The countdown hit two hours.
I felt it humming beneath my skin, like a second heartbeat vibrating through every inch of me. It wasn't panic. It wasn't dread. It was need. Wild, burning, sacred need. The bond with Sable still hung loose, incomplete, the final point of the pentacle aching to be drawn.
And my beast? Or beasts? Which should it be I can shift into multiple beasts. Hmmm.
She was done waiting.
I turned slowly. I could feel the heat between my thighs. I breathed slowly, panting almost.
He was there. Being so close was driving me absolutely mad.
Leaning awkwardly just inside the training hall doorway, shirtless, bare feet shifting like he didn't know if he was welcome. His obsidian horns curled high above his brow, wicked and beautiful. His black wings were tucked tight behind him, twitching, like he was barely holding it together. His eyes, those hell deep eyes rimmed in crimson, flicked nervously across the room.
And just like that, the others were gone.
Kaleb met my gaze, smirked, and grabbed Arwen and Elisha by the sleeves. Liam gave me a salute and whispered something about needing to "sterilize the hallway."
Cowards.
Good cowards.
Because now?
It was just us.
Sable's jaw flexed. "Where did they…"
"They know what I need," I said, stepping toward him, every inch of the room heating with magic as I moved.
He flinched. "Rhiannan…"
I didn't wait. This was happening now.
I was on him, one hand fisting in his thick, dark hair, the other dragging claws down his chest. His skin was furnace hot. Muscles like sculpted obsidian tensed beneath my touch. His dark brown skin shone with his sweat.
He growled, a low, trembling sound that made my thighs clench. I was already dripping down my damn legs. These men did things to my body I couldn't comprehend. My entire body quivered in anticipation.
"You've been fighting this," I whispered against his throat, lips brushing over his pulse. "But I see you. I feel you. I fucking want you."
His hands curled into fists at his sides, claws clicking. "I'll ruin you."
"Please do," I breathed.
Then I kissed him.
And fuck me, he broke.
His mouth crushed mine, wild and brutal, all tongue and teeth and desperation. He spun us hard, slamming me into the wall with a snarl. My clothes? Gone. Shredded. I didn't even hear them rip. Just the sound of fabric tearing and then cool air against bare skin. Firelight danced across the stones as I stood naked, trembling, hungry.
His leathers were next, yanked down with shaking hands to reveal something unholy. Huge. Pierced. Veined. Thick enough to make my brain shut down. It was moving like it had a mind of its own. He growled, wings flaring wide, and his tail curled around my ankle like a lover's whisper, lifting me higher.
And still, he didn't take me.
He dropped to his knees instead.
Holy shit.
His forked tongue traced fire up my inner thigh, and when his claws parted my slick folds and he dived in, I saw stars. He was savage. Sucking, licking, groaning against me like a starving man. His fingers slid inside, stretching me, two, then three, filling me as my head slammed back against the stone. He flicked and bit my swollen clit as he fucked me with his fingers and I could not even breathe properly.
"Sable! fuck! don't stop!" I cried out.
He didn't.
Not until I came apart in his mouth, my release squirting out all over his face. I was sobbing and shaking, clutching his horns like a lifeline.
When I opened my eyes, he was licking my release off his fingers and grinning wildly. Very pleased with himself.
"Mine," he said softly, like a promise. I grinned like a feral cat.
And then it was my turn. This giant snake demon cock was going to be a challenge but mama didn't raise no bitch.
I dropped to my knees, wrapped my hand around his massive, thick demon cock and watched him twitch and throb as I took him into my mouth. His claws tangled in my hair. His moan was damn near feral. I bobbed my head up and down on that beast like a pro, choking on my own spit as he groaned in feral lust and pleasure.
"You're gonna ruin me, goddess," he whispered.
"Good," I said again, voice low and wrecked.
Then he lifted me, wings beating strong enough to rattle the rafters, and we soared into the air, high above the gardens, the castle shrinking beneath us.
The wind howled. Magic sparked.
And when he lifted me by my ass and thrust deep, I screamed his name to the heavens.
Too much. So full.
Perfect. He grunted, "You're so fucking tight I'm going to explode!" I grinned evilly.
His tail coiled tight around my waist, holding me steady midair while he drove into me over and over, each stroke rough and reverent. His claws gripped my thighs. My name became a growl, a prayer, a fucking war cry on his lips.
"I can't! I'm gonna! Fuck!" I gasped as my eyes rolled back into my head and I exploded all over his cock.
"Yes, you can," he snarled. "Take it. All of me. Every inch. Every piece. You're mine."
And then it snapped into place.
Our bond.
A blast of divine energy exploded from our bodies. Fire ignited the air. Lightning surged. The garden below erupted in wild bloom. The castle shook. I swear Sasha screamed over the comms. Rose petals and sparks rained down around us as we plummeted toward the earth in a blur of tangled limbs and blazing magic.
We crashed into the flowers laughing like maniacs.
And landed in front of everyone.
Kaleb. Arwen. Liam. Elisha. All staring, shielding themselves from the divine chaos with one hand and trying not to piss themselves laughing with the other.
But I didn't care.
He was mine.
I looked down at my arm, where a tattoo of curling black horns had appeared, etched in fire.
On Sable's chest, a constellation now blazed.
The pentacle was almost complete.
He looked at me in awe, breathing hard. "Feel that?"
I nodded, still straddling him. "I've never felt anything like it."
He kissed my forehead, tender and raw.
"I'm yours. Always." I grinned and leaned down to brush his hair from his face, "As I am yours Sable. Always."
The countdown ticked lower.
But for now?
I lay tangled with my demon in a bed of firelit flowers.
And nothing could fucking touch us.