Unexpected Mates ~ Book One
Chapter 31

When Kian and Sylvie crossed beneath the forest arch and spotted Elias, Kerensa and Lazuli talking by the hedgerows, her fury grew.

How dare she act nonchalantly and chat casually with Sylvie’s mate after everything she had done.

Elias straightened as they came into clear view, and his brow raised slightly. Sylvie shook her head at him and spoke low enough that only he and Kian would hear. “Don’t try and stop me.”

He immediately narrowed his eyes and looked to her side where Kian stood.

Untangling from the Fae’s tight grip, Sylvie moved towards the trio, wondering if Lazuli would even notice her before she descended.

She did, as did Kerensa, a familiar expression of distaste written on her face. Then, a bus length away, Lazuli turned to face the duo, looking them up and down with a small smile and raised brow.

“Care to explain the scowl, Ms Hart?”

A grin pulled against the teeth gnawing Sylvie’s lips as she closed the gap between them, her fists clenching until bone screamed against flesh.

Lazuli’s brows rose a second too late as if the answer were written across Sylvies’ face before she swung.

Kerensa’s surprised cackle sounded before Sylvie’s fist connected and continued after her two knuckles split against Lazuli’s jawbone.

She jerked back, shaking her hand with a wince as Lazuli flew backwards from the force, landing on the ground in a heap.

No one moved as Lazuli spat maroon liquid from her mouth and turned to face Sylvie.

When Kian twitched at her side, she placed her uninjured hand against him. “Don’t,” she warned.

“I do not need you to fight for me, Princess,” he said softly, pain evident in his voice.

Some of her rage ebbed away, but the desire for retribution remained.

“This isn’t just for you, Kian.”

Elias moved to her side and lifted her split hand as Lazuli clambered to her feet. She imagined they looked imposing, staring down at the Fae, but Lazuli just smiled, her bloodstained teeth on full display.

“Who do you think you are?” she spat, wiping the back of her hand across her mouth. Sylvie stepped forward, shrugging the touches of her mates off but remaining out of Lazuli’s striking range.

“Me? What about you? What makes you think you have any right to touch my mates?”

She just laughed humourlessly. “I told you my past and what he did to me. I thought you understood.”

As the women spoke, they slowly started circling one another, fire igniting in Sylvie’s belly. “I don’t care, Lazuli. Just because something terrible happened to you doesn’t give you the right to hurt anyone else.”

Elias’ voice briefly entered her clouded mind, “What is she talking about, Kian?”

“What do you know about it?” she screeched, feigning a hit towards her face. “Nothing! You have stolen everything I’ve ever dreamed of. Have you ever struggled in your pathetic life?”

The laugh that poured from Sylvie’s mouth was mixed with disbelief, irony and wrath.

“How fucking dare you. You have no idea about my life, what I’ve gone through and overcome, and you never will. And you will never touch Kian again.”

She lunged at her, fists flying for her face when a pain whipped into her legs. The jolt sent her careening sideways, and she rolled across the dirt just before Lazuli’s foot slammed down where her head was.

“I will marry him,” she heaved, rushing across the dirt as Sylvie stood. Her taloned hands reached for Sylvie’s face, the sharpened nails swiping dangerously close to her eyes.

Kicking her foot out, Sylvie connected with the Fae’s stomach and jumped away as she swung at her again.

“No. He doesn’t belong to you. You don’t get to own people,” she panted as Lazuli stalked towards her again.

“But you do?”

“I didn’t choose this life. They are my mates, but they know they are not my property. They are free to choose.” At least, she hoped they knew that. Elias never entertained choosing a different path, always claiming he was hers, but Kian may have missed the memo.

She did not know if it was fatigue or Kian’s influence, but a sudden clarity filled her mind, and she dropped her guard. The whole situation was ridiculous, childish even. She wondered how old Lazuli was at that moment.

“You know what? I’m done. I don’t give a fuck about Trion’s demands for this marriage. You lost, and we’re leaving.”

Turning to find her mates, she immediately realised her grave mistake. The hairs on her nape shot away from her skin, and she spun to find Lazuli’s nails careening towards her cheek. A firm grip on her waist pulled her back, but not far enough, the claws slicing a line down Sylvies face from temple to jawbone.

Warmth pooled across her neck and chest as Kerensa stepped forward, restraining the other woman and dragging her away while she hissed and cursed. Good riddance. Sylvie looked up at the person holding her tightly and sighed tiredly, seeing Elias’ crimson eyes boring into her wound.

“Is it bad?” she whispered, raising her hand to probe the damaged skin.

Kian appeared in her vision, his jaw clenching and skin damp. “This is my fault. I should have stopped this.”

“Stop, Kian. I’m fine,” she said, pressing her hand against the steady stream of blood.

Elias dragged his sharpening canine across his wrist and lifted it over her, letting the drops mingle with her own, the heat sizzling inside her cut.

“It should be healed soon,” he remarked.

Kian shook his head and touched her face tenderly. “No. It will scar.” He seemed disturbed by that fact, but Sylvie just smiled up at him.

“And will you still like me like this?”

His brows shot up as he peered between Elias and her, realisation settling in. “Of course, I will. This doesn’t change a thing.”

“Exactly,” she replied, letting her weight rest in Elias’ arms as her eyes fluttered shut.

Warmth and wetness along her body woke her, and she stretched as the trail swirled along her inner thigh, eliciting a small pleasured moan. Her hands reached for the owner of the hot lips when she brushed against a shaven head.

A shaven head?

Sylvie froze, ice filling her veins as she bolted up, staring at the dead eyes of the hulking man between her legs.

“Awake already?” he purred. “I had only gotten started.”

Sylvie’s mouth opened to scream when Trion tutted, wagging his finger at her.

“Don’t bother, dear. Any sounds you make in this kingdom have been masked. Just lie down and let me get my fill.”

She kicked and bucked away from him, pulling her nightgown down from her hips. Who had changed her, and where were her mates?

“Don’t fucking touch me.”

“Oh?” His leering made bile rise in her throat. What else had he done to her body while she was unconscious? Even the thought made her feel violated, memories of her past flashing across her eyes in vicious clarity.

“Is this what you did to Lazuli? Is this why she developed her sadistic nature? Because you raped her?”

Trion’s mouth twisted as he rose to his feet, staring down at her. “What an ugly word. I courted her after Milena died. She wanted me, and I needed something to fill the void. You have no idea how painful it is to lose a bonded one.”

Lazuli’s parents were mates?

Vomit filled Sylvie’s mouth, and she spat it on the floor before crawling further from him. “She was a child! And you raised her. You groomed her, you sick fuck. You’re a predator.”

His eyes glinted in the dim lighting. “Now I like that word. Predator. I suppose that makes you my prey, little one.”

Before he could take another step closer, the door to the room shook, the handle rattling.

“Hart! It’s Kerensa. Open up.”

Sylvie flitted her wide-eyed gaze between the door and Trion’s hulking frame before taking a huge breath and letting her scream out. “Help!”

Trion lunged for her, but she jumped from the bed, slamming into the wall, just as the door did across the room. Kerensa, coated in black ichor, levelled a spear at Trion and narrowed her eyes.

He grinned and strolled past her as if nothing had happened. The mask he placed on his face would have even fooled Sylvie if she hadn’t experienced his depravity. Instead, Kerensa stared after him and closed the door with a twisted scowl.

“What happened?”

“What’s on your body?”

Both women spoke simultaneously, and Sylvie waved off Kerensa’s question. “Don’t worry. He’s a fucking dead man walking,” Sylvie cursed, rounding the bed and sitting in front of Kerensa.

“Where are my mates? What happened?”

“Another Hybrid attack on the village. They left me watching you, but one of the demons got into the castle. If I had known Trion wasn’t fighting the beasts, I would never have left your side.”

Sylvie waved her off again. “Please, Kerensa. Don’t speak of it again.”

Kerensa sniffed and sat beside her, holding the spear between them before riffling through a back on her hip with the other hand.

When she found what she was looking for, she held her closed palm across her body, gesturing for Sylvie to take it.

Sylvie placed her hands beneath Kerensa’s with a furrowed brow, blinking at the spherical glass orb filled with white liquid.

“What-”

“It’s a flora killer. Eats through every living thing it comes into contact with and doesn’t stop until it’s full.”

Understanding dawned on Sylvie, and she let a pained smile twist her lips.

“Getting close enough to hurt Trion’s physical body would be almost impossible. His strength, guards and magic would put us at considerable risk. But if we could find it, his tree-”

“I’ve seen it,” Sylvie interrupted. “At least, I’m pretty sure I did. It’s disgusting and looks half-dead already.”

She paused, letting their preparation unfold silently.

“When do you want to do this?” Kerensa asked suddenly.

A nerve-laden grimace marred her face, and she hid it with her hair before sighing. “No time like the present.”

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