Vyra

We tumbled head-first off a cliff, suspended in the bliss of flying. Forgetful of the imminent disaster of landing.

The inevitable impact loomed overhead. Soon, I would come to my senses. Disgust with myself would win out, and his gentleness would fade.

Teeth would clash, claws would shred, and we would soon reap pain in exchange for unwanted needs.

Yet, all my judgments were fought with reverence.

His lips captured mine, yielding and molding tenderly into the simple touch.

They scorched against me, impossibly soft, flint catching fire from the source of our connection and through my body. I felt the smoothness of his scar against my mouth, unmoving and closed. His fingers loosened in my hair, slipping as I placed my hands on his chest, his pulse violently thrumming under my palms.

The Alpha pulled back, breathing heavily even though we'd only shared a small peck. I cowered, preparing for him to dissipate like fog in the morning.

He followed my craven retreat, grazing his lips over mine, with slow, barely-there touches, watching how each teasing pass sent a shiver through me. Strength sapped from my knees, lids fluttering closed as I sank into him rather than away.

Then, Seren fully possessed my awaiting lips with the lingering innocence of learning someone for the first time. Interlocking by choice and not impulse.

This feels different.

The world shifted, the tide halted, and the moon waned.

My head swam, dazed. If someone asked my name, I'm not sure I would know it. Seren. His scent incited the dizzying effect further. I was lost, in the brush of intense heat, in the pliancy he offered after spilling brutal words.

It was just a kiss, a lie. It shouldn't feel this way. It couldn't.

The bond tugged harshly at my chest, tendrils unfurling and melting down my limbs. Compelling me closer, though we were already wound tightly together.

There was no conflict in the way he cradled me to him, grasping for more.

Closer. My bond commanded, my mind yearned, my body coveted. I tilted my head to the side, my nails gingerly scratching his chest and trailing down to his ribs. Closer. Winding my arms around his torso, I urged him near, kneading his mouth with more fervency.

Seren let out an indecent sound from the back of his throat, between a groan and a whimper. My heart lurched and plummeted, a flush spreading from my face to my chest.

It was the most sensual thing I've ever heard, the rasping rumble passed through my heart and settled in between aching thighs.

Vulnerable. Desperate. With his formidable control slipping, my desire increased to the point of pain.

My mouth parted slightly, wanting to savor such a needy melody from him.

Seren felt my invitation, delighting with another low groan. He gripped the back of my neck and used his thumb to press into my jaw, deepening the kiss.

The strength of his commanding, yet forgiving touch rendered me helpless.

Our dwindling inhibition turned to ash.

He began to devour me with an insatiable vengeance, his movements increasing with pace and intensity. Skilled, with just enough pressure to make me bend, with every unrestrained slide of his lips. I matched his force, my pride forfeit.

He swiped his tongue across my top lip, moving past to glide with mine.

Tasting me. Granting me the pleasure of consuming him back. He was just as delectable as his scent, smokey and sweet with peppermint.

The long expanse of his body shuddered into me, the room sweltering between soft pants and swollen flesh.

With an excruciating vigilance, the hand that wasn't wrapped around my neck slid down my waist, memorizing every curve. A bolt of phantom lightning branched all over from where he traced.

Forced to pull away, Seren bent down, silver irises blown into black pools. I fell into them, drowning. He remained devout, fingers caressing down my thigh until they hooked around the back of my knee.

Unable to choke down another breath beholding my ruination.

Seren's eyes shone bright with abandon. A wildness that was more potent coming from someone who never lost control, making him nearly unrecognizable. His chest heaved almost painfully, parrying my own staggered breaths.

Beautiful in the way wildfire burned brightly, razing the earth and leaving it to devastation.

"Vyra, ask me to stop." He leaned forward, running his sharp nose over the laced edge of my nightgown, breathing deeply to...scent me? His lids lowered with carnal satisfaction, turning his silver eyes to half moons. Like I was the goddess herself, he prayed for mercy once more. "Please," his mouth brushed indulgently over my chest as he looked up at me through inky lashes, whispering words coated in depravity, "please."

His tongue followed shortly his pleas, gently tasting the swells of my chest that were visible above my neckline.

Overwhelmed by sensation, his free hand ghosted over the curve of my spine.

"No." I denied his request for all the wrong reasons.

Instead, caving to my lesser instincts.

I wanted to see him fracture and throw all of his righteousness to the side. To punish him with the desire he hated, a person he wished

At this moment, I just wanted him.

Sealing my fate, I rushed forward and roughly nipped his lower lip with my teeth, dragging the reddened flesh before releasing it.

Licking sweet blood from my lips, Seren watched me hungrily. His answering growl rattled in his chest, as he lifted upright, hitching my leg over his hip.

Seren moved to ravage my mouth harder, punishing without pain.

It wasn't enough. Holding onto his neck, I hitched my other leg up over his hip. He caught me from underneath, digging his fingers into my thighs.

With this new position, he pressed me harder into the mantle, splaying my hips with his torso and using the force to fuse us together. His taut body burned, hard and heated, muscles waving under my frenzied grasp.

He gently suckled down my neck, panting heavily. My eyes fluttered as he followed the path of my veins. I ran my fingers over his shoulders up to his thick hair. I sunk my fingers into the locks, and tugged, just like he did to mine at the Tantulus, rewarding me with another groan.

Seren brought his mouth back to mine, narrowing his eyes at me before biting my bottom lip back. Once. Twice. Teasing as he rolled his hips closer to where I needed him. I shifted further up the mantel, body arching as he eyed my thoughtless reactions.

When he kissed me again, I lost the ability to think. To breathe. I refused to part from his mouth long enough to do so.

I don't think I'll survive this. My heart pounded painfully, lungs labored, skin at the brink of blistering.

It could have been hours, days, months, a lifetime. It wasn't enough.

"Say my name." Seren spoke against my lips, tormented. "Just once."

Why?

I was left in a daze, my soul unknown and unsteady. Speaking seemed useless. There were a million other things we could be doing.

Our chests met with every heavy breath. My hands fell from his hair, curling at the front of his chest.

"Seren." My head tilted to the side, watching his silver eyes soften.

The Alpha bent, letting my body slide until my feet hit the floor. I crossed my arms, ready to protest.

My words shriveled up when Seren placed a finger between my brows, smoothing away a line of frustration. His breath brushed over me, warm and hurried.

I didn't know what to do when he took my face in his hands, dusting his thumbs over my cheekbones. My skin erupted, somehow the action was more intimate than anything else we'd done.

"So fucking beautiful." He rumbled, conjuring goosebumps across my body.

Did he really mean that? My mouth fell open in shock. The man had just kissed me to the brink of insanity, and pretty words were my undoing. His lips, that I now knew the feeling of, curved up in a secret smile.

Those words, I've never heard them directed at me before, never gave credence that they could be. Not from him. Only fragments are left of me.

I'd thought he considered me plain compared to the perfection of full Lycan. Revolted by my scent. Disgusted. Unimpressed.

Looking down between us, there was clear evidence he felt quite the opposite.

It must have shown on my face.

Seren paled, ripping himself back to the present and away from me.

My bond nearly followed him like a puppet on strings, growing desperate. It didn't know when or if we'd be this close again. I held onto the mantel behind me, refusing to give in, the cold already creeping back between us.

The distance was much needed to process what just happened.

Deities fucking sake. My body was wound tight, my blood still pumping to all the wrong places in my body. I wanted nothing more than to taste him again. Fuck. My body trembled with restraint.

Seren was as off-kilter as I was, hands shaking as they tangled through riled waves of ebony. He paced madly before me, his eyes searching over the room.

He could hardly catch a breath, the sound choking in his throat. His abdomen spasmed, his eyes growing glassy.

Panicking. He was panicking.

"It's alright." My voice soothed him on instinct. I was freaking out too.

I went to touch his shoulder, but he lurched away from me. Looking down at his hands as if he just committed murder.

"Fuck." He drawled to himself, shaking his head. Like I wasn't even there. "What have I done?"

A few insults and eye rolls would have been appreciated. Maybe even his arrogance that I responded so enthusiastically. Or simple flippance.

But this? I grasped at my chest, hollow dejection brewing.

Seren couldn't even look at me.

Was it really that terrible? Did I not feel good for him? The thought incensed me, because I clearly couldn't say the same.

Spite took the reins, scornful concerning Seren, and only him. Biting the side of my cheek, I placed all my weight onto one hip. Grounding myself to clear the syrupy sickness of desire from my throat.

"It's not that bad. It's just the bond—"

He turned, finally looking at me. I wished he hadn't.

It cast a deadly blow, incinerating what we had shared before. Loathing clearly shown in his crumpled expression.

"You don't get it." He regarded me icily. Once again the dirt beneath his feet. "You never have."

Anger was a welcome friend as I laughed sharply in his face. I understood it better than all the other emotions that emerged.

I understood the gravity of what just occurred, if not more than him.

"Because I'm not a full-blooded Lycan? Or because I don't have a title or the burden of leadership? What will you choose to demean me with today?" Sarcasm seeped into every word.

Seren stepped forward, expression solidified with contempt. "Because you're my curse." His eyes slid to my mouth, freezing over when they found my black irises.

I simpered, tone mismatched with my expression. "Only seconds ago I was your mate. Or does it only apply when you want something from me?" I took a step closer, kicking the discarded blade out of my way. "Was I your curse when you begged me to give you a reason to stop kissing me? How about when you got hard even though I barely—"

He snatched my jaw with his hand stopping my speech short, teeth bared. Dragging me close, I thought he'd kiss me again. Instead, his thumb ran roughly over my lips, warping the flesh. Our glares clashed violently. He flicked his tongue over his canines, suspended.

Seren's eyes eclipsed, "Stay the fuck away from me Vyra."

He released my face, sudden and cold, turning on his heel and stalking out of my room.

Like he didn't barge in in the first place. As if he didn't kiss me like a man dying of thirst, and I a cool spring.

The walls shivered when he slammed the door, snapping the taut thread between us.

"Fuck you Seren." I whispered, my lips curling over his name. My heart repeating it with every pulse.

I walked over to the golden facade, trailing over the metal like it was his skin. With the other, I touched my swollen mouth that yearned to be joined with his own once again.

Cruelty or pretty words, it mattered little.

Seren. Seren.

Within my palms, flesh to flesh, he was another being entirely. No longer ice, but the magma that spread unnoticed until it arose and scorched the earth.

My breath grew shallow, vision blurring. I slid to the ground,

What would my father think? What would my grandmother say if she knew what I'd done, without

any intent to use it against him?

I just wanted to do it. I wanted my mate, my cell guard, my mortal enemy. The man who would surely take my life as easily as he took my sanity.

Betrayal burned low in my gut, reminding me of what I was meant to do. But another insatiable ache remained, as I lay in bed, eyes trailing over red ashes petals.

Hands locked to my sides, tears fell with feigned memories of a wolf with white hair and a human woman with eyes of night.

What have we done?

I'd learned more about Seren and his weaknesses in those few moments than months of prying.

It was all jumbled in my mind at the moment, and I needed to piece it all together. Far away from him.

Seren lost his mind, thinking I disappeared. Interrogated me over who I cohorted with. Tracked my scent even in the middle of the night. Denied his desire for me. He didn't like feeling lost. I governed when he stopped, or if he did at all.

The kiss, and anything more, couldn't happen again. But, I couldn't deny it was beneficial to know he was not entirely immune to the bond.

No matter how fairly I wanted to play, I needed to leverage the threat of it to my advantage.

Seren became unrecognizable as the pragmatic leader he was majority of the time. Who never made mistakes, or acted senselessly without firm direction. Thinking I disappeared, he interrogated me over who I cohorted with. Tracked my scent even in the middle of the night. Denied his desire for me. He didn't like feeling lost. I governed when he stopped, or if he did at all.

Lycan possession or simply male domination, or the bond making him claim me? Either or none at all...

It made him erratic.

Penetrable.

One thought plagued me more than the rest, worthless to me in my pursuit of survival.

Seren thinks I'm beautiful.

I cherished for one excruciating moment.

Then I crushed it.

***

"Here." Sonya placed my food at my desk, knowing I'd barely touch it.

My fingers tapped against the cherry wood, "What have you found out?"

"He's telling them you've been sick. Half-human and all, they believe it."

Brilliant. My smile was brittle. "It figures."

A week, I'd been told to go back inside my room. A week, the golden door to Seren's had been locked. A week, I ate my meals alone.

I bit the skin around my nails. A new habit I had taken up.

"Vyra, did something happen?"

I hadn't told her about the kiss, not yet. I'd been too nosy, asking for details about her and Petir. She'd shared a lot less than I expected but was still radiant. They managed to meet every night around dark, dining. Sharing the same room. Happy, and without worry about their next meal or when to patch their clothes, instead of being able to share their feelings. It's all I could have hoped for them.

"Seren kissed me."

She dropped to her knees, resting her elbows on the desk. "Fucking what?"

"I kissed him back." My thumb started to bleed, biting too deep.

"That's why he's been avoiding you? I can't believe you've been holding out on me!" Sonya looked me up and down, grimacing. "It was that good, wasn't it?"

I turned, looking at her. "How does it feel to be with Petir?"

Sonya let out a sigh, "Like warming by the fire after a cold night. That's what it should be like, right?"

Her uncertainty fueled mine.

How do I tell her that being with Seren is like being consumed by the flame? And the absence of him after, the burned char that's left to be whisked away by the wind.

I nodded. "He kissed me. Then told me to stay away from him. Now, he's avoiding me altogether. Wasting the time he begged for me to have from the goddess of the moon herself," my fists tightened at my sides, "he told me I was beautiful."

Sonya's eyes widened, her mouth twitching faintly before she took my hands in hers. Squeezing. "I'm sorry he's a dick, who doesn't know what's good for him. But I knew all that staring wasn't just anger. It just couldn't be."

I shot her a glare. Desire is more kindred to hate than love.

"You've seen them in the field?" It was my best guess. I highly doubt they would leave themselves under prepared for the second trial, which should occur within the next several months.

Sonya bit her lip reluctantly, confirming my suspicions, "Are you going to confront him? I've never seen him look so...haunted."

"Good." I smiled, watching my friend slowly begin to smirk. "If I am going to win against him, it's going to be on my terms." I looked out my window, in the direction the training field should be. "And certainly not his."