The candle flames flickered low, painting the stone walls in liquid gold, casting dancing shadows that seemed to writhe with secrets. I woke slowly, tangled in a cocoon of heat, muscle, and silk sheets I didn't remember touching. A primal awareness bloomed within me, a silent recognition.
Lucien.
Even before my eyes fluttered open, I felt him, a wall of comforting warmth pressed possessively against my back. His arm, a heavy, reassuring weight, banded tight around my waist, claiming me even in sleep. His breath feathered against my ear, slow and even, yet beneath the surface, calm; his body was tense, coiled like a predator poised to strike.
I blinked blearily, adjusting to the dim light filtering through the heavy velvet curtains. My body ached deliciously, a symphony of sweet soreness from his claiming, bruised in the best places, marked deep inside and out. The blood-bond pulsed under my skin, alive and electric, tying me to him with an invisible chain I both feared and craved. It was a dangerous connection, a merging of souls that left me vulnerable, exposed, yet utterly, irrevocably his.
When I shifted slightly, Lucien growled low in his throat, a possessive rumble that vibrated against my spine. He tightened his grip, pulling me tighter against him as if afraid I would vanish if he loosened his hold. His hand splayed possessively over my bare stomach, fingers twitching against my skin, sending shivers of remembered pleasure through me.
"You're awake," he rumbled, his voice a rough scrape of velvet that sent a fresh wave of heat crashing through me.
I shivered at the sound, the husky timbre resonating deep within my bones. "Yeah," I whispered, my voice still thick with sleep.
Lucien's nose skimmed the curve of my neck, inhaling deeply as if memorizing my scent. "You smell like me," he murmured, his voice thick with satisfaction and laced with a primal possessiveness that thrilled and terrified me in equal measure. "Good."
I flushed, memories from the night before crashing into me with the force of a tidal wave – his mouth, his hands, his fangs. The way he'd broken me apart and put me back together with every savage, desperate touch. He had claimed me in every way a vampire could claim his mate.
"You marked me," I said softly, my fingers tracing the small, aching puncture wound on my neck, a permanent reminder of his dominance, his claim.
Lucien's hand slid lower, fingers brushing the sensitive skin just above my core, igniting a firestorm of longing. "I claimed you," he corrected, his tone brooking no argument. "There's a difference."
I bit my lip, my heart racing, the blood-bond singing in my veins. "Claimed," I echoed, my voice trembling, the word heavy with implication.
Lucien shifted, rolling me onto my back beneath him. He braced himself over me on his forearms, his powerful body a thrilling weight. His silver eyes blazed down at me, molten and merciless, reflecting the ancient hunger that consumed him.
"You are mine," he said, his voice a low growl that resonated with raw power. "Every breath you take and beat of your heart belongs to me now."
My throat went dry, my pulse hammering against my ribs. I should be afraid. This possessiveness, this absolute claim, should terrify me.
It didn't.
Instead, heat flooded me, liquid and heavy, pooling low in my belly. It was a dangerous, exhilarating surrender.
Lucien smiled a slow, dark thing that sent shivers down my spine. He sensed my reaction, the flicker of desire in my eyes, the answering pull of the bond.
"You feel it, don't you?" he murmured, lowering his head to brush his lips over the soft underside of my jaw. "The bond. The hunger."
I whimpered as his mouth trailed lower, teeth grazing my pulse point, sending sparks of pleasure through me. My fingers tangled in his hair, holding him there, needing more. Always more.
Lucien chuckled darkly against my skin, the sound vibrating against my bones. "My greedy little moon," he teased, nipping at my collarbone.
Without warning, he slid down my body, settling between my thighs with a sinful smile that promised exquisite torment. I gasped, arching into him instinctively, my body opening to him like a flower to the sun.
"You marked me too, you know," Lucien murmured, pressing a kiss to the inside of my thigh, sending a jolt of pure sensation through me. "I can feel your need. Your hunger."
He licked a slow, devastating stripe along my slick folds, groaning when I cried out and fisted the sheets, my body arching in desperate need. "You want me," he said, his voice thick with satisfaction, a triumphant declaration. "You're always going to want me."
I couldn't deny it. Didn't want to. He was my addiction, my obsession, the only thing I craved.
Lucien devoured me like a starving man, his mouth hot and relentless, his tongue a weapon of pure pleasure. He didn't tease this time. He consumed me, stripping away my inhibitions and leaving me raw and exposed.
I sobbed his name, my body bucking under the onslaught of pleasure, the bond between us thrumming with every pulsebeat, a symphony of shared sensation. When I shattered apart against his tongue, Lucien didn't stop. He only pushed deeper, darker, pulling every last ounce of pleasure from my trembling body, claiming me completely.
I gasped when he finally lifted his head, his mouth slick with my release, his silver eyes glowing with hunger, reflecting the wildness of our connection.
"Mine," he rasped, his voice raw with need, a primal claim that echoed in the depths of my soul. "Always."
I barely had time to catch my breath before he was sheathing himself inside me again in one brutal thrust, filling me completely, claiming me in the most intimate way possible.
We moved together rough, desperate, perfect a tangle of sweat, gasps, and whispered oaths. Lucien kissed me fiercely, his thrusts deep and punishing, grinding his hips against mine with ruthless precision. I met him stroke for stroke, clinging to him, needing him in a way that defied reason, logic, or sanity.
Our bond burned hotter with every thrust, searing us together and forging an unbreakable link. I could feel his pleasure, his hunger, his love raw and dark and terrifyingly deep. It was a dangerous connection, a merging of souls that left me vulnerable, exposed, yet utterly, irrevocably his.
Lucien buried his face in my neck, groaning as he felt me tighten around him, my body convulsing in anticipation. "Come for me, Selene," he demanded, his voice breaking, a desperate plea. "Now."
I shattered with a scream, my body convulsing around him, and Lucien followed with a roar, hips jerking as he spilled into me, claiming me all over again.
We collapsed together, panting, bodies slick with sweat, blood, and rainwater, the storm outside mirroring the tempest within us. Lucien held me tightly, his chest heaving against mine, his heart pounding in unison with my own.
But before the afterglow could settle, before the bond could lull us into that sweet, drowning oblivion, a slow clap echoed from the shadows, shattering the fragile peace.
I stiffened under Lucien, my blood turning to ice, a primal fear gripping me.
Lucien lifted his head, snarling, baring his fangs, his eyes glowing with predatory rage.
A tall figure stepped from the darkness, his movements fluid and graceful, like a predator stalking its prey. He wore a long black coat embroidered with crimson sigils that seemed to writhe in the dim light. His hair was silver-white, cascading down his back in a shimmering waterfall, and his face was ageless and cruelly handsome, a mask of cold perfection.
His eyes – they weren't human. They glowed faintly blue, like moonlight on fresh snow, sending a shiver of unease down my spine.
"Impressive," the stranger drawled, his voice cold and mocking, laced with amusement. "Truly. I haven't seen a blood bond flare that strong in centuries."
Lucien shifted to shield me with his body, snarling low in his throat, his protective instincts flaring.
"Gabriel," he spat the name a venomous curse.
The silver-haired vampire smiled thinly, a predatory gleam in his eyes. "Hello, cousin," he said, his voice dripping with false cordiality. "And hello, precious little moon."
His gaze flicked to me, lingering possessively in a way that made my skin crawl. It was a violation, a claim that sent a shiver of revulsion through me.
"She'll make a fine queen," Gabriel mused, his eyes raking over me as if I were a prize to be won. "Once she's properly… broken in."
Lucien moved faster than sight, launching himself at Gabriel with a roar of pure rage, his fangs bared, his eyes burning with primal fury.
Steel flashed in Gabriel's hand, a wicked dagger dripping with black venom. This substance could kill even the most powerful vampire, and I screamed as Lucien collided with him, the two ancient predators crashing into each other in a blur of violence.
The candles blew out, snuffed out by a sudden gust of wind. The room plunged into darkness, thick and suffocating, punctuated only by the sounds of snarling, growling, and the sickening thud of flesh against flesh.
And in that moment, I realized, with a chilling certainty, that the war for my blood had already begun.