LOGINShe was meant to be a sacrifice to save her family. He was a resurrected monster who used her body to quiet his dark curse. When Lyra ventures into the forbidden mountain forest, she expects to harvest medicinal herbs—not to be hunted by a beast risen from the dead. Reborn Alpha King Valerius is burning alive from an ancient fever, out of his mind with dark magic and desperate for relief. In the cold mud beneath the pines, he claims Lyra with brutal, unyielding force, pouring his feverish soul into her ears with sweet, possessive promises of stone palaces and eternal devotion. But as dawn breaks, the sweet promises evaporate into the icy mist. Valerius vanishes without a trace, leaving Lyra naked, bruised, and abandoned in the freezing dirt. Desperate to hide her shame and return to her village before the elders mark her as unclean, Lyra drags her broken body up from the slush. But as she takes her first agonizing steps down the mountain, a horrifying truth reveals itself: a thick, pitch-black line of blood trickles down her thigh, and wherever it touches the earth, the grass instantly turns to ash. His dark, cursed blood is now running through her veins, turning her into the very thing her people fear most. Trapped between a village that would burn her at the stake and an intoxicating Alpha King who used her as a cure, Lyra must navigate a world of deadly wolf politics, toxic secrets, and a bond that threatens to consume her entirely.
View MoreIf you take one more step toward me, I will rip your throat out with my teeth!
The voice did not sound human. It was a low, rough growl that shook the wet earth beneath her knees, carrying the strong smell of fresh blood and crushed pine needles. She froze on the muddy bank. Her hand stayed inches above the dark dirt where a crimson pool was spreading into the fallen leaves. Her fingers shook around the bunch of crushed silver leaves she had gathered from the cold riverbank. The forest around them was dead silent, as if every bird, insect, and wild animal had fled from the dangerous man lying broken in the ditch. He lay tucked inside the hollow of a massive fallen oak tree. His chest rose and fell in heavy, ragged gasps that rattled deep in his lungs. Dark, unnatural veins stood out against his pale, sweaty skin like black web work. His black hair was full of mud and dry pine needles, but the sheer size of his broad shoulders and thick arms showed he was lethal. He wore no shirt, only torn trousers that looked shredded by sharp iron claws. She swallowed hard, her mouth completely dry. "You are bleeding to death," she whispered. Her soft voice barely cut through the cold wind rattling the bare branches above them. "The cut on your side is turning black. If I do not put these leaves on it, the rot will take your blood before nightfall." The stranger snapped his head toward her with terrifying speed. His eyes were not normal. They burned with an unnatural gold light that flickered like a dying fire in a dark room. Sweat rolled down his sharp jaw and dropped onto his collarbone. When he breathed out, his lip pulled back to show sharp, lengthened teeth that glistened in the dim sunlight. I do not care about the rot, he snarled. His fingers dug straight into the soft wood of the tree trunk beside him. Splinters flew into the air as his dark nails tore deep into the bark like iron hooks. I care about the fire in my chest. Get away from me, human girl. My mind is not my own. She knew she should have run. Every instinct in her body screamed at her to drop her basket and sprint back to the safety of her village before it was too late. But as she looked into his face, she saw pure agony twisting his hard features. It was not just the bleeding cut on his waist that made him suffer. A deep, heavy ache seemed to crush him from the inside out, making his whole frame shudder in violent waves. He was in pain. A terrible pain no one should ever have to bear alone in the cold dirt. I am not going to hurt you," she said softly, taking a slow step forward on her knees. The wet soil soaked straight through the fabric of her woolen dress, sending an icy chill up her legs. "Just let me put the crushed leaves over the tear. It will cool the burn. You foolish, blind girl, he growled low in his chest. He moved faster than her eyes could follow. One second he was slumped against the old tree roots; the next, all the air was knocked out of her lungs as a massive, burning weight slammed into her chest. She hit the ground hard. The back of her head struck the wet moss with a dull thud, making stars dance in her eyes. The silver leaves flew from her hand, scattering across the dark soil like fallen snow. Before she could catch her breath or scream for help, he pinned her wrists above her head in a grip like iron bars. His heavy body pressed her flat into the earth, trapping her completely beneath him. The heat coming off his skin was terrifying. It felt like lying right next to an open furnace. His chest pounded against hers, his heart racing like a wild drum inside a stone hall. The weight of his muscles made it impossible for her to move a single inch. I warned you, he panted against her cheek, his breath hot against her skin. The terrifying gold light filled his eyes completely, swallowing his dark pupils until no white remained. "I told you to run, girl." She stared up into his face, her heart hammering against her ribs as she felt his raw power straining against her frail body. She tried to yank her arms free, but his grip did not loosen even a fraction. His fingers wrapped around her wrists with enough force to bruise, locking her down into the cold mud. He raised his free hand, his dark, sharp nails coming to rest lightly right over the beating vein in her neck. She held her breath, unable to move as the cold edge of his claws pressed into her sensitive skin. He leaned down further, his heavy frame crushing her chest until every breath became a struggle. His nostrils flared as he breathed in her scent, a long, dangerous shudder running down his spine. The air between them grew thick with tension, so heavy she could feel her own pulse drumming wildly against his claw. You smell of sweet water and soft earth, he rasped into her ear, his deep voice sending a sharp shiver straight down her spine. "You shouldn't have come near me. Please," she choked out, her tears finally brimming over her lashes and running down into her hair. "Please let me go. I only wanted to help. His golden eyes locked onto her face, dark and unreadable. He lowered his face until his lips were inches from her ear, his hot breath brushing over her skin. It is too late for that, he whispered, his grip tightening until she whimpered. "The hunger in my blood has already found you."You whisper sweet things, but your eyes are cold."Her voice trembled against his chest, barely louder than the wind rustling the pine needles in the dark canopy above them.Lyra stared up into his face through the thick shadows of the midnight forest. The golden fire that had burned in his eyes earlier was completely gone, replaced by a dark, glassy film that reflected the cold silver light of the moon. He was half-conscious, floating in a dangerous space between deep slumber and violent fever, his massive, heavy jaw resting against her forehead.Even though he seemed barely aware of where he was, his massive arm remained locked around her waist like a band of forged iron. Every time she tried to shift her body by an inch, his hold tightened, pressing her soft frame flush against the hard, scar-pitted plane of his chest.His head shifted slightly, his dark, matted hair brushing against her tear-stained cheek. His heavy eyelids fluttered open just enough for her to see those dark, gl
"I can't stay here with a monster."The words tasted like bile in her mouth, whispered into the cold darkness as she clutched the torn, damp linen of her dress to her chest.She turned her eyes away from the silent figure lying in the mud. Whether he was a dead corpse or a sleeping demon, it did not matter anymore. Staying beside him meant death, dishonor, or something far worse if whatever cursed spirit inhabited his body decided to wake again. Every second spent breathing the air near him felt like tempting a sleeping beast that could snap her neck with a single twitch of his fingers.On her hands and knees, she began to crawl away backward into the deep shadows of the brush. The sharp stones and jagged pine needles bit into her bare knees, leaving thin trails of dark blood behind her on the damp leaves, but she ignored the sting. Her breath came in quiet, terrified hitches, her chest heaving as she put inch after inch between her trembling frame and the giant lying beneath the fall
"Wake up... please, you have to wake up!"Her frantic voice cut through the stillness of the midnight air, shaking with a terror that made her teeth chatter uncontrollably.She shoved hard against his broad shoulders, her small palms pressing into the massive width of his chest, but he did not move an inch. He felt impossibly heavy, like a carved slab of black marble resting in the mud. The intense heat that had burned through his skin just moments before had completely vanished, replaced by an unnatural, bone-chilling cold that seeped straight into her wet fingers."Please!" she sobbed, her heart hammering wildly against her ribs as she pressed her ear back against his chest.She held her breath, straining to hear even the faintest pulse, the smallest flutter of life beneath his skin. There was nothing. No slow rise and fall of his ribs, no warm breath brushing against her forehead, no heartbeat. His flesh was as cold and still as the wet earth beneath them. It was as if the living,
"Don't leave me in the dark..."Her voice was nothing more than a broken whisper, lost in the heavy folds of the night.Her hands, small and stained with red mud, reached up on their own. She did not know why her fingers searched for his broad, burning shoulders, or why she held onto the very man who had just torn her world to pieces. The sharp, tearing pain in her lower belly still bit into her flesh like a hidden knife, but under the heavy, relentless rhythm of his body, that pain had turned into a thick, terrifying heat that pulsed straight through her blood.He did not stop. He could not. His large hands held her hips pinned to the damp ground, his long fingers pressing deep into her soft skin, leaving dark red marks that would turn purple by morning. Every time he drove his weight down into her, her body shook against the cold mud. The wet slap of skin against skin and the sound of his ragged breathing filled the quiet woods, drowning out the owl calls and the rush of the river.
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