Her fingers tightened around his robe, her heart shattering under the weight of that promise. Their souls flared in answer, silver light coiling like smoke around their joined forms, the air thick with heat and ancient power.
It was too much, too real, too dangerous...
And then.....
Knock. Knock. Knock.
The sound was like a gunshot in the charged silence.
Lian froze instantly, his body tensing above hers. In a flash, his expression shifted from passionate lover to hardened protector, his wolfish aura shifting urgently. His eyes, dark and dilated, met hers, conveying a silent, urgent command.
Without a word, he moved with a predator's grace. He rolled her gently to the side of the bed closest to the wall, pulling the heavy brocade sheets and duvet over her, concealing her completely in the dim space. In one fluid motion, he lay down beside her, his back to the room, and yanked the heavy, opaque bed curtains closed, plunging their hidden world into near-total darkness.
The space under the sheets was hot, filled with the scent of their passion and her racing breath. Yueshuang lay perfectly still, her heart hammering against her ribs, the sound deafening in the confined space. She felt the solid, protective line of Lian's body in front of her, a shield between her and the intruder.
Outside the curtains, the door slid open with a soft creak.
The faint scent of rain drifted in, but beneath it, subtler and far more primal, something else clung to the air. Warm, heady, and electric. The unmistakable trace of two wolves whose instincts had nearly collided.
Yuwen Jian's nostrils flared first, the alpha in him instantly recognizing the shift. A pulse of Luna pheromones, soft and silken like crushed jasmine, tangled with the darker, storm-scented dominance of a male counterpart. The two fragrances mingled in the confined space, clashing, blending, creating that dangerous harmony that only existed when wolves were on the edge of heat.
Beside him, Yuwen Lin went still. His gaze flickered briefly toward the curtained bed, then to his brother, sharp and assessing. He said nothing, but the air around him shifted, alert, his wolf silently bristling at what it sensed. They shared a look, brief, wordless, full of questions neither dared to voice aloud.
Something had happened here.
Something that shouldn't have.
But neither spoke of it. They were wolves, after all, and whatever transpired between their brother and the Luna was a line no one crossed without proof.
"Lian?" Yuwen Jian's deep voice finally broke the silence, controlled, but laced with concern. "The guards said you were unwell. We came to check on you. How are you feeling? How is your condition? Do you need anything?"
But why would Luna's pheromones exist in his room when he was this unwell? Did he have more energy to spare? Was he a horse?
A pause, heavy and deliberate, followed as they assessed the place. As much as he was their adopted brother, he had his life and he could enjoy sex as any other man.
"Am fine..." He hoarsely mumbled trying to calm his erratic heartbeat.
A second voice followed, softer, younger, but sharp as a blade wrapped in silk. "And, Yueshuang-jie had come this way. Is she with you? Did you see her?"
" How is she? Is she better? We went over to her bedroom to see her but she wasn't there..."
Lian's body stiffened imperceptibly. Yueshuang could feel the faint tension ripple through him like the taut pull of a bowstring. He inhaled once, slow and deliberate, before answering.
"She was," he said quietly, voice steady now, the earlier passion buried beneath a calm veneer, "She came to bring medicine, but she's in the other chambers resting I think. The curse was... acting up again, she suddenly said she is tired, so I let her go and rest."
Yuwen Jian exhaled softly with relief. They knew Yueshuang and Lian were the closest to each other more than anyone else. "You should have called us sooner. Father's been worried sick about your condition. You disappearing from the main hall like that…"
Lian gave a faint, dry chuckle to mask the tension building up deeper in his heart, "You know how I get when the pain hits. I didn't want to cause a scene and furthermore worry you all."
Yueshuang's pulse drummed in her throat. Through the fabric of the sheets, she could hear their footsteps approaching, one that was heavy and deliberate, and the other light and soundless, like a hunting cat.
The faint scent of sandalwood and iron drifted through the air, Yuwen Jian's natural pheromone signature, tempered and disciplined. It pressed faintly against Lian's own, testing, and seeking. Then came the subtle, crisp ozone of Yuwen Lin's, younger, sharper, like lightning waiting for a storm.