Chapter 19
NINETEEN
NATALIE
Forgive me father, for I have sinned, and the beast’s name is Nikolai fucking Vostik.
He ravages my throat, and I don’t pull away.
This is different. When Viktor bit me, the only thing coursing through my veins was an unspeakable amount of agony.
Like I was tossed into the fires of hell, the gods condemning me for the curse he was inflicting. Now, the only thing I feel is … bliss.
He growls, vibrating both of our chests and sending a shockwave to my core.
My breath falters. A whimper flees my low-hanging jaw.
Tiny droplets of blood dance down my neck and stop halfway.
When Nik sinks his teeth deeper, more is added to red collecting at my collarbone.
I gasp, the sound strangled and weak, but no less hungry for more.
There isn’t pain. No hint of discomfort.
Just an intense desire to have him throbbing my center.
Nik unlatches his teeth from me, and stands upright, eyes glowing brighter than they have since Volk.
I don’t want him to stop. No, I think I’d prefer him to bite different parts of my body now and leave his brand in places only I can see.
My blood coats his mouth, and God, I don’t know what’s wrong with me.
I’m not disgusted at the sight of it. Not repulsed. I’m fucking aroused.
“What—what does it taste like?” I ask through suffocated breaths.
Nik’s mouth spreads into a bloody grin, his long fangs painted red. He drags his finger over his bottom lip and brings it to his tongue, sucking away the mess. “Sweet.”
My thighs clench tight, and the throbs I felt before?
Gone. Violent tremors now threaten to unravel me.
A cramp forms in each foot as my toes curl on the hotel shower mat.
Dimitri and Alexey are less than ten feet away from us, but I don’t care.
I don’t care that I feel like I can sleep for the next twelve hours. Right now, all I want is him.
Smirking, I drop the towel to land in a wet bundle at my feet. His eyes flash with hunger and then something else. I take a step closer, bringing the hardened peaks of my nipples to his exposed chest. Desire rolls in my stomach, the sensation stronger than anything I’ve ever felt.
“Natalia …” he growls. “What are you doing?”
My grin deepens. “Hunting.”
“Don’t make this harder than it already is.”
A small laugh passes through my lips. I glance down at the blanket tied around his waist and back to his golden eyes. “That’s exactly what I want to do.”
“We can’t. Not until …”
I grab for the blanket with both hands, unknotting it slowly. “Until what?” I ask, a seductive edge in my voice.
Nik grabs me by the wrists and stops me. When I look at him both frustrated and defiant, the concern tensing his brow gives me pause. With a low huff, he stares at the ground, his chest rising and falling just as quick.
“You’re not yourself, right now. Your body is changing. Adjusting to the bite. Any urges you have are going to be amplified.”
“And what if this is the new me, Nikolai?” I say, irritation sharpening my tone to lethal.
Bending down, I rip the towel from the floor and wrap it over my body.
I clench my hands to fists and feel the familiar sting of my nails biting in.
“I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but I’m not the same person that was dragged into your fucking den. ”
He closes his eyes and tilts his head to the wall, shame evident in his features. “I know. But if I have you now, I would only be taking advantage of what the curse is doing to you. The changes happening inside of you.”
“What fucking changes?” I scream, not caring who hears it.
“Natalia …” His voice reduces to a whisper, and when I glare at him again, those bright glowing eyes are fixed on my trembling hands.
I look down, and my chest seizes.
Blood trickles from my fingers and lands on the shower mat. When I open each palm, small cuts appear in a row on my reddened skin. My nails are gone, and in their place are sharp, black claws, each slick and dripping.
Nik grabs my wrists again, this time inspecting the wounds. “It’s already starting to heal, but it might take a few hours.” He reaches for the first aid kit on the sink and wraps thick lines of gauze over each.
I stare in horror as he does, acid heaving up my throat. I didn’t even feel my nails grow, let alone puncture my palms. If I can’t even control this, what else is going to happen to me? How am I going to handle changing during the blood moon?
The nails retract slowly, burying beneath the skin of each cuticle before they disappear altogether. I watch in awe, unable to look anywhere else but the human hands now bandaged tight.
Nik tilts my chin. “I’m going to teach you how to control it, okay?”
I nod and blink back fresh tears. I say nothing. I can’t. Being told you’re going to turn into a monster is one thing. Seeing it start to happen is nothing short of terrifying.
He plants a kiss at my forehead. “We will get through this together. I promise.”
A throat clears at the doorway, startling us both. Leaning against the frame for leverage, Alexey watches us curiously, his pained face tightened. I adjust the towel and bring my hand to my neck, hiding the bitemark Nik left.
“Me and big man go shop for clothes and supplies. We have long trip, and I’m tired of seeing your dick.”
I arch a brow in confusion, looking from Alexey to Nik. “Trip? Where are we going? Back to LA?”
Nik sighs and leans against the sink, his chest and stomach tensing.
The claw marks Viktor left him aren’t fully healed but are close to scarring.
“If I’m going to stop my family, we’re going to need help.
We will leave today to ask for an audience with a pack that might be willing to see me without turning me over to my father. But there’s a problem.”
I don’t ask the hundreds of questions mincing my insides. I only wait.
When he glances at me again, his features harden. “This pack wants me dead.”