Chapter 3 #2
The memory of our night together tore through my defenses. She used my distraction and hooked her ankle behind my knee. We both went down hard. The impact knocked the breath from my lungs as we rolled across uneven stones.
“What a great laugh you must have had!” she spat.
That sobered me worse than a punch to the gut.
“You want to talk about that night?” I growled, rolled on top, and trapped her wrists above her head.
Mud, blood, and water soaked through our clothes, but the heat between us could have dried an ocean.
“Fine. Let’s talk about how you used me to satisfy your curiosity.
I make a good ‘blood source’ as long as I don’t jeopardize your royal status, right? ” I scoffed. “Don’t be a hypocrite.”
Her eyes went feral. I could feel the anger rise inside her, simmer and bubble just beneath her perfect surface. “Look who’s talking.” She bucked her hips, nearly throwing me off. “Used YOU?!” Her knee shot up toward my groin, but I blocked it with my thigh. “I trusted you, you bastard!”
She twisted, slipping from my grasp. We jumped to our feet and circled each other, both breathing hard. Predator versus predator.
“And I tried to protect you!” I roared.
“Protect me?” She charged again, but I deflected, catching her arm and spinning her away.
Her hair whipped across my face, carrying that maddening scent of peaches even through the rain and gore.
“By lying? I defended you! You’re a varcolac, and I was on your side.
And all this time—” Her voice caught, hurt bleeding through the fury.
“It doesn’t matter. You made me want things I didn’t think I’d ever get.
But it’s over now.” Her tone turned bitter.
“Thank you, Captain, for opening my eyes and showing me how misguided I was.”
I stared at her, words choking my throat. The quiet hitch in her breath told me some of the droplets on her cheeks were tears. I had no idea my absence would upset her so much. She tried to hide it, but her scrunched nose and flattened lips gave her away.
The way she avoided my gaze.
My chest tightened like someone had wrapped steel around it and was slowly constricting. I hated that I was the reason for her pain. That I’d put that wounded look in her eyes.
How the hell had we ended up here? We were supposed to barely stand each other.
I dragged a hand over my face, stubble scraping my fingers. “Let me explain, there are things you don’t understand.”
“I’m tired of your lies.” Her voice dropped, harsh and cold. “Nothing you can say will make me trust you again.”
“So now I’m the bad guy? Ironic, considering you ended us before we even had a chance to start.” The words burst out before I could stop them. “I didn’t lie. I omitted things, yes, but I was only trying to protect—”
“And there it is.” She sneered, throwing her arms wide. Her eyes zeroed in on me, ice-sharp. “He admits it. Let me spell it out for you: omitting things is the same as lying, especially if you’ve been plotting with the enemy all this time!”
“I’m not plotting!” I took a step forward, frustration raising my pulse. “Will you let me fucking explain? I deserve a chance, don’t you think?”
“You deserve nothing, traitor.”
The accusation hurt more than I cared to admit. After everything: all the blood spilled, the battles fought, the friends buried. After a century spent keeping these lands safe while the purebloods cowered behind their walls.
Traitor. As if I hadn’t sacrificed everything for this fucking war.
And hearing it from her—from Aurora of all people—twisted the knife. She’d been there with me when I carved Phoenix’s name on the pendant. She’d tasted my blood, been inside my head. She’d seen what drove me. She, more than anyone, should have known better.
“You want me to grovel? Is that it?” I rasped. “I hurt you, and you’re letting it cloud your judgment. But throw that word at me again, princess, and we’re done. For good.”
She lunged and kicked. This time, I made no move to avoid it. “I put my life in danger to keep your identity secret,” she hissed. “Selena’s, too. Do you know what the Republic will do to us for not reporting you?”
I was pretty fucking aware of how those damn leeches treated their citizens.
Her boot connected with my chest, but I didn’t budge. Just stood there, absorbing the impact.
Her foot smashed into my stomach next. Like being kicked with a crowbar, the force rippled through muscle and bone. I backed up a couple of steps. The wolf inside me grew impatient, scratching at my ribs from within.
“Is that supposed to hurt?” I grunted. Blood trickled from the corner of my mouth, and I spat it at her feet like she had spat her accusations.
She pivoted on her heel, gathering force, and launched a roundhouse kick that caught me square in the temple. The world tilted; colors bled into one another. Buildings swayed like trees in a gale. Sound faded to a distant hum before roaring back with painful clarity.
She stood there, chest heaving. “Did that get your attention, Captain?” That smirk made me suddenly crave her blood. Made me want to sink my teeth into that smooth column of her throat until she gasped my name.
How long had it been since I’d fed? Six months? A year?
I shook my head and spat more blood onto the ground. The wolf prowled to the surface, rejoicing in the challenge, begging for more. I started toward her, jaw set.
She’d had her chance.
It was my turn now.
Aurora launched a vicious jab to my ribs.
I sidestepped and reached for her wrist. She spun away and slammed her elbow into my kidney. I pivoted and took the blow on my lower back instead. She drove her boot heel down toward my ankle, putting her full weight behind it. I shifted, absorbing the impact, refusing to show pain.
With nowhere left to retreat—the old storage house of Brasov’s market square loomed behind her—she feinted right, then struck with lightning speed. Her knuckles connected with my diaphragm.
Not cool.
Air rushed from my lungs in a pained hiss, but I surged forward, driving her into the wall. Stone crumbled beneath the impact. Then, I trapped her left arm with my elbow, pressing it against the rough surface. She punched my ear, sending shockwaves through my skull.
A guttural sound tore from my throat as I captured her flailing wrist, forcing it high above her head. She was completely immobilized, caged between my body and the ruins.
Checkmate.
She writhed beneath me, fighting my hold. Her body trembled with exertion. For all her immortal strength, she couldn’t break my grip.
What I hadn’t counted on was how having her at my mercy would affect me.
I was pissed, and aroused.
“You done?” I asked.
“Not even close,” she hissed and snapped at my windpipe.
She didn’t get far.
“Want to see if I’m lying?” I tilted my head, leaned over, and exposed my neck. “Here you go, princess. Do your worst. Sink your fangs in my throat.”
I felt her breath against my skin. Warm. Soft. An electric jolt shot through me straight to my groin. I couldn’t stop my cock from reacting, and her little pants against my ear weren’t helping.
My voice turned into a ragged snarl. “You haunt me.”
She stiffened. Her heart hammered in her chest, loud as the thunder overhead.
“I can’t get you out of my head.” Dipping my chin, I looked into her eyes, those bright depths that followed me into my dreams. “I lie awake thinking about all the ways you could get yourself killed, and it fucking terrifies me.” My voice turned to a whisper.
“Every time you charge into danger, something inside me breaks. You’ve burrowed beneath my defenses, princess.
You’re under my skin. And it’s driving me out of my damn mind. ”
We stared at each other, neither willing to break first. The space between us felt too hot, like standing in the path of a Magma Lance. Her chest rose with each breath. My wolf howled and shoved against his restraints.
Our breaths created small clouds in the chilled air. “Do I make you miss me, Aurora?” I asked. “Do you feel this—this fucking tearing inside when we’re apart?”
She took a long breath and closed her eyes. Her chest stopped moving. She was trying to shut me out.
I grabbed her shoulders and shook her once.
“Look at me, damn it!” I snarled. “Do you crave me? Think about me until you can’t sleep?
Until your skin feels too tight and nothing makes sense anymore?
” I pressed closer, our foreheads touching.
“Do you think about me until there’s nothing left but to give in because if you don’t, you feel like suffocating?
Do I make you as fucking crazy as you make me? Answer me!”
Her long lashes lifted, exposing glittering irises that burned through the darkness. She pinched her lips—stubborn to the end—but her racing pulse and the way her thighs clamped against each other was answer enough. I could smell her arousal, even through the blood and death surrounding us.
“Good to know I’m not the only one drowning here.”
I grabbed her waist and hurled her over my shoulder. Her forehead hit my ass, and satisfaction washed over me. She weighed next to nothing. All that lethal power packed into such a deceptively delicate frame.
“Put me down, you Neanderthal!” she shouted between bouts of pounding fists.
For the first time in days, I felt my lungs expand fully. A chuckle slipped past my lips as she squirmed against me, her struggles only making me hold her legs tighter.
“Not a chance. You behave like a brat, you get what you deserve.”
I called on my magic. It responded with cool eagerness. Chilly winds whipped my hair as the portal started to form, and lightning zigzagged deep into its depths like veins of frost across black glass.
The disk behind my ear vibrated, sending a buzz through my skull. Terraknight’s voice filled my head, clear despite the writhing portal—and projector.
“Cap, perimeter’s clear. No Stalkers within a five-mile radius.” His deep baritone rolled through the connection with a hint of static. “Looks like they’ve pulled back to their territory. Whatever’s left of them after your princess turned them into mist. We’re good to head back to base.”
I paused, one foot already in the portal, and choked on empty air. My princess? She squirmed on my shoulder, oblivious to the verbal landmine Terraknight had just dropped. Was I that obvious? Had everyone seen what my wolf decided from the moment I first saw her?
“Everyone alright?” I forced out through clenched teeth, adjusting my grip on Aurora’s thighs. She’d gone still, no doubt trying to listen. Fat chance without her Nexus to eavesdrop.
“All accounted for. Ember’s got a nasty cut, but Pearl’s already patched her up.
Hummingbird’s wings got singed, nothing serious.
” A pause, then a low chuckle. “Need backup with the princess, or are you two finally working out all that… tension? Gotta say, Cap, never seen you this wound up over someone before. It’s almost cute. ”
Cute, huh?
I tried to pinpoint his location, but the bastard was hiding from me. I made a silent vow to punch those perfect teeth down his throat next time I saw him. Even through the Transmitter, I could sense that shit-eating grin spreading across his face.
“We’re fine,” I hissed.
“Sure you are.” Terraknight’s voice shook with amusement.
“I’ll keep the children distracted so you two can have some quality time alone.
Should I tell them you’re conducting an interrogation?
Or perhaps”—his voice dropped to a theatrical whisper—”a thorough physical examination?
I hear that neck-biting thing you two do gets pretty intense. ”
“Fuck. Off.”
His laugh rumbled through the connection. “Just don’t break her, Cap. And remember—she’s royalty, so maybe try using your words instead of just grunting. The ladies like that sort of thing.”
The barbarian would know. Probably learned his moves from the trashy romance novels Pearl kept hidden under her bed. The Transmitter went silent before I could craft a response that wouldn’t dig my grave deeper.
Aurora remained still, but I could practically feel the fury radiating from her.
“If you’re done with your little boy talk,” she snarled, “I’d appreciate being put down.”
“Not happening.” The portal pulsed before me, a swirling vortex of ice and darkness. “Hold your breath.”
She stiffened. “You impertinent ass—”
But the void was already compressing around us, cutting off her scream and claiming us both.