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Chapter 65
~Xavier’s POV~
That was all the permission his wolf needed. A low growl rumbled through his chest. He buried his face in the crook of her neck, just above the curve of her shoulder, his own fangs descending as he bit down hard.
Jade gasped, her body arching violently as a second surge of blinding energy ripped through the bond. Xander groaned, lingering against her skin as he lapped at the fresh mark, soothing the sting with soft, open-mouthed kisses before he finally pulled back.
With his claim cented, Xander gripped her hips and slowly pulled out of her.
Jade instantly whined, her hips rocking back on pure instinct at the sudden loss of contact and the emptiness that followed.
A dark chuckle tumbled past my lips. I shifted closer, brushing a damp strand of hair from her flushed face.
"As much as I would love to go another round or several more," I murmured, "I need to do the right thing first."
I pushed her hair completely over her shoulder, my eyes tracing the two fresh marks my brothers had left on her pristine skin. They were beautiful. Ace clawed at the surface of my mind, roaring for his turn.
I let my teeth elongate, the familiar, sharp ache spreading through my jaw. I cupped the back of her head, holding her steady, and locked eyes with her hazy blue ones.
"Mine," I growled.
I brought my mouth down and bit hard into her skin.
Jade scread my na. As my fangs pierced her skin and the final claim was struck, the mate bond exploded, tying our souls together in an absolute, unbreakable knot.
I braced myself. I waited for the heavy, suffocating darkness of our curse to shatter. I waited for the maddening rage and edge of our wolves to evaporate into thin air but as I pulled back, swiping my tongue over her skin to heal the bite...
Power surged through the bond instantly. Heat exploded across my chest, spreading outward like wildfire. For one perfect second, I felt it—the tightening pull of completion, the sensation of sothing ancient finally falling into place.
I waited. We all waited. But then... the shadow remained.
The feral, burning edge of the madness had dulled, soothed by the presence of our marked mate, but the weight of the curse was still there.
My stomach dropped.
I had promised myself she would be safe with us, that claiming her would free us all. And I had been wrong.
I froze. My eyes snapped up to et Xade’s, then Xander’s over her head. The exact sa realization was crested on their faces. Disbelief and dread bled their features.
It didn’t break, Xander sent, his inner voice completely hollow.
I looked down at Jade. She was lying perfectly in our arms. But the devastating truth remained.
"What did we do wrong?" Xade inquired. "Should we not have mated with her? Should we have done it separately or at the sa ti and was marking her not enough?"
My brother was spiralling and though we felt relieved, we could still feel the curse.
It was as though... we did not get it right.
How the hell are we suppose to tell her that after losing her virginity to three guys at once, the curse wasn’t broken?
I looked at Xander with utmost helplessness. He was right. There was no way we could just shove this in Jade’s face if the curse was still there.
Jade eyes barely stayed opened. I nodded at Xander and they uinderstood imdiately. We cleared the bed, helping her rest, each of us glued to her side.
"You know how we were to do this with her consent?" Xade’s voice broke through the mindlink. "Maybe, the curse demanded her heart and not just her body," he reasoned. "It demanded true, unconditional love from all of us and from her. And right now, I think it is safe to say we may have claid her body, but we had not fully won her heart yet."
"And neither has she, it would seem," Xander added. "She’s our mate but have we copletely fallen in love with her or...?"
"Xavier?" Jade whispered softly, her brows knitting together as she sensed the sudden shift in our moods. "Is it gone?"
I swallowed the lump forming in my throat. I forced a soft, reassuring smile, hiding the terrifying truth from her for now, and pressed a gentle kiss to her forehead.
"We’re getting there, little mate," I murmured. "Just rest."
She relaxed instantly against , letting the sleep lure her away. My chest tightened because I wasn’t sure if I had just reassured her... or lied to her for the first ti.
—
Even though we’d be ready to go more rounds, the truth about our situation killed the sexual urges we had.
As soon as my brother’s slept off on the bed with Jade, I stood up, got into the shower to clean up. Soaking a towel in water, I helped Jade clean up a bit, to avoid feeling too sticky when she woke up to take a proper shower.
Once done, I covered Jade and my brothers with the duvet and headed to the balcony overlooking the garden in the house.
It was already very dark outside. No doubt. Though we only went one round, we had taken our ti with her.
I sighed, placing my hand on the railing. Ever since our failed attempt at breaking the curse, my mind refused to stay still. Several thoughts kept flooding in, it beca too hard to focus.
"Xavier."
My eyes sharpened the second my father’s voice filtered through the mindlink.
"Dad."
"What happened?"
"What do you an?" I asked feigning ignorance.
"Xander texted with a simple ssage, ’it failed’, and he’d gone silent."
I exhaled sharply, gripping the railing in front of . "We tried breaking the curse. We even mated with Jade together and marked her, but still, it failed."
"What?"
"I’m as shocked as you are."
"How is Jade? Is she affected perhaps or...?"
"We believe she is fine and not affected."
My father’s sigh of relief only tightened the knot in my stomach. "However, we also believe the curse did not break because we need to all be both emotionally connected as we are physically connected."
"aning?"
"We need to fall in love and make Jade fall in love with us too."
"Are you sure?"
"No. But it’s a worth trying. I am also thinking of visiting the Star Elf and seeking her guidance on this."
"If the king..."
"The king won’t know. But I am betting everything on this being right, but in order to make sure we get it right this ti when we mate with her, I must see the Star Elf."
"For the Princess’ sake, I hope you are right."
"And if I’m wrong..." I clenched my jaw. "Then I just dragged our mate into sothing I don’t fully understand."
"Then don’t be wrong."
I exhaled deeply. "I wish Mum’s journals were here."
"She can’t save you and your brothers from the grave. Do not forget you are in this situation because of her damn lineage. We are in this ourselves and I won’t sit back and watch while my sons go feral and die."
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