Adamant Spirits

Part II

Part Two

“Put me down right now, you bastard angel!”

I scream at Callahan, feeling nothing but a burning anger and jealousy from what I just found out happened between him and Mai. She is my best friend, and he is… well, I don’t know. Callahan is all I think about, constantly, and he fed from her. He fed from her, knowing that feeding causes pleasure, and he still did it.

They have always been close, but I never thought... I never even doubted trusting them both until this moment. I try to ignore the fact that he’s holding me over his shoulder, his grip iron tight, and my cheeks flush as he storms through the castle, passing shifters as we go. Not one of the onlookers dare to interrupt him. There are only a few that would be able to go toe to toe with Callahan, and it’s none of the males we pass.

To them, we are their betas, close to the alphas, and they respect us for it. Even if we cause a scene, just like Callahan is doing right now. Two males all but jump out of the way when Callahan passes them, and I glance into their eyes. Fear and awe shines in them. Callahan can be terrifying, as I want to be at times. Fierce and strong, the many things I wasn’t when it was needed most. Like when my father was killed. When my dead mate fought and attacked me the first time. Or the many, many times after.

Sometimes when I feel weak, when I feel alone and scared, I think of Callahan, and it goes away. Even when he isn’t there at my side, he stops the memories haunting me. Callahan opens a door with a kick of his boot and heads inside a room that is filled with his scent. I’m guessing it must be his bedroom. He angrily kicks the door shut behind him and drops me onto the bed, where I bounce twice before sitting up.

I glare at him, a low growl echoing from my throat. He doesn’t move, looking down at me with his amber eyes, the shade so warm and inviting. His smooth, glossy white wings rest at his back, and they make him look so massive and imposing as he watches me, his expression so readable. Angry, frustrated, and I think he might be worried.

I climb off the bed to stand right in front of him, my dark hair falling around my shoulders. “How dare you pick me up and carry me back to your room? I’m not yours. You don’t get to do that!”

He crosses his large arms. “Breelyn... if you care about me, then listen. Give me a chance. Two minutes and if you don’t like what I have to say, then you can walk out. You can make that choice, and I am not going to stop you either way.”

I pause, looking up into his eyes and trying not to get lost in them for a moment. “Two minutes.”

The relief on his face makes my knees feel like buckling. Callahan keeps his eyes on mine, like he wants me to see right down into his soul with every word he has to say. “In my life, long and empty as it has been, there has never been someone I wanted more than you. You, Breelyn Ravensword, took my breath away from the first time we met. You hid yourself, the real you, away, but I saw it. I watched you come to life over these last months and my attraction to you grew deeper. We’ve never had this discussion, never even come close to it, and I want us to be honest just this once.”

My heart is pounding as I watch Callahan, unable to move. I run my eyes over him just once more, like I never allow myself to. Because my truth—the terrible and somewhat amazing truth—is that I’ve been in love with him for a very, very long time. I’ve been too scared to tell this brave, handsome and incredible angel how I feel and the moment I get brave enough, I find out about him and Mai.

“Don’t,” I whisper, tears building in my eyes. “Don’t tell me all this when you and Mai—”

“Mai and I are friends, nothing more, and it will never be more than that,” he says as I sit on the edge of the bed. He steps closer and surprises me by going to his knees in front of me so he can look right at me. “I was dying, Bree, and even in that moment I didn’t want to feed from her. From anyone. I don’t bite to feed because you’re right, it is personal. It’s made to be that way, but I need you to trust me. I fed to survive, to get back to you.”

I stay silent for a moment, pushing down the burning jealousy and anxious feelings to really look at him. Callahan. My Callahan. “I trust you.”

Those words mean so much more than I can say. Trusting males is something I didn’t know I would be able to do again.

His eyes are glistening as he gently picks up my hands and cups them within his own—rough hands littered with light scars from years of fighting. “My truth is that I love you, Breelyn.”

A sob catches in my throat, a joyful feeling coursing through me as I smile at him. “I’ve loved you since the second we met on that train. You looked at me, and I felt like someone had smacked me in the chest and restarted my heart. I spent years having no one that really challenged me. No one I ever felt was my true family. Everyone I ever cared for died or disappeared over the years, and I gave up on anything real. I didn’t have anything real. Something changed when I met you, and I will always thank the gods above for bringing you into my life.”

“You mean it?” I whisper back, stroking one of his fingers.

He chuckles low. “There’s only one wolf that drives me insane. There’s only one wolf that I will ever want, and she is in front of me. If you will have me, I will do anything for you. I will get on my knees every day to beg to touch you. I will wait for you, a hundred, a thousand or however long you wish, but as long as you know I’m yours. As long as you know how much I love you.”

The words seem to blurt out of my throat. Words I’ve not told anyone other than Mai, and even then, I don’t think she could understand on every level. She isn’t Callahan. “Before I say it, before neither of us will want to walk away, you must know my past. I never told you any of it, but I think you have heard some. The truth of what happened to me at Ravensword is difficult.”

I pause and wait. “You don’t have to tell me anything, Bree. Your past changes nothing for me.”

I shake my head. “It might do. So, I was given as a mate to one of the wolves in the Ravensword Pack when I was eighteen, at a mating ceremony with my other classmates. He was the beta wolf for the alpha, respected and loved, and he was a true monster. Just like the Alpha, no doubt the reason he liked Dragos. If he wasn’t beating me, he was hurting me in any way he could for his own pleasure. Marks on my skin turned him on, and when I wouldn’t submit to him and buckle under the pressure of the pain, he would get his friends to do the same to me. They enjoyed me in front of my so-called mate. I hated them. I hated every touch. All of it. So, one night, after the alpha himself r***d me, I snapped, and I killed Dragos. I don’t regret killing him. In fact, if anything, I enjoyed it. It was the first time I enjoyed anything for months, and I remember smiling, covered in his blood.”

“Breelyn,” Callahan rasps.

I gulp. Best say it all. “My father was a good male and, gods, I miss him. We were both arrested, and my father gave up his life to save mine. Mai was forced to kill my father in front of me, but it was a kindness. My father wanted to die for me, and I wish I could have told him how much I loved him one more time.”

Callahan hasn’t run away yet. Good sign. “You are very brave, Bree.”

I look down. “I’ve never known pleasure with a male, and truthfully, all males scared me for a time, even when I know it’s in my head. I’ve heard s*x can be pleasurable. I know that you can, but I’ve never experienced that, and it makes me broken. I met you, and you did annoy me from the start, I’ll admit. But I can’t get you out of my head. I was attracted to you from the second that we met. It drove me crazy. Why were you so different? Why couldn’t I stop thinking about you? I asked myself this so many times until I knew the answer.”

I lift my head to the angel on his knees in front of me, his cheeks wet with tears that fell for me. “I knew I loved you.”

He moves closer, pressing our foreheads together. “You are not broken, Bree, and I love you, too. Whatever you need me to be, I will be it.”

“I just need you,” I breathe out. “If you still want me. I might not be a good mate to have and I don’t know—”

“You are perfect,” he corrects me. “Always perfect.”

He gently lifts his hand from mine and runs his fingers through my hair. “I’ve wanted to touch your hair for so long, and it’s softer than I imagined.”

My breath hitches, and I feel nothing but pleasure at his touch, comfort, and safety. “I know you will never hurt me, and I don’t want you to fear touching me because of my past. I want you to teach me how it can be.”

He moves closer an inch. Our bodies pressed against each other. I suck in a deep breath. He leans down, and he kisses my cheek, brushing away the tears there before he kisses the other one. “We will take it slow, my Breelyn. There is nothing to fear with me. I will never hurt you.”

I turn my face so we are a breath away. He nudges my nose with his but doesn’t lean down to kiss me. “Be mine, Breelyn. My mate, my promised. I want it all with you.”

“Yes,” I say, my voice near enough a joyful cry. He grins, and he looks the happiest I’ve ever seen him. “I want everything we can be. I want a future.”

He leans down, like he’s going to kiss me, and I pause. “Wait, what is ‘my promised?’ ”

His smile makes my toes curl. “Angels have a tradition. It’s almost like mating, but I know we need a ceremony for that, and I don’t want to leave this room without the world knowing you’re mine.”

A shiver spreads down my spine. “I don’t want to leave either.”

“Good,” he praises. “But I will need to taste your blood and for you to have mine. Just a drop.”

I nod and tilt my head to the side. His eyes darken, and I see a flash of his teeth bounce off the light. “This will lead to other things. With you, I don’t know how much control I will—”

“I trust you,” I breathe out, touching his chest. “I want you to bite me, Callahan, and promise yourself to me. I will promise the same.”

He searches my eyes one last time before grabbing my waist and burying his face into my neck. He kisses my neck once, and his touch feels incredible right before he bites me. His teeth bury into my neck, and my back arches, every nerve in my body lighting up with pleasure. He groans against my neck as he drinks, his hands on my waist stopping me from falling backward. The pleasure builds and builds until he lets go, and I instantly want him back. I watch him in a daze as he lifts his hand to his mouth and pricks his finger. My body seems to know what to do as I take his hand and lick the blood off, a spark of something building in my chest.

Callahan’s words are deep and husky, filled with need. “Before the old gods and new, we are promised.”

I feel the connection almost instantly, a mark on my soul, connecting me to him forever. “Kiss me, Callahan.”

He gives in to my demand, and his lips press onto mine as he lays us back on his bed, his large body covering mine. I’m still writhing with pleasure, so close to the edge, and I moan as he pushes into me. Even through all our clothes, it has never felt like this. Callahan’s tongue sweeps into my mouth as I pull at his leathers, and he helps me tug them off his large shoulders. He breaks the kiss to tug the shirt over his head and looks down at me as he unclips his belt and the buttons of his trousers. “We can stop anytime.”

“I don’t want you to ever stop,” I breathe out. To show him, I pull my top off over my head and wiggle out of my leggings until I’m bare in front of him, and I don’t hide myself away. I won’t ever hide myself away from Callahan. Callahan has made his wings disappear, and this time I don’t mind, but I want to see what it is like with them out another time.

He’s going to be my mate, and the word mate is going to be real this time. He looks at me with undiluted pleasure, and I can’t breathe right as he takes off his trousers. His c**k is large, thick, and bigger than I’ve ever seen. For a moment, I wonder how it’s going to fit at all, but he is kneeling at the end of the bed. “What are—”

I gasp as he grabs my hips and pulls me to the end of the bed and spreads my thighs. I can feel how wet I am for him, and he can no doubt see it from his position. The instinct to close my legs almost makes me do just that, but Callahan is in charge, and I relax back on the bed. Callahan dives between my legs, his hot tongue sliding inside me before licking his way up to my bundle of nerves, and my body comes to life. I cry out with the intense orgasm that crashes through me, and Callahan growls against my core, watching and tasting it all. He climbs up my body. My cheeks are burning as he wipes his chin and licks his fingers.

“That was—”

“The start. You are so f*****g beautiful and so f*****g mine,” Callahan finishes for me, grabbing my hips and lining himself up at my entrance. He only dips the tip of his c**k into me before pausing and looking into my eyes. “Are you sure?”

I lean down and wrap my hand around his c**k, and he groans my name as I guide him into me. He pushes the rest of the way, and it’s a tight fit, but when he settles fully inside me, it’s amazing. I look up at him, his eyes shut. “f**k, you feel—”

“I know,” I moan. “It feels too good. Don’t stop.”

He kisses me as he pulls out and pushes back in; and every time, he hits somewhere deep inside me and pushes me toward another wave of pleasure. I grip his shoulders as he thrusts harder, faster, and I feel him losing control. “Bite me. I want you inside me in every way.”

“Bree, f**k,” he growls as I tilt my head to the side, and he leans down. His teeth slide into my neck, and I cry out in pure, mind-blowing pleasure. Orgasm after orgasm crashes through me until he stills and fills me with his seed, groaning my name against my neck.

Breathlessly, I watch him lean up and look down at me. “Are you okay? I didn’t hurt you, did I?”

“No,” I softly say. “I love you, Callahan.”

“I love you too,” he fondly says, pulling me into his arms. Whatever comes for us in the future, in the war, with our alphas, and more, we have each other. We are worth fighting for and always will be.

Do No Harm

Heat Level: ☕︎ Jessica M. Butler

Jessica M. Butler is an adventurer, author, and attorney who never outgrew her love for telling stories and playing in imaginary worlds. She is the author of the epic romantic fantasy series Tue-Rah Chronicles along with many other fantasy stories set within the same worlds. She lives with her husband and law partner, James Fry, in rural Indiana where they are quite happy with their five cats and all of the wildlife and trees.

“Do No Harm” is a short set on Earth in the Tue-Rah verse and features the start of another cast of characters who will soon be making an appearance.

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