MasukI straightened up. My heart was pounding. I looked around the room and for a single, disorienting moment, I had no idea where I was. The black stone walls, the red sky beyond the window, the dead air of this place—none of it felt right. None of it felt like mine. I felt like a man who had woken up m
Andrei’s POVThe collar of my shirt was pissing me off.I had fastened it twice already and it still insisted on sitting crooked, pulling too tight on the left side. I undid it a third time and redid it, slower, watching my hands in the mirror rather than my own face. My reflection had been botherin
Natalia’s POVHe didn’t hesitate.The moment I swung the rod toward him, his hand shot out and closed around my wrist like a vise. My arm wrenched sideways, and I felt the bones grind together under his grip, and the rod fell. It clattered somewhere on the stone floor, rolling away into the darkness
Andrei’s POVThe room was warm. The bed was soft and plush, the pillows made of feathers and velvet. Everything smelled familiar, the kind of scent that you recognize from a past life but can never put a finger on its source.Home.The woman was laying next to me, just as she always did. Amber hair
But I would do it, because the alternative was my children going through whatever came next, and that was not something I was willing to consider.I wasn’t certain yet. That was the only reason I was still trying so hard now. Because there was still a small part of me that thought that there must be
Natalia’s POVThey came for me after what felt like a full day. I say felt like because it really could have been any amount of time, or none at all. But someone did bring me some slop to eat at some point, so that had to have meant that at least a full cycle had passed.I was on my feet before the
I hummed around him, and his hips jerked involuntarily. I could feel him getting closer, could taste the evidence of his arousal, and something fierce and possessive surged through me at the knowledge that I could still affect him this way.“And?” I prompted, before taking him deeper, so deep he hit
“Why don’t you stay tonight?” I heard myself say, and for a moment, the words didn’t sound like my own but rather like my wolf forcing them out. “Jane would love to see you, and you could check on Max later if you want.”Surprise flickered across his features. “Are you sure?”“I’m sure. Besides, I t
I curled my lip back, slightly tightening my grip on Lilith’s throat. Her feet scrabbled beneath me, mouth opening but no sound coming out. One more push. One more push and I would feel the satisfying crunch of her trachea crumpling beneath my hands.Goddess, I wanted that so badly.But Andrei was r
Goddess, here came those tears ago. “But you missed so much.”“And whose fault is that, really?” Something dark flickered across his features when he finally looked at me. “Lilith—” He cut himself off, as if even just saying her name pained him.Andrei paused, and when he spoke again, his voice was







