She was as glorious as the moon.
Would she… let me take her underwear, as a trophy?
Kassie’s moans grew louder, her pleas of my name more desperate. I matched her pace, my hand working faster, my grip tighter. The tendrils around my cock wrapped around my hand and squeezed.
Fuck.
“Atlas!” she whispered.
My body tensed, the hum in my chest growing louder, more insistent. I was close, so close. I could feel it building, the pressure inside me ready to burst.
And then, silence. The vibrations stopped, and I heard her let out a long, satisfied sigh. My heart thrummed through my whole body as it ached, my seed leaking down my hand.
I leaned against the wall, panting, trying to catch my breath.
I needed to leave. I had to figure out tonight.
But I couldn't move. Not yet. Not until I knew she was okay, that she didn't need me.
What if her heart stopped? What if she needed comforting? It was my pheromones that got all this started…
A soft laugh floated down to me, and I heard her moving around her room. “Well, that was… wow!” she muttered to herself.
My wings relaxed, and I leaned my head against the brick wall.
I was in so much damn trouble.
Chapter Eleven
Atlas
Iflipped on the switch, careful to keep my jeans up as I walked into my home. I didn’t know why I did it; it was a habit. Once entering the forest, my moth form would take shape, and I wouldn’t look like a human.
As soon as all the lights came on, I saw none other than Hollow sitting in my chair, twisting shadows between his fingers.
I let out a high-pitched scream at the sight of him. The denim slipped out of my hands and past my hips, pooling at my feet while my wings beat the air in a panic—thwap-thwap-thwap, stirring dust into tiny cyclones. One step forward, and the fabricnoose around my ankles yanked tight. The ceiling spun, then the walls, then a glimpse of Hollow’s unamused face before my cheek smacked against the cold floorboards.
Thankfully, I had tucked my dick away in my slit.
The mayor rose from his seat, his elongated frame unfolding as he approached. I struggled to my feet, wings shedding a fine layer of dust across the floorboards. A groan escaped me—another mess I'd have to clean before I could ever invite Kassie into my home.
The mayor tugged on his suit and stood before me. We were about the same height if he didn’t use his magic, still, I found him to be intimidating at times.
Hollow’s voice dropped to a silky rumble. "I heard you shouting about finding your match." He leaned in, with no eyes to be seen. "Surprised you didn't drag her back to your little nest for a proper claiming when you woke." His talon-like fingers idly smoothed invisible wrinkles from his immaculate suit jacket.
I scratched the back of my neck, fingers drifting to the downy fluff beneath my chin. "I can't be sure it's real," I said, tugging at the soft tufts. "I called her my match, but I was half-conscious. And I didn't feel that... that lightning strike everyone talks about. That certainty."
The mayor's smugness faded as he patted my shoulder with one long-fingered hand. "I don't mean to distress you, Atlas. You may have called her your match, but we can't be certain until you see her without the witches' glamor clouding your perception. Only when you look upon her with your true moth eyes, will you know for certain."
The glorious scent that came from Kassie was the one thing that stood out in my mind. Could that not be a tell? That felt more real.
Hollow tilted his featureless head. "I can practically hear the gears grinding in that moth brain of yours." He glided into mykitchen, lifted the teakettle from the stove with his unnaturally long fingers, and filled it with water from the tap.
I kicked off my jeans and shrugged out of my plaid shirt, leaving both crumpled on the floor. "But her scent—it's like nothing I've ever encountered," I said, all four hands fidgeting nervously against each other. "Couldn't that be enough to know she's my match?"
Hollow’s mouth appeared, the large rows of teeth showing. “No, it cannot. Humans are living beings with basic needs. The need to procreate, and just, primal hunger. What you are smelling is her arousal. All humans can smell like that.”
My antennae curled up in disgust. No one could smell as nice as Kassie.
