Alina’s POV The silence between us was louder than any scream.Lucian stood before me, half-shadowed by the morning light that filtered reluctantly through the gauzy drapes. His silver-gray eyes locked onto mine, those eyes I once thought mesmerizing, magnetic even, but now they chilled something in me I didn’t know could freeze. They weren't just looking at me. They were looking through me, searching, picking apart layers I didn't give him permission to touch.His voice, low and cutting, broke the quiet.“Tell me what you know.”I blinked, my heart playing hopscotch in my chest, but I didn’t flinch. I held his stare, masking the tight knot curling in my belly with a half-tilted smile and the most unbothered tone I could manage.“Know what, Lucian?” I asked, my voice soft and laced with feigned confusion. “That you woke me up this morning without crunching my toes with your boots? Honestly, that would've been the only thing that went wrong. But no, I slept quite soundly. I suppose t
Alina’s POV Finally, I eased the new shirt over his head and buttoned it up.He looked almost... half human again.Less of the deranged beast he was when he had almost strangled me to death moments ago.Still, part of me flinched every time he twitched in his sleep.I pulled the covers over him, brushing a few damp hair strands from his forehead.Then I sat back, staring. Listening.The room was quiet.But my mind wasn’t.Not even close.I don’t know why I felt so strangely uneasy. Maybe it was the silence. Or maybe it was him, his presence looming quietly on the bed. I was only sitting by the edge, close enough to hear his sound breathing but not close enough to feel safe. The space between us felt like a tightrope stretched over something unseen and deep, something that could swallow me whole if I slipped.I wrapped my arms around myself, curling forward slightly. The room was cool, not cold, but my skin felt clammy. Restless.Then, without knowing why exactly, I slipped down from
Alina’s POV How can my blood save him?The question clanged inside my chest like a gong struck too hard. I stared at Lucian, pale and still as marble, and I could barely breathe past the knot of panic in my throat."Look... it might be risky," Sabrina said, her voice wobbling with caution, "but it’s a good chance to bring him back before the clutches of death grab him completely."Clutches of death. The words sank sharp into my stomach like thorns curling into soft flesh.I looked down at Lucian. His face, always so full of life – whether he was smirking in arrogance or sneering with intent – now looked like it belonged to someone else. Someone quiet. Gone. My pulse thundered in my ears, like my body was trying to shout louder than fear."How will it work?" I whispered. The words weren’t even for her. They were to the void between reason and confusion."Your tattoo," she said, her eyes flicking to the crescent mark on my collarbone. "It means you have a direct connection to the godd
Alina’s POV She stared at Lucian’s face, lips parted but no words came.And all I could do was watch, heart hammering, breath shallow, praying to the Moon Goddess that she’d finish her sentence before the silence became permanent.But I had no patience left in me when it seemed like she wouldn't say anything sooner. Not when Lucian lay unconscious with blood crusting around his fingers and Sabrina kept dancing around answers like it wouldn’t kill me to wait.I grabbed her arm, gripping tighter than I intended. “Please tell me what’s happening, Sabrina,” I pleaded, my voice cracking under the weight of my desperation.Her eyes, those knowing eyes that seemed to have seen too much, left Lucian’s face. She didn’t speak. Her chest rose and fell as if something was being wrenched from within her. Slowly, her gaze drifted upward, following something invisible in the air until they settled on the full moon through the slightly opened window I had forgotten to close earlier.A visible tremor
Alina's POV The chilling air crept into the room like ghostly fingers, seeping through the open windows I had definitely forgotten to close before sleep claimed me. The bed had been too soft, too warm, a cocoon that had welcomed me into its deceptive embrace. But no warmth could keep the nightmare at bay. It returned like a vengeful storm, sinking claws into my belly and twisting until I couldn't breathe.I saw it again.The car. The way it swerved. The screech of tires. The blinding headlights that came out of nowhere.My father's hand had jerked on the wheel, my mother's gasp slicing the air.Then…Metal screamed. Glass shattered. The world spun.We rolled. Once. Twice. Then again. My vision blurred until everything became noise and pain."Alina!" my mother's voice rang out through the haze. "Listen to me! Crawl. Crawl out, sweetheart! Go!"I had cried, terrified, my small fingers trembling as I tried to move."Go, baby. Now! Mama's right here. Just crawl!"I didn't understand how
Lydia's POV He kissed me like a starving man again, wild, claiming, his tongue sweeping mine until my thoughts scattered into a dizzy whirl. My fingers curled against his shoulders, desperate to anchor myself, but there was no solid ground left between us. Only heat.I gasped against his lips as I felt the firm pressure beneath me, Jasper’s arousal was undeniable now, his rising cock pressing against me as I straddled him. His hands gripped my hips, guiding me back and forth so that my pussy grazed his hardened length through his briefs. I could feel him growing harder beneath me.His breath hitched, his hold tightened. He was slipping. Again.Jasper had always wanted control. Dominance. And now, I could feel it rising in him again – that trigger he could barely contain whenever we got too close, too raw.Before I could stop it, before I could even tear myself away, he growled low in his throat, a primal sound vibrating against my skin. Then, effortlessly, with that dominant werewo