I stood in the corridor just outside his chambers, the scent of her thick in the air, divine magic and heat and blood. His mate. The word curled in my gut like venom, like rot.
My claws dug into my arms as I watched through the shadows. She was lying in his bed. She. A goddess. Naked. Glowing. Breathing my air, on my sheets. I'd held this court together when he fell into despair. I kept the elders in line, held the bloodlines in check, and soothed the nightmares of this realm while he wallowed.
And now? He had a shiny new goddess draped across him like fate gifted lingerie.
I snapped.
The doors exploded inward before I even consciously reached for magic. My power surged around me like a storm. Crimson eyes glowing. Voice slicing like a blade. "You think you can just waltz into my court, draped in silk and prophecy, and take what's mine?"
She blinked at me, still naked. Still infuriatingly unbothered. Her wild auburn hair tumbled around her like fire. Her body unscarred. Her power radiated. And that smirk, that bitch smirk almost like she'd already won?
It made my fangs ache.
"First of all," she said, all slow and smug, "if he was yours, you wouldn't be here throwing a damn tantrum. Second.."
She lunged.
I didn't even have time to scream.
One second I was ready to unleash hell, the next I was slammed into the floor like a rag doll. The wind whooshed out of me. My bones screamed. Her hands were glowing, pure starlight. Her strength was divine. She moved like a tempest, graceful and brutal. And before I could even blink, she was straddling my chest, pinning me like I was nothing.
There was a dagger at my throat.
It sang with celestial magic. Cold and blinding and sharp enough to slice through eternity.
Her face hovered inches above mine, eyes wild with fury and golden fire. "Try that shit again," she hissed, "and I'll rearrange your pretty little face so bad Liam won't remember your fucking name."
I froze.
And then, to make matters worse...he was watching. Liam. My Liam.
He stood in the doorway, mouth parted, eyes full of heat and awe and lust like he'd just watched his goddess wreck a threat to his throne.
"Guards," he said, snapping his fingers like I was a fucking problem, not the woman who held his kingdom together. "Take her. To the dungeon."
My pride shattered.
I screeched. I flailed. I cursed them all in every dark tongue I knew as I was dragged away, heels scraping across the obsidian floor, kicking and sobbing.
And her? She just stood there. Glowing. Glorious. Still naked.
The new queen of his realm. Of mine.
And all I could think as the dungeon swallowed me in shadow was...
I'm going to make her bleed.
"You handled that... effectively," Liam said, his voice like silk dragged across steel
I turned on him, heat still simmering in my veins from tossing Selene's ass into the dungeon. My hips moved with purpose, fury laced with something hotter. "You laid hands on me while I was unconscious," I hissed. "I should kick your smug, ancient ass."
He stepped forward, too close, eyes locked on my mouth like it held the fucking universe. "I healed you," he murmured, "Touched you like a priest worships his gods."
My breath stuttered. "You're not a priest." I gawked at this ancient delicious vampire, admiring the sharp V of muscles above his pants line, his hard muscled chest and tone arms. His beautiful pale skin. He looked like he was carved from marble.
A wicked grin curved his mouth as he noticed me checking him out. "No. But I am your mate."
And that did it. I couldn't resist the pull to this man.
I slammed him into the wall so hard the stone cracked behind his stupidly perfect head. My mouth crashed into his, my nails tearing through his shirt like claws through paper. He grunted, arms wrapping around me, lifting me like I weighed nothing, just muscle and need and ancient vampire hunger pressed against divine fury.
It wasn't a kiss. It was a battle.
"I need..." I gasped, grinding against him like my soul demanded it.
"I know," he growled.
The bed didn't stand a chance. We hit it in a mess of limbs and fire and want, my fingers tangled in his hair, his mouth trailing down my throat. His fangs grazed my skin, sharp and aching.
"Do it," I whispered, chest rising with every ragged breath. "Bite me."
The second the words left my mouth, something inside him snapped.
He growled low, deep, ancient, and then sank his fangs into my neck like he'd been starving for me. Pain bloomed. Sharp. Blinding. But then... pleasure. Feral and endless. My back arched, a gasp tearing from my throat as he drank me down like moonlight itself.
It was like feeding the stars to a storm.
My hands fisted in his blonde hair, anchoring him as my whole body trembled. His mouth latched on, his hands bruising my hips, spreading me open beneath him. One hand slid up, cupping my breast, thumb circling my nipple like he knew exactly what he was doing. I gasped in delight as he brought me to orgasm by pinching my nipple. My legs were slick with my arousal and I stared as he breathed deeply, inhaling the scent.
"Say it," he snarled against my throat, lips slick with my blood. "Say you want me."
"I need you," I rasped, hips lifting, grinding. "All of you. Now." Everything felt so amazing. He pulled his thick cock out and my eyes widened. He was bigger than Kaleb and I didn't think that was possible. My legs quivered in anticipation as my arousal perfumed the air.
He grinned wickedly, fangs glinting in the light.
He didn't hesitate.
He claimed.
One deep, perfect thrust and my world split apart. I screamed. He grunted. His body drove into mine like sin wrapped in shadows and heat, every roll of his hips dragging me closer to that edge. I arched my back to meet his thrusts as stars exploded behind my eyes.
"You're mine," he growled against my lips.
"Prove it," I snapped, biting his bottom lip hard enough to draw blood.
He did.
He changed the angle, slammed deeper. His fingers found my clit, circling in tight, delicious strokes, drawing my orgasm out like he'd written the blueprint of my body in some ancient fucking language.
I shattered. My orgasm squirted all over that thick cock.
"Liam!" I screamed, hips jerking, toes curling, stars exploding behind my eyes as my body convulsed around him, my tight cunt clenching hard.
He wasn't far behind. He roared, spilling into me with brutal grace, burying his face in my neck just as our marks ignited.
His stars flared across his chest in silver fire.
And at my collarbone... a delicate blood drop shimmered into existence.
The bond sealed.
He collapsed over me, chest heaving, weight heavy and grounding and safe.
And for a brief, impossible moment, everything was still.
Until the vision hit.
A forest. Twisted. Dead.
A demon, my demon, stumbling through the dark, bleeding, broken, screaming silently for someone to hear.
I shot upright, heart racing, hand digging into Liam's chest. "He's out. My demon is out of hell. But he's hurting. We have to go."
Liam was already up, barking orders, summoning his court, yanking clothes on while the walls lit up with portal runes.
An hour later, we stepped through the veil.
And landed hard... in dragon territory.
A roar tore across the sky...ancient, primal, furious.
My blood went ice cold.
"He's coming," I whispered.
And this time, I didn't know if it was salvation… or war.