Page 34 of Inheritance
I swallowed down a lump in my throat before clearing it loudly. "Because I am, uh....his mate."
Multiple things happened at once as soon as the words left my lips.
Damien growled and shifted into his Hellhound form, jumping up onto the bed on my free side and curling up with his head in my lap.
Colt's wings erupted from his back, taking up the whole damn back of this tent with their size, and his eyes flashed between white and black like he was warring with his anger.
Finias' entire body glowed with all of his runes seemingly activated at once. It was a glorious sight to see with all the colors on display, but he was extremely powerful, and I wasn't sure if any of those runes would go off on their own right now and hurt anyone in here. He seemed to be barely keeping the lid on his internal explosion, and his fists were clenched so tightly they were white, absolutely no blood flow getting through to them.
Adrien simply squeezed my hand and muttered, "Okay. It's okay. We'll figure this out.” I was almost positive he was reassuring himself in part.
Jace looked utterly shell shocked. He sat stock still with his eyes zoned out on a spot above my head, and a part of me was concerned he might have stopped breathing.
Drayven's scythe appeared, and his eyes glowed emerald green as his power swirled along the metal blade. He looked like he would happily kill Luce. Honestly, with how pissed I was at Luce, that would be sort of hot.
Nico was surprisingly the second calmest, right behind Adrien. He was the first to talk, and his tone was even as he did, "Why isn't he here with us, then? And why did he keep you from us for so long?"
Valid questions. The first being one I had asked myself multiple times since I’d appeared here from the portal Luce had sent me through.
"To put it simply, he didn't want to share me, and he wasn't happy about the fact that I didn't want to give you all up to stay with him alone in his castle, ruling over Hell with him from a distance."
Before anyone could react, I added, "But in the end, he sent me here to be with you all once he realized the truth—that I love each and every one of you and that not being with you all felt like my heart was missing from my body."
And he was likely going to go to sleep once more, with more pain in his heart than the first time.
I held back from telling them everything, as I wasn't even sure of my own feelings on the situation with Luce yet. But I was sure about how I felt for these men sitting here with me now.
It was a big admission for me since really I hadn't known most of them very long and hadn't quite gotten to that level with a few of them before I’d been taken. But the time away from them and our reuniting had made my feelings crystal clear, and I wasn't going to waste another second keeping them bottled up for fear of rejection.
The anger dissipated from the room immediately, and all of them approached me, crowding me and filling my space with the gentle yet intense mood radiating from them all.
My pussy throbbed at being so near them all, and I had to quell my desire to have my way with them all right now, as I squeaked out, "Hello?"
The silence was deafening, and all I could hear was my own heart pounding in my ears.
"You love us all?" Nico asked, his eyes misting with emotion as his joy radiated from him so clearly.
"Every single one of us?" Jace asked, echoing Nico's sentiments.
"Even those of us who have been moody bastards and took more time than others...and maybe fucked up a few times?" Colt asked, making my lips curl into a smile. We had skirted around the words before Luce had stolen me away but hadn't quite said them out loud other than admitting the fact that we were falling for each other.
I took a moment to meet each of their eyes as I emphasized my words, "I'm in love....with all of you. None of us is perfect, but I feel the depth of the love each of you hold in your hearts for me. Being separated from you all made me truly face the emotions I was too scared to admit to myself because everything still was so new. I questioned whether it was possible to feel so strongly in such a short amount of time, and I doubted myself."
It was like everyone took a collective breath as I said, "But," and exhaled as I continued, "I'm done doubting or questioning these mate bonds I have with you all. You are all mine, and I am yours, if you'll have me?"
Wordlessly, they seemed to all come to an understanding, and they let each other have a moment with me as Drayven kneeled in front of me. He took my free hand, which was draped over my Hellhound's head, as he stared into my eyes. "Princess, I've been yours since I first laid eyes on you when we were children and asked your father if we could play together. My heart will forever be in your hands." He ended with a kiss to my hand before I grabbed him and pulled him in for a real kiss, murmuring against his lips, "A part of me always knew you were mine."
He smiled, and we parted as Finias approached next, forgoing words and immediately swooping in to claim my lips in a heated kiss that had me blushing at the thought of everyone watching. It didn't stop me from tangling my tongue with his and nipping at his lips playfully as he whispered, "You showed me there is more to life than pain. You showed me I'm worthy of love despite thinking I was too broken for it. I love you, Ama."
My eyes pricked with tears from the mounting emotion in the room, and I whispered back, "I love you too, Fin."
Nico cleared his throat as he tentatively approached and said, "I'm not worthy of your love, Ama," which had me scowling at him and wanting to interrupt, but he charged on, "But I will spend every damned day of the rest of our lives making up for how I've acted and how much I've hurt you. I will be worthy of your love one day."
"Nico..." I breathed, unsure of how to respond to such a statement.
He squatted down in front of me and pulled me in for the most gentle kiss I'd ever had. It was infused with such tender affection and made me feel beyond treasured. Pulling back, he rested his forehead against mine and said, "You've changed me for the better, Ama. I love you."
"You aren't your parents, Nico. We aren't your parents. I love you, and you never need to doubt that. I know that in Peccatum, monogamy isn't typical, and while I can't give you one-on-one monogamy, you never have to fear that you won't always have my heart."
