Page 89 of The Magic of Destiny
‘Sloane? Bram?’I called out and got no response. Strange. “Nothing,” I told Saige, who was now chewing on her bottom lip.
“They’re not here, but they’re not far. It feels like Faris is near to wherever they are. It’s strange because it’s like a mix of emotions now. Fear, anticipation, amusement…”
“Well come on, throw some shoes on and we’ll go see what’s going on. I know I won’t be able to sleep now until we know.” I offered her a smile in the hopes of easing her worry. Those drunk idiots—I was going to be so pissed if they’d worried our pregnant mate for no good reason.
A few minutes later, we were walking through the forest. The humidity of the day had given way to a cooler temperature, and fog lurked through the trees with an eerie look.
“This is like a scene from a horror movie,” Saige whispered, her hand tightening its hold on mine.
“Yeah, but in this particular horror movie, you’re already mated with the things that go bump in the night,” I replied, sweeping my eyes across the area.
“Don’t say that,” she said firmly, and I chuckled.
“What? It’s true, sweetheart. We may be on the good side of the fight, but we’re still men who have done—and will likely continue to do—bad things.”
She huffed, taking a big step over a fallen branch. “I think it’s really the purpose of what drives you to do those things. If nobody stepped up, then the bad guys would win every time.”
I pondered her statement while we continued walking. She was guiding me since she was suddenly able to feel this pull toward each of us when we weren’t near. The babies probably enhanced that connection to the two drunken men we were currently searching for at three in the morning.
“They’re up there,” Saige said, pointing up a hilly area just over a narrow stream of water. I sent out feelers again, but got nothing.
“You fly up, I’ll follow.”
She whipped around to look at me. “What? Why?”
“Because I don’t want you slipping on that hill and falling down. Just wait for me at the top, sweetheart.” I kissed her, sneakily giving her butt a quick squeeze for good measure. I’d just meant for it to be a quick kiss, but she foiled that plan when she dipped her tongue into my mouth and moaned. It took everything in me, but I pulled back and exhaled shakily. “I’ll kiss you until morning when we get back to the house, but right now, you need to get your sexy ass up there so we can figure out what the hell is going on.”
The little minx pouted, but she knew I was right. Her wings popped out and fluttered, and I had the sudden thought that I should order her some more tank tops with racerbacks. That’s what she was currently wearing, and it accommodated her pretty wings perfectly.
“Meet me up there, Guppy.” Saige turned and jumped, her wings carrying her easily to the top. I grinned and leaped over the water, making quick work of the hilly terrain. Once I reached her, I brushed my hands off, letting the tiny rocks and dirt fall back to the earth where they belonged.
“Do you feel anything?” she asked me quietly, and I sent my magic out, frowning when I didn't pick up on any emotions. Well, aside from my girl’s.
I shook my head slowly. “Nothing. You?”
“Even back at the house before, it was muffled, like trying to understand someone underwater. It was still strong enough to get my attention through the bond, but it’s just weird that it's not any stronger now. I know we're in the right place... so where are they?”
We looked around the area for a few more minutes before my eyes caught on the massive rock that jutted out of the ground. I trailed my hand over the smooth surface that was covered with a good amount of moss and ivy. The stone was cool to the touch, thanks to the night air.
“Oh, check this out,” Saige called out. She was further down, also inspecting the stone wall. I made my way to her and she pointed to a decent sized crack in the surface. “What's that?” Her hand lifted and I noticed a glint near the entrance where some of the outer rock wall had eroded. Holy shit.
“That’s a Nox stone. You can tell from the coloring—do you see how the black stone is sprinkled with specks of every color under the sun? Nox is a nod to nocturnal, with the brighter colors resembling the creatures who prowl at night. It's incredibly rare, and it’s also why we haven’t been able to pick up on their emotions or reach them telepathically. It tends to shield those near it. If this entire rock is Nox stone, that would possibly be the biggest find in the witching community,” I explained, slipping my hand into hers.
“That’s insane,” she said in amazement as she studied the rocky surface. I knew that as a girl she'd scoured every square inch of these woods, but if the magical crystal was hidden beneath a thick, craggy outer shell then I wasn’t surprised she’d never noticed.
I squeezed her hand as we approached the opening to the cave. “Stay close.” I was just about to step inside when Saige released a breathy moan.What in the hell?I looked back over my shoulder and found her red-faced. “What's up, sweetheart?”
She gave another slight moan, her cheeks flushing. “Lust. A lot of it. And anger. It's potent.”
Lust? With Bram and Sloane?Interesting.
Returning to my task, I led us into the cave and we were met with grunts, curses, and the sounds of fighting. Saige and I froze in place as Faris—an extremely naked Faris—launched himself at a shirtless Sloane, knocking him to the ground. His fangs sank into Sloane's neck, and both men groaned. Bram was standing to the side, also butt naked, stroking his big cock as he watched the show. When he let out a moan, Faris detached from Sloane's neck, turning to look at the demon.
Suddenly, Sloane flipped Faris, pinning him beneath his body and growling something into his ear. Lust was pouring off of everybody in this damn cave, and Saige was practically drowning in it. I was just about to make our presence known when a loud smack echoed through the cavernous room.
My mouth fell open, and it seemed the room itself took a breath and held it, because the unthinkable had just happened.
Sloane Sullivan had been spanked. On the ass. Like a bad, bad boy.
