Ruined

by Rena Grace

  The Lunar Mage Chronicles

  Ruined

  Rena Grace

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  Published by Rena Grace at Smashwords

  Copyright 2014

  ~

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  Ruined

  Saribella had been listening to the howling every night for weeks now. The sound was so familiar it was almost a comfort to her, even though she knew it would mean another life lost. The werewolves always found their mark. Yet, tonight was different, it was laced with hope, for her parents as well as the village elders had found their salvation. His name was Roderick Grey and he was a werewolf hunter.

  She watched from her chamber, high in the stone fortress that she called home. The castle's high stonewalls kept the werewolves out, keeping their people safe. She was wrapped in blankets, the cold air slipping in through the narrow slit that served as a window, as she waited for their savior to ride through the gates. Her breath caught in her chest when she finally saw him, the moon casting light on a hooded man riding up the rampart on horseback, stiff and erect in the saddle.

  Despite the fact that he was covered in a thick, hooded leather jerkin, she could still make out his well-defined muscles, but it was more than his physique that made her breath catch. She had seen this man in her dreams. As if he knew she was there, he suddenly looked up toward her window and seemed to lock his gaze with hers. That was impossible, she knew he could not possibly be staring up at her. No man's sight was that sharp, and the window slit was simply too small. Still, she felt a thrill go through her, chilling her skin. Go to him her soul seemed to whisper to her.

  She stood quickly, dumping the blankets to the seat in front of the window, trading them for her heavy cloak. She exited her room, hurrying down the hallway, so she could join her parents in greeting him.

  Her parents and three sisters were waiting for her in the great hall, along with half the village. She pushed her way through the crowd, making her way to the side of her youngest sister, Anna. Her father scowled at her, frustrated with her lateness, but he was sooon distracted by the guards opening the front doors. As everyone’s attention turned toward the front Anna leaned in and whispered in Saribella’s ear, “Sari, why are you so late? Nearly the entire village has shown up to see this mysterious Grey."

  Saribella attempted to keep her voice from quivering in her excitement. “I was watching from my window. Anna, it's him. The man from my dreams."

  Her little sister turned to her in surprise and asked, "How can you possibly be sure that this Grey is the one from your dreams?"

  Saribella shook her head and was about to answer when she caught sight of him. Her body started to hum, and again she seemed to hear Go to him. He had an affect on her that she could not explain, a pull that was almost magical, and she felt a flush creep up from her chest to her cheeks as she remembered her dreams. He walked down the center, two guards trailing behind him as he approached the Lord and the Lady of the castle, the village elders behind them. Saribella gripped her hands behind her, her fingernails biting into her palm, trying to keep herself focused, anything to distract herself from the dreams.

  He was tall, his cloak doing little to hide his broad shoulders and chest. He strode through the villagers, the guards following behind him as he approached the castle's Lord and the Lady.

  Her father gave a short bow and said in a loud voice, “Welcome to Castle Greenley, Master Roderick Grey. We are eternally grateful for your presence here tonight.”

  Grey inclined his head, only a slight beard on a chiseled chin visible from beneath his hood. “I only hope I can help. I was informed you have a werewolf problem.”

  “We do, a very serious problem,” Saribella's father sighed. “For nearly a month now. The moon seems to hold no power over them. A short time ago, a group of strangers came to our village, demanding we hand over our mage and if we did they would leave us be."

  Grey’s eyes slipped to Saribella at the word mage, but he quickly returned them to Lord Greenley. “Did you give them the mage?”

  It was Saribella’s mother who spoke as she spread her hands in a helpless gesture. “We have no mage here. There has not been one in our village for nearly a century.”

  Then they did not know. Grey masked the surprise he felt. They did not know that the girl standing behind them was their mage. He wondered if even she knew. He nodded in response. “I’ve been tracking this pack for a year now. They are seeking the blood of a specific mage. It is said that this mage’s blood has the power to lift the curse upon them. They are forced to undergo the torment of changing every night; save for the night the moon is missing from the sky. They have no power over their turning. This mage could undo that."

  “But we have no mage here,” Lady Greenley insisted.

  “Perhaps you do not know she is here. I will begin my search tomorrow for the mage, so I can protect her, and for the werewolves so I can put an end to these needless deaths.”

  “She. The mage is a she,” Saribella asked, unable to stop herself, torn by the idea that he would seek out another woman. She felt ridiculous at even thinking it, but her soul continued to whisper Mine. Finally, mine. Go to him.

  Lord Greenley stifled a sigh as he put his arm around her shoulders. “Master Grey, this is Saribella, our eldest daughter.”

  Grey reached for her hand, and she gave it to him. He brushed his lips across the back of her soft skin and she breathed a sigh of relief. “It is an honor to meet you, Lady Saribella.” He stood, but never took his eyes off of her. “Yes, the mage is a woman. I can sense her.”

  Grey smiled at the flash of jealously that he saw in her eyes as he dropped her hand.

  Lady Greenley turned to the hall. "The hour is late and Master Grey needs to rest before he begins his duty tomorrow. Please, return to your homes, sleep well, and take comfort in knowing that this tragedy will soon be behind us." As the villagers dispersed and her husband ushered away her younger daughters, Lady Greenley bowed to Grey. “The servants will show you to your room, Master Grey.”

  "Thank you for your hospitality, Lady Greenley." His eyes darted to Saribella, making her heart skip a beat. When the servants came to collect Grey, Lady Greenley turned to Saribella. “And you, my darling, you need your rest. You have your fitting tomorrow.”

  Saribella glanced back over her shoulder at Grey as her mother guided her away. When he disappeared from sight she turned back to her mother. “Please, do not make me marry Thomas. He may as well be my brother.”

  “Then would it really be so terrible? To spend the rest of your life with your best friend? This is a good match, Sari, dear. You will go through with it.”

  "I do not want—"

  "This is not about what you want." Lady Greenley laid a hand on Saribella’s shoulder, stopping her before they reached the hallway. "Thomas is from a highly respected family. You have grown up with him and have known him your entire life. This wedding will happen. It is time you made peace with that."

  Saribella’s response was silence as her mother led her back to her chamber. Once they had reached her door, her mother gave her a peck on the cheek.

  “Rest well tonight, Sari. Our salvation from the werewolves has come.”

  Salvation. He could be my salvation. He could save me from this marriage. The idea was a dangerous one, but it was all she could think about as she entered her chamber after her m
other had left. What if he would ruin her, take her virginity and make her unsuitable for marriage? They could not force her to marry Thomas then. She let her maid help her out of her dress and into her bed. She let the woman think she was asleep and once the woman had left, Saribella slipped out of bed. She put her cloak on over her chemise and went to her door. Before she could grasp the handle, it opened. She stifled a cry as her best friend tumbled in, quickly shutting the door behind him.

  "Thomas, what are you doing here?"

  "I wanted to see you." He straightened and turned towards her. He was tall, though not nearly as tall as Grey. His hair was nearly black and his eyes were the deepest blue. Even though he was quite handsome, Saribella could only see him as her friend. “What do you think, do you think Master Grey can save us?”

  She just stared at her friend for a moment. Studying his face. He had been her constant companion for so long she could not imagine her life without him, and yet she could not see her future with him. They did not belong together, this much she knew. Thomas would never really understand the depth of her words when she whispered, “I hope so.”

  He crossed the room to her, taking her hands in his, misunderstanding the emotion behind her words. “Do not worry, Sari. This Master Grey will bring peace. He will defeat the werewolves. He will protect us.”

  She smiled tightly at him. “I know. He will be our salvation.”

  “You look tired. You should get some rest.” Thomas kissed her on the forehead, such a tender and brotherly thing to do that Saribella almost cried. A union between them would mean the end of such ease. It would change things, of that she was sure.

  “I think you are right.” She grinned then. “And besides you just want to go off and see Beth before you retire to your chambers.”

  His grin, which should have been shy, was roguish. “You know me well, Sari. Get some rest.”

  “Give Beth my love.”

  Thomas just shook his head, and headed for the door. “Good night, Saribella.”

  “Good night, Thomas.”

  After he had left she waited a few moments, mostly to give Thomas time to disappear down the hall, but also to gather her courage. Her talk with Thomas just now, had only cemented her need to get out of this marriage. Once she felt ready, she went to her door and then crept away from her chamber.

  She hurried down the corridor, already knowing which of the guest suites had been arranged for him, as she had overseen the task herself. She knocked on his door, no longer thinking, simply acting on her deepest desires.

  He opened the door and she rushed in, shutting it behind her and then leaning against it, hoping her nerves did not show on her face. She looked up at him and he was no longer wearing his hooded jerkin. In the light from the fire burning in the hearth she could see he had light brown hair and he was taller than her by far. She tried not to sound breathless when she whispered, “I need your help.”

  He opened the door and she rushed in, shutting the door behind her and then leaning against it hoping her nerves did not show. She looked up at him. In the light from the burning fire in the hearth she could see he was taller than her. She tried not to sound breathless when she whispered, “I need your help.”

  He reached for the bow already by his door, ready to face whatever crisis awaited him. “The werewolves?”

  She shook her head and cut him off. “No, not the werewolves.”

  He set the bow down, eyeing her wearily but still wanting to help her. “Then what?”

  She took a deep breath, briefly closing her eyes, before she opened them to meet his startling blue ones. “I need you to ruin me.”

  “Ruin you?” Grey asked, not quite understanding. He was distracted enough by her mere presence, he could almost taste the magic coming from her. He had felt her as soon as he had neared the village, felt her power. Then when he had entered the castle gates, he had seen her face up in the window, his own magic giving him the sight. He had not expected her to be so beautiful, and he had not been expecting her to be standing in the great hall in front of him. He had hardly been able to focus while talking to her parents when his own need had been crying out to him.

  She nodded and took a step forward, allowing her cloak to fall off her shoulders to reveal her chemise. The shear fabric left no question as to what she wanted. “Ruin me, Grey.”

  He inhaled sharply, and Saribella could not help but see that his pants tightened with excitement, yet he stayed still. “And why would I do that?”

  “Because I need you. I need you, Roderick Grey, to save me.”

  If only you knew how right you are, Grey thought, but he was still sure that she did not yet know about the magic running through her veins. The magic that had drawn him to her in the first place. “Save you from what?”

  “From marriage.”

  His eyebrows shot up, confusion sweeping across his face. “From marriage?”

  She started to untie her chemise, and gave him what she hoped was a sultry smile. “Are you going to repeat everything I say or are you going to help me?”

  “Oh, I will certainly help you,” the huskiness of his voice made her tremble. “But first, I want to know why.”

  “I am being forced against my will to marry my best friend, but we do not love each other in that way. He loves another. Yet our parents will not listen to us and they are making us marry in a fortnight.”

  “Can marrying your best friend be that bad?”

  “Would you want to marry your sister, to be forced to lay with her? For that is what it would be like for him and me. He is like a brother to me.”

  Grey shook his head. “Nay, I would not, but you seek to loose your virginity, to make them end the marriage.” She nodded and stepped forward as he continued, “But you will ruin yourself for all marriage.”

  She shrugged. “I never wanted marriage with anyone, I have sisters they can marry off.” She did not add that ever since she had first seen him, she knew that this was suppose to happen, that she was supposed to be with him. She had dreamt about him for so long that she almost could not remember what a night without him was like.

  “Then I am at your service.”

  Saribella’s knees weakened at his words and she was glad when Grey closed the distance between them and took her into his arms. He bent his head and captured her lower lip with his mouth. He took his time, kissing first the lower lip and then the upper, slowly, tantalizing, until he felt her melt against him.

  He pushed the chemise off her shoulders letting it fall to the ground, and she gasped when the cool air hit her bare skin. Suddenly she did not want to be the only one naked. She started tugging on his shirt, pulling the black fabric out of his pants and he helped her remove it. For a moment she stared at his bare chest, his stomach muscles tight and hard. The secret place between her legs moistened as her bare breasts collided with his warm flesh, and she fought the urge to groan.

  Grey picked her up, and she wrapped her long slender legs around his waist and it was Grey’s turn to groan as her dampness pressed against his swollen member. He carried her over to his bed and laid her down, placing a knee between her legs, forcing them apart. He then put a hand to either side of her face, careful not to capture her dark hair that was now spread across the pillow.

  He moved his lips down her jaw line, then down her neck, slowly working his way to her tightening nipples. He kissed around the pink flesh, first one breast and then the other, teasing her, until finally he took the left one into his mouth. She arched against him involuntarily, moaning as she experienced the sensation for the first time, the feel of his hot mouth on her cool skin causing her to bite at her lip in an attempt to control the fever in her veins. The sensation was so intense she tried to push him away as heat rushed between her legs and she whimpered as he moved to her other nipple. “Oh, Grey.”

  He took one of her hands in his and then placed it between her legs. “Show me what you like, Saribella. Show me what pleases you.”

  Her eyes f
lew open and she tried to pull her hand back. “I could not.”

  He smiled gently at her, kissing her lightly on the lips and then staring into her hazel eyes. “You can and you will. Have you never touched yourself before?” When she shook her head he said, “How can I please you, if you do not know how to please yourself? Here, I will show you.”

  He took her hand and placed it once more between her legs and quickly found her warm, wet center. He pressed her finger there before guiding it up through the wetness and then up over her folds, never letting her fingers pass into them, forcing her to tease herself. Her head fell back onto the pillows and she moaned.

  Grey shifted to his side, while still keeping his knee between her legs. With one hand he helped guide her fingers and with the other he cupped her breast, rubbing his thumb across her hardened nipple. He pulled his hand away from hers, keeping the other on her breast. "Keep moving your fingers, Saribella. Learn how to pleasure yourself.”

  His words empowering her, she moved her hand back to that damp warmth reveling in the pleasure as she pressed against her opening. Yet when it started to give away she pulled her finger away in surprise, only to drag it deeper between her folds, her finger slipping easily as her wetness spread.

  She moaned again and Grey whispered, “That's it. Show me what pleasures you.”

  As Saribella repeated the gesture, Grey stood up from the bed. She lifted her head when the bed shifted from the loss of his weight and she started to say something, but he quieted her. “Shh, Saribella. I am not going anywhere. I only want to watch.” He slid his pants down his hips, his swollen member springing free, fully erect. “I want to be ready for you.”

  Saribella’s eyes widened at the size of his manhood pulsing at her. Fear and excitement coursed through her at the idea that this giant, throbbing form would soon be inside her. In her excitement she moved her finger back and forth between her folds, the pleasure causing her head to fall back. For the moment she forgot about him and could only focus on the moist heat between her legs.