Between Fire and Moonlight

Althea’s POV

I should’ve run.

Before their scents wrapped around me like chains.

Before their voices dropped to that dangerous octave that made me want to obey.

Before every cell in my body begged to be touched.

I didn’t run.

I didn’t even move.

Cassian stood to my left, close enough that his heat licked at my skin. Xanden to my right, silent but no less present—like the calm before a thunderstorm. Together, they made a cage of velvet and steel, and I was the prize locked inside.

“I asked you a question,” Cassian said, his voice dipping into something unholy. “Why are you running from me?”

Me.

Not us.

Of course. Alpha males didn’t share well.

“I’m not,” I whispered, lying through my teeth.

Cassian stepped closer. His scent—dark spice and smoke—washed over me, heady and addictive. I could feel his power brushing against mine like a match teasing gasoline. He raised a hand, slow enough to be gentle but with the kind of control that made my thighs squeeze together.

When his fingers brushed a curl behind my ear, I shivered.

“You feel it,” he murmured. “The bond. Don’t lie to me.”

On my other side, Xanden’s voice was softer. But it slid over my skin like silk against bare flesh.

“She’s afraid,” he said, speaking more to Cassian than me. “She’s not ready.”

“I’m not fragile,” I snapped, breathless and burning. “I just—this shouldn’t be possible.”

“Two mates,” Cassian said, stepping in until his chest nearly brushed mine. “I’ve waited centuries and you think I’ll back down because it’s complicated?”

“Cassian,” Xanden warned.

But I wasn’t listening. Not really. Not when Cassian dipped his head, his lips brushing just beside mine, not quite kissing—just breathing me in like I was the sweetest sin he’d ever tasted.

“You smell like starlight and sin,” he growled, voice thick with restraint. “Tell me no. Tell me to stop.”

My lips parted—but no sound came.

Because I didn’t want to stop.

And then Xanden moved.

His hand grazed my lower back, the touch so gentle it made my knees weaken. Where Cassian was fire, Xanden was moonlight—cool hands that worshipped instead of claimed. But the moment his fingers curled around my hip, possessive and reverent, my siren magic moaned inside me.

“You don’t have to choose yet,” he whispered in my ear. “Just feel us.”

Cassian’s hand slid to my throat, cradling it—not squeezing, just holding me like something precious and wicked.

“You’re already ours,” he said, voice velvet and steel.

And in that moment, I was.

Burning between them.

Ruined by both.

Cassian’s thumb brushed the base of my throat, and I swore I could feel my heartbeat in his palm. The pressure was featherlight, but it said everything.

He could break me.

He wouldn’t.

Not unless I begged him to.

“Say it,” he murmured, lowering his head. “Say you want us.”

Behind me, Xanden’s body pressed to mine—firm, warm, so achingly solid. I could feel his breath at my nape, feel the way his hand curled around my waist like he was anchoring me. Like if I said yes, the world would shift and he’d hold me through it.

“I want…” My voice trembled, raw and stripped open. “I want you.”

“Both of us?” Cassian’s voice was a growl now, dark and vibrating in his chest.

I nodded. “Yes.”

In an instant, his mouth crashed against mine—brutal, claiming, hungry. His kiss tasted like sin and fire, his tongue sweeping into me like he already owned every sound I’d ever made. I moaned into him, hips arching, but before I could fall entirely, Xanden turned my face and kissed me too.

Gentle at first.

Soft enough to make my bones melt.

Then deeper. Possessive. His hand slid along my jaw as he kissed me like he had all the time in the world to learn the shape of my soul. My breath hitched, caught between one king’s demand and the other’s devotion—and loving every second of it.

Cassian’s mouth found my neck, his teeth grazing the sensitive place below my ear. “This dress is in my way,” he growled.

“Then rip it,” Xanden whispered against my lips.

And he did.

The fabric tore like paper, falling away from my body in seconds. Cold air licked at my bare skin, but it didn’t matter. Cassian’s hands were on my breasts, rough and hungry, thumbs teasing until I arched into him. Xanden slid his palms down my back, his lips trailing soft, reverent kisses down my spine.

“I want to see you,” he said. “All of you.”

Cassian pulled back just long enough to look down at me—flushed, breathless, naked.

“Beautiful isn’t the word,” he said hoarsely. “You’re ruin. And I’ll thank the gods for it.”

Xanden’s hands cupped my thighs and lifted me, and Cassian stepped in between, supporting my back against the wall as if we were a single machine made for this.

For me.

“Let us in,” Cassian rasped.

“Let us show you what it means to be ours,” Xanden added.

And I did.

With a gasp. With a moan. With everything I was.

They took me—slow and reverent, then wild and desperate.

Xanden kissed my neck, gently and needy before he slide his cock deep inside my wanting folds. I moaned out, but Cassian gave me no warning before we pushed himself inside from behind. Both of my holes filled. They were slow at first, allowing me to adjust to their size.

It didn’t last long, the want, and need from finding their mate took over. They fucked me hard, I turned into a screaming moaning mess of “Xan and Cass” not being able to form a full word or name. I felt my core burning, building up my sweet release.

“I’m going to cum!” I screamed, the outside world non existent to the little bubble we were in. As soon as they felt me clench around them Cassian bit down hard on my shoulder, while Xanden muffled my cry’s and moans in his mouth. He didn’t stop kissing me until I felt both of them shoot their cum deep inside me. It was warm and with each thrust it pooled out of me running down my legs. I was in complete bliss.

They worshipped me together.

Claimed me in tandem.

Until I shattered—screaming, shaking, drowning in the bond that sealed itself around all three of us like a sacred, sinful vow.

And by the time the world stilled, I knew:

I would never survive walking away from them.