Lunaria (A Soulmark Series Finale), page 17
"Do you think Jax is all right?" I wonder aloud. "Do you—"
"I don't think of that traitor at all, and neither should you. We have our own troubles to deal with, like how we’ll survive this place. You shouldn't be wasting your time or energy on him."
I frown. "He's my friend."
Adrian meets my incredulous stare head-on, an eyebrow arching upward as his mouth flattens. "Friend? You don't expect me to believe that, do you? I saw the way you looked at him and how swiftly you came to his defense. I haven't forgotten his endearments of you either, or how he clambered after you that first evening."
A mixture of thoughts storm me at once, stunning me with their medley. Though I'd not known the dashing sorcerer for long, there can be no denying the tender feelings I'd grown for him shortly after our initial encounter. I swallow and ball my hands into fists.
No one had paid me much attention while I lived in Branson Falls, or went out of their way to visit with me. Only a handful paid me much mind; Atticus, Ryatt, sometimes Quinn and Callie, and newly Winter. Could my heart be blamed that when Jax's focus fell upon me so instantaneously that his silken words were able to endear me hopelessly to him?
"Don't forget—" Adrian leans in, moving the half-eaten dish aside as he stares me down "—you are my heart's content. Forget him. Forget all of them."
A glaring resentment fills the gaps inside of me. His jealousy is intolerable. "No."
Adrian snarls as I make a swift exit from the bed. My vision swims the moment my feet hit the cold wooden floor. I wobble unsteadily but make no attempt to stop until I reach the dresser. With both hands planted atop it, I breathe deeply and will my head to stop its spinning.
The floor creaks behind me as the room returns to its rightful place. I inhale through my nose to keep the sudden rise of emotion in check.
From a sea of numbness to a tidal wave of animosity... it makes my stomach churn. I begin to search the drawer's contents for extra layers to wear, rather than watch Adrian's approach.
The room quiets when at last I find a suitable option. The shirt I originally arrived in is clean and folded neatly in the bottom drawer, along with my other clothes. I strip out of my current sweater to layer the other beneath it, all too cognizant that a source of body heat radiates from behind me.
"Luna."
My name is swallowed up by the swelling tension in the room. I go stiff, suddenly plagued with fatigue at my abrupt departure from the bed and quick movements. The hollowness threatens to engulf me once more, but then a heavy, sure weight rests on my hip.
My head sags forward with suppressed chagrin. It sways from side to side in silent protest, but regardless, I am pulled back into the rugged panels of Adrian’s torso. Held so snugly against him, I fall back into the memory of our entwining the night before last.
The lurid molten pleasure he stirred in my body.
The desperate thrust that brought me to climax.
Every inch of me remembers, but beneath that, something else beckons.
My throat tightens when the pressure of his worry sinks into my system, his jealousy following closely after.
"He is my friend," I repeat. Friend, and nothing more, I think with dreams of a different life drifting away from me. More of Adrian's emotions worm their way beneath my skin and more and more does our enhanced understanding of each other grate against my fragile nerves.
I slump against him when his other hand flattens against my thigh and ventures across the length of my side. Its slow pace offers me an out should I choose to take it, but the lightning bolt embossed upon my hip begs me to stay.
Stay and be warm.
Stay and be safe.
Stay and be lov—
My chest aches from where my heart pounds so soundly against it, yet I make no move to go.
Breath stirs my colorless hair against the tops of my shoulders. The whisper of lips following soon after. Discontent dwells inside me as I turn my head aside. Adrian groans as he takes the unwitting offering of my neck.
The sound arouses me to no end.
He pays homage to the sensitive skin below my ear as I place my worrisome musings aside and lean into his lulling affections. My somber attitude abates as I surrender to the comfort of his touch, and then, something miraculous happens.
My body ignites as the bond between us flares. I gasp, my hands moving of their own accord to grasp at Adrian.
The reservoir I'd sought out all night and morning was refilling!
I can breathe again. The thought is dizzying in its headiness, and I sink into Adrian's embrace further. My relief is palpable... but misunderstood by my heart's content. A salacious moan bubbles out my mouth as Adrian's hand twines around my front to cup my breast. His fingers pinch my aching nipple.
Another moan slips past my defenses.
Adrian twists me around and cages me against him. He claims my next ragged inhalation with his lips and urges me up against the dresser without relent. I'm given no chance to clarify my emotions. Adrian hikes me up and deposits me roughly atop the dresser.
"Wait," I plead, turning my head away to avoid his seeking lips. Undaunted, they chase up to my temple, then down to my shoulder. "I can't think."
Is our newfound connection the reason for Adrian's ability to heal so quickly—or is it his eager acceptance of what it has to offer?
Every space left barren by the cursed amulet becomes replenished to the point of overflowing. Tears of happiness collect at the corner of my eyes at the luxurious feeling it evokes. This isn't real, a voice whispers among the fog of pleasure.
This isn't real...
"Stop." I push against Adrian's chest with both hands, unafraid of his growled response. "I haven't forgotten," I tell him in a ragged breath, honing on my previous bitterness somehow.
He pauses with confusion written over his face. "Haven't forgotten what?" he pants.
"Who the real traitor is."
My icy reply makes Adrian balk and step back, his darkening eyes betraying his guilt. I swallow the thick lump that forms in my throat and batter down the temptation to pull his body back. My skin yearns for his touch. My heart—
"Why?" I ask, voice raw. My happiness pivots to sadness. "Why would you tell them what I shared with you in confidence? Are none of my words safe with you?"
"I did it to keep you safe."
"You exposed my dissent and imagined it would keep me safe?"
The crack of my voice is poignant. Adrian takes another step back, and then one forward to regain the ground lost between us. I scoot back till my back hits the wall. Adrian watches with growing alarm.
"I no longer have my might to leverage," he insists, voice catching just like mine as he reaches out to cup my chilled cheek. The hot stroke of his thumb ushers away the wetness that lays siege across it. "All we have now to barter is knowledge... I have nothing left to give."
I smack his hand away. "You betrayed me."
His face contorts and transforms into a frustrated scowl. "I gave what I had to, to keep us safe—to keep you safe."
"Well, it didn't work, did it?"
Silence chokes us. I turn my frosty gaze away and let it pierce the wall over Adrian's hunched shoulder. He places a hand near the side of my head and angles forward.
"I'm sorry." The rasping apology breezes across my skin. My fingers give an involuntary flex against the wood beneath me. "They took my—" Adrian stops, the pregnant pause filling with what I already know. They took his wings. He clears his throat, voice leveling out to something distant and cool. "I won't let them take that from you, even if it means sacrificing your confidence when it proves useful."
Disappointment strikes me without remorse. I take in a harried breath, my eyes darting back to Adrian's stoic face to find some hope that he can be swayed to my side. There is none. Disappointment hits again with no less force than before. To think of what I've given him, just for the chance that he might help us. How foolish I was to believe it could work. My gaze drops.
Now, he will always have a piece of me, and I, him.
"If you cared about our well-being—about my well-being an ounce then—"
"I'd help you escape?" He uses the same even tone for his delivery, eyes hardening as they stare back at me in challenge. I say nothing in return. Any clever comment I might conjure gone with the truth spoken. "What will it take for you to realize that there is no hope for either of us here? One step out of line, and it will be your friends' blood on your hands?"
I close my eyes, swallowing the letdown and resentment that come forth.
How could this pack of wolves bring down a rokama—did the loss of his wings truly coerce his submission?
Would it not for me?
Everyone has a price, they said, but what would mine cost?
My friends?
My wings?
My magic?
The numbing embrace of the cursed amulet still resonates like some kind of phantom in my blood, ready to seize me again at any moment.
I shudder in a breath. Whatever the cost... I must stay positive. I must believe the Adolphus pack and coven will find a way to rescue us. I must stay strong, no matter what.
My gaze sweeps back to Adrian. I long to give him this hope and persuade him to our side, but I can't trust him. I close my eyes to steel my resolve, and when I open them, cold determination braces my heart.
"I will not let them win," I say, the rasping quality of my voice somewhat jarring in the small space between us. "I won't be their puppet or toy. They will not keep me down. Not while I still have hope in my heart."
Adrian's struggle shows as his hand falls from my cheek to grip my waist. Adrian exhales, the darkness of his eyes gaining a wicked gleam.
"Your only hope is me," Adrian says.
My lips thin, and my eyes narrow. "You're wrong," I respond with confidence building. "Your only hope is me."
I may as well have struck him, for Adrian flinches back with a look of pure astonishment on his face. The foundation of his ire and frustration crack right before my eyes. He struggles to swallow, his obsidian eyes racing to contain his emotions. They run over my face, again and again, searching for a falsehood he will not find.
Even I succumb to the magnitude of my words.
I might not have the raw strength of Adrian or Keenan, nor the prowess of Jax, but I possess a light that cannot be put out. Not by lycan, strange magic, or vile hellspawn. Our eyes meet, and something gives. The bond between us triggers. My lashes sweep closed as Adrian's head bends the few inches separating us to meet my lips with his.
They press gently, holding me a willing prisoner to the resounding rightness that grows to eclipse us. My hand rises to his chest, resting over his heart as I pour every ounce of feeling and intention into the kiss.
Seducing Adrian to our side had no real chance of success, but offering him something to believe in, giving him back hope... maybe that could. And maybe in giving, I may find myself rejuvenated. Ignoring thoughts of two broken hearts in the future, I deepen the kiss.
As our fervor grows with grasping hands and lips and tongues, all on the hunt for gasps and moans, a knock raps loudly at the door. We careen back from one another with equal amounts of confusion and heavy breaths.
"Who is it?" Adrian growls. He struggles to regain his stoic facade and stands before me protectively as the door opens to reveal Noah. The alpha stands in the doorway, a smirk upon his face. Stones pummel into my stomach as I register the malice in his friendly guise.
"I'm not interrupting anything important, am I?" Noah's hazel eyes are trained on my flushed face.
"I was going to bring her—"
Noah lifts a hand to Adrian's forced explanation. "I've decided to escort the fairy myself."
"Escort me... where?"
Noah makes no move to answer my question, and Adrian no move to retreat from his defensive stance. I don't allow the men time to indulge in their standoff. My newfound clarity provides me with fresh hope.
My friends and I will escape this place with Adrian as our guide. But in order to succeed, I can't allow the Wselfwulfs and Stormrows the opportunity to weaken us... which means playing the part they see me as; weak and timid.
I push Adrian away with the heels of my hands and slip off the dresser. A growl rumbles deep within his chest, but I don't acknowledge it. Let Noah think what he wants as I shuffle forward, head bowed in false submission. I can explain myself to Adrian later. I can convince him that our future is outside of this damnable place and these shackles they've bestowed upon us.
"I see you've managed to talk some sense into her," Noah comments as I put on a coat and some shoes. "Maybe Carrie was right, after all, yesterday's lesson seems to have fixed your attitude. Do tell, which is it? Though I'd hate for my betrothed to be right, it would certainly make her happy to know her trick worked. And keeping that particular she-wolf happy makes my life far easier."
I shrug instead of answering. No doubt, my words would betray me somehow.
"Never mind, then," he says affably as he offers me his gloved hand. "Come along, I have a surprise for you. You'll stay here, beast. Someone will come to collect you soon enough."
I cannot hide my reluctance when I place my hand in his. Noah's chuckle only makes the interaction more uncomfortable as he leads me from the respite of Adrian's quarters. I glance over my shoulder, intent on presenting Adrian with a reassuring front, but all there is to see is the door slamming shut behind us.
Chapter 10
The day is warmer than the past few with the sun beaming down through the crooked, bare branches above. Though the cold still nips at my cheeks and nose, it is a far gentler affair. I breathe in the cold air as deep as I can, releasing it in a steady stream through my chapped lips. There is a new depth to the air as the snow around us melts. Soil and moist bark perfume the air. They are hints of what life, after this heavy blanket of white, will be in the forest. In my mind's eye, I can see it already.
The lush green foliage.
The twitter of birds and song of the breeze.
The ripened earth sprouting and blooming into vivid life.
The picture makes my stomach flutter and my skin shiver and shake with—
A startled gasp chokes from my throat as I trip over my feet. Noah keeps me righted, grunting from the unexpected force of my propulsion. My spare arm spins in a wide arc to catch my balance.
"Are you always this clumsy?"
"Sorry," I mumble as I keep my chin tucked as much as I am permitted.
"That necklace really fucked with you yesterday, huh?"
I glance at Noah only to catch him watching me with his predictable superiority. I give a small shrug, lips sealed shut, and turn my eyes back to the forest floor as my head spins from my new revelation. Noah continues to talk, but his commentary is nothing but a bothersome insect at my ear.
The shiver I felt...
The snaking sensation under my skin...
My gaze flits back to Noah. He remains absorbed in his own musings. Thank the gods. With a calming breath to dull the fire racing in my bloodstream, I peek down at my free hand swaying at my side.
The tiny tendril of green intraflora that hugs the bottom of my thumb is different. I direct my eyes ahead, lest Noah takes notice of my observation, and attempts to process the sprouted white flower cropped up near my knuckle.
How is it possible?
"The amulet wasn't made for your kind, a point of fact I argued with Carrie about before last night's dinner party. She isn't very apt at listening to me. Not yet, anyway."
His stream of consciousness continues to flow through one ear and out the other as I dive into this marvel across my skin. My intraflora is soaking up the sunshine, bit by bit, and within its minuscule consumption, a part of me grows lighter—lighter than I've been in days. I stop short of shivering in delight. With my intraflora awakening and my senses more in tune with nature, what else can I do? Is the subjugation collar failing? Is it something more inside of me?
"... but the tests on your friends proved..."
Hope flutters around my heart in anticipation. I need to find a way to test my limits. I must tell my friends that not all is lost!
"... I'm certain we'll find a more apt substitute..."
Maybe my newfound abilities will galvanize Adrian to turn his back on this sordid pack? With Adrian's help then Keenan may stop his efforts to turn members of the Wselfwulf pack sympathetic to our cause. I chew on my lip. The beta from last night made it seem as if they knew about Keenan’s plot. I needed to warn him the next time I saw him, or else what repercussions might he face? Another worry pops into my head.
Will Adrian betray me again?
I frown, and Noah's sigh breaks through my reflections. The hairs at the back of my neck stand on end, for Noah's sigh is endowed with exasperation. I dare not peek at his expression, though his stare carves itself into the side of my face as I keep my eyes trained forward.
"You know," Noah muses, his vowels elongated. "I have the strangest feeling you aren't paying attention. That's quite rude."
"No, I am."
A pregnant pause before he utters his next words. "Is that so?"
My fervent insistence goes unacknowledged. Noah's hand tightens and then tightens some more. I hiss in pain.
"Stop, please." The plea is little more than a shudder as my fragile bones rub together. I tug at his brutal grip. "Stop!"
My hand is released, but the assault is not over. In my stunned state, Noah pushes me back against a tree.
"Do you want to know a secret?" His head dips to hover near my temple, his hot breath stirring the hair there. I turn my head and close my eyes, my cheek pressing against the rough bark with vigor. "I love breaking in the new dogs. I like training them to my hand."
I open my eyes and am confronted with the sight of his hand. It's rooted to the tree trunk and inches away from my nose. His other hand makes its presence known on my hip. I'm torn between the urge to freeze or fight.
