I feel pheromone drunk. I think we all are.
Lanlin raises his head from Daire’s throat. His fangs glisten with crimson. When he claims my mouth in a savage kiss, I taste Daire’s blood on his tongue, and my pussy becomes wet with slick at tasting both my Alphas intimately mingled together like this.
My wolf thrills at sharing the conquest of the hunt with Lanlin.
Lanlin’s eyes gleam when they meet mine like he understands me; understands this side of me.
“Thank you.” It doesn’t feel adequate. Nothing could. “On the moon, tonight has been the freest that I have felt…ever.”
Lanlin studies me closely. “Do you know who placed such cruel, powerful magic on you?”
My heart speeds up.
Shit, can Lanlin hear how fast my pulse is throbbing?
Lanlin arches his brow expectantly.
“What I know,” I reply, not directly answering, “is that I thought I would always be a non-shifter, and I’d come to be okay with that. I’ve stolen, schemed, and used my smarts to survive just as I am. I don’t need status, power, or magic. But I want to do more than survive, you know? For years that was all I focused on.”
“Someone took this shifter side from you. You don’t need it, but it still belongs to you, as you have shown me that I deserve touch.” To show what he means, Lanlin tightens his hold around Daire. I remember how far from everyone Lanlin stood when I first met him. I would never have imagined that he would be snuggling this close to us in a tiny cave, looking relaxed and happy. “But when I discover who locked away your beautiful wolf side, I will hook out their guts, then throw the cur out into the desert for a Night Hunt with the Fang Born, which my Queen will lead. As a wolf, you will show this kingdom how to hunt down our enemies and devour their organs.”
Wow.
Disturbing but also creative.
Daire turns his head, raising an eyebrow at Lanlin. “You’re a psycho.”
Lanlin gives a ghost of a smile. “So, make me worse.”
“I think we already do,” Daire mutters. “Good for us, aye?”
“Hmm.” I glance out of the mouth of the cave.
The night sky has already turned to violet, and a rosy light is slanting through the cave’s entrance.
“We’re trapped.” Worry shoots through me. “We played too long. The sun’s already risen.”
Lanlin rests his head on Daire’s shoulder. “I would never cut short your fun, dearheart. The night was yours for as long as you wanted it. Everyone’s first experience shifting is special.”
“Also special is not bursting into flames.”
Lanlin lazily rolls onto his back.
I gasp, as he throws his hand out inches from the light.
“Are you worried for me, my dear?” He drawls. “Nebek would send me out into the lonely desert to harden me for my missions, when I was younger. If I didn’t find shelter in time, then I would meet the same end as any Shadow Vampire who is caught under the sun. Several times, I almost burned up like a candle. But I also soon mapped the caves, learning the importance of escape routes and surviving, as you did. Yet it is strange how tempting it was to walk into the sun.”
“I get it.” Daire strokes my back with his wings. “But we fight on, aye?”
“Don’t you dare.” My throat is tight. “You have all the sunshine that you need in us.”
Lanlin’s gaze snaps to me.
He snatches his hand away from the light like he didn’t even realize that he had been reaching for it. “I wish that you were not kept in the dark of my nighttime court, but you do brighten it…brighten my soul. I would like to ask you…”
He cuts himself off, as if unsure how to pose the question. With Lanlin, this could mean that he is about to ask us what our favorite flower is or to reign with him over a blood-soaked orgy.
It’s fifty-fifty.
