My door burst from its frame and crashed to the ground. The hinges tore free, and splintered wood scattered across the floor. We jolted, grabbing onto each other in fright. Our jaws dropped in unison as we stared, wide-eyed, at the intruder. In my doorway stood a seven-foot muscled General panting heavily with a very noticeable erection straining against the fabric of his pants.
His heavy steps shook the floor as he approached the window. We were both in shock, unable to speak, unable to move, unable to look away from the proverbial elephant in the room. My heart hammered wildly. Oh fuck was he looking for me? Please don’t be here for me, I thought. But where his attention was focused was unclear.
Oh no. How was I going to explain to Calpurnia why her fated mate had just broken into my room like this? She was going to hate me—she would never forgive me. I hadn’t known he was her fated mate. I didn’t know fated mates even existed!
Suddenly, all my panic and anxiety melted away as his eyes locked onto Calpurnia’s. I finally exhaled the breath I had been holding, relieved. Both of her feet were on the ground as she sat on the ledge, her knees pointed toward Cercies. As he approached her, she tilted her head all the way back to gaze up at her mate’s face. His rough finger traced her jaw, delicate despite his size.
“Please tell me you felt it too?” he asked her, his voice deep and soft.
She swallowed and nodded frantically, her eyes wide and her hands trembling. Her breath quickened.
The General dropped to his knees. He ran his large hands down her legs from her knees to her ankles.
He placed his hand on her ankle and brought her leg up, resting her foot on his muscled shoulder. He groaned softly as he trailed delicate kisses from her ankle up to her knee.
Cercies looked different, half crazed, with a feral, animalistic look in his eyes, the kind that only a high Fae male in the presence of his fated mate could have.
Their eyes locked in a heated gaze. Twin fires flared in their molten amber eyes, as though one sacred flame had been cleaved in two and forced to wander alone. Fire found fire. Soul found home.
Her eyes lit up, and she giggled nervously; I noticed the way she melted at his smallest touch, the unexpected tenderness of the General. Cercies licked the inside of her thigh and said, “I followed your scent all the way to this room, and now I need your scent all over my face.”
She moved the tousled strand of black hair from out of his eye, trying to redirect his focus.
“My name is Calpurnia,” she said with a beaming smile. It was a different smile than her usual; it was wider and more genuine.
The General slammed his eyes shut in shame; that animalistic look faded from his eyes. “Fuck, I’m sorry.”
He had been so worked up he broke the door down and was ready to take her right in front of me, without even learning her name first.
Still kneeling before her, he took her hands in his and said, “I’m General Cercies of the Kingdom of Flame, and you, Calpurnia, are my beautiful fated mate.”
She wrapped her arms around his thick neck and slammed a kiss onto his lips. He stood, and her legs dangled before she clung around him. He held her weight with ease, supporting her with large, strong hands gripping her ass.
I decided to tiptoe out to give the new mates some privacy. I was almost to my door when I heard Calpurnia yelp. I flinched; my head whipped around to make sure she was okay, and I realized that the outburst was from a sudden change in position. He stood with her thighs on his shoulders; she sat in his hands like a chair, his face buried beneath her skirts, while she began to moan.
I raised my brows and quickly turned back to the door, taking that as my cue to leave. While in the hall I could hear her moaning Cercie's name. It bellowed down the hall unapologetically for all to hear.
There was a small sitting room around the corner from my bedroom, where I decided to sit and wait for my bed to be available again, although I was probably going to need to change my sheets. My nose wrinkled at the thought.
I decided to go far enough away to give them some privacy, but close enough that I could intervene if needed. I didn’t thinkanything bad would happen to Calpurnia, but I didn’t exactly trust Cercies either, or Titus or Aurelius for that matter. Especially after seeing that hungry, animalistic look in his eyes when he came for her.
As scary as that look can be, I did find it…arousing. I cannot deny the tinge of jealousy I felt, not about Cercies in particular, but for the powerful rush that overcomes all your senses and rationality when you find your fated mate.
I had that with Jared, at a mortal level, and now I’m finding it difficult to recall the details of his face. A single tear dropped onto the book in my lap. I had managed to snag one off my desk on my way out of my room and fully intended on reading it. But now, all I wanted to do is curl up on this loveseat and cry myself to sleep in hopes I will see his face again, if only in my dreams.
An explosion shook the entire castle and woke me with a jolt. I heard Calpurnia screaming, not in pleasure but in pure terror. I jumped to my feet and rounded the corner; red-hot flames shot from my bedroom doorway, and I was horrified and in complete disbelief at what my eyes were seeing.
Calpurnia was wrapped entirely head to toe on my bed in the duvet, screaming for her life, under the blanket. Cercies was on one knee, fully nude, with his arms up, using a magical orb to block the full force of Titus’s flames. The High Lord stood with his back towards me. He directed an acute but brutal stream of rageful fire at his General.
Cercies’ shield began to shrink as the High Lord of Flames’ power slowly overpowered his own. Titus’s flames crept closer and closer to his General’s face. They were shouting at each other, but I couldn’t make out what they were saying over Calpurnia’s bloodcurdling screams and the faint ringing in my
ears from the explosion. Then I heard Titus shout, “You will never touch her again. You’re fucking dead!”
I raised my forearms to shield my face and pushed my way into the room, thick with magic and burning fury. “Titus!” I shrieked.
His flames dissipated. He lowered his hands and turned to look at me, his face a perfect mix of shock, relief, and horror. Cercies fell to both knees, sitting back on his heels and panting heavily, on the verge of passing out from exhaustion. Calpurnia unburied herself and wore my blanket like a dress. She rushed over to her mate and wrapped them both in the plush down fabric. She held him tightly, grateful that he was alive. Though relief washed through her at the sight of her mate unharmed, it was shadowed by something far darker. She had witnessed firsthand just how terrifying the High Lord’s power truly was.
“What are you doing?” I asked the High Lord. My face held disappointment, but my voice carried a tinge of fear and disgust.
