bonded males at me. The thrumming cords that connect us sizzle with a different heat than before. My eyes once again find Rivern.
“That is Fury. The God I am bonded to.” I try to push at the fae prince who’s still very much inside of me.He doesn’t budge. His eyes are smoky in their torment over this new situation.
Leaning down, he says steadily, “Don’t push me away. I want an explanation of how this came to be.” I can sense how this news rocks him, finally hearing the God in question. He must have been hiding some parts of his feelings around this topic when I first mentioned it before Moyrie. His eyes dart over my face, trying to assess the severity of the situation.
Placing my hand over his thumping heart, I try my best to calm him. “It doesn’t mean anything. We made a deal to help my people. That is all. He means nothing to me.”
Fury gruffs down the bond. We all know that’s a lie.
Rivern’s eyes bug out of his head. He asks slowly in my head,“Did he make you sleep with him?”Worry etches his eyes. Rivern knows the truth of this, but he still needs to hear it from my lips.
I move my hands up his chest, following the curving, golden lines until I hit pointed ears. I reply, “No, I was a virgin until you, remember? He just kissed me, that’s all.”
“Yeah,lover boy, that’s all.”We both flinch when Fury sounds off in our heads.
“How can you talk to both of us?”I question the annoying God.
“Now that we are bonded, Pet, there’s also a connection between Rivern and myself. It’s just about finding the right cord and—”
“If you say ‘I’m a God’ one more time, I’m going to throttle you when I see you next.” I say this aloud, throwing my head back in exasperation. He still hears me, of course.
A chuckle worms its way through.“I look forward to my throttling, Pet. Oh, and also, lover boy can pull out now.”
“What?” Rivern and I ask at the same time.
“How do you know about—”
“About your little predicament? Well, you see,when bonded couples have sex,they—”
