Total pages in book: 49
Estimated words: 46787 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 234(@200wpm)___ 187(@250wpm)___ 156(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 46787 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 234(@200wpm)___ 187(@250wpm)___ 156(@300wpm)
The vision ended and the mirror pulsed with a soft, forgiving light that bathed Ronan’s face. The big Shifter stepped back, his eyes wounded.
“I didn’t want to see all that,” he muttered. “Hell, I didn’t want to live all that.”
“But you needed to,” Whimsy said, not unkindly, his iridescent wings whirring. “The mirror has done its job—do you not feel eased of your guilt?”
“Actually…maybe I do.” Ronan swiped a hand across his eyes, which were suspiciously red. “We didn’t know that stag was a blessed creature when we hunted it.”
“We were in our Fur Forms—our Bears don’t think very clearly. Not in the human way, at least,” Finn explained.
“Right.” Ronan nodded. “And we paid Locasta back as well as we were able.”
“What about the other guilt?” I asked softly. “The fact that you felt bad about sharing me with Finn? About the three of us giving each other pleasure?”
Ronan looked down at the mossy floor of the cave.
“I don’t know about that,” he said in a low voice. “I don’t feel as guilty as I did, but it’s still hard to get over what I was taught my whole fucking life.”
“That’s what we’re here for—to help you.” I put an arm around his waist and Finn slid an arm around his Clan mate’s broad shoulders. We gave him a hug at the same time.
After a moment, Ronan slid his long arms around both of us and joined in the embrace. I felt the emotions of both my guys—cautious hope and elation from Finn and tentative desire and longing from Ronan. He wanted to be with us—he just wasn’t sure he ought to want it, I could tell.
Standing on my tiptoes, I placed a lingering kiss on his mouth. Then I turned and did the same for Finn.
“You two,” I told them both when I broke the kiss. “You have no idea how long I’ve waited to find you.”
“Aw, Goldie…” Ronan rumbled at the same time Finn said,
“We needed you too.”
“Well, well…enough of this!” Whimsy flitted around our heads, breaking the moment. “I know how it is with Succubi! In another minute the three of you will be on the floor making the beast with two backs. Or in this case, three backs.”
“Sorry.” Ronan’s cheeks went dull red with embarrassment and he took a step back, breaking our three-way embrace. But he had been willing to hug Finn and me in the first place—that counted as progress in my book.
“Why don’t you tell us about the other magical objects we can choose from?” I asked Whimsy. “The mirror is good but what else have you got?”
“I thought you’d never ask,” he buzzed. “Very well, behold the second magical item.”
He flitted back over to the moonstone pedestal and hovered over the second in the line of glowing objects. Behind him on the wall, the letters changed again.
“Behold!” he squeaked proudly, “Item 2: The Cloak of the Wildling!”
As he spoke, the second item unfolded itself and hovered above the pedestal. It was a dark green velvet cloak, embroidered all over with strange and mystical looking glyphs done in pure silver thread.
Finn seemed drawn to the silver-threaded cloak, hanging in midair as if worn by an invisible man.
“I like the look of that!” he exclaimed, taking a step towards it.
Whimsy flew up and plucked at its edge with his four tiny hands.
“Cloak of the Wildling. Makes you one with the woods. Can mask scent, sound, sight—basically a full predator package. Go ahead, bear-boy—try it on. It won’t bite!”
Ronan raised one eyebrow skeptically but Finn was already pulling the cloak out of the air. He tugged the heavy velvet mass over his shoulders and swirled the dark green fabric around him.
Instantly, he vanished.
I gasped. So did Ronan.
“Hey—what the fuck did you do to my Clan mate?” he demanded, glaring at Whimsy. “Where is he?”
“Where did he go?” I asked.
But then I felt a warm hand stroke my cheek, even though I couldn’t see it. I whirled around.
“Finn? Is that you?”
“Still here, sweetheart,” Finn’s voice murmured in my ear, deep and fond and full of that unwavering devotion I was beginning to rely on more and more.
There was a swoosh of motion and a moment later Ronan put a hand to his face and growled,
“What the fuck? Who kissed me?”
“Me, of course.”
Finn pulled the cloak off, reappearing with a grin.
“Neat trick, don’t you think?”
“Right—if you like scaring us to fucking death,” Ronan said.
I could sense that he had been genuinely worried about Finn. He regarded the slightly younger male as his responsibility now that Thorne was gone and there was deep, genuine affection between them.
“The cloak only works in the forest,” Whimsy told us. “But I must show you more before you choose.”
“Fine.” Finn folded the cloak carefully and placed it back on the pedestal. “What’s next?”