Page 18

ARIA

E stelle sent me on an errand to the pack house to distribute one last batch of contraceptive tonic.

I kept my head low, careful to avoid meeting the gazes of any of the shifters running amuck in the clearing.

For the first time in my life, I truly understood why my father kept me hidden away during the full moons.

Males and females tangled together on the expansive lawn, bonfires illuminating the masses of skin and fur. Some ate and drank. Others had abandoned any attempt at civility and chose to embrace their wild, primal sides.

Grunts and gasps and shouts filled the air, a sinful cacophony that made me eager to return to the clinic. Or, better yet, Malik’s cottage. I’d been working all day, and the moon’s influence created a newfound desire to be with my mate tonight.

I wanted to clear away the shadow that had been hanging over us for the last few days.

In fact, I had plans for us that involved a home-cooked dinner, a game of checkers that Emerson and I found in a forgotten cabinet of the pack house, and newly-acquired scissors for a haircut, if I could manage to convince Malik to let me trim his mane.

For the first time in days, excitement fueled my steps as time ticked closer and closer to the moment when I could see Malik again.

I’d nearly reached the castle when the hair on the back of my neck stood tall, and instinct told me to look up. My gaze immediately landed on them.

On him.

I recognized Malik’s back in an instant. He stood taller than any other male in the pack, and my heart spiked at the sight of his bare backside.

A small frown etched across my features. He’d left me a note in the cottage that he’d been tasked with a patrol this evening and, upon returning, planned to seek refuge in the cottage for the remainder of the evening.

I narrowed my eyes, surprised to find him in the fray of the celebrations, and standing in front of Roman, no less. Perhaps Malik simply needed to report to his brother before he could retire for the night?

And yet, as I took another step closer, I realized that the two males were not alone.

A pair of feet stood inches away from my mate.

Long, muscled legs bled into full, luscious hips.

Not a strand of hair covered her pubic bone, though glistening wetness leaked from between her thighs.

Her breasts, large and rounded, were topped with dark, pebbled nipples that strained toward Malik. And her hand…

My heart fell to the pit of my stomach.

This female reached for Malik. Her fingers closed in on his manhood. His aroused manhood.

“M-Malik?” I whispered, his name a broken whisper on my lips.

He spun to face me, wrenching away from the dark-haired beauty in the process. She nearly stumbled backward as his shoulder caught her square in the chest, but I’d already seen them together. The damage had been done.

Wild desperation shone in his gaze, and his mouth gaped open like he attempted to call my name. No sound came out of his ruined throat. Even if he could speak, I wasn’t sure I’d be able to hear him above the pounding in my head.

Pain, unlike anything I’d ever experienced before, pierced my chest. It tore through me, ripping away skin and cracking ribs, shooting straight for the organ struggling to pump blood to my veins.

I couldn’t breathe. Couldn’t think.

Malik took a step toward me, but I took an immediate step backward.

I could smell him. The scent of his arousal. It mingled with the overbearing stench of sex in the clearing.

Nausea crept up my throat.

“N-No,” I whispered, shaking my head, not quite willing to believe it. I took another step backward, and the vials of contraceptive tonics that I’d been carrying fell to the ground at my feet.

Malik advanced toward me, his eye wide and pleading.

Somewhere in the background, I heard Roman’s boisterous laughter, and hatred burned through me. While my heart ripped itself to pieces, this so-called alpha laughed.

I couldn’t take it any longer. I turned and ran.

I ran as fast as my feet would carry me, allowing the full moon’s rays to pour over me. To fuel me.

Somewhere along the way, my footsteps transformed into my wolf’s paws thundering against the forest floor, carrying me away from the Intonat Nocte pack house. Away from Malik.

My entire being ached.

I knew what I saw. My mate with another female, her fingers hovering centimeters from his erection, and he didn’t stop her .

Of course, buried deep beneath the heartbreak clouding over my soul, I knew that there could’ve been another explanation. The full moon changed our kind. He still could’ve refused her. If I’d given him one more second, he might’ve stopped her. But I didn’t, and he didn’t.

Tree limbs clawed at my silver coat. Dirt flew where my claws dug into the damp earth. I allowed instinct to guide me through the forest, tearing through the unknown with abandon. I didn’t care that any number of dangers might be lurking in the shadows. I threw caution to the wind and ran.

I ran until my muscles strained and my lungs screamed. My flanks expanded and contracted, and flecks of blood streaked across my fur where the undergrowth cut against my legs.

I ran until I couldn’t any longer, collapsing into an exhausted heap at the first clearing I found. Tall grass surrounded the clearing, damp and vibrant green, indicating a nearby water source, though I did not possess the willpower to quench my thirst.

Curling into a tight ball, I clamped my eyes shut and allowed soft whimpers to rise from my throat. They shifted into silent sobs as I morphed back into my human form, no longer possessing the strength or focus to remain a wolf.

Salty tears plowed paths through the mud caked on my cheeks, the cold ground a shock to my system.

Somewhere behind the frantic pounding at my temple and my shallow, shaking breaths, I heard heavy footsteps. They practically vibrated through the forest floor, becoming louder and more forceful with every heartbeat.

I didn’t have it in me to be frightened. I knew, deep in my core, that Malik had followed me.

He arrived moments later, but I refused to turn to face him and gave him my back. He puffed from the strain of the chase, though the rest of the world went silent and still at his arrival .

Despite the heartbreak ripping through me, every instinct told me to scurry to his side. My shoulders trembled, and I folded further into myself instead.

A subtle crack of bone sounded behind me, and I knew he’d abandoned his wolf body in exchange for his human. Lighter footsteps behind me confirmed it.

He rounded where I lay, coming to crouch in front of me. The moonlight cast a glow on his sorrowful features, and I clamped my eyes shut to avoid witnessing the regret scrawled across his gaze.

The undergrowth crunched, and I felt the heat of Malik’s big body as he lay beside me. My skin burned where he touched my shoulder, and I stiffened against his attempt to pull me into his front.

“Please, don’t,” I whispered, my voice a shell of its former self.

He ceased in an instant, and the world went quiet around us. After several long moments of silence, I dared to open my eyes. A broken man filled my line of sight.

Malik sat on his knees before me, head bowed low over his shoulders. His hands fell limp at his sides. The intensity of his sorrow leaked off of him in waves, and physical pain punctured through my chest at the sight.

In spite of the anger and heartache and humiliation churning inside of me… It killed me to see him hurt.

With a sniffle, I gingerly pushed up. My knees folded neatly beneath me, nearly touching Malik’s own as we faced on another.

I took a moment to inhale deep, searching for the scent of her on his body. Only Malik—tobacco and mint and musk—filled my lungs, and I nearly sobbed in relief. He hadn’t let her touch him, after all.

His head remained bowed, but I felt the moment his gaze flickered to meet me in the dark. A deep, ragged breath shuddered from his mouth.

Then, he prostrated himself before me. He bent at the hips, lowering himself to the ground like a reverent acolyte submitting to the Moon Goddess. Head bowed to the dirt and mud, he extended a single hand to grasp one of mine, squeezing tight the moment our fingers locked.

He bowed to me.

Though he couldn’t speak the words aloud, I felt his apology more than verbal sentiments could ever convey. I felt the depths of his sorrow, pulsing nearly as steadily as his devotion.

“Malik?” I whispered, leaning forward to stroke his hair.

He didn’t look up. He remained steadfast in his submission, and I squeezed his hand thrice.

“Look at me, Malik,” I requested, swallowing the thick lump of emotion in my throat.

He heeded my wish, muscles rippling beneath scarred, sweat-slicked skin as he rose. We faced one another again, our kneecaps pressed together and our hands united between us. Still, too much space separated our bodies.

My gaze slid down his impressive form. Bathed in the full moon’s light, he appeared every bit the magnificent warrior I’d considered him on the first evening we met.

Mountainous muscles covered his chest, dipping into cut ridges on his abdomen.

Thick thighs bent in the mud, and his manhood, flaccid now, pulsed beneath my scrutiny.

Even so, Malik’s head stayed bowed in shame.

In that moment, I knew what I needed. What he needed, too.

Taking a shaky breath, I rose onto my knees. Malik’s gaze snapped up the moment I crawled onto his lap, spreading my legs wide to accommodate his thighs between them. I steadied myself with both hands on his chest and met his gaze, my eyes still stinging with tears .

One of my hands dared to creep up his chest, coming to rest on the scarred half of his face. My fingers soothed the warped, puffy skin bisecting his cheek. He shuddered beneath my touch.

“Claim me. For the Moon Goddess and the world to see,” I whispered, aligning our hips. “I need to know that I am yours.”