Chapter 4: A Whore To My Uncle

REMI POV

"Okay, Remi. What are we doing?"

I was talking to myself like a crazy person. Which was appropriate given my current situation.

"Zaya would calculate the odds. She'd say something smart like 'the probability of you dying if you investigate creepy chain sounds is seventy-three percent.'" I mimicked her voice. "And then Jade would tell me to stop being dramatic and just go look."

The chains rattled again. Louder this time. Like someone was dragging them across stone.

"And my mom would say 'Remi Olandria Cross, you better not go looking for trouble.'" I looked at the door. "Which obviously means I'm about to go looking for trouble."

I glanced down at the wedding dress crumpled on the floor. Bloodstained. Torn. And that green stain near the neckline—the same color I'd seen under the dead bride's fingernails.

"Yeah, no. I'm not wearing a dead woman's dress. Even I have standards."

Which left me with option two.

The lingerie.

I picked up the black lace thong and bra that Kade had brought. Held them up to the candlelight.

"Oh, fuck no. This is basically string with delusions of grandeur."

The chains rattled again.

"Okay, okay. String it is."

I stripped off the innerdress of the gown and pulled on the lingerie. The lace felt expensive against my skin—nothing like the cheap cotton I usually wore. I caught my reflection in the mirror and stopped.

Holy shit.

I looked... good. Better than good.

The black lace made my curves look hot. My ass looked amazing in the thong. My waist looked tiny. My boobs actually looked fuller.

Marcus had bought me clothes before—nice things, expensive things—but they always felt like costumes. Like I was playing dress-up as someone I wasn't.

This felt like me.

"Damn," I said to my reflection. "Maybe I should almost-die more often."

The chains dragged across stone again. Closer now.

I grabbed the bed sheet and wrapped it around myself like the world's sexiest toga.

"Fuck it. Let's go save a cursed alpha or die trying. What's the worst that could happen?"

I tried the door.

It opened.

"Okay, not locked. That's... either good or very bad."

I stepped into the hallway. The palace was dark, lit only by torches along the walls. The chain sounds were coming from my left.

I took two steps and heard someone clear their throat behind me.

I spun around.

Marcus was standing there, looking like he'd been lurking outside my door for hours. His hair was messy, his shirt untucked, and he had that desperate puppy-dog look that used to make me melt.

Now it just pissed me off.

"What the hell are you wearing?" His eyes dragged over me. Over the sheet that was barely covering the lingerie. "Are you already a whore for my uncle?"

My jaw dropped. "Excuse me?"

"You heard me." He stepped closer. "End this, Remi. Tell him it was a mistake. Tell him you were confused. He'll understand—"

"I'm your aunt now, Marcus." I crossed my arms. "Better show some respect."

His face twisted. "Stop saying that—"

"Aunt Remi. Has a nice ring to it, don't you think?"

"This is insane!" He grabbed my arm. "You don't belong here. You belong with me. I'll announce it to everyone—tell them who you are to me. My family will accept you—"

"Marcus!"

We both turned. Sophie was standing at the end of the hallway in a silk nightgown, looking perfectly composed even at whatever-the-hell-hour this was.

"I couldn't sleep," she said sweetly. "I have a terrible headache. Can you get me something?"

Marcus looked between us. Torn.

"Marcus," Sophie called again, sharper this time.

He hesitated for one more second. Then he turned and walked toward her.

Just like I knew he would.

I watched them disappear around the corner, Sophie's hand sliding possessively around his arm.

"Exactly like in the books," I muttered. "Foolish girl in love with her boyfriend while he gets manipulated by the scheming other woman through acts of fake kindness. Classic." I shook my head. "Not my problem anymore."

The chains rattled again. 

I followed the sound down one hallway—past rooms with closed doors and sleeping guards who didn't even notice me.

And then I saw him.

Nero was in the middle of the corridor, chains dragging behind him from both wrists. But his eyes were empty. Glazed over like glass. Like he was looking at something I couldn't see.

 His chest was bare, covered in sweat, and he was walking straight toward the open balcony at the end of the hall.

Straight toward a four-story drop onto stone courtyard.

"Nero!"

He didn't respond or even blink.

"NERO, STOP!"

Nothing. He kept walking.

I ran toward him. "Hey! Cursed Alpha! I'm talking to you!"

Still nothing.

I grabbed his arm. He was burning up—fever-hot and trembling.

"Nero, please. It's me. It's Remi. You need to wake up."

His eyes stayed empty. He took another step toward the balcony.

Ten feet away now.

"Okay, fuck this." I planted myself in front of him. Pushed against his chest. "I'm the one who's supposed to die from this stupid curse, not you. So stop trying to steal my thunder."

He walked right through me. Literally pushed me aside like I weighed nothing.

I was panicking now. What the hell was I supposed to do? I couldn't physically stop him—he was twice my size and clearly not conscious.

"Think, Remi. Think."

And then it hit me.

"Oh god. This is so cliche. This is the most cliche thing I've ever done in my entire life."

He was three feet from the edge.

"But I've been dying to kiss him anyway, so..."

I grabbed his face with both hands and kissed him.

For a second, nothing happened.

He was still walking forward, still pulling me toward the drop, and I was thinking well, this is it, we're both going over—

Then his eyes snapped open.

But they weren't his eyes.

They were glowing silver. Pure wolf.

He kissed me back. Hard. Like he'd been starving for it.

His hands came up, one sliding into my hair, the other gripping my waist. He turned me around and slammed me against the wall so hard I gasped against his mouth.

The sheet fell.

I was in nothing but the lingerie now, and his hands were sliding down my sides, gripping my thigh, pulling me closer.

"Nero—"

He cut me off with another kiss. Deeper this time. His tongue swept into my mouth and my brain short-circuited.

Holy shit.

This wasn't a gentle kiss. His wolf had taken over, and it wanted me.

My own wolf was howling with approval, practically doing backflips.

His hand slid higher up my thigh, fingers digging into my skin. I should've stopped him. Should've pulled away.

Instead, I kissed him back harder.

My hands explored his bare chest, his shoulders, the hard planes of his back.

He made a sound low in his throat—half-growl, half-groan—and it sent heat straight through me.

His mouth moved to my neck. To the spot where a mate mark would go.

"Fuck," I breathed.

He bit down. Not hard enough to break skin, but enough to make me gasp. Enough to make my knees weak.

I was  literally melting against him.

His hand slid up my ribs, thumb brushing the underside of my breast through the lace—

"WHAT IN THE MOON GODDESS'S NAME IS HAPPENING OUT HERE?"

We froze.

Nero's mother was standing at the end of the hallway, flanked by two guards and looking absolutely scandalized.

"Nero Blackwater, you remove your hands from that girl RIGHT NOW—"

 "I was saving his life." I said, trying to catch my breath. My lips felt swollen. My hair was a mess."Saving his—"

 She looked like she might explode. "You expect me to believe—"

"He was sleepwalking," I interrupted. "About to walk off that balcony." I pointed at the open drop behind us. "I stopped him. You're welcome."

His mum  looked down.

At the chains.

At the broken locks dangling from the cuffs.

"How..." Her voice went quiet. Dangerous. "How did you open the chains?"

"I didn't—"

"They were locked to his bedframe. Blessed iron. They don't just open." She grabbed one of the cuffs, examining it. "Someone unlocked them. Who?"

"I don't know!" I looked at Nero. "I found him like this—"

Nero's eyes finally focused. On me. On where we were. On how close we were standing.

On the fact that I was half-naked and his hands were still on my body.

He stepped back like I'd burned him.

"What..." His voice was rough. Confused. "What just happened?"

Everyone looked at me.

My face burned. "I... kissed you."

"You what?"

"It worked in movies," I said defensively. "I didn't know what else to do."

Nero stared at me. Then at the balcony. Then back at me.

"No one's ever..." He shook his head. "No one's ever been able to wake me from the  sleepwalking curse before. Ever."

"Well, apparently kisses work," I said. 

His mother made a disgusted sound. "This is absurd. She probably unlocked the chains herself to stage this whole—"

"I didn't unlock anything!" I snapped. "I found him like this. I stopped him from killing himself. And frankly, a 'thank you' would be nice."

Nero was still staring at me. His eyes dragged over me—over the lingerie, the flushed skin, my swollen lips.

Then his face went cold.

"Who are you?.. Who sent you?" he said quietly.

I blinked. "What?"

I stared at him. At this man who'd just kissed me like he was drowning and I was air.

"No one sent me," I said. "I'm just a bartender who made a really stupid decision to surprise her cheating boyfriend."

"I don't believe you. Everyone go to bed. I’ll address this tomorrow" Nero commanded

That hurt more than it should have.

My lips still tingled from his kiss.

My skin still burned where he'd touched me.

And my wolf was howling because our mate—and he WAS our mate, I could feel it now.

"Fuck my life," I whispered.

My wolf whined in agreement.