Adult content ahead so be warned(°^°)
Lucian was kissing Rosaline with more and more intensity, trying to find the pleasure, the coursing pleasure he had found just by hugging Elara but he still couldn't find that.
His mouth moved against Rosaline's with force, almost bruising, but there was no spark, no blinding rush that had set his blood on fire when Elara had been in his arms.
Instead, every touch here felt hollow, as though he were clawing through emptiness, searching for a satisfaction that refused to come.
And it made him even more agitated, making the agitation visible in his advances. He kept kissing her trying to forget the pleasure he had felt when he had sunk his teeth into Elara's neck but it was nothing like that.
The memory burned behind his eyelids, Elara's gasp, the intoxicating taste of her blood, the way his wolf had howled with completion.
Compared to that, Rosaline's lips, soft and eager as they were, felt like ashes. His frustration spilled out through the roughness of his hands, the sharp pull of his lips, his entire body thrumming with anger he didn't understand.
Was that drug so powerful?! He wondered in anger as his hand squeezed Rosaline's breast hardly making her let out a scream...
Her body arched away from his touch at the sudden sting, her gasp breaking the rhythm of their kiss.
"Alpha...please a little gentle.." she said while trying to match Lucian's advances.
Her voice trembled with a mixture of plea and desire, her breath uneven as she struggled to keep up with the ferocity consuming him.
She had dreamed of this moment for so long, of him finally turning that burning intensity on her, making her the center of his world. But reality was harsher than fantasy.
His lips and hands were frantic, desperate, almost punishing, and though she wanted to revel in it, the ache of his grip made her body flinch in protest.
She had always wanted him to be crazy for her, to make her beg for more, to be passionate with her but this was more than that he was almost hurting her.
His kisses bruised, his grip unforgiving, his movements more like a man battling his own demons than one worshiping her. And though she whispered for gentleness, though her body begged for tenderness, there was none to be found.
She now wanted him to be just a little gentle but to her surprise her words were not replied with something tender but Lucian looked at her with his lust clouded eyes mixed with his anger towards Elara.
"This is what you get with this alpha." He said before thrusting himself into her making her yelp as pain tore through her body.
Her back arched violently, nails clawing into the sheets as her cry echoed off the chamber walls. For a heartbeat the pain was sharp, cutting through her spine, making her body tense under his force.
She hugged Lucian, her nails digging into his back as she tried to endure the pain but soon it was replaced with pleasure making her let out more and more moans into Lucian's ears fueling his beast even more.
Her thighs tightened around him, desperate to hold him close, her moans turning breathless as the pain slowly melted into waves of sensation she had longed to feel from him.
Each sound she made was like oil on fire, feeding the wildness in his blood, urging him to take and take until nothing was left.
Lucian kept thrusting into her trying to chase his high while the room was filled with their moans and Rosaline's screams...
*""*
Elara was feeling as if she wanted to tear her neck away from her body instead of enduring the pain the mark caused her anymore.
Her fingers clawed desperately at her skin, nails raking until they broke, until warm trickles of blood ran down her throat. The burning was relentless, like fire stitched into her veins, a branding iron pressed deeper and deeper into her flesh.
She was surprised or even shocked thinking how was she still alive after enduring so much pain even without her wolf.
Her body was frail compared to others in the pack, yet she had survived torment after torment. Tonight should have been her end, and still she staggered on, clinging to life in defiance of everything that was crushing her.
She had scracked her neck so much till now that her neck looked like it was assaulted by some ferocious beast.
The skin was raw and shredded, red streaks marring her delicate throat. Every brush of wind against it made her flinch as if knives were cutting into her, yet she couldn't stop herself. Her trembling hands rose again and again, desperate to rip away the source of agony.
She knew all this was happening because Lucian must be claiming Rosaline.
The realization hollowed her chest. Each stab of pain wasn't just physical, it was the tearing of her heart, the proof that the bond she had felt, fragile and fleeting, was being desecrated before it could even bloom.
It was known to all the werewolves that the agonizing pain caused by your mate making love with any other while you bore his mark was bone shattering.
But she had never imagined it would feel like this, as though her very soul was being shredded into ribbons, pulled apart strand by strand until nothing remained but anguish.
Elara wanted to find anything... anything to ease her pain even if she found a cliff to jump for she would gladly do that to stop this torture.
Her mind screamed for escape, for release, for silence. Death seemed gentler than this endless burning, sweeter than the betrayal clawing her from the inside.
With her trembling legs she finally got up to find something that would bring an end to all this.
Her knees buckled as she rose, every step a battle, her body swaying as though the forest floor tilted beneath her feet. She leaned against the rough bark of a nearby tree, her blood-stained fingers leaving streaks upon it.
She kept walking through the woods, taking support from one tree to another while enduring the blinding pain.
The night was quiet except for her ragged breaths and the faint rustle of leaves beneath her bare feet. Her vision blurred with tears, but she forced herself forward, dragging her body through the shadows.
Soon after, like a ray of sunlight after a long dreadful night, she heard the sound of water.
The faint, melodic rush reached her ears, soft and steady, like a lullaby calling her from afar. For a moment she thought she was imagining it, a cruel trick of her weakening mind, until it grew louder with every stumbling step.
It was as if a river was nearby. Elara's eyes widened, she looked around while she kept her arms around a tree to provide support to her trembling legs.
Her heart skipped, her chest tightening with a fragile thread of hope.
Was this the forest near the river Elandor? She wondered as a ray of hope coursed through her, she had to reach the river.
Elandor—the sacred river whispered about in the pack's stories, where the moonlight danced upon its surface like silver flames. Many said its waters had healing within them, blessings of the Moon Goddess herself.
Maybe its water would ease her pain a little, maybe she would find some solace in its soothing water and even if she didn't she would surrender herself to it, if it meant her pain would vanish.
Her lips trembled into a faint, broken smile at the thought of release. To let the water cradle her, to sink beneath its shimmering surface until silence claimed her, it felt like mercy.
Elara smiled as she kept walking towards the sound of the water.
Her feet dragged, her steps uneven, but determination flickered in her like the last flame of a candle refusing to go out.
Finally as she crossed the trees the river came to her view, it was really river Elandor.
The sight stole her breath. The water gleamed under the silver moonlight, ripples sparkling as though stars themselves had fallen into its depths. It looked alive, ethereal, beckoning her closer with its gentle song.
Elara smiled as her eyes fell on the glistening water as if it was calling her but before she could walk any further a scream tore through her as she felt as if her soul was taking away from her.
The world around her shattered. Pain unlike any before ripped through her body, so consuming it knocked the air from her lungs. Her scream split the night, echoing through the forest like the cry of a dying creature.
She could feel her mark disappear, Lucian had marked Rosaline.
The connection severed. It was as if claws had ripped into her heart and torn it free, leaving behind nothing but an empty, bleeding void.
Tears fell from her eyes as she felt her legs giving up but before she could fall on the ground she felt someone's hand sneaking around her waist preventing her fall.
Warmth steadied her, strong and unyielding, contrasting the cold emptiness inside her chest.
Her eyes fell on her savior but all she could see was the crimson eyes staring at her before she felt the world around her turn to black.
Author's Note:
This part of Elara's journey touches on themes of despair and wanting to give up. If you're reading this and carrying your own battles, please remember, you are not alone. You are loved, you are needed, and the world is brighter with you in it. 🌸
Keep holding on, even if it's just one breath, one step, one day at a time. You never know whose heart you are quietly inspiring just by existing. 💖
We love you, always. Stay strong. 🌌
_ your XUV