day and a half already. When was the witch’s stupid heat going to pass? I wasn’t cut out to be a babysitter for some lust-addled witch. And yet, here I was. Sometimes I wondered if my princess was trying to get me to kill her. Maybe our leader was suicidal. That was the only reason I could think of for ordering me—a highly skilled assassin with much better things to do—to watch over her silly little pet witch. I eyed the witch in question from my place on the chair in her room, pretending to be watching TV, when really, I was just watching Ruya pace. For Puck’s sake, she was like a caged animal.
“Hey,” I snapped. “You’re going to wear a hole in that damned carpet if you don’t sit the fuck down.”
She stopped just long enough to wave her middle finger in my general direction. I ran a hand through my hair and turned my attention back to the TV, ignoring her. This was so stupid.
When we arrived home from our most recent outing to chat with a contact of Robin’s, the whole damned court had descended into chaos. The shifters in our court could instantly smell what Ruya had gotten up to with the goat. No one trusted the guy cozying up to our witch. Wait. Our witch? No. Their witch. Anyway, no one trusted the asshole, so that was bad enough. But then it was also obvious that Dusek, who was supposed to be the most cool and distant of us all, had lost his mind and joined right in on the fuckfest.
Personally, I didn’t see the big deal. I was fae myself, so I understood taking what you wanted, and the draw of pleasure in excess. To me, sex was on the same level as chocolate cake. If it was on offer, why not enjoy some? But apparently the shifters—and one overly protective sorcerer—couldn’t handle a little dose of pheromones. The weaklings.
“Seriously,” I said when I noticed that my witch ward was currently raking her hand through her silver hair with one hand while she fanned herself with the other. “Just stop the damned pacing for five seconds and maybe you wouldn’t be so hot.”
She glared at me, her ice blue eyes unerringly finding me by the sound of my voice. “Oh, is that all? Just…stop being an omega and it’ll all get better?” She growled and ran her hands roughly over her body as if she could strip off her own skin. “I need to go see Cicely.” She headed toward the door.
I sighed and froze the door handle and lock with my magic. “No. You don’t. You need to sit the fuck down. Robin and Martina almost lost their shit the other day. They can’t handle you fucking a stranger at the moment.”
She yanked at the door handle, hissing when the cold seeped into her fingers. Then she whirled, grabbed a little figurine off a nearby shelf, and threw it at me. It missed by a wide margin, since she couldn’t see me. But still. How dare she? The little brat.
“You can’t tell me what to do with my own body,” she raged, her chest heaving. I tried not to look at the lovely breasts that were barely concealed by her thin camisole. Flying fairy rings, I was not a fucking shifter, all wrapped up in the woman’s pheromones.
That’s why they were making me babysit her, after all. I wasn’t a shifter, nor was I infatuated with the weirdo. I was neutral territory. Safe to be in the same room with their precious omega so I could keep her from starting a fucking war within the clan.
Because I knew damned well Robin wanted her, even though she was currently holed up in her own room deep in denial. And Martina was almost as bad. They had both been so distracted during our meeting with our contact that they nearly got us all killed. And Sanka…don’t get me started on that asshole. He was a sorcerer and a beta. He should be able to handle this shit instead of me. Caring for people was his thing, and he also wasn’t a shifter. But, just like Dusek, he was worthless against the wiles of one horny little witch.
“Why don’t you just go take another shower,” I said with what calm I could muster. “Take one of your little toys and fuck your own brains out. Problem solved.”
She chucked a book at me this time. I ducked. Why did she even have a book in here anyway? It wasn’t like she could read. Why give her more weapons? My wings buzzed in agitation, and I darted over to grab her shoulders and give her a little shake. “Pull yourself together, witch!”
Her skin was burning hot against my palms. Her breath came in shallow pants, and she moaned at the contact. “Oh, thank goddess,” she sighed, leaning into my grip.
I dropped her at once, stepping back so fast she almost fell on her face. “No. Absolutely not. I’m immune to your bullshit, omega.”
Unlike the others, I had very limited experience with her kind. During my time with Odell’s court an omega or two had come through, but I mostly saw them from a distance when I walked past the orgies they provoked. I’d had more important shit to do, since I was one of the few people in that court who had an actual job.
She glared some more, but lurched forward, hands outstretched, making a grab for me, which I deftly dodged. “Yukio!” she whined. “Hold still. I don’t want to sleep with you. I want to heal you.”
I circled away from her, putting the little breakfast table between us. “Ha. I’m a fae, little witch. Do you think I don’t know how to find the lie in your words? I know you don’t want to sleep right now. I’m sure it’s the last thing on your mind. But that doesn’t mean I’m letting you get your hands on me and all my fae perfection!”
She snorted like an enraged bull and stomped one foot, her fists clenched at her sides. “I hate you.”
I grinned, thoroughly enjoying myself. “Oh, good. I was afraid you wanted to fuck me for a second there. But wait…didn’t I just say I can find the trickery in your words? You don’t have to like someone to fuck them senseless.”
She let out this little hissing, shrieking noise, her face going red. With that and her hair color, she looked like a steaming teapot with a silver top. Then she drew in a calming breath, squared her shoulders, and lifted her chin. “You’re smart to avoid me,” she said calmly. “Because if I could reach you right now, I’d strangle you.”
I laughed. “I’m really not into choking.”
She rolled her eyes. But I knew my distraction techniques were working. She had stopped pacing and was thoroughly focused on hating me, rather than on the discomfort her heat was causing and the fact that the court was once again infringing on her freedom.
“Yukio,” she said, more calmly now. “I didn’t realize, but I think the excess buildup of magic inside me is making the heat even harder to deal with. Can I please heal you? I don’t like feeling like this anymore than you like watching it.”
I smirked. She was wrong about that. I was having fun tormenting her. But still. I sighed and moved around the table to take her overheated hand. “Fine. I suppose you can pump me full of health and vitality and make me nearly immortal. If you must.”
She shook her head at me, but one corner of her mouth twitched with suppressed laughter. Or hysteria. Probably both. Her warm, golden energy flowed into me like a caress, soothing me and filling healing every cell in my body, making me feel like I could fly around the world and never tire. Then she slowly released me, her shoulders sagging a bit in relief.
“Better?” I asked, moving away before I could do something stupid, like pat her shoulder or touch her sparkling silver head.
She ran a hand over her face. “Yes. I suppose.”
I sat down again, picking up the remote to flip though and find something less boring to watch. “Go shower,” I told her in a flat voice. “You stink of sweat and witch.”
She flipped me off again but went and shut herself in the bathroom.
Was she really in there pleasuring herself? I shook my head at my own wandering thoughts. “You are not like the rest of these besotted idiots,” I reminded myself. But I could appreciate a beautiful woman when I saw one, even if she was an annoying witch. One who had saved my life even when I didn’t want her here. One who had captured the attention of both my lovers. One who could protect and save our whole court, if she didn’t destroy it first.
A witch who liked sweets and cared about others so much she nearly got herself killed. One who lit up the room with her smile, and never judged any of us by our race or our prickly exteriors. And who had a strength inside her that most would probably overlook.
I ran a hand over my face. Damn it. No. Please no. I couldn’t be growing fond of the woman. Someone kill me now.
She emerged quite some time later, as I was writing down a new crepe recipe from the cooking show I was watching onto a little notebook I’d found in her things. My eyes took in the robe that was tightly belted around her body. I heartily approved of the increased coverage. Even if my mind wanted to immediately remind me how easy it would be to untie that belt and have her naked before me.
Fuck me sideways, I was worse than the stupid sorcerer.
“Sanka brought food,” I said as I finished scribbling down the last of the ingredients for the crepes. “It’s on the coffee table here.” I tossed my borrowed notepad aside and looked up at Ruya as she approached. “How are you? Still overheated?”
She frowned. “The cold showers help, but it never lasts long. I feel like I’m burning alive. Among other things.”
That little chin lift thing she did was adorable, not that I’d ever admit it out loud. She reminded me of a young fae trying to bluff her way through hard situations with the power of sheer, haughty bullshit. If you looked confident enough, most people would buy the illusion of control. She made her way over to the couch and sat next to me, leaving adequate space between us. Thank fuck.
I watched her feel for her plate, then tuck in, balancing the plate on her knees. “Sanka ruined the sandwiches,” I grumbled. “I don’t know how many times I’ve told him how to grill the bread properly. He never listens.”
Ruya laughed around a mouthful of corned beef on marbled rye. “He probably messes up on purpose so you’ll keep cooking for him,” she mumbled.
I chuckled too. “Most likely. No one can be that slow to learn something so simple.”
She smiled. “Oh, I don’t know about that. I’d probably burn the theater down if I tried to cook.”
I arched a brow and moved a napkin into the path of her searching hand. “Not if I showed you how. You wouldn’t dare.”
She finished half her sandwich, then set the plate back on the coffee table. Barely enough to sustain her. I frowned. She was still thin from Odell’s stunt. She was going to lose all the weight I’d managed to put on her if she didn’t start eating more. I caught my mental fussing and shook myself. What the hell? I wasn’t a damned beta.
“You’d do that?” she asked, oblivious to my mental rambling. “Teach me to cook? Do you really think someone like me could learn?”
I huffed. “Someone like you? Oh, someone stupid, you mean? Probably. After all, Dusek cooks sometimes and we’re all still alive.”
She huffed a laugh. “I meant because I’m blind, you jerk.”
I tossed a throw pillow at her, just to watch it bounce off her unsuspecting face. “You’re blind? I hadn’t noticed?”
She picked up the pillow and walloped me with it. I let her. She could hit me with fluffy household goods all she wanted, if it made her stop looking so desperate and haunted. Titania’s left tit, being an omega must suck donkey balls. I couldn’t imagine being so out of control of my body and my emotions.
“It’s no fun when you don’t fight back,” she pouted, tossing her weapon aside. Then she pushed up the sleeves of her robe and wiped a fine sheen of sweat from her face.
I could feel the heat radiating off her—the physical heat, not the pheromones. Reaching out, I sent a cool blast of air swirling around her. She shuddered and let out a sigh of appreciation. “That was your magic, wasn’t it? I’m not hallucinating now or something?” She let her head thump back against the couch as she slumped. “I’m so hot. All the time. Inside and out. I feel like I’ll burn up.”
I canted my head, absently flicking a finger to send another burst of chilling magic her way. “What is it like? Really? Being what you are.”
She sighed. “A witch? It’s cool. Healing people is a good feeling.”
She knew damned well what I meant. I stopped the flow of cool air and she chuckled. “Okay, okay, just don’t stop!”
I arched a brow at her. Don’t stop indeed. Curse my fae blood.
“It’s like….” Her pale skin flushed bright pink, even with the cooling breeze my magic had created. “It’s like I just need to feel the touch of another person. Like I’ll die if I don’t.” She sat up and curled her legs under her, hands plucking at long ends of the belt on her robe. “I feel so…out of control. But also like it’s right. Like it’s something that’s so natural if I only give in.” Her pale blue eyes slipped closed, and her expression melted into one of bliss. “There’s euphoria. In that moment when I finally, finally get what I need. It’s like flying, floating.”
I huffed. “So, like regular old sex then.”
She waved a hand at me dismissively. “Not at all,” she said, eyes still closed. “Not that I’ve had that much experience on the matter. But…no. It’s like everything is intensified. Like it’s my purpose in life to make us both feel good. And it’s…connection. This deep sense of not being alone.”
I scowled. “Pack bullshit. Meant to make you submit to a dominant alpha.”
But she was shaking her head. “No. I mean, maybe. But that makes it sound so awful when really, it feels…like trust. Like complete and utter trust. Like the person won’t ever let you fall. Because they’re yours.”
She sat up with a sigh. “I know. It sounds stupid. But it’s a feeling. I can’t describe it in words, not really.” She shrugged. “And who knows what the other person feels? It’s probably just me, all in my hormone filled brain.”
I took her hand, tracing light trails of frost over her skin, from her palm, up the inside of her arm, making her shiver. “You make it sound beautiful, somehow. The few others I’ve seen from afar seemed…disenchanted, I suppose. Empty. I thought you resented being an omega.”
I needed to stop touching her. But I just…I was addicted to the way she sighed with relief at the touch of my ice against her skin.
“I think,” she said slowly. “I think maybe it’s meant to be beautiful. Maybe it’s just evil people who twist it into something awful. Alphas who aren’t like Robin. People who wouldn’t care about consent or sharing the bond, just about what they could take from it.” I turned to her so I could send the frost up both arms, past her elbows, my hands slipping under the wide sleeves of her robe as she leaned into the touch. “It was confusing the first time I was in heat, with Sanka,” she continued. “But it wasn’t awful. I felt taken care of. Not used.” She held still as I removed my hands from her arms to cup the sides of her neck and trace frost there, from her shoulders upward. “And with Cicely it was…yeah, beautiful seems like the right word. I just knew I could trust him, though I don’t know why.”
“Instinct, maybe?” I guessed. “Wishful thinking?”
She frowned and I cupped her face, swiping my thumbs across her forehead, then those high, proud cheekbones. “But he hid from me. He was hiding his horns and his hooves too, I think. He didn’t trust me with his true form. And that bothered me.” Her warm healing magic twined with my yuki-onna magic as I traced the frost over her skin, moving back down her neck and shoulders and to her arms and hands again as I pulled away. “You don’t hide your wings.”
“No. Nor my ears or fangs,” I said simply. “But I’m not a furry.”
She frowned at me again. “A furry?”
I drew back, releasing my hold on my magic before I got a cramp. “You know, a fuzzy forest creature? The high fae—the ones who can easily pass as human—don’t care much for the lower castes. Especially the ones who are more bestial. Your Cicely is a faun, if what I guessed through his glamour is correct?”
She nodded.
“Then he was probably required to wear a glamour at all times when he lived in Odell’s court. Odell and some of the other high fae think fauns are just pets. They’re usually good for a nice fuck, or for inspiring an orgy. But that’s about it.”
She sat up taller, anger drawing her once-relaxed body up taught. “That’s ridiculous!”
I shook my head. “I know that, witch. Calm your tits. It’s Odell and some of the others who are biased. I’m just telling you why your little goat boy is probably afraid to drop his glamour. He’s probably had it beaten into him that he has to cover up his unseemly bits.”
She ran a hand over her face. “I’m sorry. I have no control over my emotions at the moment. Thank you. For explaining. And for the thing you did with your magic just now. It was…nice.” Her cheeks were pink again.
“Nice?” I asked in a droll voice. “My amazing, stunning, soothing magic was just nice?”
She licked her lips, and my stupid eyes followed the motion, wondering what she tasted like. “It made me want to feel your hands all over me,” she said, her bluntness surprising me into silence.
“You’re not as hard and cold as you pretend to be,” she said with a puckish little smile. “I’m onto you, Yukio.”
I opened my damned mouth without thinking. “Oh, I’m hard, alright.” I snapped my mouth shut. My wings flicked in irritation. Fuck me, I was not cut out for this whole protect the poor virtuous damsel bullshit. Especially when the damsel in question was apparently not shy about asking for what she wanted anymore.
My wings snapped open and closed behind me again. Hearing the sound, Ruya turned to me, reaching. I sat still and let her, for some stupid reason. Her gentle fingers found my wing and traced along the membrane, making me squirm. “Sensitive?” she asked curiously.
I rolled my eyes. “Fucking ticklish when you touch them that way,” I snapped.
She frowned. “Am I hurting you?”
“No. You’re annoying me. Keep your hands to yourself. It’s rude. And besides, I’m supposed to be protecting you from your unbridled lust here. Stop getting handsy.”
She grinned. “Yukio?”
I braced myself for whatever fresh hell was coming. “What?”
“You do that fae thing really well.”
I brushed her questing fingers off my wing before I could burst into hysterical laughter. It really did tickle. And ticklishness was not a trait of a dignified assassin. “What fae thing?”
She smirked. “The one where you lie without lying. Why are you so annoyed? What does my touching your wings have to do with you protecting my virtue from the big bad dragon?” Then she leaned in closer. “What do you care if I have sex with your fellow court members? I think you’re lying to me, Yukio.”
Ah, hell. Her warm lips touched my jaw, and she gently felt her way along, kissing her way to my lips. I may have turned my head to speed the process along. Then my hands were tangled in her robe, gripping her hips as she straddled me, and I had no idea how it had happened.
All I cared about was the very warm, very willing witch in my lap. The one who was currently pulling my hair and meeting my hard kiss with matching passion. I hadn’t expected her to be so demanding, so sure of what she wanted. But I fucking loved it. The robe slid open, and my hands slid up to cup her soft, perfect breasts, sending out a little wave of cold as my palms slid over smooth, overheated skin. Ruya rocked against my trapped erection, gasping at the sensation of my cold magic. I grinned into the kiss, tweaking her hard nipples with a little more frost. She seemed to like the bite of it, leaning into my hands, trusting me to use my magic as I saw fit. Begging me to fuck her with every inch of my hard, icy dick.
I drew back, somehow. I was a damned fae, not an uptight human. Not a shifter with some sort of moral code. Why the hell shouldn’t I give this beautiful woman the release she needed? And yet…I removed my hands from her breasts, wrapping my arms around her waist instead, pressing my face to the curve where her neck met her shoulder. “Ruya, fuck. No. I’m not supposed to encourage this shit.”
She ran her hands through my hair, which had come completely free of its bun to trail around my face in a demented black web. “Why? You want me, don’t you? Why are you being as stubborn as all the rest of them? I thought fae were different.”
She was like a living flame in my arms, her body flushed and hotter than dragon’s fire. Which…made me realize what my real problem was. “Robin,” I muttered against her sweet skin, helpless to stop myself from planting one more kiss at the juncture of her neck and shoulder.
Ruya snorted. “She told me to use her court during my first heat. Like you were all just a bunch of walking sex toys. She doesn’t care that me and Sanka are…were…whatever we were to each other. I thought you three had an open relationship. You said so yourself.”
I finally lifted my head enough to look at her face. She was still burning up, wracked with omega need. And now she was confused as well. I was probably hurting her stupid little feelings. Emotions were stupid. Relationships were stupid. It was all so complicated. It was easier when I wasn’t allowed to feel things.
Except how that hadn’t worked out for me so well in the past. Kind of why I got kicked out of my court in the first place.
“It’s different with me,” I said, forcing myself to pull her robe closed, unable to keep from freezing the fabric with my touch. “I…Robin is the only woman I’ve ever wanted. She’s my alpha. My princess. I…whatever, just get off me, woman.”
She sighed, and I could see the hurt on her face. Damn it, I was no good at this. Whatever this even was. “I’m sorry,” she whispered, clearly mortified. “You said no and I thought you were just being coy. I’m an idiot. I didn’t mean to….” She shoved a hand through her silver hair, a bitter expression twisting her handsome features. “Goddess, I hate what this heat does to me. I didn’t meant to force you, Yukio.”
Ah, fuck. Now she was crying. A big, fat tear leaked from her eye to trace a path down her cheek. I wanted to wipe it away. Kiss the place where it fell and tell her to stop being so dramatic. Instead, I stood, dumping her onto the couch. “Eat the rest of your sandwich before you waste away. I’ll go get your goat boy. Fuck the rules.”
Then I slammed out of the room, leaving the crying witch behind me. Fauns had calming magic, something in them that innately helped people relax. And they were usually hung like horses. He’d make Ruya feel better. The shifters could just fucking deal with it.
Hell, I should just go back in there and fuck her through the mattress. It was just sex. What the hell was I blathering on about with Robin and all that bullshit? I was losing my damned mind, all because of one weird, lost witch.
I reached the rooms we had given to the faun and banged on the door. The portal was jerked open to reveal a short, broad-shouldered blond who was wearing way too much glamour to be comfortable. I looked him over in silence. Nice jaw line. Bright green eyes. A mop of shiny blond curls that would probably never be tamed. He was attractive, I admitted grudgingly. Even if Ruya couldn’t actually see him. I suppose she’d still be able to feel all those lean muscles. “Witch needs you,” I bit out. “I’m sick of babysitting.”
He stared at me suspiciously, then joined me in the hallway, closing the door behind him. He couldn’t—or wouldn’t, I suspected—speak to me, but I understood the sarcastic eyebrow lift well enough.
“Yeah, well, I love Robin, but sometimes she’s wrong. Even royalty fails from time to time. Now go over there and whip your dick out before I do something I regret.”
Like go back there myself.
Those perceptive green eyes slid over me with a look that said he knew exactly what my issue was. He shook his head and walked away toward Ruya’s room, but I heard the soft huffs of breath that were his laughter.
“Oh, laugh it up, furry,” I sniped. “Remember I’m the one in charge of the food around here. If you miss Odell’s fare so much, I can whip up some poison just for you next time we eat.”
He lifted a hand without looking back, waving a cheery middle finger.
I permitted myself a small smile. He wasn’t so bad. Probably. At least he couldn’t talk, so he was already ten times better company than Sanka or Dusek. I ran a hand through my hair and went to be anywhere else while Ruya gave that lovely, responsive body and compelling mind of hers to someone else because I was an idiot.
Robin was going to murder me. Sanka would probably help. And I was sure Dusek and Martina wouldn’t be far behind.
Not bad for a day’s work. I usually had to work much harder to annoy everyone in the court. I headed upstairs so I could sneak out for a nice, long fly about the city to cool my wings.