Chapter 6

EVIE

The first thing I noticed was the fire.

It wasn’t outside me. It was inside—burning through my blood, licking at my skin like invisible flames. I kicked the sheets off, clawing at them, but it didn’t help. My body was shaking, trembling, sweat beading on my forehead. I couldn’t breathe without gasping.

Something was wrong.

I stumbled out of bed, clutching the nightgown Lucian had given me days ago, and pressed myself against the cool wall. My nails scraped across the wood, desperate for something to ground me. The air felt too thick, too heavy, like it was full of smoke.

And then I smelled him.

Ronan.

The door creaked, and he was there in the doorway, his tall frame a shadow in the dim light. His eyes caught mine, widening slightly as if he knew exactly what was happening.

“Evie…” His voice was low, careful, like one wrong word might make me shatter.

I shook my head, pressing a trembling hand against my chest. “Something’s happening to me. It— it won’t stop. I can’t breathe. I feel like I’m burning alive.”

He stepped closer, his jaw tight, his gaze dropping for a second to the way I was clinging to the fabric over my chest. His scent reached me—clean forest and lavender—and it only made the fire worse.

“Don’t,” I whispered, staggering back until my calves hit the bed. “Please, don’t come closer.”

But he did. Not quickly, not threateningly, just enough to catch me when my knees gave out. His arm slid around my waist, steadying me, and the contact shot a wave of tingles through me so strong my breath broke on a whimper.

“God… make it stop,” I begged, fingers fisting in his shirt. I didn’t care anymore, my pride was gone, shame swallowed by the fire. I just needed relief, anything to cool the lava in my blood. “Please, Ronan. Please, help me.”

His entire body went rigid. I felt it—the hard, undeniable press of him straining against his trousers, proof of how my heat was affecting him too. His breath stuttered as he held me, like he was caught between instincts and restraint.

“Evie…” His voice was ragged, like he was choking on gravel. “I can’t. You don’t understand—”

“Then what’s happening to me?” I clutched his arm like it was the only thing keeping me alive. “What is this?”

His throat bobbed. For a second, I thought he’d give in. His grip on my waist tightened, his lips parted like he was about to say something else, but then his eyes snapped shut.

“I called him,” Ronan said hoarsely. “Lucian. He’s coming.”

The words barely sank in before the door slammed open.

Lucian.

He filled the frame, his presence hitting me like a wall. His eyes flicked from Ronan’s hands on me to my flushed, trembling body, and it was like something inside him snapped. A growl tore from his chest, deep and feral, shaking the very walls.

“Get your hands off her.”

Ronan let go immediately, stepping back like he’d been burned. My body swayed without his hold, but Lucian was already there, faster than my eyes could follow. His hands caught me, one at my back, the other sliding under my thighs, lifting me like I weighed nothing.

I gasped as he pressed me against his chest. His scent crashed over me, smoke and earth and him, and the fire inside me roared to life.

“Lucian—” My voice cracked. “Please, make it stop. I can’t—I can’t take this.”

His jaw clenched, his eyes blazing as he looked down at me. “It’s your heat, Evie.” His voice was rough, breaking. “Your body’s calling for me.”

My nails dug into his shoulders. “Then fix it,” I whispered, desperate tears pricking my eyes. “Do something. Please.”

The look in his eyes was enough to let me know that his control shattered.

He crushed his mouth to mine, and this time there was nothing careful in it. His lips were hard, hungry, demanding, stealing the air from my lungs. The bond snapped tight, surging, the wolf inside me screaming with triumph.

Mate. Mate. Mate.

I whimpered into him, my body arching closer, my thighs tightening around his hips on instinct. The heat wasn’t dulled—it was worse—but the way he kissed me made it bearable, like only he could touch the fire without letting it consume me.

Lucian growled low in his throat, his tongue parting my lips, tasting me like he was starving. The bed hit my back as he lowered me, his body covering mine, caging me in with his heat and weight, chest pressed flush against mine, every hard line of him scorching through the thin fabric of my nightgown.

My fingers tangled in his hair, dragging him closer even when my mind screamed that I should push him away.

The heat clawed through me, demanding, insistent. His kiss wasn’t enough. I needed more.

“Lucian,” I gasped against his mouth, the sound breaking and desperate. “Please—don’t stop. I can’t—”

He groaned like the sound of my begging undid him. His lips trailed down my throat, hot and open, sucking against my pulse until I cried out.

“You don’t know what you’re asking for, Evie,” he rasped, his breath warm against my skin. His body trembled with like it was hard holding back, but his hips pressed down, the hard length of him grinding into my core through the layers between us.

I gasped, the friction sending sparks shooting through me. My thighs parted on instinct, pulling him closer. “I don’t care. Just… make it stop. Please, Lucian. Please.”

He lifted his head, his eyes burning down at me. “You’re burning because of me. Because you’re mine.” His voice cracked on the last word, like it was torn between pride and agony. “Once I start, I won’t be able to stop.”

“Then don’t stop.” My voice was barely more than a whisper, but that was enough to shattered him.

With a growl, his mouth crashed back to mine. His hand slid down, gripping the edge of my nightgown, shoving it up my thighs, baring skin that prickled with the cool air before the heat of his palm replaced it.

I shivered, arching into his touch. “Lucian—”

“Shh.” His lips brushed mine as he murmured it, rough and tender all at once. “I’ll take care of you.”

Fabric tore, the sound loud in the silence. My nightgown split under his hands, leaving me bare beneath him. His eyes devoured me, dark and hungry.

“You’re perfect,” he whispered, more to himself than to me, and then his mouth was on my breast, hot and wet, his tongue circling until my back bowed off the bed with a strangled moan.

The fire roared higher, unbearable, and I clawed at his shirt. “Off—take it off. I need—”

He ripped it over his head, tossing it aside, and pressed his bare chest against mine. His skin was fire, his muscles iron, every part of him overwhelming.

My body writhed beneath him, slick with sweat, aching. I could feel how hard he was, straining against his pants, and the thought of him inside me made me tremble harder.

“Lucian…” My voice broke on his name, pleading. “Now. Please.”

His forehead pressed to mine, his breath ragged, his control fraying with every second. “It’s your first time,” he forced out, like saying it might stop him. But it didn’t. He was too far gone. We both were.

“I don’t care,” I whispered, tears spilling down my temples. “I need you. Please.”

That was it. The last thread of his restraint snapped.

With a savage sound, he shoved his trousers down just enough to free himself. His hand slid between my thighs, parting me, testing my wetness, his finger brushing over the heat of me. I gasped, bucking into his touch, my body clenching around nothing.

“So ready,” he groaned, his voice breaking. “So fucking perfect for me.”

Then he positioned himself, the head of his cock nudging at my entrance. My breath hitched, fear and need tangling, but I couldn’t pull away.

“Look at me,” he whispered, his voice tight, feral. His hand cupped my cheek, forcing my eyes open to meet his. “I’ll be gentle. But once I’m inside you—” He broke off with a shudder. “You’re mine, Evie. Forever.”

I nodded, unable to speak, my nails biting into his shoulders.

Then he pushed in.

The stretch stole my breath, sharp and burning, pain and pleasure crashing into one. I cried out, my body arching, but his mouth was at my ear, murmuring, soothing, while his hips pressed forward, deeper, filling me inch by inch until I felt split open and remade around him.

Tears blurred my vision. “Lucian—”

“I know, baby,” he groaned, his jaw tight, sweat dripping down his temple. “I know it hurts. Just hold on to me.”

I clung to him, nails raking his back, and then—something shifted. The pain melted into fullness, into fire, into a need so hard I nearly sobbed with it. My body clenched around him, begging for more.

“Move,” I whispered. “Please, move.”

He did.

With a guttural growl, he pulled out and thrust back in, hard and deep, making me scream. The bed shook beneath us, his pace rough, desperate, like he couldn’t get close enough. His lips crushed mine again, swallowing my cries, his tongue tangling with mine as his hips pounded into me.

Every thrust sent sparks exploding through me, my body on fire, the bond screaming with triumph. Mate. Mate. Mate.

My climax built too fast, too sharp, until it crashed over me like a tidal wave. My vision went white, my body convulsing around him, and I screamed into his mouth as pleasure ripped me apart.

Lucian growled, his thrusts faltering, his body jerking as he buried himself deep, spilling inside me, claiming me in the most primal way possible.

I collapsed beneath him, trembling, tears streaking my cheeks, my body wrecked. His weight slumped against me, his arms caging me in in a way that felt safe.

His lips brushed my damp hair, his voice a broken rasp. “Mine.”

I barely heard him. The heat hadn’t left me completely. My skin still burned, my body still aching for more even as exhaustion dragged me under.

The last thing I felt was his arms tightening around me, holding me as though letting go might kill him.

Then darkness took me.