“Now see here, Synthia—” Alden hissed.
“No! I won’t see anything, Alden. That Demon almost died because you were too fucking stubborn. I understand you wanted to protect our Guild, but it’s gone. There’s nothing left of it because I burned it to the ground. All of our secrets are protected, all of our agents have fled, or died. You’re safe here, and it’s now you who needs to be protected. Don’t argue with me; you won’t win this one, Uncle, that much I can promise you. Right now I need to focus on unfreezing the Tree of Life, so that my children live. That needs to be my priority.”
“Synthia, I understand that, but you forget. I don’t belong in this world.”
“You do. You belong with me, Alden. You’ve done your job, now let us do ours. Let us save those who need it from the Mages, and maybe, when enough time has passed and this war over, we can start a new Guild, one that’s run by us and the Fae. One that will protect the Humans. Time moves slower here, but I promise we will help you,” I said softly.
“You’d do that?” he asked and looked at Ryder.
“As long as my soon-to-be bride isn’t running it,” Ryder whispered against my ear.
“We’ll see about that one, Fairy. For now, Alden, sleep,” I said as I leaned over and kissed his forehead, then pulled his blankets up as his eyes grew even heavier.
“I love you, kid,” he whispered, a thickness I wasn’t used to from him stuck in his tone.
“I love you, too, Uncle,” I whispered back and we left the room.
Chapter Twenty-Five
I sat on the bed and watched Ryder as he rocked Zander in his arms. The other two had been asleep in the nursery when we’d returned to the rooms, but Zander seemed to have been waiting for our return, so Ryder moved one of the chairs to our sleeping chamber and settled in with him.
My mind wasn’t on Olivia or the Fae who had seemed pacified by the party going on in the great hall right now. I was in another dimension, my mind on the Guild and those who’d been killed there. It was a safe haven, or should have been. The Mages had violated it, and that was something they’d pay for.
Danu was with Ristan, and only I knew it. She’d been beside herself with emotion, which was so unlike her; I had made a mental note to ask her why that was.
“Zander’s sleeping,” I commented as I raised my eyes to my beast, who continued to rock our son in his arms as if he was the most precious thing in the entire universe.
“I know, but I want him to know I love him. My father never showed me affection, but my sons will know I love them. They will know we love and cherish them.”
He was shaping up to be a gentle giant with our babies. He was also making up for the lack of presence he’d felt from his own father, and ensuring that his own sons never experienced that. That alone made me want to smother them, but it wouldn’t help us or them.
“Put him in bed, and come hold me,” I whispered as a chill ran down my spine.
“As you wish,” he grinned indulgently.
I waited until he had stepped into the nursery, knowing he’d be gone for more than a few minutes, then moved to change out of the sleek white nightgown I’d been wearing, into something a little more revealing. I walked to a chest of drawers and opened one, then smiled. Inside were the slinky panties and hose I’d been meaning to wear, but had been too pregnant to feel anything other than huge and uncomfortable.
I wasn’t big and pregnant anymore, and I wanted him tonight. Ristan and Alden were recovering. The Fae were protected inside our walls, and tonight, the beast was mine. There wasn’t anything to do about the Tree; not yet anyway. We had to wait until we could figure out how to thaw it out before we could take the next step. My children were asleep, protected by Zahruk’s watchful eye.
I removed the gown, stepped out of the silk panties, and changed into a black thong. Next I pulled on the stockings, and then slipped the garter belt up to my hips, arranging it until it looked seductive over my creamy flesh, then attached the clips to the stockings. I left my breasts exposed, as Ryder liked them and moved to grab out a few items from his secret stash.
I moved to the bed and crawled into the middle, and had just laid back when he sifted back into the room. His eyes instantaneously changed to onyx as they took in the dusky, pink tips of my nipples that were already hard and begging to be tasted.
“I thought you wanted me to hold you?” he asked as he watched me with ravenous eyes.
“I do, right after you own my body and soul,” I answered him, and then spread my legs, wide.
“Naughty little thing; you have no idea what you’re asking for,” he replied.
“I’ve been owned by you since day one, since the first moment you made me come. You’ll have to do better this time,” I grinned. I was baiting the beast, and we both knew it.
He swallowed and then smiled, but it was predatory and feral. “That sounds like a challenge.”