Chapter 4 Ashwiyaa
Chapter four
Ashwiyaa
“Fate will lead us to where we need to be.”
The next few hours fly by in a blur of drinks and laughter.
It’s been so long since I’ve had this much fun.
Usually, I’m a solitary creature, preferring to lurk in the shadows and scare unsuspecting humans who deserve everything I give them.
But since meeting Kai, I’ve craved his company more than anything.
Which is new for me. When it comes to my feelings for Kai, everything is new.
As I look around the bar, a smile tugs at my lips. It’s hard to believe it was a year ago when I first passed through this place without giving it much thought.
I had just finished a job and was in dire need of a strong drink when this gorgeous blond-haired, blue-eyed man approached, offering to buy me one.
Initially, I was tempted to decline his offer, as I knew he was a shifter, but there was something about him that intrigued me.
I couldn’t quite figure him out like I could with others, and it made me feel unsettled.
I was never unsettled. I expected our encounter to be nothing more than a fleeting night, but there was an unexplainable force that kept pulling me back to him.
But he seems to have that magnetic pull with everyone. The thought sours my mood immediately. Kai had several women approach him tonight. I could read their intentions a mile off, and I was trying my absolute damn hardest not to stab one of them in the eye.
“You’re glaring again,” Logan says, dragging my attention from the busty blond currently sending Kai side glances from the bar.
I shrug and smile sweetly at him. “I just wasn’t aware so many people had no regard for their life.”
Logan chokes on his beer and glares at me.
“Oh, don’t worry, detective. I only kill bad people.”
Logan holds up his hand. “Please, I don’t want to know.”
I smile like the Cheshire cat and wiggle my eyebrows. “Are you sure?”
Logan shakes his head at me and looks at Kai, who shrugs.
“Positive,” Logan mutters.
“It’s not my fault people make me want to stab them.”
“Ash!” Logan snaps.
Kai laughs, giving me a peck on the cheek. “You know she is messing with you, detective.”
“Somewhat,” I add, my lips curling up.
“You two are made for each other,” Logan says, running his hand through his thick black hair, and it doesn’t slip my notice that he arranges the longer locks so they’ll partly hide the nasty scar that covers one side of his face.
I reach over and touch his arm. “Don’t do that. Don’t hide your scars, especially not from me. I’ve got them in droves—you just can’t see them. But if I could, I’d wear them proudly because it means I was stronger than whatever tried to take me down.”
Logan’s icy-blue eyes widen in surprise and Kai’s hand lands on the small of my back, the heat of his touch soaking into my skin.
“Think of scars like tattoos, just with way better stories,” I add lightly, punching him in the arm.
Logan stares at me for a moment before answering. “Thanks, I think.”
“Anytime, detective.” My grin widens at his unease.
I spot Salena weaving her way over to us, her eyes shining brightly. I’m happy for her; Logan is the perfect mate. Sure, he can see the dead and has terrible nightmares, but he’s a good man with a big heart who deserves love.
After what his parents did to him, they deserved everything they got.
The first time I met Logan, his past flashed through my mind, but it wasn’t what I saw that hurt my heart—it was what I felt coming from him.
Heartbreak, sorrow, and abandonment bled from his soul, seeping into the world around him, leaving him isolated and alone.
I was so angry at the pain emanating from him, I paid his parents a visit, and of course they denied having a son.
So, I toyed with them for a while, savoring every moment as I pushed them to the brink.
Fear is a potent weapon, and I wielded it with precision, watching as their minds unraveled under the weight of it.
It was almost too easy to plant the seeds of terror, whispering doubts and horrors that grew into full-blown nightmares.
They had no chance against me, not with their fragile psyches already teetering on the edge.
I watched them break, their spirits crumbling like dry leaves underfoot.
The satisfaction was cold, but it was there, a dark thrill that pulsed through me as they spiraled into madness.
Now, they’re living out their days in separate mental institutions, each one a prisoner of the hell I crafted for them.
It hadn’t taken much—just a few well-placed fears, a nudge in the right direction—and they’d folded like cards in a rigged game.
They were weak, pathetic, the kind of people who were destined to break from the start.
A growl slips from my lips as I recall the memories, and the two men stop talking and look at me with raised brows.
“Sorry,” I say, taking a small sip of my drink.
“You good?” Kai asks.
“Peachy.”
Salena arrives at the table, and without hesitation, she throws her arms around Logan from behind, nuzzling into the crook of his neck with a playful smile. “You ready to get out of here, detective?” she asks, her voice a soft murmur meant just for him.
Logan sets his glass down on the table, turning his head to plant a gentle kiss on her cheek. “Yep,” he replies, his tone filled with the quiet contentment of a man who’s exactly where he wants to be.
Salena’s face lights up with a beaming smile as she lets go of him, turning her attention to me. “Thanks for making it, Ash,” she says warmly, her eyes reflecting genuine gratitude.
“Sorry I missed the ceremony,” I reply, a hint of regret in my voice, though I try to play it off casually.
Salena waves off my apology with a dismissive gesture.
“It’s all good,” she assures me, her focus already shifting as she steps over to Kai.
She wraps her arms around him in a tight hug, the affection between them palpable.
“Thanks for walking me down the aisle, little brother,” she says, her voice softening with emotion.
“Anything for you, sis,” Kai responds, his tone steady and filled with the kind of love that only siblings share.
Salena pulls back, her hand lingering on Kai’s arm for a moment before she turns to Logan. He reaches out to shake Kai’s hand, then gives me a slight nod of acknowledgment. There’s a quiet understanding between us, a mutual respect that doesn’t need words.
With a final glance around the room, Salena and Logan link arms and head toward the doors. The room erupts into cheers, the sound filling the air as they make their exit.
Kai pulls me back against his chest with a firm tug, his arms wrapping around me as he rocks us side to side in time with the music.
“They are still scared of me.” It comes out sounding like a question, but it’s a statement. Everyone is scared of me.
Kai turns me in his arms. “They will come around when they get to know you better. You have been a mystery to all of us over the past year.”
Kai and I take our wolf forms and run home through the woods.
It’s a new experience for me to run alongside someone in my animal form.
I’ve never established a connection with shifters, and real wolves instinctively avoid me, detecting my strange aura.
My wolf is my primary shifter form, but I have others I can use as well. I just prefer this form.
Sensing a shift in the air, I duck as Kai jumps over my head and takes the lead. I huff out a laugh. He wishes! No one is as fast as me. Magic infuses every muscle in my body, and I move faster than the human eye can track, half wolf, half shadow.
I pass Kai without him noticing and make it to the house before him.
I shift when I reach his lawn and turn, crossing my arms to face the woods.
Kai emerges from the trees and doesn’t break his stride, his wolf charging at me.
My arms drop as I realize his intentions too late.
He launches into the air, his paws connecting with my shoulders as he takes me to the ground.
We land with a heavy thud, and he shifts, hands wrapping around my wrists in an instant, lifting them above my head and pinning me to the ground.
I revel in the weight of his body on mine as he straddles my hips, his eyes twinkling with amusement.
“You cheated,” he huffs out, looking a little disheveled.
“I did no such thing. I’m just faster than you,” I tease.
Kai’s eyes narrow, and he leans down until our noses are touching. The way he is staring at me makes my heart pound, and the intoxicating scent of him encompasses me, leaving me lightheaded.
Kai’s blue eyes darken, sending a shiver of anticipation through me.
His mouth drops to mine, teeth nipping playfully at my bottom lip before he begins to pull away.
But I’m not ready to let him go. My legs instinctively wrap around his waist, and I smoothly roll us in one fluid motion, cursing under my breath at my dress as it limits my range of motion.
Kai doesn’t give me the upper hand, though.
With a low growl, he shifts his weight and rolls us again, almost instantly reclaiming control.
The sensation of the cool grass against my back makes me laugh as we both wrestle to gain the advantage.
Grabbing a fistful of his shirt, I yank him to the side so I can make my escape, but Kai tackles me from behind and rolls me onto my back. A burst of laughter escapes me as his hands land on my hips. His grip tightens, and then his mouth is on mine.
I completely surrender to him.
My stomach somersaults when I feel the press of his body against me once more, igniting a surge of warmth through my veins.
With my heart pounding, I swiftly rip open his shirt, the buttons popping off and scattering like confetti on the grass.
I skim my hands across his abdomen and lightly pinch his sides.
Kai lifts off me and doesn’t hesitate when he grabs the neck of my black dress, tearing it down the middle, and a soft breeze caresses my bare chest. I look up at him, my bottom lip caught between my teeth.
“Fuck, you’re perfect,” he growls.
Then, in a matter of seconds, he has us both naked on the grass, his warm body covering mine as he pushes inside me.
“Kai!” I cry out, my hands gripping his biceps tightly as my back arches in response.
Kai pulls out so slowly I want to cry out in frustration, but I know if I do, he will make me wait longer. With deliberate slowness, he eases himself back in, savoring each second as he maintains a teasing, torturous pace.
“Kai . . . please,” I moan, rocking my hips to meet him.
“Tell me you cheated,” he says, grinning down at me.
“W-what?”
“You heard me.” He stops, fully seated inside of me, and rolls his hips.
I only just manage to stop my eyes from falling shut at the motion.
“Kai.” I scowl up at him.
“Admit it and I’ll give you everything you need.”
My eyes narrow on him, and I clench my inner walls around him. The hiss that falls from his lips is so satisfying, but the asshat doesn’t move.
“Fine!” I huff in frustration. “I used my magic.”
Kai still waits.
“Oh my god! I cheated.”
His hand fists my hair as he leans down, biting my earlobe before whispering, “So fucking naughty.”
It sends a shiver rippling over my skin.
Without another word, Kai pulls all the way out and forcefully thrusts into me, intensifying the speed and power of his movements.
The caress of his warm breath on my neck has goosebumps scattering across my body. A mix of desire and annoyance swirls through me, heightening my senses. I turn my head and sink my teeth into his bottom lip, savoring the metallic tang of blood on my tongue.
Kai growls, the sound vibrating through me as he drives his tongue into my mouth. My head spins when he grinds his hips into me, sending shockwaves of pleasure through my body.
Panting, we break apart. Kai swiftly straightens up, pulling me with him, and I wrap my legs around his waist as he kneels in the grass.
I ride him, his hands gripping my ass and rocking me back and forth over him.
He’s so deep inside me that the boundaries between us blur.
The rhythmic sound of his thrusts fills the air as his cock hits every sensitive spot, sending waves of pleasure throughout my body.
The friction and pressure ignite a symphony of sensations, overwhelming my senses in the most delicious way.
A moan falls from my lips as the heat rises and warmth floods my core.
Kai snarls, biting down on my neck, but he’s careful not to break the skin. Not that I care; he can have me, I am his.
I wrap my arms around his neck as my orgasm nears. The world around us spins out of control, our mingled breaths and moans filling the air.
“Fuck!” I cry out, dropping my forehead to Kai’s shoulder as we move together in perfect sync. Warmth fills my entire being as my walls clench and spasm around Kai, his cock pulsing in response.
“Ash!” Kai shouts, as we fall over the edge into pure bliss together.
We ride out our orgasms, gasping for breath as our bodies tremble with pleasure.
Kai gently pulls back and brings his hands up to brush the strands of hair away from my face.
We stare at each other in silence for a long moment before those lips of his move over mine, tantalizingly slow and deep.
This man’s kisses ignite a fire within me, unlike anything I have ever felt in my two hundred years of existence.
It is completely and utterly soul shattering.