Sleep sounded like a good idea. A really good idea. At least if anyone had asked Macey, that’s what she’d have said. Except that her men seemed to have other plans.

She sighed deeply, partly from the satisfaction that was flowing through her still, and partly from the fact they were being so damn stubborn.

“How’re you feeling?” Jared asked, twining his arms around her waist and pulling her back to him. She relaxed into his arms, enjoying the soothing feel of him next to her.

“Good. A little tired.”

He chuckled. “I’m not surprised, little kelpie. You made quite the mess.”

She blushed, thinking of the burst pipes and flooded basement Flint had dealt with. Maybe it wasn’t the best idea to let her fire wraith go fix a problem very much caused by her water powers, but then, it had needed sorting, and it wasn’t like she’d been in the position to do anything. She hadn’t been in the position to do much but laze around, boneless and sated.

“Remind me why I can’t spend the day in bed?” she whined, making Jared chuckle more.

“What makes you think you’d get any rest there?”

Macey’s blood heated, and a wave of desire crashed through her, despite the fact she hadn’t long slept with two of her men. She shouldn’t be ready for more again, not when she was still sore and aching, but in the best possible way.

“Well, I...”

“We’d let you rest, but there are far more important things we need to do.”

She frowned. It was true, she just didn’t want to accept that. “Lightning?” She sighed. She didn’t even know the person and she was already part of a plan to save them.

“Yes, we need to save her,” Jared answered instantly.

“Her...” Macey repeated, turning the idea around in her head. She didn’t like the idea of another woman around, not when she’d just managed to capture the three of their attentions.

“Apparently.” Jared sounded confused, as if he wasn’t too sure what he was saying either.

“You don’t know?”

“Not for sure, but it felt like the right thing to say.”

She felt his shrug against her back.

“Probably true then.” She tried to squash down the jealousy that was clawing about inside her.

“There’s no need to be jealous, little kelpie,” he whispered in her ear. She shivered. Everything he did just made her think of sex, and this was no different. The only thing she wasn’t sure of, was whether it was because of his incubus side, or just because of who he was to her.

“How did you...”

“I’m an incubus. Attraction and sex aren’t the only things I can sense. I’m sensitive to a lot of emotions. And jealousy is so tightly tied to what I’m strongest in, that it’s one I can sense clearly.”

“Oh.”

“But don’t worry, Macey.” His lips actually brushed over her ear this time, and she shivered in anticipation. “You’re already ours and we’re already yours. You’re already wearing our marks after all.” He traced his hand gently over her back, about where the tattoo she’d gained after having sex with him was.

“I’ve got two more, don’t I?” she asked carefully, not at all surprised.

“Without a doubt.”

“What do they look like?” She was breathing heavily, just the idea of bearing their marks enough to get her heart racing and her body heating up. She was going to die from orgasm overload if they carried on.

“I don’t know for sure without looking, but remove your shirt and I’ll tell you,” he teased. She wasn’t all that sure how serious he was being, but pulled away from him and turned so they were facing one another. Slowly, she raised the hem of her shirt, Jared’s hungry eyes following every inch of exposed skin. She grinned to herself, pleased with the effect she was no doubt having. “You’re beautiful,” he said reverently, and her heart swelled to three times the size. Fitting given she had three times the normal number of men in her life.

“Thanks.” She dropped her shirt to the floor and gave him a hooded look, knowing full well what it would do to him. Though really, he was probably already there given she was standing before him in a lacy black bra and jeans that made her ass look fabulous.

“Turn around,” he commanded, twirling his finger. She complied, heat washing over her as she pictured the last time he’d been this way.

His finger came to rest on her skin, and he began to trace a pattern, leaving a trail of goosebumps in his path.

“This one is my mark.” He traced it again. “It’s the symbol for earth.”

“You like that you were first, don’t you?” she asked, her words hitching at the end. There was no way she could deny what he did to her then.

“Very much so.” His finger trailed across her skin, stopping when he reached the opposite shoulder where he traced a different pattern. “This one is for wind. It’s Cam’s mark.”

“Why is it in that place?” she asked, trying to keep her mind focused on what they were talking about and not the sensations of his touch.

“I think it’s because we’re opposites. So our marks have appeared opposite one another.”

“Oh. But doesn’t that mean that Flint and I...”

“Yes, your marks should be opposite one another too, unless...”

“Unless?”

“Don’t mind me, Macey. You don’t have a water mark yet. But here’s Flint’s.” His fingers lowered slightly, still in line with where Cam’s mark was. He traced the pattern slowly, and surely, and she could picture it in her mind.

“Why don’t I have a mark for me yet?” It didn’t make any sense. If she was water, then surely she should’ve started with that one? And it felt uneven to have two marks on one side and only a single one of the other. What was with that? And what did she need to do to make her own mark appear? Having sex with herself obviously didn’t do the trick, or it would have arrived already.

“I don’t know. I have a theory, but I don’t think you’re ready to hear it just yet.”

“Jared...” she drew out his name like a plea.

“Not yet, Macey. Not yet.”

“Come on, tell—”

A burning pain rammed into Macey’s skull and she screamed as she felt her body fall backwards at the same time as her mind was ripped away.

“HAVE YOU MISSED ME?”

The Voice was back, and it seemed even stronger this time. So much pain. Macey was struggling to hold onto sanity as agony threatened to overwhelm her. It would be so easy to give in, to be swept away...

“I WAS WRONG.”

Even in her haze, she knew that it was strange for the villain to admit that he’d been wrong. “Huh?” was all she managed to say.

“YOU AREN’T THE SECOND. YOU WILL BE MY THIRD. ICE IS WALKING STRAIGHT INTO MY TRAP, THINKING HE CAN RESCUE HIS PARTNER. WHAT A FOOL. TOMORROW, I’LL HAVE LIGHTNING AND ICE, AND WATER WILL BE MY THIRD. I AM CLOSE NOW, LITTLE KELPIE. DON’T STRUGGLE, YOU KNOW YOU CAN’T WIN.”

That made sense. He was strong, powerful, she was just a girl. She couldn’t fight him. It was pointless. Maybe she should just give in. Let him take her.

“GOOD GIRL. TELL ME THAT YOU WANT ME TO TAKE YOU AWAY. JUST SAY THOSE WORDS.”

Yes, that sounded easy. If only she could speak. She was too weak to form words, too weak to even form proper thoughts. But him taking her sounded good. Painless. Maybe he’d take the pain away.

“YES, EVERYTHING WILL BE ALRIGHT ONCE YOU’RE WITH ME. YOU WON’T FEEL ANY PAIN. YOU’LL BE HAPPY.”

Happy. But wasn’t she happy already? She was having a hard time remembering why that was. Something about other people. Her men. The memories came flooding in and the Voice screamed as Macey’s magic fizzled into life.

“I’LL BE BACK. NEXT TIME YOU’LL BE WEAK ENOUGH FOR ME TO BREAK THROUGH. SAY GOODBYE TO YOUR WARDENS WHILE YOU CAN. I ONLY NEED FOUR OF YOU, SO NOT ALL OF THEM WILL BE NECESSARY.”

With a final hit against her mental barriers, he disappeared and Macey was flung back into her body. Which was not a good thing.

It hurt so bad. Everything was burning. She needed water, quickly. Lots of it. She could feel her kelpie form pressuring her to be let out. Shifting would make the pain go away, but for that she needed water. Kelpies couldn’t breathe on land and could only hold their breath for so long.

“Water,” she whispered, not knowing if anyone was listening. She was too feeble to even open her eyes. The pain was still as bad as when the Voice had been inside her, if not worse. She gave her magic free reign and sighed in relief as cool water touched her skin. It made the pain slightly more bearable.

Someone picked her up and carried her. There were voices, noises, doors banging, but all she could do was trying to hold back a whimper. Her stomach lurched with every step of the person carrying her and she was having a hard time not throwing up. It was too much.

Her skin was burning up again and she called on her magic to cool herself. She needed to get away from the fire that was hurting her. She moved feebly, trying to get away.

“Shhhushh, you’ll be in the water in a moment,” a soothing voice said, but it hurt to listen. Her kelpie form was close to bursting out while her magic was trying to break free at the same time. She just wanted to give up and let them take over. There were two forces fighting inside of her and she didn’t have the energy to do anything about it.

Another wave of pain crushed into her and this time, she couldn’t help but whimper.

“Almost there, stay with me.”

Such an easy thing to say, such a hard thing to do. Fire was burning through Macey’s veins and made her scream out in pain. Her magic came without being called, but there was too much heat and not enough water. She could feel her skin sizzle and break into sores.

“Throw her in!”

A second later, she was home. Cool, gentle water hugging her from all sides, soothing the pain, clearing her mind. It still hurt, but the fog slowly dissipated, making it easier to think.

She was still being held, but she needed to shift, now. She struggled against the hold and this time, he let her go. She swam for an arm length before her kelpie broke free. She was too tired to even feel the pain of the shift. Her instincts took over and guided her through the change from human to kelpie. When water entered her scorched throat, she took a deep gulp, knowing that her gills would deal with it. To her surprise, the water was clean, not the chlorine soup it had been the last time. Someone must have refilled the pool with fresh water.

Her thoughts of gratitude disappeared when she could feel the webbing around her hooves build. She was ready to swim. With a whinny, she lept through the water, taking long strides, enjoying the feeling of her antenna being whipped back in the current. It was one of the most curious things about kelpies, that little appendage on their foreheads that nobody really knew what it was for. Some said it was connected to magic, but even kelpies without any magical abilities had an antenna. The only thing Macey knew was that it was extremely sensitive and ticklish. Her brothers used to chase her to then shake their manes against her head in the hope of making her squeal.

She slowed down when she started to think about her brothers. She still didn’t know what was going on with them. And it didn’t look like she’d find out anytime soon.

A hand touched her back and she whirled around, opening her maw, ready to attack. When she saw Jared swimming behind her, obviously not used to being in the water, her gaze softened. Her pain was almost gone and she could finally recognise her men again. One of them had carried her here. Who had been in the bedroom with her? Jared. Where were the other two? Were they safe? Did the Voice take them?

Panicked, she swam to the surface, looking around the room. There they were, sitting on the rim of the pool, looking at her in worry. Her mind was swirling. She still wasn’t back to normal. She’d been hurt this time, injured inside. She knew that Voice had broken something in her. The pain may have gone, but that didn’t mean that everything was alright.