“What do you want?”
Elyssa clenched her teeth against the pounding in her chest. The witch would not get the pleasure of watching her squirm in fear.
“Your heart might explode if you don’t calm yourself, azure.”
“Better that than getting what you want from me,” Elyssa shot.
In a split second, the witch was standing right in front of Elyssa, and she almost jumped out of her skin.
“Now, azure, I’ve gone five decades without the gift of an azure. I don’t intend to waste another second battling words with my dinner.”
Then she gripped Elyssa’s throat, and she lifted her up with ease. As she choked, Elyssa grabbed onto her arm for support, and inadvertently channelled her gift. She shrieked at the contact and flung Elyssa away, leaping back from Elyssa’s touch.
Elyssa bounced off the wall, rolling into the black dirt on the ground with a grunt. After groaning against the pain in her midriff for a minute, she struggled to get up
“You can’t be serious! Lucian Callisto is your…” Zuker trailed off, pacing in front of her as he hung his hands on his waist, his auburn hair pinned in a bun that accentuated his sharp jawline. Though she could understand his astonishment at her news, his reaction was a bit much. There had to be more to why he was acting like the world was about to fall apart. “I don’t understand your reaction to this. I was really upset about it, but, is there anything you would like to share?” “It’s…” he said with a loud huff. “It’s Lucian, El. He is Rita’s...mate. The goddess wouldn’t match you with someone who is already engaged. This will be problematic for you and Rita, and the two packs.” “He’s engaged to your sister?” A chill ran down her spine as the words drubbed against her ear, and she felt her stomach lurch with a sensation she’d never known before. Elyssa coughed against the painful lump that was now wedged in her throat when Zuker nodded. Why di
Lucian’s POV He watched Rita from where he sat on the rock beside her, waiting for her to wake, and his patience was wearing thin. It took him some time to get her to shift back, so he could examine her injuries, and the gash on her stomach was nasty and wasn't healing. He had ripped a shard of her dress off to stop the bleeding, and now he was worried that he was wasting time just sitting there. It was either he took Rita back to the Ewing pack, or found his way back to El; but they both needed him. It was nearly dawn, and he had to find his way back to Elyssa before sunrise. Standing with his hands on his waist, he tried to figure out why the labyrinth led him away from his mate and to Rita. Shouldn't his mate be his priority? He hadn’t considered that his relationship with Rita somehow linked them. With a weak groan she stirred, and Lucian turned to her. Damn it! Getting her home would cut into his time in
The pinch in her chest caused Elyssa to pull away from Zuker’s embrace. She turned away from him, massaging her chest with a grunt. “What’s wrong?” Zuker held her face, his brown eyes roving over her in concern, and she almost giggled. “I am not sure.” It felt foreign and yet as if her heart were hurting; like she was intercepting someone else’s pain. Elyssa looked around the beach and adjusted her robe before saying, “Let’s go.” Since none of the labyrinth walls had opened up for them in a while, she suspected it meant to keep them here until sunrise. Zuker nodded and took her hand as he continued down the beach. Her fingers wove into his, and she noticed when he glanced at her. Elyssa kept her gaze fixed ahead, avoiding any eye contact with him. Her repeated request for Zuker to not pursue her have gone unheeded, and Zuker was one of the most persistent wolves she’d ever met. For her, the idea that he loved her made no sense when she
“This way!” Zuker yelled as he spun her off the path, and pinned her against the wall. They waited with bated breath for the creatures closing in from behind the wall. She looked at the sky; it was nearly morning, and they hadn't crossed paths with Lucian or Antonio. Wouldn’t escaping the labyrinth with Zuker make them mates according to the mating ritual? At that moment, her gaze fixed on him, watching the contours of his face as he pressed up against her. “Zuker, if we escape from the labyrinth together, wouldn't that make us mates?” Zuker’s gaze turned to her while he contemplated, his eyes darted back and forth quickly. It hadn’t occurred to him either, and that look of sheer joy on his face gave her the answer she was after. “I would suggest we hang back and search for your mate, but this place wants us to leave,” Zuker replied. He turned back to the wall they were leaning against, bending to peek at the creatures. The chamber was not clo
By the time they reached the Ewing settlement, it was already early morning, and Zuker was determined not to speak to her. He ran across the square toward the Ewing house up on the hill, and Elyssa followed in her own quiet way. It wasn’t in her interest to irritate him while he was worried about his sister.In addition to that, there was a newfound hatred for Rita, one that resulted from Lucian knowing her first, and somehow ending up with her outside the labyrinth. What were they really doing together, anyway?Outside the guest house of the Ewing compound, she walked past men in black suits standing guard; it was unusual. Rita would be in the main house, so what were these mean-looking men doing here? As they stepped aside, they gave her a nod, and her brows quirk in curiosity. She looked herself over, perhaps they tell she just escaped the labyrinth with the ceremonial robe she wore?“Elyssa, I see you made it out.”At the sound of Vi
In spite of the steam in the bathroom, Elyssa found her way to the mirror after getting out of the shower. She would be happy if the water was able to wash away everything that had transpired yesterday and just moments ago. Drying herself off, she entered her bedroom that hadn’t been cleared out; everything was just as she had left it. She slowly dressed, wondering about Zuker as she pulled on her jeans and shirt. It was obvious he still had a grudge against her, since he hadn’t shown up yet to check on her. It wasn’t really fair for her to blame him. He was right about everything. Her miserable self was moping about Lucian, the mate she didn’t want, being in love with Rita, when she should be with Zuker and Rita. After taking a towel to her hair, she donned a pair of black ankle boots that went really well with her deep blue jeans and red top before stepping outside her bedroom. When she was done checking on Rita, she would head back into town to check on Taylor and
“Well?” Elyssa whispered against his lips. In a smile, Zuker took a step back, smoothing her hair as he gazed at her. “That was different.” It was. They’d kissed too many times before, and it had never felt this overwhelming. It was as if her soul was radiating with all the colours in the universe, with him as her centre. Did their escape from the labyrinth change something between them? “I know,” she said, trying desperately not to smile. “Is this really what you want?” he asked. “It would make Lucian an enemy, and Lucian is a formidable foe to have.” “I’m not doing anything wrong,” she asserted. “I left the labyrinth with you, and he left with Rita.” She turned away from him. “As selfish as you have made me out to be, I have to ask when will you tell me what you left out about the Callistos?” After he let out a sigh, Zuker’s attention turned to something behind Elyssa. She turned to find Melissa with her novel smile approachi
It was a quiet drive back to the Callisto compound, and riding alongside her mate did not help. Every now and then he would glance at her, as if he wanted to say something but decided not to. Within a mile of their arrival in the borough, they could see the towering Callisto compound.Life had gotten away from her, and she no longer had any control over the way things were panning out. In her obsession with finding and punishing Lucian, she had forgotten to live. With a huff, she ran her fingers through her hair.“Everything OK?” Lucian asked.“I have no words for you,” she replied.When the driver of the saloon limo glanced at them from the rearview mirror, Elyssa glared at him, and he looked back to the road.As Lucian faced her, he smiled warmly. “You’re upset with me?” he asked. “How do you figure that?”“Can we not do this?” Elyssa replied.“I don’t see