Chapter 35
AXE
Vessa’s cheek rests against my tattooed heart, bare skin basking in the dim glow of the candlelight. With her limbs strung over my torso, she traces the scar etched along my ribs. For a while, we remain like this. Winded. Silent.
I didn’t expect that. For her to be able to look straight through me. To walk through a wall I’d sworn was impenetrable.
“Yes, Viggo.”
That name on her lips. No one’s ever had the power to undo me like that.
When I stiffen, her fingers halt. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to upset you. I don’t even know why I said your other name.”
Rolling onto my side, I extend an arm, reaching for the bottom drawer of the nightstand. Vessa shifts into a seated position when I hand her a bundle of grey fleece. It’s not as soft as I remember, but a trace of my mother’s smell is still there. As is the letter V stitched in the center.
“Back in Belcarra . . . my sister didn’t tell you everything.”
Her brows knit. “This isn’t your blanket, is it?”
I inhale sharply.
“Burn it all.”
Sweat and tears stung my eyes. Before I could register the order, smoke ascended.
A fire igniting, licking at my heels. Swallowing a hearty breath, I began my climb to the opening, not knowing if I would have minutes or seconds to escape.
But the baby’s bleating grew closer. Frantic. Then, hysterical.
One of the vampires tossed her atop the logs.
The shrieks pierced my ears, stunting my heart.
I didn’t think. I dropped down and snatched her, smothering the flames against my pants.
But the fire became enraged, claiming me instead.
Blazing heat singed my legs, the skin hissing and popping.
I couldn’t hold back my own sobbing then as I flung out my arm, patting and stomping out the fire once more.
Vallery wheezed against me as I raced upwards, fighting not for one life, but two. By the time I broke through and heaved us over the ledge and onto the roof, her fragile lungs had given out.
Vessa’s arms drape over my shoulders. I swallow tightly, staring into the crackling fire.
“When I saw our house burning, bodies torn apart, I knew I couldn’t possibly be Viggo anymore . . . that name belonged to the ashes. With Vallery.”
She strokes my hair, unable to conjure any words of comfort. Though I’d never expect her to. Words will never soften the memory of the night my childhood ended. Nothing can. Innocence doesn’t prevail in this world. It is snuffed out and strangled.
“Why go to such appalling lengths to punish your parents?”
“My mother was petitioning to the other Commanders to lure and assassinate the Blood Master. I imagine that would’ve given him enough cause. But I know for a fact that he came here in search of something. If she was harboring an object or weapon of importance, that knowledge died with her.”
Feeling the moment swell with sadness, I take her hand. Tonight isn’t supposed to be about the past. “Vessa, can I ask something of you?”
“Anything,” she breathes.
I retrieve a jar and the box of blades from the nightstand, popping one out of its cushioning. I spit on the knife, then swirl it around the leafy contents of the jar. Wolfsbane.
She bites her lip when I place the knife in her delicate hand. “This . . . feels wrong.”
“Females are expected to return the gesture, though if you were to bite me in return, I would heal within a few seconds.”
“You’re asking me to carve into you? Absolutely not!”
“It’s only a moment of pain,” I insist, cupping her cheek. “I want this. I want the world to know that my body, my soul, and my wolf are at your command. Yours alone, Vessa.”
The blade looms centimeters from my chest. Vessa adjusts her grip, releasing a shaky exhale.
With one hand, I seize her wrist, pressing deep and dragging the knife downward, diagonally over my right pectoral. Drawing blood that sizzles. Though I anticipated it to sting like a bitch, the pain renders my wolf howling.
“Again,” I hiss.
Maintaining a firm grip, she brings the blade out and up, creating a symmetrical V. The first letter of our names, forever etched into my skin.
Crimson oozes onto her fingers. She drops the blade with a shriek, scrambling to the bathroom. The flesh throbs rhythmically as blood steadily trickles down my abdomen. Pain lingers in the wake of the silver, but I will it to pass.
A towel flies across the room, smacking my face. “Are you happy now?”
The towel around her has slipped, revealing her gorgeous breasts. Glancing down at the swelling member between my thighs, a new throbbing takes hold. “I would say so, yeah.”
She rolls her eyes. “There is something seriously wrong with you.”
My smirk widens as I lunge for her, yanking her back into bed. “Too late to back out now.”
I wake well before Vessa, slipping an arm out from underneath her waist. Her scent has changed, though it’s subtle. Laced with something new. Me.
I still when my fingers brush against the bandage that fell off in the night. Fuck—I really did a number on her. Her neck is a mess. Beneath her, puddles of crimson saturate the pillowcases.
We share a quiet breakfast together, watching the faint sunlight filter through the trees.
Later, I bring her a second cup of coffee to sip on and step outside to gather wood for tonight’s fire.
The worn throat of my grandfather’s axe feels right at home in my grip when I swing it down to split the timber.
For a short while, my mind is quiet as my thoughts fade into the labor.
After working up a decent sweat, I glance back towards the house, where Vessa ogles at me through the window.
She tries to look away, but it’s too late.
The need for her overtakes me and at once I’m barreling through the back door, axe in hand.
She yelps, gunning for the stairs, but I round the corner, whisking her over my shoulder.
“Like what you saw out there?”
“Put me down, you crazy lumberjack!” she squeals.
Vessa squirms in my arms, kicking and laughing all the way to the shower, where I bury myself in her again.
Worshipping her skin, charting her dips and mesmerizing curves as I caress the spots that drive her wild.
No matter how much of her I consume, it will never be enough.
I’m hooked on the taste of her pleasure and the sound of her sobbing my name.
Having gone two decades without hearing it, I don’t just crave it, by the gods, I need it.
While dinner roasts in the oven, Vessa’s head rests on my shoulder. Together, we flip through one of the many photo albums stashed in my mother’s cupboard in the den. Turning to the last page, my wolf stirs. I freeze, sensing footsteps—four sets of them pounding the ground, approaching the house.
I scoop up the axe and make for the door, just in time for a knock to break the silence. I open it, only to see Tesni’s star cadet panting heavily alongside two patrolmen and Gemma Belgrave.
“Alpha, we’re terribly sorry to disturb you,” she croaks. “I’m afraid we come with a pressing matter.”
My eyes narrow on the boy I nearly strangled at the barracks. My fist tightens around the handle of my weapon, raising it to him. “You’ve got some balls, kid."
Vessa tiptoes over to the doorframe, securing the ties of her silk robe. “What’s going on?” All four sets of lycan nostrils widen, taking in her muffled image and ravished scent.
A guttural growl lashes out of me. “I’m going to give you three seconds to come out with it.”
“Beta Nell sent us,” the fidgeting patrolman squawks. “She’s currently dispatching the rest of the warriors but after that, she’ll meet us here.”
Finally, Tripp opens his mouth. “A host of rogues have invaded Apun Beach, joined by vampires. The Tilaak are under attack.”