Ten Fingers, Ten Toes 🌶🌶🌶

ZAYDA

This was supposed to be the best moment in every mother’s life.

But as I held my child in my arms for the first time, fear made me shiver—even in the warm pool.

We were still bound by my umbilical cord. I would literally never be this close to my child again.

But nonetheless, I felt far away.

And terrified.

The child’s wails rose into the night, as if it was as scared as I was.

I took in its face, wanting to feel the way other mothers felt.

Blessed. In awe of my own creation.

But the child before me was hardly even human.

Its skin was covered in patches of translucent scales. Its mouth was already filled with teeth—dragon teeth. Pointed and, I feared, sharp.

I looked down its body to see a little penis curled up like a shell.

~I have a son.~

~Xythor will be so—~

But what ~would~ he be? Happy? Proud?

The man I loved didn’t seem to feel anything anymore. But I held on to the hope that ~this~ baby, his son, might bring him back.

My heart dropped as I realized that between his legs swung a tail, covered in more flesh-colored scales.

His toenails and fingernails were talons.

As I turned him over onto his stomach, I saw that he had two tiny wings.

~You knew this was coming,~ I scolded myself.

~You saw in the visions what your child would be.~

But I ignored that—and everything else I knew about my cursed fate. I had to deny it all in order to survive the pregnancy.

Tears blurred my vision as I turned to Summer.

She had saved my life. And she was still by my side.

Her hand rested on my back, rubbing it comfortingly.

“I’m right here, Z. I’ll be right here, and I’m going to help you raise this baby.”

I was stunned by her generosity.

“Why?” I asked. Why did she feel so connected to me? At every turn, I had tried to shut her out.

When I blinked the tears away, her expression was serious and loving.

~What had I done to deserve a friend like Summer?~

“Zayda, I’m mated to dragons too. If anyone can understand you, it’s me.”

I nodded as the tears came back. Her support gave me strength in the hardest moment of my life…as it had all through my pregnancy.

So I chose to ignore the all-important little detail that Dane and Aneurin were her ~mates~, while Xythor had never claimed me.

For that reason, ~her~ child would be different. Her child would be human. Or dragon. But not something in between.

I chose to ignore the fact that no amount of optimism could carry me through this nightmare that had become my life.

“You’re the best friend I’ve ever had,” I told Summer, meaning it. “Thank you for everything.”

Summer pulled me in for a hug. I relaxed in her arms, and between us, the baby’s crying came to a stop.

~Maybe things will be okay…~

Summer and I stared down in awe of the baby before us, wondering what would happen next.

It looked up at us with reptilian blue eyes.

And then it let out a burp that sounded like any other human infant’s.

I smiled at Summer, delirious with relief and happiness.

But just then, I felt my skin burn, and the scent of burning hair filled the air.

~Oh God.~

~My baby breathes fire.~

STORM

The Skeleton Quarter. Its grime and filth had taken on a whole new level of desperation in my eyes.

This part of town had always been home to the lowest of the low…

But now, the slayers lived here. The dirtiest of all the dirty human rats.

I couldn’t scent them yet…but maybe my comrades could.

Storm

Does anyone smell rotting flesh?

Silver

Not yet. Only garbage.

Aneurin

Me either.

Storm

Wait a minute…follow me.

I angled down a narrow alley with Silver, Dane, and Aneurin at my heels.

I sniffed the acrid air, knowing we were close to where a slayer had been.

Hopefully, we would find their lair.

As the unmistakable smell of rot grew more potent, I began to run. I immediately knew this was worse than I had expected.

Because the smell of rot was accompanied by smoke—dragonsmoke.

At the next corner, I turned left and was stopped in my tracks by the scene before me.

A brick wall covered in soot from dragonfire. The street had been torn apart by talons.

I leaned down to pick up a clear, iridescent scale.

“One of our own has struggled here,” I said aloud to my compatriots, who were also taking in the disturbing reality. “Let’s hope we can find them…before it’s too late.”

MADDIE

In the back of the Dobrzyckas’ chauffeured car, I unlocked my phone to read the messages from Loch and Hael one more time.

I hadn’t seen my mates the night before because I had stayed out drinking with Harry until close to morning.

I’d received the text from them at 3 a.m., and I have to admit that it had given me goose bumps.

They were total fucking jerks…but they were also hot as fuck.

Loch

We request your presence tomorrow evening, 9PM sharp in the casino’s vault.

Loch

Our car will be waiting for you outside the penthouse.

Loch

Come prepared, little mouse… 😈

Was their cocky invitation kind of annoying? Yes.

But did I give a fuck? Not really. Especially when I was thinking about sex ~and~ money.

So, at the appropriate time, I’d ridden the elevator wearing a long trench coat with nothing on underneath, and hopped into the town car.

I gazed out at Requiem City from my window. The skyscrapers began to disappear until we were in the urban wasteland that surrounded the casino.

My mates and I weren’t exactly getting along on the business front. But, ~pleasure~ always came easier for us, anyway…

When the car stopped, I let myself out and stood on the new red carpet. Through the floor-to-ceiling glass, I could see the dazzling beauty of the gambling floor.

The chandeliers glittered in the fading sunlight, and the card tables invited me to try my luck.

We were all ready for the reopening tomorrow night.

An armed guard nodded to me as I entered and made my way to the back of the first floor, where the vault was located.

The huge, metal door was open, its intricate gears exposed.

When I looked inside, my breath hitched.

First of all, Loch and Hael were lounging there in leather pants. Second, there was already ~so much money~.

“What the fuck?” I gasped, racing to the massive pile of gold coins, burying my hands in it, and letting coins spill through my fingers.

“Our opening night was successful in ~some~ ways,” Hael smirked.

“And we added some of our own seed money,” Loch added.

In that moment, I forgot that I was mad at them. All of this money would go to help the orphans of Requiem.

Loch and Hael were sitting next to each other on the pile of gold, smiling at me with matching, sexy smirks.

“Close the door, mouse,” Loch ordered in a low voice.

“You’re going to lock us in here?” I asked, crossing my arms over my chest.

“Only for as long as we want. We know the code…but we’re the only ones,” Hael said with a raised eyebrow.

I pulled the massive door closed. Hael snapped and the lighting went low, red, and hazy, and smooth R & B started to play.

Loch and Hael devoured me with their eyes as I played with the knot of my trench coat. They opened their leather-clad legs wide so I could watch their erections grow.

I bit my lip as I undid the tie and let the coat fall off my shoulders.

My mates growled at the sight of my bare breasts.

Finally, I dropped the coat to the ground and kicked off my high-heeled pumps.

“Come,” Hael demanded as he reached for me.

I walked toward them slowly, making them wait as I stepped on the cool gold coins with my bare feet.

Finally, Hael caught me in his arms and pulled me into his lap as effortlessly as if I was a doll.

I felt his erection under my ass.

“Mmmmm,” I moaned as he kissed me deeply.

When I opened my eyes, Loch was standing before me. I reached for the button of his pants and pulled them down until his cock sprang out.

His huge length bounced before me, and since it was right there anyway, I took his massive tip in my mouth.

But I didn’t give him what he wanted for long. I pulled away and slid off Hael’s lap and onto my knees before him, pulling off his tight leather pants so he was naked too.

I watched, deliriously horny, as Hael began to stroke his cock with one hand and cup his balls with the other.

I arched my back and felt Loch’s hand reach under me and begin to work my clit. I sank down onto him and moaned as a finger slipped inside me.

Hael smiled at me as he moved his hand down and gripped the base of his cock, inviting me to take the tip of it.

I was happy to oblige, and I hungrily took him into my mouth, savoring the saltiness of him.

Behind me, I felt Loch pressing his cock against my ass cheek, then moving closer, pressing his length over my soaking opening.

“Fuck me,” I ordered with my mouth still on Hael.

As Loch slowly settled himself inside me, I took Hael deeper into my mouth, inch by inch.

The moans of each brother drove me crazy. It was an all too familiar feeling—I wanted so badly to cum, but I also wanted the sex to last forever.

Loch fucked me shallowly and quickly, hitting my G-spot with every thrust.

When Hael’s ab muscles tightened and he tipped his head back, I knew he was going to cum.

When he filled my mouth and moaned in ecstasy, I couldn't hold it anymore.

I came on Loch’s cock, my muscles clenching around his throbbing length as he pulled my hips close against his, filling me up with his cum.

When it was over, I rolled off of Loch and lay on my back against the pile of gold.

I sighed, completely satisfied and totally spent, with my mates reclining beside me.

I hated to admit it, but fights with Loch and Hael always made the sex hotter.

As if reading my mind, Loch spoke up.

“We have something to tell you, Mads.”

I closed my eyes, still riding the gorgeous afterglow of the orgasm, ready to hear an apology for their bad behavior…

“Sorry ’bout this, but we’re cutting you out of the casino,” Hael said, not sounding apologetic at all.

“We know you’ll understand,” Loch added with a smirk.

I wrenched my eyes open and clenched my fist. I looked back and forth between my mates, wondering if this was some sick joke.

But their matching smiles told me they were deadly serious.

As I glared at their identical, perfect faces, I realized I wasn’t just mated to two dragons.

I was mated to two sadistic ~devils~.