The bond sang, a crescendo of light and heat, binding us closer with every second.“Darius,” I moaned, my voice breaking as the pressure coiled tighter, a wave ready to crash. His name was a plea, a prayer, a vow.He growled my name in response, his pace quickening, his control slipping as the bond urged us toward completion. His lips found my neck again, teeth grazing the sensitive spot where my pulse raced. “Mine,” he snarled, the word vibrating through me.“Yours,” I gasped, my hands tangling in his hair, pulling him closer. “Always.”The world shattered. Pleasure crashed through me, a tidal wave that stole my breath, my vision, my everything.I cried out, my body arching as the bond flared, a golden light that burned through us both. Darius tensed, a primal roar tearing from his throat as he followed me over the edge, his release hot and fierce inside me. His teeth sank into my neck, sharp and perfect, sealing the mate bond with a bite that sent another wave of ecstasy crashing throu
The cool air kissed my skin, and I gasped, my body exposed to his gaze.His eyes darkened, as he drank me in, his stare so intense it felt like a physical touch. “Don’t hide from me,” he murmured, his voice rough with something deeper than playfulness. “You’re mine, Selene. My Luna. My mate.”My heart thundered, the mate bond singing in my veins, pulling me toward him. I wanted to protest, to cling to the last shred of my composure, but the way he looked at me—like I was his entire world—undid me completely. “Darius…” I whispered, my voice trembling with need.He didn’t wait for more. In one fluid motion, he closed the distance, his hands cupping my face as his lips crashed into mine. The kiss was fire and hunger, a claim that seared through me, igniting every nerve. His tongue swept against mine, tasting of mint and something wild, and I moaned into his mouth, my hands finding his shoulders, gripping the slick, warm muscle there. The bond pulsed, a golden thread weaving tighter, urgin
He leaned back, rubbing a hand over his mouth.“Too much coincidence. Too much packed into one moment. Someone or something triggered it all.”“Did the rogues say anything?” I asked.Darius nodded grimly. “That day, when I questioned one of the dying ones, he said something that didn’t make sense at the time. He said, ‘The blood of the white wolf is all the master needs. And when he gets it, your lands will turn to forgotten memories.’”My blood turned to ice.“What the hell does that mean?” I whispered, barely able to form the words.He looked at me again. “You said you never met your mother.”“Not really,” I replied. “My father said I was seven when she died. But now? I’m not sure. I don’t remember her face. I don’t remember anything that makes sense. No portraits. No paintings. Nothing.”“That’s not normal,” he said softly.“No, it’s not,” I agreed. “Someone wiped my memories. They erased her.”He looked like he wanted to argue but couldn’t.“Selene,” he said, leaning closer, “I ne
He’d been in the dream, too. Watching from just outside the circle, waiting for the moment to throw one of the robed figures aside—just enough to break the grip they had on me.I remembered it. That flash of light. That blur of movement.It was him.Even in my dream, even in my breakdown—he was there.Holding me.Shielding me.I gasped awake.The first thing I felt was the cold floor under my back.The second was Darius’s arms around me, bare skin against mine, chest to chest, his body curled around mine like a shield.I wasn’t in my bed.I wasn’t clothed.I was back in my room, naked, drenched in sweat, shivering like the last bit of whatever they’d done to me still clung to my skin.And he was holding me.Protectively.Gently.Someone entered the room. I didn’t see them, but I heard the rush of footsteps. A blanket draped over me a second later, tucking around my sides.“She’s awake,” a voice said softly.“Everyone out,” Darius said. His voice wasn’t loud, but it didn’t need to be.
It started as a whisper. Then everything shifted.Suddenly, I wasn’t in my bed anymore.I wasn’t in Black Oak.I was somewhere else.The ground beneath me was cold. My feet were bare. The sky above was pitch black and too close. And around me—a ring of cloaked figures.Their faces were hidden. Their heads bowed. Their mouths moved in eerie synchronicity, chanting in an ancient language that echoed through the space like wind through a crypt.I didn’t know the language.But I understood every word.They were binding her.They were trying to put Luna to sleep.My wolf was snarling inside me, howling in protest, clawing at the walls of whatever spell they were wrapping around her.But she was fading.I could feel it. Every second that passed, she grew weaker. Like they were siphoning her strength, twisting it back on itself.I tried to call out. Tried to move. Nothing worked. My voice caught in my throat. My limbs wouldn’t respond.I reached for Nora—but she wasn’t there.Gone. Erased. L
And just when we thought we’d seen the full wave—they poured out from the forest like black water spilling from a cracked dam.“Darius,” I said, but I didn’t need to.He was already stepping forward.I didn’t shift into Luna. Not this time. I didn’t need to.I gave Nora control.It was like flipping a switch. Cold fire slid through my blood as I fell back and Nora rose, eyes glowing silver, claws already forming.She didn’t hesitate.Darius stayed in human form too—barefoot, bare-chested, blood-thirsty.We moved as one, tearing through the first wave of rogues like they were paper.Claws slashed. Bones cracked. Screams filled the air. I lost count of how many I dropped, how many I shredded, how many Nora flung through trees like they weighed nothing.Nora was brutal and fast, but controlled. Focused.I stayed close to Darius. We never strayed more than a few steps apart. He didn’t say anything to me, not even once, but his eyes never stopped tracking mine in flashes between kills.Tim