Luminous

by Noelle Marie

  LUMINOUS

  BY NOELLE MARIE

  Copyright © 2016 by Noelle Marie

  All rights reserved.

  TABLE OF CONTENTS

  CHAPTER ONE

  CHAPTER TWO

  CHAPTER THREE

  CHAPTER FOUR

  CHAPTER FIVE

  CHAPTER SIX

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  CHAPTER NINE

  CHAPTER TEN

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

  CHAPTER NINETEEN

  CHAPTER TWENTY

  SNEAK PEEK

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  CHAPTER ONE

  Warmth.

  An overwhelming sort of heat that licked at her skin and burned her from the inside out. It caused little beads of perspiration to form on the back of her neck and wayward strands of hair to stick to her slick forehead.

  It had taken Katherine months to get used to the strange comfort that was waking up encased in the arms of a living, breathing furnace. Said furnace’s nose was currently buried in her hair, digging into her scalp as the scruff of his half-formed beard brushed along the sensitive skin of one of her shoulders. After tightening his arms around her in a single, light squeeze, however, he was pulling away.

  “Bastian...” Katherine whined.

  Waking up in Bastian’s arms had been comforting, anyway, until he’d started getting up at the crack of dawn.

  It’d been going on for weeks. Katherine forced her heavy eyelids open and confirmed the fact that not even the slightest hint of the sun’s yellow and orange rays were attempting to peek in through the bedroom window’s shuttered blinds.

  In a half-hearted attempt to keep Bastian from getting out of the massive bed they shared, Katherine turned and burrowed her head into the juncture of the man’s neck, her arms moving to wrap themselves around his torso. Or, at least as much of his muscled chest as she was able. “Stay,” she demanded petulantly, lips brushing against his hot skin as she spoke.

  “Katherine,” Bastian sighed, her name sounding strained as it left his mouth. Like they’d had this discussion before. They had. Pretty much every morning for the past handful of weeks. He gently carded his fingers through her hair. “The meeting...”

  “Please.”

  She didn’t even care how pathetic she sounded as the word escaped her mouth. She pressed her lips to his skin on purpose this time, nipping at his neck with her teeth. She smirked when she felt his stomach tighten, the hand running its fingers through her hair coming to an abrupt halt. She peered up at him defiantly, glinting green eyes connecting with intense blue. “Do you have to go?” she asked. “All you do is work.”

  Disappointment threatened to swallow her whole when instead of giving in to her admittedly underhanded tactics, Bastian just inhaled a lungful of air before slowly letting it out. He freed his hand from her hair. “You know I’d rather be here with you,” he pointed out reasonably.

  It didn’t seem that way to her.

  “As head alpha, there are duties I have to attend to; you know this,” he added softly, brushing a strand of hair still plastered to her sticky forehead behind one of her ears.

  Katherine fought the urge to bat his hand away. “What about your duties to me?” she said instead, blatantly challenging him. She purposely peeked her tongue out, licking her bottom lip with the tip as she stared him down.

  Bastian stiffened, and she watched with satisfaction as his eyes immediately zeroed in on the action, his pupils dilating until she didn’t know where they ended and his irises began. “Are you saying that I don’t... please you?” he asked, voice gravelly in his disbelief.

  Katherine pressed her lips together, mouth suddenly too dry to speak. She did, however, manage to shake her head back and forth.

  Bastian leaned in until his nose was mere inches from hers. “That’s not what you were saying last night,” he teased. “If I really wanted, I could have you on your belly again, moaning my name within seconds.”

  Katherine dared to inch forward, her fingers running up and down Bastian’s side as she leaned in far enough to whisper in his ear. “Prove it.”

  She pulled away, her eyes once again flickering upward to meet Bastian’s, but he was already moving. His mouth crashed onto hers just as green met blue.

  Katherine didn’t have time to bask in her victory before heady arousal overtook her senses. A fire burned in her belly as Bastian demanded entrance into her mouth, probing at the soft cavity with his tongue.

  As one hand held her head in place – like she was going to go anywhere anytime soon – the other grabbed at the bottom of the oversized t-shirt she was currently using as pajamas. The shirt was Bastian’s and hung to nearly her knees when she was standing, but Bastian had the material hitched up over her thighs in seconds.

  She wasn’t wearing anything under the shirt, and with nothing to get in his way, Bastian quickly found the heated juncture between her thighs. He palmed her there, ignoring her breathy moan into his mouth as he-

  Knock. Knock. Knock.

  Katherine nearly jumped out of her skin at the sudden, vigorous knocking on their bedroom door, and whatever arousal she’d been feeling shriveled away into nothing when the door opened a moment later to reveal Markus.

  He stood there, seemingly frozen in shock for a second before a lude grin spread across his face. He looked seconds away from outright laughter as he rested one of his shoulders against the doorway.

  Katherine could feel the beginnings of a growl vibrate in Bastian’s chest as the man all but sprang on top of her, covering her body with his despite the fact that she was still wearing his t-shirt.

  It was a little ridiculous, really, considering the general lack of privacy amongst the pack. They woke up stark naked next to each other once a month – nudity wasn’t exactly sacred.

  “Ever heard of knocking?” Bastian demanded tersely, apparently unwilling to move a muscle from his position as her human shield despite its inherent inanity.

  “I did,” Markus pointed out, unimpressed by Bastian’s sour mood judging by the way he raised both his eyebrows. No doubt he thought Bastian’s actions were as silly as Kathrine did.

  Bastian rolled his eyes. “Well, since you didn’t have the patience to wait for an answer to your knocking,” the “like a sensible person” was heavily implied, “kindly look away before I rid you of your eyesight altogether.”

  “Too late,” Markus retorted. “My retinas are already burning from what they’ve seen.” He obligingly turned around nonetheless. “Did you forget that the meeting was this morning or what?” he asked a moment later, all too eager to change the subject.

  Bastian adjusted himself, covering Katherine with a blanket before standing and beginning to get dressed. He met her gaze, eyes sparkling with mischief, as he pulled on a pair of pants. “Hardly,” he drawled.

  “Then what? You just enjoy making me wake up at the ass crack of dawn while you take your sweet, old time getting ready?”

  “How can he not when you’re so pleasant to deal with this time of day?” Katherine quipped.

  Markus didn’t swivel around to face her, but released an amused sounding snort as he continued to stare out into the dark hallway. “Same thing could be said about you, princess.”

  She childishly stuck out her tongue at his back.

  “Alright, I’m ready,” Bastian said, and Katherine redirected her attention back to him. He leaned over the bed, smoothing her hair back with a gentle hand. “Try to get some more sleep, okay?”

  Katherine folded her ar
ms across her chest, watching with irritated eyes as he crossed the room to meet Markus, who’d finally turned back around and was waiting for him.

  “Fine,” Katherine spat, gathering as much of the bed covers as she could in her arms before flopping around, turning her back on the two jackasses. Logically, she knew that she was acting like a spoiled brat, but she couldn’t bring herself to care.

  Especially when the soft sound of the door clicking shut behind Bastian reached her ears.

  Stupid, ridiculous tears gathered in her eyes, and she angrily blinked them away. She didn’t know what was wrong with her lately! Bastian’s presence had always invigorated her, but she’d never been so anxious about his absence before. In fact, lately all she wanted to do was be around the man and bask in his comforting presence.

  It was absurd.

  Katherine had always prided herself on being an independent person, so the downright clinginess she’d been displaying lately was probably more embarrassing for her than it was annoying for Bastian. The man didn’t seem inconvenienced at all, in fact, which only made it doubly frustrating.

  Closing her eyes as tightly shut as she could, Katherine attempted to force thoughts of Bastian from her mind, and obediently tried to sleep. No matter what way she arranged the blankets around herself, however, their warmth wasn’t the same as the heat that projected from Bastian’s body, and a half an hour of tossing and turning later, Katherine begrudgingly admitted defeat. Pulling back the layers of sheets and blankets she’d covered herself with, she got out of bed.

  After taking a moment to stretch her arms, she headed in the direction of the bathroom, intent on shedding her crummy mood with a nice, relaxing bath. Once she’d adjusted the faucets so that hot water was spurting into the tub, she pulled Bastian’s oversized t-shirt over her head and stepped into the giant whirlpool tub, turning on the jets and sinking into the steaming water. When the water was shoulder-level, she turned off the faucets and allowed the warm water to relax her tense muscles. She once again attempted to clear her mind.

  Unfortunately, such a task was easier said than done.

  In the quiet of the bathroom, Katherine couldn’t help but fixate on the strange changes that not only her mood had been suffering lately, but her body, as well. Mostly her stomach.

  While she’d never had quite the appetite that Bastian and Markus always showcased at meal times, lately her enthusiasm for food had been practically nonexistent. She had to force herself to eat at meals when she felt Sophie’s appraising gaze on the side of her head or spied Caleb’s concerned glances.

  Besides her increased amour with Bastian and her lack of appetite, apparently her natural scent was “off” as well. She smelled weird, basically. At least according to one member of the pack.

  “What are you doing?”

  Zane was sitting next to Katherine on the couch for their weekly study session. Bastian was adamant that although school may have been over for her, she continue to learn and take in as much information as she could about the werewolf society she found herself an important member of.

  And who better to teach her than the resident know-it-all, Zane?

  The man had positioned himself strangely close to her today, though. Instead of his usual perch on the other side of the sofa, the least touchy member of the pack was crowding her by sitting on the middle cushion, his leg pressed against hers and his nose all but poking into her shoulder as he breathed in as deeply as he could.

  Zane frowned, pulling away at Katherine’s question, but seemingly unconcerned about being called out for his odd behavior. “You smell funny,” he informed her bluntly.

  Katherine blinked. “Yes, because you always smell like a peach,” she sassed. “Not at all like a canine who regularly rolls around in his own filth. Oh wait...”

  Zane shrugged, rolling his eyes at the dog joke. “I didn’t say you smelled bad, just different.”

  Katherine attempted to discreetly lift her arm and sniff under the pit. It was an unsuccessful endeavor judging by the way Zane amusedly raised an eyebrow. Regardless, she didn’t smell anything inordinate, just faint traces of her usual deodorant and shampoo. “Well, I smell fine to me.”

  “Like I said, you don’t smell bad. Just different. Sweeter, I guess.” He rubbed the back of his neck in sudden discomfort.

  At Katherine’s raised brow, he continued. “Your scent isn’t as floral as usual, more citrusy or something. I don’t know, you smell... riper maybe?”

  “Riper?” she asked incredulously, feeling the telltale signs of heat creeping up her face.

  Zane huffed. “Yeah, I know, it’s weird. It draws me in and... makes me want to be closer to you.”

  At Katherine’s alarmed look, he cringed. “Jesus! Not like that. Just...” He leaned forward.

  The front doors’ hinges squeaked loudly as they were pushed open, and Zane jolted away from her.

  Caleb came strolling through them, arms laden with at least three or four bags of fresh produce from Haven Falls’ farmers’ market.

  Katherine hid a grin behind her hand at Zane’s reaction to the sudden noise. He’d clearly thought that it would be Bastian who came walking in through the door.

  Zane spotted the smile, and he scowled at the humor she found in the situation.

  “Here, let me help you with those,” Katherine said to Caleb, rising from the couch and shooting Zane one last amused look before leaving her pouting tutor and the subject of her change in scent behind her.

  That had been close to a week ago. And although Zane hadn’t brought up the strange change in her aroma again, the odd expression Bastian sometimes wore when he dug his nose into her hair made her think that maybe he – and the others – noticed it too.

  As peculiar as it was, that wasn’t the only odd development. And it wasn’t nearly as concerning as what else had happened – or rather, what had not happened.

  Katherine had been looking forward to the group hunt for weeks. Besides the animals she would sometimes chase down during the full moon, she’d only been out hunting once before. It was with Bastian, but it’d only been for practice, and all they’d tracked were small animals: rabbits and squirrels. Two days ago was supposed to have been her first time out hunting with the entire pack.

  “Eager, are we?”

  Katherine rolled her eyes at Markus’s special brand of teasing, but didn’t bother to deny it. How could she when her body was practically thrumming in suppressed excitement?

  She’d been positively giddy since Bastian had announced the day before that the town butcher was running low on meat and that they’d be going on a group hunt in an effort to down some large game per his request. She could already feel the rush of endorphins, the explosion of adrenaline running through her veins as she chased her imagined prey. She could sense the power encased in her limbs as they moved in sync beneath her, could envision her teeth sinking into the jugular of some unsuspecting deer. Maybe even a moose.

  Katherine wasn’t one to take pleasure in killing things, but the excitement of the hunt was something that catered to her wolf’s baser instincts. Besides, they weren’t just killing animals for the sake of killing them. They filleted every last scrap of meat from the ones they downed, and they used said meat to sustain the pack – or the entire colony in this instance, if most of the meat was going to be sent off to Haven Falls’ butcher.

  At the moment, she and the rest of the pack were gathered outside of the Prince house. They were in the backyard near the tree line of the surrounding forest and moments away from transforming and beginning the hunt.

  “Remember, no one give chase without my express permission,” Bastian spoke, forcing Katherine to concentrate on his words instead of the overwhelming anticipation building in her belly. “It’s best to have our prey completely surrounded before anyone lunges. Caleb and Sophie, I want you to latch onto and immobilize the legs while they rest of us aim for the neck and upper torso.” He turned towards her. “Katherine, I need you to stay wi
th me for the most part. Try to copy my movements when the time comes to attack, okay?”

  Katherine was a little annoyed, but understood that her cooperation was needed for the success of the hunt so she just nodded.

  “Well, what are we waiting for?” Markus asked a moment later. The man showcased his own eagerness to get on with it when without further ado, he stripped down to his boxer shorts before shifting, his body morphing into that of a wolf’s. He raised his snout high into the air and released an excited howl.

  Zane, Sophie, and Caleb followed suit.

  Attempting to force away the sudden onset of jitters that threatened to overtake her, Katherine closed her eyes and inhaled a lungful of oxygen before slowly releasing it. When she opened her eyes again, Bastian was in front of her, his face mere inches from hers. “You can do this,” he murmured encouragingly before stepping forward and nuzzling his stubbled cheek against her smooth one. After bestowing a quick kiss to the tip of her nose, he tugged off his clothes and transformed.

  “You can do this,” Katherine repeated the words to herself before stripping down to her underwear. She closed her eyes again, this time urging her inner wolf to surface and for her body to shift. After a handful of seconds had ticked by and nothing happened – not even the slightest twinge in her spine – something disconcerting twisted in Katherine’s gut.

  She squeezed her eyes even more tightly shut, clenching her hands into fists until the dull edges of her fingernails were digging into her palms.

  But still nothing happened.

  It was like she couldn’t access a part of herself – the wolf part. One minute passed, then two.

  She opened her eyes, taking in the group of wolves who were staring at her in confusion. “I d-don’t,” she stuttered, choking on the words. “I mean-”

  Bastian wasted no time transforming back into his human form. Ignoring his nudity altogether – not that Katherine was complaining, even if she wasn’t in the right frame of mind to really appreciate it – he stepped into her space, placing his hands on her bare shoulders. “What’s wrong?” he demanded, a worried frown tugging at his mouth.