LUKA

Katrina looked rough and not like an I just got thoroughly fucked by four men while watching my other boyfriend fuck one of them; wow, that was amazing, and I cannot wait to do it again. But that's beside the point. Something was wrong with my mate, and I needed to concentrate on that. I can focus on the amazing sex later.
 
"What's wrong, kit-kat?" I ask Katrina, looking into her eyes, waiting for her to respond.
 
"I..I... I'm not sure." She stammers. "It's weird. I feel like a major part of me is missing, but I'm not sure what it is."
 
"Do you mind?" I ask, raising my now glowing hand to her chest.
 
"What's going on?" A concerned Beckett asks, extracting himself from the tangle of human limbs, pushing his brown curly hair from his face. His after-sex face is adorable; too bad he is very against exploring.
 
What the hell is wrong with me? Why can I only focus on pleasure? My mate needs me, and I can't seem to concentrate on anything but how good it would feel to fuck something, anything.
 
"Fuck, how am I still rock hard?" Miles asks, tearing himself up from the couch, his throbbing member bouncing between his legs, standing at full staff.
 
I raise my hands to my lips to wipe away the imaginary drool. Taking Miles in my mouth had been a split-second decision, but Samael and Katrina didn't seem to mind, and Miles sure as hell enjoyed it.
 
"Samael, get that monster away from me," Aphelion hollers, shoving his cousin hard.
 
"Sorry, Bro. My bad." Samael chuckles, rolling to his side, sitting beside Katrina, wrapping his arm around her, and planting a kiss on her cheek. "Everything okay?" He asks her, noticing the same emotion I'd detected earlier.
 
"I'm not sure." She mumbles, her face flushing pink, as she takes in his beautiful stark naked, tattooed body.
 
While my body reacts to the sight of Samael and Katrina, both turned on and surprisingly ready to go on for a second round; I try to concentrate on the oddity around us. Katrina stated she felt like something was missing from her, but when I look at her, I see the exact opposite. Her aura shines brighter than ever, and I feel a new gift surrounding her. A magic that I haven't felt before. From its allure, I can tell she's unlocked a demonic gift, but the aura it's casting flows like light magic. Could this be a power unique to her? A gift bestowed upon her by the genetics of her parents.
 
"Hey, Princess." Aphelion calls to Katrina, taking her hands in his. "Can you turn off your gift of lust now? It was fucking fantastic during sex, but my cock and balls are aching."
 
Ahh. The sexual tension in the room makes sense now. Why hadn't I thought of that? Maybe her gifts of seduction work differently on me.
 
"I'm doing this?" Katrina asks, gesturing toward the wood pointing in her direction.
 
"Darling, you always do this." Beckett declares, pointing down to his well-endowed member, "But, right now, it's a little more powerful."
 
"How do I tamper it off?" She asks worriedly.
 
"We can always try fucking it out. kitten." Miles replies, stalking his mate like she’s, his prey.
 
"Hear." I cup Katrina's cheek, pull her gift into me, and simmer it with my magic.
 
Her new gift flickers when I touch her, sending an explosive sensation through my body, but I brush it aside, focusing on her power of seduction, which I can now sense in the room.
 
"Better?" I ask, even though the visual evidence proves that I've calmed her effects.
 
"I'd have rather done it my way," Miles grumbles while he searches the pile of clothes for his jeans before slipping them on.
 
I grab my jeans that Samael is holding and slip them on while watching Katrina retreat to her room. I want to follow her, but I don't want to push her into answering my question until she can detect the emotion she's feeling. I'll discuss her new magic when she returns from the room.
 
Once the heirs and I, well, I guess the cousins and I, since I too am an heir, even though I haven't had much time to dwell on that, are fully dressed, we all find a seat in the sitting room. We've put off discussing the new information we've learned long enough.
 
Miles clears his throat, gathering our attention before glancing at Katrina's door and leaning into the circle. "I've gathered some intel on Braham and the BOUA. Braham is interested in Katrina. The BOUA won't stop searching for Katrina until the deity has added her to his collection. Apparently, Hilda ran her mouth in front of Braham's advisors that Katrina is a succubus that can use Divine Light."
 
"How does Hilda know Katrina is a succubus?" Samael asks, glaring at Aphelion, making me wonder what the hell is going on between them. I'd noticed during dinner that there seemed to be a rift.
 
"Don't accuse me." Aphelion growls at Samael.
 
Beckett rolls his eyes, annoyed with Samael and Aphelion's childish behavior.
 
"She doesn't know," Miles replies, glancing back at Katrina's door before continuing. "She spread a false rumor because she was pissed Aphelion had claimed a mate. Braham's advisor didn't care if Hilda's information was true. She didn't want to miss the opportunity to inform her leader in case the information was factual. Hearing of Katrina's possible heritage piqued Braham's interest. He won't stop until Katrina is his and being unaffiliated and having angel powers gives him the perfect opportunity to claim her."
 
"So, what do we do?" I ask, "How do we make it to where Braham can't claim her as his property?"
 
"Simmins suggested marriage. Once she marries, she'll become affiliated with one of the kingdoms." Miles replies, looking me in the eye and looking at his cousins to see their reactions.
 
"Katrina isn't supposed to be affiliated to any one kingdom; she's meant to unite the four kingdoms," Beckett states, the first to object to Simmins suggestion.
 
"I told Simmins the same thing. He seems to think it's the only way we can protect Katrina from Braham."
 
"Or we can merge the kingdoms now," Samael suggests.
 
"We cannot become kings until we graduate Divine Academy." Aphelion replies, "Unless...." pausing before he continues.
 
"Unless?" Miles asks
 
"Unless we overthrow our fathers." He whispers, worried that someone may overhear us.
 
"No, that won't work," Miles replies. "We may be stronger than our fathers,' but we don't have the support they hold. I have a small army loyal to me, but my father's army is triple the size of mine. A war would break out if we tried to overthrow the crown."
 
"There is one kingdom that doesn't need to be overthrown," Samael states looking toward me.
 
No. Absolutely not. That isn't an option. I'm not ready to stake my claim on Loki's forgotten Kingdom. 
 
"I thought we were keeping the mate bond I hold with Katrina a secret for now. It would be odd for her teacher to marry her and stake a claim for a forgotten kingdom." I reply.
 
"Luka's right," Miles replies. "We don't want the council to know how powerful Katrina is. They already have some idea, but if they know that she's also connected to the Kingdom of Tartarus, they'll try to have her killed. They'll claim that her power will cause as much destruction as the titans." Miles pauses, his hand slipping into his pocket, fiddling with something. "I plan to ask Katrina to marry me. Marriage occurs more often in the Earth Kingdom due to the humans living here too. It would make more sense if I were to propose."
 
Beckett, Samael, and Aphelion start to argue while I remain quiet. Miles's decision is sound, and as the future leader of our military, I know he's considered every option.
 
"While I plan to propose, I'm hoping we won't have to marry until after the four kingdoms are merged. If we marry beforehand, it will only be because Braham is closing in on us. My ultimate goal is for Katrina's meeting with the council to go off without a hitch. If she gets the council on her side, they'll give her the protection she needs from Braham and the BOUA."
 
The other cousins remain silent, contemplating Miles's plans. I can tell by the looks on their faces they aren't too fond of his plan, but they've all managed to come to the same conclusion. It's the only option to keep their mate safe.
 
"Okay." Beckett replies, nodding his head. The first of the three to agree with Miles's plan.
 
"I'll hold you to the terms," Samael responds.
 
"We can hold the engagement party at the sky kingdom. My father will stop at nothing to meet Katrina before the council meeting. An engagement party with our closest friends and family will be the safest place to introduce her to him."
 
Miles smiles, happy his cousins have agreed with him; he turns to look at me, waiting for my response. Miles has always taken my choices into consideration. He's one of the few who never treated me differently, and I've always supported his plans so this one will be no different.
 
 "Well, let us see it," I state, nodding toward his pocket, where I know he's keeping the ring.

**AUTHOR'S NOTE**
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My apologies for the delay in updates. I was having issues signing into my AnyStories writers app. Luckily my editorial team was able to finally reset my login and get me back in. Also these chapters are shorter than I intended them to be. I formated them for the K!ndle V3lla platform which suggest shorter chapters and then I wasn't sure the best part to combine the shorter vella episodes into chapters for my AS upload. Just as a reminder, the shorter chapters cost the same as longer chapters overall, but i do understand the dissapointment at such a quick read. I'll be adding more chapters later this week. I hope you enjoyed this update. XOXO Marriah.