CelineThe fence rattled beneath my hands while I tried to squeeze Milo through the gap. The wire scraped his forearm and he jerked back with a hiss, eyes big. I cupped the back of his head and pressed his cheek to the mesh so he would not look at me and panic.“Breathe,” I whispered. “Make yourself small.”“I am small,” he muttered, trying to suck in his belly.“Smaller. Arms first. Slide, not climb.”The night pressed close, damp. Far off, steel rang and wolves barked the short commands they used when it was real. The ground smelled like smoke. If we slipped through now, the gully would hide us. I had mapped it in my head a hundred times.Boots hit dirt behind us.“There,” a voice snapped. “By the fence.”I grabbed Milo’s shirt and yanked him back on instinct. If I had been smart I would have shoved him the rest of the way and let them choose. Fear does not do clean math. Hands closed on my arms before I turned, strong and certain.“Got her,” someone said.“Don’t touch him,” I said,
CelineHis weight was still on me, heavy, his breathing uneven against my neck. My skin was slick with sweat, the air between us hot, and I hated myself for the fact that I hadn’t fought him the whole way. My chest rose and fell in sharp pulls, trying to find some space between us, but the bond pulsed faintly, smug, reminding me of what just happened.Then it happened—his body went rigid above me, head snapping up like a predator catching scent. His eyes glowed, not their usual molten glare, but sharper, brighter, gold cutting through the dim light. I felt the shift in his focus before he even moved.“What is it?” I whispered, my voice hoarse, throat still raw from my own sounds.He didn’t answer right away. He was listening—no, not just listening. Mindlinked. I could see it in the way his head tilted, the way his lips pressed into a flat, cold line. Then his gaze snapped to me. “Another pack is attacking Nightshade.” His voice was rough, clipped, already thinking ahead.My stomach dr
Alaric“Alaric—” she starts, but I cut her off with my mouth on hers, devouring her like I’ve been starving for this. Her lips part, and I take full advantage, my tongue sweeping in, claiming her.I pull back just enough to speak against her mouth. “Say it.”She swallows. “Say what?”“That you’re mine.”Her eyes lock with mine for one tense, loaded beat. Then she whispers it. “Fuck you!”“That’s all I need.” My hand slides down, slow enough to make her squirm. My gaze drags over her—every inch of bare skin, every curve—and I can’t stop the low growl that leaves me.I settle between her legs, my hands pushing her thighs apart. She makes a weak attempt to close them, but I hold her there, my eyes daring her to try again. She doesn’t.I lean in, my mouth tracing down her stomach, tasting the faint salt of her skin. When I reach her, I pause, letting my breath ghost over her before my tongue slides against her in one slow, deliberate stroke. She gasps and jerks, but my hands on her hips h
AlaricThe room smelled of damp stone and burning herbs. I stood against the wall, arms crossed, watching the steam curl up from the wide bathtub in the center. The healer was bent over it, dropping bundles of crushed leaves into the water, murmuring to herself as the scent deepened—sharp, earthy, almost sweet under the heat. The maids moved around her like shadows, quick and careful, eyes down.Celine sat on the low stool beside the tub, silent. Not fighting, not trying to run. That was new. She just stared into the steam like she wasn’t really here.I knew why.The only reason she wasn’t clawing her way to the door was because I had brought her little one to her earlier. Let her see with her own eyes that the pup was safe. It wasn’t kindness. It was control, I wanted her steady. I wanted her to be still. And it worked—she was suddenly cooperative, letting them undress her without a word. She thought this was just a bath.She had no idea what I was preparing her for.The water ripple
AlaricOne more. Just one more fucking minute in that room with her and I might have devoured her. Pinned her down and let her know who the fuck she belonged to. No. I mean ruined her, swallowed her whole until she couldn’t breathe without me. I said under my breath, to no one.I could still smell her skin on my hands. Steam from the shower had clung to her hair, and she’d looked at me like I was the devil himself. That look had stuck to me, digging under my ribs and clawing at my restraint. She had no idea how close I’d been to shutting that bathroom door and not letting her out until I was done with her.I walked down the hallway to my study. Cade was already there. I knew he’d be—always on time, always waiting like the loyal bastard he was. He was leaning against the desk when I walked in, straightening the second he saw me.“Alpha,” he greeted, voice low.I shut the door behind me. “She’s dead?”“Already taken care of,” Cade said.Good. The air in here was easier to breathe withou
Celine I didn’t hear her at first. The room was dead silent, save for the distant scrape of rats or the wind pushing through the cracks of this shitty place. But I saw her shifting nervously near the wall. She kept glancing back at me, and then at the stone. That same stone I’d watched her sit by for weeks. I thought she was just losing her mind like the rest of us, picking at it like it was some kind of therapy. Turns out, she’d been working on it all along. “I found something,” she said in a whisper. Her voice barely made it to my ears. I turned my head slowly, not trusting the hope crawling up my spine. “What?” She looked around like someone might be listening, even though it was just the two of us. Then she moved, crouching by the wall again, fingers curling around the edge of a jagged rock. “Come see,” she whispered. I dragged myself to my feet, the ache in my legs screaming from another day of sitting too long on stone. My body always feels stiff now. Dead weight most times