Chapter 30
Thirty
MANU
ELLNESARI, PRESENT DAY
A gasp escapes my lips, and I close my eyes, because the sky is spinning. Karl is between my legs, driving me wild with his mouth. When the orgasm comes, my hips buckle, but he digs his fingers into my skin and keeps me in place while he continues his torturous tongue work.
“Karl… I need you.” I look at him so he can see the truth in my eyes.
He leans back, displaying his flushed cheeks and wolfish eyes. The tips of his fangs are peeking from his partially open lips. Holding my stare, he lifts one of my knees and bites my inner thigh softly.
I release a throaty moan, making him chuckle. “I’m right here, Princess.”
“Don’t laugh.” I sit up and reach for him.
Lust replaces the amusement in his eyes. He leans forward, shortening the distance between our mouths. “I’m not laughing now.”
He crushes his lips to mine and wraps one arm around my waist to pull me onto his lap. His cock is hard and ready once again, even though it hasn’t been that long since he was inside me, destroying my pussy in the best way possible.
I impale myself on him, shuddering as he stretches me to the max. I’ll never get sick of the moment our bodies become one, when our tongues mingle in a furious dance and I hold him so close, I can’t tell whose air I’m breathing.
I’m moving as fast as I can, chasing the bliss once again.
Karl grabs my ass, digging his fingers deep while he helps me increase the pace.
The bond flares in my chest, then expands to wrap around Karl and me.
It seems the magic is getting more potent with every minute we spend together, with every shared gasp and moan.
I frame his face with my hands and whisper, “I love you, Karl. So damn much it hurts.”
“I love you too, Princess.”
Our lips fuse again, and for a while, all I can hear is the pounding of our flesh joining and our labored breathing. We’re so in sync now that we fall apart at the same time, and despite the many orgasms I’ve had in this forsaken place, each new one seems to be more obliterating than the last.
When the wave of pleasure recedes, my body goes slack. I lean into Karl, hiding my face in the crook of his neck, and take comfort in his scent.
“I’ll never get tired of this, Manu.” He runs his fingers down my back, sending goose bumps across my skin. The laceration has healed already, which begs the question: How long have we been screwing like rabbits?
“Me neither.” I lean back. “But we have to find a way out of here.”
He raises a brow. “Do we?”
Alarms sound in my head, and I tense. “Of course we do, Karl. We can’t stay in the Valley of Lost Souls forever.”
He touches my face with the tips of his fingers. “I don’t see why not. There’s nothing for us outside of here besides pain and despair.”
I don’t speak for a couple of beats, processing his words. That doesn’t sound like Karl at all. I pull away from him and try to slide off his lap, but he holds me tighter, and desperation seems to shine in his eyes. “Don’t go, Manu. Don’t leave me.”
“I’m not leaving you. But we can’t stay here forever.”
“I have everything I need right here.” He kisses one corner of my mouth, and immediately, the flame in the center of my core ignites.
Lust spreads through my body, and the urgency to leave this place gets pushed to a dark corner in my mind.
I want to ride Karl again, feel the heat of his skin against mine.
A loud boom in the mist jolts me, and my adrenaline levels spike.
Karl pulls back and looks over my shoulder. “What in the world was that?”
“Do you see anything?” I ask.
“No, but we’ve lingered here for far too long.”
My head is clear, and I no longer sense the urge to mate coming from him either. We jump to our feet and get dressed in a hurry. It’s then I realize that we’re no longer next to the lonely tree and the fallen monster. We’re surrounded by stone walls that go up until they disappear in the mist.
Steps approaching on loose gravel tell me we’ve made a grave mistake. Something is coming, and there’s only one way out of here. Karl’s body is tense—he’s ready to shift if the need arises. We wait until a lonely figure emerges from the fog. It’s not a beast… it’s a man.
“Found you.”
KARL
The wolf is churning inside me, ready to come out, but I wait.
I’m trying to pick up the scent of whatever is coming closer, but I get nothing.
This place is not only messing with my senses, it’s messing with my head.
I have no recollection of coming to this location, nor do I know how much time has passed.
I don’t feel hunger or thirst. The only thing I crave is Manu.
Finally, the newcomer walks out of the mist, and I’m shocked to find out it’s a man.
He’s a little over six feet tall, broad shouldered and muscular but not bulky, and his light brown hair is about the same length as mine.
He seems to be in his mid-twenties, but his clothes aren’t modern.
He’s wearing brown leather pants and boots, paired with a loose tunic the color of straw.
“Found you,” he says.
“I didn’t realize there was anyone looking for us in this godforsaken place,” I grit out, not hiding my aggression. I’m not picking up a threatening vibe from him, but I don’t trust him either.
He walks closer, seeming unfazed by my stance. “It’s easy to become unaware of your surroundings here. It’s the nature of the magic in the Valley of Lost Souls.”
“Who are you?” Manu asks.
He glances at her, and his blue eyes widen a fraction. “You remind me of someone.”
I move closer to Manu, draping an arm around her waist. “She asked you a question.”
He looks at me. “My name is…” His brows pinch together. “I’m sorry, give me a minute. The knowledge of who I am comes and goes.”
I trade a glance with Manu, reading in her yellow eyes the same worry that must be swirling in mine.
“Adrian,” he blurts out. “My name is Adrian.”
“How long have you been trapped here?” I ask.
The pain is his eyes is real, and it only makes me more worried. “I… I don’t know. Time is meaningless here.”
“Do you remember how you ended up here?”
He pulls his hair back and stares into nothing. “Punishment.”
“My name is Manu, and this is Karl, my mate.”
A ripple of pleasure rolls down my spine.
It’s been so long since I’ve heard her say those words that it does my head in.
I want to push her against the wall and kiss her again, and again.
Hell . Why am I getting hit by this lust in front of a stranger?
This isn’t normal, especially after I just spent God knows how many hours—maybe even days—making love to Manu.
“I know it’s not the best of circumstances, but it’s nice to meet you. I haven’t had company in a while.”
“Wait, are there other people trapped here?” I ask.
He nods. “Yes, I reckon thousands, maybe more. I’ve only met a few. Some were too lost already and didn’t even see me.”
“How did you find us?” Manu asks.
The corners of his lips twitch up. “You weren’t being very subtle. I heard you from miles away.”
A growl lodges in my throat, and my fangs descend. Manu touches my wrist, a subtle gesture that works like a charm to diffuse part of my aggression.
“And that explosion we heard? What was that?” she asks.
Adrian’s eyes grow troubled. “That wasn’t me. Nothing good comes whenever I hear that sound. It means we need to move.”
I still don’t trust this man, but I agree with him that we need to move. Our current location isn’t safe. We walked into a self-made trap. We’d better get out before a predator finds us.
We follow Adrian out of the alcove, and it depresses me to see that the landscape is still as barren as ever and the mist lingers, rendering visibility beyond a few paces from us null. I hate this place. How could I have considered for even a moment staying here forever?
Another boom , much louder this time, shakes the ground. Manu falls into my arms, and we both stagger backward, trying to remain upright. Adrian’s reflexes must be top-notch, because he barely reacts to the earthquake.
“We need to make haste. It’s coming closer,” he says. “Follow me and try not to get lost.”
He takes off, quickly disappearing from view. Shit. I grab Manu’s hand, and together we step into the unknown, following a man who could very well lead us to our deaths.