“As the brothers argued, the Sun turned away, unable to bear the sight of the beasts of night who were beginning to rip into the flesh of his dearest child in an attempt to hide their crime. He disappeared behind a wall of clouds like none the creatures of earth had ever seen. The clouds soon split and torrents gushed from them, flooding the land.“The beasts who had begun to devour the fallen king scattered for shelter. The wolf's fur was soaked with tears and rain as he watched his brother try to escape in the chaos. Before he could pursue him, the fallen king began to rise. As he stood, his spilled entrails drew back within him and the blood that had soaked into the ground returned to his body through his palms, forcing its way through his flesh and into his veins.”My blood ran cold at Ulric's words. It was easy enough to cast everything aside as a fairy tale, but that last bit was far too similar to my grotesque hallucination for comfort. I unconsciously rubbed my hand an
Ulric closed the book unceremoniously and set it aside. "There's more, but those are the relevant scriptures. I'm sure Foster could recite them by heart." Bella took a deep breath and leaned back in her chair. "Well, I can definitely see why Victor doesn't believe any of that," she said. Darian grumbled something unintelligible under his breath."I don't really see how it helps in our current situation," Bella admitted. "Maybe it doesn't," said Ulric. "But it is the origin of the soulmate legend, which you happen to be living out right now." "How much of this carries over to today, though?" Bella looked at Darian. "Did you really go to a priest?" "We all do," he replied. "Male or female, all original wolves go to the Lunar Temple for a coming-of-age ceremony once we hit twelve. Ever since I was a kid, it's been a rite of passage and little more. I'll spare you the boring details, but you enter the temple, pay an offering of respect to the priest or priestes
Bella gave him a strange look. "My condition?""Oh. I was hoping one of them had told you. Well, around the full moon your kind of wolf gets, ah—" He scratched his head. "Are you sure I didn't explain this earlier?"She shook her head. "Not in depth.”He hesitated for another moment before settling his large hands on her shoulders. "Tell you what, go ask Clara about it later. She's much better at explaining this sort of thing." Bella wanted to ask what "this sort of thing" was, but Ulric didn't give her the chance. "Come along, my girl. We should get to Victor before your mate does."She followed him, realizing that the time she was about to be given with Victor was precious. She struggled for a way to ask the most pressing question on her mind and decided to just come out with it. "Sir, what's in those injections I've been taking?"He didn't look at her, but she could tell her question had startled him. "I told you, it's a serum to help ease the side effects from your me
"Bella?" Her voice came out shriveled and weak, so she tried again. "Bella, are you alright?"No response.She took a seat and reminded herself that if Darian saw her looking hesitant or scared for even a moment, he would come in to "rescue" her."How are you feeling today?" She tried.Victor looked up, and his expression wasn't one she had prepared herself for. The hollows underneath his eyes were deeper, shadowier. His mouth was curved into a thin, eerie smile, and his gray eyes lacked their usual sharpness. "So it's complete."She tried to make sense of his strange remark but couldn't. "I'm sorry?" "My brother's mark is complete. You slept together."Her face grew warm. She wasn't sure why she felt so embarrassed admitting it. Of all the things she had to be ashamed of, sleeping with Darian wasn't one of them."He's my mate, Victor," she said as gently as she could."It was only a matter of time," he murmured. It became clear from the distant look in his gaze that he
"I don't know," Bella admitted. "He's honest, compassionate, sweet. He's enthusiastic about everything he does and he always makes me laugh.""You are aware that you just described a dog, aren't you?"She glared at him. "Funny. It's not just that. I don't know what it is, but even though I've only known him for a little while, I feel like I've known him all my life. I know he'd do whatever it took to keep me safe."He snorted. "Everything except being here. He practically left you to die in the woods so he could chase his prey, remember?"Her nails dug into her thighs as a way to channel the anger mounting inside of her. "You said it yourself, he can't help it when he goes into that state." "A lack of control is never an excuse." "Maybe not in your world of leather whips and restraints where there's always a right and a wrong way to do everything, but that's not the real world, Victor," she muttered. "You can't live in that world forever."He smirked. "Y
"If you keep getting head injuries like this, I'm going to have to prescribe a helmet." Clara's soothing voice was unmistakable even over the ringing in her ears. Bella tried to sit up as she regained consciousness, but she was strapped down to a cot. A glance around the room told her that she was in the infirmary. She recognized the calming blue wallpaper and the elegant rose trim above it. There were plants everywhere, and a few neatly made cots beside hers. The infirmary had the same bright, feminine air as Clara's garden, and it was a stark contrast to the rest of the Lodge.It took a moment for Bella to recall why she was there, but once she remembered, she started pulling at the restraints."Easy there. I don't want to have to give you another sedative," Clara said, reaching for a clear syringe on a tray beside the cot."Victor—”"Is fine," she interrupted. "Well, maybe fine isn't the right word, but he will be. We heal quickly. I'm afraid Darian did a number on his ja
Bella's eyes burned with tears that she tried to hold back to no avail. "It's not fair. Victor is always there to rescue everyone else, but who's going to save him?" Clara gave her a ghost of a smile. "I had hoped it might be you, before the mark. I've never seen Victor light up the way he did when he saw you walk into the Lodge that night. He was reading in the lounge, as usual, when you walked in. When I greeted you and Arthur at .ere the only person in the world there ever had been or ever would be. He waited until you were gone to ask me who you were. I showed him your name in the guest book and told him you were Arthur's friend. I asked him if he knew you somehow." "What did he say?" Bella asked hoarsely. Clara looked away. "He said he'd been waiting for you for a very long time. That you were the one he was going to spend the rest of his life with." Her words knocked the wind out of Bella. The tears that had been pooling in her e
Bella learned that night that Victor and Darian had very different approaches to dungeon life. While Victor was all about mind games and slowly building tension, Darian's torture took a much more straightforward approach.After he assured her that she was more than up for the experience after her ordeal in the basement, Darian took her into his room on the second floor. There was no contract to sign, and his spiel was a much shorter one. "If you need me to stop, just yell 'red.' If you want me to slow down, say 'yellow.' Got it?""Got it." After that, it was into a barely-there harness and briefs that weren't destined to stay on for long. He instructed her to stand in one place, so she did. First, he put a blindfold around her eyes that made it impossible to see anything. Then, he tied her arms behind her back with impressive ease.The thrill of the experience was marred somewhat when he placed an affectionate kiss on her cheek, pulling her out of the scenario.