“You don’t know me at all, Claire,” Lucas growled, fists clenched as he kept his sinister pace. “Not if you think this was my doing. I saved your friend’s life after she got her ass attacked for trying to find you.”
Wait — what? I almost tripped on a root before edging backward, further into the woods.
“Don’t get things twisted,” he continued angrily, “I’ve been nothing but a good mate to you. I’ve done nothing but try to find you and keep you safe.” His tone and body language spoke of menace, despite the words coming out of his mouth.
My back hit a tree.
Lucas took advantage of my clumsiness and invaded my space, cornering me without touching me. He leaned down close to my neck — my very vulnerable neck — and whispered in a dangerously low tone, “I killed for you, Claire.”
I tried to swallow, but my mouth was too dry. If I wasn’t putting every iota of my concentration into not shrinking away from the truth of that statement, I would have trembled. But I knew what happened that night; I couldn’t hide from it.
I dropped my eyes, ashamed.
“Look at me,” he growled. When I refused, Lucas gently, but firmly, tilted my chin up to meet his furious gaze. “I protected you and I’d die for you, but I sure as hell won’t stand here and let you call me a monster for something I haven’t done.” He released my chin and roughly ran his fingers through his hair before sending a bitter smile my way. “Oh, I’m a fucking monster alright. I’ve done things you can’t even imagine, but every fucked-up decision or action is all in the name of keeping this pack safe. But if you think I mauled a defenseless human girl!?” A furious animalistic roar escaped his throat. He stepped back and breathed harshly for a bit, collecting himself.
I remained perfectly still, barely daring to breathe. No one had ever raised their voice like that to me. I was both awed and horrified to witness it.
“I’m not the one in the wrong here. You are. You left me! Everyone leaves me, but you were supposed to be the one person to stay by my side,” his voice cracked. “You were supposed to be the one person who I could grow old with and what do you do?” he snarled, voice gaining back the rage. “You try to starve to death. Deprive us both. I’m not the fucking monster in this scenario, Claire. You are.”
We stood nose to nose. Him breathing hard. Me close to tears.
“No,” I shook my head. That couldn’t be true. “You’re lying.”
Suddenly power exploded off Lucas like a tangible thing. He roared, reared back, and slammed his fist into the tree behind me. I stared in shock as he pulled his arm back to reveal a hole clean through. A moment later, the tree cracked and fell apart as if split in half.
“You should learn to trust your mate,” he said coldly. Suddenly, the bond opened up. I gasped and fell to my knees as memories from our time apart flooded in.
Lucas licking Camilla’s wounds, saving her life with his saliva.
A perfectly healed Camilla sitting across from him, thanking him profusely.
The white corridor, pinned to the wall. Lacking the will to live. Wanting to die.
Vicks looming above. An ear slices away.
The mate bond closing him out, cutting him off.
A detonation of grief. The gaping wound in his chest, in his soul.
Cracking. Shattering. Breaking.
CLAIRE!!!
My eyes widened as I clutched my chest in horror. Had it really felt like that for him? I thought my detached numbness was bad…but this, this was awful. I’d destroyed him. It had sheared him down to his core. Only a skeleton frame kept the illusion of fleshed out skin in place.
At the same moment I realized what he’d gone though, Lucas stared at me in disbelief.
“You…you left to protect me?” A hint of awe and huskiness entered his voice.
I nodded mutely. There was no denying it, if I’d seen it from his perspective then he must’ve seen it from mine.
“But you were talking about breaking the bond even before the Hunters got involved.”
I’d thought by pushing him away, I was protecting him. Saving him from poison. From me.
Lucas shook his head as if he heard what I’d thought and disagreed with me.
You’re not poison, Claire.
“I’m—”
“You’re my mate,” Lucas whispered with reverence as he closed the distance. Suddenly, I was pressed against another tree with Lucas’ lips on mine.
A small sound escaped me before he swallowed it and dominated my mouth. He lifted me up by my ass and ground into me, sending a jolt of pleasure directly to my center.
I cried out, throwing my head back. Blue squiggles of energy shot out of my fingertips and raced across his back.
Lucas shuddered and took advantage of my lifted throat, laving decadent kisses from jawline to collarbone.
My hands went for his pants of their own volition, trying to liberate his erection. I needed it. Now.
Before I could finish unzipping his fly, he wrenched my hands above my head and held me captive.
I groaned and tried to draw him closer with my legs, but he wouldn’t budge.
“What are you doing?” I growled, desperate to have him inside me. To feed. But mostly just to reconnect. I’d convinced myself that he was a monster. That he was a liar. That he hurt Camilla. Now that I knew differently, I was tired of resisting the magnetic pull between us. I was tired of resisting my mate.
“I’m making sure you understand what you’re getting into,” Lucas growled against my throat, then nibbled his mark.
My core throbbed, desperate to feel him inside me. I blinked back confusion. What the hell was he talking about? Why wasn’t he inside me already? Ever since my succubus side woke up, I’ve craved him so deeply. I only had fragments of our first time, and the kitchen counter was forced upon us. Now it was time to do it right. To truly choose this.
“If I take you against this tree, you’ll be acknowledging me as your mate. I won’t let you out of my sight after that.”
I frowned, muddled with lust. That was a big commitment.
“Can we talk about this later?” I struggled against his grip and tried to peel down his pants with my toes.
Lucas was rock-hard and huge. He wanted me. I could feel it. Why wasn’t he acting on it? We’ve waited so long for this. I felt feverish and wanton. How could he stand to put a pause on this and talk?
I rolled my hips, seeking out that delicious friction. Lucas closed his eyes and groaned a little.
“Dammit, Claire,” he growled then set me down before stepping away. “You’re mine. Until you can accept and acknowledge that, this isn’t happening.”
I gaped at him.
“Are you serious?” I yelled. “You’re refusing to have sex with me?”
Lucas folded his arms. “Did I stutter?”
I ground my teeth. After all this time of resisting my urges… the one guy I did want to sleep with was basically telling me to sign a life-long blood oath to get his dick? I’d literally chosen to starve over cheating on him! Hell, guys threw themselves at me my entire life, and now the one time I offer it on a silver platter…
Well you know what? Game on.
I mirrored his pose by folding my arms. “Let’s go, I want to see how Camilla’s doing.”
Lucas narrowed his eyes. Probably trying to decipher my ominous mental message. “What are you planning?”
I shrugged. “I’m just playing your game. No sex, got it.” A dark little smile quirked my lips. “But are you really willing to let this succubus starve to death?”
A muscle in Lucas’ jaw twitched.
I began righting my clothes and fixing my hair with a sense of satisfaction.
Claire: one.
Lucas: zero.
“Let’s go,” he interrupted my inner gloating. “You can hitch a ride on my wolf to the Den.”
I frowned. “What, why?”
He shrugged, “It’s faster. I assume you don’t want to be stuck hiking
all night?”
I stepped closer, adopting a predatory attitude. He raised his eyebrows at my antics, but didn’t back down.
“You forget,” I leaned in and swiftly yanked his face to my level to steal a kiss…and more. I clamped my lips over his mouth and succubus-sucked him off. Lucas groaned and fell to his knees as I hovered over him, continuing to feed. Blue ardor transferred to me from our brutal kiss, just like I’d seen Gabe do for quick snacks. Lucas moaned as vitality filled me to the brim. Holy shit it was so much better in person and he had what felt like an unending supply of energy.
I pulled away, licking the delicious blue residue off my lips. “I’m no human.”
As my mate stared at me in shock and no small amount of lust, I leapt thirty feet up the mountain, and landed in a tree. I leaned out into the air with a tree branch firmly grasped as my anchor. “You coming?”
A wolfish grin slowly slid across his face. He stood and began to strip. “You know I’m going to get you back for that, right?”
I dashed to the next tree and called over my shoulder, “I’m counting on it, slowpoke!”
I screamed gleefully into the night air as I leapt off a giant boulder and bounced off trees like they were spring boards. I felt like a human pinball as I climbed elevation with each ping. Thankfully, visibility was high considering how large the moon was.
I stole a glance behind me to find a boxer-clad Lucas hot on my heels. I squealed in surprise at his proximity, my choked cry morphed into startled laughter as I tore up the forest like a Tasmanian devil. I was pretty sure I was kind of high off of the ardor as well, because I felt a little too giddy.
Just as I was getting confident with my foot strikes, my sole skidded off slippery tree moss. My eyes widened and my heart jumped in my throat as I realized I was about to crash into a pile of sharp rocks. I panicked. My mind blanked in fear as the ground came up to meet me.
Suddenly arms wrapped around my waist and my trajectory abruptly changed. I closed my eyes as wind ripped through my hair. Lucas felt warm and solid — for a moment it was nice… until we landed in a twisted pile of rolling limbs in a less rock-invested section of the forest floor. My eyes were clenched tight as I caught the breath that had been knocked out of me.
“You OK?” he asked with concern.
I peeked one eye open to find my beautiful man hovering over me with leaves in his hair. He looked dazzling… so I busted out in laughter. I just realized that was a lot more dramatic than it needed to be! All I had to do was send blue energy to my skin and harden it like a shell. Crisis averted.
And the leaves! He looked so serious, but his head was sprouting foliage! Not to mention the luminous eyes. He reminded me of that pretty butterfly princess filter in snapchat!
Lucas didn’t laugh but his eyes twinkled at my outburst, which made it even worse! Clearly, he had no idea how absurd the situation was, but every time I tried to explain it, I ended up emitting higher pitched peals. I clutched my stomach and shook, trying to remember to breathe.
Suddenly, I felt a very large warm, wet tongue licking me.
“Lucas!” I choked out, trying to bat away his massive muzzle. I wasn’t even sure how he managed to turn into a wolf above me without my notice. I just ended up choking on my laughter and his gross wolf saliva. “Ack! — slobbering! — Lucas, you crazy mutt!”
He nosed my collarbone and tickled me with his big, whooshing sniffs. Now it was his turn to chuff out a weird barking laugh at my expense. He must’ve seen the way I pictured him in my mind and made the connection. And got his wolfy revenge...
The giant creature sat back on his hind legs as he perked his ears up at me with eager anticipation. He looked like an adorable puppy. If puppies were black as pitch and bigger than trucks, that is.
I got to my feet and started brushing the dirt off. As I did this, Wolfy Lucas crouched his head to the ground, but lifted his hindquarters high in the air. His huge, fluffy tail whacked the surrounding trees. It kind of reminded me of a playful version of that downward dog pose in yoga.
I lifted my brows, “Oh, you wanna play?”
Wolfy Lucas snapped his teeth in an overly excited manner.
I leaned down, grabbed a stick and threw it with all my enhanced might, “Fetch!”
Wolfy Lucas’ head whipped in the direction of the projectile…but nothing happened.
“Fetch!” I repeated, but was met with amused wolf eyes.
I’d rather catch you. Lucas’ voice rang out in my head. He took a prowling step towards me, with a playful growl.
I put my hands on my hips. “Oh, no you don’t. I know better than to play chase with a feral. Wait Lucas—! Ugh!” I wiped off his nasty saliva. He just licked up my whole body and was about to do it again before I jumped back. “Fine!”
I turned around and started to stalk away.
Run, baby. He lightly nipped at my butt cheek. I’ll give you a head start.
I squeaked and rubbed my ass. Well shit, looks like I was about to play a game of chase with a mutated freak beast.
My new life was seriously weird, but I kind of liked it…
***
We ran all night and I had the biggest shit eating grin on my face. Plus, a sneaking suspicion we were taking the scenic route. And I really, really didn’t mind. Yes, I’d developed powers a while ago, but I’d never gotten the chance to take them for a test run. Literally.
I suppose the airport debacle counted, but it was less fun with bullets whizzing by my face.
Before that, I’d had to be careful about not using too much energy when it was a finite source. But now with Lucas here — and my inner succubus was very much aware of that fact — I was no longer in danger of starving.
It was a wonderful sensation, and to top it off, I felt carefree as I flew through the air, leaping from tree to tree. I let out a gleeful Tarzan bellow before forcing more blue sauce into my legs and hurling myself another thirty yards. I spotted Lucas’ dark form down below, weaving in between trees. Sometimes he circled me or took off ahead, only to double back for me. His antics were adorable. Wolfy Lucas was so excited I caught him chasing his tail and yipping out in delight. At one point, he even ran up the side of a cliff face and did a doggie back flip off of it.
It was incredibly bizarre to see such a massive beast behaving like an ecstatic puppy, but it flooded my chest with warmth.
God, I felt so alive with the wind in my hair and the strength in my limbs! I’d missed out on this feeling up until this point, and now that I was experiencing it, I wanted to bottle it up and take a hit of it every day.
Feeling on top of the world, I finally understood the appeal of being a Supe. I now knew why people were willing to die for this.
I laughed as I gripped a branch and did a swooping spin, treating it like a gymnast bar before using the momentum to launch me further in the air.
I didn’t even care that Lucas ditched me a couple minutes ago. Even though my speed and agility were enhanced under the influence of ardor, it was obvious I was no match for Lucas’ wolf. Not in a foot race.
I was content to follow at my own pace, but something niggled at the back of my neck. I landed in a crouch on a branch and looked around.
The forest had fallen silent. Eerily silent.
“Lucas?” I called out. The sky was starting to lighten up. If anything, the approaching dawn seemed creepier. The night was filled with fun, frolicking memories. The morning contained the unknown.
“Lucas?” I repeated.
No response.
I waited a moment more as uneasiness slithered into my gut. I suddenly felt vulnerable all alone in the woods. Especially since I didn’t know where I was supposed to be going.
“Luc—AHH!” I screamed as something tackled me to the side, knocking us both out of the tree.
My assailant and I flipped around midair. I blinked as my attacker landed on his feet, and I ended up caught bridal style in his arms.
“There you are, slowpoke.”
My brain finally made sense of the amused lip-biting grin and deep baritone. Oh, and the fact that he used my own insult against me. I screeched and slapped at him. “Lucas! You scared me!”
He barked out a laugh and squeezed me closer. He leaned in and inhaled my scent before whispering against my neck, “Maybe you shouldn’t be so easy to sneak up on.” He nibbled on my scar — his mark — and I shuddered. Pleasure rolled down to my toes and back.
I bit my lip and stifled a moan. My God, he felt good, and so warm and… my eyes widened. Naked. Very naked. I wanted to attack his muscular bare chest with love bites. My succubus side wanted a whole lot more than that.
He gave another soft kiss to my neck before whispering, “Maybe you shouldn’t be so easy to catch.”
“Maybe I wanted to be caught,” I whispered back.
His eyes bled a brighter beast gold at my words.
Feeling bold, I sent a tendril of blue sauce along his shoulders where I clung to him. The static electricity danced across his skin before sinking inside.
He closed his eyes and gritted his teeth, “Don’t tempt me, Claire.” He eyed me heatedly. “We both know my control is lacking where you’re concerned.”
“Good,” I whispered.
Lucas shook his head like he was clearing out the dirty thoughts. “Do you acknowledge me as your mate and promise to never leave me again?”
I pursed my lips. I didn’t have control over that. Not with the U.S. Hunters involved. I honestly didn’t know if I could keep that promise. And something told me that Lucas would never forgive me if I broke my word.
Believe it or not, I wanted him to respect me. Not think of me as a liar.
Lucas’ eyes hardened at my lack of response. His entire body stiffened as he lowered me to the ground.
“Things are… complicated,” I said to the ground, suddenly feeling small.
Our bond was absolutely silent. He was shielding like a motherfucker. The fact that he was trying so hard to keep me out of his head told me all I needed to know.
He exhaled. “It’s not complicated. You’re mine. I’m yours. End of story.”
I resisted the urge to roll my eyes. It wasn’t that simple and it never would be between us. Especially now that the government was hunting me down. Him too, since I’d burned his protection down.
The Hunter: A Sinful Supes Novel (Red Crescent Book 3) Page 11
