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Chapter 71
Levi and Haiden leave the dining room after Xavier murmurs something low to them, too quiet for me to heat. Haiden smirks at me as he shuts the door behind him. Levi offers a single glance back, one that says behave, and then they’re gone. The silence that follows is thick. I exhale, only just realizing how tightly I’ve been holding myself together all day. The cold truths under Tolaris. The weight of what I am. The way Felix looked at me was like I was a ticking bomb dressed in black. My body aches, not from pain, but from the pressure, the relentless need to do, to carry, to fight. Xavier sees it. Of course he does. He always sees everything. I stand as he does, moving without thought.
“You’re unravelling,” he says simply, walking around the table, slow and measured like a predator closing in on prey.
“I’m holding it together.”
“You think you are.”
Behind me, Noah rises and comes to stand close, too close. His presence is fire at my back, while Xavier is cold steel in front of me.
“You’ve been working hard all day,” Noah murmurs, voice warm in my ear. “Maybe it’s time we remind you what it’s like to be held.”
“I don’t need…”
“You do,” Xavier cuts in. “Let us.”
I try to swallow, but my throat’s dry. My body is betraying me, already responding, already humming with anticipation. It’s not just the words. It’s them. The way they watch me like I’m not just theirs, but something sacred. It’s not a demand. It’s a promise.
Xavier reaches out first, fingers brushing the edge of my jaw, tipping my face up to meet his.
“You’re not alone in this anymore,” he says, eyes burning. “You carry the Veil. The weight. The underworld. The pack. The war. But tonight, you let us carry you.”
Noah’s hands slide around my waist from behind, pulling me flush against him, and suddenly my spine arches, breath hitched. I should stop this. I should say no. But my body is melting under their touch, and my mind, gods, my mind is screaming yes.
Xavier moves in, lips brushing over mine like a ghost of a kiss.
“Breathe, little mate.”
I do. Shaky. Raw. Then everything happens at once. Noah’s hands tighten at my hips, guiding me forward. Xavier takes my wrist and places it on the table. The polished wood is cool under my palms as they position me, gently, but firmly. Bent forward, arms braced, breath catching against the linen napkins and untouched plates. Clothes peel off me in pieces. Cool air grazes my back. Noah’s mouth is on my neck, teeth grazing just enough to make me shiver, while Xavier’s hands roam lower, slower, deliberate. His touch is like worship and possession at once.
“You’re shaking,” Xavier mutters against my shoulder as he pulls me back just enough to kiss the curve of my spine.
“I’m not afraid.”
“No,” Noah says, voice deeper now. “You’re ready.”
There’s no rush. No fumbling. Every motion is controlled, fluid, like they’ve been waiting for this moment. Maybe they have. Every time I thought they were being too patient, too careful, it was this. They were holding back. Letting me choose when, and I’m choosing now,
I moan, quiet, needy, as Xavier slides a hand beneath me, and Noah presses forward behind me, lips and tongue tracing symbols only he seems to know. Every brush of skin feels like a spark. Every sigh feels like permission.
“Say it,” Xavier whispers.
“Say what?” I gasp.
“That you’re ours.”
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Chapter 71
I grip the table harder, lips parting on a sound that’s almost a growl. “I’m not saying it until you make me scream it.”
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