Page 28 of Darkest Craving

WOLFGANG

I ’m out in the garden, sitting across from an empty seat, waiting for Ivan to show up. Over the past week, business has been going on as usual.

The Irish territory is still with us—they haven’t retaliated yet, and I don’t expect them to do it for a while. They’re having issues getting the next heir to his rightful throne. Turns out, he doesn’t want it and I can’t help but wonder if a woman is at play.

Still, we’re on alert even though Kiril reported he found no one snooping around the house. But that doesn’t mean we’re just going to forget about it. In fact, it’s exactly why I’m meeting Ivan—if he would ever show up on time.

I don’t mind it, though. This way I get some time. Time to think about Victoria, about how much she’s changed both of us.

She picked a dapple-gray mare with a long, black mane—a confident horse, but grounded enough to match her temperament. Out of all the ones Sasha and I picked for her, Alaska was the most curious, the most responsive. Plus, she seemed to have an instant connection with my wife.

Every day since then, I go by the stables to watch. The way Victoria rides—like she’s one with the wind, and the sunrays, and the floating petals and dandelion fluff—makes my chest grow and ache.

I knew there was so much more to her the moment I spotted her on my stallion a few months back, but this? I never expected this. I’ve never seen her like this. And it’s the kind of thing that gives me life.

She asks me to join her, and I want nothing more. But I know better. I don’t deserve to step into the fucking light, and even if I did, I wouldn’t know how.

Loud steps and voices register from somewhere to the left, snapping me out of my thoughts. In a few seconds, Ivan shows up with a bunch of armed men on his trail. What the fuck?

He shouts at me, and I make up the words “shooting” and “south side.”

Exactly where my wife is riding right fucking now.

Before he has time to finish the sentence, I’m already running to her, heart beating strong in my throat. To the meadow. To the stables. To everything that matters to me right now.

My blood roars in my veins, turning me into the man I’ve always known—the man whose darkness knows no bounds, no limits to protect what he owns.

The house fades in the distance, and upon seeing the fields roll out, the thought grinds against my mind like iron on iron.

I’ll scythe through everyone and everything if I have to.

She’ll never even know the monsters lurking in the shadows for her.

Because I may dictate that I own her, but the truth is… I, too, belong to her now.

VICTORIA

Stretching my hand out in front of me, I catch the sunset between my fingers.

The field bathed in an orange glow smells of daisies and tuberoses, wafting in the air all around me.

A small, soothing wind brushes the hair off my shoulders and off Alaska’s head.

Her snout raises to the sky, a soft nicker rumbling from her warm body.

She loves it. And ever since Wolf bought her for me, this kind of experience has helped us bond.

“I know,” I say from my saddle. “I’m happy too.”

My chest grows and grows every day on these meadows, making me whole again.

Fixing parts of myself I didn’t know were broken—not because of what Wolf did to me initially, but because everyone always took from me, never replenishing my love with theirs.

I never realized just how empty I walked through life until now. Until I wasn’t empty anymore.

I never thought I’d say this, but I’ve built up a little routine here that I enjoy.

My days are filled with the smell of freedom, of letting loose under my husband’s hold over my body. And every night, when I return from the stables with the wind in my hair, he licks between my aching thighs, praises me and stuffs me with his hard cock, stretching me out.

We have coffee on the balcony every morning now, and he tells me things he’s never told anyone—the things he’s done, the things he dreams about. I haven’t told him this yet, but I think… I think I want my husband more each day and the life he laid out for us.

I let Alaska take me down into a small valley peppered by small bushes and wildflowers. The day is ending, and we should be heading back. A thrill flashes through me at the thought of showering with Wolfgang, of being held by his strong arms while he bends me over and…

A loud bang shatters the silence.

Alaska freezes, her ears flicking back.

In the next second, she rears up, pushing off her hind legs with a violent force, lifting her body—and me—into the air.

Her sharp neigh cuts through the air as she bucks, and despite my grip on the reins, I’m thrown off, tumbling to the ground. Alaska stands, tense, snorting, her chest heaving as she recovers from the shock.

“It’s okay, girl. It’s okay,” I tell her while I push into my arm.

I’m not hurt, I don’t think, but I could also be running on adrenaline right now.

Someone shot at me. At us. And they missed, which means… they’ll attempt it again.

But Alaska looks too frightened for me to get back on the saddle. No time for comfort, I push into my limbs and stand up, gripping the reins in my left hand while I pull her with me, protecting her from the direction of the bullet.

She doesn’t have to think twice—as soon as I start running, so does she. She’s faster, and I haven’t done this in a long time, but I have to try. For her.

Because if anything happens to her, not only will I never forgive myself, but I…

“Victoria!” a faraway voice calls out. A voice that’s deep and desperate, and one I’d recognize out of a million. I squint my eyes and see my husband running toward me at full speed. He calls out for me again, and again, and again, and every time he does it, I know we’re a little closer.

Another bullet flies off somewhere around me and I fall to my knees in horror, screaming.

Alaska pulls the reins so hard they fly out of my fist and I can see her running in front of me. She’s not wounded. She’s not. If she were… then she wouldn’t be running. She wouldn’t.

Once again, I try to get up, but more bullets fly by.

They seem to be going right past me.

I scream, and scream, and stay with my eyes closed until…

Strong hands wrap around me, pulling me close. “Hey. You’re okay. Look at me, love,” Wolf says, his body solid against mine. “Victoria.”

My trembling eyes crack open, and my husband’s face comes into view. He looks focused, cold almost, a stark contrast to the warmth emanating through his hands. His gaze shifts across my body, as if to check for any scratch.

“A-Alaska. She ran off…”

“Ivan and the others were behind me. Someone got her, love. I promise.”

I shake my head. “You don’t know that. Please… she could be hurt.”

“You’re shaking. Come here. Let me hold you.”

I protest, and he holds me against his chest until my voice quiets down and my breathing returns to its normal pattern. Safe. Being in his arms is safe, and if he’s here, it means I have nothing to worry about. I know that much.

The sound of many footsteps sounds around us.

“Ran off?” Ivan asks as he catches his breath.

Wolf’s voice reverberates through his chest, right against my ear. “Killed one. I don’t know how many there were.”

“We’ll find out who it was.”

“The horse?” Wolf asks, and my heart skips a beat.

“Yeah. Someone’s taking her back to the stables. She wasn’t hurt.”

I sag against his body, relief washing over me. The footsteps walk by us, fading away.

When I feel my strength has returned, I pull back. “I was riding and then… there was a bullet, and…” I frown, confused, as my heart picks up again. “Wolf, what’s wrong?”

“I…” He exhales, closing his eyes for a second before opening them up again.

I press a palm to his heart, knowing just what I want to hear from his lips, encouraging him to say it, even if I haven’t said it to him either. Maybe he doesn’t feel the same. Maybe I’m deluding myself.

Or maybe this is all real.

“You scared the shit out of me.” He sighs. “Never do that again.”

I offer a faint smile. He just saved my life. That should be proof enough he cares about me now. But then why do I need him to spell it out?