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Nesta had never classified herself as the jealous type. Sure, she had her moments of insecurity, but overall she was able to keep her composure around other females, and the swoon-inducing effect her mate had on them, (and occasionally other males). She didn't anticipate how things would change after the bond, after that golden string between them thickened into a tight rope, solidifying their bodies and souls into one entity. She was his and he hers.
Cassian had shown amazing restraint when his brothers had visited for the first time 2 weeks after their mating ceremony. He still bared his teeth if they ventured too close, snarled and snapped when they addressed her too fondly (it was more of a tactic on Rhys' part to rile him up) and she, in turn, gave him reassuring smiles, soothing the flames of jealousy that licked at his skin.
Rhys had deemed Cassian in command of his emotional responses enough to attend family dinners, the cloud of the mating haze clearing as the days ticked away, which led to them standing outside the river house the next week. Cassian was fidgeting, adjusting his collar and shuffling in front of the doorway in an attempt to disperse the extra energy, "Stop fighting, you'll be fine, you hardly had a reaction when Azriel accidentally brushed my shoulder."
"That was no fucking accident," he grumbled, leaning into her petting as she laced her fingers in his hair.
"You'll be fine," she reassured again for what felt like the thousandth time that afternoon. "I'm impressed actually, I thought you would have started a fight the moment you sented them, but you proved me terribly wrong."
Truth was, underneath Cassian wanted to rip his brother limb from limb, predominantly Azriel, as he had gotten close enough to his mate that he managed to touch her, and that raging beast wailed in his chest. But he forgot all about it as he preened at her touch. If he was a cat, she would be purring.
Elain's smile greeted them from the other side of the threshold as she swung the door open, "You're here!" She announced in surprise. Nesta took no offence, they were freshly mated and it was made clear the invitation was open-ended. Elain clearly had her ideas of Cassian's control.
Her sister ushered her in, lamenting over her garden and her continued work in restoring the ones within Velaris. She was planning on starting a community garden, where anyone from children to the older fae could come and nurture something together, a community goal, something to concentrate on during the continued repairing of shops and emotional bonds, even so long after the war.
Nesta could not concentrate on a single word her sister said as an uncomfortable heat pricked at her skin like needles while she watched Feyre hug Cassian. Him running a hand over her shoulders, the closeness, the laugh that escaped the younger female, it all had Nesta itching her arm at the uncomfortable warmth.
She was never bothered by this before.
She tried to ignore the feeling as they all entered the dining room, Elain setting the table along with the two wraiths that were such an emotional support for her sister, and Nesta tried to force her concentration on Feyre and little Nyx, cooing at her nephew she loved so very much. She felt a little sense of pride that he seemed to have chosen her as his favourite, wishing to be held in her arms over the others, even if all he did was try and pull her hair out of her braided crown.
She almost growled when she spotted Mor linking her arm into Cassian's, rubbing his bicep and looking a little too comfortable around what was hers. Nesta tried to settle the little demon in her chest that was pounding on her ribcage. She never got along with Mor, they didn't click, but she knew Cassian needed the physical touch from those he loved, craved it, but it didn't mean she liked it.
Elain urged them to sit as Nuala placed the last dish onto the table, refusing the invitation for her and her sister to join them, looking a little uncomfortable as she eyed Nesta. Did she know how her blood boiled at the presence of every female in the room?
She hated this feeling, it made her sweat and her skin itch something terrible, and she couldn't stop herself when she almost shoved Mor out of her chair as she tried to take her place beside her mate. Her place, her place was beside him, no one else's. She could sit on the table for all she cared, but the spot beside Cassian would now belong to her, her and her alone.
She tried desperately not to bare her teeth as Mor gave her an offended look and instead sat down beside Feyre at the opposite end of the table. Good.
Dinner was uneventful in its entirety, the group eventually giving up trying to pass things directly to Cassian, Nesta grabbing onto the bowl, plate or condiment passed by the females to her mate. She refused to entertain the thought of their skin brushing against his as they passed things around. She just needed a moment where she didn't have to worry about sinking her teeth into their necks.
Amren gave her an amused smile from beside her and Nesta sent her a nasty one in return. Amren was the only female she trusted to be near her or her mate, as Amren refused physical touch from anyone other than Varien. Yes, she didn't have to worry about Amren.
After dessert and Elain's demands that they clear the table, objecting at the fact that they should not allow Nuala and Cerridwen to clean up their every mess, they retired to the sitting room. The wine was passed around, though she refused, enjoying a cup of coffee instead, as they all lazed around comfortably in front of a low fire. Nesta still found herself inclined towards the seat in the back, as she admired her mate's figure, glowing beautifully by the low light. By the Mother was he lovely.
The itch returned once more when Elain approached him, a hand on his elbow as she talked, and Nesta swallowed thickly to distract herself. This was her sister, she had a mate of her own (though the relationship there was tentative) and she had never shown interest in Cassian before, she needed to settle down before she hurt someone.
The itch turned into a low burn in her breast, a sheen of sweat prickling her skin even feet away from the fire as Cassian continued to speak to the females of the group. The little demon in her chest screaming to rip him from their grasps and claim him, show them who he belonged to, that he was hers. Hers to touch, hers to laugh with, hers to fuck.
Hers.
She excused herself for a moment, needing a moment of clarity and air, the light breeze cooling her heated skin. What was happening to her, she had never been bothered by the light and friendly touches the females of the group granted him. She knew it was important to him, made him feel loved, cherished, important. But she couldn't stop the raging flames of jealousy that burned brighter, every touch an added log, every look stoking that small spark into a full-blown forest fire.
She took a moment longer than necessary before re-entering the sitting room, feeling confident enough in her control to sit an hour or two more before dragging her mate back to their bed, where she would demand they stay for the next few days.
But her resolve snapped the second her eyes bared witness to the scene before her. Her vision darkened and she clenched her jaw so hard she swore if she wasn't fae her teeth would have shattered from the impact. She knew the others felt it too, the silver leaking into the edges of her view told her whatever was left of her magic was cooling the room, goosebumps peppering her skin.
His wings. She was touching his wings. Her wings.
Mor, who was standing to the right of her mate, so close it was bordering on the offensive, had her fucking hand on his wing. A thumb caressed a tendon and she felt the floodgates open. The demon in her chest ripping and tearing at her heart, fire exploding through her veins and Nesta let out the most inhuman screech that had ever left her lips, and she pounced.
Though the event took place in a matter of seconds, Nesta witnessed it in slow motion. As if having sensed her anger, Cassian turned to her, stepping towards her, angeling his body in front of his friends as Nesta lunged for her, teeth bared and eyes aflame with that silver fire.
Her breath was forced from her lungs painfully as she collided with the hard-muscled chest of her mate, her hands reaching behind him still fighting to cause any sort of harm to the tall blonde, even something as human as digging her nails into her soft skin.
Dismissing the scream of shock from Elain, and the pleading from Feyre, even the compulsion that reeked of Rhysand's powers trying to force her onto the floor and away from his cousin, Nesta continued to thrash. It was when she felt the cool brush of Azriel's shadows circling her waist did she break away, snarling at him.
"It's fine," Cassian reassured, sliding an arm securely around his flailing mate's waist, pressing her much smaller body to his, allowing his wings to fold around her protectively. He knew his family wouldn't hurt her, but those instincts still coursed through his own bloodstream.
"Isn't it usually the males who experience this after mating?" Elain asked innocently.
"Usually, but this is Nesta, the rules don't seem to apply to her," Rhys observed with interest.
"Don't you ever touch what's mine again," she shrieked at Mor, realizing she wasn't going to physically be able to remove herself from Cassian's hold. She grabbed onto his wing with her one hand and bore into with the other female with a threatening gleam, causing Cassian to shiver, "Mine," she hissed.
"I think it would be best if we left," Cassian's suggestion was met with no argument as he backed Nesta up until they reached the door, all the while his mate lashed out bits of magic and threatened anyone, male or female, that came within her eye line.
He immediately lifted them up and into the air in record time the moment they stepped outside the house, his wings working overtime as he surged towards the House of Wind. Nesta began to settle the farther they flew from the city boundaries, body going limp and claws retracted, and he knew Azriel would not return.
"Looks like we spoke too soon for some of us," he teased her, setting her down onto the balcony attached to their shared room.
She didn't laugh, no amused twinkle in her eyes, her expression solidifying into one of a predictor. "Really bothered you, huh, Mor touching my wings."
"Mine " she roared out, stalking towards him.
"She wasn't going to do anything sweetheart," he tried to reassure her, but she was too far gone to reason with.
"I don't care, I can understand your need for touch, she can pet your arm or swing her legs over your thighs, but the wings," she was so close now, even standing on her tiptoes she was still threatening, breath mingling together as she spoke, "The wings are mine."
He leaned forward and placed a kiss on her lips, "All yours."
"Now, I hope you ate enough at dinner because you won't be leaving this bed for the next week."
Cassian didn't complain as his mate rode his cock until morning.