-VALEN’S POV-
When Raina lifted her left hand from her shoulder, a deep red print of my palm blistered her honeyed skin. Her doleful blue eyes questioningly pierced into mine so deep that my heart prickled.
Simmering with rage, I decided to draw the line here. I went closer to her and roughly nudged Vaheed out of the way with my shoulder. I took her hands into mine and she screamed again. It was a cry of pain.
“Ahh!” Her shrill echoed high and wild through the noisy rain as she tore herself from my grasp as though I was acid or a contamination.
Thermal heat from my hands burnt her wrist.
Although I fumed with suppressed anger because of Vaheed, bewilderment superseded and I gazed at my palms and wondered what had happened. All I did was touch her. Why is she being bruised by my contact? This was not how it was supposed to be. We are mates and our touch created the most superb sensation. How is it that my hands burned her, instead? It baffled me.
“What’s wrong with you? Stay away from her!” Vaheed protectively shielded Raina from me by standing in front of her, facing me.
“Let me heal her.” I stepped forward, outstretching my hand.
“No!” Shivering, Raina turned her left side away from me with a ducked chin.
I halted my stride from the rejection. It was like being slapped hard in the face. I barely repressed the temptation to punch Vaheed's face. Had it not been for Raina's presence, my wolf wanted my brother's blood. He ought to know his place. Raina’s mine. Mine to care for, to love and to hold forever. I was the one to be her refuge and support.
Nothing compared to the gulf in my heart caused by anguish and stubborn pride. The reprehensible distance was a chasm that perpetually divided us.
“Clearly you need to be healed. Don’t tell me to stay away.” I persisted with passionate conviction but caught something in her expression. It was one that feared me.
“She doesn’t need you to hurt her again!” Vaheed gritted with two arms wide open to form a barricade as she stood behind him. She shuddered erratically while staring at her trembling hands as the red blotch mushroomed.
“If you don’t move out of the way I’m going to send you to hell, brother.” I insisted with the equanimity of a man who had a well-earned reputation for ruthlessness. Despite that nagging conscience that reminded me that killing him would devastate our family.
Obstinately, Vaheed stood squarely in a threatening stance. “Raina needs medical attention and if you care about her, you’ll let me take her to our grandmother.”
White, hot fury surged and I was going to dissect him but she glanced at me, terrified, and shook her head. Settling in a gentle menace, I bit my lower lip and told myself to cool it. Seeing her in pain constricted my heart.
“Raina, please ―” I implored with a soft smile, tinging with desperation. My heart panged to know that I unintentionally had hurt her. I wanted to stroke her wet burgundy streaks and soothe her. Whatever was wrong, I would fix it if she gave me the chance.
“Don’t come any closer.” Her voice quivered as she spoke and I felt her hot tears even though the raindrops dabbed all of her. Frantically, she shook her head that her burgundy hair flew in a wild arc around her neck and face. Harnessing with fear and unwillingness, she tugged my brother’s soaked gray t-shirt. “Vaheed, take me home.”
“I’m sorry, Raina. I never meant to hurt you.” I had to let her know before she left.
Though her ashen face slowly nodded, despair and resignation conveyed a stark withdrawal.
“I…….” My words trailed off as their backs turned.
They departed the awful alley with Vaheed holding onto my mate to assist her gait. To the agony that was clawing at me, the blinding, black fury at the idea of her being cared for by him. I wanted to shout, but refrained. I did not kick anything, though I ached to. I considered blowing up the nearby buildings, but decided against it. Inane gibberish buzzed as a result of the controlled anarchy I was experiencing.
Thunder crashed furiously. Sadness poured from my thudding heart. A tiny seed of fear germinated within me. Spider lightning splurged. A raging inferno of jealousy also wanted to be counted in. The deliberately cool downpour could not slough away the remnant of blood from my bleeding heart.
I had to know if she was okay. A new plan formed and it was to start being closer to her. It was time to stop pretending. It seemed a lifetime since I've been doing it. The inability to touch her left a disturbingly distinct impact on my brain and drained away all the air so that it was impossible to breathe.
My head was spinning wildly.
How could she leave with him? The disbelief left me standing in the never-ending rain feeling beaten down by nature, heartbroken by my mate, and flabbergasted by the wounding effect of our connection. Now more than ever, her heart was definitely tucked away from me. Numb and hollowness set in as she disappeared out of view.
My sweet bluebella, Raina. She was always so close, yet achingly out of reach. Simultaneously, taunting me with her nearness and her distance.
I wondered what would happen on her eighteenth birthday when she was to both acquire her wolf and feel the effect of the mate bond. Would I be able to touch her then, or would it still be painful for her?
The mating process where I would mark and mate her cannot take place if we are unable to touch. That reality came with a powerful bitter sense of loss. Were we unfortunate soulmates?
No.......
I won’t lose her.
Out of nowhere, the intensity of the flashes increased and lit the vacant streets around me like pepper lights. Ball lightning formed in an electrical storm. In perplexity, my eyes darted heavenward to behold the skyrmion of ten balls of light in proximity about the size of a basketball moving slowly parallel to the earth and exploding, leaving behind a sulfurous smell.
This was bad. Both my hands went to the sides of my head as a circuit of thoughts powered the motor gears in my head. An awry sensation emerged in my bones.
Something was devastatingly wrong.
-
RAINA’S POV Thunderstruck.Valen’s cold words stopped my heart and my brain at the same time. We were mere paces apart, but he stared down at me like a piece of gum on the sole of his shoes.I blinked at him. “What…what did you say? Are you accusing me of something?”Valen's throat bobbed. He huffed out a breath before speaking in a voice with forced calm. “Forget it. It doesn't matter, as long as you stay away from him.”“Right. This is not the kind of discussion you have in public.” Devin stepped closer to us, trying to diffuse the situation. “We’re here to strategize, not to let our frustration lead us down a road that we shouldn’t go.”“No-no-no. Repeat your words, Valen,” I demanded, hoping I had misheard every syllable.To think he could accuse me of cheating and then dismiss it without giving me the space to clear things angered me.“Best of luck, buddy,” Devin said, omitting himself from our conversation by going to the sideline.Valen stared at me, working his jaw. “I know,
VALEN’S POVUnobstructed resentment rose inside me.My eyes flicked open, and I released Raina's hands to cross mine over my chest.Our eyes pinned each other in silence.“Nothing, right?” Her brows raised in question. She didn’t blink; she just studied me closely, searching my gaze for a response.I kept my face an impassive mask so that my mate couldn't tell that I had actually picked up on the location.Raina’s brows drooped, and she sighed sadly, turning away from me to pace back and forth. The bond started to feel strained even though we were mere inches apart, only adding to my concern.“Don't keep it away from her,” Zeus warned. “You’re going to make her upset with us.”“I know how this plays out,” I practically snapped at him. "You know who's involved.”A worrying knot wrung in my chest as I watched Raina pace back towards me, looking more stressed. I couldn’t stand seeing her carry all this weight again. Maybe I should go to the temple by myself. I would bring Penn and the st
VALEN’S POVThe air-conditioned air hit me and Devin as we barged into the IT Hub, naked, sweaty, and blood-coated.The faint smell of new wires and burned coffee wafted through the coolness, but Raina’s scent dominantly drifted up my nostrils. Zeus perked up in my head, his tail wagging anxiously because he’d get to see her.As I slowly entered the space and scanned it, I couldn’t miss the tension in the room. Everyone was preoccupied, hard at work over something.On the far side of the room, Penn and Azara stood hunched over a long metal table. The five broken Ugandan stone tablets, which they pieced together, were splayed before them. Tomes. Notebooks. Scattered scrolls. Sketches. The plagioclase stone was positioned among them, and I was utterly displeased.I was certain the uneasiness stemmed from the cryptic stones. So that’s what this was about. I didn’t want Raina near them. She knew that. They all knew that, yet my mate couldn’t have stayed with her Mom for one day. Penn was
VALEN’S POVOver at Greenberry forest, the thuds on the ground slowed as the battle came to an end, and the sound of bones cracking filled the air.Snarls, barks, and roars died down, and the air rang with victorious shouts and howls.Zeus pushed back to let me take control and I shifted into my naked human form. I peered out between the needle-pointed branches, locking sight on my Beta.“Stop playing with your prey, Beta,” I growled, knowing he was wasting time.“Squish, pissy fleabag!” Devin let out a guttural snarl as he ripped the last rogue open, tearing muscle and bone apart with his bare claws. His sturdy chest heaved as blood splashed over him, trickling down his bare skin.Bodies piled. Blood pooled. Rivals pulverized.Nude warriors began hauling dead rogues to a heap for on-the-spot cremation. The gruesome sight evoked mixed feelings: pride, but also dread.A light gust of wind carried the metallic scent, whipping it around me, strong and pungent, repulsing me. A sickening t
RAINA’S POVMoonlight streamed through the open curtains, like the touch of its soft light had nudged me awake.Actually, what woke me was that dream again. The gut-wrenching scream of seeing deadly, razor-edge claws stabbed into Selene, and the raw tang of blood that raked my nostrils. It felt more vivid and real than anything else, feeling like a wound was left in my chest.I blinked my swollen eyes and brushed sleep from them. Why did the plagioclase stone still haunt me? Why won’t it give me more than these nightmares and tormenting whispers?Moon goddess, what does your death have to do with me? Why make your pain my own?I shifted away from Valen, wanting to get out of bed."Stay, Bluebella," Valen grumbled beneath me as he wrapped his arms tighter around my waist. His eyes were shut, and he was half asleep, latching onto me like his favorite teddy bear. “It's too early to be thinking that hard.”"How can you possibly know that I'm thinking too hard?" I whined, pushing his chest
VALEN’S POVExhilaration snapped through me despite knowing she was flipping things over, trying to make me lose my damn mind, trying to show me how much she had me wrapped around her finger, but now I wanted her wrapped around something else.“So mouthy today.” My mouth sank, crashing onto hers like a punishment, hard and fierce.All the fear, frustration, and fury I’ve been choking down exploded like a popped balloon of water, snuffed out by desire. I slid my tongue inside her mouth, swallowing her moans with rough kisses.“Stubborn…” I pulled back and grazed my teeth over her lower lip, whispering, “...reckless…” I growled into her mouth as my hardness throbbed between my legs. “... smart-mouthed…” I planted another kiss, slow and savoring, letting my breath brush her lips with, “…but mine.”I claimed her mouth again, kissing her longer and more passionately.Breaking for a minute, I slipped her down to stand as we tore each other’s clothes off, dropping them in the puddle at our f