HUNGER AND DESIRE.

NIKOLAI’S POV.

Every part of me longed to be with her again, to have her body pressed against mine.

To taste her.

To claim her.

To make her yield to me while I touched and memorized every corner of her.

I scented her far before she was near me. Emiriel had promised to let me have her again this morning. For years, my hunger has always spiraled, unquenched, but I have never felt the need to claim just a woman.

I paced back and forth in my room, her scent so close yet so far as I waited for the door to open. Minutes passed, yet there was nothing. I could feel my shadows spilling in and out, my wolf begging for the release that was her.

She was a virgin. Untouched. And I want to be the first to claim her.

I want her to know what pleasure is through me, to yearn for me.

More minutes passed, her scent lingering in the air but never close to me. I released my shadows, growling and lunging for the door.

Rage blurred my vision, snapping the bones of the guard in front of my door. I didn’t let their words finish on their lips, slamming bodies together, leaving a trail of blood in my wake.

This should satisfy me, quench my hunger, but it was doing nothing. Only enraging me more.

I wanted her.

To learn her name, hear her moan it out while pushing in and out of her.

I followed her scent to Emiriel’s room only to hear a guard saying gibberish. I plunged my shadows into him, his blood washing the walls before walking into the room.

My shadows calmed around me as my eyes met hers, every inch of me trembling to be near her.

Deep lines creased my forehead as I approached her, only for her to grab a fork and point it at me, her hands quivering on it.

Why was she always pointing things at me?

“Do not come near me!”

I frowned, unable to understand. Can’t she feel the bond? The pull?

“Nikolai..”

I growled back at Emiriel, refusing to let him finish his sentence. He had lied to me, but I would get back to that later.

“Drop that.”

Her grip only tightened on it, “I don’t want this. I don’t want any of this. Do not come near me.”

My frown only got deeper as my shadows spilled out again, forming a hand and dragging her towards me. I let the shadows enclose us so Emiriel could not get to me, my body pressing against hers.

“Mine. You’re mine.” I muttered, trailing a hand on her face.

She thrashed violently against me, screaming and yelling as if I were a plague she didn’t want to touch.

“Release me right now, you beast! Let me go!”

Her scent filled my nose, closer this time. I didn’t want to let her go. No, I could drown in this forever.

“I said, let me go!”

Suddenly, the fork she was holding pierced my shadows, the pain of it making my grip falter as they all fell back, protecting me. If it weren’t for my shadows, the fork would have gone straight into my chest and drawn blood.

She rushed back, standing behind Emiriel, who was already glowering at me.

“Calm down, Nikolai.” He warned.

But I was far from it.

I sneered at him as I marched towards them, only for his words to stop me in my tracks, “Anokai here has decided to serve us. She belongs to us already. You don’t need to harm her.”

My shadows retracted back, my eyes wide with confusion as I stared at Emiriel.

Anokai.

Even her name sounded heavenly.

When had he learnt it?

When did he say all of this?

“What? Serve you? I don’t want to serve you. I don’t even want to be near any of you monsters!” She yelled from behind him.

Emiriel whipped towards her, “Do you think you have a choice in this?”

“I do not care.” She replied, disregarding him with her eyes blazing hot, “I’ll rather die than let you come near me again!”

“That wasn’t what your body wanted last night, little orchid. You were squirming underneath us, begging for more.”

Heat flushed to her cheeks, staining them red. Even when she was embarrassed, I still wanted her.

What kind of goddess is she?

“That was before I knew you were monsters! Literal monsters! He has shadows for the moon goddess's sake! He can kill just by forming his hands and plunging them into people! Why would I want to serve you after that!”

“I won’t kill you,” I stepped closer. “Listen to my brother, if you’re with us, nothing would come near you. No harm. You’ll enjoy…

“I do not want to enjoy!” She snapped at me, stepping farther away from the two of us.

“You have two days,” Emiriel replied, looking unbothered by all of this.

Why wasn’t he bothered? Why did it look like it was just me who could feel the bond and wanted her so bad?

“You’ve seen too much to let you live. If you don’t come to a conclusion after two days, then I’ll kill you. And trust me, little orchid, you don’t want to die in my arms.”

“Now get out and get Emilia here.”

She didn’t even wait for his words to land, springing out and right through the door. I stared at her perfect body as she slammed the door closed, unable to tear my eyes away in hopes that she would be back.

“You look a mess, brother,” Emiriel said, and all my anger returned.

I turned to him, taking large strides until I grabbed his shirt, “You said I’ll have her this morning.”

“Relax, Nikolai…

“Don’t tell me to relax! I feel the bond! I don’t know what you guys are feeling, but I feel the bond! She’s mine! And I know it.”

“That’s not what Miasan said.”

He started, explaining the priestess's words to me. He mindlinked Rowan and Malakai, both of whom had gone for a morning hunt and came back much more bloodied than me as he told us everything and the deal he offered her.

“It’s a good deal,” Rowan was the first to talk, “marry us and become our Luna, put the council off our backs. And also make us acceptable for the Alpha king. But there’s a problem. What if she refuses?”

“She won’t,” Emiriel replied as a matter of fact.

“What if? She doesn’t want us. She practically ran away now.” I added.

Emiriel didn’t blink as he said the next words, “then we’ll force her. I’m not about to let the only thing that I’ve felt in years leave because she doesn’t want to. We’ll make her feel us, get addicted to us to the point that this would be her dying point.”

“We’ll make her beg every night. She wanted us last night, even if she doesn’t know it yet. I could feel it in her body, in her kiss.”

The sound of it sent shivers down my spine. We rarely saw Emiriel in his hunger form. His jaw was clenched as he delivered those words. He was much better at hiding it than we were, restricting himself, controlling it.

“That sounds like a good idea,” I added, every part of me fully calming.

We all exchanged a glance, affirming it. She belongs to us, and there was no way we were letting this go.

I would bend her till her body learns my name.

Take her until she can’t have any more, then take her again.

“What’s her name?” Malakai asked.

“Anokai,” I replied, letting the sound of it roll down my tongue, tasting and savouring it.

“Another thing, I want you to find out about her.” Emiriel added, “I have a feeling she’s lying about something.”

But I don’t care about that. She could lie for all she wanted, be a spy, be anything she wanted. I would have her.

I would spread her over my body, claim her, devour her.

I would watch as Malakai tastes her, watch as Emiriel unwraps himself into he,r and as Rowan binds her and makes her screams echo.

We would have her together or one by one.

And in every way until our bodies learn each other.