Grizzly (7 page)

“A thousand will hardly quench my thirst. Do you have anything to eat around here?”

Tethur finished his drink and grinned.

Erus nodded. “Yes, there is a banquet being set up.”

Eridon and Eridor started to head out of the room. Tethur’s eyes lowered. He felt a slap against his back.

“They are like puppies. Don’t worry about them.” Erus smirked and went back to studying the map.

Tethur called after the two elves.

“One more thing, boys.” They halted in their steps and turned to look at him. “Keep your pheromone level down. Sorscha is mine, promised to me by her father the king. I was chosen by him. If you mess with her head or her body arousal, I will come back and hurt you. What I hurt you as is up to you: a grumpy bear or a naked Celt. I don’t care whether you twist that way or not, you will feel pain and you will never walk again after I shove my cock up your arse. Bear that in mind.” With that, Tethur winked, watching the two elves leave the room. He meant every word.

––––––––

“T
his is the most amazing thing I have ever seen! I mean, it’s not even cold!” Sorscha exclaimed.

She turned in front of the huge mirror that took up one whole wall.

“It conforms to your body temperature. I didn’t know I could do that either until I dressed a few of Eridus’s brothers in some sheer loincloths.” Cassandra smirked while looking over the dress she had designed for Sorscha.

It was epic. It appeared sheer and was weaved from snow and ice. The iridescent colors danced against her creamy flesh. No bra, no panties. It didn’t matter; the dress scooped all the way to the top of her buttocks. It then continued until it ended in spiky-looking sheer lace at the floor. The front crossed over her breasts and seemed to swirl over her slightly rounded tummy. It covered, yet didn’t, and still made her look hot. Sorscha couldn’t remember being hot in her life. Not one day, yet today she had been forced into moments of sexual femininity that gave her a feeling of power.

William wants me.

Sorscha smiled at her reflection, the front of the dress kissing her thighs. The whole thing was a bit—scandalous. Next to Cassandra’s sheer number, she was tame. Glancing down at her feet, she couldn’t help but fangirl hard at the glass slippers, or ice rather, on her feet.

“So cool! God, I wish I could be an ice whisperer.” She turned towards the smiling woman and took a seat on the bed next to her.

“You don’t sound like you came from here. Your husband and the hot-as-fuck brothers are kinda stiff. You’re, well, you act like you’re from Normalville.” Sorscha finished.

Cassandra nodded.

“You’re right, I am. I was born and raised by my parents. Apparently, they were fae royalty. That’s what I am, a descendent of the winter fae king. At first I thought it was a big deal, when I found out. I mean, it is, don’t get me wrong. I rule a season, I’m like Mother Nature’s bitch—well, your bitch—I think that’s how this works.” She pondered.

“What do you mean, my bitch?”

“I’m not sure, but I think you’re one of the lost daughters. Well, I wouldn’t call them lost; they were hidden from the evil Queen and a few dark elves. That’s how I was found. A dark elf found me, had me kidnapped by a big ugly troll and proceeded to try and rape me. Well, it’s not trying when you have that whole unhealthy elf sex-beam you can shoot into a woman.” She smirked and continued. “Anyways, I was kidnapped and some of our kind are hidden away with us, as guardians. Eridus was mine.” She paused, looking down at her hand and the beautiful golden ring adoring her finger. It looked as if it was made of pieces of the forest dipped in gold.

“I act all tough, like I’m in charge.” She let off a bitter laugh. “Don’t let me fool you. I honesty have no clue what I’m doing most of the time. I honed my powers enough to build this castle. I still go home quite a bit. Being raised with technology, you miss it, the ease. Living here it’s like going back to when Vikings wandered the earth. It is a bit daunting.”

Reaching out, she took hold of Sorscha’s hand. Smiling, she gripped tight.

“We will help one another, I promise. I think Eridus knew once we saw Tethur erupt into grizzly that being introduced to me first would help things. I’m from your world. They aren’t. Gods, how did you cope with that man?”

Sorscha snorted. “It wasn’t easy, I can tell you that. He always kept his distance, stood off to one side, tried not to touch me. Damn, I was in love with him. The crush I had on him was so violent I asked him to prom. Talk about embarrassing when he said no and ran out of the room.”

Cassandra laughed, the musical sound calming Sorscha’s nerves.

“Yeah, they do that. Eridus is a cop in the other realm. He’s a hardass; I can tell he toned it down a bit for you, considering who you might be.”

“And who might I be? You mentioned dragons. God, if only Smaug was real from The Hobbit. It would be even better if he could shift that deep voice into Benedict.”

Cassandra smirked and stood. She wandered over to the balcony that overlooked her frozen kingdom.

“Tethur is one of Fergus’s men. I have only met two of them, three now. It was after I crossed over and took the throne for my father. I met the Dragon and I met Kane. Kane, you want to keep your distance. That man─” She shivered.

“Anyways, they are Celts. The original High Kings of Ireland. They went missing, according to the way history tells it. They were cursed. That’s how things work here, I guess. One oops and you’re pretty much some sort of shape-shifting badass to do the true king’s bidding.” She shrugged. “Personally, I think that is kind of messed up. I mean, these guys lived forever ago, and then they are shoved into a modern society to watch over us modern women. I don’t know about you, but I am pretty, well, hard to deal with. Eridus is a damned saint.”

Sorscha looked away. Her gaze trailed out the huge clear double doors that had a fantastic view of the valley beyond. She looked down at her fingers, her nail ripped at the flesh in the side of her thumb.

“I am sort of a nerd. I’m an IT security expert. I work for a company and make sure no one breaks in, an agency for athletes. I am obsessed with Doctor Who and Sherlock, and I thought for so long that William—I mean Tethur—was just acting hard out of respect for my parents. I mean, the guy watched Sherlock with me, every episode. Then before I had a chance to turn towards him and fangirl, he would get up and just leave.” She paused and shook her head. “He was so cold, so, well, he was mean.” Her voice got small and she felt Cassandra’s small hand rest on her bare shoulder. It was icy, but the cold seemed to melt into her and spread warmth. A rumble shook the castle. It was slight but scared Sorscha.

“You need to calm down. That’s you.”

Sorscha turned towards Cassandra with wide eyes. She wiped away the tear that had slipped through her defenses.

“What do you mean, that was me?”

“You’re an Earth elemental. Your emotions, while untrained, will cause natural disasters.”

Sorscha groaned and collapsed on the bed. She let her face fall against her palms.

“What else could possibly be fucked up?” she mumbled.

“Well, I don’t want to be the one to bear you bad news. I tend to be the one that cleans up the fallout and is the fun one. But you wouldn’t be here if the baddies weren’t looking for you. From what I overhear the hot brothers talking about, there is a dark Queen and a witch. Think Maleficent from Sleeping Beauty and then multiply it.”

“Fuck,” Sorscha whispered.

She felt Cassandra’s cold hands make comforting circles.

“Well, look on the bright side. You get to seduce a super-hot, huge grizzly. I mean, Sorscha, did you see his cock? Damn, girl. Do you know how to use that?”

Sorscha laughed through the tears and looked up. She tidied her face before standing up.

“I’ve never had sex—well—I’ve done touching, guys have gone down on me, and done the whole finger thing, but never sex. I’m sort of an amateur,” she confessed.

“Oh, honey, I have so much to teach you then.” Cassandra slipped her arm through Sorscha’s. “First, we need to get you fed. I’m sure the boys are already eating. We have these great fruits and drinks that will perk you right up. They might make you horny, too. Fae food tends to do that to the best of us.” She giggled and guided Sorscha out the doors.

They chatted about the elves, and how Sorscha would kill for an espresso right about now, before coming into a great hall. The walls were all crystal clear and they overlooked a huge frozen lake. Images of ice skating and laughing filled her mind.

“Am I ever not going to be struck dumb by this place?” Sorscha asked.

“Not likely. Even I get dumbstruck over things. The dragon sort of still makes me a bit crazy. Haven’t seen him in a while, though.” Cassandra guided her to a huge table with crazy colored fruits, steaming meats and huge pitchers of a liquid that smelled like the sweetest juice.

Cassandra handed her a plate, and she filled up on anything she could fit, mostly the fruits. They looked like plump jewels decorating her plate. One was purple and oval with tiny spikes that poked out of it. Another looked almost like a strawberry—only it was blue. Not quite a blueberry, but the seeds decorating the outside of the berry were bright red. They looked like tiny rubies set in sapphires. The beef looked and smelled delectable. Turning to head over to find a seat at the very long crystal table, she nearly slammed into a golden chest.

Sorscha tried to swallow, but the tiny pulse between her legs halted her movements. These guys were dangerous. They were like porn poison all wrapped up in this lean glittery package that promised nights of raw passion.

“Um, excuse me, please,” she stammered.

The man smirked down at her. He brought up a mug to his lips and took a long drink. She gulped with him as she watched his throat work the liquid down. His Adam’s apple bobbed.

Sweet fuck, that was hot
.

Shaking her head, she struggled to get her mind straight.

Where’s William?

Before she could move around the beautiful man, she took a step back right into a solid wall. Closing her eyes, she fisted her plate and fought for control.

“We got you a drink, Mistress.” The word Mistress slithered out of the mouth of the one behind her.

The two elves closed in, and on a squeal of doubt she heard the growl echo through the room. The elves were gone. Her gaze darted around. Cassandra looked amused, Eridus shook his head with a look which said he was not amused, and William looked ready to shift and tear hot elf flesh apart.

He was panting so hard she expected steam to come from his mouth and nose. Quickly she stepped away from the elves, but one spoke up.

“Aw, please sit with us, Mistress. Look, we even saved you a seat between us.” He took a bite from his fruit. The juices slipped down his chin and dotted his impressive pectorals.

This isn’t even fucking fair.

Her eyes lingered and then turned toward William. He pinned her with his hard gaze. His eyes took in every inch of her. The gaze lingered on her mound, causing it to spark to life even more. Wet heat seeped through. Then her breasts were pinned by his dark eyes. Her nipples poked through the very thin layer of snow Cassandra had woven for her. William cursed and then stormed towards the long table against the wall that held the banquet.

Was it so horrible that she wanted him to swoop her up, kiss her, take her breath away like some Harlequin romance to show the whole room she was his?

Yeah, it was bad. It was bad and extremely pathetic.

She took a seat between the two nearly glowing elves. They joked and chatted. One of them—she wasn’t sure who was who and she didn’t ask—poured her some of that sweet juice. All she knew was they both had names that began with E and they were too close and kind of ridiculous. It couldn’t be juice, though. The more she drank the more aroused and giddy she got. Her tongue got loose and she started spouting off Doctor Who facts, and how the way to her heart was through a TARDIS.

God, someone stop me, please.

She kept hearing growls and snarls from William. He was across from her, next to Cassandra. She looked up once and caught Cassandra leaning in. Eridus sat at the head of the table. His foot rested on the large chair, bringing his knee up high. He rested his forearm over it, his mug hanging lazily from his fingers. He watched his wife with a languid smirk.

Letting out a dramatic sigh, she leaned forward. Her lips kissed the rim of her mug and she felt a trail of liquid slip down her chin and trickle over her impressive cleavage. With a giggle she looked down and tried to dab at it.

One of the elves let out a hearty rumble. “Here, let me get that for you.”

Before she could protest, his fingers slipped through the liquid, across the creamy mounds of her breasts. A shock of lust melted into her core and she whimpered. Her gaze met the guilty elf, who didn’t look guilty at all, and he sucked the juice off her fingertip.

“So sweet,” he purred.

The roar shattered the moment of silent arousal. Sorscha screamed and stumbled back from the table. The chair clattered to the floor. All the while Cassandra smirked into her mug, Eridus sat calm as could be, and William stalked towards her, eating up the space in what seemed like milliseconds. His hard, hot body collided with hers, her palms slammed into his chest, and she pushed at him.

“I warned you, elf!” he roared.

She squealed and froze.

“Ah, come on, bear. We were just having a bit of fun.”

“Oh yes, fun. Is that what you call pissing off a bear by fucking around with his mate?” A new female voice sounded from the doorway.

Sorscha turned, and her stomach bottomed out. A woman, just as beautiful as the male elves, leaned against the doorway.

Her posture appeared lazy, but her gaze had a piercing alertness when it locked on hers.

“Great, there are girl versions of you! We normal chicks haven’t a chance in hell.” Sorscha moaned.

Cassandra snorted.

The new woman’s lips twitched but a smirk never formed.

“We were just having fun, sis. Besides, the bear ain’t claiming, and I’m damned lonely.” One of the naughty elves pouted.