Without having any damn say in what was going on, my body acted like it had a mind of its own. I wet my lips and tilted my head to expose my neck to the cambion, inviting him to trace it with kisses while he made both of us look straight at Aiden and Rafe. Their eyes were full of anger, worry and, most of all, pain. Not physical pain- Markolf did not want to hurt them, not this time at least. Yet, he wanted them to see the power he had over them and over me, and how none of us could do anything about it. He was a madman who enjoyed the suffering of others and tonight he was getting another hit of his favourite drug- that intoxicating concoction of power and control.

Like a marionette, I turned to look at the cambion and I genuinely admired how handsome he was. He could easily pass for a model with his slender features and strong face without anyone suspecting the ugly evil side of him that he hid beneath the surface. Knowing what he had done and what he wanted to do made me want to wretch in revulsion at the seeming intimacy between us but instead, I found my gaze drifting between his eyes and his lips. My fingers trailed along his collar before I grabbed it and pulled him in for a kiss.

God, I wanted him. Wait, what am I saying? This is wrong. It feels wrong. It was not his kisses that I longed for, not his touch that I craved.

Markolf gave me a sly leer as his hands slid beneath the ruffles of my dress, tracing the contours of my body below the fabric. A small moan left my lips which lingered by his ear. I was burning with desire by now, pulling at his clothing to touch his skin.

I need to stop- I don't want this. This is not me. My mind was desperately trying to reason with me before I did something that I was going to regret.

My body was refusing to listen though as the lust was clouding my rational thinking.

I felt the cold wall as my back pressed against it when Markolf moved us away from the dancefloor. No one even batted an eyelid that we were making out in the middle of the gala.

"These events have the tendency to get a bit wild after certain times." Tanner's words rang in my head.

"You see, darling, you see how I can make you feel?" Markolf grinned as he kissed the hollow between my neck and my shoulder, eliciting another moan from me.

Satisfied with my response, he grabbed my hand and placed it on his crotch, clearly wanting me to pay attention to his hard-on. "Do you see how you also make me feel, Riley?"

Instinctively I lightly squeezed his bulge, making him grunt. "Fuck, Riley- we would be unstoppable. The dream team. The outcasts who made the world bow down to them."

This is not real. The way he makes me feel is not real. He is no Rafe. He is no Aiden.

"Don't you want this, Riley?" Markolf continued and I knew he was talking about his vision for us, for the world.

Noooooo, is what I wanted to scream while punching him.

Instead, I heard myself say Yes while I ran my fingers through his hair. I was so far gone in my lust haze that I would have agreed to everything as long as I got my release.

Then I saw them again. Aiden and Rafe stood by the bar, right where I had left them before. They didn't move- just stood there like statues but if their eyes could speak, oh their eyes. The rage that was burning inside them was capable of incinerating the whole room if it was unleashed.

Was it me that this rage is aimed at or the cambion? The question that ran through my mind somewhat sobered me up - enough to allow something other than lust to penetrate my thoughts.

"Told you that I would take care of you, didn't I?" I heard Rafe's voice in my head, remembering his satisfied, cocky face after we had sex at the cottage. I wanted to hate our encounter, to hate him and how he made me feel but the moment he said that I would not be anyone else's but theirs, I was already a goner.

Aiden's face appeared in my mind, his eyes full of adoration. "That was incredible. You are incredible! I don't know what I have done to deserve such a phenomenal mate but I promise to never take you for granted, love."

The memories of my mates were helping me think clearer, slowly releasing the control that Markolf had on me through my lust but not enough for me to free myself.

"Yes, I did not pick them myself but the bonds we have, I would never trade them for anything or anyone else." Eden's word came back to me. "...you always have a say. You can always change your destiny. Free will counts for more than you realise."

She was right- I did have a choice and my choice was to fight the grip that Markolf had on me right now. My choice was to fight for myself. For my mates. For my family. For this world that I had been thrown in and had now grown to care for.

"We don't understand what's going on between us either. I am not sure whether we ever will. But we trust whatever it is, we trust that it is right and that it will guide us," Eden spoke again in my mind.

That's it- I need to trust the bonds.

So I let myself go, embracing the connection I had with Aiden and Rafe. More memories of the two of them flooded my mind. I gasped at the things we had already been through in such a short period of time, but even more so when I remembered my own thoughts at the Macalister party.

"Let's be honest, I was never going to find one guy to give me everything I craved. The bad boy who would challenge me for domination and who would give me the dirty, rough sex that I needed at times, while also being able to turn into a perfect gentleman, stimulating my mind and charming me with his thoughtfulness, care and loving."

Damn it, life had a twisted sense of humour. Or more like the Sun and Moon Goddesses did, and I was going to have a word with them as soon as I eliminated the maniac in front of me.

I channelled the energy of every fibre in my body that was not under his control into the fist that I had clenched and let Markolf enjoy my best hook punch. The shock in his eyes as my knuckles made contact with his face was so satisfying until the realisation that bear-knuckle punches were never a good idea hit me. Yet, even the pain could not ruin my moment of victory.

Markolf stumbled back, wiping a drop of blood from the corner of his mouth with his tongue. I could see that he savoured it like a blood-thirsty vampire. Villainy radiated from him. I expected him to be angry but he smiled, satisfied.

"You are stronger than I thought, my dear. We will certainly have fun because I know you will see the light."

My punch must have distracted him enough to loosen his grip on the boys because I saw them sprint towards us.

"Shame- looks like our moment has come to an end. Be a good girl and hold those two off for me."

I wanted to tell him to go fuck himself but I couldn't- waves of lust hit me like a tsunami, erasing my ability to think rationally in an instant. This time I could not fight it though because the lust was not directed towards Markolf but towards Aiden and Rafe and I could only give in. I was so far gone in my lustful desires that I didn't even care that the cambion slowly walked away, chuckling like an evil mastermind.

Time slowed down and seconds felt like centuries as I waited for my mates to reach me. Their worry and their relief were palpable when they finally got to me.

"Riley!" Aiden's strong arms wrapped around me, while Rafe could not pull his gaze away from me. "Did he hurt you? Are you okay?"

"We have to go after him," Rafe growled.

I took a deep breath and relished the way that their scents invaded my lungs.

"No." That was the only thing that I could say as my body was starting to burn up, yet I was shivering.

My legs went weak and I felt hollow, a desperate need for a missing feeling nestling itself inside me. I need them- both of them. Right. Fucking. Now. I couldn't care less that we were in the middle of a packed event for the elite. I didn't give a damn that the cambion got away. I needed them inside me before my lust consumed me.

It was too much. What I felt at that very moment was so strong that I felt like a nuclear bomb that was about to explode. I wanted to crawl out of my skin because my body was unbearable and I knew that only their touch could soothe me.

"No what, Riley? No, you are not okay or no, we don't go after him?" Rafe stepped closer to me and grabbed my hand. His voice sounded like he was angry but at the same time, I could sense his fear that I was not okay.

My whole body was trembling not because I was hurt or scared but because the lust had completely taken control of me. I struggled to breathe, periodically gasping for air.

"Fuck me. Now," I commanded them both.

"What?" The two of them said in unison, shocked by what I had just requested.

"I need...I can't...It hurts. Make it stop." Tears streamed down my face as the frustration that I did not have control over my own body pushed me to the edge of my sanity.

Aiden's hand made contact with my forehead and I could see him scan me with his eyes.

"Shit, Rafe, it's like she is in heat. He must have done something to amplify her lust. We need to get her to the room right away," Aiden's voice was shaky, even if on the outside he appeared calm.

Rafe picked me up and carried me back to the room with an urgency that I had never noticed before. I closed my eyes, desperately trying not to think about the aching pain in my core.

The boys practically kicked the door to the room in before they gently laid me down on the bed. The loss of their touch made me whimper as it was what comforted me enough to keep my sanity at bay. I was squirming on the bed, panting from the agony that I was in by now.

"Aiden, tell me that you know what we need to do?" Rafe's question came out more like a desperate plea than anything else.

"I think that Markolf is controlling people through emotions. That's why we couldn't move earlier- we were both angry and he exploited that. Riley said that his father is Asmodeus, right? That must mean that the cambion also has some control over her lust. In Riley's case, he has an advantage when it comes to his powers. She is human, which makes it easier for his powers to influence her."

"That can't be it, Aiden- this is more than simple control," Rafe barked.

"You are right. Her lust is greater because of the mate pull and he is using that. Our bonds aim to draw us to our mate, urging us to mark and mate each other. The more the bond is denied this, the stronger the pull gets when our mates are around. That's probably how he was able to control her earlier- if she is not marked and claimed, the bond cannot protect her properly from this kind of manipulation."

"Are you trying to tell me that if we don't mark and claim her, she will remain under his control?" Rafe said in disbelief. "We can't, Aiden- it's fucked up. We cannot force our bonds on her like that. Not without her consent."

Aiden walked over to the bed and sat on the edge, his fingers intertwining with mine. The contact calmed me down a bit but it was all still too much to handle.

"Trust me, Rafe, I get it," he murmured as he caressed my face with his other hand. "But we can mark her without completing the proper claiming and mating- that can only happen when all mates consent to it."

"But if we mark, we mark her as ours. You know what that means, right? It will make it more difficult for her to break the bonds if she decides to do so, and no other man will dare touch her." I felt the bed sink as Rafe sat on the other side, grabbing my free hand. "Not that the latter would be a bad thing."

"Please, make it stop," I whispered. "I can't take it anymore. Please."

My pleading eyes crushed whatever doubts the two of them still had. "Fuck it, so be it," I heard Rafe say.

Both of them moved closer to me, their proximity driving me wild. I wanted them naked in bed with me, so I desperately reached to remove their ties and unbutton their shirts.

"Shhh, Riley, it will be okay- I promise," Rafe whispered in my ear, sending a shiver of pleasure down my spine.

"We will make it better, beautiful, trust us," Aiden muttered between the kisses that he was leaving on my arm.

The feeling of being with the two of them was enthralling.

I wanted more.

I needed more.

Every cell in my body vibrated, eagerly calling out for their touch. My brain was fizzling fast, my thoughts no longer lining up. I was spiralling so out of control that I imagined myself melting, just sliding onto the floor in a puddle of hormones and liquid lust.

Rafe's breath caressed my neck, while the warmth of Aiden's lips soothed my wrist. My body had become so sensitive that I arched my back with a moan. My breath quicked. The wetness in my core grew, and I pressed and rubbed my legs together in a hopeless effort to relieve the burning need.

My eyes snapped open when something pierced my skin right where my neck and my right shoulder met. The unexpected sharp pain brought me back from the haze and I realised that it was Rafe's canines that had sunk into my skin. I didn't have time to think much about it though as I felt something hot press against the back of my wrist, branding it.