The morning after the Dark Mate's intrusion, I lay curled against Lucien, the frantic pounding of his heart a furious drum against my cheek. Sleep had eluded me, a cruel phantom just beyond my reach. Each time I drifted, a silken whisper slithered into my mind a voice dark and honeyed, laced with promises I desperately wanted to ignore.
*Come to me, little queen. You belong to more than him.*
I squeezed my eyes shut, a shudder ripping through me as I tried to banish the insidious voice. My grip tightened around Lucien's waist, as if physically anchoring myself to the bond we had fought so fiercely to forge. But the second bond pulsed, faint yet poisonous, a constant, nagging presence beyond my control.
Lucien stirred, his body radiating tension in palpable waves. He felt it too, the unwelcome intrusion, the lingering taint. Of course he did. Our connection was a living thing, a tapestry woven with magic and shared pain.
His hand slid up my spine, gentle at first, a tentative caress that quickly morphed into a possessive grip. "Get up," he ordered, his voice low and raw, stripped bare of any tenderness.
I blinked, lifting my head, confusion swirling within me. "Lucien"
"Get. Up."
The command brooked no argument, no room for negotiation. I flinched, the abruptness of his tone a sharp sting, but obeyed, grabbing the black shirt he tossed my way. My hands trembled as I pulled it over my head, his familiar scent a small comfort against the storm brewing within.
Lucien didn't look at me, his silver eyes shuttered, his expression unreadable. He simply turned on his heel and stalked out into the clearing beyond the ruins, his bare feet silent on the wet grass.
I followed, barefoot, my heart hammering against my ribs, a frantic bird trapped in a cage. The morning air was sharp, heavy with the scent of blood and the promise of a coming storm. The broken plantation sagged behind us like a skeletal reminder of a forgotten past.
Lucien stopped in the center of the clearing and turned to face me, his silver eyes blazing with an intensity that terrified and thrilled me. "Again," he barked, the single word a harsh lash. "Fight it."
I stared at him, bewildered. "I can't just"
"Fight me!" he roared, echoing through the silent clearing and shaking the ground beneath my feet.
Before I could react, he lunged, a blur of muscle and rage, a predator unleashed. He tackled me into the mud, pinning me easily beneath his superior strength.
I struggled, magic flaring in wild, uncontrolled bursts, a chaotic storm mirroring my turmoil. Lucien growled low in his chest, holding me down without mercy, his grip unyielding.
"You let him in," he snarled against my throat, his breath hot and ragged against my skin. "You let him whisper to you."
Tears burned my eyes, a mixture of frustration and shame. "I didn't want to"
"You felt him!" Lucien snapped, pushing me harder into the mud. The cold earth was a stark contrast to the fire raging between us. "You let the bond answer!"
I cried out, shame and rage colliding inside me, a tempest of conflicting emotions threatening to tear me apart. "I chose you!" I screamed back, the words ripped from my throat, raw and desperate. "I'm choosing you!"
Lucien pulled back, breathing hard, blood dripping from his split lip, a testament to the violence simmering beneath his surface. He looked wrecked – by fear, by love, by a darkness he barely managed to contain.
"You have to be stronger," he said roughly, his voice a ragged plea. "You have to be mine, Selene. In body. In soul. In blood."
I sobbed, shoving him off me with a blast of dark magic, the force of it sending him staggering back. Lucien landed a few feet away, crouching low, a grim smile twisting his lips.
"That's it, little moon," he rasped, his eyes burning fiercely. "Now again."
I climbed to my feet, mud dripping from my skin, hair wild around my face, a creature born of the storm. I let the rage flood me, burning hotter than the fear, a cleansing fire that consumed everything in its path.
Lucien circled me, slow and lethal, a predator assessing its prey. I struck, magic lashing out, a tangible force slamming into him. Lucien grunted but absorbed the blow, closing the distance between us with terrifying speed.
He caught my wrist, twisted my arm behind my back, pinning me against a crumbling stone column, the rough surface digging into my skin. His mouth was at my ear, hot and brutal, his words a dark promise.
"You think you can fight fate, little queen?" he growled, his breath sending shivers down my spine. "Prove it."
I screamed a sound ripped straight from my soul, a primal cry of defiance and the magic exploded outward, a blinding wave of power that knocked us both backward.
I landed on my knees, panting, my hands glowing with dark fire, the raw energy coursing through my veins. Lucien rose slowly, blood trickling down his temple, a dark halo against his pale skin.
He smiled savagely and proudly, a warrior acknowledging a worthy opponent. "You're stronger than him," he rasped, his voice thick with possessive pride. "Stronger than anyone."
I stared at him my mate, my monster, my home and the truth crashed over me with the force of a tidal wave. I was furious at him, his methods, and his unwavering intensity. I loved him so much it hurt, a searing, all-consuming fire that threatened to devour me whole. And I wanted to break him, make him feel this fire too, and share the burden of this impossible love.
I charged him, slamming into his chest, knocking him backward against a broken pillar, the force of the impact jarring my bones. Lucien caught me easily, twisting our bodies so I was trapped between him and the cold stone, his strength a cage around me.
"You want to fight me, little queen?" he murmured, his voice dark and wicked, a seductive invitation to chaos. "Or fuck me?"
I whimpered, magic crackling dangerously around us, the air thick with unspoken desires. "Both," I gasped, the word a desperate plea, a surrender to the primal forces raging within us.
Lucien growled low, a sound of pure possession, a declaration of ownership that resonated deep within my soul, and crushed his mouth to mine. It wasn't a kiss, not in the tender, loving sense. It was a claim, a brutal, soul-deep devouring, a desperate attempt to erase the lingering taint of the Dark Mate.
I clawed at his shirt, dragging it over his head, desperate to feel his skin against mine. Lucien shoved the fabric away, grabbed the hem of mine, yanked it up and off, the sudden exposure to the cold air a sharp shock.
The storm of our bond howled around us, a tempest of magic and desire, a powerful force that threatened to consume us both. Lucien lifted me effortlessly, pressing me against the stone. His body was a wall of heat, muscle, and violence, a fortress against the encroaching darkness.
I wrapped my legs around him, nails digging into his shoulders, clinging to him as if he were the only solid thing in a world gone mad. "You're mine," Lucien growled against my throat, his teeth nipping at my skin, leaving a trail of fire in their wake. "Not his. Not anyone else's."
"Yours," I gasped, the word a breathless prayer. "Only yours."
Lucien positioned himself at my entrance and thrust into me in one brutal, perfect stroke, the force of the impact sending a shockwave through my entire being. I cried out, the pleasure-pain ripping through me, the bond searing into my bones, forging a connection so deep it transcended the physical realm.
Lucien fucked me like he was branding my soul, rough, desperate, primal, each thrust a declaration of ownership, a defiant act against the encroaching darkness. Our magic flared wild and bright, burning the air around us, a visible manifestation of unleashed forces.
My head fell back against the stone, my body arching, my magic colliding with his in a blinding explosion of light and shadow, a cataclysmic union that shattered our boundaries. Lucien's mouth found the mark on my throat, biting, suckling, branding, claiming me as his own in the most primal way imaginable.
I shattered around him, screaming his name, the sound a raw, untamed expression of the ecstasy and pain consuming me. Lucien followed, grinding into me, sealing the bond deeper, darker, unbreakable, forging a connection that would withstand the test of time and the forces of darkness.
We collapsed together into the mud and blood, trembling, our bodies slick with sweat and spent energy. Lucien cradled my face in his bloody hands, forehead pressed to mine, his silver eyes filled with a possessive tenderness that made my heart ache.
"You're mine," he whispered fiercely, a ragged plea. "My mate. My queen."
"I'm yours," I sobbed, clinging to him, my body still trembling from the aftershocks of our explosive union.
We barely had time to breathe, to savor the fragile peace, before the air shifted, a subtle change that sent a shiver of unease down my spine. I first felt the cold crawl of magic on my neck, a chilling premonition of impending danger.
Lucien stiffened against me, his body tensing, his senses on high alert. "They're here," he growled, his voice low and dangerous.
I pulled away, staggering to my feet, my legs shaky beneath me. Shadows moved between the trees, dozens of figures cloaked and armed, their faces hidden in the darkness. They were Crimson Court Hunters.
Lucien shoved me behind him, his fangs bared, his body a protective shield against the encroaching threat. "Stay back," he ordered, his voice a low growl warning me and the approaching hunters.
I pushed past him, ignoring his command, my fear overshadowed by a fierce protectiveness. "No," I said, my voice shaking but resolute. "Together."
Lucien looked at me – mud-streaked, bruised, glowing with untamed power – and he knew. This was not a girl anymore, not the fragile creature he had sworn to protect. This was his queen, his equal partner in this impossible dance of life and death.
He nodded once, grim and proud, silently acknowledging the bond that bound us together. "Together."
The first Hunter charged, a bloodthirsty roar tearing through the air. Lucien met him midair, claws tearing through armor and flesh, a whirlwind of fury and destruction.
I unleashed my magic, a torrent of shadows and light slamming into the ranks of the Hunters, a force of nature unleashed. Hunters fell, screaming and writhing, their bodies twisted and broken by the raw power of my magic.
Lucien fought like a demon, savage and unstoppable, a force of nature unleashed. I fought like fire, wild and beautiful and merciless, a protector. The bond between us sang a war song, a love song, a death song, a symphony of magic and shared purpose.
We moved as one, back to back, blood spraying, magic roaring, a united front against the encroaching darkness. But more Hunters kept coming, endless, relentless, their numbers seemingly infinite.
My magic burned brighter, hotter, pushing me closer to the edge, the raw power threatening to consume me. Lucien staggered, a blade slicing across his side, drawing a crimson line against his pale skin.
"Lucien!" I screamed, blasting the attacker apart with a wave of raw power, my heart twisting with fear. Lucien dropped to his knees, blood pouring from his wound, his face contorted in pain.
I ran to him, magic crackling around me in a furious storm, my hands trembling as I cradled his face. "Stay with me," I sobbed, my tears mixing with the blood on his skin.
Lucien smiled up at me, a slow, bloodstained thing, a testament to his unwavering spirit. "I'm not leaving you," he rasped, his voice weak but resolute. "Not ever."
Above us, hidden among the ruins, the Dark Mate watched, his presence a chilling shadow against the backdrop of violence. He smiled, slow and certain, his eyes gleaming with a predatory hunger.
*Soon, little queen.* *You will come to me. Or you will break.*