Cursing his pride’s goddess would do no good. Neither would running. Or fighting. Nothing would save Anton. He’d considered his situation all night and this morning.
Hell had found him. It was more beautiful than he’d ever imagined too.
Anton cut a quick glance at the female who’d delivered him to his fate. Nyx walked next to him on the path to the library with her head down. Her thick, shiny black hair obscured her features. He wanted to see them. Memorize her face. Explore her body.
Never let her go.
Anton curled his fingers. They tingled with the desire to touch his true mate’s soft skin. He could feel her jaguar reaching for him when he did. The phenomenon shouldn’t be possible without being tied together as mates through a soul bond. He couldn’t deny sharing the intimate connection without a bond, however. He’d felt the brush of her cat’s thick fur against his skin.
If he’d wanted, he could’ve drawn her cat’s soul to the surface, forcing a shift upon Nyx. The temptation to do so had been nearly impossible to resist. He wanted to know if Nyx’s jaguar was as elegant as the woman who housed the big cat.
He couldn’t find out. Not now, at least. For the moment, she didn’t realize they were true mates. That was a good thing. He didn’t trust Nyx with the knowledge of their connection.
“Molly.” Nyx glanced at him. “What happened to her?”
Anton scanned the woods around them. Although still several minutes from the main part of the campus, the trail they followed cut through common grounds. Many shifters valued the solitude they found in these woods. Even the most social of their kind needed a chance to shift and run alone.
No shifters moved through the woods now in either human or animal forms. His cats supplied him with the knowledge. They were close to his psyche. He hadn’t bothered trying to force them back into their mystical realm. After the encounter in his kitchen yesterday with Nyx, he understood it’d be impossible. His cats craved the comfort Nyx’s presence offered as much as he did.
For the first time in over a thousand years, he could breathe without the pressure of his cats trying to exert their will upon him. It was…freeing. He didn’t know how else to describe the sensation of peace. His mind was quiet. No images of what his cats wanted to do to their enemies. No growls and snarls as they fought among themselves. No constant driving urge to seek revenge for the weak.
Nyx had given him this, shown him what his future would be like if only he could tie their souls together for all time…if only he could trust Nyx with the fate of all shifters. And he would control it soon. A couple of weeks and an amendment to their laws were all that stood in his way of modernizing their archaic society. Nothing would stop him from doing so. Not even Nyx. A little girl’s life was on the line.
“Something horrible must’ve happened to her.” Nyx grabbed his sleeve, stopping him and urging him to look at her. “Didn’t it?”
Concern showed in Nyx’s brown eyes. His cats believed the emotion real. He did too. Her goodness had surrounded him when he’d shared air with her. His true mate held a pure soul. He didn’t doubt that. Her sincerity couldn’t sway him, though. Nyx had an ulterior motive for coming here. He still hadn’t figured it out.
“Why do you assume that?” Redirecting conversations always saved him from outright lying. He didn’t know if that’d be possible with Nyx. Better he not find out.
“Her eyes.” Nyx stepped closer to him and lowered her voice. “They remind me of an angel’s eyes.”
An assassin. That was what Nyx referred to. He’d met many angels of death over the years. He’d occasionally utilized their services too. Molly was no angel, though. At least not yet. He’d heard talk the angels wanted to take her under their wing. Nobody would suspect a child assassin. Especially a little girl who looked like a cherub.
“Molly does have pretty eyes. Her twin, Megan, has the same pale blue eyes. They’re adorable little girls.” Skirting the truth worked to avoid lies too. Anton would employ both strategies with Nyx.
“That’s not the kind of angel I’m talking about.”
He frowned. “What other kind is there?”
“You know what I mean.” Nyx made an annoyed sound. “An assassin’s eyes.”
“Assumptions are dangerous. Wars have started over them.”
Nyx gave him a little shove but didn’t let go of his sleeve. She gripped the material tighter. “Please. No lectures. Molly’s eyes haunt me. They’ve given me nightmares. I need to know what happened to her.”
Denying his true mate after she’d pleaded with him went against his primal drives. He couldn’t divulge private information, however. While many shifters suspected the truth, only a select few knew it. As a single shifter, Nyx couldn’t know Molly housed the spirit of the Royal Leon pride in addition to her lioness. Or that the little child who’d been born a mortal single shifter was now immortal and developing abilities even Royals didn’t possess.
At least no single shifter could learn the truth now. Females weren’t allowed to hold any position of power. Yet. Of course yet was the operative word.
Things were about to change.
“Molly has had a rough childhood.” Thankfully, the Leon spirit whom Molly had housed from birth shielded her from most of it, blocking the memories of the experiments conducted on her to test her immortality. “She’s safe now and in the care of my pride members.”
“A rough childhood?” Nyx’s eyes narrowed. “I had a rough childhood, but my eyes aren’t cold.”
Anton settled his hand on Nyx’s hip. The sudden alertness of his cats matched his heightened state. Nothing showed in Nyx’s demeanor to indicate she’d been abused. If anything, he’d guess she’d been treated as a princess. She carried herself as one. “What happened?”
Nyx frowned. “How would I know what happened to Molly? That’s why I’m asking you.”
“To you.” He brushed a few wayward wisps of hair from Nyx’s shoulders. The strands teasing her face tempted him too. He couldn’t risk touching her skin. She was the epitome of temptation, and he was a starving man. The morning he’d found her in his bedroom had nearly broken his control. “What happened to make your childhood rough?”
Grinning, Nyx shook her head. “I’m on to you, Anton Alexander. It won’t work.”
Heaven smiled at him. Anton traced the curve of Nyx’s mouth. Energy rushed through him. Need followed.
He tugged slightly on her bottom lip, wishing he could suck on her tender flesh. He wouldn’t be able to stop there. He’d end up with his fingers inside her. As much as he’d enjoy caressing her and making her hot, carrying the scent of her arousal in public wouldn’t be smart. It’d be hard to deny any involvement with her while he smelled of her desire.
Anton moved his fingers to her jaw. He was addicted to the tingling rush of awareness touching Nyx gave him. Simple caresses wouldn’t damn him. When you shared the same roof with someone, you ended up carrying their scent. It was harmless. “What won’t work?”
“Distracting me.” She gave him that look women wielded so well, warning him she wasn’t going to let him win. He’d have the choice of giving in or experiencing her wrath. “You’re putting the focus on me and trying to make me feel important so I won’t ask about Molly.”
“You are important.” Anton slid his fingers through the heavy mass of Nyx’s hair and cradled the back of her head. “I want to know why your childhood was rough.”
Desire slid into Nyx’s eyes, erasing the annoyed glare from moments ago. She might not understand their connection or what it meant, but she felt it. Craved it. So did he.
“I was treated as an adult from a very young age.” Nyx smirked. “I never got to be a kid.”
Anton bent close, burying his face in Nyx’s hair and breathing in her scent. Nyx exhaled shakily and rested her hand on his back. Her tentative touch quickened his pulse, leaving him on edge.
A thousand years, he’d waited for this woman. His primal side knew what he should do—claim what belonged
to him. Now. Before another male could steal his heaven. He didn’t want to waste time getting to know her or falling in love. He didn’t want to think about why he couldn’t. Or the danger she’d be in by loving him. Mates were easy targets.
He simply wanted Nyx sharing his soul, from now until the world ended.
His jaw ached as his modified feline fangs descended. He couldn’t have stopped the reaction if he tried. The primitive urges beating at him were powerful. If he wasn’t careful, he’d succumb to them.
Turning his head slightly, Anton skimmed his open mouth over her throat, letting the scrape of his distended fangs tease her skin. She’d already seen them. Likely, she understood the significance of their appearance. His instincts had been triggered. It’d be best for both of them if Nyx assumed lust brought them forth, not the soul-deep need to claim his true mate.
“You were raised as a dominant. It shows in your mannerisms. I’d argue that wasn’t a rough childhood. I’d say you got the upbringing you deserved.”
Nyx huffed. The feminine sound of annoyance brought a smile to his lips. “I never even got to play with anyone my age. I was an only child in a family of powerful men. The only female, Anton. And I was raised by Boris. He’s a force to be reckoned with, but he didn’t know what to do with a girl, so he dressed me demurely and kept me in the library, expecting me to read and stay out of trouble.”
“Did you?”
Nyx eased back enough to look into his face. Amusement brightened her eyes. “Depends on your definition of trouble. I didn’t break anything or run rampant through the house, but I did have a tendency to hide in the library and eavesdrop on Boris’s conversations.”
No doubt Boris had known she’d been listening. He wouldn’t have had a reason to force his animal deep as Anton had done. Boris’s jaguar would’ve easily alerted him to Nyx’s presence, ensuring she hadn’t heard anything she shouldn’t have. “So you’re an expert at sneaking into places you shouldn’t be.”
Nyx laughed. “I suppose, but obviously, I’m not any better at it than I was as a child.”
“Did he punish you for your spying?” Anton’s muscles tensed. If Boris had laid a finger on Nyx as punishment for her curiosity, Anton would have a problem. Attacking a Council member while on the campus grounds could earn him a suspension. Killing another councilman without legal grounds to do so would earn him a death sentence and damn everyone he’d ever fought for.
“Boris made a game out of flushing me from my hiding spots, then he made me sit and debate with him and whoever happened to be visiting him, no matter how late in the night they talked.”
Anton had already glimpsed hints of Nyx’s intelligence and cunning. Likely, he hadn’t seen Nyx at her best.
“Ah…yesterday morning was just another game, then. You wanted me to catch you. Now you want me to include you in my private affairs as your uncle had by telling you about Molly.” The accusation was a stretch. He’d never voice such a loose motive in Council chambers. If it prompted Nyx to tell him the real reason for her interest in Molly, he’d consider it a win.
“I’m not playing games.” The pleading tone in her voice matched the look in her eyes.
“Aren’t you?” Anton held his breath, waiting for Nyx’s response and praying she told the truth. If she could look him in the eye and lie, they had a long way to go before he ever told her about their connection.
Nyx glanced down. She licked her lips. The telltale signs of her anxiety betrayed her stance. She didn’t want to lie. The knowledge soothed him. Would she, though?
Dammit. He could sense the battle going on within Nyx. Whatever led her to him carried serious consequences. For her. He doubted it had anything to do with this male she was supposed to mate either. A man like Boris would use Nyx as a bargaining chip to secure his family’s future.
“Nyx.” He waited until she looked at him. “Are you playing games with me? Trying to see how much private information I’ll divulge?”
“Not about this.” Nyx gripped his shoulders and stood on her tiptoes. “What happened to put that cold look in Molly’s eyes? I need to know. So does my jaguar. We want to hunt down whoever hurt her. Then torture them. Make them beg for mercy. But we’ll have none. You understand? Only their death will appease us.”
Hearing her violent plans for those who’d experimented on Molly, turning the single shifter child into an immortal pride leader, satisfied him on a level he hadn’t expected. “You suffer from the curse of a dominant.”
Nyx leaned in. The scent of moonflower surrounded him. Tempted him. “Then don’t let me suffer with the nightmares. They’ll haunt my dreams again tonight. I know it. My mind will torment me with possibilities. I’ll go mad not knowing.”
Anton considered his choices. He couldn’t tell Nyx the truth. He also couldn’t let her suffer the unknown. For the first time in his life, he didn’t know what to say.
Nyx shoved away and turned her back on him. She gripped her biceps, hugging herself. “I shouldn’t have clicked on that email.”
“Why did you?”
“Curiosity. It stuck out, and I wanted to know…” Nyx’s words trailed off.
“You wanted to know what?”
“Who Molly was.” Nyx shrugged. “Why she was important to you. I figured she had to be. Why else would her name be in the subject line? If she was a case or something, her case number would be in the subject line. At least that’s how Boris’s emails are sent. Seeing a female’s name meant she was personal. I just hadn’t expected Molly to be a child.”
“Who did you expect her to be?”
“A lover, maybe.” Nyx laughed, but the sound didn’t convey amusement. Bitterness tainted it. “Honestly, I don’t know. I just had to find out why you saved that email. About a female. It was months old. And you’re not supposed to have close females in your life.”
Nyx might’ve blamed her curiosity, but the slight change in her scent spoke of another motivation. Jealousy had spurred Nyx. It had nothing to do with her spying on him. At least not in this instance.
He went to her and laid a hand on her shoulder. She glanced at him. The turmoil in her expression hurt to see. Her reaction toward him confused her. He didn’t need Nyx to tell him that. Her eyes acted as a gateway to her soul.
“I’m allowed to keep lovers.” As a Council member, he just couldn’t mate any of them, or else he risked dying with her when his enemies targeted his mate. And they would. There was no doubt in his mind. Killing a mate wasn’t against their Code of Conduct.
“But you don’t have lovers.” Nyx studied him intently. Her brows pulled together, and the jealousy twisting her scent grew stronger. “Or do you?”
He rested his free hand on her hip. Had Nyx been simply a secretary, he never would’ve touched her so boldly. Then again, had Nyx only been his secretary she wouldn’t be asking about his sex life. They’d be discussing work. Exclusively. That had been the extent of his conversations with Bianca.
“It’s been decades since a female has tempted me.” Anton slid his hand from her hip to her stomach. “But I think it’s soon time to give in to my hungers before they consume me.”
“Decades?” Nyx turned in his embrace. She laid her palms on his chest but didn’t push him away. The corner of her lip trembled as she obviously fought a smile. “Will you even know what to do with a woman once you get her naked?”
Images flashed before him. The things he wanted to do to Nyx tightened his body and left his chest aching. Anton couldn’t decide which fantasies appealed to him more—seeing a restrained Nyx shudder and moan as she came apart around his cock or feeling Nyx’s breath on his skin as she slept with her head pillowed on his chest.
Anton moved his hands to Nyx’s lower back and pulled her closer. Her eyes widened, likely from the feel of his hard dick pressed into her stomach. He enjoyed seeing the shocked look on her face. He couldn’t help but wonder if inexperience added to her widened eyes.
Although only twenty-five, most f
emales Nyx’s age would’ve slept with several men by now, maybe dozens. Maturing, especially for their women, left them crazed with their surging hormones and the drive to mate. They’d welcome any relief a man could give them. Most shifter males knew this and exploited their females. Anton couldn’t imagine Boris allowing Nyx to be taken advantage of that way, however.
Or at all. Some males would pay a lot for a virgin mate.
The delicate slope of Nyx’s shoulder drew Anton’s eye. His jaw ached as his fangs slid into place. If one of the other Council members caught a glimpse of his fangs or picked up on the slur to his voice, they’d suspect his connection to Nyx. Never before had he reacted to a woman in such an animalistic way. Good thing there wasn’t anyone close.
“All I have to do is allow my instincts to direct me.” He bent his head and brushed his lips from Nyx’s shoulder to her ear. “What about you, Nyx? Do you know what to do with a man? Or will you fumble with inexperience and disappoint him?”
“How dare you!” Nyx pushed against him. He eased back, despite the urges demanding he hold her close. She narrowed her eyes. “That’s none of your business.”
Anger burned in Nyx’s eyes. She wasn’t going to tell him anything else. He wanted to demand the truth or call her a hypocrite. She’d asked him about his ability to satisfy a lover. He was merely bouncing the question back on her. Doing so would extend this fight. He’d rather take the victory. By focusing on Nyx, he’d avoided sharing anything about Molly. That was a good thing.
Just the notion of lying to Nyx bothered him on an elemental level. Besides, she’d learn of his deception once he tied their souls together for all time. Actually, Nyx would know everything about him, including his lifelong hope that he never meet his true mate.
Chapter 7
The stone-faced man sitting across from Nyx hadn’t spoken a word to her in hours. Granted, the reserved atmosphere of the library didn’t encourage conversation, but the glower Anton had worn since they’d stepped foot in this building had to be forced. No man could look as pissed off and as cold as Anton did for this long.
Forbidden Mate: Shifter World: Royal-Kagan series book 8 Page 6
