LOGINShe screamed.His tongue was everywhere. Licking. Sucking. Fucking into her like he was starving and she was the only meal he'd ever need."Alaric....oh god..."He hummed against her. The vibration sending shocks through her system.His hands held her thighs apart when she tried to close them. Kept her spread and open and completely at his mercy.He worked her clit with his tongue. Drew it between his lips and sucked.She came again. Harder this time. Her hands fisted in the sheets. Her whole body convulsing.He didn't stop. Just kept licking. Kept tasting. Kept driving her higher until she was crying. Begging. Incoherent."Please....I can't....it's too much...""One more." His voice was muffled against her. "Give me one more and then I'll fuck you."His fingers joined his tongue. Sliding inside her. Curling. Finding that spot that made her vision white out.The third orgasm hit her like lightning. She screamed his name. Bucked against his mouth. Lost herself completely.When she came
She'd spent the entire day thinking.Walking the grounds. Sitting in the library. Lying on her bed staring at the ceiling.Processing everything. The brothers' promises. Lillith's words. Her own feelings that she'd been trying to ignore.By evening, she'd made a decision.She was going to give them a real chance.Not because the bond demanded it. Not because she had no other choice. But because she wanted to.Because Lillith was right....she was already more invested than she wanted to admit. Already jealous. Already caring. Already feeling the pull that went beyond biology.And fighting it was exhausting.So she'd stop fighting. Would let herself feel. Would give them the opportunity to prove that she was different.Starting tomorrow, she'd tell them.Tonight, she just wanted to process. To settle into the decision. To prepare herself for whatever came next.She ran a bath.Her room had a small bathroom....nothing like the massive ones in their quarters....but it had a tub. Deep enou
Their mother.Melina's face went hot. "Your Majesty. I'm sorry. I didn't know you were here. I'll leave....""Don't be silly. Sit with me." Lillith patted the bench beside her. "I've been hoping to run into you again."Again. Right. They'd met before. During the sixteenth. When Lillith had given her that tea that made her hallucinate.Melina sat carefully. Maintained proper distance."How are you, Melina?" Lillith asked. Her voice was warm. Genuine. "Truly. How are you adjusting?""I'm..." Melina stopped. "I'm figuring it out, Your Majesty.""Please. Call me Lillith. 'Your Majesty' makes me feel ancient." She smiled. "Though I suppose I am ancient."Despite herself, Melina smiled slightly."I've wanted to meet with you properly," Lillith continued. "To welcome you. To talk. But my sons have been very protective of your time. They keep saying 'not yet, Mother. She's still adjusting.'" She said it in a perfect imitation of Alaric's commanding tone."They said that?""Multiple times. Ala
"Because we're not trying to make you feel better," Aiden said bluntly. "We're trying to make you understand. If we wanted to lie, we'd tell you the bond makes infidelity impossible. We'd tell you we're biologically incapable of wanting anyone else. But that's not true. The truth is we could, theoretically, be with others. We're choosing not to. Because we don't want to.""Choice." Melina looked at him. "You're saying you're choosing me.""Yes." All three of them said it."Every day," Alaric continued. "Every moment. We're choosing you. Not because we have to. Because we want to.""But Stephanie....""Was convenient," Archer said. "Available. Willing. She served a purpose before we knew what you were to us. The moment we felt the bond, she became irrelevant. They all did.""And you didn't tell me about them.""No." Alaric's jaw tightened. "We didn't. Because we didn't think it mattered. Because they're in the past. Because we were trying to court you....to show you our present and our
"No." All three of them said it simultaneously."You're our mate," Alaric continued. "That's not the same thing. That's permanent. Unchangeable. We're not going to get bored of you. We're not going to want others. The bond won't let us.""The bond." Melina laughed. It sounded broken. "The bond that you just admitted doesn't guarantee fidelity.""In theory it doesn't," Archer said. "In practice...for us...you're all we want. All we can think about. The idea of touching someone else feels physically repulsive now.""Now. But what about later? What about when the newness wears off? What about when I'm not enough anymore?""That won't happen," Aiden said."You can't know that.""Yes we can." Alaric moved closer. "Because the mate bond isn't just attraction. It's recognition. It's finding the person you're meant to be with. We found you. That doesn't change. That doesn't fade.""Stephanie didn't seem to think so.""Stephanie is bitter," Archer said bluntly. "She thought she had a permanent
"Really?" Stephanie tilted her head. "You don't care that I've been in all three of their beds? That I know exactly what they like? How they move? What makes them come?"Something twisted in Melina's chest. Sharp. Painful.Jealousy.The realization hit her like a physical blow.She was jealous."I've been here for years," Stephanie continued. Her voice was soft. Almost kind. "I've been their favorite. Their go-to. And now you show up with your mate bond and your special connection and suddenly I'm...what? Replaced?""I'm not trying to replace anyone....""Aren't you?" Stephanie's eyes were hard now. "You're living in their rooms. Eating with them. Working with them. Helping them through the curse. That's my role, sweetheart. That's what I've been doing for them for years. And now you're here and suddenly I don't get calls anymore. Suddenly I'm not welcome in their beds.""Stephanie." Archer moved forward. "You need to leave. Now.""Why? Because I'm telling her the truth?" Stephanie lo
POV: MelinaShe sat on her bed with her notebook open and her pen in her hand and for the first time in three weeks the route made sense.Not almost made sense. Not close enough with one problem she hadn't solved yet. Actually made sense, start to finish, every step accounted for.The second floor
POV: ArcherThe delegation dinner ended at eight thirty.Archer knew because he'd been watching the clock in the way he watched things he was waiting to be over. Three hours of careful conversation and careful seating and carefully managed everything, Aiden running the room the way he always ran ro
POV: MelinaThe delegation arrived at ten AM in three separate cars.Melina was already in position when they pulled through the gates....east wing entrance, clipboard in hand, Lucy two steps behind her with the room assignment list. She'd been up since six. Had the corridor walked twice, the room
POV: AlaricThe estate was running at double pace.Delegation arrived tomorrow. Every corridor had someone in it, every room being checked and rechecked, and Marcus had been sending updates every two hours since morning. Staff moving faster than usual, voices carrying from rooms they didn't normall







