Elyssa stared at her mate.
All six feet of him with his short ash brown hair and full face of beard she was tempted to caress. Although his well-toned torso gleamed like precious liquid under the moonlight, his eyes were his most striking feature. They resembled amber orbs that morphed colour to match his mood, and as they narrowed at her right now, seething with anger, she pouted.
“I see.” Lucian’s voice was low, steady and levelled.
He was livid that she rejected him, and while she knew how devastating it could be for a wolf, she didn’t care.
She didn’t want to care.
“So you lured me here just to turn me down?”
“I did no such thing. Your mother sent me out here, Lucian.” Elyssa shot him a frown and looked around.
Lucian stared at her with an unreadable expression as a cold breeze swept by, and she heard the chilling whisper in the gust of air.
Azure.
A jolt of cold racked through Elyssa’s useless robe, and she wrapped her arms around herself. They needed to get out of the open and whatever thing was taunting her.
“Are you going to tell me why?” Lucian shoved his hands inside his pants pockets.
“No.”
“My mistake for making that sound like a request.” Lucian smiled. “Tell me why you think you can reject me.”
Elyssa eyed him. “You can’t lord over me like one of your lousy foot soldiers, Lucian. I do not wish to be your mate, and that is it.”
After he smiled, he walked up to her and held her gaze as she felt an eerie feeling creep across her skin. Lucian didn’t seem concerned that no paths had opened up to them for a while or that the path that was open a moment ago was now closed, and they were boxed in here.
He twirled his fingers through her hair, laughing. “It’s really curious how you think you can reject me,” he said to her. “I always get what I want, and by the time this senseless ritual is over, I will have marked you as my mate.”
“Without my consent–”
“You really think I give a damn about that? You’re my mate, matched to me by the goddess and that’s final.” He stepped around her towards the wall that wouldn’t budge. “Let’s get this over with and get out of here.”
He was such an arrogant beast! Turning to him, her chest rose and fell as she panted, nursing the desire to spear him into the wall, though his only saving grace was that she knew she wasn’t strong enough.
“I have had enough of your arrogance, Lucian. You won’t treat me like a lackey, do you understand?”
Elyssa gasped when he gently lashed her against the wall in a flash. Her heart almost beating out of her chest as he clutched her throat, his dangerous gaze boring into hers, and as she stared wide-eyed at him, she feared he would hurt her, or worse, mark her.
“Watch it, Elyssa. Mate or not, you will not speak to me like that. Learn your place.”
The heat of his touch wracked her skin, chasing away the chill, and leaving her at a loss for words. But for now, their scuffle would have to wait with the uninvited guest snarling behind them. Elyssa was unable to see past Lucian’s shoulders, only listening to its pissed off growl as her eyes remained glued to her mate’s. Lucian glanced over his shoulder at the wolf that had appeared out of nowhere.
As Lucian released her, he turned to look at the white wolf standing in front of them. Elyssa massaged her throat, watching the azure wolf from her mate’s side. She was the biggest, furriest snow-white wolf she’d ever seen, and she was breathtaking. As she snarled, her striking blue eyes locked on Lucian, and Elyssa stared at the wolf that stood in striking resemblance to her mother.
“An azure.” She heard Lucian mused as he admired it. “Aren’t they all dead?”
After eyeing him, she turned to the wolf. Right, Lucian had no idea who she was, and he didn’t see her earlier when she shifted.
“Of course, you made sure of that, didn’t you?”
Lucian countered, “The Mazzeo fire was tragic. They were too rare a pack to decimate, and if you're implying that I had a hand in that, you couldn't be more wrong. I’m not that stupid, they were Perkington's last azure family.”
Elyssa bit down the anger burning in her heart when he mentioned her family, and her hands balled into fists by her side. Not only did he have the guts to speak their name, he was denying his crime.
The wolf’s gaze fell on her and softened, and Elyssa stared into her calming blue eyes that eased the anger in her heart. She glimpsed Lucian through the side of her eye, and her eyes met his as he looked between her and the wolf.
“Hmm.” He regarded her for a while before returning his attention to the wolf, and Elyssa suspected he somehow saw their resemblance.
“Why’s she just standing there?” Elyssa wondered.
“Beats me.” Lucian frowned as they continued to watch her.
A heartbeat later, she grunted at them and turned on her way, walking towards a wall that opened up for her. Then she glanced back at them and groaned.
“She wants us to follow.” Elyssa smiled.
“Right, we’re not doing that,” Lucian returned.
“I didn’t ask your permission, Lucian. I’m going with her.” Elyssa retorted.
“Goddess, Elyssa. You have no idea where she might lead us. Don’t be reckless.”
“There’s no us in this. You can leave if you wish.”
The wolf turned back to them and growled. She cocked her head as if pointing between them, then turned back to the chamber on the other side.
“She wants the both of us to follow.” Lucian observed, then he slanted a glance at Elyssa.
When his lips parted, it looked like he was going to say something to her, but then he decided not to and shook his head before following behind the wolf. Elyssa followed, and the two of them walked through the opening together. After the wall snapped shut behind them, Elyssa ran across the ground to the flowing spring creek in front of them. It was beautiful. The clear water fell from a hilltop above and flowed through the bed of rocks below.
“What is this place?” Lucian asked from behind her.
The moment she turned around to face him, her breath caught in her throat. It was likely they were no longer in the Labyrinth because the tall walls no longer surrounded them. Adding to the mystery was the golden statue she could see.
“Can you see it now?” she asked Lucian, pointing to it.
He did a U-turn around the space. “See what?”
“It’s the golden statue right there in the middle of the fountain.” Elyssa walked over to it and Lucian went to stand beside her.
“I see the fountain, but there is no statue there.”
He paused and turned sharply to meet her gaze, his eyes glowing with a touch of wonder that set the fire glowing in his eyes. It was beautiful to behold, and her lips tinged with a smile as she held his gaze.
“Your eyes,” he murmured. Then he stroked her hair, looking her over with a whelming stunned look that caused her pulse to race.
Elyssa’s eyes took a quick, swift glance at the azure wolf that was now sitting beside the fountain, watching them.
“What about my eyes?” Elyssa wondered.
“That's why you can see what others can't. You’re one of the chosen.”
That was his meaning? She almost rolled her eyes at it. A few people could tell by looking at her that she was an azure, but since the fire that took her pack, they believed the azures to be extinct, so most people didn't think anything of her appearance. As a child, her mother told her stories of the pack of beautiful wolves with hair as red as ruby, fur as white as snow, and eyes as blue as the azure sky overturned by savages. There were only a couple of survivors and their numbers had dwindled since, leaving just a few of them. Caitlyn Mazzeo was one of them. Her mother’s stories of her azure heritage started to make sense after her first shift, and the Ewing pack would not stop calling her a chosen. The azures were blessed with the goddess' grace and gifts, and were chosen Lunas of their packs. She didn’t even understand what it meant. Chosen for misery? To be alone, and forced to be the mate of the man who destroyed her life? “I hav
She’d been kissed before. Not a lot, but they’d been good, with men gorgeous enough to knock the breath out of you, but goddess, this was different. It was like nothing before this existed, the world was a measly grey scale and Lucian woke her from the dreadful lapse. She could taste the opening up of her soul, as his hands trailed down to her hips, and he lifted her up, Elyssa wrapped her legs around his waist. Any more, and she’d explode from the feeling she couldn’t quite put into words. Happy, joy, complete, like she was only created to kiss him. Lucian broke away, and they stared into each other’s eyes. She had no thoughts, and in that moment she knew he was hers. Then he took her lips in a soft, warm kiss and smiled against her lips. “Tell me why you despise me.” As his voice rumbled through her, she reached out her fingers to finally touch his beard. She ran them through his soft hair and traced her way upwards into his hair. Her intent
Lucian’s POV Amid the eerie darkness that followed the ungodly wind sweeping through the chamber, her soul-piercing blue eyes held his with an iciness that outdid the current cold. He was transfixed by her azure gaze, and whatever she had found out clearly upset her. “What, exactly?” he asked, turning away from her. There wasn’t anything the Callisto’s weren’t blamed for, and he was getting tired of it. Drizzles pooled in his palm as he held his hand out. There was no shelter around to wait out the impending heavy downpour, and the storm was picking up quickly. “Your mother drives the azure wolves in here as an offering to that witch.” Then he turned around and faced her. Her crimson locks dancing in the wind now, as did the short robe she had on. While his muscles tightened, he felt himself swallow; Elyssa was stunning. “What are you talking about?” He groaned. “She sent me here too, despite the fact t
Elyssa froze in his arms, her eyes fluttering as she held his unyielding gaze. It was not surprising that he wanted to know that, but she hadn’t expected that it would come up here. Meanwhile, the rain was also drowning her, and now Lucian intended to finish her off. Everything was wrong. From her glimpse into Lucian’s memories, he had nothing to do with the fire that took her family. Who was it then? Another Callisto brother or their mother? That Luna, Victoria, had shown herself to be capable of anything, and based on what she had seen from Serene’s memories, she was responsible for sending her kind here. Added to that, there was this witch who was hunting her for her gift, one she had hated since it manifested after her first shift. In the aftermath of the fire, she was left to deal with everything alone. Although Lucian had no memory of it, that did not mean his pack wasn’t responsible. “That’s for me to know.” Elyssa took another attempt to break
Lucian’s POV. He stood with his hands akimbo in front of the wall, unable to control his feelings toward the moronic alpha behind him. If he hadn't interfered, he wouldn't have taken his eyes off his mate. Now she was all alone, just like the witch wanted. “If anything happens to her, you can rest assured your head will go with her.” Lucian spat. “Who’s this witch that's after her anyway? I mean, I didn’t think there were any more of those since the purge.” Lucian turned to him. “My guess is as good as yours. Probably one of the remaining few. We need to get out of here.” “And go where exactly? If there’s a witch in the labyrinth, then it’s possible that she is directing our paths, not the goddess.” “If she was, trust me, you wouldn’t be here.” Lucian growled. When he finally accepted that the wall wouldn’t open, he turned towards the only other way, and Antonio followed him. A sense of crippling anxiety attack
“What do you want?” Elyssa clenched her teeth against the pounding in her chest. The witch would not get the pleasure of watching her squirm in fear. “Your heart might explode if you don’t calm yourself, azure.” “Better that than getting what you want from me,” Elyssa shot. In a split second, the witch was standing right in front of Elyssa, and she almost jumped out of her skin. “Now, azure, I’ve gone five decades without the gift of an azure. I don’t intend to waste another second battling words with my dinner.” Then she gripped Elyssa’s throat, and she lifted her up with ease. As she choked, Elyssa grabbed onto her arm for support, and inadvertently channelled her gift. She shrieked at the contact and flung Elyssa away, leaping back from Elyssa’s touch. Elyssa bounced off the wall, rolling into the black dirt on the ground with a grunt. After groaning against the pain in her midriff for a minute, she struggled to get up
“You can’t be serious! Lucian Callisto is your…” Zuker trailed off, pacing in front of her as he hung his hands on his waist, his auburn hair pinned in a bun that accentuated his sharp jawline. Though she could understand his astonishment at her news, his reaction was a bit much. There had to be more to why he was acting like the world was about to fall apart. “I don’t understand your reaction to this. I was really upset about it, but, is there anything you would like to share?” “It’s…” he said with a loud huff. “It’s Lucian, El. He is Rita’s...mate. The goddess wouldn’t match you with someone who is already engaged. This will be problematic for you and Rita, and the two packs.” “He’s engaged to your sister?” A chill ran down her spine as the words drubbed against her ear, and she felt her stomach lurch with a sensation she’d never known before. Elyssa coughed against the painful lump that was now wedged in her throat when Zuker nodded. Why di
Lucian’s POV He watched Rita from where he sat on the rock beside her, waiting for her to wake, and his patience was wearing thin. It took him some time to get her to shift back, so he could examine her injuries, and the gash on her stomach was nasty and wasn't healing. He had ripped a shard of her dress off to stop the bleeding, and now he was worried that he was wasting time just sitting there. It was either he took Rita back to the Ewing pack, or found his way back to El; but they both needed him. It was nearly dawn, and he had to find his way back to Elyssa before sunrise. Standing with his hands on his waist, he tried to figure out why the labyrinth led him away from his mate and to Rita. Shouldn't his mate be his priority? He hadn’t considered that his relationship with Rita somehow linked them. With a weak groan she stirred, and Lucian turned to her. Damn it! Getting her home would cut into his time in