Chapter 5 Fifth one

The training lasted three more brutal hours before Avalon finally called it.

"Enough," he said, and I collapsed against the padded wall, sweat dripping down my spine. My muscles screamed, but underneath the exhaustion, something fierce and alive hummed through my veins.

"She's stronger already," Osilus observed, tossing me a towel. "Her wolf is responding fast."

"The Phoenix fire is feeding her," Zane added, circling me like he always did. "Give her a week and she'll be able to shift fully."

"A week isn't enough," Avalon said, his gaze fixed on me with an intensity that made my skin prickle. "The Council meets in ten days. If they get wind of what she is..."

"Then we make sure they don't," I cut in, pushing off the wall. My legs wobbled but I forced them steady. "I'm not hiding like some fragile thing."

"No one said you were fragile," Avalon stepped closer, and the air between us thickened. "But you're also not invincible. Not yet."

"Then make me invincible," I challenged, meeting his ice-blue eyes. "That's what you promised, isn't it? To help me?"

His jaw tightened. "Go clean up. We'll discuss strategy over dinner."

"Is that an order, husband?" The word dripped with venom.

Something dangerous flickered in his expression. "It's a suggestion but if you want me to make it an order, I can."

The mate bond flared between us-his frost against my fire-and for a moment, neither of us moved. Then Zane laughed, breaking the tension.

"God, the sexual tension between you two could burn down the estate," he said. "Just fuck already and get it over with."

"Zane," Osilus warned, but there was amusement in his tone.

I felt heat crawl up my neck. "I'm going to shower." I pushed past Avalon, deliberately brushing his shoulder. The contact sent electricity skating across my skin, and I heard his sharp intake of breath.

"Zephyr," he called after me.

I didn't turn around. "What?"

"Use the master suite. Your room... the window's still broken from when Zane crashed through it."

"Fine." I kept walking, feeling all three of their gazes burning into my back.

The master suite was quite large. The wood was dark and it gave a cosy vibe with large windows overlooking the forest. The bed was massive, draped in black Egyptian silk.

His bed, I thought, remembering the first time I'd seen this room. In my previous life, I'd never been allowed inside. Valta had occupied it instead, and I'd been relegated to the guest wing like an unwanted burden.

Now, I stood in the center of it as sweat dripped down my breasts.

"Fuck him," I muttered, heading for the adjoining bathroom.

I stripped off my training clothes and stepped under the spray, letting the hot water pound against my sore muscles.

I closed my eyes and tried not to think about the mate bonds thrumming beneath my skin. Tried not to think about how Avalon's touch had felt when he'd grabbed my throat during training.

Tried not to think about the way all three of them had looked at me like I was something precious and breakable and worth protecting.

I don't need protection, I reminded myself. I need revenge.

But even as I thought it, doubt crept in. Because the bonds were getting stronger, and every time one of them touched me, it became harder to remember why I hated them.

I was so lost in my thoughts that I didn't hear the bathroom door open.

"Zephyr."

I gasped, spinning around to find Avalon standing in the doorway. His dark hair was still damp, and he wore only a pair of low-slung black pants that left his scarred chest on full display.

"What the hell are you doing?" I demanded, grabbing for a towel. But he moved faster, crossing the space between us in two strides and caging me against the shower wall.

"We need to talk," he said, his voice low and rough.

"So talk," I shot back, very aware of my nakedness and the heat radiating from his body. "From over there."

"No." His hand came up to cup my jaw, thumb tracing my cheekbone. "Because every time I get close to you, you run. And we're done running from this."

"This?" My heart hammered against my ribs. "There is no 'this.' There's a mate bond neither of us wanted and..."

"I want it," he interrupted, and the conviction in his voice made me freeze. "I want you."

"Liar," I breathed. "You wanted Valta. You made that very clear."

Pain flashed across his face. "I was an idiot. I thought... I thought mates were about duty and obligation. That the bond was a cage." His other hand pressed against the tile beside my head, trapping me completely. "But feeling you, Zephyr-feeling this bond-it's not a cage. It's the first time I've ever felt free."

"Pretty words," I swallowed. "They don't change what you did to me."

"I know." His forehead dropped to mine, and I felt his breath against my lips. "I know I hurt you. Humiliated you. Made you feel worthless when you were anything but it. And I can't take that back." His hand slid from my jaw to my throat. "But I can show you what you mean to me now. Let me, Zephyr. Let me worship you the way I should have from the beginning."

The water continued to pour down around us, steam filling the air between us. My hands came up to push him away, but instead, they flattened against his chest. I could feel his heartbeat racing as fast as mine.

"This is a mistake," I whispered.

"Probably," he agreed. Then his mouth crashed against mine.

His tongue swept against mine as his hand tightened on my throat, and I gasped into his mouth. The mate bond exploded between us, ice and fire colliding in a rush of sensation that made my knees weak.

Avalon caught me, one arm wrapped around my waist as he lifted me effortlessly. My legs wrapped around his hips on instinct, and I felt the hard length of him pressed against my core through his pants.

"Fuck," he groaned against my lips. "You feel perfect."

"Shut up," I panted, nails digging into his shoulders. "Just-shut up and-"

He bit my lower lip hard enough to sting, then soothed it with his tongue. "And what? Tell me what you want, Zephyr."

"I want..." The words stuck in my throat. Because what I wanted was complicated and messy and went against every ounce of self-preservation I had left.

"Say it," he commanded, his Alpha voice rolling through me like thunder. And God help me, my body responded-heat flooding between my thighs as the bond pulsed with need.

"I want you to make me forget," I finally admitted, the truth ripping out of me. "Make me forget how much you hurt me. Make me forget everything except this."

Something fierce and possessive blazed in his eyes. "Done."

He carried me out of the shower, water dripping everywhere as he backed me toward the bed. When my legs hit the mattress, he laid me down with surprising gentleness-a stark contrast to the barely leashed violence in his movements.

"You're so fucking beautiful," he said, his gaze raking over my naked body. "I was blind not to see it before."

"Stop talking," I demanded, reaching for him. "Just..."

But he caught my wrists, pinning them above my head with one hand. "No. You're going to lie there and let me apologize properly." His free hand traced down my body, over my collarbone, between my breasts, across my stomach. "And you're going to feel every second of it."

His mouth followed the path his hand had traced, and I arched off the bed as his tongue circled my nipple. He sucked hard enough to make me gasp, then moved to the other breast, lavishing it with the same attention.

"Avalon," I moaned, trying to free my hands. But his grip was iron, and the dominance in it made something dark and needy rise in my core.

"Say my name again," he commanded, teeth grazing down my ribs.