STORY EXCERPT

William blinked, and without even realizing it, he was elsewhere. By his side, Caradoc let out a small noise, and William got the feeling such transitions weren’t supposed to be so smooth. Of course they’d have to defy nature in this, too.

William couldn’t bring himself to regret it, not when the spell had worked. They were in the same room William had appeared in before, with Niko’s unconscious body on the floor in front of them. The array was no longer active, but William knew better than to find that encouraging. 

Niko hadn’t abandoned his previous spell and remained in his astral form. When he saw them, his spirit seemed to flinch. Ignoring Caradoc altogether, he zeroed in on William. “You’re back. And I see you brought backup. I told you not to bother. There’s nothing you can do to help me.”

“Because you don’t want to help yourself,” William insisted. “Do you have no self-preservation instinct? Do you really want to die so badly?”

Niko smiled sharply, still trying not to look at Caradoc. “Isn’t that what you wanted?”

An angry reply was on his lips, and William almost let it out. He almost called Niko an idiot, just like he had earlier. But his body seemed to have different ideas.

Before he could even think about what he was doing, William stalked to Niko’s side, grabbed the lapels of his ridiculous robes, and crushed their lips together. It was only an impulse, not something William had meant to do. He didn’t even know what had pushed him to act. But the moment his lips touched Niko’s, he felt something slide into place at the back of his mind.

His connection with Caradoc had always been so powerful that he’d never felt anything was missing. The two of them had completed each other—or so he had thought. But maybe that hadn’t been the case at all. Maybe there had always been a part of them that was missing, and neither of them had truly understood it until now.

When he broke the kiss, he felt like his entire world had been realigned, torn apart, and put back together in an entirely different way. To his credit, Niko seemed just as shocked. It was apparent that, to him, his feelings for Caradoc had developed organically. Whatever he felt for William was far more complicated. “I… You… What in gods’ name do you think you’re doing?”

Caradoc walked up to them, his lips twisting into a smug smile. William had forgotten the last time he’d seen Caradoc wear that expression. “Maybe I didn’t have to come after all,” he said. “It looks like the two of you are doing fine without me.”

Even if he loved that his mate was teasing them, William couldn’t help but be embarrassed. “Caradoc! This isn’t funny.”

“It kind of is, a little. I feel like I missed something that was right in front of me the whole time.”

Niko was still staring at them, and for the first time since this whole debacle had started, William allowed himself to really look at him. He really was very handsome. His tall and slender body carried an effortless grace different from Caradoc’s innate one, but just as powerful. His eyes glowed with intelligence, magic, and now, frustration and outrage.

“This is absolutely ridiculous. You can’t possibly expect me to believe you’re in love with me now.”

“I didn’t say I was,” William offered, “but I’ve never been the best with these things. If I had been, maybe things wouldn’t have turned out the way they did. If I’d trusted Caradoc sooner, maybe we wouldn’t have died.”

He’d never said that before out loud, barely even allowed himself to think it. But now that he had, he couldn’t bring himself to take it back. He knew Caradoc would be inclined to give him a free pass—he always was—but Niko was different. There was wisdom in Niko that neither William nor Caradoc had ever truly had.

“The thing about choices is that they’re always a gamble. You never know what will happen if you had made a different one. But even if that’s true, even if your inability to trust Caradoc cost you priceless time that could have saved you, that doesn’t change one very important fact. What happened wasn’t your fault.”

Except it had been, hadn’t it? Willow had told him that much himself. William had always existed to destroy and consume. It was no wonder that he’d destroyed his own soulmate.

Wait… If that was the case, where did this strange connection with Niko come from? 

Shaking himself, William pushed away his doubts and self-pity. “We don’t have time for this. We didn’t actually come here so I could hit on you.”

“Why did you come here, then?”

“No matter what you think about us, you have to realize we don’t want you dead,” William replied. “There has to be a way for us to help you.” 

Caradoc smiled sheepishly. “I’m at least partially sure I could barrel through their defenses and snatch you, but it would kill a lot of people and possibly me.”

“Please don’t do that.” Niko closed his eyes in visible exasperation. “Why are you like this? How is this my life?”

William sighed. He’d never empathized with anyone so much. His own fate had exhausted him. Back when he’d been the two-souled wolf, and even many times after that, he’d often thought it would be better to just give up. If he hadn’t, it must have been because he was, at heart, a very spiteful creature.

ADULT EXCERPT

Sometimes, all it took was a single touch for the world itself to change. For William, that touch had been the first kiss he’d shared with Niko. It had birthed a new hunger inside him, combining with the desire he always felt for Caradoc.

If he’d been a good man, he would have perhaps kept his mind on the reason they were supposedly doing this. But he wasn’t a good man—he never had been—and deep inside, he knew Caradoc was the same. His mate might have claimed he needed sex magic to balance out his powers, but that was probably a lie. And William couldn’t care less.

His bond with Caradoc was as steady and strong as it had always been. The moment Caradoc tasted Niko’s blood, William’s control completely shattered. He snarled, because suddenly, the simple realization that they weren’t bonded yet made him furious.

That fury made him start clawing both at Caradoc and at Niko. This time, he drew blood, but Caradoc didn’t seem to mind. Neither did Niko. If anything, he seemed to appreciate it. Their kisses and caresses grew wilder, more savage, and the three of them all embraced the feral nature of their connection.

Caradoc’s dark magic responded to their emotions. All of a sudden, its slow seduction turned far more vicious. It seemed to read William’s mind, and within seconds, it followed William’s earlier example and ripped off every piece of clothing they all had on.

If he could have, William might have thanked Caradoc. It really was so convenient to have such a power at his mate’s fingertips. But Caradoc’s magic—or maybe Caradoc himself—had lost its patience, too. The destruction of the clothes was only a means to an end, and within seconds, that all-consuming power zeroed in on their bodies. A particularly daring tendril delved straight into William’s anus, electrifying his nerve endings from the inside-out.

It would have been so easy for William to surrender to Caradoc’s domination, but William had never been all that prone to surrender in any part of his life. His body adjusted to the penetration, and he pulled Caradoc away from Niko, flipping him down on the bed. 

Caradoc could have thrown him off with his powers, but William was physically much stronger. When William pushed his mate into the mattress, Caradoc indulged him. William pressed a knee into Caradoc’s back and looked up at Niko.

“So, sex magic,” he purred. “Please tell me you know more about this little game.”

Niko shot him a look of disbelief, as if wondering how he could even speak. But just like William had expected, he took the request in stride. “It’s not something I’ve practiced a lot, but I know the basics. I’m sure Caradoc can instruct us if we do anything wrong.”

Caradoc didn’t seem inclined to say anything. His magic still kept pumping in William’s ass, as if daring William to continue with his challenge. Another tendril swirled around Niko’s torso. It pulled him closer, then, when it was satisfied with Niko’s location, brushed against Niko’s lips.

Clearly, Caradoc wasn’t in the mood for conversation—and if he was going to instruct them, he would do it with his body and his magic. Fair enough. William didn’t mind, and apparently, neither did Niko. He played along, opening his mouth and taking the tendril deep, all the way into his throat.

For all that he claimed he didn’t know much about sex magic, Niko had no trouble going along with what they were doing. His power glowed beneath his skin and a drop of blood slid down his chin from the wound Caradoc had made earlier. It landed on the sheet and glowed gold.

As light flashed around them, William felt the echoes of Niko’s desire. They didn’t have a mate bond, not yet, but that single drop of blood was enough to scream at him, to tell him what Niko wanted. 

Burying his hand in Caradoc’s hair, he pulled his head upright. “Come on. Fuck his mouth.”

Niko didn’t need to be told twice. He positioned his dick against Caradoc’s lips and slid inside. 

Caradoc let out a muffled moan, and the dark power working its way into William faltered slightly. He didn’t mind. Even if he liked what Caradoc’s magic did to him, he enjoyed the knowledge and echoes of Caradoc’s pleasure even more.

From this angle, William couldn’t actually see what Niko was doing, but he didn’t have to watch with his eyes for his body to know. His bond with Caradoc pulsed with desire, and when Niko set a punishing pace, he could almost feel his own jaw ache.

It was very easy for him to follow his instincts. His beast had always known what it wanted, even before they’d gotten into bed together. Watching Niko take his pleasure in their mate urged him onwards. 

Steadying Caradoc between him and Niko, he reached for his mate’s hole. Caradoc’s magic sparked at the first touch of William’s still clawed fingertips, a warning and a plea.

William couldn’t help but laugh slightly. Maybe he shouldn’t have. Maybe it was cruel. But this cruelty that wrecked him inside stemmed from the power that had always belonged to Caradoc, so he welcomed it and didn’t shy away from it.

They didn’t have lube at hand, but William was in bed with two magic users. They could have probably come up with a replacement. Neither of them did, and William didn’t bother asking.

Abandoning all thought of a slower preparation, he positioned his dick against Caradoc’s hole, and in a single thrust, slid home.