Selene stirred first, her eyelids fluttering against the weak, ethereal light that dared to seep through the broken plantation windows. A shiver traced her spine, not from cold, but from the lingering echoes of the battle, the raw, visceral magic still clinging to the air.
Lucien.
He slept sprawled across the cracked marble floor, a warrior at rest, yet his protective instincts were fully displayed even in slumber. One arm lay possessively across her waist, his body a fortress erected against a world that would gladly tear them apart. Blood, now drying into dark, intricate patterns, streaked his skin, painting a grim tapestry across his chest and throat. Each stain was a testament to his unwavering devotion, a silent promise whispered in crimson.
The bond between them pulsed, a gentle thrum against her soul – sated, for now, but fragile, like a heartbeat struggling to regain its rhythm after being shattered by a cataclysmic force. It was a lifeline, precious and precarious, and she would guard it with every fiber of her being.
Gently, reverently, Selene brushed a hand over his midnight hair, marveling at the quiet ferocity that resided within this man – this ancient creature who had bled and burned for her, time and time again. She knew he would do it again without hesitation or a second thought. His love was a blazing inferno, consuming everything in its path, leaving only ashes and devotion.
A soft, tremulous smile touched her lips, a fragile bloom in the desolate landscape of their reality. Then, the world shifted. The air grew thick and heavy with an unseen presence.
A new pull.
A wrong pull.
Selene stiffened, every nerve ending screaming in protest. It slithered under her skin, a seductive, dark tendril wrapping around her heart, whispering promises of forbidden pleasure. It felt familiar, in the way a recurring nightmare might be familiar, a chilling echo from a past she desperately tried to bury.
The bond with Lucien roared in warning, a primal scream of possessive rage that resonated through her very being – but it couldn't drown out the insidious whisper rising from the shadows outside, a siren's call luring her towards the rocks.
A voice, silk, and sin slipped into her mind, caressing her thoughts with a chilling intimacy: *Come to me, little queen. You belong to more than him.*
Selene gasped, wrenching herself upright. The phantom touch of the voice left gooseflesh in its wake. Lucien's silver eyes snapped open immediately, feral alertness flooding his features, transforming him from a sleeping beauty into a predator in a heartbeat.
"What is it?" he rasped, his voice a low growl, already reaching for her, his fingers digging into her arm as if to tether her to reality.
Selene opened her mouth to speak, warn him, and confess the insidious intrusion, but the broken door creaked, and a mournful sound echoed through the ruined room, silencing her.
The dark mate stepped into the ruined room, his presence an oppressive weight threatening to suffocate the air.
He was tall, impossibly so, wrapped in black leather that molded to his robust frame like a second skin and silver armor that gleamed with an unholy light. His hair, raven-dark and impossibly long, cascaded past his broad shoulders, framing a face that was both breathtaking and terrifying. Half his face was obscured by a silver wolf mask, its sharp angles and predatory design hinting at the beast within. Still, his mouth was visible – smiling in a way that was both devastatingly beautiful and monstrously cruel. It was the smile of a predator who had finally cornered his prey.
His presence was overwhelming, a tidal wave of raw power threatening to drown her. He was predatory and magnetic. He was a walking paradox, a siren song wrapped in a nightmare.
Selene's magic recoiled instinctively, a visceral rejection of his dark energy. Yet something else pulled at her chest, a soft, sweet, poisonous ache that resonated with a forbidden longing. It was a betrayal, a weakness, and she hated it with every fiber.
Lucien surged to his feet, placing himself between Selene and the intruder, his body vibrating with barely restrained violence. He was a shield, a bulwark against the darkness, and she knew he would gladly die to protect her.
"You," he growled, his voice a low, guttural snarl. "Stay away from her."
The dark mate tilted his head, studying Lucien with an air of detached amusement as one might examine a broken toy, discarded and forgotten.
"So possessive," he murmured, his voice a silken caress that sent shivers down Selene's spine. "So weak."
Lucien snarled, claws sliding free, glinting like obsidian shards in the dim light. He was ready to fight, kill, and tear this intruder limb from limb, and Selene knew he would.
Selene staggered to her feet, clutching Lucien's arm, desperate to ground herself, to anchor herself to the reality she knew.
"Who—" she tried to ask, but the dark mate smiled at her, and her voice died in her throat, choked by a sudden, inexplicable fear.
"You feel it, don't you?" he said softly, his eyes, the one visible eye, burning into hers with an intensity that stripped her bare. "The second bond. The one they tried to bury."
Selene shook her head, her heart pounding against her ribs like a trapped bird.
"No," she whispered, the word barely audible, a desperate plea against the inevitable. "No, I don't want it."
The dark mate's smile widened, revealing a flash of sharp, predatory teeth.
"But it wants you."
Lucien moved then – a blur of rage and desperation, a whirlwind of claws and teeth unleashed upon his enemy. He struck with lethal precision, claws aiming for the stranger's throat, intent on silencing him forever.
The dark mate effortlessly blocked the blow as if swatting away an annoying insect, sending Lucien crashing back against the wall with a flick of his wrist. The sound of his body hitting the stone echoed through the room, a sickening thud that made Selene's stomach churn.
Selene screamed, reaching for him, desperate to help him, to protect him – but the dark mate caught her wrist in an iron grip, his fingers biting into her flesh.
"You're mine," he purred, his breath ghosting across her skin, sending a shiver of revulsion and a flicker of something else she didn't want to name down her spine. "Fate wrote it in blood long before you were born."
Selene's magic flared violently, and a surge of raw power erupted from her core, knocking him back several feet. The force of the blast shattered the remaining windows, sending shards of glass flying through the air.
But he only laughed, a low, throaty sound that sent a chill down her spine, licking a smear of blood from his lips.
"I'll come for you again," he promised, backing into the shadows, his eyes never leaving hers. "And next time, you'll beg me for it."
He disappeared into the dark as silently as he had come, leaving behind only the stench of ancient, forbidden magic, a lingering reminder of the darkness that now threatened to consume her.
Lucien groaned, struggling to rise, his face contorted in pain.
Selene rushed to his side, kneeling beside him and helping him to stand upright.
"You're hurt," she said, tears stinging her eyes. She hated seeing him like this, vulnerable, injured, all for her.
Lucien shook his head grimly, his jaw clenched tight.
"It's nothing."
But Selene could see the terror in his eyes, the raw, primal fear he couldn't hide. Not for himself. For her.
"He's one of them," Lucien said, his voice shaking with rage, his body trembling with barely suppressed fury. "The Forsaken. Bloodspawned demons who survived the Sundering."
Selene stared at him, her heart hammering against her ribs, a frantic drumbeat of fear and disbelief.
"And he's… my mate?" The words tasted like ash in her mouth, a bitter poison that threatened to suffocate her.
Lucien's fists clenched at his sides, his knuckles white with the force of his grip.
"No," he growled, his voice a low, possessive snarl. "You're mine."
Selene's lower lip trembled, the weight of the revelation threatening to crush her.
"I felt it," she whispered, her voice barely audible. "The pull."
Lucien grabbed her, hauling her against him, his arms wrapping around her like a vise, his eyes blazing with silver fire.
"You listen to me, Selene," he snarled, his voice rough with desperation. "There is no one else. There will never be anyone else."
He kissed her then – hard, punishing, savage. It was a kiss born of fear and desperation, a desperate attempt to reclaim what he feared he was losing.
Selene sobbed into his mouth, clutching him like a lifeline, clinging to him as if he were the only thing keeping her from drowning in the encroaching darkness.
Lucien broke the kiss only long enough to drag off the remnants of her clothes, baring her completely to his gaze as if to brand her with his possession.
"You're mine," he rasped, his voice cracking with raw emotion. "Mine, Selene. Say it."
Selene gasped, tears spilling down her cheeks, her body trembling with a mixture of fear and desire.
"I'm yours," she choked out, the words a desperate plea, a whispered vow. "Only yours."
Lucien crushed her mouth again, silencing her doubts, lifting her effortlessly, pressing her against the nearest wall.
He sheathed himself inside her in one brutal, claiming thrust, making her scream into his mouth, the sound muffled by his possessive kiss.
Selene wrapped her legs around him, her nails raking his back, her body clinging to his as he moved inside her with a desperate, violent rhythm. He was staking his claim, marking his territory, and she was his to conquer.
Lucien didn't hold back this time. There was no gentleness left, no tenderness to be found. Only possession. Only the primal, savage need to mark her, own her, anchor her against the dark bond trying to tear them apart.
Selene surrendered completely, letting him take her, letting him brand her soul with every thrust, every bite, every whispered vow. She was his body and soul, and she would fight this darkness with him, side by side, until her last breath.
Their magic exploded around them, sealing the bond tighter, brighter, stronger, a beacon of light in the encroaching darkness.
When Selene shattered, screaming his name, Lucien followed with a roar, grinding into her. This locked them together even deeper, forging a connection that even fate itself couldn't break.
They collapsed to the floor, tangled together, panting, shaking, their bodies slick with sweat and blood.
Lucien cradled her to his chest, pressing kiss after kiss to her hair, forehead, and cheeks as if trying to reassure himself that she was still his.
"You're mine," he whispered repeatedly, his voice hoarse with emotion. "My mate. My queen. My heart."
Selene clung to him, sobbing, her body trembling with the aftershocks of their violent union.
"I'm yours," she whispered, her voice muffled against his chest. "Always."
But deep inside her, under the warmth of their bond, beneath the surface of her conscious mind – the second bond pulsed.
Waiting.
Watching.
Hungering.