And after the last berserk was beaten to death the palace was still convulsed with tumult. Servants crowded together in halls, guards increased patrols, and the coppery odour of blood spread through the air.
But I saw my chance.
All of them had been so busy trying to mend it, counting the slain, and cheering the Alpha King over his victory. Nobody saw me disappear into the darkness with my hood pulled up over my shoulders. I hearted the thump as I swung the side door latch and went out into the new darkness beyond the walls.
The forest lay in front of me, huge and bottomless. Freedom.
As I took another step out of the palace, I breathed. My wolf trembled with thankfulness and with shame. He saved us. Fought alongside us. And you're leaving him?
I shoved away her words. We did not choose him. This is no love, it is a kind of tie which binds us together.
Branches broke under my feet. The air smelled of the after-smell of the storm. I rushed, and I wanted to get out of the kingdom of Lucian.
But I didn't get far.
I could hear a low growl that was behind me.
My breath froze. Slowly, I turned around.
Lucian came out of the shadows with half-unbuttoned shirt and glowing golden eyes like fire in the moon. He was lethal, wild--in every way the Alpha King.
You have thought you can take leave of me? His voice was velvet and steel and cutting through the night.
My fists hardened. "I never wanted this bond. I never wanted you."
Then his eyes blazed with pain--then with a glance of crude superiority. He bridged the gap between us, and his aura swept over me, and my wolf bow trembled even though I fought it.
You can fight me, he whispered, his hand slipping along my arm and causing sparks to fly over my body. "You can hate me. But you will not run from me. You are mine."
I should have jerked away. I should have slapped him. However, my body had other plans and I shivered in his hands. I felt my wolf whimpering somewhere inside me, torn between fury and desire.
And I knew in a shiver of terror that it might be harder than ever to get out of him.