My queen finally had a promising clue to the location of Aztlán after decades of fruitless searches. She could have her jaguar god in days, or even hours, if all went well.

I felt like utter garbage for wishing that all would not go well. It was a futile wish, and completely, despicably selfish. I was lucky to have found a queen at all, let alone one who’d loved me for so long.

But if this might be my last night with her as alpha, I would do everything in my power to ensure she would remember it always.

I didn’t say anything, but I watched her with heavy-lidded eyes. Missing nothing. Holding back nothing in our bond. I studied her like a man who knew he’d soon lose his sight and needed to etch every facet of Mayte Zaniyah into my memory.

The exact dusky brown of her skin. The silky pink of her lips. The delicate curve of her ear as she tucked a wayward strand of hair back. When I’d first come to her call, she’d worn her mahogany hair bound in a braid and coiled at the base of her neck. I’d spent hours at a time simply brushing her hair and admiring the weight of it on my fingers. Every morning, I’d brushed and braided her hair, and every night when she took me to her bed, I’d unbraided and brushed it for her again.

Why did we stop that comforting ritual? I couldn’t remember why she’d decided to cut her hair back to shoulder length years ago. But I missed it. I missed that small thing I could do to show her how much I loved her.

I still could have braided it for her, even though it was shorter. One day, she must have sent me to some small task and skipped our ritual. Which made it easy to skip again over the years.

I’d forgotten that simple pleasure.

Quietly, I rose and went to the small travel bag we’d placed in the bathroom for her. Aima didn’t need shampoo or soap or even a toothbrush, but sometimes it was nice to have a small bag of toiletries available, especially around humans who wouldn’t know what we were. Her wooden-handled brush was on top of a stack of rolled bandages and the small herbal first-aid kit that she liked to carry.

I undressed and left my clothes in the bathroom. She didn’t notice as I came back into the room, too absorbed in studying the map of Lake Tawakoni in hopes of discovering another clue to the god’s location. Her other three Blood had quietly withdrawn to the furthest edges of the small hotel room. Maxtla even had his hand on the doorknob, ready to step outside.

:Stay,: I told them all. :Prepare yourselves.:

Maxtla arched a brow at me in surprise but he didn’t object, allowing his hand to fall away from the door.

I settled on the bed behind her, close enough to touch her, though I didn’t press my body against her. I carefully ran my fingers along her scalp, searching out the pins she’d used to hold her hair up off her neck. She hummed out a pleased little sigh, so I rubbed my fingertips more firmly, massaging her scalp and down the back of her neck.

Pin by pin, I released her hair and began to brush it. I started at the ends, holding them carefully in my left hand so I didn’t pull a single strand. I took my time, slowly working the brush higher. Sometimes I gathered the heavy fall and brushed underneath, too, making sure to stimulate her scalp.

Over and over and over.

Her breathing slowed, her shoulders melting back against me. “That feels wonderful.”

I set the brush aside and pushed my fingers up along the back of her head in long, firm strokes that loosened her muscles. “I’ll braid it for you in the morning, if you’d like.”

“Yes, I’d like that very much.”

I continued the massage, turning my attention to her shoulders. Through our bond, I could feel the knot of tension over her right shoulder blade. She wasn’t aware of the ache, not until I pressed my palm against the tenderness and carefully rubbed it away.

Muscle by muscle, she sagged against me, relaxed and completely at peace.

I raised my gaze to Maxtla and nodded.

He eased onto the bed and slipped her shoes off. Cradling her foot in his hands, he rubbed small circles along her sole. She groaned deep in her throat. “Goddess, that feels amazing.”

“Let us take care of you, my queen,” I whispered against her ear. “Let us love you. Please.”

She reached up behind her and stroked her fingers over my jaw. “Yes.”

I kissed her shoulder and slowly worked my mouth up the column of her throat. Her breath caught, and I felt her heartbeat quicken in our bond, waiting for me to kiss her in exactly the right place. After so many wonderful years together, I knew all the pleasure spots on her body, but I didn’t rush. Maxtla matched my pace, gradually working his fingers up her calves, kneading his thumbs deeply into tense muscles while he kissed her ankles and rubbed his cheek against her knee.

I ran my tongue into the hollow behind her ear. Lightly nibbled her earlobe. Breathed into her ear as I whispered, “My queen. My one and only love.”

She lifted her hips up off the bed, and Maxtla made short work of her jeans. She helped me pull the hoodie over her head. She hadn’t worn a bra. I leaned back against the pillows, cradling her between my thighs, supporting her upper body as Maxtla made his way up to her pussy.

Even now, after making love countless times with each of us individually, a hint of pink darkened her cheeks as she looked up and saw Diego and Luis both watching us on the bed.

I kept my touch light as I massaged her shoulders, working away the sudden tenseness again. “They love you, too.”

“I know. I just feel like I’m on display.”

“Only for us. We only want to worship you.”

I felt her hesitation tightening between us. She knew our hours could be numbered. She expected me to use that information to sway her will. She feared I would try to make her feel guilty for risking everything we had in order to find the jaguar god.

But I wouldn’t ever hurt my queen. Even though it was true.

I might die tomorrow. We all might. Tezcatlipoca wasn’t known for tenderness and compassion.

But I would willingly die this very moment if my queen asked it of me. I certainly wouldn’t throw down accusations on her head.

Even if she ordered me to certain death.

He destroyed me with exquisite tenderness. How such a powerful man could be so gentle was a miracle to me. He had so many weapons at his disposal, but the most powerful one was the truth.

He could have told me the past twenty years had been a waste of time and effort. That I was obsessed with the impossible. I was determined to find something that no one in thousands of years had been able to locate. I had to be crazy to think that a minor, insignificant queen, unworthy of even the notice of the Triune, let alone a seat, would be able to find and subdue an ancient god of infinite power.

That I, Mayte Zaniyah, of no claim to fame or fortune, would be able to sire a child when nearly every queen for hundreds of years had failed.

My arrogance was likely to get us all killed, especially my Blood, who were sworn to protect me from all dangers. Even from an irate god that I dared poke and prod from his immortal sleep.

All true and valid accusations he could hurl at me.

Yet all he did was ask me to let him, and the rest of my Blood, make love to me. One last time.

My throat closed, thick with unshed tears. I didn’t want this to be our last time. I didn’t want any of them in danger or hurt, let alone dead. Especially because of me.

“It’s a risk we willingly accepted when we swore our blood to you,” he whispered in my ear. His hands stroked my arms soothingly, drawing away my fear and guilt with a single touch. “We love you. That we had any time with you at all is a blessing from your goddess, and we thank you.”

Maxtla was a big, burly warrior. I’d seen him rip a thrall apart with his bare hands down on the border. I’d never seen so many thralls as we did here in America. It was like they were insane with hunger, following our every step, even though they knew it would mean certain death. He could have gripped my thighs with those big, rough hands and forced his way into my body.

Buried deep inside me, a secret part of myself almost wished he would.

Yet he only stroked my skin like he’d never felt anything so fine and soft, waiting for me to decide. Would I let him in? Would I send him away? Would I send them all away and only take one, as I usually did?

I didn’t know why it embarrassed me so much. Having multiple Blood at my side was a feat that queens in my family hadn’t accomplished in generations. It was something to be extremely proud of, that I’d finally managed to call several Blood to my side, and I was strong enough to keep them all fed with my blood.

With my power.

And with my body.

Just knowing that they were all looking at me made my insides squirmy. It wasn’t exactly unpleasant, just uncomfortable. I didn’t like feeling so exposed and vulnerable. Like if they looked too deeply…

They might see something that would change their dedication to me. That I wouldn’t be able to be their queen.

They didn’t try to persuade or coerce me in any way. In fact, Maxtla started to pull away, sensing my unease.

I reached out and threaded my fingers into the thick curly fall of his hair, now streaked with silver. His face was worn and lined. He had never told me exactly how old he was, but I knew he’d been a warrior when Tenochtitlan fell. He’d been left for dead on the steps of Templo Mayor, with most of his right arm hacked off, and a gaping wound in his side.

Yet he’d lived. So he could find his way to me.

How could I send him away now, when he might die tomorrow to give me my heart’s desire?

I opened my thighs, gently drawing him back to me. He wrapped his hands around my waist, bracing his forearms on my thighs, so he could bury his face against my stomach. He inhaled deeply, just holding me, as I held him.

Connection. Touch. Acceptance. All each of them had ever asked from me.

I combed my fingers through his hair and gently rubbed my fingers over his scalp, neck, and shoulders, massaging him as Eztli had done for me. Maxtla rolled his head back and looked up at me, his eyes dark with hunger. “May I feed from between your thighs, my queen?”

The taste of a queen’s desire could have a powerful effect on her lover. Eztli had often made love to me with his mouth, using the aphrodisiac power to empty every drop of sperm in his body into me in the hopes that he could sire my daughter. We’d enjoyed it thoroughly, even though I never started breeding. But I’d never allowed any of my other Blood to do so.

:Do you mind?: I asked Eztli. On this, possibly our last night together before I found Tezcatlipoca, I didn’t want to do anything to offend him.

:Of course not. I want all of your pleasure, my queen. Even if it’s another giving that pleasure to you.:

I nodded to Maxtla, and he dipped his head to lightly trace his tongue between my thighs. He took his time, stroking every inch of me before settling in to suck and lick my clit. Eztli cupped my breasts, rolling my nipples between his fingers. I tried to be quiet, but the sensation of his fingers tugging and squeezing made me moan, which spurred Maxtla to stroke me more firmly with his tongue.

I forced my eyes open, and looked directly into Luis’s smoldering gaze.

Heat flooded my face. He had crawled onto the bed with us. Closer, he prowled like a jaguar on the hunt. Holding my gaze as long as possible, he leisurely lowered his head to my nipple. Eztli even helped, lifting my breast up, offering it to him like a treat.

Luis’s lips closed over my breast and Eztli’s fingers, which were still rolling back and forth on my hardened flesh. I shattered and bucked against Maxtla’s mouth, climaxing so hard that Eztli had to catch me, or I would have rolled off him to thrash on the mattress.

Another mouth closed over my other nipple, and I knew it was Diego. All four of my Blood. Touching me. Loving me. I couldn’t hold back another hoarse cry.

Maxtla sank his fangs into my inner thigh, sending another wave of pleasure through me. My blood hummed in my veins, a crashing crescendo of need that thundered through my body. I felt like a tuning wand, vibrating from head to toe between them. Pleasure rippled through me, driving me higher, always higher.

I dragged Maxtla up into my arms and wrapped my thighs around him. Eztli held me, while my other Blood fucked me. They all held me, stroking me inside and out until the pleasure was a haze of color that filled my every sense. Maxtla roared with release, shuddering as he emptied hard into me.

Another took his place. Luis, or Diego, I couldn’t tell with my eyes closed. I couldn’t see or hear or think. But I focused on his scent and recognized Diego. His jaguar always smelled a bit wilder and rawer, as if no cage could ever contain him, not even my Blood’s body.

Hunger surged in me, and I sank my fangs into his throat as he climaxed. I drank from him until Luis took his place and drove my pleasure higher.

Eztli. I needed my alpha. I wanted his blood. His pleasure.

I didn’t need to ask him. He pulled me up and effortlessly turned me around to face him. He pushed up into me, holding me heart-to-heart. Tears dripped from my eyes, and I buried my face against his throat. I wanted to climb inside him and never leave. Let him hold me, like this, for all time.

He held me as long as possible without moving inside me, but I couldn’t stop twitching and clenching around his cock. He filled me completely, a blissful fullness that made it impossible to simply lie connected and still. I didn’t want to be still. I wanted him moving, driving me higher, pushing us both over the edge.

Deliberately, I tightened my muscles on him and sank my fangs into his throat. His back arched on a ragged groan. Instinct took over. His hips slammed up against me, lifting my knees up off the bed. I didn’t care. I knew he wouldn’t let me fall. His powerful arms locked around me, clutching me to him as we both climaxed.

One last time.

I refused to believe that. I refused to give him up. I refused to give up any of them.

I lifted my face, licking his blood from my lips. His eyes were dark with raw agony, moist with emotion. His bond raged like an angry volcano blasting its core thousands of feet into the air. “I’m not letting you go. Even to death and the otherworld.”

He nodded, but the look in his eyes still cut me to the quick. “I will help you find your god. I will help you have your daughter. I swear it on your blood that burns inside me.” He brushed his lips against me, so softly, despite his words. “Even if it kills me.”