She saw it happen, saw the moment Zev surged forward and Lucian’s restraint shattered like glass. He pulled her against him hard, his arms wrapping around her and crushing her to his chest, his face burying in her neck as he breathed her in deep and desperate. She could feel him shaking, could feel the heat pouring off him, could feel Zev right there at the surface clawing to get out.
His mouth pressed to her throat right over the spot where the mark would go and she felt his teeth scrape her skin, felt the promise of the bite that would change everything.
Her hands fisted in his hair and she tilted her head back, baring her throat to him completely, giving him permission without words.
"Please," she whispered.
He growled against her skin, his teeth pressing harder, breaking through the first layer just enough to taste her blood. She gasped and his arms tightened and for one perfect terrible moment she thought he was going to do it, thought he was going to mark her right here in the training yard and damn the consequences.
Then he pulled back with a roar that shook the air.
He let her go so suddenly she stumbled and he was already moving away, putting distance between them, his hands in his hair and his chest heaving. "No. No. Not like this."
"Lucian..."
"Go back inside," his voice was wrecked, barely human. "Right now. Before I change my mind."
"Please do not send me away."
He turned and looked at her and she saw gold eyes and desperate need and absolute resolve. "If you do not leave right now I am going to mark you and it is going to kill you and I will not survive that. So please, Lilith, for the love of god, go back inside."
She wanted to argue but she could see it in his face...he was at his breaking point and one more word from her would push him over the edge. She took a step back, then another, and his whole body sagged with relief.
"One week," he said quietly. "Sebastian marks you in one week. Then one week after that, I mark you. Two weeks and this is over. Can you wait two weeks?" he asked.
She nodded because she did not trust her voice.
"Then wait," he said. "And stay away from me until then. Please."
He turned and walked away, heading toward the woods, and she watched him go until he disappeared into the trees. She stood alone in the training yard with the sun rising overhead and her throat still tingling where his teeth had been, and she wanted to scream.
Two weeks.
She could wait two weeks.
She had to.
*****
She woke up with her face pressed into her pillow and her chest aching in a way that had nothing to do with her body. The confrontation with Lucian had left her raw and shaking, and even though she had finally fallen asleep sometime after dawn, the exhaustion felt bone-deep and unshakeable.
She sat up slowly and looked at her hands. They were steady now but she could still feel the ghost of Lucian’s grip on her wrist, could still feel the weight of his desperation when he had pulled her against him and buried his face in her neck. The spot where his teeth had scraped her throat tingled faintly and she touched it without thinking, her fingers trembling.
Two weeks until Sebastian’s marking. Then another two weeks until Lucian’s. Four weeks total and this would all be over and the bond would be complete and maybe then she could breathe without feeling like she was drowning.
Her phone buzzed on the nightstand and she reached for it, blinking at the screen. Wren’s name lit up with a message sent twenty minutes ago.
Wren: I’m in the city today. Coffee after you visit your mom? I need to see your face. I also want to tell you some news i have about the post. so make sure you you text me okay?
Lilith stared at the message and felt something loosen in her chest, she hasn’t see wren since the last time she came to the estate.
She typed back quickly.
Lilith: Yes. I’ll text you when I’m done at the hospital.
Wren: Good. See you soon
Lilith set the phone down and pressed her hands to her face. The hospital. Her mother. She had not visited for a while now and the guilt had been eating at her for days.
Now she needed to go. Needed to sit by her mother’s bedside and tell her everything even though her mother could not hear her, could not respond, could not tell her what to do or how to survive this.
Lilith got dressed slowly, pulled her hair back, and walked downstairs. The estate was quiet this morning, the halls empty except for a maid she did not recognize who nodded politely as she passed. She found Nicholas in his office with the door half open, his head bent over a stack of papers, his expression hard and focused in the way that meant he was dealing with pack business and did not want to be interrupted.
She knocked anyway.
He looked up immediately and his expression softened the moment he saw her.
"Lilith."
"I want to visit my mother today," she said without preamble. "Is that okay?"
Nicholas set his pen down and leaned back in his chair, his eyes scanning her face carefully. "Of course. I will have Callum drive you."
"Thank you." she replied.
He stood and came around the desk, stopping in front of her and tilting her chin up gently with two fingers. "Are you alright?" he asked.
She nodded because she did not trust her voice.
He didn’t look convinced but he didn’t push. Just pressed a kiss to her forehead and said quietly, "Callum will be ready in ten minutes. Take as long as you need."
Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!
Use arrow keys (or A / D) to PREV/NEXT chapter