Tangled in San's arms, caught in his kiss, I no longer feel the cold of the collapsed ice cave, or care if I ever leave it. His eyes flame silver as his fingers move to tear my bra clean in half.
"I've tried to ignore these feelings for you, (Y/N). These insatiable urges I have. But I can't do it anymore."
"San…I can't hold back anymore either."
"Then it looks like we're screwed."
"Looks like it."
I arch my back to meet his lips again, losing myself as he rolls his massive, athletic body over mine. His hands curl over the strap at my back. I feel his strain to keep from ripping it.
"Can I take this off of you?"
"You should rip it. I don't need it anymore."
"You don't?"
"Not as much as I need it off of me…and you closer."
San growls at my words. With a kiss to my neck, he tears my bra clean in half, like the fabric is made of paper.
God, he's strong
When I'm free of the fabric, San sits up, taking in every inch of my newly bared flesh. He drinks in the sight of me, of my smooth, untouched chest rising and falling as I bite my lip.
"(Y/N)."
He says my name with a serious tone, his eyes heavy and dark in the moonlight.
"Yeah?"
"You may be the most dangerous thing I've ever come across."
His hands, slick from the ice, skate lightly over the curves of my body, making me shudder.
"The power you have over me…"
"My power is not all that I am."
"I'm not talking about your True Mate power. I'm talking about the power you possess over me."
His hair spills over my stomach as he kisses me, whispering his confession over my flesh.
"You consume my every thought in the day, and I dream about you at night."
His hands move higher towards my breasts. My breath hitches.
"I've dreamt about how you would feel like this. Beneath me. In my hands."
His hot breath feathers over my ribs, my cleavage…until he speaks right over my taut, aching nipples.
"How you would feel in my mouth."
"I've dreamt of that, too. And I want to feel it."
"You do?"
"Yes."
San kisses me again, and I lose myself in his lips, in his tongue. In the feeling of his hand moving higher. Then, he cups my breast, his rough fingers barely brushing against my sensitive nipples. I gasp.
"I've got you."
His mouth claims mine again as he fondles me, molding and caressing until I don't know where his hands end and I begin.
"My God. Your body…"
Then, he moves down, and presses his lips to my nipple. I buck and gasp at the sensation of it, but he doesn't stop there. He takes me in his mouth and sucks hard, catching my nipple with his teeth and flicking it with his tongue, back and forth.
"Oh my God. San–"
"You taste…so fucking good…"
He squeezes my breast hard, working me with his tongue until I arch against him. I feel the strain of his longing against me.
"You're so sensitive. Like I can control you with the slightest touch."
I clutch him as he rolls my nipples between his thumb and forefinger, torturing me to a swell of pleasure.
"Is that what you want? To control me?"
He pulls me to him, his breath hot on my lips.
"What do you think?"
"I think you're an Alpha. You get off on control."
"Maybe. Maybe that's my instinct. But with you…"
He leans forward, nipping at my bottom lip, his hands sliding up my bare back.
"I just want to make you feel good."
Without thinking, I rock against him. The bulge in his pants is hard and hot. Even through the fabric separating us, I feel it.
"What was that move you just made?"
"I think you know what that was."
"Maybe you should do it again. Just so I'm sure."
Following his order, I buck against him again. He meets my hips this time, the press of his manhood electrifying something in me. The shock of it makes me stop breathing altogether. He huffs.
"Again."
I grind against him a third time, stroking a fire I lost control of the minute he kissed me.
"Fuck."
San grabs my ass and squeezes, hauling me up into his arms.
"What are you–"
He presses me up against the smooth ice wall of the cave. The shock of the cold makes me swear.
"No more words."
He parts my legs with his knee, one of massive lycan hands trailing down my body…to the fabric at my hips.
"There's only one thing I need you to say."
He pulls up on my panties, the fabric rubbing against my entrance. I feel his fingers, so close.
"Say yes."
I look into his silver eyes, getting lost as I whisper out my response.
"Yes, San. Please."
With a satisfied growl, San tugs my panties to the side.
"Are you–"
"I told you. No more talking."
With one hand on my breast, he tugs at my nipple until my words melt away. His other hand skates down.
"Just hold on to me."
His big, warm fingers find my entrance. He skates over it lightly, and I grab hold of his shoulders.
"That's it."
As soon as I give in to him, he slowly presses two fingers deep inside me. I close my eyes, swimming in the sensation of him stretching me, filling me, moving slowly in and out.
"No. Open your eyes. Look at me."
I force my eyes open. San's sharp, silver eyes bore into me as his fingers move deeper with every thrust. It all feels like too much, and yet, just enough, his body pinning me against the frozen surface, heating me from within. He guides me to rock against his palm, thrusting his fingers deeper. His thumb finds my swollen, aching bud and I moan.
"Just keep your eyes on me, nae simjang."
He purrs the strange Korean words into the shell of my ear, moving harder and faster, until I can't take it anymore. I dig my nails into San's body as a shockwave of bliss floods through me, shaking me to my very core.
"Oh my God. San–"
"I know."
Digging his hands in my hair, he kisses me softly, bringing my body back to earth. Cradling me, he sinks down to his knees.
"Do you feel warm yet?"
"I don't know what I'm feeling."
"Me neither. That was…"
"A lot. Yeah."
He pulls me closer and I lie still in his arms for an untold amount of time, just listening to his heartbeat. He kisses my hair and, for some reason, I flinch slightly.
"All that and this is the thing that gets you?"
"Yeah, sorry, I don't know where that came from. I guess…i"m not used to affection. Of any kind really."
I think back on my childhood. The years of scraping by in the underground.
"My fath–Hyunjin's–way of showing me he cared was to teach me a new knife throw."
I pull my knees to my chest.
"Guess that makes sense. He never actually cared."
"You do have people who care for you, (Y/N)."
"But I have always walked alone."
"Well, you don't have to anymore. Not really."
He turns me to face him, pulling me close.
"Listen. I don't have anyone either. You heard what Dimitri said."
His eyes fall to the ground.
"Roslyn had them murdered. And my brother knew."
"Do you really think he had something to do with it though?"
A storm erupts behind San's eyes. For a long moment, he doesn't speak.
"I…I don't know. But what I do know is loneliness. And I don't want you to feel that. So, I'm here. Just–just know I'm here."
"I'm here for you, too."
"Thank you. That means…more than you know."
I stare at my reflection in the ice over San's shoulder, running a hand over my face.
"Do you think I look like them?"
"Who? Your parents?"
"Yeah."
"Wait. You don't remember them?"
"No. I must have been taken when I was a baby."
"Hyunjin said he took you when you were older than that. Maybe four or five."
"What?"
San strokes hair from my eyes, peering into them.
"He must have taken your memories."
"He–he can do that?"
"It's not a common shifter practice, but the packs in the far west know how to do it. It's a particularly…dark skill."
Stunned, I turn back to my reflection.
"So, there are memories of my parents that I can never get back. That's heartbreaking. How could he?"
"I can…get them back for you. If you want."
"What?"
"There's a way. My mother taught me when she taught me her magic."
"How?"
"Well…I'd have to mark you."
San's words make my heart forget to beat.
"Isn't that…a bite? A bite that an Alpha gives his…mate?"
"Normally, yes. In its worst form, it's an act of dominance. Used to suppress a mate and exert power over them. But it has to do with the intention behind it. And that's something I can control."
"…What intention would you put behind it?"
"Only the purest intention. The intention to unblock your memories. To help you."
I swallow hard, staring up at his silver-streaked eyes, at his full mouth.
"In that case…I'd like you to do it. Please."
"Okay. Only if you're sure."
"I'm sure."
San draws me closer to his half-naked body, anchoring me with his steady hands on my back.
"Where do you want me to mark you?"
"I get to choose?"
"Yes."
He leans in close, his mouth open and inviting. He traces my neckline, his hands traveling down my spine.
"I'll mark wherever you want, (Y/N). Wherever you want…my mouth."
His eyes rove over my body, lingering on the innermost part of my thigh.
"Tell me. Where."
"Mark me where you want to, San. On my thigh."
His eyes widen a fraction.
"There? You're sure?"
"That's where you were looking, wasn't it? That's where you…want to sink your teeth."
"I…I can't really deny it…"
He lets out a hot huff of air, his eyes dilating.
"If you're sure, then…"
He gently presses me onto my back.
"Open your legs for me."
The words are soft, but a command nonetheless. A command that makes my body pulse. Slowly I spread my legs, allowing him entry. On his hands and knees, he slowly stalks toward me, until his mouth is an inch from my thigh.
"I won't let this hurt. Do you trust me?"
I nod. He takes my thigh in his hands, bringing it to his mouth. He takes a long sniff of my skin there, closing his eyes. Then, with a low, predatorial rumble deep within his chest, he sinks his teeth into the soft flesh of my thigh.
Oh my G–
I gasp. There is no pain, just light pressure. An incredible storm of heat spreads from his bite, making me feel as light as air.
Damn, I feel so…pliable. He could really do anything to me right now."
San folds his arms around me right when I feel myself go limp.
"Do you still trust me?"
"I do. Yes."
"Good. Now…I think the words are…nal gieoghae."
San speaks the words against my hot, marked flesh, and the strange command sinks deep into my heart. Then, I feel myself fall… Out of San's arms, past the earth beneath me, into a plane I've never traveled.
*FLASHBACK*
Where…am I?
The beautiful cabin smells like fresh flowers after a rainstorm. A smell I never experienced in the city. Sunlight filters into the window, and cuts across my face as I'm thrown high in the air with a delighted squeal.
"Higher, Daddy! Higher!"
"No, Daddy, not any higher. We made her from scratch, let's not go creating unnecessary bruises." My mom smiles.
"Aw, let her have some fun, will you?" My Dad chuckles.
"Everyday is fun with you, Daddy. And you, too, Mama!"
My father nuzzles my button nose, and throws me extra high in the air. I laugh with the rush of it.
"That's it. I'm officially outnumbered."
As my father catches me again, I spot a bird out of the window. Its wings flash violet.
"Look, Mama! That bird is the same color as your eyes when they glow!"
When my mother turns to look though, the bird has flown away.
"I guess I just missed it, sweetheart. But I'm sure we'll see it again."
But I want her to see it now.
When my father sets me down to help my mother with the cooking, I scamper out the cracked door.
Easy peasy.
With that, I dash into the woods beyond my house, searching for the bird. My feet carry me over old-growth trees, their roots bigger than my whole body. In the distance, I can hear my mother call my name.
"(Y/N)!"
"(Y/N). That's a pretty name."
Out of the shadows, Hyunjin emerges with a smile on his face.
"Who are you?"
His sick smile grows larger, wider, sending an unfamiliar shiver of unease down my spine.
"Let's just say I'm an old friend of your mother's."
The, like a wolf with his prey, Hyunjin leaps for me, grabbing me and clapping his hand over my mouth. The last thing I hear before I surge back into the icy cave is my own helpless cry.
"NO!"
*PRESENT*
The pain in my chest is worse than anything I've ever felt. Tears pour from my golden eyes…and my hand lands in a soft pool of early morning light.
"(Y/N)–"
"That MONSTER!"
With a sweep of my hand, light explodes outward, nearly hitting San. He hits the deck as the light smashes through the opposite side of the cave.
"(Y/N), you have to calm down. You're going to hurt yourself."
"He stole my life! He stole EVERYTHING FROM ME!"
San takes my face in his hands, his silver eyes flashing to meet my gold gaze.
"CALM DOWN."
The command isn't an Alpha's. It isn't born from pack law or magic. It is just him. Imploring. With a defeated sob, I fall against San's chest. He wraps his arms around me and slowly lowers me to the ground.
"I know. I'm sorry." He whispers.
After several long, painful minutes, my eyes finally dim. I slump against San, exhausted.
"I saw them. I saw everything."
"I'm so sorry, (Y/N). I never meant to open up that wound."
"No. It's okay. It was my memory. You gave it back. Thank you."
"You're…you're sure?"
"Yes."
San exhales, running a hand through his hair. Over his shoulder, I see a massive hole blasted through the cave. An exit.
"How did that get there?"
"You did that. You don't remember?"
He points at the pool of light on the cave floor.
"You touched that and…and I don't know what happened. It was like a bomb was detonated."
"I…did that?"
I stare at the pool of light.
Does light…give me power?
San climbs to his feet, pulling on his clothes. He hands me my dress.
"We should see if Yeosang is all right. He was out there by himself."
"Right."
I pull on my dress and hike towards the newly-formed mouth of the cave.
"Hey…that thing you called me earlier…nae simjang…what did it mean?"
"…Oh, that? Nothing."
San hikes off ahead of me, trying to hide his face. I move to catch up to him.
"(Y/N)? San?"
Yeosang's voice rings out in the cavern. San and I rush to the surface to meet him. But when we get there…it is not Yeosang we find. Dimitri leers at us in the early morning light, his armed guards at his back.
"You fell for that Yeosang impression? My acting impresses even myself."
"Damn it. What have you done with him?"
"Don't worry, he's safe at home. You'll be joining him soon."
"You will give him to us if you value your life."
"Is that so? Goodness, you really should learn, (Y/N)…"
Someone drops down behind me and smashes me over the back of the head. I hear San grunt and fall, too.
"…Talking a big game before you've won? Never a wise idea."
Black overtakes my vision…and I fall. Heat is the first thing I feel as I come to. The crackle of a raging fire fills my ears.
Where…?
When I awaken, I find myself chained in an underground temple, a massive fire roaring in a pit before me.
"Glad you could join us, pet. See, boys? She's fine."
"You fucking–!" Yeosang growls.
"Let her go!" San yells.
On either side of me, Yeosang and San are bound in equally thick chains, their snarling faces illuminated by the fire.
"You're just in time, (Y/N). I was willing to do this with you passed out, but it is much more fun if you're awake."
"What are you talking about?"
"Our mating ceremony."
Yeosang and San thrash against their bindings, but I go still. A horrifying chill runs up my spine as Dimitri comes near.
"Don't be nervous, my dear. I've mated many women before you. And your body…"
He gathers my skirt in his hand, pulling it up to his nose. He inhales, long and deep.
"Your body is ready for me. I can smell it.
"If you try to touch me I'll–"
"Castrate me? Kill me?"
"Both. In that order."
"Well done. Very scary. But I have a counter-offer. If you try to fight, I'll burn your bastard Alpha alive."
"What?"
Several guards grab San and haul him toward the fire. Yeosang pulls at his chains.
"LET GO."
"I told you before, little Prince. You have to mean it for that command to work."
San thrashes, but there are too many guards. They lift him high over the fire.
"OKAY! I'LL DO IT."
The words leave my mouth in a panic before I can stop them.
"(Y/N), no–" San blurts.
"Don't–" Yeosang yells.
"I'll do it. Just. Let them go."
A slow, sadistic smile forms on Dimitri's face. He motions and the guards lower San to the ground beside the fire.
"Mmm I'll let them go. Don't you worry."
He circles me slowly, unwrapping the chains from my body.
"But I think they should stick around a little while longer. And enjoy the show."
"…You sick fuck."
"Sick doesn't even cover it."
Yeosang's growl sounds like it comes from the very pits of hell.
"We'll never watch you do this."
Dimitri sighs and snaps his fingers. Several more guards drag him up beside San, right in my line of sight.
"Hold their eyes open. I don't want them to miss a thing."
San lunges, but the guards hold him back, forcing his lids open. But Yeosang doesn't fight. Instead, he leans away from me, toward the fire.
Would he rather burn than–
But the thought is ripped from my mind when I am tossed on the floor before the Alpha Kings. Dimitri prowls toward me, his horrible body illuminated by the flames. He unbuckles his belt.
No. This can't be happening.
With a rush of panic, I try to crawl away. Dimitri grabs my ankle and pulls me back.
"We can do it on all fours if that's your preference, little pet."
"Get away from me!"
"I'm afraid that's not an option on the table, (Y/N)."
I look up at San and Yeosang. True horror is reflected in their bloodshot eyes. But I see something else as well. Yeosang's collar is melting against the searing fire.
Yeosang…was that your plan this whole time?
I can see the pain in his flesh. The boils appearing on his skin as he forces himself to stay close to the flames. As the metal begins to drip away, I feel Dimitri at my back, tugging at the laces of my dress.
"I wonder what you have for me under all of this?"
As he tears at the fabric, pulling me to him, I make eye contact with Yeosang. Then…the collar separates.
"DOWN!!!"
Yesoang's Alpha command sends a wave of power through the temple so powerful it threatens to break my bones. Everyone, including Dimitri, is slammed onto their backs. With his renewed strength, Yeosang tears away his chains as though they are nothing, and rips off San's as well. They both run to me, offering their hands.
"Let's go." Yeosang says.
"We need to move." San adds.
Without hesitation, I take San's hand. He pulls me to my feet, and all three of us bolt.
"AFTER THEM!"
I sprint up the stairs and into the entryway, just feet from the door. But our escape is blocked by hundreds of armed guards as they spill out from every last corner of the estate.
"There's too many of them." San blurts.
"There's never too many for me."
Yeosang sucks in a breath, gathering a churning current of his power to him. But he is suddenly yanked to the ground by his hair. Dimitri stands over him.
"Try using your fucking power with this!"
He stabs a red-hot, boiling rod into Yeosang's throat. Yeosang screams.
"Yeosang!!"
"You motherfucker!!!" San screams.
With a rage I've never seen in him, San throws his whole body at Dimitri, his claws outstretched. But Dimitri is ready for him. He swings the boiling rod at San, knocking him clear across the room.
"San!!!"
"My. I expected theatrics but this. This is quite the show."
Dimitri walks to me, licking his lips.
"Now, where were we?"
The guards in the room all start to bark a horrifying chant, urging Dimitri on. He unbuttons his shirt. Panic threatens to drown me. I know if it takes hold, everything is over.
What can I–wht can I do?
That's when I see it. A fresh pool of sunlight splashes across the marble, just inches from me.
That's it. My only shot.
Right before Dimitri can reach me, I dive for the pool of light, planting both of my hands in it.
"Please. Please work."
It is as if the sun itself hears my call. With an overwhelming rush, I feel the light burst through my veins.
"What?"
My body pulses with a beat that barely belongs to me, My whole self consumed by the light.
"I told you, Dimitri. You will never claim me."
With that, I throw my hands at the door, blasting it, and the entire wall, clean off.
"What the hell?!"
Then, I feel the light form like a whip in my hand, I look to San and Yeosang, passed out on the ground before me. With a mighty swing of my arm, I throw the whip of light at San. It wraps around his leg. Then, I fling him out into the soft snow. I do the same with Yeosang. The impact wakes them up.
"(Y/N)…" Yeosang groans.
"Is that…you?" San asks.
"I'll explain later. Just–"
I move to jump outside with the brothers, but something sharp pricks the bottom of my eye.
"One more step and I gouge out your golden eyes, cunt."
San and Yeosang both try to reach for me, but they're still too weak from their wounds. They crash into the snow, staining it red.
"They say the harder it is to get something, the better it taste. But I don't know about you."
Dimitri's words are hoarse. Murderous. He presses himself to my back.
"I promise you this. If you are even the least bit sour when I take you, I'll cut you into tiny fucking pieces."
The terror, the confusion, the rage I have felt over the past few days suddenly reaches a tipping point. I feel something in me snap, and a deadly calm washes over me.
This man has hurt so many women. Ruined so many lives. It all stops today.
Pure instinct takes over. I spin around to face Dimitri, my eyes glinting gold.
"Take a good long look at my face Dimitri. Because it is the last thing you will ever see.
"What?"
I place my whole palm over Dimitri's face, and will the light to enter his body.
"Wha–Aggghhhhh!!!"
He screams bloody murder as a massive storm of white light seeps into his nose, his mouth, his eyes.
Take his sight.
The command is silent, whispered deep in my heart. And I feel the light answer. It rushes up behind his sockets, radiating a blinding light that makes him writhe in excruciating pain.
"Nooo!!!"
"Yes."
After several long, splendid seconds, I release Dimitri. He staggers back, clutching his eyes.
"What did you–what did you do?!"
"If you can't handle my power, you should have never fucked with it."
"I can't–I can't see!"
"You're lucky that's all I have the energy for."
"(Y/N)…"
"Did you…?"
San and Yeosang stare at me in awe as I vault out of the castle toward them. All I can manage is a nod before I stumble. Both San and Yeosang catch me.
"This. Isn't. OVER!"
Dimitri's voice rings out over the icy path and I hear a horrifying sound. Hundreds of thundering footsteps coming our way.
"San. Shift." Yeosang instructs.
"Why?"
"You need to get (Y/N) out of here. The plane is just up that road there."
San shifts without another word.
"I am perfectly fine."
"Don't start with that brave rubbish. You can barely stand."
Yeosang throws me onto San's back.
"But Yeosang, what are you–"
"GO!"
San bounds off down the snowy path towards the airplane, leaving Yeosang behind. I feel something inside him as he runs. Grief, shame, regret for leaving his brother.
I know, San. I feel it, too.
After a long, lonely sprint, I finally arrive at an ice-glazed tarmac. There, at the center of it, is a single airplane.
Our way out. Thank God.
I slide off of San and he shifts back. The plane starts to rev up and I see two pilots wave at us to come.
"Let's get you on that plane."
San takes my hand. But before he can move, hundreds of wolves spill out from the trees, stalking toward us.
Dimitri's men. No. This was a trap all along?
"What are you doing standing around?"
I turn as several wolves are launched into the air. Yeosang emerges from the throng, running toward us.
"Get going!"
Yeosang's sprint spurs the wolf army forward. They all bolt for me.
"Go, (Y/N)!"
San shoves me towards the plane. I make a run for it. My feet barely hit the pavement I sprint so fast. When I make it to the plane's open door, I dive inside.
"San? Yeosang?"
I expected them to be right behind me, but they are not there. I look around.
Where–where are they?
A sea of wolves storm toward me. But at the very center of them, I spot a struggle. San and Yeosang take down hordes, trying to block them from reaching me.
There are too many! They'll never make it!
Suddenly, the plane starts to roll forward.
"No, wait…they're not on board!"
"Alpha's orders. We leave with or without them."
With or…without?
Leaning out of the open door, I yell at the top of my lungs.
"I will not leave without you!!!"
To prove my point, I jump out of the plane. Yeosang and San, both enraged, run for me…and so do all of the other wolves.
"What are you doing?" San yells.
"Get back in the plane!" Yeosang demands.
They both pick me up in unison, throwing me back inside. I crawl to the door again as the plan picks up speed.
"Get in! Now!"
The wolves are upon them now, tearing at their back. More still leaping at the wings of the plane and bite its tires. It rocks violently. The pilot picks up speed. San and Yeosang can barely keep up. I thrust out my hand. Following my heart, I take San's hand, hauling him up into the plane.
"(Y/N)–"
"Just help me with Yeosang!"
San scrambles to the edge of the plan and reaches out with me, but it's too late. He's too far away. As he sprints, he smiles.
"It was always going to be you, brother. Take care of her."
"Wait. WAIT!" I yell.
"YEOSANG!"
Yeosang turns on his heel, facing Dimitri's hoard. Then, he slams a mighty fist into the concrete, sending a wave of power over them.The wolves flip over and stop their assault on the plane.
Did he do it?
Just when it seems Yeosang has won, the wolves clamor to their feet, forming a deadly circle around Yeosang.
"No." San says.
As the plane surges into the air, the wolves descend on Yeosang, ripping him to shreds.
"No!!!" I cry out.