Page 111 of Bound to Three Fae Beasts

With a groan, I sank onto the couch and hid my face in my hands. It was true that Quincy was getting suspicious. He’d called Jasper to his office several times over the past few days, giving him updates from his family and more detailed information on his own progress. So far, Jasper had shown no sign of correcting his deformity. His dragon form still spat venom instead of breathing fire.

All this to say, the danger to anyone finding out he’d had sex with Azriel remained omnipresent.

“I bet there’s a way we could fake it,” Gareth said musingly.

“Fake what?” Jasper asked. “My surgery?”

“Huh. That, too. I wonder if Azriel skimmed your form, if she could adjust the anatomy to make it look like you’ve been castrated.” Gareth made a low humming noise in his throat. “But I was thinking of some sort of spell you could hold from your mouth, to make it look like you’re breathing fire rather than spitting venom.”

When I lifted my head hopefully, Jasper rubbed the back of his neck. “I’ve thought about that. The tests for wrong beasts take it into consideration. When I go in for my final test, I’ll wear a collar that prevents me from using magic.”

“Then maybe if Azriel—”

“I am not sending her in my place,” Jasper said flatly. “I will not even consider putting her in danger just so I can keep my cock.”

Gareth flinched. “They take the cock, too? I thought it was just your balls.”

“Technically, what they do is emasculation. They call it castration to make it sound less … emasculating,” Jasper muttered. “I have been given a very detailed account of the surgery. I would rather go through with it than put Azriel at risk trying to save me.”

Gareth shuffled on the spot, clearly uncomfortable. I wasn’t sure why he hadn’t already known this, but then, he only focused on the information he thought would help him achieve his goals. One goal was to prevent Jasper from being mutilated, so why would he need to know the details of the mutilation?

At least he had a further four years to figure out what to do. I had only a few months. Despite repeatedly telling my family I refused to marry Flora, I kept receiving updates about the wedding plans. My honeymoon was already planned out. My father had sent me a long list of various aphrodisiacs he was going to provide for me, so I could do my duty.

As much as I didn’t want to marry her, I wasn’t sure I had a choice. Would my parents disown me for this refusal? If it damaged Laurel’s relationship with Litherio, they might decide to sacrifice me for the sake of the court. If that happened, I would have no political weight to continue protecting Azriel. I’d have nothing that I could use to try to get a workaround for Jasper’s fate.

My head dropped to my hands again. It felt as though the walls were closing in on me. I wanted to get out of here. I wanted to be in the forest, breathing the clear air with dirt under my paws. I wanted to hold Azriel in my arms and kiss her as though there was nothing in the world but the two of us.

“Hey.” Jasper nudged my shoulder. “If you need to fight, we can have a formal duel.”

“I don’t want to fight. I want the opposite,” I admitted.

The door opened and I jumped, then sagged in relief when it was only Azriel. She looked haunted as she refused to meet any of our eyes. Her movement was careful as she picked her way across the room and perched in one of the overstuffed chairs. Seeing her so nervous made me wince.

“Flora said you followed Lotmas and Thatcher when they—” I started.

Azriel shuddered. “Don’t.” She closed her eyes briefly and let out a heavy breath. “I can’t stay long. I have to get back to Freta and Silas. They need me.”

They need her. “And what do you need?” I asked, my voice low.

Azriel shook her head. “I need to look after them.”

Jasper reached to put his arms around her, but she shied away from him, shaking her head again. We were all quiet for a long moment. I wasn’t sure what this meant. I wanted to comfort her, to take care of her, but it was clear from her body language she didn’t want us to take care of her.

I was starting to recognize that pattern. Whenever she was injured, she was always embarrassed for us to treat her wounds, too. She found it uncomfortable for others to look after her. I thought it was pride at first, the need to look strong. But what if I was wrong? What if I didn’t know her as well as I thought?

What sort of life did she have at the orphanage, that she thought it was her responsibility to look after everyone she was close to? Or maybe it was that she thought they deserved to be looked after, and she didn’t.

I related to that too much.

“With the unbinding, we’re going to have to be more careful,” I said, uncertain what else to do. “We’re going to keep more distance between us in public, to make sure nobody suspects that you have a mate-bond with all three of us.”

Azriel nodded, twisting her hands together. She opened her mouth, then shut it again.

“We might need to go further,” Jasper said reluctantly as he awkwardly stood next to her. “The temptation when it’s just the four of us … it’s too strong. We shouldn’t be alone. Whenever we’re together, you should bring your friends, too.”

Gareth hissed. “I didn’t agree to that!”

“But you have to admit, it’s the logical thing to do,” Jasper said.