Ava’s eyes snapped open, fury and desperation swirling together like a storm. "What the fuck?!" she shouted, breathless and enraged.
Lucas hovered inches from her face, his lips glistening with her. His smirk was utterly infuriating.
"Tell , love," he purred.
Ava wanted to kill him. She wanted to bring him back to life just so she could kill him again.
"Yes! Yes! Goddamnit! I am jealous. I am jealous when any woman even breathes near you. I want to be your only one! God, Lucas, please!" The words ca out in a rushed plea, raw and unfiltered.
Lucas’s smirk deepened. His eyes glowed with satisfaction.
He made quick work of his own clothes, and then he entered her slowly, stretching her, filling her. A sharp gasp left her lips. Her back arched, her head falling back as stars exploded behind her eyes.
Lucas groaned, his grip on her thighs tightening.
He leaned in, his mouth brushing against her ear. "When you are ready to love against all odds, my little virgin..." His voice was strained, thick with restraint and pleasure.
Ava could barely hear him. Her world had narrowed down to the way he moved inside her.
He paused midspeech, a strangled groan escaping his lips as her body clenched around him. He buried his face in her neck, his breath hot against her skin.
"When you desire , warts and all," he rasped, punctuating the words with a deep thrust that stole Ava’s breath, "I will make you the queen you were ant to be."
Ava moaned, nails digging into his back.
He dipped his head, kissing the spot on her neck where he would mark her.
"You will be my Luna," he whispered.
Ava was gone. Completely and utterly lost in him.
Lucas moved faster, driving them both to the brink. The sounds of their pleasure filled the air, a symphony of need and desperation. Ava wrapped her legs around him, pulling him deeper, holding him closer.
Lucas cursed, his movents turning frenzied. His mouth found hers, capturing her moans with his kiss as pleasure crashed over them both like a tidal wave.
She shattered.
He followed.
Their bodies trembled together.
Lucas kissed her forehead, his breathing ragged.
*****
Zari dropped to her knees, her breath catching in her throat.
The video played on her phone, each fra a knife to her chest.
Her sister.
Bloodied. Beaten. Tortured.
Zari’s hands trembled as she clutched the device, unable to tear her eyes away from the horrifying proof of her mistake.
She had been so sure that refusing the deal was the right thing to do. That if she stood her ground, they would back down.
She had been so wrong.
Tears blurred her vision as she typed out a ssage to the unknown number.
’I’ll do it.’
Seconds ticked by.
Her pulse pounded.
Then a response.
An address. A ti.
A sliver of hope blood in her chest.
Maybe, just maybe, she could use this against them.
Maybe she could still save her sister.
*****
The night of the Induction Ceremony arrived, and the Silver Pack was out in full force.
It was nothing like Ava had expected.
Instead of so solemn, mystical ritual in the woods, it was a damn party.
Families bustled around, hauling in food and drinks. There was a massive barbecue pit set up, sizzling with the scent of roasted at. Soone had already cracked open the beer hours before the ceremony even started.
And so people were already very drunk.
"Are you seeing this?" she muttered to Zari, who stood stiffly beside her.
Zari barely reacted. Her face was unreadable, her eyes distant.
Ava frowned. Sothing was off.
Before she could push for answers, the ritual began.
Lanaya stepped into the center, lifting her arms to the sky as she began the incantations. The air charged with ancient magic. Ava and the others stood in a circle, the weight of the mont settling over them.
Then, Lucas entered the circle.
He was shirtless.
And she was not prepared.
Her mouth went dry as her gaze shalessly road over his sculpted chest, the moonlight highlighting every defined ridge of muscle.
Lucas smirked, catching her stare.
Ava imdiately looked away, pretending to be very interested in the bonfire.
Lanaya picked up the blade, her expression calm and reverent as she turned to the Alpha.
Lucas stepped forward without hesitation, extending his hand. The steel glead under the moonlight before slicing into his palm, and damn it, even bleeding out, the man looked hot.
Ava swallowed. Not the ti.
Lanaya caught the blood in a steel bowl, the rich crimson liquid swirling. Then, she turned to the rest of them.
"The bond is sealed in blood," she intoned. "You will share in your Alpha’s strength and his will."
Lucas looked away. He couldn’t watch Ava get hurt.
Ava felt the searing pain of Lanaya slicing into her palm.
"Oh, fuck—"
She bit her lip hard to keep from yelling, but holy shit, that hurt. No warning? No gentle incision? Just straight to stabby-town?
Lanaya moved quickly down the line, slitting the palms of every wolf standing beside her.
Ava hissed and cradled her hand, shooting a glare at Lucas.
Lucas who was still sitting stiffly, barely reacted, but his jaw ticked in amusent. Of course she would be a drama queen about it.
Lanaya dipped a brush into the Alpha’s blood and painted over the fresh wounds.
Ava gasped.
The sensation was instant. An electric snap deep inside her bones. It wasn’t just power; it was submission.
To him.
She barely had ti to process it before her knees hit the ground.
Her breath caught.
The others bowed too, their bodies giving in to the force of the bond, but Ava was feeling it on a whole other level.
It was like her soul recognized him.
Like every part of her had been waiting for this.
The urge to belong to him, to follow, to protect, to worship.
Ava forced herself to breathe.
Lanaya stepped forward. "Congratulations. You are now fully bonded to your Alpha."
Music erupted.
The celebration began.
Lily tackled Ava into a hug.
Lily squealed. "You’re one of us now!"
Ava couldn’t fight the wave of emotion that hit her.
She felt it. The connection. The belonging.
For soone who had spent most of her life feeling like she never quite fit anywhere, this was... intoxicating.
She turned and was imdiately engulfed in another hug from Nelly.
Sarah though was hovering nearby, watching.
Laughter, music, the scent of roasted at, everything about this night was alive.
Lily grabbed her hand. "Co on! Dance with !"
Ava barely had ti to protest before she was dragged to the center.
And then, she was dancing.
People jumped, sang, howled into the night.
Ava laughed so hard she nearly collapsed.
She spun from partner to partner, twirling with warriors, won, children. The little ones ran to her, and she scooped them up, bouncing with them as they giggled.
Lucas was watching. The way she embraced the mont. This was what his pack needed; a childlike, carefree, kind but formidable Luna. Lucas knew he would get push back from his council since she didn’t have a wolf and he really wasn’t interested in announcing she was a child of the moon or whatever the hell Lanaya called it.
As he looked at her, he saw a red dot lingering on her dress enhanced by the light of the moon. Before his mind could process it, he was moving as fast as humanely possible toward her.
"Ava!!!"
His roar barely cut through the music.
Then BANG.
A gunshot rang out in the clearing.
Reviews
All reviews (0)