“A week–”“–till the blood moon,” Mia completed for Ravenna, her legs stretched out, her hands behind her supporting her. They were seated on the rooftop, watching the sunset. And Mia had a strong sense of déjà vu. “Three years ago, we were in this same position,” Ravenna said with a soft smile, turning to look at Mia. Mia smiled back. “Yeah. Yeah, I remember. When you and Darius were about to have that fight.”Ravenna’s smile widened at the reminder of that memory, but the smile turned sad, and she looked away. “We’ve really come a long way, Mia,” she whispered. Mia nodded, looking back at the sky. “We have.”“I'm sorry.”Mia turned to Ravenna again, a frown between her brows. “What for?”Ravenna sighed, drawing her knees up to her chest and wrapping her arms around them. “I feel like I just pushed our friendship aside for three years. I just gave the kids and Darius all my time, and kept none for you. I even put the pack before you. That’s wrong.”Mia stared at Ravenna’s profil
“Mmph!” Mia moaned as Dalian slammed into her, his thrusts brutal, his eyes hard. He was kneeling between her legs, holding her thighs with both hands, and keeping her wide open for his wild thrusts. He was relentless in his thrusts, never faltering, and looked like a totally different person. His hair was glued to his face from sweat, his abs flexing as he thrusted, his jaw clenched, and eyes half closed. If Mia wasn’t falling for him before, she definitely was now. She loved this wild, untamed part of him, and she most definitely loved that she was the one who made him this way. It gave her a sort of power—a thrilling, spine-tingling power. It made her want to do more to see this part of him. Want to unravel every single inch of Dalian she hasn't seen before. “Dalian!” she panted, rocking back as he thrust. “Mia,” he rasped, his fingers digging into her thighs and piercing skin. “Mia, fuck, what are you doing to me? This… I’m–Ugh!”He groaned in frustration, then he let go of
Dalian wasn't a sex freak—or so he thought. He had never been a person who was so heavy on sex. Sure, he’d had sex before, but it was just to scratch an itch. And it took minutes before he could get his member up and hard. He never kissed his partners, and he was never intimate with them. He just stuck his dick in and out. That was it. But right now… These days, he was hard most of the day. Just seeing Mia, looking at her the wrong way, had him hard. If she bit her lip, he’d be hard. If she even looked at him with lowered eyes, he was hard. And now when she was angry at him, yeah, he was also fucking hard. Really damn hard that the slightest brush of his head against the cotton of his underwear made his spine tensing. She had looked so fierce and beautiful when she was angry, glaring at him and making his dick rock hard. Maybe something was wrong with Dalian, because he shouldn't have been turned on when she was angry. But that doesn't matter when Mia’s eyes immediately dropped
The drive back to the territory was fast, and tense, because everybody in the car needed to get out for their own reasons. Lucian needed space to nurse his broken heart; Mia needed space to think and know what she wanted; Dalian needed space with Mia. And the two witches in the car needed space from all three of them because their bad mood was heavy and suffocating. One of the witches—a much younger one—had tried to start a conversation, but she had been left hanging, and they continued their journey in silence. Finally—oh, finally—they crossed the border and entered the territory, and soon they were parked in front of the packhouse. Mia couldn't tell who was more relieved to be out of the car. They all took their bags out of the trunks, and Lucian turned to the witches with a cold look that made them recoil. But he didn't care. “It's late and I know you’re both tired,” he said to the witches, his voice matching his expression. “You’ll be shown to your rooms, and food will be br
“You’re going to help us?” Mia asked, almost jumping to her feet, but she remained seated and just looked at Nyx. The witch didn't look at her as she answered, her eyes fixed on Dalian instead. “Of course. I’ll help you. But I have one condition, though.”Mia and Dalian tensed. Of course there was a condition. She wouldn't just agree to help them without asking for something. And with the way she was looking at Dalian, Mia didn't think she was going to like that condition.She was ready to stand up and defend Dalian, demand that she ask for something else, and drag him out of here if Nyx refused. But Nyx only just said, “I want to be invited to your celebration.”Silence. A shocked and suspicious silence. That was her condition? Out of all the things she could ask for, that was it? Even though Mia had thought it would be something more, she felt even more on edge. Something wasn't right with Nyx. That glint in her eyes said it all, but they just had to understand what it meant. Da
They left Lucain to go meet Nyx. He was in no shape to go anywhere, so they let him be. Mia and Dalian went to the desk where they had last seen the creepy witch. The building was quieter now, but it was still buzzing with people. This time, as they passed, nobody looked at them, and they just looked straight ahead. The witch was at the desk when they got there. She was immediately on her feet when she saw them, her fake smile slipping on her face. “Good morning,” she greeted, her voice making Mia grit her teeth. “I trust you slept well?” She didn't bother to wait for their answer before she walked around the desk and gestured for them to follow her. “Right this way, please. Mother Nyx has been waiting.”She led them to a room down and down stairs. They kept walking until finally, the witch stopped in front of a double door and knocked. “Come in,” Nyx’s soft voice answered from inside. They opened the door and stepped inside. The witch bowed before she left, shutting the door aft
Lucian had turned into a statue, unmoving and rigid. His chest was barely even moving. Then he turned his head slowly to the door at his side, his eyes still wide. He reached out a trembling hand to the door, but then he stopped, curling it into a fist. Mia turned and looked at Dalian before she looked back at Lucian. She stepped closer to him and bumped her shoulder into his—or at least tried to. Since she was short, her shoulder just grazed his bicep. His body tensed before he turned his head to her, still having that look in his eyes. Murder victims have looked less traumatized. “Go,” she whispered, gesturing with her chin towards the door. Lucian’s eyes grew wider—Mia hadn't thought that was possible. “G-go? What am I supposed to say?”Mia rolled her eyes, resisting the urge to pinch the bridge of her nose. She needed to be patient with him. Lucian didn't really have much experience with women. Not because he couldn't, but because he chose not to. Women threw themselves at h
Mia’s entire body was throbbing in pain. The wound in her throat and chest had stopped bleeding, and it was healing, but the wound wasn't sealed yet. So she didn't want to shift again. She didn't have the strength for that pain. She also didn't want to fight in this form. Everything was aching; breathing was a chore; there was an intense pounding in her head.She felt like death. Plus, she was naked and cold. Dalian and Lucian stood in front of her without thinking, blocking her from view. And since she was short, they covered her entirely. Her throat grew tight in knowing she had people to protect her. “Don’t come any closer,” Lucian snarled, his claws already out. “We come in peace,” a soft, feminine voice said. A voice so soft and lovely, Mia didn't know when she relaxed. But she still remained behind the men’s backs. “Then state your business,” Dalian commanded, his voice low, a warning. “We’re from the town you’ve been trying to enter,” the voice responded, her voice sti
“None of us anticipated being surrounded by rogue wolves, right? Or am I the only one caught by surprise?” Mia asked as the wolves formed a circle around them, forcing them close to each other until their backs were resting against each other. “Nope,” Lucian answered. “Not just you.”“We don't have any weapons,” Dalian noted with an edge to his voice. “We should have been prepared for this,” Mia muttered under her breath. The wolves slowly walked to them, all six of them, growling with their eyes glowing. “Why do we need weapons when we are the weapons?” Lucian snarled. “There are six of them so we’ll shift and take them. Two on two.”“Got it,” Mia said while Dalian nodded. The lead wolf snarled at Lucian, lips curling to reveal teeth slicked with the taste for blood. “Shift,” Lucian commanded, his voice low, already in second-in-command mood. “Now.”They barely had time to move before the wolves lunged at them. The shift was already tearing through Mia as she moved to avoid her