All Hadrius sees is red.
His hands clench into fists whilst striding down the hallway, blunt nails digging into the flesh of his palms, drawing rivulets of blood that slip from between his fingers like fine sand.
Behind him trails his mate in silence, aware of his tensed, livid state, yet seeming indifferent to it. He smells the intoxicating wine that stains her lips, and beneath her scent is the Alpha’s son. Atticus. It stains her skin, her shoulder which he had touched, her forearm where he had pressed upon while they sat side by side.
Pressure rises in the warlord’s mouth and a muscle leaps in his cheek at how he had found them.
Atticus, the young ignorant brat of a pup, and his arrogant blatancy as he dared lay claim to his human.
Hadrius cracks a knuckle and continues, unwilling to look over his shoulder. His teeth grind like motors and despite the cool night air that brushes past his coat, billowing it behind him, his skin tingles
"Atticus." The warlord’s demoniac voice tunnels dangerously in her ear.Sliding his hands down her skin from her breasts, he catches his fingers in the waistline of her underwear and rips them sideways with enough intensity to bruise the skin of her hips. She remains bare from the shoulders down.His eyes devour her sun-bronzed skin. The sight of her pressed against the table, naked, slightly bent forward, her ass presented to him - causes his cock to throb so badly he thinks it would burst through the confines of his slacks.His hands caress over her bare skin. “Atticus,” he says, palming her ass and squeezing them hard, parting her cheeks and dripping flushed lips at once."Atticus.” He repeats venomously, darkness spilling into his tone.His left hand splays over her flesh, passing teasingly down over her pelvis until his hand eases between her thighs. A gasp catches in her throat as his fingers
They came for him at dawn.River expects it, or so she tells herself. Much to her dismay, Hadrius had been insistent on waking her at three AM, not that she was able to sleep.His words run deep into her skin, withdrawing all heat until all she feels is cold. Hadrius somehow maintains his natural tranquil behavior whilst training her. While her heart judders and gut clenches in fear, his simply is; there is no disturbance in his features, or perhaps his calmness was a facade to keep hers in check.But it was dark, and she could not see his face whilst he fixed her grip on the sword, and taught her how to rotate her hips enough to draw momentum from them. When her lessons are over, River is sleek with sweat despite the frigid cold, and her muscles scream from the exertion.As they walk back in silence, her steps falter in the slightest, inadvertently creating distance between the two, and she gazes at his broad back with a sense of foreboding desperation.
“Promise me you will be safe.” Hadrius’ whisper is harsh and holds a desperate, vulnerable edge to it, his eyes seeking his human’s as she kneels before him, still reeling in murky pained silence.“River-” Her eyes lift to meet his.The chains groan as his face dips towards her; he wishes to touch her one last time, for a single, blessed moment, and she hears his thought. Wordlessly, River rises on her knees and presses her brow to his, her mouth a heartbeat later. His lips whisper unspoken agony to hers as they kiss briefly, softly.The fear swells beneath his skin, threatening to tear him to shreds, and pain like no other grasps at the warlord’s heart as she draws away. “He will be violent,” Hadrius utters against the wick of her mouth. “If you can, say my name before he reaches you.”“Okay.”He hears her slamming heartbeat and it cripples him.“Promise me
River tears through Hadrius’ home.Her body moves in a dark blur up the stairs, and slams through the first door before she drops onto her knees.Beneath my bed, you will find a backpack.Had he known all this time?Was that why he had been training her?A wildness grows within her; of terror and suffocating panic as she blindly gropes beneath the large bed for the bag. She almost cries in relief as her hand closes on a strap, and giving it a sharp tug, yanks it from beneath the bed.The bag is medium sized and filled to the brim. Her curiosity is smothered by her plight and after rising, River hastily strips.She pulls on random pants Hadrius had made for her - the material breathable and starchy for training - then a shirt, and finally a large sweater. Pulling on her boots, River slings the bag over her shoulder and descends the stairs in a whirlwind while drawing the hood over her head.The evening casts its d
The rattling sound of metallic doors creaking open is what draws the Beta’s attention away from the blank, sodden wall.He hears their approaching footsteps, the thumping of wet boots on cemented floors as they pass the numerous empty cells. The Alpha’s dungeon reeks with the stench of aged blood and pungent urine.Hadrius did not mind it for his senses had been repressed and overpowered by the thought of his human upon her departure. She must have escaped the previous night, and not long before the Alpha’s wolves had howled their battle cry and commenced their heated pursuit.Sleep deserted him all the while as he paced about the small confines of his cell, chains dragging behind him like an outspoken shadow. His mind had morphed into a stinging web of hurt, leaving him with nothing more than silent prayers to the Luna Goddess for River’s safety.Daylight is no different in the dungeon for there are no windows, his only companion
River wakes to something pressing to her nose, an insistent touch against the tip as she detangles from the webbing of her dreams. It smells sharp and strange, and for a moment, she is revolted by the creature that clings to her and shoves its face against hers.She blinks, staring into a set of white and grey eyes.The man is as still as water against her face, his lips a hair’s breadth away and billowing warm air on her own mouth.“You sleep hideously,” the man remarks as she suddenly reels away in defence and terror.Blankets and sheets are strewn all over as River backs against the wall, her heart thundering and trying to escape the creature just as much as her. Cautiously, she regards the man who sits by the edge of the bed.His eyes remain focused on the indented pillow where she had laid seconds before. “For a moment there,” he starts and casts a long side glance, “I wondered what my brother had found so i
River stares vaguely at the bloodied man who stands at the door, his chest rising and falling rapidly, skin sleek with dark colors that trail rivulets down his powerful legs, blooming beneath his bare feet.Seeing him then, gripping a head that falls with a sickening, wet thump onto the floor, surrounded by myriads of dead carcasses— River realizes that Hadrius had never looked more terrifying.He is a horrific creature.And heading straight for her.The shock of his sudden presence renders her speechless and numb, unable to react as his hand shoots out like a viper and grips her wrist that rests on the table, he yanks her from her seat.Hadrius does not wait for her recovery. In one fluid motion, his arm circles her waist and he easily hauls her over his shoulder. He does not spare his brother a second glance, fearful that if he did, he would end him.The warlord does not falter as he strides out into the desolate night, consuming dar
Sleep deserts the warlord as he lies in absolute darkness. It is not due to an excess of energy, for he is more than exhausted after the massacring of soldiers and hellhounds in Lycan form.His body feels raw and rough, muscles aching from the sudden shift, wounds still gaping as his body’s recovery rate had declined significantly after undergoing the brutal sanction. It took all the strength he had to track his mate down, yet the warlord still could not bring himself to sleep.To Hadrius, sleeping under the same roof as Cain was similar to being crucified beneath the glaring sun, having a crow torment at his peeling skin, picking at his flesh and innards.It is painful.Unbearably so.And the emotion rips anger through the warlord. His first instinct was River, but now that she lies in deep slumber by his ribcage, partially drooling on his skin, Hadrius finds his mind edging towards Cain.His brother had left the house around three ho
The bonus chapter most people have been waiting for and an important note at the end. āBrother.ā The warlord glances up from the alliance paper sprawled before him and at Cain who sits at the head of the table. Beside him is another Alpha, supposedly from another wolf pack that Hadrius could not remember. There was a lot to remember. Hadrius blinks and Cainās pointed stare drops to the table, āWill you not sign it?ā The warlord glances down once more to find the ink pen had dripped onto the paperās corner, a blank space still awaiting his signatory. He sits straighter and clears his throat, āYes.ā Drawing out his signature, Hadrius caps the pen and slides it towards the awaiting mediators and legal advisors who peer over the papers once more before nodding at the pack leader. Every man rises then, pausing to stare upon Cain and the new Alpha as they exchange firm handshakes and murmurs of āwe
The week had gone by in a blur of activities; Novusā final sighting before the eyes of the public - his execution and burning at the altar. There had been an incoherent pleasure that drifted through the warlord at the sight of Novusā clipped and outraged face as he gazed upon River, alive and healthy despite his endeavours. He had gone into a frenzy, a sort of madness, regression as the guards dragged him up to the altar. Blood and fluids trailed in rivulets down the manās wounded body, gaping gulleys of flesh and flashing alabaster bones still unhealed in display for those watching in raptured silence. He was cursing the brothers out. Eyes wide and terror-filled, frothing at the mouth as indecipherable words left him. Neither Hadrius nor Cain flinched at the horrific sight, their countenance masks of clean-cut stone, pristine and unwavering at his curses that dissolved to pleading and begging. They fell on deaf ears. The guards bore him down on the wooden cr
Hadrius sighs, “No you’re not.”River’s smile droops, “You have to admit it was a good prank.”Wordlessly he draws her beneath the sheets, worn out not only from the day but her endless antics. For the first time in a long time, Hadrius feels his age. Unable to keep up with her youthful banter and annoyance that is endearing but twists something ageing in him.Her purring picks up in the silence, filling the void as he strokes her hair lethargically. “I have a question for you.”River’s head tilts up in his embrace, searching his face in the darkness.His gaze remains fixated on the wall, then slowly draws down to her. “Would you like to be Luna?”“Luna?” She echoes and he nods.“It’s a title parallel to queen.”“Oh,” he feels her fingers play with his pierced nipple, rolling the barbel back and forth. “No.”
“She performed a partial shift.”The warlord’s intent, worried stare lifts from his mate currently sitting on the healer’s table, and to the source. The healer stands by his side holding a large leather-bound book with ancient diseases and plagues that befall the Lycans. His hand rises to rub the throbbing spot between his brow, a tension headache bloomed out of fear and pure terror for his mate.Thrice in his life now River has nearly given him heart attacks and high blood pressure.“A partial shift,” he murmurs thoughtfully. Such shifts were rare, one in every five centuries would either be born with the inability to fully shift or a human turned would only grow out their tail and ears.His gaze returns to his mate, now freshly dressed in a clean white shirt and skirt, her bare feet doodling circles on the air below. She is rubbing her ears in wonder, turning her head this way and that whilst staring at her reflection
“Crawl to me.”Heat flares throughout River’s body as she kneels a distance from him, dark eyes fixated on the warlord’s shadowed face. Her lips are slightly parted to which she shuts gently as he arcs a sardonic eyebrow and taps a patient boot on the floor.River swallows, throat jerking against the dryness and obediently she lowers both palms onto the carpet. As her hands sink into the cushioned floor, blood rises stinging to her cheeks, wide eyes brilliant and unwavering on his dominant countenance.Slowly, like an obedient puppy, she obeys.Each movement is slow, her knee rising in tandem to each hand, hips swaying like a swelling tide in the ocean, from side to side. The sheer dress caresses her skin, whispering along the curves of her body and she feels her nubile breasts gently press on her inner arms as she crawls.He watches her. Hellfire swallowing his gaze in absolute darkness, not once leaving her face as space b
River woke with a fire of determination lining her veins. All she sees is red whilst stomping down the palace’s hallway in search of the one person who would know Hadrius better than she did.Despite the weather’s coolness, dark winter clouds lumbering lowly, heavily, River still feels the prickling sensation of heat on her skin, rubbing its friction hands up her inner thighs, cupping her throbbing womanhood.Hadrius had refused to touch her and she threw a tantrum throughout the night, then cried believing that he would allow her to suffer in such a way. In retrospect, River cannot help but cringe inwardly at the realization that she truly shed tears over his cock and sudden chastity.It’s the heat, she reasons, it has to be.Since its beginning, she had been nothing but affectionate for the warlord, oftentimes wanting to hold him if not fuck him. The emotions that tumult within felt vivid; love, caring and adoration. Sometimes she woul
The serenade of the black wintry sky is filled with a choir of stars that sing patterns across the dark, each musical note wavering in the air and seeping into the warlord’s room.The silence is broken by such song, along with the restless shifting of covers as River lies beside him in unsettled slumber.Something slips through her blood and she turns, unconsciously slinging her leg around Hadrius’ waist, but the brushing of sweltering skin is enough to shed hairs of sleep from her mind. Peeling one hesitant eye open, she peers briefly around the room through a hooded lid, then slumps back onto the pillow beneath her.There, she finds herself torn between the carousel of ideas that fill her awakened mind and the whispers of sleep that still call back to her.River sighs against her arm. An itch dances along her nose but she brushes it away, following the movement of her hand to the slumbering behemoth beside her.The twisted bedsheets d
Hadrius stares.The numbing shock that cripples his nerves only thickens at the sight of his human. She still watches him, a slight haze to her cloudy eyes and she blinks once more, the earthen color shifting to golden if not for more than a second before dissolving.His lips part to speak but no sound leaves.His hand tries to rise and reach for her but leads weighs them down. A shocking anchor rooting each limb to the spot.Seemingly undisturbed, or perhaps unaware of his distraught state, River searches his face over and over, suddenly alert and confirming a dreadful suspicion that did not come to pass.She sinks back into the table. “I thought you had died—” A startled huff of breath vacates her lungs as the Warlord’s large body suddenly climbs atop hers.Hadrius does not know what he is doing, not until his hands reach for her face with desperate urgency, his mouth finding her own in a bruising kiss as teeth graz
Cain stands on the ridge, watching the dark shapes of battle moving across the field. He cannot make out faces or individual forms. The charge of his hellhounds onto the final remaining Lycans, striking them down like useless things, uprooting them like weeds on a rainy day.The thrum of satisfaction juddering within feels like power, a hammering beat to his chest that lines his veins with the fire of victory. A godly glory.The writhing field is like a gorgon’s face slowly turning his face to cut stone. The kingdom had finally fallen.“Cain!”The voice that calls him is distinct, sharp as jagged sea rocks. Cain slowly angles his face over his shoulder, Lycan eyes offering clarity as the distant figures approach. He sees Hadrius leaping off a horse, his men not far behind.There is an urgency to his face; a twist of sheer cold terror that causes Cain to hesitate. Hadrius has something in his arms.Cain sees it in pieces.