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Darius understood the son’s consequences all too well. The raven’s spell had lasted generations, carried through their lineage, and gifted them with great power and an even greater responsibility.

She ripped the opening of his shirt wider, exposing the smooth flesh of his hard chest and digging her claw into the muscle, exactly where the raven had scored the boy. Darius grunted and gritted his teeth but permitted the pain as she dragged her claw over his flesh, firm enough to raise the skin and leave a mark.

“We are of themagick, Darius. We are the chosen. But we are not the gods. We live and breathe because of their mercy, eternally indebted to them for our lives.” She shouldered out of her gowns. Firelight illuminated the lily-white flesh of her full breasts. “There remains a price for our salvation that must be paid, or we risk angering the gods.”

Her head tipped back, her elongated neck flexing as she bared her fangs. Silver hair shifted behind her shoulders as her human ears transformed into points, softening at the tips with snowy white fur.

Lips parted, she gazed down at him, her tiny fangs poking past the fullness of her lush mouth. “What is the price, Darius?”

He flexed his hips, shoving his length as deep as possible into her clenched heat. These tedious lessons irritated him. Just once he’d like to have control and take her as he wanted.

Her palm planted firmly on his muscled chest as she gripped his jaw, angling his face so he looked her in the eye. “Answer me.”

His molars locked. “Blood.”

“Yes,” she panted, riding him faster now. “Blood.” Her nail slashed over his chest, opening his flesh exactly where the boy from the story had suffered the lethal wound.

Warmth seeped down his chest and torso, spreading to where their bodies met, trickling onto the sacred furs where ancients’ blood had spilled before.

“Lumira…” His seed rose, and his veins tightened as he pumped his hips harder. He spoke the ritual words she needed to hear, “Will you accept my gift?”

“Yes, Darius,” she moaned his name, rolling her hips as her hands dragged through his blood. “I accept your gift.”

Their bodies arched and tensed. His seed rushed forward, pumping into her sacred womb. She rode out his release, taking the pleasure to a point of torture, never slowing until she milked him dry. Then she leaned forward, drenching her robes as she licked at the blood she’d spilled.

Every point of contact brought a twisted form of ecstasy. His body was hers. He was there to serve her, as were his brothers so that shecould produce another litter and replenish their dying line.

The recent cubs had been a blessing. The pups had Evander’s dark hair and piercing white eyes. But they needed another litter to diversify the breed. He was duty-bound to serve her and did so faithfully, yet deep in his heart, Darius knew the next litter would not be of his loins.

The door opened, and Lumira lifted her head, her long silver hair wet at the tips from his blood, her body still anchored to Darius’s as his brother—the Alpha—stepped into the room.

“Darling,” she purred, her welcoming stare set on Evander as his hulking body filled the door. “I’ve missed you.”

Darius’s cock twitched possessively, deep inside her heat. Dogs were loyal, but they were also known to stray, so no shock registered in the Alpha’s face when he found them this way.

No matter how many times Darius or the other brothers of the pack mated with the Luna, the Alpha’s territorial claim on her would not be undone. On the contrary, the intimate moments Darius shared with Lumira only emphasized how much he wanted a mate of his own—but his claim on his mate would never be uniquely his because that was not how the curse worked.

Their line was endangered, and they were duty-bound to share. It was the cost of their survival, the price the father’s son bartered with the raven to maintain the gift bestowed by the gods.

Lumira slid off of Darius’s body, and hesucked in a breath at the sharp sense of detachment. It often ended this way. The Luna took from all of them, as was her duty, but her heart only belonged to Evander.

Darius tucked himself away and righted his clothes, discretely watching the exchange of affection at the door. Lumira pressed her body to Evander’s and kissed him deeply.

The scent of blood and mud clung to his brother’s skin, still fresh from the hunt. Evander’s focus shifted into a narrow glare, pinning Darius in place.

Darius dropped his gaze, unsure if that hard stare was a challenge or a threat or merely his brother’s lingering displeasure over their earlier disagreement.

“You should not indulge him when he avoids his duties,” the Alpha told the Luna, tightening his fist in the tempting hair Darius was never permitted to touch.

She merely purred and nuzzled against her mate. “Be patient with your brother, Evander.”

Although they used the term brothers, their lines were not as closely wound. They each came from different fathers. Their brotherhood was merely the result of belonging to the same pack, a pack that Evander ran.

Releasing Lumira, the Alpha crossed the room to warm his legs by the fire. “This is why you missed the hunt?”

Every instinct told Darius not to snap, thoughthat was exactly what he felt like doing. “I needed time to think.”

“You mean mope.”