"Some are born mad,
some achieve madness,
and some have madness
thrust upon 'em."

~~Emilie Autumn

****************

~Nevada~

My heart was racing in my chest as August led me into his room and gently shut the door behind us. Nervous butterflies filled my stomach and I almost forgot how to breathe as I turned around to face him. Silver irises trailed over my body, from the top of my head and slowly down to the tips of my toes and back, burning with unspoken emotion.

I was slightly panicked now that the moment was here, unsure if this was really the best time. It almost felt as if Dominic had forced our hand, making this necessary instead of doing it on our own time. I wanted August as much as I wanted my next breath of air and I loved him more than I had ever believed to be possible. 

A knot formed in my throat, lodging itself awkwardly and making it nearly impossible to swallow or for words to pass by. My eyes drifted up to August's face as he peered down at me, his tall frame towering over mine. I could feel the flush in my cheeks, both from arousal as well as embarrassment and something else I couldn't quite identify. 

He raised his hand, brushing the backs of his fingers along my jaw as he tucked away a loose strand of hair. My eyelids fluttered closed and a ragged breath rushed from my lips as his large hand rested gently on the base of my throat, his thumb lightly caressing the skin over my racing pulse. 

Ridiculous thoughts flooded my head, ratcheting my nerves higher as I forced myself to remain still. August was a thousand year old hybrid, and I knew he had experienced so many things in his lifetime. There was no doubt that he had been with countless women, honing his skills on how to please a woman, and yet here he was with me. I was just a girl, inexperienced except for a handful of times with a fumbling boy in the darkness.

Oh gods, what if I'm terrible?!, my thoughts screamed in my head. My parents are somewhere in this house, my brother too, and I'm about to do this under the same roof? When they all know what's about to happen?!

Just the idea left me mortified but I couldn't bring myself to say anything, the words sticking to the back of my tongue. Denying August, or myself, because of embarrassment was out of the question, and felt cowardly especially after what had just happened in the training room. My mind was spinning and yet I was frozen in place, unable to turn away or move closer.

"Relax, Princess," August said softly.

"I'm trying," I whispered, my body trembling.

August's hand left my throat, his cool fingers gliding down my arm until they met my wrist. "Open your eyes, love."

I did as he asked and slowly raised my anxious gaze to his. A soft smile played on his lips, tugging at the corners of his mouth and softening the hard lines and angles of his face. Standing before me, shirtless and his jeans hanging low on his hips, he looked like a modern day god. Without saying a word, August led me to his bed and sat down, leading me to straddling his hips while his hands rested on mine.

"I think we should talk about what happened," August said, his thumbs sneaking beneath the hem of my shirt and caressing my bare skin. "You know, what it means for us but also…"

"Also what, August?" I asked, teasing my fingers into his raven colored strands, my nails like grazing his scalp. 

"I know you're angry at Dominic but… ," he shook his head and looked away, a frown replacing the gentle smile.

My hands stilled in his hair and all I could do was stare blankly at him for a solid minute that seemed to drag on forever. When I finally spoke, I was surprised by how calm and even my voice sounded.

"You're not angry at him." It was a statement that would have knocked me over if I hadn't already been sitting and if August's hands were gripping my hips. "He could have killed us both, and you're not mad at him."

"No, don't mistake me, love, I definitely am. I'm mad because he hurt you, but not because of what he did to me," August replied immediately and carefully. "It was my fault for not approaching him sooner."

"You think the outcome would have been different?" I asked, disbelief coloring my words. "You're the one that didn't want to tell him because you knew he would be pissed at you."

"And he is but if I had explained the situation earlier, he wouldn't have done that," August explained. "Dominic loves you, Princess, and he would never want to hurt you no matter how angry he was."

"So, now you're thinking he would have been okay with it?" I asked, my irritation being clouded over by confusion. "Which is it, August? Whatever it is you're trying to say isn't making a whole lot of sense if you didn't notice."

August rubbed a hand over his face and pinched the bridge of his nose. "I'm not good at stuff like this."

Kneading the back of his neck with my fingers, I said, "Maybe you could start over? I feel like I'm missing a piece of the picture here or something, like you know something I don't."

"I've known Dominic for a very long time, love, so I'm sure there are plenty of things I know that you don't," he chuckled dryly. 

"So, tell me," I whispered, pressing my forehead against his. "I want to know everything about you."

"That could take a thousand years."

"Well, we have to start somewhere," I replied with a smile.

I was angry, confused and sexually frustrated which made my brain want to short circuit. My head was still slightly fuzzy from the incident with Dominic and then August feeding from me. I wanted August, part of my craving to be with him in every way possible, but this conversation was important. The need to understand the man I loved and his relationship with my father was crucial. If we wanted to make this work, I needed to see the bigger picture.

August smiled slightly before moving us carefully towards the head of the bed. Leaning back against the pillows, he pulled me up to stretch over his body and I rested my head lightly on his shoulder. Like always, despite the emotional rollercoaster we seemed to live on, and the physically taxing moments as well, I felt safe in his arms. It was as if we were in our own little world and no one could touch us.

"Where to start…," August muttered thoughtfully as his fingers played with the ends of my hair. "My life, and Dominic's too, has always been turbulent chaos, whether it be fighting wars, preparing for wars that hadn't yet come, or learning the ropes for when we were in charge… it was always something. In our younger years, Dominic was a lot like Nova, seemingly carefree and jovial, but Dominic has always had a temper.

"One thing you need to remember about him is that he's fiercely loyal and protective of those he cares about most," August continued, his fingers slipping lazily through my hair. "Every so often him and I would get into petty arguments, once or twice over the years over money or women."

"Women?" I cut in, fighting down the stab of jealousy in my chest. August was a thousand years old, of course he had history with women. The truth didn't make it sting anyless hearing him confirm it.

"Yes, women. We also fought over weapons and combat more frequently than anything," August replied, sliding his free hand under the edge of my shirt to rest on my lower back. "When I was still a fae, the two of us were pretty equal in power and abilities, which meant we tended to act like imbeciles quite often when our anger got the best of us."

"Meaning?" I asked quietly, my finger tracing patterns on his arm.

"I set him on fire once," August admitted casually and I jerked my head up to look at him.

"You did what?" I asked, shocked.

"I set him on fire," he repeated, laughter crinkling the corners of his eyes. "He pissed me off, how I don't remember actually, but I hit him with an orb. It was weak but he still had one eyebrow and ended up having to shave his head. I think I was… twenty-nine? Thirty years old maybe?"

"You've got to be kidding me?" I exclaimed with my jaw hanging open. "What the hell, August?"

August laughed, the sound rich and silky as it washed over me, momentarily distracting me.

"I know, it was stupid especially since I can't remember why I even did it now," he chuckled, silver eyes bright with humor. "He ended up with a scar on his shoulder from it, too. Dominic ended up getting pay back though, so don't worry."

I groaned. "Why do I feel like I don't want to know?"

"He electrified the spring I used to bathe in behind my house," August explained with another short laugh as he shifted slightly and pointed to his side. "Not only did I get a nasty cut on my side from falling on a rock under the water, but I was also somehow magnetic for the two days afterwards."

Despite my indign at their idiocy, I couldn't stop the laugh that bubbled up as I looked at the tiny white line barely visible over his ribs. The picture he was painting of their friendship was almost too much to believe.

"The older we got, the dirtier we were with what we did to each other," August shrugged and I could hear the smile in his voice. "By that point, we had seen too much and done too much to consider those small acts worth a damn. So, things got ugly from time to time. That's just what we did."

I took a moment to process this information, trying to put it with what I knew about the two of them now. It was hard to imagine August as a joking and laughing teenager but if I thought about what he had said, it wasn't hard to believe they went from fun to… not so much. I knew the old wars had been ugly, brutal in so many ways and I had no doubt that many things that happened were left out of the history books and family stories. They had become hardened versions of themselves out of necessity which had, in turn, twisted everything they had originally been.

"And after you were turned?" I asked cautiously. "Did the two of you continue to do things like that to each other?"

"Less often," August answered, his own humor gone. "We didn't see each other as often because I was banished from the Kingdom which meant I was no longer his official right hand. Hybrids aren't welcome in Folmoria, Princess, so we parted ways."

"Not entirely," I pointed out, propping my chin in his chest so I could look at his face. 

"Not entirely, no," he agreed. "But it's hard to argue with someone you aren't around."

"That's true, but it can't have stopped completely if you weren't surprised by this… show of brutality," I pressed, suddenly more curious than I wanted to admit.

August was quiet for a long time, his arms wrapped around me as he held me tight against his chest. When he finally spoke, his voice rumbled in his chest beneath my ear, sending a delicious shiver down my spine.

"Dominic and I are fucked up," he said, his arms tightening slightly around me. "We've done some terrible things to each other and other people. Some of it was necessary in the moment, but other times it could have been avoided and we chose to do it our way. Folmorian fae are said to be the darkest parts of the Fae folk as a whole, and maybe it's true."

"Do you really believe that?" I asked, meeting his eyes.

"Maybe," he answered with a shrug. "My point is, baby girl, that what Dominic did was fucked up and I won't deny that. I'm just… if you could give him the benefit of the doubt…"

I narrowed my eyes. "He nearly killed you. And me."

"I know, but I don't believe he would have."

"But he almost did because he was too hot headed to talk about it!" I growled, my earlier irritation returning. "Why does no one around here talk about shit?!"

"Because we're men and we're stupid and impulsive?" August asked with a wince.

I rolled my eyes. "That's not a question, it's a fact."

"Maybe so," August agreed, his voice dropping an octave, "but you love me anyway."

One of his hands moved down and gripped the globe of my ass through my clothes, holding my body in place as he ground himself against me. A light moan slipped from my lips before I knew it was even there and I dug my nails into his chest, leaving small crescents in their wake.

"Did you mean what you said?" I asked breathlessly, remembering my anxiety and fears from before. "About not waiting anymore?"

"Yes and no," he replied gruffly, nipping my earlobe lightly. "I don't want to wait any longer, Nevada but no, I don't expect it to be now."

"W-why?" I asked, trying to mask the hurt and disappointment I felt at his declaration. 

August suddenly sat up and I found myself straddling his lap once more as he leaned against the headboard of his bed. His face was calm but silver irises danced with laughter.

"Because friend or not, your parents are still down the hall," August answered truthfully, bringing an embarrassed heat to my cheeks. He rolled my hips, his hardened length gliding over my core and sending pleasure rocketing through my veins. "When I claim you, it's just going to be the two of us because I want to hear you scream my name when you come, Princess."

"How will -," my words snapped off with another moan as he continued to roll my hips, faster and faster. "It's not possible to be completely alone here."

"Don't worry, Love. I'm going to take good care of you."

August leaned forward which changed the angle of his denim clad cock as it ground across my clit covered in thin layers of cotton. I cried out as a zip of warm tingles danced along my body, poised on the edge of release. 

"Trust me, Nevada," August growled softly against my lips.

"I do," I whimpered. "I trust you."

August claimed my mouth and pinched my nipple between his fingers, pain and pleasure coiling into one burning sensation that set me spinning, higher and higher as his tongue danced with mine. He released my hips, both hands focused on the sensitive peaks of my breasts as I clung to him, desperately seeking relief from the pressure threatening to swallow me whole. I felt his fangs elongate and prick the soft skin of my lip, and that was all it took to send me tumbling into bliss.

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A/N: Another chapter. Little filler but a little peak inside at Dominic and August.

I hope you enjoyed it!❣

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~SM~