Eden povI stood by the door when the lock clicked and Lucius swung it open. A gasp left my lips when he instantly pulled me in and firmly cupped my ass. I could feel a growl form in his chest as he hid his face in the crook of my neck and inhaled my scent. Giving into the temptation of the calmness his presence brought me, I threw my arms around his shoulders and closed my eyes. His hand instantly left my ass and slid up my back until it tangled in my hair and cupped the back of my head. When I opened my eyes, his face was already too close to mine for me to react. Lucius didn’t just kiss me, he branded me with his lips. As he reached behind to lock the door, he thrust his tongue into my mouth, swallowing the moan that escaped me. As soon as the lock clicked, Lucius wrapped his arm around my waist and pulled me flush against his chest. The feeling of his tongue, nearly melting into mine, rubbing and exploring, fighting for dominance, made me think of impossible things until he fi
Eden povThe next morning, I woke up feeling the aftermath I wasn’t dreading yesterday. I was sore and pushing my thighs together felt like a chore. Once my eyes finally opened and I could tell objects apart, I noticed Lucius, standing next to the bed with a wide grin across his lips. He was wearing nothing but the towel that was lazily wrapped around his hips. My eyes traveled over his body, the leftover water droplets on his chest made my King look like a God. In the slight sunlight, I could see every outline of his muscles, every scar on his body, and I was pleasantly surprised to see that the chunk below his ribs that was missing finally had healed. There was a scar, but it fit him, made him look so much more desirable, if I was making any sense. Then, my eyes dipped down and I instantly tore my gaze away from him. I saw an outline of… Was that thing really inside me yesterday? How in the Goddesses name he didn’t split me in half with that? How? “Are you shy all of a sudden, m
Lucius pov After the shower, Eden complained about still feeling tired, so while she finished up in the bathroom, I changed the sheets on the bed and stuck around until she fell asleep again. With my whole being, I wanted to scream at the top of my lungs, I wanted to make sure the entire world knew my Queen was a mated woman and the mark was to come soon after. As I left the bedroom and locked the door, I thought of all the things I was planning to do with Eden today. Since she wouldn’t accompany me just yet, I could focus on some issues she was better to be left out of. I loved and trusted Eden, but some things were always better left unspoken. The last thing I wanted was to dig up the demons of her past and make her face them. My Queen would soon realize just how far I was willing to go for her. Walking down the hall that led to the staircase, I calculated the best ways to approach everything within the limited time frame I had. As soon as Eden would wake up, I would have to s
Lucius povI wish I could claim I acted like a true King would. One who was capable of facing his inner demons and standing against any threat.But I didn’t. As Eden glared daggers at me, I quickly scanned the room and ran. My exit was followed with hyena-worthy laughter from my best friend and shouting from Eden. In true coward’s manner, I disappeared around the corner and pressed my back against the wall, attempting to flatten my body against it and stay there unnoticed. Of course, it all seemed reasonable until Xabat’s laughter echoed in my mind. “Man, we’re not that small, even in the human form. Get away from there, she will come after you.” The beast had a point. Hiding and pretending I didn’t exist wouldn’t last for long. Sooner or later, I would have to return to Eden. Besides, it wasn’t like I was capable of staying away from her for long anyway - every damn cell in my body pulled me closer to her. Finally, some luck shone upon me as a servant rounded the corner and walke
Eden povI was sure that I wouldn’t feel half as angry as I did if it weren’t for Lucius running away and Titus following him soon after. A couple of words from the servant girl were enough for me to understand why my mate had lost his cool and acted so aggressively. Funny as it was, the girl threw something at Titus as she chased after him and that had to have triggered Lucius’ protective instincts. However, instincts aside, I wasn’t all too happy about the fact that he was too angry to realize he had told everyone who he truly was. The whole pack now knew that the King himself had arrived and well, since everyone knew I was his mate… yeah… not cool. More people started gathering around us as I stood with the servant girl and tried to calm her down. It turned out that convincing someone that they weren’t in trouble was harder than it seemed. “I am terribly sorry,” I repeated myself. “He’s not acting like himself, I assure you, the reaction was nothing personal, he just has trigge
Lucius povI had to be the shittiest best friend ever. Titus was in my arms, crying like his life was on the verge of distraction, and I had no idea how to console him. How to fucking make the pain and fear go away. Out of everyone I knew, Titus was the strongest and most trustworthy man ever, but he also was an absolute sofie at heart. Everyone wanted to meet their fated mate, but no one had wanted it as passionately as my best friend did. Even I was somewhat okay with the thought of never meeting mine. That changed after I met Eden, but that’s a different story. Titus, however, was desperate to meet his. Even as a little kid, Titus would run around and tell everyone how excited he was to meet his mate. Back then, he claimed that his mate would be the prettiest girl ever and when someone asked what he would do if it were a boy, even at that young age, Titus just grinned and announced that in that case, his boy mate would have the prettiest eyes and stunning smile.Titus didn’t kno
Lucius povJudging by the looks on their faces, I wasn’t nearly as good at hiding my emotions as I once thought I was. And now, the only thing I felt was pure disgust. It was a well-known fact that some men and women slept their way up the career ladder and ranks, but this. Well, this was low. A guard and Luna, who would have thought? I focused my attention on the scared guard and spoke as calmly as I could. “I didn’t come here to cause trouble, let’s get that straight. I came to check on the woman I sent here, so I would appreciate it if you could tell me what you meant by saying it was his idea. I promise no harm will come your way if you can be truthful.” The guard glanced at the very angry-looking friend. Clearly, the big-mouthed one wasn’t happy about his secret coming to light, but that was life and he had to deal with it. “You don’t have to tell him anything. As a member of this pack, you report only to Alpha and Luna or the only person who stands above them - the King,” th
Eden povAfter the odd revelations in the kitchen, I encouraged the rest of the women to finish up with their responsibilities and left as soon as the food was sent out to the dining room. I didn’t feel hungry. If anything, after hearing everything, I felt as confused as ever. All of those things came crashing down on me so suddenly, I didn’t have enough time to let the words sink in. As if I didn’t know that woman was no saint, now it turned out that she had more secrets than I thought. Whatever she had done - all of the things that were coming to light were done for a reason. I just couldn’t think of a reason good enough for such secrecy. My first instinct was to slip away and go to the bedroom. But then, I realized that I had nothing to hide, I wasn’t the one who had to disappear from the judgemental eyes for I hadn’t done anything. So, I decided to head to the backyard and check on the garden my step-mother once forced me to tend for. Once I left the packhouse and stepped ou