ETHAN'S POVThe second her back hits the bed, I press her against the foam, letting the thud of the headboard echo like the beat of war drums in my chest.Her shirt rides up when I lift her leg around my waist, and I slide my hand beneath the fabric, skin to skin, feeling her heat, her hunger, her submission."You're shaking." I murmur, mouth ghosting over her ear."I'm not afraid of you." She whispers, but her voice cracks at the end."No." I breathe against her collarbone. "But you're scared of how much you want this."Her breath stutters, so I show her.I drag her shirt off and toss it somewhere behind me. Her bra follows with one flick of my fingers, and I step back for just a second, to see her.She's a goddess carved from fury and temptation, chest rising and falling, eyes glassy with need, lips swollen from our kiss."Are you going to keep staring all night, Alpha?" She asks, a flicker of that defiant fire still clinging to her woods.Goddess, she was going to be the absolute d
LYRA'S POV"Where the hell have you two been?" Ethan's voice cuts through the trees like a blade.I remain frozen, heart leaping to my throat...fuck!What do I say now?He looks like he hasn't slept. Like he's been waiting. And oh gods, his eyes... burning.Clara tenses beside me, breaking first. "Alpha, we can explain–""Go inside." He says, his voice low, eyes moving from me. Then Clara. Then down to the book clutched tightly in my arms."But–""Now. Clara."Her eyes dart to mine nervously and I nod slightly, she hurries off following this.... not that there was much she could do.And I'm left standing there, breathless, caught like a thief beneath a spotlight."Lyra." He said, voice tighter now. "What were you thinking going into the woods at midnight? Unprotected too?"I open my mouth. Then close it... I'm now suddenly a gaping fish at the question.He steps forward. "Don't even think of lying to me."There goes my attempts at coming up with something near believable...The tensio
LYRA'S POVWe shouldn't be doing this...The thoughts keep nagging in the back of my mind as Clara and I head on further into the words.We've crossed into the trees that frame the outermost borders of Ravenwood...the kind of place that looks like it belongs in a nightmare.Tall, twisted pines that lean in like they're listening. The air smells like moss and damp leaves...and something else.The woods are quiet. Too quiet.The kind of quiet that wraps around your neck like a noose.Branches snap at our feet as we creep deeper into the forest, the clearing drawing closer with every step. The moon is high, casting a pale light over everything, and Clara walks beside me with her arms crossed tightly, eyes scanning the trees."Tell me again," Clara whispers, clutching her coat tighter, "why are we doing this without informing the Alpha?"She had to be kidding me...I'd found the note crumpled under my doorframe like it was never meant to be discovered.The handwriting jagged, tilted... al
LYRA'S POVLater that night, Clara falls asleep again, curled into the infirmary bed like she's hiding from the world. Her fingers twitch every so often, like her dreams are crawling under her skin.I haven't left her side... I can't.Not since she screamed like that. Just as my mind has been anything but at ease since she said someone was watching her through the mirror that night.It was one crazy bit to have the situation of the reoccurring dead, mutilated bodies and then this as well.And yet, Aurora remained unfound and I hadn't gotten any feedback from Amanda even.Footsteps approaching startles me briefly and I turn to see Dan walking over with a tray of food neither of us will touch."Luna." He greets coming to stand beside the chair in seated on."How did the rounds go?" I say referring to the additional security rounds the guards and every warrior have been busy with these days.Ethan had implemented more safety measures and doubled the shifts, giving everyone as well as hi
CLARA'S POVThe silence in Alpha Ethan's study is so loud I can hear my heartbeat. It's not just nerves. It's that deep, instinctive dread that curls in your stomach when your reality begins to split at the seams."I don't know what's happening to me." I whisper. "But it didn't just start with the mirror."Alpha Ethan doesn't move. He watches me the way someone might study an unfamiliar creature. Calm. Still. But will caution sharp in his eyes."I keep seeing things." I continue, wringing my hands. "Symbols, figures. Whispering voices that sound like mine...but isn't."That gets a flicker from him– an almost imperceptible tension in his shoulders."I've been waking up seeing scratches on my arms. Bruises I can't explain. I...I think I've been sleepwalking."His voice is low. "Or being led."I lool up sharply...this was harder than I thought."What?"Alpha Ethan stands, slow and heavy like his body is weighing every thought. He crosses his arms and begins to pace around the room. "You
LYRA'S POVThe morning light slips through the open curtains. A golden haze stretching across the room and slipping lazily over Ethan's bed.I blink awake slowly, breathing in the soft scent of his cologne tangled in pine and warmth. The kind of scent that makes your chest ache in the best way.The sheets are a mess, one of his arms thrown around my waist, holding me hostage in the best possible way.He's on his back, hair damp from the shower last night, his face is relaxed in sleep, jaw less tense, lashes long and dark against his cheek. This version of him is unburdened, peaceful– rare. And so, so beautiful.There's something so boyish about watching Ethan sleep. Like the alpha armor falls off and I get off the man beneath.I smile and shift just enough to reach up and brush a lock of hair away from his forehead. He stirs slightly, tightening his hold on me like some part of him knows I'm trying to move. I give up quickly because honestly? There's nowhere else I'd rather be.I stay