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“Lesser mates, calm yourselves,” he shouted over the complaints from Goran, Kellin, and Lachlan. “It is not I who has taken the title for myself, but she who we love that gave it. By her own repeated admission, I am the god of her ass. I will make the decisions regarding that precious part of her anatomy. But fear not! I may allow some of you to experience the delights when I have had my fill. In a few centuries, perhaps.”

I felt a small flutter of anger, like a snarl just too distant to hear, and smiled. Good. She’d heard that.

“She called you an ass, Skadi.” Goran spoke slowly as he rubbed his forehead. “It was a play on words. Ice god, ass god. She was not giving you dominion over her… Oh, why bother explaining?”

“A misunderstanding?” Skadi spat the words. “Like yours, when you mangled your cock, as if that somehow made you worthy of our mate?”

Goran flushed red as the rest of us stifled laughter, except for Lachlan. He laughed so hard, he fell to the ice, wheezing, “Build her… a ladder… I will never stop laughing about that, vasyl.”

Skadi ignored the Omega, as he often did. He had a soft spot for Lachlan, and the two of them had grown close. Possibly because Lachlan fed him enormous fish constantly. All of us had developed hearty appetites of all kinds after becoming gods.

Skadi pulled the green-jeweled hairpin from his eye and picked his teeth with it, somewhat threateningly. After a moment, he sniffed and put it back. “No misunderstanding. It is a fact. She allows me liberties with that delectable part almost none of you have enjoyed. Except the Beta.” He nodded to Alexios, who was shaking his head and smiling at the ground.

“Because you’ve been selfishly hogging it,” Lachlan muttered.

“Because you’re the only one with a tail?” Kellin suggested.

“Because only I have a cock small enough not to split her in two?” We all turned to face Alexios. He shrugged. “I’ll admit it. I have a human-sized cock, and no knot. It’s the right size for the job.”

I stepped closer. “No one feels sorry for you, Alexios. She’s addicted to your honey cum. You’re her preferred morning meal.”

“And evening,” he said with a wink. “Afternoon snack.”

“You’re so full of shit.” I grinned. “You know Lusca, Kellin, Skadi, and I can all change the size of any part of our anatomy.”

“Too bad you can’t change your flavor.”

“She likes mine,” Lachlan bragged. He was carving something into his throne. He’d taken up carving when we were at Skadi’s home, since he couldn’t care for his gardens.

Our main home was in a castle I’d created from stone not far from Drakonspear, close enough to the sea for Lusca and Kellin, to the cold Northern wind for Skadi, and to our friends and family who’d moved to that part of Starlak. Goran and Lusca had constructed a pier for fishing and for Dustin and Adiah to tie up their boats when they visited, and Stellina and Wren cared for the garden in Lachlan’s absence.

Next year, Haven and Ratter’s crew, all former street rats and pickpockets, were planning to come so we could get to know them all. Rada had hinted that we’d need to hide or nail down all the valuables before they arrived.

I couldn’t wait. I spent far too many years of my life alone or imprisoned, trapped under tons of molten rock… I took a long, deep breath and let go of the memories that were not mine as I exhaled.

Rada knew that along with Edan’s power, I’d gained some of his memories. His pain, and fears, though luckily not any of his desire to conquer the world.

Only to conquer my perfect mate’s body, by giving her more pleasure than any of the others had. I had to stifle a smile. My gift might be the way.

“Enough!” Skadi shouted. “I will relent. Omega?”

Lachlan’s head popped up so fast, there was an audible crack. “Yes?”

“You may touch her ass when next she graces us with her—hhhngggghhh!” His words cut off mid-decree, and his face began to turn a peculiar shade of purple.

“Is something choking him?” I wondered aloud, though I knew exactly what was going on.

“His hubris, perhaps?” Kellin peered up at Skadi’s neck. “I don’t see anything around his neck.”

“Let me help,” Goran said as he began to pound Skadi’s back with every ounce of his strength. “Spit it out, lizard.”

Skadi lashed out with his tail, but something stopped it from reaching Goran. Skadi continued to choke, but Goran’s pounding had caused the cloth Skadi wore as a kilt to become unfastened, and it fell to the ground.

“More…” he gasped. “Harder.” Rada’s scent flooded the room just before Skadi’s cock rose up like a living stalagmite.

She emerged from the ice tunnel that served as an entrance and glared at the ice god, then the rest of us. “Ugh. It’s impossible to punish a mate who likes being choked and stabbed as much as he does,” Rada grumbled. She handed me her cloak with a look, and I quickly hid it before Skadi could notice and pick through it.

Not that he could do much of that now. He’d fallen to the icy floor of the main room, in the center of the thrones, and stared up at Rada with pure lust in his gaze as she stepped on his chest with one booted foot.