Breathing Her Air

Lacey Thorn BREATHING HER AIR

Island Guardians 4 Drew and Sorran Xandova have finally returned to their island home only to find that the one they vowed to protect has been murdered. And Alea, the woman promised to them, has taken off in pursuit of those responsible. When fate brings them together, they vow to seduce her before pursuing justice for their prince. Alea is more than they hoped for, the perfect mate and companion for the Xandova warriors. And her seduction? The greatest pleasure they have ever known. Alea is swept away by the two men destined to be her mates. Her fears are relieved as her body comes alive with carnal pleasures she never imagined. Two men with her complete satisfaction their only goal. Good thing they appear to be overachievers. AnEllora’s CaveRomantica Publication

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Breathing Her Air

ISBN 9781419917684 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Breathing Her Air Copyright © 2008 Lacey Thorn

Edited by Helen Woodall. Photography and cover art by LesByerley .

Electronic book Publication July 2008

With the exception of quotes used in reviews, this book may not be reproduced or used in whole or in part by any means existing without written permission from the publisher,Ellora’s Cave Publishing, Inc.® 1056 Home Avenue, Akron OH 44310-3502.

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This book is a work of fiction and any resemblance to persons, living or dead, or places, events or locales is purely coincidental. The characters are productions of the author’s imagination and used fictitiously. Island Guardians:

Breathing Her Air Lacey Thorn Dedication

This book is dedicated to— The faithful readers of erotic romance.I thank you for adding me to your library. My mother, who continues to be my number onefan . And to friends, the family we choose.

Prologue If one should die…

Asmelooked down on the three sleeping sons she had given birth to only eight weeks before. They were a wondrous sight, bringing both tears to her eyes and a laugh to her lips. These three would know such love and joy and yet their future was anything but certain. She had dreamed again last eve. Her mother speaking to her of what was set in motion, what she must watch for and prepare for.So much depended on her, the fate of her entire people. And now that love had bloomed between so many of the women and their mates, the island people were growing and new life was welcomed almost daily. Such joy could exist now if only there wasn’t the constant threat of war, the constant surge of invaders seeking solace on their shores. With a weary sigh,Asme turned and found herself pulled into her husband’s arms. “What new worries trouble you?” he spoke in a rough voice softened only by the fact that he whispered the words to her. “Just thinking of our sons and if they will know anything other than war when they are older.”She snuggled into his chest, relishing the feel of his strong arms around her. She hated that her time with him was so limited but understood why it must be as well. “They will know the life of a warrior and will accept whatever fate hands to them. ’Tisthe way it is.” His hand brushed her hair, following it down her waist and coming to rest on the fullness of her hip. He squeezed and fondled her flesh there, pushing the lace band lower

until it fell in a pool of black at her feet. “I’ve missed you,” he murmured, pulling her closer still so that the hard contour of his erection pulsed against her belly. “As I have missed you.I’ve missed you so much.” She knew that she shouldn’t ask, that it wouldn’t change what was to be, but the words tumbled out anyway. “Will you stay long this time?More than a day?” His sigh was long and weary, filled with a wealth of information if one chose to hear it. “I would love nothing more than to stay here with you always, to hold you in my arms and make love to you more times during the day than you would be able to handle. But my duty keeps me away, a duty that you of all people understand. It is but one of the many reasons that I love you.” Asmelooked up, her face flushed with love for the man who held her.Joyful at his first words of love to her. “You love me?” “Of course I love you, woman. How could you not know that? You are the one good thing in my life, the sustenance that I need to keep me going, to keep fighting. These moments that I get to spend with you wrapped in my arms are precious and few. I treasure them more than my life. You are the very air that I breathe, the beat of my heart, the one truth in a world that is shaded with darkness and betrayal.” “Who has betrayed you? Who would dare?”Asme demanded and Micah only smiled down at the woman whom he loved. He had done nothing to deserve her, had hurt and abused her on their first meeting. Had let life harden his heart and tried to keep it that way. He had loved and lost so much before and vowed that he would never hurt like that again. But she wouldn’t let him stay cold. She wouldn’t let him hide. She demanded of him and he found that he could give, that he could live, nay, was desperate to live…with her. “It is not something for us to discuss at the moment, little princess. Not when you are pressed so snugly against me. Your beauty overwhelms me. Your heart ensnares me. But it is your soul that binds me as no other ever could. I need you, little princess. I need you.” His eyes were filled with passion and love andAsme lost herself in them. “Yes,” she moaned as he lifted her high into his arms and carried her through the archway and into their bedroom. He eased her down onto the bed and settled between her naked thighs, placing his engorged staff where she wanted it most. “Yes,” she cried again, undulating beneath him, rubbing her slippery pussy against the leather of his pants. “I need you as I have never needed another,” he told her as he trailed kisses along her collarbone. His hands were busy untying her veiled top and she shuddered with anticipation as he finally pulled it free and tossed it aside. “I need to be lost in you, with you for this one moment in time. No war, no chaos, no demands on my time.Just a man loving his woman.Just me and you.” He took her mouth with a passion that exploded on both of their tongues as they meshed and mated with near violence. Asmearched farther up into him, soaking the knuckles on the hand that he used to release

his straining cock from his pants. He was long and thick and it had been entirely too long since he had loved her. They both groaned with pleasure as he thrust deep into her clenching pussy. She was wet with her desire and he filled her completely. “Yes, Micah.Only you and me.”She sighed with pleasure as he began a rhythm that was sure to lead to the release that they both desired.“Only you and me.” It was a promise made in the heat of passion, a promise from one lover to another.One to unite. But one person didn’t see it that way. All he saw was that his brother had everything again.Everything that was supposed to be denied him.Everything that should have been denied him this time around. FinallyGodar had found a woman who could hear him, understand him and love him. But even now, Micah claimed her as well. She may spend most of her time withGodar , but he knew how much she enjoyed her time with Micah. Why was he destined to live in Micah’s shadow? Was the devastation that Micah had known the first time around not enough to kill the humanity inside the one most called prince? What would it take to bring him to his knees?Godar glanced once more to the bed and the couple writhing in it—the woman who should be his and only his. She would be soon. It was a vow he made quietly inside. Soon she would be entirely his, no matter what it took. Some instinct madeAsme glance up to the doorway and for a moment she sawGodar there watching them before he turned and walked away. She would never understand why he chose to stay away when Micah was home, why he never joined them in the bed. But those weren’t the thoughts that plagued her at the moment. It was the look in his eyes before he turned away. She was almost positive that she saw anger there, and hate. A shiver went down her spine and not for the first time she wondered just what secrets her silent love harbored. Chapter One

“She’s gone,” Finn and TannerVerbani said at the same time, causing all three of the brothers to look at one another. “Who’s gone?” Bram asked, pointing to Finn first when it appeared that both brothers would start talking at the same time again. “Alea,” Finn stated. “She’s gone. I’ve been over the entire camp twice and looked everywhere. She’s nowhere and Vulcan is gone as well.” “At least she has Vulcan. You know the Aqua-Phoenwill watch over and protect her as best he can.” Bram shook his head with anger. “Where the hell she went and why is beyond me at this point. There is chaos everywhere around us and it will only spread if we leave to find her. We must take our place as our father’s sons and step in. We must take charge of the people and ensure the safety of everyone. It all rests on our shoulders now.”

It was the last big decision that their father had made before his murder. All the people from the island were to gather in the same spot, what had once been known as the Goddess’ Temple but that now was known as the prince’s home. It was the hope of the warriors that it would be easier to guard and protect the women and children if they were all in one spot and not spread across the island. It was something that they should have done before but pride had them believing that they could beat back the invaders no matter what. That pride had already cost them a number of their women, who unfortunately had been kidnapped by the others. Now it would be up to the three of them to ensure that the plans to unite were carried out and not waylaid in the confusion during the aftermath of such a heinous death. Someone had betrayed and killed the prince. And that someone would be made to pay. “What of our other father? What ofGodar ?” Finn questioned. Bram just shook his head sadly. “You know that he would not want the job of prince. He has stated often enough that he would never choose the path that our father Micah walked. No, it will be up to us to take over from this point on. We are the legacy that the prince left.” Both Finn and Tanner closed their eyes and Bram knew exactly what they were trying to block out. Just as he knew that it would do no good. None of them would ever forget the sight of their father being carried back into camp, his body riddled with primitive arrows. But what would haunt them even longer was the vision of their mother as she had raced to him and, ignoring the arrows, had embraced him, her tears mixing with the blood.Asme had bent over him and whispered something to him, though all present knew that he was beyond hearing her words. Then she had reached down, jerked a small ritualistic dagger from the band of her skirt, and cut the palm of her hand, letting the blood drip onto her husband’s broken and lifeless body. She had thrown her head back and fire had blazed from her eyes as she spoke. Marked with blood, I’ve sealed your fate, What you should’ve loved, you chose to hate. Our day of reckoning has come at last, Love’s first sacrifice to atone for the past. Earth, fire, water and air, Each shall heed the call with care. A Mystic’s blood, for a mystic call, The goddess’s protection over them all. Asmelooked up at those around her though she seemed to see none of them. “Time is short. It has begun and there is nothing to do but follow where it leads us.” Finally she

noticed her sons and focused her attention on them. “You must see to their protection.For if one shall die, all will be lost.” Her eyes were sharp and focused and there was no looking away from her. “Promise me!” She commanded and though many were there it was her sons whom she spoke to and they knew exactly what she was asking of them. They knew all about the coming of the Island Guardians. Though their fathers had never truly believed, the boys had seen what power lay within their mother’s body and had no doubts that it would be as she said. She had even told them of their cousinAlea and why she must be guarded and protected at all times until her mates arrived to take over. “I promise,” Bram had knelt beside her and, taking his own dagger, had slit his palm and joined it with hers over the body of his father. Finn and Tanner had soon joined them.Asme had nodded, her eyes showing pleasure at her sons joining her in her blood pledge. “Aleadoes not need you anymore. They will see to her. Your mate is coming. You will know her when you meet her. Watch over her. Protect her at all costs, even unto your own lives. When the time is right, she will know what to do. Trust in her and help her to trust in you. Love her as only you can.” With thatAsme had stood and spoke in the ancient tongue of the goddess before glancing down at Micah one more time, her eyes misty with more tears that she refused to shed. But when she looked back up there was no sign of grief. There was only the icy, controlled rage of someone set on a course of vengeance. Tanner had tried to stop her, but it was Bram who shook his head and said to give her some space. Their mother was grieving and he felt it only right that she be allowed a few moments of solitude to do just that. Even a princess deserved the right to grieve in private. Now with Tanner’s next words he regretted that decision. “Who did you discover was gone? Did you search forAlea as well?” Bram asked Tanner. “No,” Tanner stated. “Were we not told that her mates were near and that they would care for her now? I looked for our mother.” “Mother?”Bram and Finn repeated and Tanner glared at them as he spoke the words that neither of them wanted to hear. “She’s gone.Vanished. No one has either seen or heard her since she left the clearing where Father’s body was.” “Was?” Bram asked incredulously. “It is gone as well.Disappeared with no traces.” Tanner defied them to call him a liar. “How can one small woman disappear with the body of a warrior with no one having any idea?” Finn demanded of Tanner. But it was Bram who sighed and answered. “When that one woman is the Island Princess, the last descendant of the Goddess of Altair, anything is possible.” He looked both of his brothers in the eyes and sighed with

resignation. “It has begun just as she told us. The traitor, the blood sacrifices, it has all begun.” “The Guardians will gather in the valley soon,” Finn agreed. “And we must be there to ensure that they arrive unharmed,” Tanner stated. Their mother had drilled this into them since birth. They knew what they must do, where they must go. For if one should die then all would be lost forever. ***** Vulcan led the way from the sky above and through himAlea could see all that he saw. She often wondered at her connection with the beautiful Aqua-Phoenbut she never questioned it. Some things just were. She slipped among the trees, being sure to keep the blue of his feathers in her sight. The sun flashed off the silver of his talons and beak but she felt no fear for him. He was a mighty bird and could and had protected himself against many predators. They were the predators now. Together they followed the trail left behind by the ones who had killed her uncle, Prince Micah. It was a duty that she felt in her blood as the daughter of the prince’s younger brothers. She was very close to her fathers, probably due to the loss of her mother at such an early age. She’d grown up mostly around men and it wasn’t until recently that she had actually met some of the younger island women. The Isle of Altair was a beautiful sanctuary to those who lived there. Or at least it had been before the island priestess had placed a curse on it. The storyAlea had heard was that Prince Micah and his men had found the Isle of Altair when they had been looking for a new place to call home. Disease had swept through their home, killing off women and children and leaving the men bereft and without a habitable environment to live in. It was with heavy hearts that they set out, not knowing from one day to the next what they would find.Or if they would find anything at all. A storm had landed them on these shores and with determination they had overtaken Altair and claimed both the land and the inhabitants as theirs. Too much determination and not enough gratitude had led them to the current war-torn life they lived. It was allAlea had ever known but she had heard tales of a different time, before the warriors came, when life was simpler and there was no sound of war drums in the air. Now the drums were sometimes all she could hear. Prince Micah and his twinGodar had laid claim to a beautiful girl namedAsme . It turned out that she was the islandMahiki , or blood princess. The priestess was her mother and they were direct descendents of the goddess who ruled the Isle of Altair. And in that one moment of claiming, the prince and his warriors had called a curse upon them all. The priestess in her anger had cursed them with a vengeance to a life of war and strife. But for the love of her daughter and her people she had also left them with hope. Hope in the form of five women, born of the island,who would grow up and, once united, save them all. The curse was one that most women grew up reciting. But because of the lack of a woman’s influence inAlea’s life she had only recently learned of it when she was sent to live with her

aunt, the PrincessAsme . Because you take instead of seek Because you cause the goddess to weep In this take heed my words to hear For a time of reckoning soon will near. In five times five the Guardians will arise Five women marked by the goddess’s eyes Of Fire, Earth, Water and Air Four will become the Guardians of Altair The fifth shall ply the mystic realms And draw them together in the Valley of Elms When the five are united in the mystic place Only then will the curse be lifted I place Cursed to battle to hold what you take This is the hand dealt you by fate Warriors, fierce with muscles and brawn Shall pray for the day of the Guardians to dawn For only through them will peace come at last The Guardians united shall atone for your past So protect and serve when once they appear, Or be cursed to live forever in fear. “For if one shall die, all will be lost,”Alea murmured as she stopped to catch her breath. Vulcan circled in the air above her, as attuned to her as she was to him. There were times that they seemed almost as one. The curse made her think ofAsme . Now there was a woman of strength and courage. She

had gone from the life that she had known to one that included not one but two husbands, and had done it with a dignity that gave courage to all around her. Her legend on the island was alive and well, even among the warriors. Few would speak badly of her, most out of a deep respect. ThoughAlea was sure that for some it was more out of fear for what Prince Micah would do.Or would have done. She shook her head. It was hard to believe that he was really gone. For the longest time Prince Micah had only been someone that others spoke of, almost more myth than man. But then her time of claiming had approached and she had been sent to her aunt and uncles to learn the things she needed to learn prior to being claimed. It was a part of island life, an event that occurred for every woman when she reached the age of twenty-one and was deemed claimable to the island males. She could be wooed and if won through pleasure then she was bonded and branded. She would wear the seal of her husbands’ family on her lower right abdomen for all to see. The braid of her hair would give way to a ribbon, for once a woman was claimed her hair would never be bound again. She would leave her caste behind and join that of her new family. Aleawas part of the air caste, better known as the watchers. They were the ones who resided in the mountainous areas of the island, keeping careful watch over the shores and reporting when they saw new ships coming. They would send messages through the numerous island birds that would fly into the villages carrying information for the women there. Most of those women wore the standard island female garb of long black skirts fitted at the hips with a band of lace, sandals and the veiled tops of their caste.Alea had learned what the colors meant once she had joined her aunt. Air wore white. Those who tended the fires wore red and those who dealt with the earth and all it grew wore green. The ones who took care of the water supply wore blue. And then there were the ones who cared for the sick and the animals who wore black. Then there wasAlea who dressed more like her warrior fathers. She wore the same brown leather pants as a warrior though hers fit lower on her hips. Her top was the same style as the veiled top of the island women, tying in back of her neck and in the middle of her back but it too was made of leather. And she wore a leather guard on her arm from wrist to elbow that allowed her to hold Vulcan when he wished to be close to her. Unlike the weapons belts filled with a myriad of different things that the warriors always had on,Alea wore a pouch at her waist, filled with bits ofpalona fruit. The fruit was a dark brown on the outside but soft pink on the inside and very sweet. And Vulcan loved it. SoAlea kept some small pieces of the fruit with her at all times, not a hardship since it was so abundant on the island. Vulcan gave a cry from the air above, jerkingAlea out of her thoughts. It was harsh and full of warning and she quickly searched the area for what Vulcan sensed. There was nothing…and then there was way too much. A man stepped out of the trees mere feet in front of her, followed quickly by another one. They were both well over seven feet tall, huge even compared to her cousins who stood seven feet even. They had shoulder-length brown hair streaked on the sides witha deep silver that seemed to catch in the sun, and she would have said that they were identical until they looked up and clashed gazes with her.

One had a piercing gaze that hooked her and wouldn’t let her go. She had never seen sucha pure silver before.Except on the beak and talons of her best friend Vulcan. As a slow smile took place on his lips another caw filled the air.Alea was poised to run when the unthinkable happened and the bird that called none friend but her landed on the arm of one of the warriors in front of her. “You must beAlea ,” the one with the piercing gaze said and slowly headed toward her. “We’ve come a long way to find you.” And then it hit her. These were theXandova brothers, her chosen mates. These two men would claim her and mate with her and she would belong to them. As fear took overAlea was paralyzed, unable to move or breathe. The last thing she heard was a harsh gasp as the black cloud obscuring her vision overtook her and her knees gave way. The ones she had hoped wouldn’t show were here. And they had come for her. Chapter Two

Drew looked at his brotherSorran as their intended mate fell in a dead faint to the ground. He couldn’t reach her in time to prevent the fall and only hoped that she wasn’t hurt. She was as beautiful as they had heard with a thick fall of red hair that hung in a braid to her waist. Her eyes had appeared to be the green of moss and he couldn’t wait to see them again to be sure. She was tiny, maybe five feet eight or so, but she had the body of a woman. Her full breasts were proudly displayed in the top she wore and her hips and legs looked delectable in the warrior pants she chose to wear. Drew had never seen a woman in pants before but he liked it, liked the way she looked in them. She was beautiful and dressed like a warrior. She was indeed the fitting mate to one of the prince’s guard. Drew andSorran had been away from their island home for a few years now. They had journeyed by boat with several other warriors of the prince’s choosing and searched for other islands, other places to find refuge and perhaps others to call allies. Instead they came home empty-handed to find chaos. Their prince was dead, killed some time in the night as they had reached the shores. If only they had been here, in place as his personal guard should have been, then maybe it wouldn’t have happened. But there were no what ifs or maybes and the prince was dead. Now theXandova , who had always been guards to the prince, would serve his sons. But first they would claim the woman who had been promised to them by the prince himself many years ago. Within days she would reach her twenty-first year. That gave them a mere matter of two days to woo her and hopefully win her heart. Then they would take her as theirs, and they would be hers. And united they would leave to find the one responsible for the death of their prince. That was their duty and hers once she became mate. “Is she hurt?”Sorran’s soft-spoken words pulled Drew from his thoughts and he glanced back to see the Aqua-Phoencontent on his brother’s arm. It was daunting to see such a legendary bird of prey perched there giving the deceiving appearance of docility. The

Aqua-Phoenwas thought to be extinct by most but its legend was great. The bird was magnificent in coloring with its many shades of blue. It had a wingspan of six feet when in flight and its silver beak and talons were reputed to be lethal enough to break through flesh and bone. Drew glanced down atAlea and brushed some loose hair back from her face. “She appears to be unhurt. Just fainted though I have no idea of why.” He glanced back atSorran and laughed. “Nay, it is you I fear for, brother. You risk much with that bird on your arm.” Sorranlaughed and confidently stroked one big hand softly down the feathered back of the bird on his arm. “He seems to like me and I choose to believe that he won’t eat me.” Drew shook his head and grinned back atSorran . “You always did have a way with the beasts.” He glanced around. “Speaking of which, where has Caspian taken himself off to this time? And how do you think that he will react toAlea ?” “I would worry more about how our mate will take to our pet. Caspian is not an easy beast to love.”Sorran gave a sharp whistle that pierced the air and had the woman they were both looking at jerk up to a sitting position. She barely missed clipping Drew in the jaw as he knelt over her. “What was that?” she cried, looking around, and both men grinned.Sorran was known for his unique ability to attain and hold the piercing note of his signature whistle. It sounded more animal than man-made but always brought about the same result. Drew knew that once againSorran’s whistle had brought Caspian to them by the wayAlea’s eyes widened as her gaze became fixed on the creature entering the glen. He couldn’t stop the smile from taking form on his lips when he realized it wasn’t fear in her eyes but something a whole lot like anticipation. And he andSorran both laughed when the beast warriors were known to fear crouched like a docile cat beside the woman they planned to mate and licked her face. AndAlea won both of their hearts when she threw her arms around his neck and laughed into his ruffled mane of hair.

Aleacaught her breath when the beast moved from between the trees behind one of theXandova warriors. He was magnificent. She had heard stories about the creature that walked with them, the wild beast that they called pet. But she hadn’t really believed the tales though she should have. After all, others thought the same of the stories of her and Vulcan. But no story could have prepared her for the power in each muscle as the lion moved toward her. He was huge, and the most beautiful creature she had ever seen.Next to Vulcan of course. His paws were large and powerful and as he passed one of the brothers on his way toward her she was amazed to note that his head was level with the warrior’s hips and lower waist. He had to weigh a ton judging by the way his muscles rippled with each step he took. His color was a gorgeous shade of gold and his mane was every shade of gold she’d ever seen

and some that she hadn’t. Yes, he was magnificent and he knew it. He stopped beside her and slowly dropped down to his belly. He opened his mouth and surprised a giggle from her when he lapped her face with his tongue. She threw her arms around him and hugged him tight. It amazed her when he purred low and long, dropping his muzzle to sniff along her exposed neck. “It seems that you have made a friend.”This from the one whom Vulcan rested so easily on. “And you as well,” she told him, wondering at the accuracy of all the stories she had heard of these two men. Surely Vulcan would not befriend men with a blood thirst as these two were reputed to have. Then again she recalled the words of her new friend Willow whenAlea had confessed her fear of the claiming to her. Willow had told her that what and who men were in battle did not always reveal who they were with the woman they chose as mate. Maybe Willow had been right. “What do you call him?” They both spoke at the same time andAlea felta lightness inside when he smiled at her. “We call him Caspian,” he told her and she laughed at such a warrior’s name for the animal. But then the lion she was clinging to was indeed warrior-like. “I call him Vulcan and he answers to it when he wishes to,” she informed him, nodding toward herfriend, and both of the men laughed softly. The husky sound washed over her skin and sent her pulse racing and moisture to settle between her thighs. Caspian purred again, the deep rumble filling the air, and nudged her shoulder as if to bring her attention back to him. His head was twice the size of hers and the teeth she could see were sharp and wicked looking. She was very grateful that he saw her as a friend and prayed to the goddess that it would always be so. “You are theXandova warriors.” It was a statement, not a question but one of them answered her anyway. “Yes. I am Drew and this is my brotherSorran .” He nodded toward the one still holding and stroking Vulcan. “You know of us?” “Yes. I’ve heard of you. You are legends on the island,” she informed them. “Don’t believe all that you hear, little warrior. Men tend to embellish with the retelling of events.” It was Drew who spoke. “Is that all that you know of us?The stories and legends of theXandova ?” “No,” she admitted. “I know that you are the ones whom I have been promised to. I wondered if you would come when my time of claiming arrived.”

There was a strange darkening of his eyes, turning the silver a deeper, darker shade as he looked at her. “We have waited what seems like forever for this time to arrive, for you to be ready. We would be no other place right now than here with you.” “I’m not,” she shook her head. “You are,” he countered and his voice was lower, huskier. He reached out and ran his fingers softly down her cheek. “There is nothing to fear from us,Alea . No matter what you have heard to the contrary we are only men. Men who wish to bring you joy and pleasure. We wish to share with you, not take from you. Will you allow us the chance to show you?” She wondered for a brief moment what he would say if she refused but Vulcan’s caw sounded, pulling her gaze to him. An understanding passed between them and her truest friend gave his blessing on what she suddenly realized she couldn’t fight. These two warriors were meant to be her mates and though they gave her the choice to accept them everyone present knew that eventually she would be theirs anyway. They might not force her but others would try to. And she found that she could not bring shame to her fathers and her prince by running and hiding. “Yes,” she breathed out and with that one word her future was suddenly bound to that of theXandova warriors, and theirs to her. ***** She was the one who led the way to the cavern and the hidden treasures within. There were several of these caverns around the island that provided shelter and more to the people who knew where to find them.Though the opening was small, once inside it was a large open room. One corner of the room held blankets and food while the other provided a pool of water kept naturally heated and perfect for bathing. Another smaller pool of water in the center of the room would provide plenty of fresh drinking water. It had all the comforts needed for what was coming. Vulcan was somewhere outside the cave keeping watch over them and Caspian was lounging in the opening, ensuring that no one entered without them knowing first. The two predators should have been enemies but had somehow formed a bond. Vulcan had flown fromSorran’s arm to the lion’s back and rode there most of the way on the trek through the woods. It seemed that everything was perfectly aligned for their joining andAlea was slowly losing her fear. It was hard to fear men who treated her so gently and respectfully. One walked on either side of her and she knew that it was instinctual for them to feel the need to guard and protect her in case danger neared. She barely reached their chests and guessed them to be close to seven feet eight inches, about two feet taller than she was. It was daunting to walk between them. Drew kept his hand upon the small of her back andSorran would occasionally reach out to brush a hand along her arm or side. More, she felt, to reassure himself that she was really there than anything else.

And now here she stood in a secluded shelter with them and the fear was back but with it was a sense of the rightness of what was about to happen. Yes, she was scared though it was more nerves at this point than outright fear. She had been sheltered by her fathers for most of her life and though she was aware of the mechanics of what was to happen she had never even been kissed by a warrior. First, because of where she lived in the mountains with her fathers and then because she was the niece of the Prince and Princess of Altair and her cousinswere always there to watch over her and keep any interest in her to a minimum. She watched asSorran took a turn around the open room, ensuring that there were no hidden entryways inside. Drew tossed the pack he had been carrying into the corner by the other supplies and bent to take a quick inventory of what they had. It gave her a moment to watch them both, to take in the physicality of them. And they were both very physical men, she could tell that just by looking at them. Their necks were bigger around than her thigh. Broad shoulders were bare, giving her an unhindered view of the bulging muscles both men carried with ease. They were the largest warriors that she had ever seen. Could such large men truly be gentle with a woman? Both men had touched her at different times, small caresses that felt wonderful against her skin. But would all that change in the heat of the moment? When lust entered would tenderness fall by the wayside in the need to claim? That was what she feared the most. That was what kept her nervously rooted to the spot in the middle of the cavern. She was startled whenSorran moved up behind her and used his hands to bring her back against his body. Her head rested on his chest and even she wasn’t sheltered enough not to realize what the long length pulsing against her back was. This warrior was hard and ready and, judging by what she could only feel, way more than she could handle. “Relax, little warrior,” he whispered above her head. “I wish only to feel you against me. To hold you and maybe soothe away some of the fear I see hiding in your eyes.” “I don’t think that I will be able to relax with such a weapon against my back,” she said without thinking and could have blushed when his deep chuckle filled the air. “’Tisa weapon of pleasure you feel.Pleasure for both of us if wielded correctly.” He bent down and she shivered at the feel of his warm breath against the shell of her ear. “And I promise to do everything in my power to make sure that it is only pleasure that you feel with me,Alea .” He took the lobe between his lips and sucked gently at it. A cry left her lips and her eyes closed as she leaned farther back into him. “I’ve never seen a woman in warrior pants before,” he whispered as he slid his hands down over her hips. “I will not dress in a skirt for any man!”Alea declared hotly and tried to pull away from him. Instead she found herself turned and pulled even tighter against him. Now his cock pulsed against her stomach and her breasts swelled and grew fuller where they were crushed against him. Her nipples grew hard and ached for something she didn’t know but had confidence she would soon feel.

“And we would never ask you to. As our mate we will expect you to go everywhere we do and the clothes you are already so comfortable in will only make that easier on us all.” His voice was deeper and his expression seemed pained as he rubbed himself against her. “You are the perfect little warrior for us.Strong and brave.” At her startled look he gave another small laugh. “I can see the courage in your eyes.Courage and so much more.” Another body moved behind her and she found herself between them, encased, trapped, but somehow sheltered as well. Drew’s voice was soft behind her. “Why were you and Vulcan alone in the woods? Do you travel that way often, little warrior?” “No. I slipped away in the chaos after the prince’s body was discovered.” She leaned her head againstSorran’s chest and shuddered as she remembered the sight of her uncle broken and gone. But more than that sight was the sound of her auntAsme’s grief ripping through the air. It was a sound thatAlea had never before heard, a sound of grief that she prayed to the goddess she would never feel. It was as if her aunt had died with Prince Micah and the woman in her place had been filled with a fire that left even the strongest warriors backing away from her. Only her sons had knelt with her and joined her. Only they would have dared. “You sought to find the trail of the killer,” Drew whispered above her and instead of the censure she expected, it sounded more like awe. “You are indeed the perfect mate for the prince’s men.” She was turned once again to face Drew and there was fire in his eyes, which werea molten silver at the moment. “Never again will you have to walk alone. Never again will you find yourself facing risk without us by your side.” His lips were warm against hers as he bent to her. It was just a gentle brush of flesh against flesh but it was wondrous to her. “You were meant for us and only us. We were meant for you and only you. Together we will be all that we are destined to be.” His lips were a warm pressure on hers and she sighed when she felt his tongue lick across her bottom lip. He used that small gesture to slip inside her mouth and taste her everywhere. It was delicious and without thought she lifted her arms around his neck and held on. He tasted divine and she wanted more. With every swipe of his tongue, heat filled her body, her pulse raced, and the spot between her thighs grew lush and wet with her body’s desire. Her top slipped from her to land at their feet and she barely registered that fact asSorran took her breasts in his hands, cradling and caressing them with his palms and fingers. Her nipples were hard points andSorran took them carefully between his thumb and fingers and pinched gently. Pleasure rocked through her body and she cried out into Drew’s kiss. This was what she had feared and run from?This pleasure?These men? Perhaps in battle they were ruthless and barbaric but with her in this moment they were perfect. Drew released her mouth and dropped to his knees before her.Sorran released a breast and Drew’s mouth wrapped the nipple in lush velvety warmth. It was the most wonderful thing

she had ever felt. Ripples of heat seemed to trace a path from her nipple down to the spot between her legs and she could actually feel the folds of her pussy swell and widen. Drew sucked eagerly on her flesh, drawing more of her breast deep inside his mouth. His hands were at the ties of her pants and within moments he had them opened to his touch though he left the pants on. Sorrannudged her head back against him so that she could look up into his eyes. Where Drew’s were molten silver,Sorran’s were a metallic grey, reminding her of the weapon she knew would be used to place their seal of ownership on her lower abdomen. His hand continued to work her other breast, tugging and pulling at the nipple. His lips brushed softly against her temple, her cheek and finally her lips. “There is no denying that we want you. You are a fire in our blood, a need that goes deeper than any we have ever known.” His lips tortured as well as enticed as he licked and nipped at hers, never quite giving her the deeper taste of him that she wanted. “Tell me that you are okay with this.” His voice was pleading, not demanding, and she knew in that moment that Willow had been right. Warriors could indeed be different with the woman they chose as mate. “Tell us that you want this as much as we do.” “Yes,” she admitted and cried out when she felt the first swipe of Drew’s fingers between the folds of her cunt. “Yes, I want you.” It was more than she thought she would ever be able to say and mean. But she did mean it. She wanted them. Drew’s mouth left her breast and he licked his way down over her abdomen as he used his hands to push her pants down and off.Sorran finally took her mouth and it was her first taste of uncontrolled passion. Where Drew had explored there still had beena gentleness in the act. WithSorran , allpretense was gone. He took, he claimed and ravaged. His tongue was an invader that conquered her withevery stoke inside her mouth. His hands became just a little rougher on her breasts, the pinches harder on her nipples. Then Drew’s tongue lapped at her folds, his hands pressed against her knees until her legs opened to admit his head. He used his fingers to spread her cunt wider and his tongue caressed every inch of her, swirling around and around her folds. His groan rumbled against her nub and she felt sparks fly inside her as if they were just waiting to drown her in the fiery pleasure she felt growing with each passing moment. “You taste better than anything I’ve ever had the pleasure of eating,” he spoke against her flesh. “I want to dine here every night for the rest of my life.” And then he wrapped his lips around her nub and sucked gently on it. That small suckle shifted something inside her and the fire waiting in the wings was let loose. It burst inside her, traveling from her womb outward until there wasn’t an inch of her that wasn’t tingling with a newfound awareness. Her eyes closed and she relaxed further intoSorran’s strong presence behind her. Hands lifted her and the sensation of floating consumed her. She heard the rustle of clothing, the splash of water and then she was passed from one strong warrior’s arms to another’s. And then she was floating for real, in the gentle sway of the pool within the safe arms of a man who would soon become her lover, her mate for life. Another splash and she

felt her other mate join them. Felt him with her soul before she felt his hands against her skin. Four hands that soothed and enticed as they moved over every inch of her body, learning all her secret places and ticklish spots. These were the hands of her future. “Open your eyes, little warrior. Open your eyes and show me your soul.” It wasSorran who spoke to her, his lips that caressed the skin of her shoulder, and she flicked her eyes open to see the smoldering hunger barely kept in check in his. “Show me your desire, your fire. I want everything you are. I want you inside me before I am ever inside you.” It was a whisper against her skin, a promise between fledgling lovers. She reached for him, rising from her floating position in the water and straining to climb him in her need for his kiss. Hard hands gently helped her, cradling her ass and lifting her to him. Her legs wrapped around his waist and this time there was no fabric between them. It was warm flesh against warm flesh. Her nipples rubbed against his chest, his erection pulsed against her stomach and the hard strength no longer threatened her. Now she was eager to feel it inside her though she still wondered at her ability to accept him fully within. She wondered but she no longer truly feared. It was amazing how so quickly she was comfortable with them. They relaxed her with the gentle way they soothed and wooed her. Finally she reached her goal and this time she was the aggressor, taking his lips and claiming them. She thrust her tongue inside his mouth, exploring and tasting as much of him as she could reach. It was a powerful moment for her when she felt him trembling against her. This strong warrior who could take what he wanted at any time trembled at her touch. She felt the power in him and reveled in the fact that he kept it in check with her. Drew moved behind her and his lips moved from her shoulders down her spine to the small of her back. He dipped lower and she felt his tongue explore the flesh of her buttocks just above the water. He lapped at them and then nipped her with his teeth, causing her to clench her thighs aroundSorran’s waist. She broke from his lips and latched onto his shoulder with her teeth, gripping the strong flesh and sucking at it. He cried out and bucked against her and she felt the first drops of fluid leak from his jutting cock to coat them both. “Take me,” she moaned. “Claim me now and make me yours.” “And me yours, little warrior,”Sorran whispered. Hands pulled the band from her hair, Drew’s hands. He untied the braid and used his fingers to free the lush tresses. “Such fiery hair,” Drew said as he held the locks in his hands. “Such fire and passion reflects here.A true shining glory. You are more beautiful than any sunset I have ever seen. I do not feel worthy of such beauty. But I cannot stop myself from wanting you, from needing you. I want to be the very air you breathe.” Drew eased from the water asSorran continued to hold her in his strong grip. She watched with hooded eyes as Drew spread the blankets and made a bed for them.The bed where she would become a warrior’s woman. She undulated againstSorran again and felt his response

in the pulse of more fluid from his penis, heard it in the catch of his breath. Drew turned back to face them and she shook off the languor of passion to focus on the beauty of the naked man before her. He was big and strong and she knew that he would always protect her. His cock jutted from him hard and thick, reaching upward toward his belly. His palm closed around the turgid flesh and he stroked it as she watched. “Do you like the look of my cock, little warrior?” he asked her with a smile tugging his lips. His hand looked so comfortable there and she guessed he must do that a lot. She nodded her head and licked her suddenly dry lips. Groans filled the air at her unconscious act of seduction. Sorraneased from the water with her still wrapped around him and walked toward Drew and the pallet that awaited them. “Who?” she tried to ask but as the moment finally came upon her she found that she had very little moisture left in her mouth. Maybe she was still a little scared after all. Fear of the unknown. “Which of us will claim you first?” Drew asked. “I believe it will beSorran . He has a way about him that tends to soothe,a gentleness that I fear I may not be able to utilize when first I feel your sweet pussy clasping my cock.” She reveled in his words, enjoying the dirty words that warriors used. She had spent as much time spying on her cousins as they had spent watching over her. These were words that she was more than familiar with. “You mean to fuck me and not make love to me?” she queried. Drew grinned at her andSorran chuckled as he lowered her to her back on the pallet, using his knees to spread her wide before him. “I mean to make love to you with a passion uncontrolled.More than fucking, more than a mere mating. I mean to claim you, every inch of you. To brand you with my very essence long before you wear our mark on your belly.” “Yes,” she breathed and arched intoSorran as he bent over her and licked and sucked at her breasts. It amazed her how the two men switched in and out of roles so easily. Where Drew had been the gentler of the two earlier now it wasSorran who gentled her under his touch while Drew looked on with fire in his eyes. She would eventually know both sides of passion with both men—the gentle lover as well as the conqueror. And she would relish them both she was sure. “Close your eyes now, little warrior, and feel the fire burning inside you.” Drew’s voice washed over her asSorran’s hands did and she let her eyes drift shut, ready to begin her new

life as theXandova warriors’ woman. ***** She saw him in the gardens, just a shape in the darkness but one that she would recognize always. He knew she was there but still he refused to turn and face her. Perhaps hindsight showed him the mistake that he had made, one that could never be undone. Perhaps finally he felt shame for where his actions had led them, for what he had destroyed and killed just as he had committed murder. Her love, which had first belonged to him, was tainted, destroyed by a jealousy she could never understand. And she remembered that night so long ago when Micah had first spoken of betrayal. Had he known then the person responsible? Was that part of the reason why he was gone from home so often and for so long? She stopped just behindhim, loathe to touch what once she had treasured. “Why?” she cried to him but it was merely a whisper from her lips. “For the love of the goddess, why did you kill him?” “For you.” Chapter Three

Sorranexplored the body spread before him and fell more under her spell with each new inch of flesh that he touched and tasted. She was everything he had wished for and yet more than he could have ever imagined. Yes, he was known for his ability to soothe and calm even the wildest of creatures and men with his voice, his touch. But this woman called to the primitive in him, to his own animal instinct. He wanted to mount her and take her hard and fast, and eventually he would.But not this first time. He wanted to make it as beautiful for her as he could. There would bepain, that was something beyond his control. But if he did everything he could to bring her to readiness then hopefully it would be a fleeting pain easily gone and forgotten. He loved the feel of her skin, the taste that was uniquely her own. Her nipples were red and swollen from both his and Drew’s sucking, her skin abraded from the caress of their whiskers. Her red hair was a riot of curls around her, framing the beauty and perfection that he saw when he looked upon her. And it was all he could do to control the need building inside him, the need to mount and fuck, leaving no question in either of their minds who was claiming her. “Your skin is the softest blanket I have ever felt.”Sorran rested his head on her abdomen, rubbing his cheek against her skin. “I could rest here forever.” He slowly began to trail kisses downward, stopping at the top of the juncture of her thighs and letting his tongue trail slowly between her swollen lips. “If only you didn’t tempt me to explore every inch of you.”

She cried out as he continued to slip his tongue in and out of her folds and he reveled in her expressive cries. There would be no guessing for him as to whether or notAlea liked what he was doing. He moved his hand lower and spread her sweet flesh wide to his view. Her clit was thick with need and he couldn’t resist the desire to lean down and suck it into his mouth. Flavor exploded across his tongue and he felt her buck beneath him. She was wild and he sucked greedily at her flesh while his finger played around her weeping opening. Finally he thrust a finger inside her flesh and he didn’t know exactly who cried louder, him or her. She was tight and wet and so damn hot that she would burn him alive. He couldn’t wait to be inside her. But he would. He worked her pussy with his mouth and fingers, leaving no inch of it untouched, unexplored. He could hear his brother whispering words to her but had no idea what it was he said.Sorran’s entire world consisted of the red, lush flesh in front of him. He breathed her in, tasted her in his very skin as if they were already one. And soon, so soon they would be. She undulated, pushing her pelvis closer to his face, and he felt her orgasm around his finger. He quickly lapped up all the bounty she spilled and worked her to another higher, stronger peak.Once more and she was exactly as he wanted her, as he needed her. She lay there boneless, sated from his loving, and finally wet and relaxed enough to receive the part of him he was dying to give her. Sorrancrawled up between her legs, spreading them wide with his knees. With one hand he guided his shaft toward her wet pussy and nudged the head inside. He leaned over her and shuddered as the head slipped in a little farther. Her eyes fluttered open but before she could tense beneath him,Sorran possessed her lips and took her back to the place she had been. When he felt her tongue slip into his mouth he gave another shudder and slowly began pressing deeper inside her. Inch by agonizing inch she encased him, the lush wet heat killing him with ecstasy. He sensed her tension and, seeking not to drag out her pain, pulled back only to surge forward with one fierce thrust that seated him to the balls within her. Aleaarched beneath him, her breasts stabbing against his chest. Her cry echoed around them. A mixture of the pleasure and pain she was feeling reflected in the green pools of her eyes. Her hands reached up, her fingers digging into his shoulders. Her knees lifted and clung to his hips. They clung together, neither moving for that one moment in time as they both adjusted to the feel of the other. It was the single best moment ofSorran’s life, one that he would treasure always. “Sorran,” she whispered his name and he bent to kiss her softly. “Yes, little warrior?” he replied, willing to give her anything she desired in that moment. “Make me yours. Give me your passion. Drown me in it.” It was a request that he would gladly spend the rest of his life completing. “Always, mineAlea .Always.” He moved, pulling slowly out of her sheath until only the mushroom-shaped head remained and then surged back inside her. He could feel her pussy rippling around his cock

as it tried to adjust to this first invasion. He moved again. Thrust and retreat. And again until the rhythm was set and there was no holding back. She took him without complaint, her body as accepting as if it was made for him. His pace quickened and still he struggled to be gentle, to hold back. Her green eyes widened and he felt her clench tighter around him as she closed in on another orgasm. He reached one hand down and stroked his thumb in a slow circle around her clit and that small touch was all it took to send her over the edge, taking him with her. Their cries mingled as he spilt his cum deep into her womb. Her eyes fluttered up to his and there was more than amazement, more than contentment in her eyes. If he wasn’t mistaken or confused by his own pleasure there just might be the beginning of love there. And he was pretty sure that the same thing was in his gaze as well.

Drew watched his brother claim their mate, watched him take her body and bring them both to pleasure and it was all he could do to keep his seed from spilling from his body. He tried to allowSorran the moment after, just to holdAlea and revel in what they had shared, but he was hard-pressed not to shove his brother aside so that he could share the same thing with her. He had waited long enough and even one breath more was more than he could stand. Sorranglanced up and Drew knew that his brother read him well. With a nod he slowly eased fromAlea’s body and both of their gazes dropped to her sprawled thighs now wet with this first act of passion between mates. Soon Drew’s desire would rest there as well. He replaced his brother between her thighs and lost himself for a brief moment in the welcoming smile on her lips. This was a woman he could love, might already be falling in love with. This was where his future would begin and end, with this woman. His solace and comfort, his hope, his dreams all culminated into this one person and how being with her would change him and his perception of everything around him as well. Without thought he bent and engaged her in a full-body kiss, rubbing her nipples with his chest and her pussy lips with his cock. She moved her arms, grasping his shoulders, and her knees rose to cup his hips. Still doing a slow glide along her wet pussy, he reached down and spread her lips, allowing his cock to kiss the opening of her channel. With one long, slow thrust he was seated, his hips flush to hers, his balls hard against her buttocks. She was wet, so wet that he could drown in her. She was tight, so tight that he felt sure he would never pull free of her. But he did, again and again as he rode between her thighs with a fiery intensity that set them both ablaze with the beginnings of orgasm. Harder.Harder.Faster.Faster.He couldn’t stop, couldn’t fight the need to take, to claim, to mark. He bent to her shoulder, his hipspistoning , and sucked at the tender skin where her neck connected, branding her with his teeth and tongue. She cried loudly and bucked, driving him further than ever before. He was so deep that it felt as if her very womb was sucking his shaft, eager for the fluid it held. With a harsh cry he came, his seed spurting

from him to her in hot bursts. She clung to him, her body trembling in the aftermath of what they had shared. And he held her tightly against his chest, rolling so that she rested atop him. He knewSorran knelt beside them, knew that he ran his hands up and down her spine. It was a moment that they all needed to share, a linking of more than bodies—of minds and souls and yes, even hearts. “You will mate with us?” Drew murmured against the top of her head, breathing in the scent of her and them, of sex and passion. “You will wear the mark of theXandova on your belly for all to see?” Alealifted her head and moved her hands so that they rested on his chest before tucking her chin atop her clasped fingers and looking him straight in the eye. “Yes, I will wear your mark. Yes I will be your mate. I’d like to ask one thing of you in return.” “Anything,Alea .”It wasSorran who breathed the words from behind her, his hands stroking her so softly that if she were a cat she would be purring. “I’d like you both to wear my mark as well,” she stated. “What is your mark?” Drew asked calmly, as if it were nothing for a woman to ask such a thing of a warrior. She reached down and tugged at the sleeve that still rested on her arm from elbow to wrist and slowly removed it. Underneath, in the middle of her forearm was a silver band that encircled her arm and when Drew lifted her arm and looked closer he was able to see that they appeared to be tiny feathers interlocking. “Where did you get such a mark?How?” Drew asked her, moving her arm so thatSorran could take a closer look. “Vulcan. He gave it to me by placing his beak on my flesh,” she told them. “I’d like you to share it as well.” “If Vulcan wishes to mark us as well,”Sorran whispered, “then we would be honored to wear it.” He gently placed his lips against her mark and traced it with his tongue. “He wishes it,” she assured them and it didn’t surprise her when they just nodded and accepted her words. They didn’t ask her how she knew such a thing or scoff at her. Perhaps it was because of their relationship with Caspian. Perhaps, she hoped, it was because of the blooming of love between them. “We will do a ceremony of our own,” Drew stated, “right here. We will place our brand on you and then Vulcan will place his on us. Then we will all be united as we should be and none shall ever doubt the bond we share.” Aleanodded and tucked her head down against his chest. She was very tired and her body

was already floating toward sleep. She felt Drew shift until they were on their sides and thenSorran was snug against her back. The last thing she felt was both of their hands stroking soothingly over her body. Then Drew placed a kiss on her forehead andSorran one on her shoulder and one of them whispered to her, “Sleep.” And she did. ***** Bram glanced toward his brothers and shook his head. After an entire day of talking they had finally calmed everyone down and made them see the increased importance of moving quickly to unite everyone in one central location on the island. As soon as possible the warriors would be leaving to ensure that their families and villagers began the trek toward the palace that had once been known as the Temple of the Goddess of Altair. It was what had to be done. At least until the mystic’s call sounded and the Island Guardians united. But that was one thing that Bram couldn’t tell the warriors. Not if he wanted them to accept him and his brothers as the new leadership. “So where do we go from here?” Finn questioned, automatically turning to the brother who happened to leave the womb first, Bram. And just as always Bram took the lead and set the course for them all. “I think it best if we split up for just a bit. I think one of us should head back to the palace, see if Mother is there, and speak with Father. One of us should travel with the men from village to village and oversee the moving of our people. And one should remain here to ensure that no one is left behind or allowed to change their minds about how important this is.” “And which do you suggest that I do?” Finn asked matter-of-factly. “I’d like you to go to the palace and deal with ensuring its readiness for the influx of people headed that way.” Bram turned to Tanner next. “You want me to go from village to village?” Tanner asked. “No. I’ll do that. I think of all of us you are perhaps the most persuasive and easygoing. It will be best if you stay here and oversee everything.” “You really think it should be me to stay?” Tanner seemed surprised at this but Bram just smiled and nodded. “You have the charisma, the charm. Our warriors trust in you and you will be able to reassure them with calm. I am more of a strategist so I am best placed in the villages. And Finn is a born organizer, so obviously he should be at the palace.” Bram looked at both of his brothers and they all nodded in agreement. “The last village I will head tois the one in the east where Mother sentFarrah , and where the Guardian of Earth is. You should both meet me there to assure the safety of the Guardians.”

“And what ofAlea ?”Finn asked. “We have to trust in what Mother said, that theXandova have arrived to take care of her.” Bram shook his head wearily as if the weight of the world were on his shoulders, or perhaps just that of one small island. “I pray to the goddess that Mother is well.” “She will be fine, Bram,” Tanner said with confidence that didn’t quite make it into his eyes. They all knew that their mother could care for herself, but none of them was exactly sure of what she might do in her grief over the death of her husband and mate, Prince Micah. “We should all pray to the goddess that you are right,” Bram stated quietly. No one said anything for a long moment until finally Tanner broke in. “And what of the Guardians? Any ideas of what we should prepare for? Of where the next few days will even lead us?” “No,” both Bram and Finn answered at once and all three brothers broke the tension with a laugh. “There is no preparing for this. We can only watch and wait and jump in if and when we are required to.” Bram’s voice was quiet but filled with a resolve to do what their mother had prepared them for. “And if one should die,” Finn murmured and they all looked at one another. “Are either of you prepared to die for a Guardian?” “I don’t know,” Bram said quietly. “I just don’t know.” And it was Tanner who looked both of his brothers in the eyes and said with no hesitation, “I would protect them with my last breath.For my people, for my island. Yes, I would die for them.” And that, Bram thought, was why when the time came it should be Tanner who held the title of prince, no matter the order of birth. Chapter Four

Aleawas content to lie between the hard, warm bodies of her lovers and soon-to-be mates. They had passed the eve exploring one another until she felt they knew her body better than she did. And she hoped to be just as familiar with theirs eventually. Drew was still in front of her though he had turned onto his back at some point in the night. She was lying with one leg bent over the top of his thigh, her head pillowed on his chest.Sorran was behind her, one big hand curled over her resting on her breast, and just knowing that it was there made the nipple pebble and push against that warm palm.

“Hmmm…”Sorran moaned in her ear. “This is the way that I should awaken every morning for the rest of our lives.” He nibbled kisses along her shoulder and neck and she turned her face to look into his grey eyes. “Morning,” she spoke softly, still a little shy though she had no idea why.Sorran kissed her, a soft exploration as if he were rediscovering her. His hand squeezed and plumped her breast, plucking the nipple between his thumb and forefinger. She tried to turn over and face him but his hands held her in place, allowing her to feel the hard ridge of his erection firmly against her buttocks. His lips claimed hers again, leaving her breathless and wanting.Everything and more. There was a rustle in front of her and then she felt Drew’s warm breath across the tops of her thighs. He slipped his tongue over her nether lips, teasing at her flesh without really giving her what she suddenly wanted so desperately. She moaned and tried to open her thighs to allow him fuller access but she was hampered bySorran’s firm hand on her hip and by Drew’s hands on her thighs. It seemed that they planned to tease her a bit this morning. Drew licked and sucked at her, never quite getting the nub that pulsed and throbbed with desire, but coming close several times. His tongue slicked over it once and she almost came, would have had he stayed there just a moment longer. But he seemed to know that and moved to suck and lick at her plump nether lips. She could feel how wet she was, how swollen the folds of her pussy were.Sorran caressed her hip with one hand while continuing to play with her nipple and breast with the other.And his kiss. His kiss was pure bliss. Drew finally nudged her thighs apart andSorran helped him by catching her knee in the bend of his elbow and holding her wide. Drew spread her lips with his fingers, gathering her spilling juices and coating her in them. Several times he dipped his fingers inside her and then moved them back to her anus, painting the small opening with her own fluid. He lifted his head toSorran and said something about fire oil and then he dived back to her pussy. His tongue breached heropening, plundering and fucking her while she bucked toward his face. He strummed her clit now with his thumb, just a gentle brush back and forth and then in a circular motion around it. She was so close to the sweetest release when she felt his tongue replaced by a finger and then two. Firm strokes in and out had her shouting with ecstasy as waves of sheer pleasure coursed through her. His tongue was there again licking softly as she came and his fingers were once again at her anus. Her thigh was dropped and then she was turned slightly so that she lay partway on her belly. Her buttocks were spread and she felt the slow trickle of something oily being rubbed into her anus and then the invasion of a finger that pushed deeper and higher inside her. A burn began but not the kind of burn that one associated with pain. No this burn was all about hunger and need and suddenly she was thrusting back onto that finger and wanting more.

“What…what…” she tried to breathe the question out but the hunger was too strong, too heavy inside her now. “It is called fire oil,Alea ,” Drew answered her and somehow she knew that it was his finger exploring her flesh back there. “It isan oil that will work with your body, making you writhe and burn for one of your warriors to take you.Right here.” He thrust his fingers deeper inside her ass and gave them a slow turn before pulling them back out. “Yes,” she cried. Yes to wanting him there. Yes to them being her warriors. Yes to anything that would ease the burning ache building hotter and higher inside her. Sorranlay beside her and once again she was maneuvered to the position they wanted. This time she was lifted until she sat astrideSorran . He grasped his cock with one hand and held it steady while Drew helped her straddle him and slide her body over it, takingSorran into her pussy. She kept sliding down his length until she could feel him flush against her, his balls a tight, hot weight against her buttocks. And that only made the burn hotter while doing nothing to satisfy the aches building in her. “Please,” she cried out, her eyes pleading withSorran as she bucked against the firm hold on her hips, wanting to slide her body up and down his shaft. “Soon, little warrior,” he crooned to her and gently eased her forward until she lay on top of him and he could take her mouth with his. His kiss was anything but gentle. He invaded her mouth, consumed and took but gave her everything of himself as well. It was a kiss of lovers, of mates. It was fire that added to the burn already building inside her. Drew moved into place behind her and she feltSorran shift his legs and then Drew’s knees were planted just behind hers and she knew that he straddledSorran as well. Her buttocks were spread wide again and one finger became two as Drew rubbed her flesh, building the fire higher and higher. She screamed and bucked, wanting, needing more. “Now,” she demanded, the pleading gone from her voice, replaced with the voice of the newly awakened woman she was. “Give it to me now.” Husky chuckles met her ears and finally she felt the first push of Drew’s swollen cock head against her anus. He leaned into her and nipped her flesh, driving his cock against the tight ring of muscle just inside. “Take me,” he commanded. “Relax, little warrior, and let me in.” “Yes,” she gritted out between her teeth and pressed back into him, aiding his entry. They all cried out as Drew thrust deeper, rubbing againstSorran’s shaft as it rested snugly inside her pussy. One more thrust and he was fully embedded.Alea felt heavy tension,a fullness to the point of bursting. But it wasn’t enough. She needed more, needed everything that they could give her to take her back to that euphoric sensation that only came with the explosive orgasms they gave her.

For a moment, one moment that seemed like an eternity, no one moved. It was just the three of them, lost in a treasure of unparalleled delight. No one moved. It felt as if no one even tried to breathe so loathe were any of them to lose the intimacy they now shared.Until finally none of them could stand the stillness. First it was Drew who did a slow withdrawal whileSorran thrust deeper. Then they reversed and it was Drew pumping into her ass whileSorran pulled back from the snug clasp of her pussy. Back and forth they went while she tried to stay sane between them. Harder and faster the rhythm grew until it seemed they both filled her as one and retreated as one. Harder and faster they stroked her flesh, building the flames higher and higher until she was afraid that her very skin would catch and burn.Sorran latched onto a nipple while Drew pulled her up against him and nipped and sucked at her neck and shoulder. Both of her mates bit down at the same time, just a sharp nip of teeth against flesh.Neither one hard enough to break the skin, but just enough to send her tumbling into one orgasm after another. They coursed through her, leaving her arms and legs trembling, her head heavy on her shoulders. First Drew cried out and she felt the wash of his seed as it spurted again and again into her ass. Then it wasSorran who filled her, his fiery heat pulsing into her as he found his own release. They collapsed together though her men managed to turn them so that once again she was sheltered between them.Sorran was no longer inside her but Drew had somehow managed to keep his softening shaft just in her anus. She had never felt so relaxed in her life, not even after the previous night of loving they had shared. Sorran’smouth nudged closer to hers but this time he didn’t try to kiss her. “What are you doing?” she queried though she enjoyed the fan of his breath against hers. “Breathing your air, little warrior.Just breathing your air.” ***** “For me?For me!”Asmecould barely force the obscene words past her lips. “What could have ever made you think that I would wish for the death of one of my mates?” Still he didn’t turn to her. Still he kept his back to her as if the shame were too great. And it should be. His shame should rival her anger. “Answer me, damn you!” she demanded of him. “Why did you kill Micah, Prince of the Isle of Altair, our mate…your brother?” Godarfinally turned and his eyes were so bright with hatred thatAsme found herself stumbling back. But what shocked her even more was when she realized she was no longer hearing his voice in her head but with her ears. “For you.For us.”His face was that of a stranger.

“You lie. You murder and seek to share lies with me. You speak when before you couldn’t?” Shesneered the question at him. “Why the sudden change,Godar ? Were the lies and deceptions worth where we now are?” “Yes,” he cried. “My entire life has been spent in the shadow of Micah. Never good enough, never smart enough, never enough of a man when compared to my sainted brother. No one looked past him to see me.No one.” “I did. I looked into you and loved you. I did.” “Did?” He took a step toward her and she backed away for every step he took. “Can you change your mind so quickly? Can you have ever really loved me if you push me aside so easily?” “Push you aside easily?Nay,Godar . There is nothing easy about the blood you carry on your hands. You took what we had. You took it and threw it away for what? What do you think Micah’s death will obtain you?”Asme shook her head in disgust and found herself wondering if she had ever really knownGodar at all. Had anyone? “I get my voice back. After all these years of silence, I have a voice.” “You always have had with me,” she spoke the words quietly. “Do you know how I lost my voice,Asme ? Do you know why I was condemned to walk in silence?” The burning hatred was brighter than ever before in his eyes. She shook her head and stopped backing up, standing her ground and forcing him to come to a stop directly in front of her. “My mother chose him.” Now there wasa sadness there and a hurt that she didn’t understand. “I was the firstborn son. I was the first to make my way from her womb but still she looked at him and loved him more.” “What? What lies do you speak now?” She had no idea what he was talking about. None of it made sense. “She put a spell on me. One she knew would keep me from assuming my rightful place as heir. And in the process she handed everything to Micah.Her chosen son.” “You make no sense,Godar ,” she shook her head at him but he was lost to her now, lost somewhere in a past she found hard to believe. “His first wife wasAnje . She was beautiful. Long blonde hair and the most gorgeous blue eyes you have ever seen. She was perfection and I loved her.” He looked atAsme and shook his head. “Like you, I loved her first and still it was him she turned to, him she married.His children that grew and were born of her womb.”

“Oh no.”Asmewas horrified at the course her thoughts were taking. “What did you do,Godar ? Tell me you didn’t kill all those innocent women and children.” He was cold and the last bit of the man she had fallen in love with disappeared to be replaced completely by the stranger before her, a stranger who was so consumed with hatred that he was blinded by it.Insane with it. And she wondered when it had happened and how he had managed to hide it so well. “It was a lesson that Micah had to be taught. It was my job as his brother to see that he learned the lesson of loss and humility. But I failed,” there was disgust again. “I wanted to bring the great prince to his knees, to break him the way I felt broken. He should have fallen when they died. He should have died then.” “And the mates and children of the other warriors?What of those innocents?” She was horrified and her hand crept down to the waistband of her skirt. “They were necessary sacrifices. There are casualties in every war, my love. You of all people must know that.” He smiled at her and ran his fingers in a brush of knuckles along her cheek. It was all she could do not to shrug his touch away. What once had set her pulse racing with desire now made her shudder indisgust. “We came here. I found a book in one of the homes when we first arrived here that told of the history and the Goddess of Altair. I told Micah through our connection of how he must storm the temple and seize control.” “You knew,”Asme gasped. “You knew the curse that would be placed on us. You knew that the Goddess of Altair would withdraw her protection and leave us open to this war.” He laughed. Threw his head back and laughed a full-body laugh that horrified her. “I expected the great island goddess to strike him down when he stormed her temple. I expected the priestess to kill him. I expected the women to put up more of a fight. And I chose you because I thought if ever there was a woman who could hate as I did, it would be you.” He stroked his fingers through her hair. “Such fire burned inside you. I told him that he must assert his dominance and control over the island by taking you on the steps in front of everyone. I told him that you couldn’t possibly be a virgin at your age. And as always he listened and obeyed.” “He loved you. He trusted you.” The words were a cry of pain from her throat. She remembered that day, that instant on the steps when she thought she had seen regret in his eyes. She and Micah had never discussed it, never talked about that day. Now so much was becoming so clear to her. Perhaps it wasn’t that he had known ofGodar’s betrayal as he felt unworthy of the love she gave to him so freely. He often told her that he didn’t deserve her and she had just laughed those words off. “He took my life. He had everything that was denied me.” His fingers tightened their grip in her hair and she cried out at the sudden pain. “And you. You failed me as well. Why couldn’t you hate him like you should have? Why couldn’t you be the one to kill him? Why wasn’t I enough for you?”

“I loved you,” she told him and tears fell like rain from her eyes.Tears for what was gone, for what had been and for the blood on their hands. “I loved you from the moment you cleaned me up and carried me inside. I loved your quiet strength and your gentle nature. I loved you and through you learned to love Micah as well.” He shook his head as if to deny what she said but she wouldn’t let him. “With every word you shared with me about your brother I fell in love with him as well.” “No,” he cried, shaking his head fiercely with denial. “I told you all those things so that you would see how weak he was, how he allowed those around him to suffer and die. You should have felt contempt for him. I had him basically rape you in front of all of our people. How do you love a man like that?” He roared this question at her, spittle flying out and coating her face. “He took my body, claimed me but I never saw it as rape. It seemed to be the way of the warriors. I never thought to see it as anything other than a mating. And no matter how much I wanted to hate him at first, I couldn’t. Your stories opened my eyes and then I began to watch and observe him when he was at the temple. I saw him with his men, his kindness toward the other women and with the island children. And slowly I began to see who Micah was. And I fell in love with him.” She cried out as his fingers tightened further, as his other hand came up to slap her. “Bitch,” he roared. “How could you love him? Why would you even try? Why wasn’t I enough?” “I never compared you,Godar . I never would have considered it. I loved you both and felt complete because of the two of you. I loved Micah, loved him with all of my heart. He was my heart. But you were my first love, mate of my soul.” “Mate of your soul. Mate of your heart. How do you separate one from the other? How do you love both without putting one before another?” “You just do. The women of this island have been doing it for the last twenty-five years.Since you arrived here. We have learned to live with our warriors, to love them and accept them into our hearts as well as our bodies.” “I watched you with him,” he whispered the words, disgust on his face. “Every time he came home and you welcomed him into your bed I watched and hated you both for what you took from me.” “We took nothing from you,Godar . Nothing,” she yelled at him, placing her face close to his. “You were the one who refused to join us in that bed. You were the one who always disappeared while Micah was here.” “Because you were mine, damn you.You were mine and I could not tolerate seeing you

with him. It disgusted me. It was all I could do not to kill you both as you slept afterwards.” “I loved you. Micah loved you. Why,Godar ? Why did you have to kill him? Why?”Asme let her hand find purchase as she slid it and the object she now held from the band of her skirt. “For you.I did it all for you. Now we can be happy. Now we can be alone, just the two of us.” His hand finally released its death grip on her hair and he began to stroke his fingers through it once again. “Would you have died for him,Godar ? If he needed you to protect him, would you have died to save him?”Asme searched deep inside his eyes, seeking his soul when he answered the question. “Never,”Godar stated without hesitation. “Why die for him?” Asmesighed with a sorrow that shattered her heart and left her empty. “He would have died for you.Without thought, without hesitation, without question. He would have died for you. And that is why he was the prince.” “No,”Godar shook his head, not wanting to hear what she said. “He loved you. I loved you,” she whispered the words just before she pushed him away and plunged the knife she held toward his chest, toward the heart she once treasured. Chapter Five

Aleastood just outside the opening of the cavern they had loved in. Morning would be upon them soon but her men were determined to do their own unique ceremony before then. She heard a noise behind her and turned to seeSorran coming out to join her followed closely by Drew. They were all still naked and she had to admit that she would gladly stay that way in the presence of her mates for the rest of her life. “Where is Caspian?” she asked them. “He guards from just inside the woods. He will ensure that we are not caught unaware during our ceremony,”Sorran informed her, coming to stand beside her and taking her hand between both of his. “Are you ready to do this?” “Yes,” she sighed as he bent to taste her lips with his. “You know that it won’t be the official ceremony, just a personal one shared between the three of us?” Drew questioned as he came to her other side and took possession of that hand.

“It will be even more beautiful and special for just that reason,” she assured him. “Good,” Drew murmured before leaning down to take her lips with his and plunging his tongue deep within the cavern of her mouth. When he finally pulled away from her she asked them the question on her mind. “Do either of you know of the ceremony? Have you ever been to one?” Sorransmiled and shared a look with Drew who was also grinning. “We’ve heard of them but none are allowed to attend other than the mates and their families. The ceremonies are conducted by the village elders,”Sorran answered her. “There is no need to be nervous, little warrior.” “Besides,” Drew inserted, “we have our own ceremony planned.” He ran his hand over her cheek, cupping it and lifting her face once more for his kiss.A soft touch of lips and nothing more. “I think you will find it pleasurable.” She smiled at that. So far she had found everything they did to her and with her much more than merely pleasurable. “I will trust you.” Both men bowed as if her words brought them extreme honor. “Your trust will never be misplaced, little warrior,”Sorran promised. “We will serve and protect you unto our deaths,” Drew swore. “And I you,”Alea stated, not realizing the effect her words would have on them. “You are more than we ever hoped for,” Drew smiled at her. “And far more than we deserve,”Sorran stated softly. BeforeAlea could move or even respond both men fell to their knees before her and bowed their heads down over her feet. She felt their lips on the top of her feet and almost fell to her knees with them. “I bow at your feet, little warrior, to show you that I will always seek to provide you shelter and a place to rest.”Sorran looked up and met her eyes with his. “I bow at your feet to show you the respect I offer you as both warrior and mate. You will be equal in our eyes in all things.” Drew met her eyes then andAlea felt like the luckiest woman on the island as she viewed the growing love in her mates’ eyes. Both men sat back on their heels and moved their hands up her thighs, spreading her legs gently so that her lush cunt was on full display to their eyes. Drew leaned into her and gently separated her plump folds. Softly he ran his tongue over her, circling her clit and flicking in and out of her opening. He inserted one finger and stroked her from the inside

while concentrating his oral stimulation on her clit. Another finger joined the first and he sucked and flicked the bud just a bit harder until he bit down on her. She came with a rush of fluid that he lapped up greedily as if it were the sweetest ambrosia he’d ever tasted. Her knees felt weak and she thought she might fall but her men kept her steady on her feet. Drew eased her down from the orgasm whileSorran used his hands to hold her on her feet. She had one hand braced on his shoulder and the other on Drew’s head. Until they switched places andSorran began to work her pussy with his mouth and fingers. She climbed higher again, her breath coming in small pants as an orgasm rushed toward her once more.Sorran used his entire mouth to bring her pleasure, teeth, tongue and lips. His middle finger pumped in and out of her pussy, working faster and deeper with each stroke until she climaxed. Stars burst in front of her eyes and her knees did give out then. Sorrancaught her around the waist and held her to him. His lips brushed soft kisses across her belly. “From this day forward your pleasure will be my pleasure.” Drew stood before her and cupped her face with his hands, turning her to him. “From this day forward you will belong to us and we will belong to you.Body, heart and soul. Already I feel love for you. Already I feel that my life has new meaning with you in it.” “I feel the same for you,” she told him before dropping her gaze toSorran .“For both of you. How did I get so lucky?” “We are the lucky ones, little warrior,”Sorran said, standing before her. She felt their cocks hard and thick against her thighs and without thought sank to her knees between them. Her hands reached for them and she reveled in the feel of the soft flesh over the steel erections. How could something so big and hard feel so soft? “There is no need for you to do anything for us,” Drew said through teeth clenched tight with pleasure. “I want this. I want to share with you what you shared with me.” And she did. More than anything in the world she wanted to taste her mates on her tongue. She leaned toward Drew and drew the tip of his erection into her mouth, sucking on it. He caught his breath then released it on a groan as she slowly worked more of him inside. She used her fingers in conjunction with her mouth, moving up and down along his shaft until she found a rhythm that they both seemed to enjoy. Slow and steady she worked him, centering most of her effort on the head and the little groove just underneath that seemed to be most sensitive to her touch. She licked and nipped and sucked, greedy to see the pleasure he had given her reflected in his eyes. She took her other hand fromSorran’s cock and moved it to cup Drew’s balls. They tightened further at her touch and when she gave them a gentle squeeze Drew shouted and thrust his hips forward. Aleaalmost choked as his cock pushed deeper than ever before into her mouth. She gripped the shaft tighter in her hand and eased her mouth back so that she could suck hard at the

head, flicking her tongue against the small slit centered there. Hot jets of semen burst from him, flooding her mouth with a rich musky taste she had never experienced before. She swallowed as much as she could but there was so much that some slipped from her mouth, coating her chin and fingers. He used his hands to ease her from his shaft and laughed when she grinned up at him with his cum still on her face and lips. “You honor me, little warrior.” “I hope to honor you many times more, my warrior,” she informed him, and it was Drew’s turn to grin down at her. She turned toSorran’s cock and buried her nose in the curls that grew just above it. He smelled wonderful, of the sex they had already shared as well as the desire that he must be feeling again. She used her lips and tongue to bathe his cock, getting every inch of it wet before using her hands to stroke up and down his engorged shaft. She moved her mouth below, wanting to taste his swollen sac, that tender place that housed the seed that would one day find life within her. Sorranthrust his hips moving his cock through her tight grip. His hands were in her hair but it was a gentle touch. She moved her mouth from his sac to his cock and laved the tip with her tongue. He tossed his head back, the beautiful silver streaks catching in the first light of the rising sun. “I’m going to come, little warrior,” he grunted. She moved her mouth only long enough to say, “Feed me, my warrior. Give me your seed.” Then she took the entire head into her mouth and sucked greedily. His cry filled the air just as his seed washed across her tongue. Not as thick as Drew’s and with a taste uniquely his own,Sorran gave her all he had and still she sucked for more until he tugged her head from his softening shaft. “That was…”Sorran caught his breath, unsure of what to say, so deep was his satisfaction. “Yes it was,”Alea told him and she leaned in to place one last kiss on him. “On your feet, little warrior,” Drew said as he reached to help her do just that. “It is time to place the mark of theXandova warriors on you. It is time to make you one with us.” “Yes,” she sighed as she was turned intoSorran’s arms. He took her hands in his and wrapped his arms around her so that they were crossed over her chest. Drew picked something up from behind them and she figured he must have placed it there earlier when he first left the cavern to join her. It was cylindrical in shape and she had noticed it many times hanging from the weapons’ belt of the island warriors.

“This is what you will use to mark me?” she asked witha calm that she was surprised to be feeling. “Yes,”Sorran told her. “I am told that it will be a little uncomfortable but it shouldn’t hurt too badly.” “I’ll be sure to let you know,” she informed him and nodded at Drew. He knelt before her and placed a soft kiss on her abdomen, on the right side where soon the mark of theXandova would appear. He pulled back and looked up into her eyes before lifting the weapon against her flesh.Sorran tightened his hold andAlea couldn’t prevent the tightening of the muscles in her stomach. “With this mark we claim you as our mate, our heart, our beginning and our end. As we provide you with our shelter and protection, so shall you provideus. As we give you pleasure and love, so shall you giveus. From this day forward never shall you walk alone again, but always at our side.” With those words Drew placed the cylinder against her flesh. There was a burning sensation, a tingle along her skin as the mark took form. “It’s Caspian,” she said with awe as she got her first good look at the mark of theXandova . “’Tisa lion, little warrior, the sign of theXandova ,”Sorran told her with pride. “How do you feel?” Drew asked her as he came to his feet in front of her. “I feel wonderful. I feel alive.” She smiled at him and turned her head to includeSorran in the moment beforeadding, “Now it is your turn to bear my mark.” She gave a sharp whistle that more than rivaled her mate’s and within seconds Vulcan’s cry filled the air above them. “With his beak, huh?”Drew asked. “By biting us?”Sorranquestioned. “It will be a little uncomfortable,” she told them. “But it shouldn’t hurt too badly.” “I’ll be sure to let you know,”Sorran told her with a grin andAlea let her laughter flow freely, feeling alive and happier than she had ever been in her life. Yes, she was already falling in love with her warriors. ***** The knife found its mark and the force of it jarred up her arm and into her shoulder and neck. Never before had she stabbed with the intent to kill. Never had she desired to spill the blood of another human. She released her grip on the handle of her ritualistic dagger and watched her mate fall to his knees before her. Gone was the man she had fallen in love with. Gone was the man who had loved her. But still a part of her shattered and once again tears fell like rain from her eyes at the unbearable pain this moment brought with it. Both

mates gone, leaving her alone for this last walk. One killed by the hand of the other and one dying by her hand. How had life come to this point for her? She knew the answer to that all too well. Had not her mother, the island priestess, warned her of what the coming of the Guardians would require? The Goddess of Altair would demand her tribute and she would take it in blood. Yet hadn’t enough of her people died? When would enough be enough? For the first time in her lifeAsme found herself questioning her very beliefs, the religious foundation of her entire life. She was, after all, the last blood descendent from the goddess. And as such she knew what she must do, the path she must walk to prepare the final way for the rise of the Mystic. She took a deep breath and let it out as she knelt besideGodar .If only, she began to think but quickly pushed such thoughts from her mind. If only was not an option for her and she had to gather her remaining strength around her to endure what the next few days would hold. She felt the brush of his hand along her arm and glanced down with startled eyes to seeGodar looking at her. Gone was the madness that had possessed him. Gone was the anger and resentment that must have been growing inside him for a very long time. Here was the last remnant of the man she had fallen in love with. Here was theGodar of her heart and soul. Finally, the man who lay before her dying was the mate she loved. “I always loved you,” he murmured. “But so didhe .” He blinked his eyes at her and she gripped his weakening hand tightly between hers. “I brought them here. I helped them to reach our shores and helped them to hide.” “No,” she shook her head, not wanting to believe any worse of him. “I wanted to destroy him so badly that I cared little for those who also suffered from my actions.” He smiled sadly at her and as much as she hated to hear his words she knew that he needed to share them with her. “I hoped that if enough of them died, if enough of them lost their mates or daughters or sons, that Micah would crumble and fall. But he never did. He just continued on and fought twice as hard at their sides.” She couldn’t stem the flow of tears for Micah and forGodar , brothers who should have loved and supported one another. Instead one had been so consumed by jealousy that they had never really had the chance. “I watched them surround him. It was a note from me that led him there. He came because I asked him to and then I watched as they riddled him with arrows. Finally I saw Micah fall to his knees. Finally the great prince was brought low.” He looked at her and she cried harder at the tears she saw in his eyes, on his cheeks. “And do you know what he said to me when I knelt beside him as he died?” She shook her head, unable to say anything. Her voice was gone and it was all she could do to stop the sobs from leaving her throat. “He smiled at me. He told me that he would always love me.Told me that I had been a

wonderful brother.” His eyes were a faucet now, the tears streaming unchecked as he shared the last moments of Micah’s life with her. “He told me to tell you that he loved you. He was never happier than the moments he spent with you.” She did sob then, her grief so overwhelming that she could no longer contain it. “Then he told me that he forgave me.” He found her gaze with his and implored her to share the same with him. “He forgave me. Can you forgive me? Can you?” She shuddered, letting her eyes squeeze tight for one instant before she opened them again. She shook her head sadly, refusing to lie to him even in death. “No. I cannot forgive you. Not only does Micah’s blood stain your hands, but that of many of our warriors and women. The blood of the people, the women and children who shared your life before you even came here.” She shook her head at the horror of all that he had done.“So much blood. So much hate.And for what,Godar ? Did it get you what you desired? Did it give you the happiness that you wanted?” “It led me to you,” his voice was soft and weak and she knew the end was near. “For a brief time I had everything.” “You could have had it for more than a brief time. I loved you and once I would have died for you.” She leaned over him, demanding his full attention. Anger—she was consumed by it, overflowed with it. “Damn you. Damn you and your hatred. Be glad that Micah could forgive you because I never will. I will never forgive what you took from Micah, what you took from me. But most importantly I will never forgive what you denied yourself by letting this fester and grow until it consumed you.” His blood soaked the earth beneath him and even as she finished speaking she saw the light fade from his eyes and knew that he was gone. “May you find the peace in death that you denied yourself in life,” she whispered as she closed his eyes. She placed one kiss on his forehead in memory of the love she had once shared with him. She stood on shaky legs, digging deep for strength when all she wanted to do was fall back to her knees andcontinue weeping. She threw her head back and screamed her anger at the sky. She screamed with fear and sorrow and a hurt that fractured her very soul. “Damn you,” she cried, shaking her fists. “When will it be enough for you? How much blood do you need? How many must die before we earn the right to the Guardians youpromised us?” She shuddered out a harsh breath and dropped her hands back to her sides. “How many more must die?” She whispered the last question, knowing that no answer awaited her. Or at least not one that she wanted to hear.For she could feel the answer in her heart, in the very blood that flowed through her body. There was one last task to complete before the Mystic would awaken and strengthen the call. And it was a task thatAsme must complete alone. With sadness in her heart she took slow steps toward the home she had spent many happy moments in with her mates. Once it had been a temple to the Goddess of Altair and there was still one secret it held from all but the last female of the blood line. Destinyawaited , and with it everything would change.

Chapter Six

Aleafloated in the pool, enjoying the soft lap of the water over her skin. They would be leaving the cave today. She knew it, could feel it in her blood like a call from some primal force. She knew where they would head even though it was a part of the island that she had never been before. And she knew that theXandova would travel with her, protect and keep her safe. She had dreamed it all the night before. A woman had appeared to her in her sleep.A dream that seemed more. Though she couldn’t recall the woman or anything really about her it was as if her spirit recognized the other woman. And there had been others in the dream as well, three women the same height as her. And all of them had the same green eyes, except for the one who had called them. For some reason she knew that her eyes were different—a shade of blue. Why she recalled that,Alea had no idea. And she was taller. Again just a feeling but she was sure it was right. They were the Island Guardians. It was as if some hidden part of herself had awakened during the dream, a piece of her that had always been there but was dormant. She had always felt she was different somehow, and not just because of the way she dressed or the lack of feminine guidance early in her life. The air had always seemed thicker around her.And Vulcan, her first friend.A flying bird of prey that was almost like a second part of her. She knew Willow, the Guardian of Water.Alea had met her at the last camp, the one where the prince had been killed. She had watched Willow use her powers to control the water and send boats away from their island. She had watched and felt a stirring in her own blood.The roar of air, the feel of it not just on her skin but in her skin. And the feeling had only been growing over the last few days. The woman in the dream had told her that it was time to awaken and embrace who she was. She had shownAlea what power lay within. In the dreamAlea had whispered a chant to the Goddess of Altair and invoked her power. The rush of wind had been like nothing she had ever known. Around and over and inside her it rushed with a power that was consuming. Vulcan had flown high in the sky above and with a few words she had been able to see as if she were looking through his eyes. And there was more, so much more to the power that she had. She could control the wind, control and contort the very air around her. Powerful gusts that could lift and destroy the earth and trees and anything that was in its path. And she could control it, could wield it like a warrior’s sword. And she had. In the dream they all had. Four of them, united as one in a circle. Each called unto the goddess, invoking that power which she had been gifted. And together.Together they were unstoppable. They were all to travel to the same spot and perform some type of ceremony. It was imperative that they all leave soon, before the rising of the next moon. Time was of the essence. And they must take care to arrive safely.For if even one of them were to fail to arrive, then everything would change and the island would

be doomed to war and death. Until no one was left to fight. She felt a ripple in the water and knew without opening her eyes that one of her warriors had joined her. He grabbed her ankle and floated her across the surface of the water until she lay just in front of him. Hands brushed up her thighs, lightly over her cunt and higher still to cup her breasts and fondle her ripening nipples. She sighed with awakening desire and opened her eyes to smile atSorran . His hands were so different from Drew’s. Or at least to her they were. His touch was softer somehow. “I wondered if either of you would miss me,” she exhaled as his hands continued to work magic on her body. One strong arm circled under her hips, keeping them above the water and in his view. “I knew the moment you slipped from between Drew and me,” he whispered, bending over to kiss her softly on the lips. His tongue glided over her bottom lip before dipping between them to taste her. Slowly he released her from his kiss, using his hands to lift her so that she was upright in front of him. He cupped her hips and she wrapped her legs around his hips. “I’ve been here for a while,” she murmured. “I thought you might need a few minutes to soak away what aches you might have from yesterday. We weren’t exactly easy on you, little warrior.” She grinned up at him. “And I enjoyed every moment of it.” She gasped as he moved one big hand between her spread thighs and slipped two fingers inside her. His thumb brushed light circles over her distended clit and her body bucked closer toward him, seeking relief from the fires he was stoking. He used his other hand to lift her just a bit higher and bent his head to suck one nipple into the hot cavern of his mouth. He sucked and nipped her pebbled flesh with his teeth and the entire time his fingers continued caressing her pussy, making it wetter and hungrier. His thumb pressed down just as he bit her and she screamed as her orgasm rocked through her in waves of pleasure. She was still shuddering when he pulled his fingers free and plunged his rock-hard cock deep within. The water splashed around them but neither cared. He moved through the water with her until he could rest her hips on the side of the pool and pound in and out of her saturated core. She leaned back on her hands, her breasts thrusting high, bouncing with every stroke he took. Sorran’shands held her in place on the smooth stones that surrounded the natural warm pool. He looked magnificent with his brown hair hanging loose, the silver streaks on the sides seeming to reflect the blue of the water. His grey eyes were deeper, darker and burning with passion for her. The muscles in his chest and shoulders rippled as he held her and his abs bunched and contracted as he pumped his hips faster and faster. She lifted her legs, spreading her knees wide so that she could watch his hard shaft move in and out of her.

It glistened with her juices, so long and so thick against the nest of brown curls. It amazed her how much power his cock possessed. Each movement slid his turgid length along the bundle of nerves inside her, the spot that brought her closer and closer to another orgasm. It was a hard glide of flesh inside flesh with the greedy clasp of her pussy doing its all to hold him inside. Over and over again he plunged and retreated until they both dripped with more than water and panted for air to fill their starved lungs. “So good,”Sorran told her. “You feel like heaven here on earth when Iam inside you, touching you, loving you.” “Yes,” she cried.“Heaven.” He moved one hand and brushed her clit with his finger and she burst with pleasure again. His cry joined hers and as she felt the harsh blast of his cum filling her, she went higher, cresting on a continuous wave of unrelenting pleasure. He held her tightly to him, her face buried in his neck, and it was a natural desire to open her mouth and bite down on him. He grunted and she felt another splash of seed releasing in her as a shudder racked through his body. They stayed that way for a long moment, both reluctant to pull from the intimate embrace they shared. Yes, this was the way she wanted to spend every day for the rest of her life, lost in the arms of one of her warriors, bound by pleasure that consumed and ravished. She felt a hand on her shoulder as Drew joined them, sitting beside her on the edge. “Are you ready for round two?” he murmured and when she pulled her head fromSorran’s neck and turned to him, Drew took her with a kiss that had her blood beating fast again. Sorranslipped from her and helped Drew to lift and turn her so that she sat astride. Drew used one hand to hold his shaft and the other to help guide her hips. She felt the kiss of his cock at her portal and then the slow glide of his shaft into her pussy until she felt flush against him. He felt divine but she had no idea where she would find the energy to ride him the way this position required. But she needn’t have worried. Her warriors knew just what they were about.Sorran stayed in the water behind her and with his hands on her hips and Drew’s at her waist they helped her to rise and fall, creating a pleasant rhythm. Drew thrust into her as she glided down his length and it brought a fast build-up of the sensations she had just shared withSorran . Drew caught one nipple between his teeth and held tight to it as she continued to rock on him.The feel of his teeth holding her so firmly while she bounced and jostled was incredible. It was pleasure and pain with no real distinction between the two. It was exquisite torture, and just when she thought she couldn’t take any moreSorran moved one hand and she felt once again an oil-slickened finger pushing into her anus. Drew must have brought the oil over with him. Heaven knew she wouldn’t have noticed at the time.

Sorran’sfinger seemed to excite Drew as much as it did her. They both gasped and groaned as one finger became two. As the pleasure built for them all the burning began again inside her. She wanted possession there, needed it like she needed air. His fingers weren’t easing her, it was his cock she had to have, and soon. “Now,” she demanded andSorran groaned as he pulled his fingers free and replaced them with what she desired most. Each inch that filled her made her pussy that much tighter around Drew and his groan of pleasure echoed his brother’s. Finally they both rested deep within her body and it was as if the three of them were one being. “Like this forever,” she sighed as she leaned her head back onSorran’s chest. His arms slipped under hers and his hands claimed her breasts, pinching and tweaking her nipples. Drew held firm at her hips, keeping her in place between them as they began acounterrhythm of thrust and retreat. “Yes,” Drew groaned.“Perfection.So good, little warrior.” Sorranburied his face in her throat and sucked and nipped at her skin, nibbling a continuous path from ear to shoulder and back. This was what it meant to be a mate, to be the chosen woman of two strong warriors. She was glad that she was so lucky as to be with them. They were gentle and easy with her, even in their passion. Her pleasure was important to them. They were always touching her, soothing her, stroking her flesh. It was nothing like she had feared when she had first learned that she was to be their mate. Yes, when it came to battle they would surely be a force to be reckoned with. And that was just as it should be. They were, after all, key members of the prince’s guard, those chosen above all other warriors to guard and protect the prince and his family. And these two, her mates, had been hand selected by the prince to journey off island in search of a haven or allies. She had no idea what, if anything, they had found, no idea what had brought them back at this time. But she knew that eventually they would tell her. They had said several times that they expected her to travel with them, to be with them always. And they embraced the fact that she wore warrior pants instead of the skirts of an island woman. Yes, these two warriors were made for her. Drew brought her back with a sharp cry and the pressure of his fingers pinching her swollen clit. She bucked between them and cried her own release asSorran pinched her nipples and thrust deep inside her ass, spilling his cum as she clenched and released around him. Her body shuddered and collapsed. She couldn’t move, had trouble just catching her breath as she struggled under the force of the pleasure rocking through her body. It was more than she could stand, more than she could take. With a gasp she dropped her head forward onto Drew’s sweat-soaked chest and gave in to the darkness pulling at her. Just a little nap before they left the relative safety of the cavern they were in. She had a feeling that they were going to need it. A journey lay just before them, one that could mean the very lives of everyone on the Isle of Altair. Something was in the air, and soon she

would no longer be able to deny the pull in her soul. Destiny awaited them all. And something told her that more blood would spill before it all came to an end. ***** Asmestood before her mother, once the island priestess, and bowed her head in respect. She had entered the chamber of the goddess and called for the power to complete what was already begun. And in answer to her call, her mother had appeared to her, not in spirit, but in flesh. “I have waited for this call,” Althea spoke softly to her. “How long did you know that this was coming, Mother?”Asmeasked. “How long had you foreseen what was in store for us?For me?” Althea smiled softly and reached out to brush her hand across her daughter’s cheek.“Always. I have always known what would be expected of you. Your purpose was clear to me before you were ever even conceived.” She metAsme’s gaze and her eyes shone with moisture. “I knew and I grieved for what would happen. But I knew that you would also know great love before the time came. And I held that promise closest to me. And you have. You have experienced a love like no other. A love that was all that I could have wished for you.” “And what of the betrayal?Was that foretold as well?”Asme asked, but in her heart she already knew the answer and her mother’s nod only confirmed it. “With great joys alsocome great pain . It is the balance that keeps life moving forward. In your heart you know this.” Asmenodded but knowing it and living it were two very different things. She closed her eyes for a moment and grieved for what could have been, for what briefly was, and for what was still to come. Destiny would not be thwarted or altered. She opened her eyes and met her mother’s with a resolve that showed in every line of her body. “I’m ready,” was allAsme said as she slowly began to disrobe and reach for the ceremonial robe that lay on the altar before her. Althea nodded but her heart broke for her child. In that moment she would have gladly traded places if only the goddess would have allowed it. But this wasAsme’s destiny and Althea could do nothing. What must be done could not be stopped. For everything, the very Isle ofAltair, depended on whatAsme would set into place. The Mystic would finally fully awaken and come into her power. Then all would rest in her hands. The Guardians would be called and the last leg of the journey begun twenty-five years before would commence. Now all she could do was pray for the safety of each of the Guardians.For all would be lost if one should die.

About the Author

Lacey Thorn spends her days in small-town Indiana, the proud mother of three. When she is not busy with one of them she can be found typing away on her computer keyboard or burying her nose in a good book. Like every woman, she knows just how chaotic life can be and how appealing that great escape can look. So toss aside the stress and tension of the never ending “to do” list. For now sit back, relax, and enjoy the ride with Lacey as she helps you to unlace and unleash the woman inside.

Lacey welcomes comments from readers. You can find her website and email address on her author bio page at www.ellorascave.com.

Tell Us What You Think We appreciate hearing reader opinions about our books. You can email us at [email protected]. Also by Lacey Thorn

Bare Love 1: His Bare Obsession Bare Love 2: Bare Confessions Bare Love 3: Bare Seduction Bare Love 4: Bare Devotion Island Guardians 1: Earth Moves Island Guardians 2: Fanning Her Flames Island Guardians 3: Washed Away Merciful Angel

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