Page 28 of A Reign of Malice (Wolves of Lunara #3)
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
JULIAN
A urora had said I needed to be “properly prepared.” I didn’t fully understand what that meant until her hands landed on me.
Her touch was cold and sharp, her energy sinking into my skin like barbed wire laced with starlight. I hated every second of it, hated the way her magic clung to my bones, reshaping me in ways I couldn’t see but felt deep in my marrow. I wasn’t sure I’d still be me by the time she was done.
But then the shield around us shattered, and I felt her .
Sloane .
The moment her scent hit me, the entire world narrowed to the space between us. The grime, the cold, the years of silence, all of it dissolved in the face of her. My mate. My salvation.
Holding her was like breathing after drowning, like sunlight after eternal darkness.
My arms locked around her before I could think, my muscles trembling with the strain of holding on too tightly, afraid that if I loosened my grip even for a breath, she’d vanish like a cruel hallucination.
My wolf howled inside me, fierce and eager, a chorus of pain and joy all tangled into one unbearable knot.
Her scent filled every hollow part of me, earth and storm, wildness and warmth. It wrapped around my heart, soothing wounds I hadn’t even realized were still bleeding.
My mate. My mate. My mate.
The words looped through my mind like a prayer, a lifeline keeping me tethered to reality.
Her body molded against mine, real and alive, and my knees nearly buckled beneath the intensity of it. After two centuries of nothing—no touch and no connection to the world above—this was everything. She was everything.
But there was no time to truly cherish it all.
The moment the castle disappears around us, Sloane’s quickening breath is the only sound I hear before the world fractures.
A kaleidoscope of colors bleed together, shimmering with liquid brilliance and folding in on themselves, like reality is caught between living and collapsing before we’re whole again.
The ground we arrive on—if it can even be called that—flickers beneath my bare feet, half solid, half mist, as though it can’t decide if it wants to exist at all.
There’s a lightness here, like we’re standing on air, but every step feels weighted.
Above us, there’s a pristine white palace floating effortlessly on a bed of clouds, its walls reflecting the endless horizon in perfect, yet unnatural, stillness.
The air is heavy, every breath scraping against my throat, thick with magic so potent I can taste it. Not the wild, untamed energy of wolves or the earth beneath our paws. No, this is pure power, ancient and indifferent, filled with secrets most supernaturals aren’t meant to know.
I tighten my hold on Sloane, pulling her closer without thought. Her heart slams against my chest, her fingers digging into my arms, almost as if she, too, is afraid I’ll vanish should she let go.
“I’ve got you,” I remind her, my voice rough from disuse and the storm of emotions clawing their way to the surface.
Her gaze snaps up to mine, and for a heartbeat, the entire realm fades.
No gods. No traps. No threats looming just out of sight.
There’s only us. The mate bond pulses between us, a living thread of heat binding me to her soul, a reminder that even after centuries of torment, we’ve still found our way to one another.
But then Aurora’s laugh slices through it all, shattering the fragile moment.
“Oh, how sweet,” she drawls, gliding ahead of us, her gown of liquid gold trailing through the air like smoke. “As much as I’d love to give you two all the time in the world to stare into each other’s eyes, I didn’t drag you here for a honeymoon.”
Sloane stiffens against me, her breath hot on my neck as she whispers, “I don’t care if she freed you, I hate her already.”
My chest rumbles with a low sound of agreement, but the truth is, it doesn’t matter.
We’re in Aurora’s realm now. Whatever strength I’ve reclaimed, whatever power I’ve fought to regain since the moment I was freed from my chains, it means nothing here.
We need to follow her, so we can hopefully get the hell out of here, and I can do what I swore—end my brother’s existence.
Footsteps scuff against the cloud-like surface behind us, and I turn to find four more people with us. I don’t know them, but Sloane doesn’t hesitate to catch me up.
She points at each one, speaking quietly. “That’s Isla with the pinkish hair, the man at her side is Asher. Estee is next to her with Theo. They’re the other kings and queens of Lunara and have been helping us.”
“Where are we?” Isla demands, her voice strong and laced with alpha energy.
“We’re outside her home,” the man I believe Sloane called Asher answers. “And we shouldn’t keep her waiting.”
Aurora glances back at us, her smirk almost vile. “Oh, Asher,” she croons, her voice dripping with affection. “I’m so glad you remember our time together.”
Her word eliciting a deep rumble from the alpha.
Reluctantly, or so it seems, the six of us follow the goddess into her home. There’s no front door, just an open entry, leading into a white home. Everything is free of color. The floors, the furniture, the walls. All of it.
After years of darkness, it’s overwhelming, but I do my best to adjust, knowing I can’t lose focus here.
These gods can’t be trusted.
“Good thing I’m a goddess , huh?” Aurora taunts, making me grimace.
Of course she can read minds.
“And much more,” she adds with a sultry voice as she reaches for Asher.
He’s already pulling away, but Isla jerks him back quicker, her fingers curling possessively around his wrist. “Watch yourself, goddess,” she warns, her voice like ice, canines extending. “He’s mine.”
Aurora’s smile hardens. “Yes, darling, I know exactly who he belongs to. That’s why I need him.” Without warning, she tugs Asher forward, ignoring the snarl Isla doesn’t bother to hide. Aurora drags him toward the pristine couch placed at the center of the room.
“Bite me,” she orders, her tone all business, though there’s an undercurrent of something far darker. “Like before.” She twists her head to the side, exposing her neck. The golden glow of her skin shifts, runes flickering just beneath the surface, ancient symbols older than language itself.
“I don’t fucking think so.” Isla growls, her body already coiling to lunge.
Estee grabs her waist, yanking her back before she can do something foolish.
“Let me go,” Isla snarls, but Estee holds firm.
“How about we try to play nice first?” Estee suggests through clenched teeth. “Aurora, what are you doing?”
The goddess sighs, her fingers tracing the line of her own throat with idle curiosity.
“I’m temporarily binding your powers to me,” she says, as if it’s the most obvious thing in the world.
“The six of you owe me, and I intend to collect. I need to put some of the other gods back in check. You’re going to help me do that. ”
“Like hell we are,” Theo snaps. “We’re not helping you start a war with them just so it can bleed through to our world.”
“Remember, you wouldn’t have that world without me,” Aurora counters. “So, you’ll do as I request, or you won’t have a home to return to.”
I expect more arguments, but everyone remains quiet, making the goddess grin.
“As I was saying. There are forces within this realm that have gotten out of hand.” She pauses, her gaze landing on Theo and Estee’s hardened faces.
“Much like Orix. I intend to beat them by taking the power of your alpha bloodlines and infusing it with my divine magic. Simple yet effective and completely unexpected.”
Theo steps forward, placing himself protectively in front of Estee. “You’ve been using us.”
“Using?” Aurora feigns offense, her violet eyes widening.
“No, Alpha King. I’ve been saving your asses, and it’s not as though I’m asking you to go to battle against beings who could chew you up in seconds.
All you have to do is bite a few people and give over some of your blood.
” She grabs Asher’s chin and squeezes. “Now, let’s show your friends what I mean. ”
His jaw tightens, and I sense his wolf rising. “And if we refuse?”
Aurora shrugs. “I’ll still get what I want in the end, but you six, I’ll set you loose in the god realm and blow you a kiss goodbye as I leave you for dead.”
I’ve left one hell for another.