Stoke - 8. Competition

Starting the day together at the small safehouse table had become the norm. I sat on Talon’s lap as we ate, his arm wrapped loosely around my waist. Wren studied Eon’s food with a strange look on his face as my brother ate. Eon lay across the couch, his feet extended far over the arm of the piece of furniture. Wren sat on his lap. It seemed that they’d abandoned their secretive behavior and placed their relationship out in the open. Amaris, Hanja, and Tyren sat in the remaining chairs. Tyren was even more upbeat than normal and he rewarded me with a bright smile when he caught me looking. The mood in the small cottage was abnormal. We were all calm, together even when most of us were paired off. My eyes drifted to Amaris who had been unusually quiet. She didn’t look upset. She seemed to be off in her own world, eyes distant.

“Hey, eat.” Teeth nipped my earlobe and I squirmed away from Talon’s mouth.

“I am eating.” I said and then noticed it may have been a lie. I’d eaten half an egg and a piece of sausage. That was a small percentage of the food that Talon had heaped on my plate.

“Uh huh. Eat more then.” He’d cleared his plate already and he pointed to mine. I could hear the eyebrow raise in his tone of voice.

“Goddess you’re bossy Tallie. He’s an adult. Kalian knows how to eat. Leave him alone.” Amaris rolled her eyes and winked at me. I giggled softly and I felt Talon draw himself up, mentally preparing for an argument. Sure enough, they launched into one and Tyren shook his head as I concentrated on eating more. It wasn’t that I wasn’t hungry, it didn’t taste right to me. Tyren was a surprisingly talented cook, but the food on my plate tasted like ash and blood. As I cut an over easy egg in half I wondered if my dreams had brought hallucinations with them again. As the egg yoke dribbled out it flashed red in my eyes and I swallowed roughly. Could it be the Soul Eater’s lingering presence?

“Anyway, you immature children, we need to have a discussion.” Hanja interrupted the squabbling and let out an annoyed sigh. Eon turned toward us, lower half of his face cut off by the couch. Wren was staring at something, probably still Eon’s plate. Amaris stuck her tongue out at Talon and his middle finger appeared in my peripheral vision.

“About what?” I asked, ignoring them.

“We can’t really stay here.” Tyren offered as he began clearing plates. Hanja gave him an annoyed look and then stood to help.

“True, it’s freezing. We might as well be sleeping outside.” Amaris huffed, rubbing her jacket covered upper arms.

“Is there another safehouse near here?” Talon’s hand rested on my knee, and he squeezed gently. I leaned back into him and his chin rested on my shoulder.

“It’s roughly a two-day walk. Could take longer if we get more snow.” Wren had decided to look at the rest of us. He scowled softly when Eon shifted to sit up straighter, jostling the man. His white hair was held away from his face with two small braids and I tried not to notice the cut in my brother’s lip. It was dry, but looked like it could split open and bleed at any minute. It had never occurred to me. I wanted them to get together, to realize the feelings that were obvious to everyone else, but was it okay? Was Eon safe?

“Yeah, two days straight into Delth. We’d be a mile from a major city.” Talon sighed, arms wrapping around me as I felt unease slither over the connection.

“Do we have another option?” Hanja asked, handing his darker partner plates and silverware as Tyren washed up.

“We could go home?” Amaris rolled her eyes, “The only other choice is make our way through the entire country to get to a safehouse across a border. A different country. Which do you think is more dangerous Talon?”

I winced, “Amaris settle down. Is there really nowhere that may be safer? A better safe house?”

“No.” Wren stood and I heard the breath forced roughly from my brother’s lungs as the white haired man used his chest to push himself up. Worry bloomed in my own chest and I stared at Eon until he met my eyes. His light blue ones rolled in his head and he looked away from me. Wren strolled over and combed his fingers through Amaris’ long hair as he looked at me.

“So then, this safehouse is the only option. When shall we leave?” Tyren piped up, speaking louder to be heard over clanking dishes.

“As soon as possible. Like I said, it’s as if we’re sleeping outside, so we might as well.” Amaris shrugged. Talon kept silent even though I knew he wanted to disagree. That had been enough of a confirmation for our group. We separated and I followed Eon and Wren. Eon was pulling on his coat and I followed suit. Eon’s eyes rolled again and Wren gave me a curious look.

“Wren, do you mind if I speak to my brother?” I offered a weak smile and pink eyes narrowed.

“Why are you asking me for permission? If you wish to speak to him, do so. Strange boy.”

I hooked my arm through Eon’s and coaxed him to the front door, “Okay, we’ll be back.”

Wren slowly sat at the table again, eyes studying me. His face fell into a frown as we left the cottage, Eon pulling the door closed behind us.

“Now you hurt his feelings.” Eon teased, smiling, but I saw the agitation under the surface.

“Does he have those?” I asked without thinking. Eon’s crystal blue eyes turned to ice as he looked at me. I cleared my throat, “Eon, does he care for you? Your lip and I can see the fang marks on your neck. Is he hurting you? Are you s-“

“Stop. No one talks about the marks Talon leaves all over you. I’ve seen the bruises on your hips before. I never ask you if you’re okay.” Eon was livid. His shoulders were rigid and part of me wanted to shrink away from his glower.

“I understand your point, but Wren is so much stronger than a human and he’s…he’s feral at the best of times.” The glare got more intense and I cringed.

“Talon’s ripped people apart and crushed others. Every time he uses significant Magik, the black creeps over his skin and he gets claws. Not to mention that until recently, his job was literally murder and torture. The same as Wren’s. If I’m not supposed to worry about that, you shouldn’t worry about Wren. Not understanding the relationship doesn’t give you the right to judge it.” Eon turned and walked away from me, heading in the direction of the trees. Feet dropped down next to me, and Wren followed without a glance in my direction. Gods, had he heard?

“Wren, I-“

“No need boy. I get it.” His smile was more a bare of teeth and he ran to catch up with Eon. I sighed and returned inside. Tyren was still cleaning and Amaris sat at the table, sipping coffee. I wrinkled my nose at the smell as I approached her.

“Can I talk to you?”

Ruby eyes met mine and Amaris smirked, “Course babe.”

She brought her coffee and we climbed the stairs as she led me to her room. We passed Talon who was already packing. His eyes flicked between us and he shook his head, deciding he didn’t want to know. We sat side by side on her bed and she sipped her drink as she waited for me to start talking. It was easy with Amaris. She never pushed me, never prodded. Unless I was being an idiot of course. I took a breath and decided to start with the easiest thing.

“You don’t seem like yourself this morning.” I watched her fingers trace the top of her cup. Her red nails made a soft scraping sound against it.

“I went for a walk by myself last night. Then I heard voices and convinced myself the Soul Eater was back. Hightailed it to the cottage after that.” She admitted and I froze. Maybe this wasn’t the easy topic I thought it was.

“Do the others know?”

“Most of them. I told them when you were outside with Eon. Figured I’d tell you two when we were all together.” Of course she had. Amaris communicated well above my adolescent level.

“Did you see it? Why were you out there alone in the first place? Talon and I would’ve come with if you wanted to go for a walk.” My nervousness was rising. What if Amaris had run into the monster alone? She wouldn’t be here now. The mere thought alone threatened to punch a hole in my chest.

“I didn’t see anything. Only heard voices. Judging by your weird gasping, I assumed you were either having sex or doing a workout in your tiny bedroom for some reason. You’re not alone. Wren and your brother were going at it too. I hope anyway. There was a lot of pounding and growling.” She shrugged and I pulled a face at the thought of my brother doing anything sexual. Though, I suppose he’d probably felt the same way and Talon had very little restraint. The man also didn’t feel embarrassed about anything when it revolved around sex. Heat sprung to my cheeks, but I was yanked from my thoughts as Amaris said something that made tears prick the corners of my eyes.

“I originally decided I would never talk about this with you, but we might need to. Kalian, I hated your guts that day when I walked you home. It hurt so bad, you know? I had been violently pining for Talon for years, actual years, and you came in and had him wrapped around your finger within months. He wouldn’t even do anything with me unless something bad had happened. He sought me out when he had to do something particularly violent and felt like a monster. He’d get drunk and turn up. Sometimes I’m not even sure he knew it was me.”

“Amaris…”

“Please, let me get it all out or I’m going to lose my nerve. I was jealous. I resented you. He extracted himself out of my life so easily, it ruined my delusions. Talon never cared about me the way he cared about you then and definitely not the way he cares about you now. I have no idea why, when Wren let it slip what was happening, I came with. I must be a masochist. I hoped you’d die. I wanted to die. I was mean to you. Rude. But you, fuck. You wouldn’t let me hate you. You took that away from me too. You’re too kind. Too perfect.” I took a deep breath, and she turned to me, eyes wet with tears. It was hard to listen to, but if I couldn’t give her this what kind of friend was I?

“Anyway, you forced me into friendship somehow. I thought it would fall apart when Talon came back, but no, you sunk your greedy little claws into me.” She gasped out a laugh full of raw emotion and my heart ached, “You filled a part of me that I didn’t even know was empty, and then you somehow drew us all together into this weird family. I’ve never had real friends or family before. I love you. Idiot.”

“I love you too.” Talon’s presence slid through the connection with concern and I soothed him gently. Of course, he’d felt my sadness. This had not been the easy conversation. I didn’t know what to do as Amaris wiped at her eyes. I pulled her into a hug and felt shaky breaths against my shoulder.

“What’s going on?” Talon eased the door open and frowned as we turned tear-stained faces in his direction, “Did you schedule a time to cry as a group? I wasn’t invited.” He grinned crookedly as Amaris threw an insult his way and I rolled my eyes. Kneeling on the ground, he pulled us both into a hug with his freakishly long arms. I met Amaris’ eyes over his head and she smiled. She was okay with this. It didn’t hurt. I relaxed and let my face rest in Talon’s neck. After we’d calmed down he fell back, forearms resting on his knees as he let his hands hang between them. I had a flash back to the alley the first time we’d met. He had seen it too and smiled softly at me.

“Anyway, what did you actually bring me up here to talk about? My sob story wasn’t it.” Amaris scooted onto my lap and I rubbed her back gently.

“I upset Eon.” I sighed. Amaris and Talon scoffed at the same time.

“So what?”

“Does Eon have upset in his small collection of emotions?” I glared at Talon and the grin slid off his face.

“I insinuated that Wren may be hurting him. I said some mean things.” I admitted, hands resting on Amaris’ legs. They didn’t respond at first, exchanging a look.

“It’s a fair thing to be concerned about.” Amaris lay her head on my shoulder, playing with my hair.

“He is hurting him. The whole second floor smelled like blood last night.” I blinked. I had fallen asleep fast and hadn’t smelled anything when I had woken up.

“He brought you up to defend what they have.” Talon’s jaw clenched and I saw black fan delicately out from his pupil. Amaris’ took in a sharp breath, cringing as we watched Talon try to shake off his hurt. It was billowing from his mind, his walls unable to keep it in.

“Fair point.” He ground out, looking away and taking deep breaths.

I rushed to change the subject, “This safehouse, do you really believe we’ll be in danger?”

Talon relaxed fractionally, “Yes. Luftwan is only a mile away. Each major city has a military occupation at all times. They hunt our kind down for fun. Women, children, it doesn’t matter.”

“Fun. On the bright side, Talon used to hunt the hunters for sport when he had down time on missions. It was satisfying to watch.” Amaris giggled and Talon’s expression darkened. Probably not best to linger on his previous violence when it’d been thrown in his face only seconds ago.

“If it’s so unsafe, why does the Verseckt have a safehouse so close?” I frowned and Talon looked up at me.

“They have houses in the capital. It makes missions easier. You have somewhere to prepare, regroup.” He slowly stood and stretched his arms out in front of his chest, “We’ll have to be careful. Be on our toes at all times.”

“Well, as fun as this emotionally exhausting conversation has been, I need to start packing if we’re serious about leaving today.” Amaris shooed us from her room and Talon and I returned to our own. He’d already packed most of our things and it didn’t take long for us to finish what was left together. With no solid plan for leaving in place, we met Tyren and Hanja in the kitchen. The four of us divided up the nonperishable food among our packs, throwing some in Amaris’ as well when she joined us.

“Wren and Eon?” Talon asked so I wouldn’t have to.

“Eon said they never unpacked. They went ahead to scout and make sure everything was safe. Wren thinks it’s going to snow.” Tyren replied, holding himself still as Hanja closed up his pack for him. I momentarily closed my eyes. I opened them when long fingers linked with mine. Talon tugged gently on my hand and I leaned against him. I had made Eon angry enough that he was avoiding me now. As soon as we had unity as a group, I’d gone and ruined it with my big mouth. Hopefully they’d make camp with us and I could apologize to them both. It hadn’t been my place. What was I thinking?

I wasn’t sure how Wren predicted the weather so accurately, but about two hours in, it started to snow. It was a heavy, wet snow and our moods worsened as we tromped over the slushy road. Amaris and I walked together with Tyren. Hanja and Talon were a little ways ahead. We’d had a giggle over the complete lack of conversation between the two. I hadn’t seen either one of their mouths move at all. We were on hour five now and my calves and thighs were starting to ache. Keeping my balance on the uneven ground was taking it’s toll. We hadn’t seen Wren and Eon. How far ahead had they gone?

“I hate this place.” Amaris groaned loudly.

“It is awful.” Tyren sighed as he looked up. The snow gave no indication that it may let up soon. There had been existing snow that reached our shins, but it was knee level now and the idea of making camp was starting to sound real attractive. As the snow climbed higher, I could see Talon getting agitated. I stifled a giggle and Amaris rolled her eyes as if she’d noticed the tension stretch across his shoulders as well. He said something to Hanja and the other man frowned before turning back to look at me. I tilted my head as Talon made his way back to us.

“Come here.” I raised an eyebrow at the order in his voice and he rolled his eyes, “Please.”

My eyebrow rose higher and I lifted my chin as he looked down at me. He rubbed his face, “Kalian, will you please come to the front and help me with something? Light and love of my life. Sun in my sky. Center of my universe.” I giggled and Amaris gagged. Tyren smiled brightly at the two of us and I gave a little wave. Following Talon, I felt my boots squish. Waterproof my ass. The shop owner had clearly been trying to make a sale.

“What do you need help with?” I asked as we reached the front. Hanja stood a little ways behind us.

“My crippling separation anxiety.” Talon looked down at me seriously and I rolled my eyes so hard I got a little dizzy. He laughed and wrapped an arm around my shoulders, kissing the side of my head.

“Are you serious? That’s why you pulled me up here?” Hanja had fallen back and Tyren’s arms hooked with his and Amaris’.

“You’ve been upset about Eon for a couple of hours now. It grates on my nerves when you’re running around in a circle in your head beating yourself up.”

“Sorry, I didn’t realize.” He tugged me to him and I staggered a little as he pulled me off balance.

“Don’t apologize. Eon’s a big boy. Literally. He’ll be okay. He’s not going to put himself in a bad position. He may take some risks, but he’s not stupid, love.” I wrapped my arm around his waist and we walked awkwardly together. It had been agreed as a group that we’d go as long as we could. My legs were tired and the air was starting to hurt my lungs as the hour grew later. Talon didn’t seem fazed, but soon Amaris was whining loudly. Hanja had removed himself from their line and Tyren was trying to soothe our dramatic friend.

“Kalian! Give me your hands!” She fell hard into me as she failed to jump on my back. I tripped forward and had to scramble to catch myself before I face planted.

“The fuck are you doing spaz?” Talon angrily snapped at her and Amaris stuttered an apology. I regained my footing and frowned as I felt something. The air around us felt wrong. It was vibrating hard in my chest. Talon darted forward, arms wrapping tight around me. His hands covered my ears as a high pitched, shrill sound drilled into us. I winced as it still hurt even with his hands and I stared up into Talon’s wide eyes as he grit his teeth. Amaris was on her knees, fingers digging into her ears. Hanja was on all fours and Tyren was scrambling to cover four ears with two hands. I looked around wildly, Talon’s hands clamped to the sides of my head tighter. I looked up the road. A form stood behind us. A person. Another one was tucked into their side. There was too much distance between us. I couldn’t even tell if they were male or female. The smaller one’s hands looked to be cupped in front of their face and the air shuddered around their fingers. That was the source of the noise then.

“There!” I tried to shout over the noise. Talon’s head was tucked to his chest, his jaw tight as he grit his teeth. I slapped my hands against the sides of his head. Horror slid through me as I felt something slick against my palms. I hadn’t reacted fast enough. Talon’s ears were bleeding. My head was pounding from the onslaught. Talon hit his knees, hands clumsily reaching up to still protect my ears. I winced and gasped as the sound finally stopped. I was a little dizzy, but I forced myself to watch the people approaching us.

One was a man by the build. He was about my height. His head was covered by a black fur lined hood that was attached to a forest green coat. The other one was a female. She was almost as tall as the man and I stared at the black cloth that covered the top half of her face. She wore a long black coat that reached her knees. They made their way to us slowly. Hanja was still on all fours and I worried as I watched his body heave. Hanja seemed to be hit hard by things that attacked his body and mind. Which seemed ironic to me. Tyren had followed my eyes, shifting to stand behind Hanja so that he was between him and the strangers. Amaris clumsily got to her feet and Talon was panting in front of me. I held his head to my stomach and ran fingers through his hair. I winced when I noticed the blood on my hands streaking red through his grey locks.

They were only twenty feet away and the man jerked his head back, his hood falling. The woman’s arms were wrapped around one of his. She was still mostly covered, but now we could see the top of his face. The lower half was covered by a cloth like the one on the woman’s eyes. His chin length wavy hair was a dark ashy brown with thick grey streaks framing his face. He was tan and when he uncovered his mouth, I stared for a minute. He had a cocky smirk on his face with perfect white teeth. Shit, why was our attacker so…attractive?

“Damn. Am I concussed?” Amaris was also staring at the man.

“Greetings. Sorry for the…rough introduction. There are only two of us so we are extra cautious. It helps to stun people if we wish to converse. Anyone could be an enemy you see.” His voice was a rich tenor and there was a fair amount of humor in it.

“Who are you? Why are you on this road?” The female’s voice was sharp, harsh.

“Who’s asking?” Talon shoved himself to his feet, glaring at the couple. He was only a little unsteady and I turned more fully to them as he planted his feet.

“I asked first.” She spat and the man’s head tilted.

“Rah, let’s give them a chance to answer. We have made a bad first impression.” His grin landed on me and Talon’s fists clenched as the other man ran his tongue over his lower lip, his eyebrows raising in interest.

“Fine. Answer or I’ll rupture your eardrums.” Her nails were long and square, painted black. She released her companion’s arm and crossed hers over her chest.

“We’re on our way to Luftwan.” I answered and Talon’s arm slowly extended in front of me as the man’s eyes ran over me more appreciatively, taking his time.

“For what sweetheart?” His eyes lingered on Talon’s arm. Then they locked on me again.

“Don’t call him that.” Talon snapped and I raised my eyebrows.

“It’s really none of your business. You going to share your plans with us?” Amaris talked over Talon, resting a hand on her hip.

The man’s eyes snapped to her and I felt uncomfortable as his eyes raked over her as well, “Luftwan isn’t exactly a resort location. It’s a pretty bleak place.”

“L, stop talking.” The woman faced us, voice still harsh, “What’s your business there?”

“Again, its no concern of yours.” A very pale Hanja answered, vertical again, Tyren’s arm around his waist.

The man’s eyes slid over Hanja and then Tyren. I stiffened when they shifted to Talon. They skimmed down and then back up slowly. He bit his lip as he sighed almost dreamily, “Was there some summons for the most beautiful people in Dleth that I missed?”

“You didn’t meet the criteria.” Talon near growled.

“Mm your whole protective, dark, brooding thing is really doing something for me. Then again, I could think of something for each of you that I’d let you do for me.” He snickered and Amaris turned wide eyes to me.

“You attack us and then…try to make moves on all of us as a group?” Hanja asked, disbelief and confusion coloring his voice.

“He’s an idiot. The problem is that we rarely run into travelers out here that are not government officials, off duty soldiers, or spies. Are you loyal to Dleth?” The woman asked, the man’s head tilting back as he became more serious.

“Are you?” Amaris spit.

“We did ask first little goddess.” The man’s eyes fell again to Amaris.

“No.” Talon answered, and we all turned to look at him, surprised he’d answered at all.

“Are you sure, my gorgeous tall king? You look so much like the royal family.” My nose scrunched as Talon again snagged his attention.

“Positive. So does your companion.”

The woman stiffened, drawing herself up, “If you are not loyal to the crown. We’ll let you live.”

“Kind of you.” Hanja replied drily.

“What’s this?” It came from behind us, Eon’s low rumble. Wren stepped up beside Talon, claws curled in anticipation.

“Gods, there’s more?” The man exclaimed and began walking forward, palms face up as he looked gratefully to the sky. The group tensed as one and Wren growled low in his throat, “Alright, beautiful people. We’ve established that you don’t support the crown. Or you say you don’t. We don’t either. So, friends?”

“Absolutely not, you attacked us, you delusional fuck.” Talon joined in Wren’s growling.

“What about you sweetheart? You wanna be friends?” He was looking at me, a filthy grin on his face.

“I’m going to rip off your-“ I attempted to cover Talon’s mouth as his jealousy flared violently but he managed to jerk away, “And make you fucking eat it!”

“Mm, promises handsome.” The man’s grin somehow became even more dirty, totally unfazed by my enraged super tall, muscular partner. I’d never seen someone get under Talon’s skin so easily and thoroughly.

“Talon. Calm yourself. You, strangers, what do you want? If you have no business with us, continue on your way.” Eon walked around Talon and I, boldly walking up to the stranger.

“I could have business with you. Give me a minute and I’ll make a list of exactly what I want.” I stared as the stranger pressed a hand to my brother’s chest. Wren slid up between their bodies and shoved the man hard away from Eon. I winced as I saw shreds of his jacket come away in Wren’s claws. He fell back with a laugh, but I noticed the female seemed tense and uncertain. She hadn’t moved from where the man had left her. The cloth covering her face, was she blind?

“Anyway, friends. Where are we making camp?” He chuckled softly as he took stock of the group. Talon and Wren were on edge, teetering on violence. Eon and Tyren were calm. Hanja looked suspicious, and Amaris and I were confused.

*

Keep your friends close and your enemies closer, I guess. We had made camp and theirs was across the road from us. It’d been Eon and Hanja’s idea. It was better that we knew where they were, gods forbid they sneak up on us again. The snow had stopped but the air was still cold enough to make my fingers numb through my gloves. I sat next to Amaris. Talon and Eon stood at the edge of camp, making no attempt to hide the fact that they were clearly staring at the new comers. Tyren was fussing over Hanja, even though he’d long since healed himself. Wren was crouched on a tree stump, staring at Eon’s wide back with a strange expression.

“Can we talk about how the man is sex on legs? We haven’t seen anything besides his damn face and my stomach dropped out of my ass when he looked at me.” I glanced to Talon as Amaris spoke, chewing the inside of my cheek before I rubbed my neck.

“Kalian, it’s okay to look.” She paused as Eon said something and Talon sneered in the man’s direction, “Actually, maybe it’s not. I have never seen him let jealously get the better of him like that. Or get jealous at all really.”

“The man is attractive.” I shrugged a shoulder as I watched said man move around the camp across from ours. He set up everything by himself. He’d wrapped the woman in a thick blanket, and I wondered what their relationship was. She hadn’t seemed upset when he’d been throwing himself at us. It hadn’t even fazed her. Could they be lovers in a strange type of relationship? He had set up a smaller tent and he knelt to get a fire going. That had to be hard in the snow. We had an advantage in Eon, but the man didn’t. He cleared the area for them by hand and I started to feel bad. I stood and strode over, shrugging off both Amaris and Talon’s calls of my name. As I got closer, the man slowly looked up at me.

“L-Loren?” The woman’s voice was still strong but it wavered with uncertainty. She looked around as if she knew someone was coming but couldn’t figure out from where. Perhaps the snow threw her off?

“Something to say braids?” I blushed, suddenly self-conscious about how Amaris’ had braided the top of my hair away from my face.

“L-let me help. She looks cold.” He glanced at the woman, face falling into a frown. He flinched when I raised my hands, “I’m not going to hurt you two unless you threaten us.” I let light circle around their space and then glide over the ground under us. The snow melted and I kept it up until the earth underneath it had dried out. The man’s eyes were wide, and I saw for the first time that they were two different colors. One was brown and the other was green. I touched my cheek gently, it reminded me of the way my eyes had been when I’d been powerless.

He stood, dropping flint and tinder, “Well, aren’t you helpful and sweet?” He was so close suddenly, leaning toward me, and I froze as I felt rage roll through my head.

“Loren, back up. He’s obviously spoken for.”

“Correct. He very much is.” Talon gripped the back of my coat and yanked me into his chest.

“Oh? Married? I didn’t see your ring.” The man-Loren took a step back, hands raised. He didn’t look the least bit sorry.

“N-no…” I blinked as Talon stuttered. Talon never stuttered.

“Then what’s the problem?” Loren stepped forward again, “Weren’t you taught to share?”

“Loren. You overstep.” The woman’s voice was hard and Talon and I stared as she pushed her hood back, facing Loren with a deep frown. She had gray hair so dark it looked black, cut short in the front with messy longer layers down the back of her head that reached her shoulders. I could barely make out some white under the grey. Loren immediately abandoned us. He crossed to her and knelt, taking her hands in his.

“Are you okay? What do you need?”

Talon didn’t wait. He hauled me back to our camp. I glanced over my shoulder and saw Loren return to building a fire. His coat was draped over the blanket on her shoulders and her covered face was turned to us. The others avoided looking at us(except for Amaris who gave me an enthusiastic thumbs up) and Talon led me to the tent. I wasn’t sure which direction this was going to go. He was seething, anger pulsing over me. We were inside, the flap was secured, and I was alone with Talon faster than my brain could keep up. Hands gripped my face and his mouth smashed to mine. It was all teeth and tongues. We clumsily stumbled backwards, and I tripped over my own feet. I fell onto my back. I prepared to feel pain shoot up my tailbone, but his fingers were there, taking most of the impact.

“Talon.” He snarled into my mouth and my hips lifted involuntarily. His eyes were black and I gasped when I saw black slipping up to his wrists as well. He wasn’t using his power, why was this happening? A clawed hand held my chin as his mouth devoured mine. His other hand was undoing the buttons on my coat. I helped him undress me, breathing hard. My torso hit the cold seconds later and I whimpered as he mouthed down my neck, a claw skimming my nipple. A small vial slammed down next to us and he sat back, yanking my trousers down.

“He’s going to hear you.” It was more of a command than anything else and I could only nod. He stopped suddenly and I looked up at him, panting as his eyes flashed between my lower body and his clawed fingers. Biting my lip, I snatched the oil, coating my fingers and lifting my hips off the blanketed floor so he could see better. A growl rumbled through his chest as I used my own fingers to work myself open. Talon fell forward, tongue running over my chest and snaking around a nipple. I rocked my hips back hard, adding a third finger too soon. The stretch was too much and I whimpered softly. I paused my fingers to let myself adjust. Talon’s hand wrapped around my wrist and he slammed my own fingers into me. I cried out and his grip forced them into a rough rhythm. It was fast and I gasped his name as he switched nipples.

Without any warning, he yanked my hand back. He swatted it away and rolled me onto my chest. Gripping my hips, he pulled me back to him. I felt him slide over my entrance. I rubbed my hips back, mouth hanging open as I was overcome with want. He slammed hard into me and I cried out his name. His fingers gripped my hair and my knees dug into the ground. It was interesting to me that this was okay but mere days ago my brain wouldn’t let the man physically touch me. I wanted to mentally complain some more but was soon too distracted.

“T-Talon baby,” Words left me as he shifted inside and hit my spot. I gripped and tore at the blankets, my scalp tingling as his grip tightened on my hair. He was forcing my back to arch, hitting deeper inside. I didn’t even remember what I had been planning to say. His hips slammed coherent thought out of me. I was a stuttering, muttering, moaning mess. The noises that left my body were filthy and so, so loud. I was sure all of Dleth heard me. My eyes rolled back as he continued to abuse my prostate. He’d thrust in long strokes and then hold his hips tight to mine and grind in. Loren was driven completely from my thoughts. There was only Talon.

It was over relatively fast for us. I came and writhed under him and he pulled out to finish across my back.

“Really?” I panted. I liked it. We both knew it. It still felt gross. He sat on his heels and panted. His hands were back to normal, but his eyes were still dyed dark.

“Mine.”

“Yes, yes. What are you a dog?” My arms were shaking as I tried to stay up. After gathering himself, he set about cleaning us up, “Jealous Talon?”

“Yes. It made me feel crazy when I saw how close he was.” He sighed and reached under me to clean off my stomach and chest. I laid on said chest and then rolled over. He was kneeling now, rubbing his face.

“In what way?” I tilted my head to the side as I watched him.

“I don’t want him to touch and look at you. At the same time…” He trailed off and rubbed his fingertips against his eyelids.

I giggled as I put it together. He was no better than Amaris and me. I ran my foot up his side, “You want to do things to him. Sexual things. Should I be worried baby?” I was surprised that I wasn’t feeling my own jealousy. That probably needed to be unpacked. Did I not see Loren as a threat? Talon didn’t answer, eyes roaming over my body. He crawled forward and nuzzled me gently. I let the topic drop as he kissed my neck softly.

“You will never have anything to be worried about. I am literally ruined for anyone else. Also have fun covering up. There’s a lot of marks.” He murmured softly. I ran my fingers over his shoulder blades, scowling at him without any real heat.

I tried to avoid eye contact as I left the shelter. Every time we did this, walking in front of the others felt shameful and embarrassing. How did you make idle chit chat with someone who moments ago heard you scream for more? A throat cleared as I made my way to the fire. I looked up and Eon was headed my way. I took a deep breath. I wasn’t really in the mood to talk to my brother after Talon had very loudly taken me in the middle of the camp. I looked up at him and focused on his face as a certain brunette moved across the opposite camp.

“I was planning on speaking to you once camp was finished, but Talon had other plans. I wanted to apologize Kal.”

Relief flooded through me, “No, I’m sorry.” He opened his arms and I gladly hugged him tight. My nose wrinkled as I picked up the very faint scent of blood. I snuggled into my brother’s chest until he slowly extracted me from him.

“I love you, but you smell like sex Kalian.” He grimaced and I smiled softly as he went to stand by Wren. Pink eyes watched the grey sky. He had lowered himself down to sit on the tree stump and barely acknowledged Eon when he walked up. I took up my spot next to Amaris. Like Wren, she didn’t seem to notice. Her eyes were locked on Loren, red painted lips parted ever so slightly.

“Go talk to him?” I knocked my shoulder against hers, smiling at the grin I received.

“We don’t know that we can trust them and you want me to seduce him? Talon truly has corrupted sweet, innocent little Kalian.” She let her head rest on my shoulder.

“I don’t know that it would take much effort. The man seems…outgoing.” I rested my head on hers as she laughed.

“He’s very confident. That’s for sure.” I watched Loren wait on the girl-Rah- hand and foot. He cooked, placed the food in her hands and sat at her feet. Her fingers combed through his hair as they ate. What were we going to do about this? We had no idea who they were or what they were about. We weren’t even sure if they were enemies or neutral parties. Loren was a lot but it seemed like it was possibly an act, or at least some of it. The female was just as worrisome. I wrapped an arm around Amaris as I thought of the blood dripping from Talon’s ears. Hanja had checked us over and confirmed that Talon had sustained the most damage. Without Hanja, he would’ve been half deaf. On a completely different note, it was obvious that Amaris was attracted to him and Loren seemed to be attracted to everyone. I didn’t want her to get hurt. I also didn’t want her to be alone. She got lost in the shuffle pretty often. She was the only one without a partner and that bothered me. Not that someone needed a partner to be happy. It was too early to hold any hope for something like that for Amaris from this man.

“Kal, you’re thinking really hard. I can practically feel it.”

“Sorry, my brain is all over the place.” We snuggled up together and she shared the blanket she’d had wrapped around her shoulders. I tugged the ends of her long hair and let myself fall farther into thought. Rah was powerful. That could be helpful. I didn’t know what Loren’s power was, but I assumed he was as strong if not stronger than her. Maybe traveling together would benefit both groups? There were only two of them and seven of us. Strength in numbers was a real thing. I was getting ahead of myself though. We had no proof that they were friendly. We’d have to see how things played out.