Betrayals of Spring (20 page)

“Thank you for sharing your special
place with me,” I say while looking around the room. My eyes settle on the bed,
and I spy him looking at me through the corner of my eye.

He shakes his head and laughs, “I didn’t
bring you here to seduce you, Meliantha. Although, I
would
love more
than anything to have your naked body under my own; however, there are things I
wanted to talk to you about, and I didn’t want to be at the palace when I said
them.”

I don’t want to rush things, but I
couldn’t help feeling the slightest bit of disappointment when he told me of
his intentions not to seduce me. I have some things I would like to discuss
with him as well, but I’m curious to know what he has to say. He takes my hands
and pulls me over to the bed where he gently urges me to sit. He kneels in
front of me and grazes his lips across my hands before lifting his eyes to find
mine.

“I know you came back into my life just
yesterday, but in my heart you have always been there. I love you, Meliantha,
and I want to know if you will complete the marriage bond with me tonight?”

Hearing those words come out of his
mouth takes my breath away, and makes my heart soar to the stars above. I take
his face gently in my hands and I brush his lips softly with mine. I pull back
slightly to whisper against his lips.

“I would love nothing more than to be
your wife…and your queen.”

He moves closer to my body and groans
against my mouth.

“Then you shall get your wish.”

He takes my lips in a fierce embrace
with his own. His kiss tastes different from last night and I realized this is
the first time I am kissing him since our change. His scent is like the
intoxicating aromas of exotic flowers and his taste reminds me of the sweet
perfection of honey.

We all have a unique scent that
distinguishes us between courts, so this must be the way the Spring fae will
smell. The Summer fae have their own smell just like the Winter and Fall fae
do. Kalen’s masculine scent is intoxicating and it’s driving my body crazy.

“If you’re not planning to seduce me, I
think we need to get out of here. If we stay here a moment longer, we’re going
to be on that bed and not leaving for several days.”

His eyes take on a lustful glow, and I
can see his control slipping away inch by inch.

“Well then…let’s stay here,” he taunts
seductively.

His lips press harder on mine and the
heat of it makes my body scorch in my thick clothes. His hands begin to
unbutton my coat, and the will power I thought I had slowly begins to slip
away. I want nothing more than to make love to him and feel his body meld with
mine.

My coat falls to the floor, and he
begins to lift my shirt. He has the gentlest of touches as he reaches
under-neath and caresses my back sending shivers running up and down my body.
He moves me slowly back toward the bed and lowers me down to the soft, fluffy
bedding below. Kalen steps back to remove his weapons while I kick my shoes off
and fling them across the room where they land on the floor with a loud thud.
Once his weapons are gone, he starts to take off his armor.

My body grows desperate with need at the
sight of his muscular chest and his chiseled arms as he takes off the armor on
his upper body. His eyes roam over me seductively like he can’t wait to devour
me, and I bite my lip in return to entice him. I decide to help him along by slowly
removing my shirt in a teasing way. I guess we’re not going to wait and make
things official after all. That’s perfectly fine by me because I am ready for
him to have me here and now.

“What happened to waiting?” I say,
breathless.

He climbs on the bed and pulls me on top
of him.

“I say we complete it now,” he growls. I
straddle his waist and I can feel his groin hard and stiff between my legs. If
we finish this now, not only will I have Kalen bonded to me, but I’ll be
untouchable to the dark sorcerer. I lean down to kiss him and I sway my body up
and down against his growing erection. He moans loudly and grips my hips moving
me harder.

“How about we take these off?” he says
while tug-ging on my pants.

I lie down beside him and he reaches
over to unbutton my pants. He slides them down my legs along with my underwear,
and as he does, he kisses my skin the whole way down until my pants have been
hastily discarded on the floor. I am naked and bared to him on his bed for the
taking. Watching the way his muscles move makes my body clench in pleasure. I
stare at the lower half of his body waiting on him to remove the last bit of
clothing, but he stalls for a second, grinning at me wickedly. His smile tells
me he is enjoying my torment. He lets the rest of his clothes fall from his
body and onto the floor. I am left staring wide-eyed and speechless at the
masterpiece of his form before me. I motion for him to join me on the bed and
he happily complies. This is it! So many things will change after this. I
breathe a sigh of relief and longing as he settles himself between my legs.
Before we get any further, we are interrupted by the sound of growling and
massive paws echoing up the tunnel in our direction.

Kalen groans and looks toward the
doorway. No more than a couple of seconds later, in comes Accalia, followed by
Aki and Larentia chasing after her. I know they are just wolves, but I cover
myself with a blanket and look over at Kalen. He looks angry and amused all in
one, but shakes his head as he looks at his wolves.

“I knew there was a reason I didn’t want
to do this here,” he admits to me.

As much as I want to finish what we
started, it is kind of funny they interrupted us at that exact moment.

“What reason could that be?” I ask
humorously. “No doors, or the fact that you have a pack of wolves demanding
your attention when you’re here?”

“Both, my love. Accalia likes to sneak
in here when I’m sleeping and snuggle with me. Aki and Larentia usually let
her, but given that you are here with me it looks like they were trying to stop
her.” He kisses me sweetly on the lips and helps me off the bed. He looks
disappointed, and honestly, I feel disappointed too, but at least I know we
will finish the bonding tonight. The pull to the unclaimed land is strong and I
know it wants us to complete the bond there, but unfortunately, we need to
complete it as soon as possible. I begin to put my clothes back on and Kalen
does the same. He looks at me and sighs.

“I’m so sorry, Meliantha. I guess this
is our sign that we need to do things right.”

I shrug my shoulders and smile.

“It’s OK. At least now I know what I’ll
be getting tonight.” I look down at his groin and I wiggle my eyebrows. He
laughs and throws my shirt at me.

Aki is impatiently whining by the door
and he sounds frantic. Something must be wrong. I walk over to him and I search
into his glowing green eyes for answers. He needs to tell me something and it’s
important. I lay my hand on top of his head and I concentrate on what he wants
me to see. He was out scouting for game when he noticed a dark shadow moving
swiftly through the trees. The dark shadow swoops down and strikes one of the
other wolves that are hunting with Aki. I can see the shadow clearly and it’s
not just a shadow. My heart slams in my chest and my adrenaline levels surge to
new heights. I grab my bow and arrow off the floor and I strap it to my back. I
expand my senses to see if I can feel the spirit of the wolf, but I sense
nothing. No!

“Damn it! Kalen, the dark sorcerer is
out there. I thought the wolves might have been playing with each other, but
they were growling because he attacked one of your wolves. We have to get out
there, now!” I yell.

Kalen’s eyes go wide and he quickly gets
the rest of his gear put in place. I start to walk out of the room, but Kalen
stops me with a firm grip on my arm. He better not think I’m going to stay in
here like the damsel in distress and do nothing. The playful Kalen is gone and
now in his place is a full-blown warrior.

“I don’t want you going out there,
Meliantha. I’m not going to let him take you or harm you in any way. I will die
before I let him have you.” I have no doubt he would die trying to protect me,
but it’s my job to make sure that doesn’t happen and to take care of myself. No
matter what happens, I
am
going to fight out there alongside him. The
last five years were hard enough on my heart without him.

The wolves join us outside as we make
our way to the fallen wolf. Kalen walks close to me and keeps his hand hovering
over his sword. Tears burn my eyes because I know it’s too late to save the
wolf with my healing magic. There was no way I could have gotten there in time.
My heart aches for his mate as I watch her by his side nuzzling him with her
nose. Fire burns in my chest and my vision becomes clouded over with all shades
of red. The longer the dark sorcerer toys with me, the more hate fills my body.
It is consuming me to the core and all I want is for him to pay for everything
he has taken from me. Some way or another, whether it be now or ten years from
now, I will be a part of his demise. I
will
be there the day he is
destroyed.

“Meliantha, are you OK? I can feel your
distress,”
Ashur demands. It’s amazing how he can feel my emotions even though we are
miles apart.

“I’ll be fine, Ashur. We’re headed back
to the palace, and as soon as I get there, I will tell you everything. Don’t
worry about me, I’ll be OK.” I assure him.

“Please don’t shut me out. I need to
make sure you are safe at all times. Oh, and by the way, there’s a surprise for
you here when you get back. Be safe, Mel, and I will see you when you get
back.”

“Thank you, my Guardian.”

I can’t sense any black magic around,
but I’m starting to believe the dark sorcerer is keeping his eyes everywhere on
us. He must have known what Kalen and I were about to do and decided to cause a
distraction. All I know is that he’s going to pay for it. I can feel the heat
of Kalen’s anger as he looks down at the fallen wolf. His hands are shaking
when he sinks to the ground beside him, and I can hear his whispered words of
love and passing to the wolf in the Old Fae language, bidding him a safe
journey to the Hereafter.

He is silent for a few minutes before
his gravelly voice takes on a menacing edge.

“I’m going to fucking kill him!” he
roars. Kalen stands and clenches his hands into fists. The air around him is
intense with rage, and the scream that explodes from his body is filled with
both fury and heartbreak. He collapses to his knees on the ground and puts his
head in his hands. I walk over slowly and sink to my knees before him. I wrap
my arms around his neck and I pull him closer and gently guide his head to my
shoulder. He instantly folds his arms around my waist and pulls me in tighter.

“I am
so
sorry, Kalen,” I whisper
in his ear. I know I can help him with his pain, and I almost use my magic on
him unintentionally, but I don’t want to do it against his will. “Do you want
me to take the pain away?” I ask softly.

He shakes his head strongly and keeps
his head down when he replies, “No, I have to remember the way I feel.” He then
looks up at me with watery eyes and a determination that sends chills down my
spine. “I
need
to remember the way I feel because if you take that anger
and rage away,” he pauses to take a deep breath and starts over. “I need to
have that rage so I can rip his fucking head off when I see him.” I nod my
head, and I wait there silently while he gets his anger under control.

We make our way back to the palace
quickly. Now that the dark sorcerer knows how close Kalen and I are I have a
feeling he’s going to become desperate to make his move as soon as possible.
Kalen is going to inform his parents of the recent attack and of the urgency of
our bonding. I plan to tell my parents as soon as we get back as well. Having a
big ceremony means nothing to me, so I wonder if Kalen would object to
completing the bond alone and not having a ceremony. The ceremony itself isn’t
the important part, but the words that are spoken are. I think I’ll wait until
we get back to the palace to voice my idea. The anger is still pouring off of
him in waves, and I can tell he is in no mood to talk.

We pick up our pace and my feet are
pounding against the snow as we run the last mile to the palace. Deep down I
can’t seem to shake the dreaded feeling in my stomach telling me we have
already run out of time
.