-VALEN’S POV-Raina swallowed hard at the next words that were about to fall out of her mouth. “Give me Zeus tonight.” She said, fervently holding my gaze.My brows raised and my hands on her cheeks froze. “Oh.”Her words rolled around in my head and jerked my cock. That’s why she wore that dress. She was probably praying for me to rip it off her the moment I entered her bedroom. She’s so naughty and she likes it rough."Let him take me. Take me any way he wants." Desire filled her electric blue eyes. She smirked and slipped her arms around me, closing all gaps between us. "I want everything tonight.”“Do you know what Zeus wants to do to you?” I was so rapt with the manic lust sparkling in her eyes. My hands itched to be all over her body, making her go crazy for me. “You might not be able to walk in the morning.”Her breath hitched and her cheeks flushed. Without answering, she pulled my head down and crashed her lips on mine.The kiss was fast and demanding, using her tongue and li
-RAINA'S POV-It was day two abroad the yacht and my mind was flooded with happy memories. I opened the door to the master cabin and Valen was sitting on the bed, leaning up against the headboard, reviewing reports on his phone.As usual, he was bare-chested, only wearing charcoal lounge shorts. My eyes soaked in his carved abdomen and chest to note the tension rippling across his impressive muscles, making me worry. He should take a break."Hey baby," he said, not looking up from his phone. "I’m almost done.""Yeah," I returned, knowing better.We just had breakfast and I washed the dishes while he retreated to the bedroom. He wanted to reply to his many messages and check up on Alpha Camp.When we came here for our date, I wasn’t expecting to spend more than one night. Apparently, Venus had prepared an overnight bag for me and sent it with the ship’s staff. They came once a day to prepare our meals and tidy up.I wasn’t disappointed or anything. Spending time with Valen was well-nee
-RAINA’S POV-I blushed at his hungry expression and slowly licked my lips before moving up to straddle Valen’s lap. He reached up and raked his hands through my hair, sending the cool tresses cascading across my back.His rough hands slid down my back from my shoulders to settle on my hips as he pulled me closer."I should miss more showers," he teased, cracking a taunting smile.A quiet laugh fell from my lips. “Well, not too many,” I whispered as his lips captured mine.My hands slid up his bare chest before I wrapped my arms around his neck, deepening our kiss. His lips were magical, waking a fire, deep in my core as our tongues twined.Electric warmth burst inside my body, originating in my chest and rippling into my limbs and fingertips.His arms encircled me, crushing my breasts against his chest as he dominated our kiss. His hunger and desire flood back through the bond, emboldening my advances. I ground my hips slowly against his."Goddess, Raina,'' he groaned, throwing his h
-RAINA’S POV-“What is she doing here?” I demanded, swinging my probing eyes from Valen to her. “We have a full staff, and we’re not hiring.”Mercedes feigned a chuckle and muttered sarcastically. “Funny.” She smirked with iciness in her brown eyes. “You were so loud last night that I barely slept, Raina. I almost came to tell you to keep it down.”“I wish you did,” I sneered, “I could have strangled you sooner.”Mercedes just saw me dribbling my ass on Valen’s cock! Did she have a recording device with her to capture and release the footage? Or was watching us just some sick kink of hers?“When they said you were human, I had to see it for myself.” She let out a small, disdainful laugh.“Get out, Mercedes. I'm getting sick of your nonsense,” Valen interjected. His handsome face was screwed up into a scowl, positively furious.“Yeah. Stop being creepy and give up your man-stealing hobby.” I snidely remarked and glared at Valen, pulling at the sheet to cover my naked body. Unease poole
-RAINA’S POV-Cursing, Valen paced the passage and spun toward the wall. Suspecting he was going to punch a hole into it, I palmed his chest and rubbed his biceps.“Did the Elders tell you to court Mercedes?” I had to ask.He sighed and lowly admitted, “They put it on the table and I declined. The Elders picked three Alpha Females after you made that social media post that we rejected each other.”“This is my fault,” I realized. My heart sank deeper than the seawolf submarine. I practically handed him over to them.“Whatever Mercedes said, I promise you that it won’t come to that.” He nudged my chin up, and I kept my eyes downcast. “It's best not to discuss these matters with her around. She likes to eavesdrop.”My eyes wandered up to meet his. “If you date her or even spend an ounce of time with any of them, we’re done.”“Baby, we were having a good time. Forget Mercedes. She’s a chill killer.” He said, slowly trailing a finger across my brow, going down my cheek, and extracting all m
-RAINA’S POV-“Mercedes, I am going to drag your ass off this ship.” I launched over the white U-shaped couch, landing on the cushions and charging after her.Her eyes widened in fear and a shocked squeak escaped her lips, but she could not get out of Valen’s grip.A Wonder Woman force rose in me as I slapped one hand on Valen's forehead and the other slammed flat into her chest, shoving them apart.Valen ended up flopping back on the couch. The back of his head smacked on the headrest, while Mercedes sailed backwards, tumbling over the adjacent couch.“Crazy bitch.” She cursed me, getting up from the floor in a disheveled state, and shooting me cross-eyed daggers. Staggering to her feet, with a hand over her chest and blood painting her lower lips.With my back to Valen, I took a rigid stance with fists clenched, ready to throw her overboard. “Get up and let’s hash this out. And you better tell me what you want written on your tombstone.”Mercedes licked the blood from her lips and fl
-RAINA’S POV-I glared at Mercedes, knowing she was lying. Even if she had Hera, Valen wouldn’t be heartless to cheat on me right under my nose. Sudden clarity slammed into the forefront of my mind.She was guilty of something.“Will you ever stop lying?” I snapped at her while leaning forward, hovering over Valen. The war within him did not cease, making a grave worry creep into my heart, that physically hurt me. “This is urgent. Can’t you see?”Sweat plastered Valen's black strands across his face as he thrashed, battling against an invisible foe in his unconsciousness. My chest started pumping with heavy panicked breaths. I wiped his hot forehead with my fingers and flicked my eyes to Mercedes for a second.She froze with a hand over her mouth, and her frightened eyes lingering at Valen’s agonizing condition.“Snap out of it. Don’t you realize how bad this is?” I had to know what was in his system. “What drug did you give him? Tell me, or I will see to it that they hang you for thi
-RAINA’S POV-The tingles from Valen's hands on my face were pleasing, and I knew he was taking comfort from the bond.Warmth fluttered in my chest as Valen gazed at me. His eyes were hooded with so much love and awe, trying to distract me from how much he was truly hurting. He was still weak, feverish and pale, unable to move from the couch.My brows furrowed, and my head tilted in confusion. “Devin is at Alpha Camp. I can't mind-link him at that distance.”Valen barely shook his head. Heavy perspiration trickled. He exhaled, very slowly, putting his faith in me. “You can. Just try.”At the same time, Mercedes came with a white, cold towel. She bent forward and lowered her hand to cup his cheek. I swat her hand away. She growled at me. I glared at her, fearlessly.In annoyance, I snatched the towel from her to place it on Valen’s forehead, patting lightly. Mercedes snorted and walked away to plop down on the other couch.“Visualize his teleportation ring—and mind-link him.” Valen soun
RAINA’S POVStiff as a petrified log, I couldn't scream as my world exploded in a kaleidoscope of stars. My heart thrashed a million miles a minute.The agony caught into a knot in my throat. My body tried to curl in on itself – to replicate a spider's dead dusk, but he kept my flailing limbs pinned. My body heaved.Then, Valen pulled his fangs out, licking the punctured flesh and clearing the blood. Sparks erupted. Fucking sparks shot all the way to my toes.Each lick of his tongue was like morphine. Like a kick. I basked in it. I loved it. The bond was like being controlled by an entity. It was making me want him. Dammit.My body tightened, lungs squeezed and butterflies raged uncontrollably inside of me as he flicked his sinful tongue and dragged it wetly across my sensitive flesh.Focus, Raina! Don't let him swoop you in again. This can’t go on. I must bust out of here.“I want to fuck you, overstimulate you, edge you on until you're in tears, chanting your safe word,” he crooned.
RAINA’S POVYanking my injured right hand, Valen twirled me around so that my back slammed against his hard chest. His large hand came straight for my face to rip the goggles off.The room, like my fate, suddenly got darker.“You’re not so bad without your sword now, right?” Valen said mockingly. “But you certainly aren't vanilla and innocent either.”Once he crushed the goggles, he flung it into the wall. His robust right arm circled my waist while his left hand settled above my breast, slowly traveling up to my throat. Electric sparks exploded everywhere our skin touched.“Let me tell you something, Bluebella. You've unlocked a dangerous side of Zeus that even I feared,” he whispered huskily into my ear, gripping my neck. “But since you want to keep this bratty behavior up all night, challenging me, that part of him is going to burst out of his cage.”All the while, his emeralds were fixated on mine. He dipped his head over my shoulders. My flitting eyes watched him as my heart drum
RAINA’S POVSlinking inside the Alpha suite with night vision goggles, I crept up to the king-size bed to see Valen tossing and turning in his sleep.Why wasn’t he dead yet?Moving surreptitiously to the side of the bed, I was thankful that my black leather catsuit blended well with the darkness. As quiet as ever, I held my sword tighter, angling it in a left-plow position with the long edge up.Committed to the assassination task, my blow had to be quick and precise, piercing the heart. I cannot miss this golden opportunity.Standing exactly beside the nightstand, I glanced down at the ripped muscles of his heaving chest. Grunting, his sweaty head shifted from side to side. His face twitched, and his closed eyelids flexed as he breathed jaggedly in his sleep.Cardamom and amber surrounded me, the potent scent wafted straight from the source into my nostrils. A mouthwatering scent, so maddening. Perilously beguiling. The bond beat against my chest like a bone-crushing drum. The physica
VALEN’S POV“Raina is hurting.” Penn interjected, finishing up and discarding the cotton in a bin.“I saw the pain in her eyes when she saw Snow with your baby.” She gazed sadly at Devin and added under her breath. “I can imagine what that feels like.”My Beta averted his eyes to the side of the room, avoiding hers, suddenly unsettled as he scratched behind his ear.I blew out a hard breath. I did not care about what was up with these two. Raina was priority. The mate bond wrenched at me in a silent cry from her that only I could hear. Missing the softness of holding her hands and basking in her endearing presence, hugging, touching, gazing—I just can't go on without it.“I'm pissed too because the future hasn't changed and at some point, you'll give the dick away.” Devin aired bluntly. “How could you? After all those times you swore to me…”“I'll never cheat on Raina.” I cut in sharply, darting daggers at him.Unconvinced, he huffed. Then he spoke again, his voice quieter. "She loves
VALEN’S POVMy eyes snapped open, looking up at the wooden beams in the ceiling in confusion.This was Wolkrane.I can’t be here. Not when I promised Raina to be home by 9 P.M. daily. My head pounded with hazy memories, and I missed her pleasantly cool scent so badly. With her beautiful burgundy...Oh, fuck!I bolted up from the bed, and pain exploded on my side, spasming up and down my torso. Immediately, I glanced down at the three stitches that I just accidentally ripped, blood trickling down my side and into my gray sweatpants.Angry at myself for not knowing how long I’d been asleep, I yanked the IV line from my arm.Cursing silently while gritting my teeth against the agony, I barged out of the bedroom, ignoring the trail of blood I left on the umber-weave pattern of the vinyl plank flooring.Dizzy waves swept over me as I descended the stairs, determined for someone to tell me that it was a damn nightmare. That I imagined it all.“Where is she!” I roared, bulldozing into the sm
RAINA’S POV“Kókkino, I don't know,” Gustav replied with understanding in a low voice. His words lingered, heavy with an edge of doubt. “The sword should have taken his life.”I swallowed hard and confessed dejectedly, “I wanted to believe him, but he can’t be the real Valen.”Gustav hummed thoughtfully and moved to the foot of the bed to remove my shoes.Flashes of the harrowing hurt in the last Valen’s eyes made my forlorn heart sink deeper and deeper. It seemed nearly genuine, yet it was not. It was a mask to get me to lower my guard. I was glad that I didn’t let the bond derail the mission this time.My eyes trailed to my guardian, and I expressed, “The timekeepers were so cruel. This is my ninth trial, and if he's not my Valen, he'll kill me again. As an anomaly, they've cursed me to die over and over.”“Then I will protect you,” Gustav swore, putting down my shoes at the bedside while his gaze met mine. The sincerity and promise were clear in his voice.“How long do you think I
RAINA’S POV I lingered behind Gustav as we arrived by teleportation at a sprawling lakeside manor. With urgency, he stalked off down a corridor that cut straight through the house. I broke off into a little jog to keep up with his large strides. Walking by his side, I felt curious and apprehensive about where he had taken me. Warm tones guided me through the great hall. Feeling antsy, my head pirouetted in the unfamiliar environment. Gaping archways revealed sitting rooms, recreational rooms, a grand dining room, and others. Each was filled with soothing terra cotta tones from walls painted in red earth color. “Nice safe house,” I remarked as he led me up the winding stairs, overwhelmed by the sheer size of it.Layers of vintage finds, painted artwork, and houseplants created a classical, inviting effect across the spaces. Together with white and green accents, the wall's reddish tone produced a muted color scheme that brought a diverse range of furniture pieces in a harmoniously b
VALEN’S POV“Grrr! You are not needed here,” I growled, feeling my skin ripple, pinning the man in place with a murderous glare.“The nerve of that Worgen,” Zeus snarled in my head.Nyx and Zuzu swayed their attention to the obnoxious intruder, waiting for my command to attack him.“Stand down, Nyx. Do not attack him, Zuzu. Hibernate,” Raina commanded them, her back constantly bumped into my chest from her struggle against the grasp I maintained on her arms.It was a shock to see my guardians revert to a leisure position, debunking their fight mode.Raina averted her eyes to the man in full white. “Get me out of here, Gustav.”“Careful, Bluebella. Do not deliberately make me jealous. My wolf is unsettled as it is. You are mine,” I muttered into her ear, and she flinched with resistance.Swinging her sabre-rattling eyes sideways, she expostulated, “I’ll chose him a million times over you, you fake bastard!”What the hell was this?She was protecting him—choosing him?Wanting to go with
VALEN’S POVThe portal spat her out with a thud on the floor of my sanctum in a disheveled mess.“Mate! Mate! Mate!” Zeus purred, going into overdrive to touch what was ours.Thank fuck.“Ugh!” She groaned, landing face-down, and something clattered on the floor.My body jumped to life as her rich scent wrapped around the entirety of my being like thick vines.“She came back to us!” Zeus’ rear end started to twitch and wiggle in excitement to see our beautiful mate.Gladness pumped my heart wildly, and my feet moved briskly before my wolf shouted at me to go to her. Zuzu flapped her giant wings in flight towards her regular spot on a custom-designed tree branch in the corner.I rushed towards Raina, dropping to my knees and gently grabbing her shoulders to help her to stand. My heart danced with delight when the sparks erupted across my palms from the skin-to-skin contact.“She’s back,” Zeus howled in my chest with joy and enthusiasm, jumping up on his two hind legs.Raina's legs gave