Chapter Twelve

HE COULDN’T IMAGINe how things could get any better. Their mate was actually living, and breathing. Granted, it took the better part of several millennium for her to finally exist, but she was there. She was theirs. His.

Ours. His beast purred with contentment. It stretched its back in a long pose. She’s ours, and I will not share her.

Caspius had to hold down his chuckle. Truth be told, his kind were quick to fall into the haze of their mates. However, the mythology around it was so distorted by outsiders.

Mates of shifters were important. They were loved, cherished and taken care of. The knowledge of their presence is always sensed. When they are found, a shifter’s beast knows. It’s undeniable, and when they’re finally able to mark their mates, the bond is permanent.

Shifter’s lent their powers to their mates, especially if they were mortal. Their healing capabilities became their mate’s. Their instincts were their mate’s.

Caspius couldn’t hold back his smile. There was so much pride in his chest, knowing that Lily was finally here. That he knew her scent, her warmth… The taste of her lips.

Just the thought of kissing her was enough to make him hard. To awaken the most carnal desires his beast held.

Caspius stabbed his fingers through his hair. He shifted his shirt over his head. “Fuck me,” he mumbled. He took in a deep breath, and caught wiffog her sultry ember and floral scent. “Fuck me,” he groaned.

Caspius pounded up the stairs with heavy steps. He clenched the railing, tight. He tried to settle himself, but it was so hard—he was so hard.

He finished up the last couple of steps before finally getting to the top. Caspius really had a pep in his step. The thought of his woman waiting for him in his room was enough to make his day, permanently.

“Move!” Donte yelled, zooming past him. Following him was Elias, an unconscious Lily. The perfumed scent of copper trailed after them.

Blood? Both him and his beast said in unison. It was hers. Lily’s. Caspius stormed after them. “What happened to her?” He growled at his friends.

“We don’t know,” Donte and Elias said. Donte looked back over his shoulder at Elias, exchanging a quick gaze.

“You’re lying.” Caspis could tell. They were too quick to answer, and even quicker to try and get away from him. “What happened to Lily!” He grabbed Elias by the shoulder, and spun him around.

“Nothing!” Elias snapped.

When he got a glimpse of her body. Her forehead was gashed open, and her nose was bleeding. Her ebony curls were soaked, dripping with her blood.

“That doesn’t look like nothing.” His nostrils flared. He grazed his fingers over the open wound. It felt like it was already starting to scab. That had to be good news. It just had to be. “What happened to her?”

“Cas, calm down,” Donte said. “We’re taking her to Isla.”

“She hasn’t even been here for a full day, and yet she’s already needing another trip to the infirmary.” He could feel his beast threatening to come to the surface. It shouldn’t have been like this.

Caspius had taken the time to let his beast take the ropes. He let the beast be wild, so he wouldn’t hurt Lily. Yet in his absence, she was hurt. He was fuming!

“She fell,” Elias meekly commented.

Caspius removed Lily from his friend’s arms. He held her close and firm. He stroked her temple. “You’ll be fine,” Caspius whispered to her. He frowned at her wound. “I want the truth, what happened.”

He could feel his beast scratching at him for release. It wanted to sink its teeth and claws into Elias and Donte. How dare they hurt what’s ours.

Elias and Donte exchanged a look, then shook their heads. It was a silent agreement not to tell.

“You two are children. If you won’t tell me, I’ll have the psychics let me know.” Granted the threat was a bit extreme. However, the few psychics they did have, were always on point. They never led astray from what was done and will be done. “Either way, I will know.” He growled at them. A warning.

“Then go,” Donte snarled. He folded his arms across his chest. His stature was imposing.

Caspius scowled, but gave a stiff nod. He pulled Lily closer to him, and started down the stairs. Just as he got to the bottom, she threw up. Shit!

Her head injury was worse than it appeared to be. The gash wasn’t deep, but she had to have hit her head hard. Caspius needed to know what happened to her. As bad as that need to know was, he knew the need for her to be helped was much greater!

“Wait!” Elias called out. His footsteps echoed down the stairs. “Wait.” He was panting.

Caspius looked back at him over his shoulder. “What?” He clenched his jaw, hard.

“Donte asked me to weaken her, so she wouldn’t be a hazard to the clan.” Somehow, Caspius knew Elias would crack. The man never did good with tension. It was written into his being, just as much as his need for sex was.

As much as Caspius wanted to choke the life out of both of them, he needed to get Lily to Isla. “He thought it was a good idea to send the soul sucking incubus to weaken a woman that was raped, and assaulted in less then 24-hours.”

“In hindsight, I shouldn’t have listened, but he did that control thing of his. I couldn’t say no,” he rushed out. He was dripping with guilt. “I wanted to say no,” Elias added on. He brushed his shoulder to Caspius’s. “I told her what Donte wanted. I’ve never seen a seer go into defensive mode. Hell, I’ve never seen a being hold that much power. She weakened herself, drastically. She fell.”

There was some relief knowing that as much of a novice as Lily was, she held the ability to tap into her abilities. Hell, she seemed to be learning pretty quickly. That only meant she was going to hurt herself more.

Especially if tweedle-dee and tweedle-dumb try to hurt her. His beast rolled its eyes.

“She shouldn’t have had to protect herself from you.” His eyes narrowed to two thin slits. Caspius rounded ar corner, stomping down the healer corridors. He wanted his presence known.

“I know.” Elias looked down at his feet. “If it’s any contribution, she did have a premonition of our downfall.”

Caspius stopped. “You saw it?”

“No. Donte did, and he looked shaken from it. He thinks the chimera from yesterday will play a part in it.” Elias frowned. “This is bad news.”

“We’ll need the psychics to confirm it. Until Lily is trained, her premonitions cannot be taken for total truth.” He sighed. “I don’t want our mate down here again. She should be spending more time being broken into this world, then being in the infirmary.”

Elias nodded. “Yes, Cas.”

He looked his friend up and down. “I never thought of you as the spineless type Elias. Now I do.”