Bella tried not to turn that pain into resentment toward Darian as he came to lead her back upstairs. His hand rested on the small of her back to steady her as he took her away from the man he no longer treated as a brother but rather as a prisoner. The basement door locked behind them, and she staggered."Do you need me to carry you?""No," she said as firmly as she could without being outright rude.He sighed. "What would you like for dinner?""Nothing. I'm not hungry."He spun her around and leaned down until they were face to face. "You have to eat something. You'll be too weak to complete the transformation if you don't."She jerked her arm away. "Fine. I'll just have what Victor is having." Darian stood up straight and watched her for a moment. He seemed to be summoning his patience. Looked like she was capable of draining even Darian's near-infinite reserves."I know you're incapable of seeing this right now, but he hurt you. He deserves a hell of a lo
"The way I'm is acting? And how exactly is that, Darian?" she demanded, standing. She planted her hands firmly on her hips and stared him down, willing herself not to give in to the shiver that was creeping up her spine. "Because all I see is you acting like a fuming child who's jealous that his older brother is getting more attention."Darian's fist clenched and for an instant she feared he really was going to hit her. Instead, he turned around and pulled a pack of cigarettes out of his desk drawer. His fist enveloped the carton and he stalked out of the room. Against her better judgment, Bella followed him. The one time she had followed Jeff when he had stormed out of the apartment after an argument, she had ended up with a broken jaw. After that she learned that it was better just to cower and hide. It occurred to her that she could remember that now without the familiar hum of pain in her mind. Victor's efforts were working, just not fast enough.If there
Bella didn't care. Her fear of him was fading with every moment that passed. The moon's rays streaming through the trees were warm and encouraging. She just had to get Darian on board. "So let's go to the dungeon," Bella suggested. Her suggestion clearly took him by surprise. "Call me old-fashioned, but I don't want our first time to be in a playroom. Besides, you hate that stuff." Bella knew that telling him she'd come around to the idea of BDSM while he was gone wasn't going to help, so she tried a different tactic. She drew him in for another kiss and subtly wriggled out of his grasp just enough that she could break free.It worked. Bella darted past him and stopped to turn around, grinning at her poor, bewildered wolf. He watched her in confusion as she stepped backward down the slope of the hill the Lodge rested upon. She crooked her finger and gave him a playful look as she beckoned him. He shook his head in bewilderment, but he was grinnin
Bella sensed his mood growing sour again and knew she had to distract him. Kneeling down, she stripped off her last layer of clothing and cast it aside. "Now, about that proposition."He stared brazenly. He was still Darian, after all. She rested a hand on her hip and let him look his fill. Looked like her distraction was a resounding success."I'm not going to chase you, Bella," he said once he picked his jaw up off the ground. "Not a good idea.""Why not?""Because I'm a predator. We react to prey.""I'm prey?" He looked her up and down. "For now.""Hm. Kinky.""I'm serious, Bella. I wouldn't hurt you, but werewolves get aggressive around full moons, this one especially. In all the ways."Sounded promising. Bella held her hands up in surrender and walked backward slowly. "Fine, no chasing. On one condition.”He arched an eyebrow. "Condition?""Mhm. I'll be good and go back if you strip."He rolled his eyes. "I'm serious.""So am I." He hesitated. She co
Bella cried out in pain and dug her nails into the earth as he entered her. Darian gave the nape of her neck an apologetic nip and reminded her that the worst was over. His words were of little comfort, but the feeling of his solid body against hers as he settled on top of her helped ease the pain. His nails dug into her flesh, and he gripped her hips to keep her still as he began to thrust. With each movement came a fresh wave of agony, but the pain started to lessen over time. In its place came a strange, almost foreign sensation. Darian wasn't just hitting the pleasurable spot inside of her; he was grinding against it with his considerable girth. Bella was filled completely, and what had started out as pain turned into pleasure she had never even imagined. Her soft whimpers turned to moans, and her nails were digging into the earth for a completely different reason. His thrusts were outpaced only by her thundering heart, and he showed no si
Bella made a mental note to watch out for him. The idea of what conversations he might have overheard already was nauseating, so she forced her mind down a different road. Darian was clearly less than amused by Ulric’s dog comment. In fact, the two of them seemed to be engaged in a staring match, which wasn't helping his case. Bella was becoming aware enough of the strange insular culture within the Lodge to know better than to interfere. They would work it out amongst themselves. Intervening, whether to calm Darian down or come to his defense, would only humiliate him. Foster returned with the robe and towel not a moment too soon. "Thanks," Bella said to him with a smile, gratefully pulling the robe around her and tying the sash around her waist. "You're welcome!" He handed the towel to Darian and got barely a grunt of acknowledgment and a withering gaze. The poor guy slunk out of the room with his tail between his legs. Bella imagined it wo
In the beginning, there were two kingdoms that ruled the earth," Ulric began, his voice low as he read from the open volume in his hands. "The Kingdom of the Sun was ruled by the kings of man, while the Kingdom of the Moon was ruled by the creatures of the night. Werewolves and vampires were Her chief descendants, but there were countless others. Were-creatures of a variety of species, from the majestic lion to the smallest mouse, ghosts, banshees, even angels who had fallen from the highest ranks of the Kingdom of the Sun to conduct their business here on earth.“The creatures of the night lived a relatively separate existence from mankind for a time, until the inevitable union between the celestial Lord and Lady forced them to coexist. Although the children of the Sun were weaker and their lives shorter, they were the only children of their father, who held them in the highest regard. He took such great delight in them that he was content to look upon them long past the hour w
“As the brothers argued, the Sun turned away, unable to bear the sight of the beasts of night who were beginning to rip into the flesh of his dearest child in an attempt to hide their crime. He disappeared behind a wall of clouds like none the creatures of earth had ever seen. The clouds soon split and torrents gushed from them, flooding the land.“The beasts who had begun to devour the fallen king scattered for shelter. The wolf's fur was soaked with tears and rain as he watched his brother try to escape in the chaos. Before he could pursue him, the fallen king began to rise. As he stood, his spilled entrails drew back within him and the blood that had soaked into the ground returned to his body through his palms, forcing its way through his flesh and into his veins.”My blood ran cold at Ulric's words. It was easy enough to cast everything aside as a fairy tale, but that last bit was far too similar to my grotesque hallucination for comfort. I unconsciously rubbed my hand an
Bella froze when she realized what she was doing and tossed the pieces in the empty bread basket to hide the evidence. “Sorry,” she murmured, blushing. “You uh, get my blood boiling.”“I can tell,” he said, blinking. He looked down at his hands. “I'm sorry. I had no idea I was that intolerable.”“But you're not,” Bella said earnestly. “You make me angrier than anyone else, but you also make me laugh more than anyone else. You push me, sometimes to the brink of sanity, but she's a better person when she's with him. He's all of those annoying things, but he's also sweet and funny and protective and so compassionate toward the other members of the pack. He's a natural-born leader, and a good one. Whenever she sees the way he is with the other wolves, the way he cares for them and puts their needs above his own without even thinking, she falls a little more in love with him.” He stared at her in shock. “You love me? And you're admitting that freely?”Bella laughed, embarrassed. T
Bella reached across the table and rested her hand on his forearm. “You make it sound like I'm the one who's out of your league and not the other way around.” His eyebrows knit into a perplexed frown. He finally relaxed as if he'd given up trying to figure out whatever it was that was bothering him. “You are. Even aside from the fact that you're probably one of the mythological creatures our entire religion is based on, I don't deserve you. Neither does he, but I'm a big enough man to admit that Vic is a hell of a lot closer to being worthy of you than I am.” “Don't be so sure about that,” Bella said with a wry smile. “You both have your positive qualities.” “And negative ones, I'm sure.” Bella smiled wider.“Well, let's have it. Give me the side-by-side analysis,” he said, sitting back and folding his hands studiously on the table in front of him since he had already finished his meal.She laughed, but stopped abruptly when she realized he wasn't kidding. “You're
Bella reached across the table and rested her hand on his forearm. “You make it sound like I'm the one who's out of your league and not the other way around.” His eyebrows knit into a perplexed frown. He finally relaxed as if he'd given up trying to figure out whatever it was that was bothering him. “You are. Even aside from the fact that you're probably one of the mythological creatures our entire religion is based on, I don't deserve you. Neither does he, but I'm a big enough man to admit that Vic is a hell of a lot closer to being worthy of you than I am.” “Don't be so sure about that,” Bella said with a wry smile. “You both have your positive qualities.” “And negative ones, I'm sure.” Bella smiled wider.“Well, let's have it. Give me the side-by-side analysis,” he said, sitting back and folding his hands studiously on the table in front of him since he had already finished his meal.She laughed, but stopped abruptly when she realized he wasn't kidding. “You're
“Not sweet, innocent Clara,” Bella said doubtfully. “Oh, I've caught Jason coming out of her apartment once or twice.” “Jason and Clara?” Bella blanched. “But he's so... He chuckled at her reaction. “I know. Doubt he's her type, but the moon makes everyone go crazy, especially unmated fleurs. The rest of us try to stick to our subs, but what happens on a full moon stays on a full moon.”“Until now,” Bella reminded him. “You just told me.”“Hey, you didn't hear it from me.”Bella grinned mischievously. “Nope. I'm thinking now I own you.”“I don't go that way, kiddo. Not even for you,” he scoffed. “Now, if you ever decide you want a new master...”“My contract with Victor isn't exclusive. And don't try to change the subject.”“Sheesh. Okay, fine. It's probably already pretty obvious, but Brendan and Clarence don't just take care of Foster's emotional needs. They share him as a sub, but there's no relationship there otherwise. I'm pretty sure even that's tapered off since
"Are all the others out?" Bella asked, noting that the lot was almost empty. "Most of them," he said. "Clara and your dad are still around, as usual. Vic has been holed up in his office all day. Hunter and Clarence are still frolicking in the woods somewhere. Brendan was heading out with Maverick last I heard and uh, I think I saw Sarah with Jason." Anger started to boil inside Bella, but it couldn't take hold for some reason. "Oh, whatever," she muttered. "As long as she's leaving Dad alone." He glanced at her as he turned onto the road that led past campus. "That's a surprisingly zen attitude you got there." "I'm trying out a new approach to life," Bella said, admiring the heavily forested path. He shrugged. "Hey, I'm not complaining as long as you're okay.""I'm okay," Bella said. For the first time in a long time, she meant it.No one said a word for the rest of the ride. Darian took them into the city, or at least what passed for one in their little section o
A knock at the door jolted Bella awake from the most delightful nap. Despite the dull throbbing in her head, she woke feeling more refreshed and alive than she had in recent memory. “Be right there,” she called, yawning as she sat up. Her head spun a bit once she got to her feet, but it wasn't bad enough to make her stagger.On her way to the door, she noticed something strange about her room. All her stuff was there, but it looked like half of the room had been cleared out. Before the thought could trouble her too much, she remembered that Victor had probably just come for the remainder of his old things. She did have his old room, after all. Strange that he wouldn't have mentioned it, though.She shrugged it off and pulled the door open to find Darian waiting on the other side. At least, she thought it was Darian. The man before her had lightly slicked back hair, a stark contrast from his usual tousled brown locks. He wasn't wearing a suit or anything, but for Darian, a gray b
When Bella turned around, he was walking toward her calmly. She pressed herself against the door and struggled to slow her fluttering pulse as she looked around the room for escape. The window was too far to reach, and even if she did somehow manage to escape, she would only be prolonging the inevitable. Once Victor set his mind on something, no matter how horrible that something was, he got it. It briefly occurred to her that maybe that was why he was doing this. Maybe he thought his will had been strong enough to conquer her own and that removing all traces of it was the only way she would truly be free to choose. “I'm sorry, pup. I didn't want this to be a traumatic experience,” he murmured. “I was planning on waiting until tomorrow night, but it's just as well that I don't have time to talk myself out of this.” “Please don't do this,” she begged for what seemed like the hundredth time. “I don't want to forget you.” “You won't forget me,” he said softly. “J
“Of course,” Bella said, startled that he felt like he had to ask. “Well, I know you didn't like him so I just thought...” He trailed off, losing his enthusiasm for a moment. “Thank you. It would mean a lot to have you there. Victor is coming, and he said your dad would probably want to come, too.” He glanced toward the stairs. “I'll let you go; I have to find Brendan.” “He's probably still out with the others celebrating, but I know he was planning on seeing if you wanted to go out later,” Bella said carefully. “Oh, darn. I wanted to invite him, but I'll just have to wait until later. Bye, Bella!” he waved, already halfway down the hall. “Bye, Mav.” Bella waved back, mystified. Barely recovered from the macabre interaction, she knocked on Victor's office door and waited for permission before she entered. “Aren't you supposed to be with him?” was his immediate response. “Hi to you, too,” Bella muttered, walking over to his desk.He gave her an apologetic sm
“I'm fine,” Bella lied, brushing past her. She grabbed Bella's arm before she could head up the stairs. “You're a terrible liar,” she said, sounding a bit disappointed. “You get that from your father, obviously. Tell me what's wrong, maybe I can help.” “I went out to watch the others shift,” Bella said, leaning on the railing. “Now there's an all-American pastime,” she said, casting a lustful glance in the direction of the forest. “Honey, trust me, if your boy toys are upset about you sneaking a little peek at the competition, they probably don't have the equipment for the job in the first place.” “That's not it!” Bella snapped. “And they both have plenty of equipment for the—they're both well equipped, okay?” Bella stammered. “That's not what this is about.” “No?” She blinked. “Then what?” “I left the Lodge by myself. Months ago, Victor put a mental block up that would keep me from leaving the Lodge without permission,” Bella said. “It was our trade