The Mouth of the River, Present TimeThe Mer did not form war camps. They broke into squadrons, each tasked with a mission. Several squadrons might work together if the mission was large, but even then, they did not camp together, or form a central point of leadership.“We do not offer them a target this way,” Niarthen explained to Lyric as they followed the squadron they had been assigned to through the scrubland. They were weaving their way towards the river as they had been summoned to consult on the changes to the animal and plant life along it. “If a squadron is taken out, it does not affect the army. But if an army is taken out, it changes the war.”“An army?” She clarified as she picked her way along in his wake, letting him choose the path they took. Her vision since transforming to Mer was much improved, and she could see as well, if not better, in the dark of the night, as she could during the day, however, Niarthen’s big feet on the animal trails that wound through to the w
Somewhere outside of Rideten, Present TimeTalen’s arm supported Cameron’s chest as Rhett looped a rope over a rafter and tied it to the rope between Cameron’s shoulder blades. “There we go,” Talen approved and slowly eased his hold from Cameron until the rope took his weight.He and Rhett stood and looked down at him with approval. Cameron flicked his eyes up through his hair and laughed around the gag of rope between his teeth. They looked so damned proud of themselves. They had the right to be proud. He was well trussed up, and the constriction of the rope, the pull of his arm muscles due to his wrists being bound behind him, and the friction against his skin was precisely what he had been needing.The weight of the world was off his shoulders for the time being. He wasn’t even responsible for his pleasure as he could not contribute to it, tied as he was. All he needed to do was surrender to his mates and let them take him into the white buzz of sub-space.He closed his eyes and sa
Somewhere outside of Rideten, Present TimeHeath was meticulous with his Shibari. Aislen followed along in his mind as he planned it out. He’d used some rags to pad her wrists before winding the rope around them, letting the rope slide sensuously across his palm as he fed it out. The process of tying her down was as sexual to him as what happened once she was bound to his satisfaction, and he was determined to take his time, enjoy the process, and create something beautiful.He'd studied it online, on his phone, and attended some classes in the past. Shibari was the artistic form, but kinbaku focused on the sensual, connective, and sexual side of the practice, and it was that side that interested him.Ushiro Takatekote knot, he thought as he tied it between her shoulder blades and draped it over her shoulders. His thoughts became a relaxing peaceful place in following his careful process, his mind calming as he worked. Processes and procedures had always soothed Heath. He liked things
Somewhere outside of Rideten, Present TimeThe blindfold left a little gap along the sides of her nose and by angling her head just slightly, Aislen could still make out the three men on the mattress nearby. Talen had replaced Cameron’s gag with his cock and had fisted one hand in Cameron’s curls. The flex of Talen’s arse muscles as he arched his hips toward Cameron’s face was enough to make her knees want to give way, but the whole picture was just pure eye candy, from the bulge of his biceps as he adjusted his grip on Cameron’s hair, to the way his long blonde locks swayed against the hollow his muscles made of his spine.Fucking hell, she thought wryly. She was pretty sure she was making a puddle of lust on the blanket below her. Rhett shifted and she saw him stroke a pink-rubber gloved hand down Cameron’s back before reaching back between Cameron’s thighs to grip his cock.The contrast of the pink gloves against the bright tattoos and Rhett’s dark good looks appealed to the artist
Somewhere outside of Rideten, Present TimeThere was fire and smoke, and a woman was screaming. The screams were shrieks of agony the timber of which ran over Aislen’s skin like electricity and set her heart to racing. And then, abruptly they ended, and there was only the crackle of wood burning, and the smell of roast flesh. As the scene faded into blackness, a man roared: “What have you done!”“M.”Aislen wasn’t sure what had woken her, the man’s roar from her dream, or Bianca’s voice in her head. “Hey B,” she murmured and felt the shift of flesh around her as her men reacted to her voice. Rhett’s hair was in her face. She knew it was him, even without her telepathy, because the scent of cigarette smoke lingered in it. And it was Talen against her back, his chest hair prickling her skin as he breathed.“Morgana?” Talen kept his voice low so as not to disturb their mates.“Scry,” Aislen explained to him. She closed her eyes, focusing internally, strengthening the link between her and
Somewhere outside of Rideten, Present TimeThere wasn’t a chance to scry again, and Aislen wasn’t certain that scrying Stella and asking flat-out what she was up to would help. It wasn’t as if honesty was a policy with Stella, after all. She had begun to think of Stella in new terms – as an opposition rather than an ally, she realized as she had a quick shower and reluctantly put back on her one change of clothing.“We need to go shopping,” she told her mates as they lined up out front of the house, waiting for the werewolf soldiers to organize the vehicles and who would go into them. The reporters did not travel lightly, and there was a city of cases built around them. She sighed. It was not going to be easy to arrive unnoticed in Trayrock.“For what?” Cameron was eyeing off the stacks of crates speculating as to their contents and just where the news crews thought they would fit them in the cars.“Clothes,” she told him.“Oh, yeah,” he looked down at himself. “My jeans are starting
Somewhere outside of Rideten, Present Time“Hmm,” Phillip hmphed his breath out irritably. “Forward planning, Ms Carter. Something you and your mates don’t seem to be doing at all. You are so oppositional, and I can’t help but think that my son is to blame. He has always been obstinate. Let me ask you something, Ms Carter and Mr Gale – why are you so convinced that your way is the right way?”“Umm, Emissary here,” Aislen pointed out."Yes," he sighed. "But being the spokesperson for the goddess does not make you omnipotent or flawless. Nor does it make you wise, Ms Carter, as you have made evident over and over again with your reckless behaviour. This current state of you and your mates is another example of recklessness, combining species with no idea what the repercussions will be. Stella is going to be ropeable when she finds out.”“That I’m a hybrid?” Aislen flicked her eyes to the rearview.“The car in front of you is moving, Ms Carter,” Phillip told her snidely.“Shit,” Aislen p
Trayrock, Present TimeThe rest of the drive no one spoke. The dragons had fallen asleep leaning on each other, Heath was deep in his own head, and Phillip was smugly content to watch the scenery having won his point. Aislen guessed that was why he was such a highly regarded lawyer – the man was dogged. Quite literally. She snorted at her own thought, interrupting the silence and startling Ember awake.“Sorry,” Aislen was contrite. “Go back to sleep. We’re just approaching the edge of Trayrock now. I just had a random werewolf joke cross my mind, and it made me laugh.”“A werewolf joke?” Heath arched an eyebrow.“It wouldn’t translate into a retelling,” she apologized. “Ah, shit,” she added as she saw a traffic stop ahead with flashing red and blue lights. “Here we go again,” she predicted darkly. She could see black-clad men amongst the police.She tensed as Talen was waved to the side of the road, and a police officer leaned into him holding a Van Helsing device. “Fuck, fuck, fuck,”