AvaleaWhat did I just experience? The dry, factual description of an orgasm I’d read in the Council-approved scientific books can’t even be compared to what I just felt at Aldrich’s hands.I was born with magical blood, I practice magic every day, but this… this goes beyond magic. He incinerated me, annihilated me, destroyed me in the best possible way. I don’t have the energy to even lift a finger, but at the same time, I’m feeling so alive.Underneath all that, there’s also a tiny tinge of embarrassment. Aldrich’s hands were on my… I close my eyes and hide my face in the crook of his neck. I can’t help the smile from blossoming on my lips, however. His finger is still buried inside me.By the Goddess, this is what heaven must feel like. He pulls out his finger slowly, then pulls up my breeches and fastens them in place. Holding me close, he drops a kiss on my forehead.I peek at him through my lashes. His eyes are blazing with naked, unbridled lust. How can something that feels
AvaleaMy hands fly to my mouth and my eyes widen. He saw me in the trees? “How is that even possible?”Aldrich leans against the pallet, weariness etched over his face.“I thought you’d be able to tell me.”I shake my head, too shocked to speak. “Is it possible though?” He’s thinking out loud, and since my brain is still processing the shock, I do not immediately understand what he’s asking.“Is what possible?”“To have somebody impersonate you? Magically?”My brows knit as I rub a finger to my temple. “Not by using the ‘permitted’ forms of magic.”“But it is possible?”If somebody is impersonating me magically, it cannot be good. Only by using the most taboo, most forbidden forms of magic can somebody impersonate another person. And only the most powerful of witches or wizards can even generate the required magical energy. Also, there’s another important prerequisite.“It’s taboo to impersonate another person, though it is possible. But to impersonate me, this person would need m
AldrichLast night after our little chat, we slept in each others’ arms, just holding each other.I woke up earlier than Ava, before sunrise. It feels wonderful to wake up next to her, without having to worry about rushing back to the pack. I could get used to this. With a silent sigh, I force myself to move past this feeling. Ava and I are worlds apart. It’s never going to work between us. I need to keep reminding myself that.I have been given the privilege of keeping her safe—for a short duration of time. A very short duration. No long-term plans. We just need to focus on getting through the day unharmed.For now, I need to get us food and water. There are some essentials that I brought with me yesterday: dried meat and hard flour biscuits. Both of those things taste only a little better than dirt, but they’ll help us survive if going out becomes impossible. With so many enemies after us, that time might come sooner than I expected. We are under threat from three different fronts
AvaleaSomething has changed between Aldrich and I. I felt it in that stunned look he gave me when I came out of the privy, and I can feel it now, the minute he walked into the hut.He’s avoiding my gaze and looking in my direction all too much.“Is everything alright?” “Yes. Sure. Why shouldn’t it be?”Why is his voice strangely high-pitched? He is behaving really oddly. “I’ll clean the hare outside. Wouldn’t want to get it all bloody and messy here.”“I can…”He steps out.“... clean it up.”Well, that was interesting. I’ll talk to him later, when he’s ready. Meanwhile, I have a ritual to prepare for. The Blood Ritual demands that one be pure, physically and mentally. I have to cleanse. I wish I could have a real soak in a steaming tub of hot water. Unfortunately, that’s not a luxury we have. But I have my magic. I hug my middle, a huge smile on my face. I have been feeling so invincible in my own power lately. To think I was only restricting myself to what the Council allowed.
AldrichI cannot believe my ears. I cannot believe what I’m about to do next.Walking into the hut and seeing Ava naked–it blew my mind. She is exquisite. I knew she was beautiful, but she is beyond beautiful. She’s ethereal. Her skin is so soft, so delicate underneath my rough hands. I fear merely touching her will leave marks. But I want to mark her, want to make her mine. I want to bite the tender flesh at the junction of her neck and shoulder, right next to her collarbone where I can see her pulse racing. My wolf is dying to be unleashed. He wants to taste her too. He wants her to be ours.I tell him it cannot happen. She can never be truly ours. The huge chasm between us because of the circumstances of our birth can never be overcome.But at this moment, I have her. That has to be enough.I smoothen out the animal-skin rug on the pallet. It is dusty from our adventure last night, and I hesitate to lower Ava on it. She’s a princess, used to all sorts of riches. I wish I could
AvaleaDid Aldrich actually bite me? It hurts, but the pain feels so good. Why does it feel so good? I want more of it, more of him, more of everything. Something tells me he hasn’t even begun to pleasure me yet. Even then, I’m nearly out of my mind. I’m writhing underneath him, craving for him to make me his.He scrapes his teeth over my collarbone again, moving down, down, down. His face is nestled between my breasts. From there, he looks up, his eyes boring into me. I see the wolf inside him so clearly. It sends a fresh thunderbolt of desire right down to my core.The tight nub hidden between the folds of my sex is throbbing in earnest, begging for his touch. But Aldrich is taking his time. I want to urge him to hurry up. Something tells me he will not heed my words.His tongue darts out, circling one pebbled peak. I arch my back, begging for more. When his lips close around my nipple, I cry out his name, my hands pulling his head closer to my breast greedily. With his other hand
AvaleaAnn got away. She is safe.Ann got away. She is safe.I chant this over and over again in my mind as my feet carry me away in a direction they’ve deemed safe. My silk bedroom slippers are no match for the rough forest floor. Sharp pebbles and thorns tear at my feet, just as the low-lying branches are making short work of my nightgown. I’m covered in scrapes and bruises, and my tired legs stumble on a gnarly root that I failed to notice in the darkness. Neither of the two moons have made an appearance tonight. The canopy overhead is so thick that only the barest hint of the brilliant starlight is able to make its way through the gaps. How long I have been running I do not know, but I can still smell the acrid stench of smoke as the fire destroys everything in its path. Or am I smelling the residual smoke clinging to my now ruined-beyond-repair nightgown? I’m not certain. One glance behind me will tell me if I have come far enough, but I cannot look back, nor can I stop my feet
AldrichI gape at the apparition lying on the pallet of hay in my hut, unable, unwilling to believe my eyes. I move closer, making as little noise as I can in order to get a better look. My feet feel heavy, leaden, as I inch forward. If she indeed is who I think she is, it’ll mean a world of trouble for me and the pack. More trouble than we can handle at the moment. First rays of sunlight illuminate the inside of this hut, which is my secret safe place. I come here when it all gets too much, when I need an escape. Nobody is aware of its existence. Well, nobody was, I think with a grimace. I’m now standing only a couple of feet away from her. She’s lying on her side, her face turned away from me. It is her. There’s no mistaking her identity, not with the unique color of her hair. It is tied in a single, disheveled braid and falls down her back. The very end of it sinuously curves around her slender waist. It is silver, and even shines like the metal when polished to perfection. I s