Page 21 of Realm of Flames (Reborn 3)
Ledger pressed a kiss to the top of my head as he placed me down but kept me against him. I looked up at the others, who were all watching me as Croy, who had neared, pressed a hand to my forehead and examined my expression with concern.
“Fever?” Henry’s voice sounded anxious.
“Slight,” Croy muttered as his hand slid down my jaw and neared my mating mark. Ledger let out a low warning rumble as Croy’s gaze snapped over my shoulder, his wolf letting out a dangerous, dominant sound that had my eyes widening. I did not want them fighting, but I also understood it was less them and more their creatures. Although, I also was figuring out that Croy was apparently ‘above’ the twins on the dominance scale in the ‘pack’ or ‘flight’ order. Something I didn’t fully understand still, but Croy had done his best to explain it to me briefly on the way to the council when I had asked if Larry and Edmund would continue to be rude. It was different when they were rude to me, but to Croy? That wasn’t acceptable.
Apparently, Croy was close in dominance level to them, so he figured they would continue to try despite it being a ‘failed and rather pathetic effort,’ as he described it.
“Mating heat. Is the fever a sign of that?” I asked softly.
“I’m honestly not positive.” Croy’s expression turned thoughtful.
My phoenix preened inside of me, soaring through my subconscious while grooming her feathers, clearly thrilled at the concept of mating with all of our mates. How she had gone from being so aggressive to calm was beyond me, but now she was acting extremely relaxed. It had to be because we marked Ledger. The concept of marking the others was extremely appealing, and mating with them? Maybe at the same time? Was that how mating heat worked? I was one hundred percent okay with figuring that out. I tilted my head, trying to imagine how exactly that would work, you know… what I did with Marco but with all of them. At least positioning-wise.
I went to bring it up, but Henry was there then, shaking his head and running a thumb over my lips. “Nope. I wouldn’t risk asking that question right this moment, sweetheart.”
My toes curled at the heat in his gray eyes as Sai chuckled. “Well now I want to know.”
“I’m curious as well.” Atlas’s smile was dangerous as his eyes ran over my neck, something heated filling his gaze as a sound broke from his chest that nearly had me stepping forward. The man had a dangerous effect on me.
“Well, I was trying to imagine—”
Henry’s lips pressed against mine in a forceful, hard kiss that had my knees nearly breaking, Ledger’s grip tightening on my hips from behind. “Maya, later. Trust me on this.”
I did trust him.But I was also very curious…
“Plus,” Croy drew out, “we have an audience.”
We did?
