Cynthia’s POV After the days of torture I’ve endured, being saved just feels like another part of the hallucination. I’ve been hallucinating quite a bit, after all. My heart has burned with desperation. That familiar figure from my memory seems to be growing closer and closer, and then all at once, he vanishes. And Vikrov is in front of me. Could he be the man I’ve been seeing? Maybe those beautiful scenes are the happy times in the past.I think I’m remembering what it felt like to fall in love with him. “Vikrov!” I try to cry out, but the words die in my parched throat, and I only cough instead. The burning taste of blood lingers on my tongue. Through the delusions and haze, I can feel him tearing the restraints from my wrists, then barking commands to the maids. He sweeps me up into his arms and carries me reassuringly. I feel safe there. Every time his hands brush against my forehead soothingly, my heart beats a little faster. I hope he chalks my blushing up to the fever, b
Cynthia’s POV“I can’t do that!” I blurt out, tensing up and curling away from Vikrov. I blush and cover my chest with a nearby blanket. “I need to–I need to–” Oh, Moon Goddess, I’m panicking. I want him, I really do, but I’m not ready to be naked in front of him. I mean, it’s all too fast. I swallow hard and exclaim, “I need to finish eating first!”Vikrov raises an eyebrow, then smiles slightly. His gentle gaze bores into me as if he can see right through to my heart. I grow even more flustered and pull the blanket tighter around myself, but forget about the many wounds on my body. The blanket rubs against my sensitive skin, making me wince in pain. “Alright.” Vikrov's relaxed playfulness vanishes. His expression turns serious as he notices my discomfort, but his voice remains gentle as ever. “Let's eat first. Will that be okay?”“That would be nice,” I reply, flushing bright red.“Shall I move you to the couch?” He asks, but his domineering tone makes it sound less like a question
No she-wolf has ever refused me before.Even though I’m not interested in them, I know every girl I’ve ever come across has hoped to have a chance with me. I’m used to them throwing themselves at me–being completely, unabashedly shameless in their attempts to catch my eye. Cynthia is the first to refuse me.And she’s refused me more times than I can count at this point.So when her response to my offer to join her in the shower is, “No, thank you, I should probably shower alone,” it gives me pause.I stay neutral-faced, though, nodding curtly. “Of course. Enjoy your shower.”“Thank you,” Cynthia says with a sweet smile.I watch as she steps into the bathroom and closes the door behind her. What am I doing wrong? She trusts me, I know that much, but has she fallen for me yet? Am I not good enough? Has she begun to doubt me?I need her to love me, or my plan will never work. ‘You’ve never met a girl like her before,’ my wolf Tempest says. I chuckle under my breath. ‘True enough.’ Moo
Stop refusing me, love.The words echo through my mind. Stop refusing me. And why am I refusing him? The warmth of the quilt wrapped around me is overwhelming. He is my mate, isn’t he? There’s no reason for me to be so nervous around him. He loves me deeply, I can feel that much. It’s not his fault that I’ve lost my memories, so I shouldn’t keep distancing him because of it.Slowly, tentatively, I reach my hand out from underneath the blanket and tuck it into his. The moment his skin touches mine, my breath quickens to shallow gasps. My heart starts to thud. I’m grateful for the blanket–it means that Vikrov can’t see how fiercely red my face is. He saw me. Naked.And I want him to see me like that again.I want it so bad it scares me. I gasp ever so slightly as Vikrov starts to rub something into a wound slicing across the palm of my hand. As he tends to my wounds, I wriggle out of the blankets so I’m no longer burrowed under the sheets. Instead, my torso is wrapped in the blanket,
Cynthia’s POV The warmth of Vikrov’s breath against my spine is intoxicating. I shudder as his deft fingers pull the quilt away from my back, leaving the skin there pathetically exposed. I hold the blanket to the front of my torso, protecting my modesty there. I’m mesmerized as he applies some of the ointment to his own fingers, then pauses a moment before he touches me. “May I?” Vikrov asks. I can barely breathe. It takes everything in me not to whimper as I nod once. I feel absolutely wretched, completely vulnerable, but I’m doing everything I can to hide it from him. Vikrov applies just a dab of ointment to the first wound. “Oh,” I gasp out before I can stop myself, immediately turning bright red. Vikrov chuckles. My blush deepens. “Feel good?” “Yeah,” I breathe out helplessly, voice ragged. “Thank you. Could you–could you use more?” “Of course,” he whispers. His voice is low, wicked, and dead sexy as he rubs more ointment into the wound, and my shuddering breaths only
Vikrov’s POVIt pains me to leave Cynthia, but at my father’s command, I have no choice but to obey his orders. I take a moment to adjust my hair–Cynthia’s hands most certainly left it in disarray. I shoot Cynthia a sly wink before following the maid out of the room and through the pack house, to my father’s office. I’m still reeling from the kiss, but my thoughts are tangled up in so much chaos I have no idea how to feel about it.This is good. Definitely. It means she trusts me, and nothing more. It means my plan is working. “Vikrov,” my father says the moment I set foot in his office. I close the door so it’s just the two of us in the room. “I just heard that you expelled a pair of Eclipse pack maids over a dispute with your little captive. Is this true?”That’s my father. He never cares if I get hurt in battle, nor will he say, ‘Hey, it’s good to see you alive after the fight.’ Although I am used to his indifference, I am still angry about it.“Why so quiet?” My father asked st
Cynthia’s POVI haven’t seen Vikrov since we kissed in my bedroom two days ago, and I’m going crazier than I’d like to admit without him. I keep replaying that moment in my mind–how his lips felt pressed against mine wickedly close, how his hands wrapped around me and held me like they were meant to be there, how my body fit perfectly against his. I want to kiss him again.No–it’s more than a want. It’s a need. I need to kiss him again. It’s possible that he’s out on some mission or another. His father–the Alpha–did call him away, after all. So Vikrov could just be busy with his Alpha duties. Still, though. Why hasn’t he checked on me at all?At least I won’t have to deal with the maids ever again.The maids. I shiver, remembering what they’ve done to me.After having spent a day and a half alone in my bedroom, boredom sends me wandering through the pack gardens. A few Omega maids eye me as I wander about, but no one dares give me a hard time anymore. Not after what Vikrov did to Be
Cynthia’s POVAll I can do is watch as two ruthless Eclipse warriors drag the boy away.I want to help. I really do. But I’m so weak, and it happens so fast. I stare, mouth agape, the Alpha’s command still rattling through my skull. ‘Take him away,’ the Alpha had said without a hint of mercy, and the warriors had just obeyed. The boy goes kicking and screaming off to who knows where. The Alpha follows behind them, and even from my position twenty yards away, I swear I can see the steel in his eyes.Once they’ve left, I approach the spot where they’ve just argued. My heart sinks when I spot a small patch of orange fur nestled in the grass.The fox’s body.Limp.Lifeless.And the way he killed it–knowing how to kill is a skill any Alpha needs, surely, but that’s a measure reserved for enemies. Beings that could actually hurt you. A fox? A small injured fox? Killing something like that is sheer cruelty. Tears start to fall from my eyes as the heartbreak and shock ricochet through me. My