LOGINThe gates of the Nest closed behind us, and the safe warmth of the mountain’s belly was instantly replaced by the frozen, merciless reality of the outside world. Night had swallowed everything. Thick clouds hid the moon, as if the sky itself knew something terrible was about to happen.
Nathan moved in front. His motion was no longer human, but purely predatory, like a hunter who had already caught the scent of his prey. His wings were folded tight against his back, but through the Bond I felt how ready they were to explode open at any second. Behind him, Damian and Regnar formed the flanks, two dark shapes in the gloom, silent and lethal as they followed their leader.I stayed close to Nathan. My body still carried the echo of the past hours: the heat of his skin, the wild destruction of desire, and the new, steel-hard strength of the Bond between us. The dagger Damian had given me felt heavy on my belt. It was black, etched with runes, and it seemed to whisper toThe gates of the Nest closed behind us, and the safe warmth of the mountain’s belly was instantly replaced by the frozen, merciless reality of the outside world. Night had swallowed everything. Thick clouds hid the moon, as if the sky itself knew something terrible was about to happen.Nathan moved in front. His motion was no longer human, but purely predatory, like a hunter who had already caught the scent of his prey. His wings were folded tight against his back, but through the Bond I felt how ready they were to explode open at any second. Behind him, Damian and Regnar formed the flanks, two dark shapes in the gloom, silent and lethal as they followed their leader.I stayed close to Nathan. My body still carried the echo of the past hours: the heat of his skin, the wild destruction of desire, and the new, steel-hard strength of the Bond between us. The dagger Damian had given me felt heavy on my belt. It was black, etched with runes, and it seemed to whisper to
Under the dark tent of his wings, the air turned almost unbearably hot. Nathan didn’t shut out the outside world only with his body, but with his aura as well. Every thought, every nerve in me was filled with him. The cold stone wall at my back was a sharp contrast to the fire pouring from his skin.When he let go of my leg and my feet touched the floor again, my knees were still shaking. I thought he would lay me down on the bed, but Nathan had other plans. He stepped back slowly, then lowered himself to his knees, his hands sliding down my thighs, his fingers gripping the flesh firmly.“Nathan…” I whispered, my voice breaking.He didn’t answer. He looked up at me from the floor, and in that moment his gaze was not that of a loving man. It was the look of a hungry, ruthless beast that had finally claimed what it wanted. His hands spread my thighs apart, and his head leaned forward.When his hot breath brushed my most sensitive place, I gasped and
The door to our quarters closed behind us with a heavy thud, sealing out the noise of the Nest, the Council’s schemes, and the looming shadow of war. The silence that fell was not empty. It was thick, vibrating, hot, as if invisible sparks were snapping in the air.Nathan didn’t move away from the door. He leaned back against the wood and watched me from there. His eyes, those bottomless black whirlpools, no longer hid the hunger raging inside them. The cold, commanding Hunter he had shown the Council slipped away, leaving the man proud of his mate and the demon who demanded what was his.I stood in the middle of the room, still wearing the black, armor-like gown that clung to me like a second skin. My heart was pounding in my throat, but not from fear. The adrenaline from facing the Elders had shifted into something else now. Something older. Something primal.“You said we were going hunting,” I said. My voice was deeper, rougher than I remembered. “But t
The Great Hall looked nothing like the royal throne rooms from fairy tales. There was no trace of medieval romance in it. Instead, it felt like a dark, threatening fusion of a cathedral and a military command center. The walls were made of black marble that seemed to swallow light, and the ceiling rose so high into shadow that for a moment I thought I was staring at a star-filled sky. Then I realized the “stars” were the distant, cold glimmers of the Nest’s energy crystals.As I stepped inside at Nathan’s side, silence fell with physical weight. Hundreds of demons. Not only warriors, but the Elders as well, seated in a half circle on a raised platform like judges of some dark pantheon.My palm was slick with sweat, but Nathan’s fingers were rock solid around mine. His skin burned with heat, and through the Bond I felt no fear from him, only a wild, pulsing triumph. As if he were presenting a trophy. And a weapon.“The Hunter has returned,” a raspy voice sp
AbigailMy reflection felt like a stranger.I had been avoiding looking at myself properly for days, but this morning it was unavoidable. The tension inside the Nest had become almost physical ever since Jake and Sadira’s signal went dark, and Nathan had ordered that we appear before the Council tonight.I ran my hand through my hair and shuddered.There they were. On both sides of my forehead, hidden among my strands. Two small, hard protrusions. No longer just bumps, but real, sharpening bone. They were black as obsidian, and they looked terrifyingly right against my pale, almost translucent skin.I had already made peace with my nails. Weeks ago they had turned into hard, black claws, sharp enough that I sometimes tore the bedsheets if I wasn’t careful.“You’re beautiful.”The voice was deep and rough, coming from directly behind me. I hadn’t heard him enter. Nathan never knocked in his own quarters, and lately his mo
SadiraWhen we returned to the inhabited levels of the Nest, the silence that had wrapped around me so peacefully on the terrace shattered. In its place came the noise of life, but it felt different now. Before, every sound had seemed like a threat. A boot hitting stone. A raised voice. A door slamming. Each one felt like a blow I had to flinch away from.But now… now I felt the noise.The Core beating in my chest was not just a source of power. It was a sense of its own. I felt the Nest’s vibration through the soles of my feet, the deep, steady hum of distant generators echoing through my bones. And I felt the demons too. I didn’t see their auras, but I sensed their presence, dense and warm, like heat spots in cold air.“Quiet,” I nudged Jake when his stomach growled loud enough to sound like a battle cry.Through the Bond, I felt his hunger, which was really an echo of my own, only amplified by him, my Protector.“Biology doesn’t negotiate,” he shot back with that crooked half-smile







