by Elle Lincoln
“Most of our kind don’t play well with other species since we are the ones policing them. Usually, we are guarding humans from vampires needing donors and killing the victim, or mages tripping the system and taking too much power. They don’t all appreciate what we do. A lycan with a taste for blood is rare.” Athos’s words feel almost dismissive, and yet he sounds so sure of himself.
If I’ve learned anything, however, it is the power and the certainty of chaos. It exists just as surely as order and strives to keep the world on its toes. “Are they crazy?” I’m referring to the lycans who consume blood. I’m still not convinced that there isn’t more than one. Call it a gut instinct. But we drove here and the forest is still quiet. No way a lycan can run that fast.
“It taints their minds.”
“Like we said, Damsel, it becomes an addiction. Mortals seek out drugs, a need to find that pleasure even for the briefest of moments. Then they seek it out again and again. Losing themselves in the process. Tell me, how many people do you know who come back from an addiction like that?” Christian challenges.
“Some.” I refuse to believe that this is something that a lycan cannot come back from. It just seems so final. “You just kill them?”
“There’s nothing else we can do for them,” Nix says softly, but his eyes dart elsewhere and his lips are pinched.
“Did you tell them we were coming?” I gesture to the hall where I’m sure the rest of the pack is.
“No,” Athos hedges, his eyes not quite meeting mine.
He’s hiding something, or perhaps he suspects someone here knows something.
I leave it at that, our footsteps quiet as they crunch up the gravel parking lot and toward the building looming before us. Liam reaches out his hand, softly brushing my own in comfort. Heaving out a sigh, I throw my shoulders back and follow Athos, who opens the door and steps inside.
I enter behind him into a mess hall. The scents of fresh food make my stomach grumble while chatter fills the air. Their laughter spills out around us, telling me they didn’t use the pack link to inform the other wolves.
The door slams behind us, and I step up beside Athos as the babble disappears and forks clatter onto plates. Eyes fall to me, so many of them full of hope amongst what must be about fifty wolves. Most of them are older, some younger, but it’s that look of hope that makes my insides shrivel. Hope not just for a mate in me, but a mate in another woman. I didn’t just change their fate by coming to Lunar Mile. I altered their perspective that out there, beyond this forest, a woman exists for them.
That alone makes my heart ache for them. But a chilling thought creeps its way into my mind. What happened to the women who birthed these men?
Athos steals my thoughts as his voice thunders over the hall. “There’s been a breach.”
Chapter 21
Silence envelops the mess hall, the calm before the storm. All at once the wolves stand and a flurry of action takes place. Like a well-oiled machine, each wolf functions as a cog as they flutter about, not once floundering as their feet pound the floor.
Athos wraps his hand in mine, steering me to the side just as the men undress and head out of the hall. Behind me, heat creeps up my spine as a body presses against mine, hands drape across my eyes, and a palm slides across my stomach.
Soft lips press against my neck before the heat of a breath flutters across my skin. “No looking, Damsel.”
I pout. “I’m not dead, Knight.” I press back into him as thundering footsteps race out of the hall.
His growl rumbles up my back before sinking into my bones. “You’ve four males to keep your eyes set on.” He pulls away. My eyes adjust to the light as spots dance in my vision, and my body damn near tumbles back seeking his warmth.
With a smirk, Athos leads me to the kitchen. “Eat what you want. Nix will stay here with you.”
“What happened to your two male rule?” I’m joking, but he stops in his tracks with a frown on his rugged face.
“You’re right.”
“Dakota can stay with them,” Liam pipes up.
“Good call.” Athos undresses, his eyes darting to the windows, the doors, and every other entry point. “Each of these doors is on a timed lock. Once we begin the hunt, they will lock you in here. It’s to keep you safe in a space with the most resources.” He tosses his shirt to the table.
I lean around the other guys who are all in various stages of undress, except for Nix, to see a mound of clothing at the door. “Ew.”
“Damsel, there are only men here, what did you expect?” He tosses his shirt at me which slides down my face.
“It’s a den of bachelors.” I frown as he hooks his thumbs into his sweats, slowly dragging them down his hips.
“Keep looking at me like that, Damsel, and I’ll bend you over the table and fuck you right here.” His stomach ripples in anticipation.
Heat rushes to my cheeks, and I look away as his laughter wraps around me. Even that teases me and curls my toes. Damn him. Before I can get too consumed by my embarrassment, I turn back to him with a flirty smile on my face. “Knight, it’s a pity you probably wouldn’t last long.” My eyes flicker to his crotch where his dick twitches. “I need a man with stamina to keep me satisfied.”
“Damsel,” he purrs, not appearing affronted in the least. His eyes gleam, and a crooked smile curves his lips. “Baby, you’ve got four mates.” He steps into my space, his heat flaring to engulf me. “You can’t keep up with us.”
He is not wrong.
“Enough.” Athos breaks the tension as he toes off his shoes. “No one in or out.” He points to a hall. “That door leads to the shelter below if they breach the walls.”
“You have a bomb shelter beneath your mess hall?” I can’t hide the surprise in my voice.
“Fully stocked too!” Liam chirps, and I glance at him only to find him completely naked.
Nope. I look up. There is a crisis. That thought alone douses my libido with ice water. “All right.” My monotone voice echoes around us as the threat outside reminds me of why I’m here.
“After we destroy the mutt, we will celebrate, Doll.” Liam leans in, stealing a kiss. His lips brush mine so gently, so softly, that I’m momentarily stunned by their presence. Then, just as quickly, he backs away, skipping toward the door.
I shake my head at him and his laughter that follows him out of the hall. “All right. Food. Supplies. How long will this take?” I already feel antsy about being locked in.
“As long as the hunt takes, little cub.” Athos leans in, brushing his lips against my cheek before he, too, heads away. My cheek tingles where he kissed me, creating a trail that trickles down to my heart.
I turn to Christian who just stands there staring at me like he isn’t quite sure what to do or how to react. Finally, with a roll of his eyes, he stomps over to me. His hands snap out and crush me against him as they wrap around my neck, then his lips fall on mine with a ferocity he doesn’t try to restrain. His tongue dives into my mouth with aggression and passion that sets my entire body alight. My lips move over his, taking as much as he gives. A moan slips free from my throat, and that’s when the asshole bites down on my lips before pulling back with a smirk on his face.
“Oh no. That kiss could set even me on fire!” A whistle splits the room, stealing my attention to a man who just walked in. Leaner than my guys, but still just as gorgeous, he strolls into the room just as Christian leaves, not once glancing back at me. “Darling, I’m Dakota, and you must be the mate shaking up our little den of misfits.”
He takes another step toward me as the door crashes closed. With it, the sound of locks clicking echoes all around us. The finality in the sound sends a chill of warning up my spine.
Beside me, Nix growls as Dakota takes another step closer. As he nears, Nix steps in front of me, making Dakota laugh.
“Relax, Phoenix, I’m not here for your girl, though I wouldn’t say no to Christian.” His piercing blue eyes flash over to where Chri
stian was, the blue flickering in a way that I would feel jealous over if I wasn’t so amused that he got a solid rise out of Nix.
I step around Nix, but his arm shoots out to keep me back. It’s cute really, but unnecessary, until I realize he’s probably worried about me adding another mate to my collection. “Nix.” I place my palm on his arm, slowly lowering it so I can gaze up at his stoic expression. “Each of those guys in here held my gaze. I think I’m at max mate capacity.”
Finally, his shoulders lower, and he expels a breath. “I apologize.”
“He’s sorry. Now can I get a look at you?” Dakota jokes, earning another growl from Nix.
I spin, grabbing Nix’s hands and wrapping them around my body. His arms tighten, feeling more right than anything I’ve ever felt before. We fold into each other as I finally get a look at Dakota.
Tall and lean, and shorter than the others but not by much, he stands before us with a pretty boy smile. He’s so similar to Liam with that mischievous, playful smirk, I can’t help but wonder if they grew up together. It wouldn’t surprise me. Brown hair wisps around his face with shaved sides. A coating of stubble graces his jaw as dimples peek through.
He sighs dramatically. “You are a beauty. Now come, let’s eat. I’m sure they’ve starved you and there is probably some chow left.” He saunters away, wearing those pair of sweats they all seem to own. Ones I’m sure they buy in bulk. His white shirt shows the hint of a tattoo down his spine.
A tattoo they all have. I turn in Nix’s arms, darting around his back when he lets me go. My cool fingers brush along his skin, and goosebumps erupt along his flesh as he holds his body still. His muscles taut as my fingers brush over his lower back.
I talk, because if I don’t, I will drag him down to me and have my wicked way with him. “Each of you has a series of tattoos down your spine.” I push his shirt up as my fingers brush along the black design. Yet it doesn’t look like a tattoo that a parlor would ink on the skin.
This holds a quality to it I just can’t place. It has a glimmer of iridescent color just beneath the surface. Not a true black, but a black where all the colors of the rainbow flicker at different moments the longer I look. Yet it’s more than just that, so much more. Power flickers in the symbols, alive as it pulses beneath my fingers.
“Those are our goddess marks, sweet cheeks,” Dakota calls from the kitchen, as he rolls up the divider at the counter that separates the two rooms.
“Goddess marks.” I frown. If I’m goddess blessed, does that mean I also have a mark? It’s not like I looked at my moles in that way. Hell, I only ever looked at them to check for melanoma.
Nix turns in my arms, grabbing my hands with a smile on his bearded face. “It’s our blessing from Selene, signifying who we are.”
“Do you all have the same symbols?” I lean into him, letting his body crowd mine pleasantly.
“Mostly.” His fingers trail along my jawline, teasing the nerves there. “Their meaning became lost over the years as the gods left, taking with them the power of the language.”
“Yep. The fewer gods humans worshipped,” Dakota explains, “the less power became infused into the language. Making us forget the power in the words.”
“You can’t just use the internet and look up the meaning?” I frown because I could easily pop those into a translator.
“You’d get a rudimentary translation. The language of the gods is not equal to the language of man. What you see as Greek or Sumerian isn’t just a spoken language. It’s more than that. Power lies in each delicate line.” Dakota sighs wistfully, as though he’s imagining something so much more than just lines on a body, like pieces of the gods themselves. He claps, startling me. “Now, who wants drinks?”
“Dakota, now is not the time to drink.” Nix smiles down at me, even as he scolds Dakota. “Are you hungry?”
I sigh, his voice washing through me. Yeah, I’m hungry for him to keep talking. Of all the guys, Nix, though quiet, has the voice of an angel—or a demon depending on perception. It’s like thunder on a spring morning during a thunderstorm. Powerful and mysterious. Like dark chocolate that makes me crave more and more. I want him to keep talking. To talk to me about fantasies unimagined.
“What’s that face for?” His fingers drift to my ear with featherlight touches as they glide over the nerves of my ears and down to my neck. Though reserved and hesitant, that initial touch was like a dam breaking, a significant piece of permission he needed from me, and now he can’t stop touching me. “What are you thinking?”
I love that he asks, that he doesn’t demand answers from me, but he’s willing to give as good as he takes, even as the need to know shadows his eyes. “Your voice. I love to hear you talk.”
His lips tick up into a crooked smile as a blush works its way up his face. “You like to hear me talk?”
“Don’t we all, you sexy beast of a man,” Dakota jokes from the kitchen, before chomping his teeth down with a clack. Yet the lust he showed for Christian is missing when he looks at Nix.
I roll my lips in to suppress a smile and stick my tongue to my cheek to keep from talking. With the spell broken, Nix guides me to the counter where Dakota stands.
“Don’t you have your own wolf to ogle?” In front of him are three drinks, and all of them appear to be those fruity ones that leave not just a hangover, but a sugar hangover that threatens to kill the liver. Little umbrellas peek out of them alongside a straw in long curvy glasses.
Dakota sighs dramatically, propping his chin in his hands as he leans forward and sips his drink with a slurp. “No.” He flutters his eyelashes. “Alas, none of them like dick.” He pouts, and I feel marginally bad for him. “Also, this one is my cousin.” He laughs at my horrified expression.
I sputter, realizing he didn’t make a pass at Nix but thought of hitting on Christian. Though I’m sure if he said something to my knight, he’d have smacked Dakota. My knight. That escalated quickly. Like less than a week quickly.
“Cousin.” Dakota laughs. “No men though, only boys.”
“Don’t,” Nix warns, tossing his umbrella at Dakota before sniffing the drink. “You know damn well that isn’t true, Dakota.” Nix sips the drink and a shudder rolls through his body. “This is syrup.”
“It’s a Mai Tai, and it’s delicious.” Dakota slurps his drink and I cave, bringing it to my lips. Sugar instantly hits my taste buds, and an ache tries to settle between my shoulder blades. This drink is vile. But I smile and sip because Dakota is staring at me like his life depends on my reaction, and dammit, I don’t want to break his little heart.
“Only one, Sabina. The pack prowls outside, and I need you sober if we need to get to safety.” Nix lifts to sit on one of the tables, leaving his drink untouched. “Dakota, get her some dinner.”
“Please.” Eyes wide, he says the word with exasperation before standing and pulling a plate out of an oven. “I was just heating it up. Sit, sweetheart.”
I slide onto a chair without the syrupy drink as Nix plops into a chair across from me, his fingers drumming on the tabletop. Dakota places the plate before me, choosing to play it safe and sit beside Nix.
“When you said chow, I thought maybe I’d get some grit looking shit, not this.” I smile at the chicken leg, green beans, and mashed potatoes. A buttered roll even sits on top with a little cup of gravy to pour over my food.
Dakota wrinkles his brow as I eat, content to wait this out. “That is not iron chef approved.”
“It’s sustenance,” Nix counters.
“For peasants.”
“You are a peasant.”
“I am royalty, I’ll have you know.”
“Just because you think we are related to King George doesn’t mean that we are.”
Dakota gasps. “How dare you?”
I point my fork at both of them, amused to see Nix smirking at this lunatic. “Shouldn’t we be a little more serious about what’s going on out there and all?”
“You mean the
mangy mutt?” Dakota laughs. “Sweetheart, no. They will have him torn to shreds before the moon rises, leaving bits of blood and guts for the vultures.”
“That was violent and graphic.” I eye my chicken with dispassion now.
“You are with lycans, sweetheart. We are violent.” Dakota rolls his hand as though it’s no big deal.
“So you two are cousins?” I choose instead to dig into my mashed potatoes, enjoying every creamy bite.
“He’s my cousin, yes,” Nix confirms, his expression lighting up. It’s one I know all too well. I tap the back of my pocket, seeking my phone and the connection it gives me to my own cousins.
“That makes sense.”
“Why?” Dakota grins, but I know he knows the answer to that question. “Because he talks to me more than any other wolves, even those in his sub-pack?”
“Sub-pack?” I latch onto that as Nix smacks his cousin in the head. They have talked about this on more than one occasion, and now I’m hoping to get a definitive explanation.
“It’s a crude term, Sabina,” Nix begins, only to get cut off by Dakota.
“It’s the wolves you gravitate toward in a pack. The ones who are more than just friends, but those who understand you in a way no one else does.” He sighs with longing once more. “Like lovers.”
“I take it you don’t have a sub-pack?”
“I live alone,” he clarifies.
“You choose to live alone, cousin, because you choose to be the pack playboy.” Nix just called out his cousin, and I can’t help but laugh at his words.
“You’re a love ‘em and leave ‘em kind of guy?” I spear a green bean before shoving it into my mouth. Who knew green beans came in flavors other than boiled? “This is so good,” I say around the food in my mouth.
“Keep eating, wolves like curves.” Before I can even counter that fun comment, he goes on. “I just haven’t found those who fit me.”
“Wait.” I point my fork at Nix. “Who is in your sub-pack?”
“You know the answer to that, Sabina.” The way he says my name curls my toes.
