Bound in Blood (Broken Bloodlines Book 3)
Bound in Blood: Chapter 30

After I’m finished with training for the day, I sit cross-legged on the ground, absentmindedly plucking blades of grass as I stare up at the mountain of dragon that is Anikêtos. It’s been four days since we arrived here, and he and Elpis have remained with us. I don’t know how long they intend to stay, and I don’t want to ask and tempt fate. I love having them here.

Why are you staring at me, child?

Because you’re a dragon! An actual fire-breathing, cool-as-hell dragon who’s thousands of years old, and I have six billion questions I want to ask you. I don’t say that though. Instead, I ask, “Why can’t dragons harm a son of House Drakos?”

It is an oath my father swore long ago to Alexandros’s great-grandfather, the first of House Drakos.

“And it lasts forever?”

Until we are no longer beholden to it, and only the head of House Drakos can release us from such an oath.

His shiny black scales shimmer in the sun. He is almost too wondrous to believe. He and Elpis, who is half his size but equally mesmerizing. “Can you tell me everything you know about the blue poppy?”

He snorts and does that thing that looks suspiciously like an eye roll, even though I’m certain he would claim such human reactions are beneath him. Then he tucks his head under his wing in his best effort to ignore me. But I’m not budging.

Ani!

Go ask Alexandros, he says.

I did, and he told me everything he knows, but … I lick my lips before I go on. He isn’t Anikêtos, son of Herôs, seer of truths, and keeper of the cradle of magic, is he?

He snorts again and lifts his head, blinking his fiery green eyes at me. What is it you want to know, curious and annoying child?

“I know it takes ten days to leave my system, but is there a way to … you know, hurry the process along?”

He makes a noise like a growl. Ophelia, you are the most powerful creature to have been born in centuries. With that cryptic and less than helpful answer, he huffs once more and returns his head to its previous position underneath his wing.

I stare at him, hoping he will elaborate but knowing he won’t. He’s even more stubborn than Alexandros. Instead, I look to Elpis for some help, but she simply shakes her head and snuggles against him.

I place my hands beside me and press my palms into the plush grass, flattening it down until it tickles my skin. Taking a deep breath, I close my eyes. Alexandros said the earth is the most powerful element—with healing properties, right? So if blue poppy is a toxin, then surely it can be removed, or cleansed, like a bacteria.

A thrill of excitement runs down my spine. I have no idea if this will work or if I’ll be able to tell whether it has. But it’s worth a shot. Anything that allows Alexandros to reinstate our bond is worth trying, and I could kick myself for not considering it sooner.

I press my fingertips into the cool soil. Dirt surges up to collect underneath my fingernails, and I breathe, focusing on the orb of light inside me, dazzling like the sun, as well as the movement of the earth beneath my hands. The soil, warm and ticklish, fizzes under my fingertips. And then I feel it—an ancient, powerful energy flowing through my body, making every hair stand on end. It’s scary and overwhelming, yet intoxicating and addictive at the same time. I feel invincible, like I could make the mountain in the distance crumble to the ground if I simply stared at it long enough. But I focus on the blue poppy, isolating the remnants of the drug that cling to my red blood cells, and then I channel those remnants through my fingertips and release them all back into the earth.

As soon as I feel the last of it leave my system, I pull my fingers from the dirt and let out a triumphant shout. I did it. And more surprisingly, I instinctively knew how to. Like with the silver cage in the mountain cave, I only had to think about what I wanted to make it happen.

I wipe the dirt from my hands and jump up, eager to get back to the house as quickly as possible. Alexandros is leaning against the open doorway, watching me. I should have realized that one of them would have me in sight.

“What were you doing, little one?” he calls.

I press my lips together, unable to contain my glee as I run across the lawn and throw myself at him. He catches me with ease, and I wrap my legs around his waist. “I just got all of the blue poppy out of my system.”

The sound that comes from this man’s throat makes me melt. I’m pretty sure one day I will actually do that, and I’ll wind up as little more than a puddle on the ground. “Ophelia, do not toy with me.”

“I’m not. I did it,” I say, heat curling in my core. “I used earth magic.”

He carries me inside the house, running his nose along the skin of my neck, and I tip my head back for him, willing him to bite me. I need him to bite me.

“Ophelia.” My name is a pained, frustrated groan on his lips.

“What? Is something wrong?”

“You are ovulating.”

Dammit all to hell. Of course I am. I knew it was expected, but now? Can Mother Nature not have given me only one more day? “Nooo,” I whine.

“One day, I will love nothing more than to see you carry my child, agápi mou. But for now, we cannot take such a risk.” I’m way too young to have kids. I’ve never even thought of having my own before, so why does the thought of having his tiny vampire or elementai babies sound so appealing to me? He presses his forehead to mine while he carries me through to the bedroom. “However, I am still going to feed from you. I am as desperate as you are to have our bond back in place, and the mere scent of your blood has my mouth watering and my fangs aching.”

I grind myself against his hard length, still annoyed by this turn of events. As soon as he bites me, I’ll want him inside me too. And I’ve been starved of him for weeks. “It’s so unfair.”

He laughs softly, his warm breath dancing over my skin. “I am sure I can still make it entirely pleasurable for us both, little one.”

I know he can, but it won’t be the same.

“Do you recall the first time we bonded?” His voice is low and husky, and it only stokes my need for him further.

“Yes.” It was intense and incredible and so very, very hot. “I set your office on fire.”

“You turned my books to ash.” He kisses me until we get to the bed, and then he tosses me onto it. I bounce in the middle. “And you burned yourself into my soul, Ophelia Hart.”

Wow. He is so intense. Sexy, brooding, and intense, and he makes my ovaries melt too, which is not conducive to getting pregnant, I imagine. He kneels between my legs and pulls the sundress off over my head, another item of clothing I borrowed from one of Osiris’s relatives.

Alexandros growls as he hooks the finger into the waistband of my panties. “What is this tiny white scrap of cotton, Ophelia? Are you purposely trying to drive me insane?”

“What?” I glance down at them on the floor. They are tiny, and they barely covered my ass, but they were the only new pack of panties available. While I’m grateful to Osiris’s family for loaning me some clothes, given the choice between new and previously worn panties, I’m gonna choose new every time. I will reimburse whoever I need to for them as soon as I’m able. “I had limited options. It was those or nothing.”

He arches a dark eyebrow and runs the tip of his pointer finger through my aching center. “Nothing would have been a very good choice. You should consider that option in the future.” His gaze roams my body and comes to a stop between my thighs. My skin burns under the heat of his scrutiny.

“Yes sir.”

He slips a thick finger inside me, and my back arches off the bed as pleasure rockets through me. He moves in and out, massaging the sensitive spot inside me, and my thighs tremble. “You are always so ready for me, Ophelia.”

I moan, grabbing for him, but he remains frustratingly out of reach. “Alexandros, please.”

“Do you need more, little one?”

I pant out a breath. “Yes.”

He adds a second finger, stretching me wide and causing burning hot pleasure to spike in my core.

“Such a responsive little thing for me, agápi mou.” He leans over me, holding himself up on one muscular forearm. “I am going to enjoy feeding on you whilst you come on my fingers.”

His teeth scrape over my skin, and my pulse flutters violently, like my blood is screaming for him to claim me. Why is he drawing this out? It’s torturous. And there’s no way he doesn’t feel this same clawing need.

“But it is an exquisite torture, agápi mou. Is it not?” He sinks his fingers deeper, swiping them over a sensitive spot deep inside, and my entire body trembles. “You fall apart so beautifully for me.”

His tongue flicks over my pulse, and he grinds the heel of his palm against my hypersensitive clit. “Alexandros.” His name pours out of my mouth on a keening moan.

“I know, little one,” he murmurs while he works his fingers in and out, hitting the same sweet spots over and over until every cell in my body is frantic for release. Frantic for him.

I cling to him, rocking my hips and arching my neck, trying to force my flesh into his fangs. But he’s right. This is exquisite torture. I teeter on the edge of heaven, knowing redemption is only a breath away. Tears squeeze from the corners of my eyes. My nails sink into his skin. I beg and moan as I ride his hand.

And when I’m sure I can’t possibly take any more, his sharp fangs pierce my neck. And I fall, spiraling into a euphoric haze of pleasure. Down and down I tumble before he pulls me back again, sucking harder on my neck and driving his fingers faster and harder until I’m cresting another wave and crying out his name.

Ophelia. He groans my name, and the word resonates in my mind as our bond is anchored back in place. I can feel his blood thundering in my veins along with my own now, just as it should be. The euphoria builds within him as his need for release grows, and I work my hand inside the waistband of his pants and push aside his boxers until I’m able to wrap my fingers around his shaft. It pulses in my hand, hot and smooth.

Fuck. He growls the word inside my head.

You like that? I ask, tipping my head back farther so he can have better access to my neck.

He takes the opportunity to sink his fangs deeper. You know I do, little one.

I slide my hand up and down his length, collecting precum with my thumb and spreading it over his crown. How about that?

He grunts and ruts into my hand while he works his fingers inside me deeper and harder. Once again, I fall into oblivion, only this time, he comes right along with me. I wrap my legs and my arms around him, clinging to him as we both pant for breath and tremble with the aftermath of our climaxes. He keeps his face buried against my neck, the wound from his bite already healed.

“I love you, Ophelia,” he whispers.

“I love you too,” I murmur as I melt into the mattress. Intense feelings of warmth and contentment have ingrained themselves into my very bones. I am once again bonded to all four of my mates, exactly as I should be. And no matter what the future has in store for us, I know that together we can face anything this crazy universe throws our way.