The velvet box felt heavier than a mountain in his hands, a promise of silence for what was to be seen. Aric saw moonlight shining in Sephine's dark, wide eyes, her breath caught as she regarded the box in his hands. That raw, tender bond between them hummed with tension from her and his own hot, possessive passion. He could smell the air of her arousal on the breeze, a sweet musk that awakened the primitive nature of his wolf. "For you, my mate," he said, his words resonating through the space between them. "Forged under the full moon. For you." With a reverence that made her knees buckle under the fervor of it, he opened the box. On a black silk bed, there was a collar. But one unlike any she had ever seen. It was constructed of a weird, silver metal that drew the moonlight in and glowed of its own light, runes and oaths carved along its length. It was not a bond of ownership, but a declaration of joining, a symbol of the close bonding they were developing now. "Aric," she pant
She had volunteered herself to the show, and now the amber tide of eyes looked at her, suppliant and hungry.Shadows of the fire danced across the pale skin of her back, her back stiff and submissive as the Pack Beta guided her through the crowd with a firm hand on the small of her back. They did not mock nor taunt; their respect was an alive, burning thing, a silent acknowledgment of the ferocity it had taken to defy their way. This was the public tease, the acknowledgement of the private ferocity she'd been craving since she first laid eyes on their leader.He watched from a raised dais, his throne hewn of dark wood behind him. The Alpha. His was Ronan, a deep resonant syllable, and it suited the sheer, still power he had. He did not move, did not speak, but stood and watched her come to him with a gaze that felt like a physical gaze, stripping away the fine silk of her formal tunic and baring her very soul. He was all corded muscles and silent command, his presence a weight that m
The first rule of seeking a werewolf was to never do it at night, it was a rule that Maya was not skilled at obeying.He found her waiting across the downed oak on his property, a bright silhouette in the empty sky. He didn’t move out of the shadows because he was the shadows. He was simply there, all rough shoulders and mulish will, his eyes the color of old amber, smoldered up with the sunset.“You’re the one who’s been asking questions,” he said, his voice a low rumble that vibrated deep in her chest. It wasn’t a question.Maya’s heart hammered against her ribs, a frantic bird in a cage, but it was thrill, not fear, that made it beat. “I’m Maya.”He leaned in, like a predator to a curious prey. "I know. And I know what and who you are. So you're going to explain to me why you're here, little human, where you have no business being."She breathed slowly, her gaze locked on his. "I want to do it. With you. I want you to teach me."A wicked smile curled over his lips. "Teach you what,
The wild's first law is that a storm does not seek permission; it takes, and tonight it had taken the three of them and locked them within a stone scented darkness.The old hunting lodge, a reminder of long-forgotten days, groaned at the lash of the wind, its wooden pillars shuddering with every blast that thudded against the mountainside. Inside, the universe had narrowed to the edge of a smoking ember, its tongues of fire licking the tightly drawn bodies of the three improbable friends fortune had brought together to share each other's company. Aris, the human biologist, her practical clothing still damp, stared into the fire as if it could yield the answers to the violent twist her research trip had taken. Young shifter Joren hummed with a bottled energy that resonated the air itself around him, his usual playfulness put aside for a focused intensity that was both unnerving and captivating.And Varya, the seasoned huntress, moved with an economy of motion hinted at a long-establis
The first thing she noticed was the scent of him, old dry leather, cold steel, and sharp, clean sweat of a man who never stopped being dangerous. It was a scent that had haunted her dreams for five long years.The flagstones' icy floor beneath supported Zorica, the clamminess of the flagstones creeping up into the slenderness of her breeches and up into her knee bones. She sensed the heavy step before she heard it, stopping inches from her. The quiet in the room was thicker than in the walls, apart from the sizzle of the fire in the great hearth and the thunder of her own heart."Look at me, traitor."The voice was deeper than she remembered, she raised her chin, her gaze raking over scuffed leather boots, black wool breeches, leather belt and knife sheath he'd never had to use, to the flat breadth of his chest and the enormous hands anchored on his hips. Finally, she came to his eyes. Caelum's angles were carved, his mouth and eye creases etched deep by sun and rage. But his eyes… th
The other vampire's scent still lingered on her skin, and it was sheerest torture he'd ever experienced.Varek stood in the shadows of the penthouse, he was tense, his every muscle coiled in a soundless rage. The city pulsed below him, a muffled feast of light and life, but he was focused on the one, still body on the ginormous bed. Seline. His Seline. Her honey-blond hair fell across the dark silk pillow, and the stubborn, trusting cadence of her heartbeat pounded like a drum against the preternatural acuity of his hearing. And beneath that comforting, loved rhythm, was the scent. Sandalwood and frost, the signature of another ancient one, the scent wasn’t just on her clothes, but in her pores, an ectoplasmic scent of treason clung over her throat, wrists, and between her legs.He'd tasted it the moment he walked in. The shock was physical, and then the jealousy was so raw, so wild it would burn his centuries of rule to dust. He'd imagined greeting her, pulling her out of bed, his