Dying in Flames by M. Sinclair

4

Maya

October 29th.

I frowned, tilting my head to the side, feeling a bit odd about seeing that date when it had only been a day or so that had passed for me. Then again, I had never had an extremely good grasp on time, because the only thing I had to base time off of as a kid was how light and dark the ground was outside of my window.

I ran a hand through my hair as Bella offered a cute meow, curling up on my bed while licking her fur, which was slowly turning back to black and white. I smiled at her pure sweetness, but after a minute, moved into my stunning en suite bathroom, turning on the shower and stripping out of my clothes. The room began to steam up, and when I got under the water, I immediately let out a soft sigh, closing my eyes.

I think hot showers were one of my favorite things outside of my mates, glitter, and kittens.

I honestly couldn’t tell you how long I stayed under the water, but after scrubbing my hair and body, eager to get any blood or ashes off me, I began to push thoughts of earlier from my head. I couldn’t fully, because despite all those that had died, Pastor Malcolm was still alive, and even worse, my gut told me that there were more phoenixes trapped as I’d been. I wasn’t going to let that go.

When I was done with my shower, I stepped out and brushed through my hair at the vanity, looking over how tired I appeared. I examined my pink nails and toenails, wondering if I could get them redone soon in a more autumnal color like the leaves outside. Maybe Jordan would want to go with me…

Crap. I needed to talk to her, especially following Pastor Malcolm’s escape and possibly Lorn’s, although I truly hoped that he hadn’t escaped as well. There was something very wrong with him.

Looking over my room, I realized I had no idea where my phone was to begin with. When was the last time I’d had it? I would need to ask one of the boys.

After getting comfortable and cozy in a fresh pair of lacey pink underwear, I put on a fluffy white sparkly robe and slippers, padding back into my bedroom. I froze, finding a freshly showered Atlas sitting on the bed with Bella, who was pouncing on a stuffed pink mouse. I pretended to scowl as she bit the mouse’s head, like a vicious little predator, and as if knowing, she looked up at me with an innocent expression…mouse still in her mouth.

“Oh no.” I waggled my finger. “You can’t act all innocent. You just bit that mouse’s head off. That really isn’t nice, Bella.”

Atlas chuckled, his gold eyes lighting up with amusement as I made my way towards him. A low rumble escaped his throat as he noticed what I was wearing.

“You are so beautiful, angel,” he murmured, motioning me forward. I easily walked into his arms, his head resting against my chest as my fingers ran through his damp hair.

“Today has been…something,” I murmured.

He nodded and looked up at me. “Marco and the rest of them are nearly home. I suggested we take the night off to relax as a family. Anani and Ledger are making some dinner, and I think the boys need to settle in. We put them in the apartment above the garage, and when I went to go check on them, most of them were already asleep.”

“Oh good.” I nodded, knowing I needed to officially meet them but hoping it could wait until tomorrow.

Also, I hadn’t realized there was anything above the garage in the first place. I clearly needed to spend more time exploring our home. Although, after everything we’d been through, I was starting to wonder if we needed to find somewhere new. Somewhere that was fresh for all of us.

Did I have a right to ask that of them though?

“How do you feel about a movie night?”

“I love that idea,” I agreed happily before turning serious. “Can you promise me that we will try to figure out this thing with other phoenixes? I have a feeling it’s really bad, Atlas.”

“We already have probes out about it. Trust me, Maya, we will get to the bottom of it,” he promised, picking up my hand and pressing a kiss to the pink ring there, making my toes curl. The massive pink diamond ring on my finger made me feel exhilarated every time I looked at it. I had never given much thought to getting married or any future past the basement before meeting my mates, but now all of it sounded extremely appealing.

“Okay,” I whispered, leaning into him as I offered him a soft smile. “I love you.”

“I love you more, angel.” His face was so serious as he grasped my jaw. “I need you to be honest with me. Are you okay after today? I know seeing that bastard can’t have been easy.”

“He scares me,” I admitted before adding, “but I feel safe with you guys. I know you would never let him get away with what he wants. I just want him out of our life completely…no matter the cost.” I whispered that last part because I should have been ashamed for what I was insinuating.

Instead of being surprised, Atlas’s eyes lit up as he kissed me softly, causing my body to go completely pliant and sending heat waves through every nerve ending. When I finally pulled away, I couldn’t help but offer him a goofy smile.

“I want you to only relax tonight, nothing else,” he demanded with a tone that had my toes curling. I nodded, and Bella meowed as if he was asking her as well. He stood in my space and easily lifted me against him, his lips pressing against mine, and I let out a happy sigh as he set me down a moment later.

“Get dressed.” He nipped my nose and disappeared through the door.

Atlas was right—I needed to relax with my mates tonight. Tomorrow I would focus on the bigger questions.

Picking out a pair of pink silk shorts and a matching tank top, I pulled the soft material over my skin. I thought about putting on a bra, but considering it was just my mates, I told myself to not worry about that and instead pulled on a matching robe that had fluffy white fur on the edge of it that matched my slippers. I clipped my hair up so the damp strands didn’t get on my clothes and grabbed Bella, her collar glinting in the relaxed bedroom lighting nearly as much as my ring.

My ring. My engagement ring. What did that mean going forward? I always felt like I was in a whirlwind with these men, and I never had any idea what to expect next. I loved it though. I also found myself staring at the ring more often than I assumed… I mean, it was pink and sparkled. I really had a feeling that these men had figured me out, because I couldn’t help myself from constantly appreciating it.

I also could never say no with a ring like this…not that I would ever want to, of course. Although if I tried, I had a feeling they would get all growly, and that had the potential to be very fun.

“Kitten?” Sai’s voice had me snapping my head to where he walked over from his bedroom, my mouth instantly going dry at how amazing he looked. I swallowed, my eyes wide as I looked over his amber skin and the way his tattoos almost seemed to conform to his muscles. As he appeared in front of me, I ran my fingers over his chest, a hiss coming out of his clenched teeth as he pulled me fully against him.

“Damnit,” he muttered a small curse. “You should not be able to wear silk.”

“Why not?” I walked my fingers up his chest as Bella hopped down and proceeded to ignore us, making her way towards the smell of food. It distracted me enough that I didn’t notice Sai was backing me up until I was leaning against the wall with him caging me.

“Because you look edible,” he admitted, brushing his nose against my neck. My skin broke out into shivers, the reaction to him being like this almost primal.

“Didn’t Marco say dragons ate princesses?” I whispered. “I’m not opposed to that type of eating.”

Sai chuckled softly. “Yeah? Did you like my mouth between your thighs, kitten?”

“Yes,” I whimpered as his fingers moved from my waist until they were running against the silk of my shorts, causing everything to tighten as I squirmed against him.

“Fuck. I can smell your little pussy getting all wet for me,” he groaned, his lips tracing my jaw as my nipples hardened against the silk top, my breath catching when his thumb brushed over the sensitive peak.

I wanted Sai so bad. I could feel it in every element of my being that called out to him, wanting him to slide inside of me…

“No.” Marco came up the stairs, sounding pretty darn grumpy and causing Sai to groan.

“You are such a fucking cockblock,” Sai complained against my neck. Marco rolled his eyes, his body covered in ash and his eyes filled with exhaustion he was trying to hide.

“Yes, that is why I am saying no,” Marco drew out. “Makes complete sense since I didn’t kick your dumb ass for making her come with her parents right outside—”

“Ah!” I blushed, covering my ears and narrowing my eyes at the man, his smile growing.

“So why then?” Sai argued.

“She’s exhausted, for one,” Marco pointed out as Sai kissed my forehead with a sound of agreement. “But more than that, everyone is on edge, and I don’t trust that Maya won’t attract everyone to join in with how fucking sweet she smells right now. Baby girl, feel free to correct me if I’m wrong, but I have a feeling that you aren’t ready for that yet.”

All of them? At once? Oh my.

I opened my mouth to answer before sucking on my bottom lip, my mind greatly disagreeing with my body.

Sai broke out into laughter before shaking his head and kissing me again. “Fine, Marco. Fine.” He sounded more amused than anything as he walked down the steps, leaving me with Marco.

“Is it true?” I asked with a small smile. “Are you being a cockblock?”

Marco walked up to me, caging me against the wall but not touching me. “Is that what I did to you, Maya? Am I wrong about you being ready for more than just one or two of us at a time? I feel like you might not be positive about what exactly you want, because you didn’t disagree or agree with the notion of being with multiple of us.”

“I don’t mind the idea,” I whispered, my breath catching.

“Fuck,” Marco muttered and then stepped back. “Alright baby girl, you gotta go downstairs, because if you keep talking like that, I won’t be responsible for my actions.”

“Responsibility sucks,” I murmured. His lips kicked up, genuine amusement pulsing through our bond.

“We can be irresponsible later. I need to take care of you, which means you need to eat, okay? Plus, I would rather not fuck you while covered in the ashes of dead witches.”

My eyes widened. “Marco!”

“What?” he asked seriously, looking confused.

“They’re dead,” I whispered. “Don’t talk about them like that. It’s mean.”

“They hurt you,” he leveled. “They didn’t see ‘mean,’ even when I killed them.”

“But they are dead now.” I motioned to his disheveled state. “We probably shouldn’t even be talking about them.”

“Yet you are.” He smirked before tilting his head. “And taking it extremely well.”

I nibbled my lip again. “My phoenix and I are a bit at odds with what occurred today.”

“And what does your phoenix say?”

“That I should be okay with it completely. That they deserved more than that,” I whispered.

Marco’s eyes flashed with his dragon. “Well, most shifters like us have to balance out our other side. There are a lot of things that my dragon wants—that I want as well, for the record—but I know it’s not the right timing for some of it.”

“Like what?” I asked curiously as a low rumble escaped his lips.

“Nope.” He shook his head. “We aren’t going there. You need food.”

“Marco,” I complained. “Please?”

“No.” He chuckled and nodded towards the stairs. “Go eat before I make you.”

I sort of liked that idea…

“Fine.” I pouted as I went up on my toes, offering my lips. He dipped his mouth down and pressed them hard before stepping away.

“Oh. Where is my phone?” I asked.

“Should be in the office. Atlas just updated a bunch of them, yours is still pink though.” He nodded towards the office.

I made my way past him, letting out a squeak as he slapped my butt hard in passing, offering me an amused look as if I was going to do anything but blush. I muttered under my breath about hitting his butt the next time he walked past me.

For some reason, he found that super funny.

Marco’s home office was gorgeous and overlooked the front of the house, the lights blinking on to a relaxed dim as I stepped into the space. I immediately spotted the phones on the desk. I walked over to them and looked over each, easily able to tell you who each belonged to.

The silver one belonged to Henry, the green to Croy, the navy to Marco, the gold to Atlas, the black to Anani, the orange to Ledger, and the red to Sai. My pink one sat at the end, but this time was covered in a clear silicone case that when flipped over had glitter that moved around in it. Now that was a phone case.

As I went to leave, I heard one of the phones ding and looked towards the silver one that belonged to Henry. I should bring that down to him; I didn’t want him to miss anything important. When I went to grab it, the screen automatically opened to the message, making me jolt slightly in surprise when it ‘dinged’ once again. I dropped it, wincing at the sound of the impact. Man, I was so clumsy right now…which led me to believe I was still a bit physically worked up from earlier. It would explain my jumpiness.

Also, didn’t our phones have the fingerprint thing we had to do? Maybe he hadn’t gotten to do his own yet. Not thinking anything of it, I picked up the phone and flipped it back over…to find it open to a message. Specifically, a message with several numbers, none of the contacts saved, but featuring three pictures from a woman. I felt everything freeze as several emotions hit me at once, none that I had expected.

First, annoyance, because how the heck had this woman gotten my mate’s number? It was clear they didn’t know each other because it was an unsaved number like the rest of them. That made me feel moderately better…but still annoyed. Although I was glad to see that they didn’t talk or anything.

Secondly, confusion, because why was she wearing glittery wings? I found myself envious—and again, annoyed—about that.

Thirdly, anger, because who did she think she was to invite my mate to a Halloween party? It wasn’t just him, either. It was a bunch of people in this message, and with the little emojis they seemed to be responding back with, they seemed to all like her picture. A lot. Although I had to question what appeared to be a picture of an eggplant…it didn’t seem to really fit with the winky faces and other assortment of reactions.

A Halloween party? Henry wouldn’t want to go to her Halloween party. I knew that.

Of course I had heard of it, though I’d obviously never taken part. My understanding was that it was a celebration to eat candy and dress up as different creatures or characters… But this woman was wearing essentially just a swimsuit—or a bra and panties, depending on how you looked at it. I didn’t like that at all. Closing the phone, I made my way downstairs, deciding to tell him about this woman’s rude behavior.

I briefly noticed that Atlas and Sai were outside talking to a few men in dark uniforms, and the twins were in the kitchen, working on something. I ignored all of that to go to Henry and Croy in the living room, both showered and looking really handsome, which did not help my current temperament. I wasn’t exactly mad at Henry, but I was annoyed that she had somehow gotten his number.

“Henry.” I could hear the frustration in my voice.

“Yes, sweetheart?” He looked up from his drink before frowning at the phone in my hand. I put my hands on my hips as Croy chuckled, his eyes heating on my frame and distracting me for a moment before I looked back at Henry.

“I’m upset,” I pointed out.

“At me?” He leaned forward, putting his elbows on his knees and offering me his full attention. Except Henry’s full attention had my skin breaking out into chills as I tried to not focus on the effect he seemed to always have on my body.

“Yes.” I nodded earnestly and then held up his phone. “I know it’s not your fault, and I have no idea how she got your number, but there is a woman sending you pictures of herself in a swimsuit and wings for some type of Halloween party—”

“What the fuck?” Croy demanded. Henry’s face turned shocked as he grabbed the phone from my hand. I wouldn’t lie, his immediate grimace and expression of annoyance had me feeling far better than before. I hadn’t doubted him or anything, but I still was getting used to this mate thing, and the sting of jealousy and vulnerability was one I was still getting used to.

“It’s just not polite,” I pointed out quietly. “I get if she wants to show you her costume, but she is almost naked, and she isn’t your mate. That is super rude.”

“I would agree with that.” Croy sounded amused now.

Henry pressed ‘block’ to the number before deleting the message, running a hand down his face. “So fucking random. I tutored that girl three years ago, she went to our high school—”

“Were you guys friends?” I asked, suddenly feeling insecure.

“Maker, no.” Henry shook his head as Croy kissed the top of my head, leaving me alone with Henry. The man sat down, looking miserable, and I suddenly felt horrible for making him sad.

“I’m sorry,” I whispered. He looked up at me, looking more surprised than before, so I explained, “I didn’t mean to upset you, I just didn’t like that she had messaged you that.”

“Sweetheart.” He motioned me forward and I slid onto his lap, his fingers running over my hips to my butt. “If a man ever sent you a photo like that, I would lose my goddamn mind. You have every right to be upset. I am sorry you had to see that. I don’t talk to her at all. I didn’t realize she even had my number, and I have no idea who else was in that group, but I have to assume people from school. She was friends with Becky and that entire crowd, so not anyone I associated with willingly—”

“Maybe they did it knowing I would see it,” I interrupted.

“That’s possible,” he sighed, the frustration clear on his face before transforming into concern. “I could feel you getting upset upstairs, but because you were frustrated, your thoughts weren’t open to me at all. I’m so sorry, sweetheart.”

“It’s really fine.” I gave him a small smile. “I know you love me. She just wishes you loved her.”

“Damn right, I love you,” he growled softly.

I let out a squeak as he suddenly tugged me down into a heated kiss. I surrendered to it completely, my center clenching as I felt how hard he was getting underneath me. I felt like I kept getting so close to connecting to Henry that way, and I wanted more. I didn’t want to stop like before. I wanted all of him. Completely. I just didn’t know how to ask for what I wanted. I always felt a bit nervous dealing with Henry.

“I said ‘no.’ That applies to you too, Henry,” Marco called as he trotted down the steps. Henry let out a low rumble, his lips just lightly pressed against my throat, before pulling back and offering me a look that had me knowing he was going to tell him what happened.

“I don’t know, Marco.” He sighed as my mate came into the room. “I am pretty sure I have to make it up to Maya because some random girl messaged me a picture of her Halloween costume. Maya was pretty upset with me. May still be.”

Marco froze. “Some girl did what?”

“Messaged him a Halloween picture, but she was essentially naked, Marco.” I shook my head and sighed. “I swear, I don’t know a lot, but mate etiquette is pretty clear. I mean, that would be like if I sent Jordan’s mates—”

“Please do not finish that statement,” Henry hissed.

“Just saying.” I shrugged.

Marco inhaled sharply. “Come on, dinner time. Henry, you may want to change your number, especially if anyone has it from tutoring at school.”

Henry nodded, and I let Marco help me up. I gave Henry a small smile as he squeezed my hand in passing. I wasn’t mad at him, not really, but I did think that woman needed a lesson on manners when it came to mates. Maybe if I ever ran into her I would tell her exactly how I felt.

Or just take her sparkly wings.