With force, I grab her chin, those ocean blue eyes defying me, willingly trespassing into peril, like she always does. Her arms display the bruises of my fingertips, and to erase the violent thoughts from my head, I crash my lips onto hers. She fights me at first, but eventually, her body submits to me, melting into me, and so does her spirit as a moan escapes her lips.
I am unable to make love to her, and neither is she to me. Instead, we claw at each other, pull at hair, and I spank her ass a bright red, as I fuck her roughly, precisely the way she likes it.
Brazen Homage
Harlot
Chapter 5
It’s been a strange yet calming sensation, no longer being obsessively occupied with my twin brother, to be free of the vile thoughts and have my own mind again. At times, it almost feels like a small part of me is missing—a part that was never meant to be there. Even my dreams are free of his face, no more bloodshed, and howling screams that make me smile. All is replaced with serenity during sleep, and exhaustion makes way for feeling well-rested.
Emrys wants to go to the city to see how Fynn is doing. He is anxious to know whether the removal of the curse on my end has affected my brother in any way. He is worried, not for my brother’s well-being, but for mine. His energy is restless andfretful; it is written all over his face. There is an edginess in the air, like before a storm.
It is hard to believe the curse, or at least my part, has just vanished, and there are no consequences for us for defying it. This is a sentient being, a true monster, that has destroyed lives for centuries without any intervention. The loophole to end it was so simple that we only discovered it because of my mother’s stubbornness to settle my brother and me down in a dark creature-infested city, amid vampire territory. It was her constant remedy to push us away from our kind, to keep us from finding our human counterparts, that ultimately led to Emrys and me bonding—by doing so, obliterating the curse on my end.
Despite my wariness toward the city and its citizens, especially my brother and his soulmate, I go along with Emrys, living up to our promise to each other never to separate ourselves again.
“You radiate, my love,” Emrys says dotingly.
I look up at him, my man, my monster, and smile. It feels surprisingly good to be back in the city, this time with a clear vision instead of a clouded one, nightmarish thoughts no longer haunting me. The change in my scent, the Aurum gone, doesn’t go unnoticed by our spectators, as many gawk at us, while somelick their lips in anticipation. None dares to come near us, none of them foolish enough to challenge an Umbra. The Aurum might have worn off and disappeared, but that doesn’t mean I am without protection or easy prey. Emrys's scent is all over me; our bond is cemented, unbreakable—a first warning that I am off-limits. Each darkling that slithers along these streets is aware. It makes me, strangely, both desirable and terrifying to them at the same time. I can tell from their skittish behavior around us and their longing stares as we pass by. I can almost hear their thoughts and whispers; if my blood is good enough for a powerful being like the Umbra, then how divine will my life essence be? Emrys’s hold on me is firm, his shadows coiling around us dangerously—a deathly message to anyone brazen enough to come after me, his mate.
We pause at a decomposing corpse; the skin is scorched and flaking—a witch. I glance up at Emrys, who glares at the dead body before us as well. He scans the area, but creatures scurry away from us, too scared to speak, until Emrys points at one. The vampire jerks his head from left to right, checking to see if he can push someone else forward, clearly unwilling to talk to us. Emrys has never been patient with the darklings, and with a deep sigh, tendrils of dark shadow sprout from him and lash out at the vampire, who begins to writhe as the black smoke curls around him. Within seconds, he’s close to us, still at a safe distance, and he cannot approach me.
“Please, my lord,” the vampire pleads. “Don’t force me to speak. Please…”
“What’s your name?” Emrys asks, ignoring the pleas.
“Augustus, my lord.”
“I amnotyour lord. Tell me what happened here,” Emrys demands from the vampire.
Instead of answering, his instincts kick in, and the vampire's eyes turn to me, his irises widening slightly as he takes me in.
“Your bride, she looks… healthy, my lo-Umbra. So… healthy, and… vulnerable,” Augustus says, his gaze solidly fixed on mine as he ogles me, a hint of drool at the corners of his mouth.
It happens so fast, I barely register it. Augustus cries out in despair, as I see both his arms breaking, sharp pieces of bone sticking through his skin, tearing the fabric of his jacket. Wet spots appear on his clothing as thick blood begins to saturate it.
“Nevergaze at my mate with those lustful eyes again, or I’ll make sure your eyes are next, vampire,” Emrys hisses as his shadows hold the fractures they inflicted in place, making it impossible for the vampire to heal his wounds.
While the vampire’s body desperately tries to glue the broken pieces back together, the shadows cruelly constrict and force them to break repeatedly after each healing attempt without mercy.
“Now, speak!”
Emrys’s dark aura springs to life, his rage envelops us, and several night creatures and witches gasp in fear as they feel the edge of his volatile aura brushing against theirs. Windows are shut with rapid speed, and residents pull their curtains taut, as if that will keep an Umbra out—a false sense of safety.
“It’s the bride’s brother…” Augustus says hesitantly, his voice trembling while he glances around as if worried that Fynn might overhear him.
Augustus leans in closer, as close as he can get to us, a grimace on his face as he withstands the pain, then lowers his voice. “The boy… he set the witch on fire because he was in a foul mood… We were told by him not to touch the body, to let her rot as a warning. No one has seen him since…”
“Tell.Me.Fucking.Everything,” Emrys growls. Each word is clipped.
“Fine, fine… The girl… The one that belongs to him… She changed too… Her scent… It’s like the boy’s, but less potent…”
Again, Augustus glances around in alarm.
“I… I know the girl… I was supposed to take her up North, to the breeding farms, but she escaped… It was actuallyyourwoods that protected her… sir.”
The final sentence carries a slight accusatory tone, which Emrys immediately notices.
