Tasting Drakness

Chapter 71

Aleera POV

Pain radiated through my stomach, so I rolled only for me to be invaded by Lycus’s scent. A hand moves across my stomach, heat radiating out of it, and I sigh as the pain eases and glance over my shoulder to see Darius pressed against me. Darius kisses my shoulder while his thumb brushes my stomach gently where it lay. He tugs me closer, so I am flush against him, his entire body heating like my very own personal hot water bottle.

“It’s late; you should try to go back to sleep,” Darius murmurs. However, with him this close, I wasn’t sure I could sleep knowing he was lying beside me. It kind of put me on edge, but I was reluctant to move away at the same time. © 2024 Nôv/el/Dram/a.Org.

“What happened to the hellhounds?” I asked, confused. I had no memory of returning here or of anything, in fact, since I passed out.

“Nothing, Tobias and Lycus got to us in time,” Darius says. The memory of teeth and claws trying to get to us made me cringe. Shivering, I jam my feet between Lycus’ legs in an attempt to warm them. Lycus hisses at how cold they were when I realized I had no pants on. I lift the blanket peering under it. To find I only had underwear on and one of their shirts on.

“I changed you; you bled through your pants,” Darius whispered behind me. My face heats at that thought before shaking it off. I had literally bled on his lap in the shower, and he didn’t seem fazed.

“Geez, your feet are freezing, ” Lycus hisses before wiggling a little closer and rubbing my thighs and the back of my legs with his hands, trying to warm them. My heart races with their closeness, yet the bond soared, enjoying their skin against mine. It took everything in me not t o reach out and bury my

face in Lycus’s neck or climb on him. Although I didn’t want to move away from my demon hot water bottle either, especially while he was being nice. 1

“Move closer, Lycus; she wants your scent,” Darius says, and I peer at him over my shoulder.

“Demonic-Fae, Love. I’m part incubus. So, I can sense your desire and what you’re craving,” I thought over his words and turned back to see Lycus smile slyly. “I have no issues being all nice and close,” Lycus says, his eyes flickering under the dim light from the open fireplace.

Lycus pressed his chest against mine, his entire body touching, and I slid my leg between his, melting against him, suddenly not caring if I looked needy; I just wanted his skin and Darius’s heat.

“Go to sleep, Aleera. You’re safe with us,” Darius whispers.

“You’re not mad,” I ask him.

“Mad that our keeper is one of the most powerful Fae in the world? Never, but now we know w e need to take extra precautions,” Darius whispers behind me. His sudden change since the

other day was giving me whiplash, and some part of me wondered if he was only being nice because he wanted my non-existent power. Or because he now knew he owned the ultimate weapon, one he could use to his benefit.

“What’s wrong?” Lycus asks, and I open my eyes to see him staring at me.

“Nothing,” I whisper, and I see his eyes dart to Darius behind me before I push my face into Lycus’s neck, only to hear him start purring.

The sound soothed my soul as I melted against them while Darius’s heat bled through me like my own personal heat pack. I sighed, closing my eyes and snuggling between them, enjoying i t for now

because no doubt they would probably go back to hating me when I was no longer shredding and of no use to them. So, for now, I would enjoy the bond and worry about its withdrawal when it happens. I knew I would pay dearly for letting them this close. The withdrawal from the bond would be pure agony, yet I ignored common sense, instead, giving into it for once.

I let my eyes close. A few hours later, I was awoken by Ryze, his beak playing with my hair, his tongue flicking over my cheek, and I blinked up at him perched on the bedhead.

Lycus was still asleep, and I could hear Darius snoring behind me, feel his breath on me tickling the back of my neck. Rubbing my eyes, I lift Darius’s arm off of me and I wiggle out from between them and scoot to the end of the bed. Seeing that I was getting up, Ryze flies over to me and perches himself on my shoulder, rubbing his beak across my cheek and cooing softly.

His weight was becoming heavy, and his talons dug into my flesh, making me hiss. Still, I scratched his tummy feathers as I peered back at the bed.

Kalen was beside Lycus, snuggled against him, also asleep. However, Tobias wasn’t in bed, and I couldn’t see him in the room. Getting I walked toward the bathroom; I turned the handle, only for it to open before I could. Tobias steps out, having just hopped out of the shower. A towel hung dangerously low on his hips, his hair wet, and droplets from the shower cascaded down his chest. Some foreign urge to trace the hard lines of his abs rushes over me. My breathing hitches as my eyes travel lower to his V-line that disappeared beneath his towel.

Ryze shifts his weight on my shoulder, his talons digging into my skin and collarbone, piercing through my delicate skin.

“Ryze, careful,” Tobias says, holding his hand out for him to climb on, I was relieved when Ryze climbed up his arm and off mine only to perch on Tobias’s shoulder momentarily before he flew off out the window. “We need to cut his claws,” I tell Tobias while looking down at my bleeding shoulder; I wipe

the blood off only to look up at Tobias, whose eyes were glazed over, staring at my neck. Tobias licks his lips.