When he relaxed, a dark, satisfied smile touching his lips, he took his seat once more.
“Share with the class?” Gale said impatiently.
Saar turned the screen around. It was still a live feed, and we watched as a small group of hybrid shifters moved through the outer stretch of our property. A blinding light grew in the middle of the screen, growing until it nearly overtook it all. When it died down, the body that was still standing was fried, frozen in place.
But there was no question what we were looking at. Only agents of Silence walked around in hybrid states. Which was curious, for sure. But that curiosity didn’t matter as my heart raced.
They were on our property. They were looking for us.
“Easy,” Arat murmured against my cheek. He shifted me in his arms so he was holding me tightly. “They were obviously just doing some recon since there were only a few of them. We took out hundreds on the mountain.” He paused. “Dozens anyway. A few were not here with the intent to kill.”
No. They were looking for information. Weakness.
Our property was cut through in several plots with high voltage. So high that it could keep enormous extinct Cretaceous creatures trapped. We rarely had need of them, but once in a while when we wanted to keep predatory animals out, we’d flick them on. The charge that filled the air alone was enough to discourage anyone or anything.
“I can’t do this anymore,” I said, leaning forward and wrapping my arms around my stomach, feeling sick. “I need to do something. I don’t want to sit here and wait for them to attack us again and hope that we come out alive.” My gaze flicked to Koh. Then Tem, before staring at the floor. “I can’t take this kind of daily stress!”
Silence followed my frustrated outburst. Arat leaned forward, pulling me back into his arms and holding me in a grip so tight that I could barely breathe. It was what I needed, though. That little sting of discomfort and struggle to take a breath helped clear my mind of the overwhelming fear that was starting to take hold.
Still, no one spoke. I didn’t look. Didn’t want to see the way they were watching me. Instead, I closed my eyes and tried to will away the doom that was hanging over us. Plead with whatever watched over monsters that they’d make the Division of Silence take interest elsewhere, even if that was a gutless request.
I needed my family safe. I needed us to live.
“You’re right,” Saar said at last. I looked up to find him watching me. Everyone watched me. But to my surprise and relief, it wasn’t with pity. There was a low note of determination there. Agreement.
“We’re done sitting around as sheep. Time to show them that the monster that hides under lamb’s wool isn’t just fresh meat,” Saar said.
A different kind of fear filled me. Fuck. Now what?!
Hadley
I thoughtI’d feel good to have a purpose that revolved around moving against Silence. That’s what I’d wanted for years. For more than three long years since they took my sister from me.
But now that we were all in agreement that that’s what we were going to do, I was scared more than anything. Not scared to face them. Not even scared with the idea that I might die, too. But scared that I’d survive and some of my husbands wouldn’t.
I’ve only been with them for almost ten weeks and already I cannot imagine living without even a single one. How would I survive that? Living without my sister was hard enough, but these men had my heart. They owned every piece of me.
The house was filled with nervous tension and excited stress. We didn’t have a plan yet, per se, but that we were all committed to this meant we’ve been throwing out ideas every evening after dinner.
We were moving forward, though without a real time frame. We said ‘soon’ so to me, that meant within the next couple months.
I couldn’t explain the feeling of that. It felt like a timer ticking down to an unknown outcome, though understanding it was going to be dark and dangerous. As if we were certain that it might all end, everything about our relationships—especially those building with me—have been kicked up into hyper speed and recklessness.
That’s how I found myself pressed against the landing in one of the stairwells with Kohara as he pinned me to the wall for our first time together. Romantic? I suppose it depends on your definition of the word.
My chest was against the wall, my leggings at my ankles. My face was sideways as he kissed me over my shoulder, working his fingers into my sex. Fingering me. Making room.
I could barely kiss him like this as he held me there, stationary. Motionless. Unable to do more than breathe and give my body to him, a high in and of itself.
Satisfied that I was ready, he pulled his hand from me and grabbed my hip. He took my bottom lip between his teeth as he lined us up, making me stick my ass out for him. The blunt head of his cock pushed against my throbbing heat and I groaned, trying to move my body.
“Still,” he growled.
My breath caught at the sound. A fresh wave of need melted down my body, leaving everything inside me tingling with desire.
Koh had paused with just the head of his cock inside me. Waiting for me to listen. How was I supposed to hold still when he was torturing me like this? I groaned, frustrated, but tried desperately to do as he wanted. Freeze in place.
As soon as I did, he thrust up inside me, bottoming out as much as he could in this position. A cry lodged in my throat as my eyes went wide. He covered my mouth with his again, locking me in a rough kiss as he claimed my body for his own.
