Blood Crown

I awoke to the fresh morning air blowing in through the open window. The sky was still gray with dawn, streaked with the bruised purple color of early spring. For the first time in recent memory, I felt content, surrounded by warm male bodies. More than that, I was surrounded by love and the hope that maybe I could make a difference. I was only one person, but now I had four mates by my side. I had a kingdom of people who believed in my dreams, and a generation of humans who were able to live freely for the first time.

Change was in the air, heavy on the breeze. I could practically taste it on my tongue as I laid in bed, staring at the odd color of the sky. Ambrose was curled tight to my back, with no room to breathe between our bodies. Jacobi had his arm across my chest, his leg hooked over my hip. Malachi had left while it was still dark out — an issue with a guard. He had pressed a kiss to my forehead and slipped out before I could fully wake up. And Caspian… I sighed — quietly so as to not disturb the two men still snoring gently. Caspian was Caspian. He had accepted the bond with me, but he was still struggling to accept his place with the other men. Since Beltane, I had convinced him to share our bed once or twice, but he usually preferred to keep to his chambers. I couldn’t imagine he was getting much sleep that way, but he was so fucking stubborn that once he made up his mind on something there was no convincing him otherwise.

He’d see logic eventually. I would just have to wait him out. Caspian wasn’t the only stubborn one in this relationship, and he would find that out the hard way.

My inner torment had woken my empathetic angel king, and Jacobi brushed his hand lightly across my cheek, propping himself up on his other elbow. “What’s troubling you, love?”

I gave him a gentle smile, pressing his hand against my lips for a kiss. “Just thinking of Caspian.”

Ambrose groaned behind me, and I could feel the hard ridge of his cock grind against me as he awoke. “Don’t worry about Princess Prick. He’ll get over himself eventually.”

“I don’t believe you get to use that nickname, Princess Ambrose.” Mal stood in the doorway, looking every inch the delicious incubus warrior he was, smirking at the vampire next to me.

He walked toward me, dripping with sensuality, and for a brief moment, I thanked whatever gods listening that he was mine. Mal sat on the end of the bed, looking up at me.

“Come to bed,” I whispered, suddenly desperate for touch. My mates’ touch. I was certain nothing could put this fire out inside of me. Ambrose groaned again, and Jacobi dragged his hand back down to my nipple. I felt powerful. Seductive. Deliciously female.

Mal twisted his lips, and the three of us froze, waiting to hear what he would say next. “Unfortunately, I’m here on business. You need to get up. All of you. One of my men reported back to me whispers of an attack today in Cresta City, and while normally I would just chalk it up to post-Beltane excitement…” He trailed off, but I was already out of bed, pulling on the first clothes that came to hand.

“But with the resistance, we need to check out any and all rumors,” I replied, quickly winding my hair into a tight braid. Jacobi and Ambrose were already starting to dress.

“Exactly.” Mal’s voice gave nothing away, but I had learned a long time ago not to trust his calm aura. The city could be burning around him, and he would look no worse for wear than as if he was at dinner. “Where’s Caspian?”

“In his chambers.” The reply came from Ambrose, already in trousers, shirtless as usual. He kissed me on the neck, sending electric waves of arousal through my body, but those would have to wait. “I’ll get him. I’ll meet you at the entrance shortly.”

Mal gave him a brisk nod. “Perfect.” He tugged my hand and pulled me through the door, Jacobi trailing at our heels.

“Does this happen often? Security warnings, I mean,” Jacobi asked, buckling his pants as he walked.

“Around Beltane, sure,” Malachi responded. “Young folk getting overly excited, getting into their parent’s stash of alcohol. Things escalate quickly, get blown out of proportion. But it’s always better to be safe than sorry.”

I realized that Jacobi, for all his brute strength and sheer size, probably hadn’t seen much fighting in the peaceful kingdom of Malak. The angels were a passive bunch, fighting was rare, and war was unheard of. Usually in battles between kingdoms, they would remain neutral, offering aid and assistance to both sides. So for him to walk into a potential battle, for me, struck a chord within me. I stopped, turning on my heel to face the angel king. “You don’t have to come, you know. You could stay back, keep an eye on the castle.”

Mal canted his head from side to side. “Not the worst idea in the world, to keep someone behind.”

“No.” Jacobi’s response was gruff, and more intense than I had heard him speak before. His bright gaze met mine, and I found myself unable to look away. “I will not stay behind and merely wait for word to be sent back. This may be a minor scuffle, but I will stand by your side. All of yours.” He gave Mal a serious look, and Mal nodded back.

Okay. Understood.

“I didn’t mean anything by it,” I whispered to him as we walked, reaching out my hand to hold his.

Jacobi took my hand easily, squeezing it tightly. “I know. But I won’t have you and the others going off into any kind of danger while I sit back and twiddle my thumbs. I will protect you, and our life together. I knew what it meant to mate with you.”

My heart stuttered, warming at the intensity of Jacobi’s words, and his love for me. I was truly lucky. As we turned the corner, Ambrose and Caspian appeared out of the other hall. Ambrose fell into line with Jacobi, the two of them whispering as they walked. They had grown closer over the time they had spent together, even though “feathered douche” and “blood sucking prick” were still their common nicknames for each other. Men. I turned to Caspian, who looked more disheveled than his usual put-together self. Ambrose must have rushed him out the door.

He greeted me with a wry smile. “Dick slayer. Some wakeup call this morning.”

I shrugged, raising a brow at him. “Could’ve been avoided if you’d sleep in the same room as me.”

Caspian rolled his eyes. “And share a bed with the vampire asshole up there?”

I opened my mouth to speak but then shook my head. It wasn’t worth it. When he was ready, he’d come.

“Where is this city we’re headed to anyway?” Caspian asked. “How are we getting there?”

Ambrose laughed loudly. “You’re in for a real treat, princess.”

Mal elbowed Ambrose. “What the hell did we just talk about?” He then turned to Caspian. “It’s a couple hours north of here.”

Confusion raced across Caspian’s face. “So how are we getting there in time then?”

This time it was my turn to laugh. “We fly.”

Caspian’s expression shifted to one of pure horror. “You’ve got to be fucking kidding me.”

* * *

Caspian

I couldn’t fucking believe I was being held by the king of fucking angels. The same king I watched plow my mate while being held back. I fought back a growl and side-eyed Bat Fuck and the blood sucker.

Assholes.

Dick slayer’s ass looks fantastic from this angle, though. I quickly shook my head at my wayward thoughts.

I was aware she felt hurt to some degree that I wouldn’t share in her little love nest. But her little harem had made damn sure I knew my fucking place…at the bottom of the fucking food chain.

Cocksuckers.

That was only part of the issue, honestly. While I’d been more than willing to fuck her as she’d been chained to her throne with the others, the thought of sharing her still ruffled my feathers. Not to mention all the changes in my kingdom, and life, I’d agreed to. I didn’t regret it, but it was a lot to process.

With the mate bond now in place, I knew Ashera was damn worth it. I just wasn’t sure that I was. I wasn’t sure I could really change. I wasn’t sure I really wanted to change. But I did want to change… for Ashera…right? I wanted to be a good mate…

I have no idea how this is going to work. I groaned at the realization that this mate thing was going to be a lot fucking harder than I had initially hoped. I’d imagined that if I ever took a mate, she’d be subservient, quiet. Happy to make me happy, and to fall into place in my kingdom at my side. Ashera was the antithesis of those things. Sometimes she was happy to play submissive in bed, but we all knew who was in charge around here, and it was the blonde beauty with the golden circlet. Dammit. How had I gotten myself into this mess? Life would’ve been so much fucking easier if I had just sent my sentry to Shaytan like I had wanted. But then I would’ve never gotten to taste Ashera, and that would’ve been a true pity. Fuck. I was getting as sappy as fucking Ambrose. Next thing you know, I’d be walking around shirtless like a true prick.

I shook my head to rid myself of all my thoughts that were going nowhere as Jacobi dropped lower, the ground almost close enough to touch. We were here — wherever here was. From what I remembered, Shaytan was a lot less built-up than Juniya. We landed on a large hill just outside of Cresta City. Surprisingly, it was roughly the size of the capital. I hadn’t been aware Shaytan had other cities this size. It had been far too long since I last visited, that much was obvious. Well, that was going to change, especially since we still had to work out where the hell we were all going to reside. Just another problem to work out. Fuck. Nothing was going to be fucking easy, was it?

Everything appeared quiet as we stared down at the buildings and people. I glanced over at dick slayer. For her sake, I very much wished the threat of unrest here was just that, a threat.

“Let’s work in groups to scout out the city.” Malachi glanced at all of us. “We’ll meet in the city center in an hour or if anything happens. Jacobi and Caspian, you two are together. Ashera and Ambrose, you two. I’m going to go meet up with a few of the city guards.”

I fought the urge to argue. There really wasn’t time, but I wanted to be with my mate. Fuck that blood sucker prick. I glared over at him. Why did he get to search the city with her, be close to her? What was wrong with me?

“Put a fucking shirt on you annoying prick,” I grumbled. Ambrose shot me a smug smirk. My hand clenched into a fist as I attempted to refrain from throat punching him.

“Down you two.” Ashera sounded annoyed with us, which had me wincing. I needed to grow the fuck up, if only for her sake. I unclenched my fist, attempting to shift my face into something neutral. It didn’t feel right.

“Gods, I can’t believe the little queen fucked you with a face like that,” Ambrose taunted.

Fuck’s sake. I clenched my fists again, ready to put this prick in his place.

“Ambrose!” Okay, now Ashera was definitely pissed. “You two need to work out whatever is bothering you, but you can fucking deal with that later. Right now, we need to make sure the people here are safe. Your petty fight is at the bottom of my priority list.”

Fuck. She was right, as usual. I’d learn one day. Hopefully. But looking at Ambrose still grinning at me from behind Ashera’s back made me doubt myself.

Jacobi clapped me on the shoulder, and I stepped away from his touch. “Come on, man. We should head down.” He turned to Malachi. “Caspian and I will take the east side.”

Malachi gave him a brief nod, turning to face Ashera, and I could see why — between the two of them — they were able to take down Shaytan. Both were already in soldier mode, faces set in grim masks as they surveyed the land, having a conversation without speaking. Ashera’s dress was not one designed for fighting, but I knew that wouldn’t hold her back. From what I had seen, nothing held back the Queen of Shaytan.

* * *

Ambrose

As Ashera and I made our way through a narrow alley, I thought back to the first image of Cresta City. It had been quite a while since I’d seen it, and the changes were drastic.

“This was where they brought me after slaughtering my parents.” My mate’s voice was soft. “They had leveled the village we lived in looking for me. Once they found me… nothing is left now.” Fuck.

“The old lord here took me in. Since I wasn’t human, I wasn’t a slave, but they didn’t know my lineage either so that left me with few options.” My stomach churned, well aware of what those options consisted of, especially for a female.

Ashera glanced over at me, and I was surprised her eyes weren’t haunted by the memories of her past. My love for her burst through my chest, pride alongside it. My little queen was a warrior through and through. I am one lucky asshole.

She stopped about halfway down the alley, leaning against one of the walls, her head tipped back to look at the sky. “I met Mal here. I’d been given some leeway, enough to come into the city proper on my own. I thought it a good idea to run.” She let out a humorless chuckle, and I settled myself next to her, my body turned to face hers. “I quite literally ran into him. He convinced me to stay. Helped me kill the lord here and start a life. But it wasn’t enough.”

No. I didn’t imagine it ever could be. Not after everything she’d been through. She’d gotten out but that wasn’t enough, she needed to get everyone out. Gods, I was just now realizing how damn brave she’d been. Still was.

My hand closed the gap between us, turning her face to mine. I studied her for a moment before leaning down to capture her lips. Gods, I’d been such an arrogant prick when I first arrived here. Guilt gnawed at me when I thought back to how I’d treated her, what I’d thought of her.

My lips turned frantic over hers, my hands grasping her hips to pull her flush against me. Her soft moan had my dick hardening to the point of pain. I knew we were here for a reason, but I needed to be buried in her. Now.

“Hard and fast, little queen. We don’t have much time.”

“Yes,” she mewled, already moving the bottom of her dress.

My hands undid my pants, and I lifted her so her legs could wrap around me. Without a second thought, I slid myself home, both of us moaning.

“You always feel so fucking tight, little queen.” I set a fast pace, needing both of us to hurtle off the edge as quickly as possible.

As though she sensed my need, her hands buried in my hair before she started chanting, “I love you,” over and over again. My fangs dropped as I moved my hand down her body to find her clit. My fangs sank into her neck, both of us coming as soon as I started to pull her blood from her veins. I saw fucking stars. Fucking. Stars.

This succubus was every fucking thing.