RUNE
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It happened again. The darkness claimed me, clawed into me, leaving me with mere slivers of control over my damn body. I’d been eighteen the first time it had happened, a month after I’d escaped the dungeons. The first blackout had left me in absolute panic. I’d been close to losing my mind. Then, slowly, I had learned to use the darkness to my advantage, letting the raw, primal power consume me, just to unleash myself upon my enemies.
It had happened once every three to four months at first. Then, once every month, near the full moon. But it was getting worse. The last attack had happened merely two weeks ago, and now, I was in the night’s clutches again…
I had felt it coming soon after we’d arrived at the camp. I had gone away and used that raw power to assassinate Alpha Royce of the Blood Claw Pack. Well, I had sort of accidentally ended more than four dozen of his warriors along with the main fucker himself. It’d felt good, but it hadn’t fully satisfied my bloodlust. The monster inside me had grown stronger, needed more, craved something I hadn’t given him…
I knew that Larina had made sure all the hallways were empty the moment I entered my castle. Still surrounded by darkness, I strode to my chambers. The insatiable thirst pulsed inside me, making my canines elongate in a feral need to sink them into flesh.
I curled my hands into fists, allowing my claws to pierce the skin on my palms. The pain threaded my feral state. Good. The pain had always kept me grounded, although I feared that tonight, it might not be enough…
I hurriedly unlocked my chamber, knowing that I needed to be contained as soon as possible. I merely managed to open the door before the scent of wild flowers hit my nostrils. Fuck. She shouldn’t be here. Who the fuck let her into my room?!
Of course, the monster inside me didn’t mind. In fact, I felt the sudden rush of excitement, and the fear I saw in her eyes only made it stronger. The conscious part of me shouted for her to run, even though I knew she couldn’t. The monster wouldn’t let her–I wouldn’t let her.
I prowled toward her as my agitation grew. It wasn’t the bloodlust I’d felt looking at another soon–to–be dead fucker. I wanted to devour her. She was the light for my darkness, one I craved like anything I had craved before. The golden ring in her mesmerizing eyes grew, filling her irises, stealing away the blue. I pulled her closer, feeling her fear tensing all her muscles.
She didn’t want this. She was scared, and I was hurting her. I was KILLING her, and I couldn’t stop. Fuck. I struggled to regain my control, but the monster had become too powerful. Still, I fought him. I tried to pull away, even though the taste of her essence felt so fucking good…
I breathed in, and her scent caressed my senses, awakening my wolf spirit. He howled inside me, but the darkness blocked my ability to comprehend him. Yet, I tried. I fought. I didn’t want this. Not this way. Not when I could feel her pain, her fear, her helplessness…
The darkness reacted to her in a strange way, and she must have felt it, too. And then it happened–the light, the searing sensation traveling up and down my body. I stumbled, releasing her.
“I can heal you,” she whispered.
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Chapter 18
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I welcomed her sweet words, even though I knew she couldn’t. There was no cure for my disease. For decades, I had been traveling across the Inarus Sea and back to find a healer powerful enough to fight against the poison corrupting my body and soul. Still, the hope within me sparked as I watched her fragile frame lunge forward, pressing her hand to my chest.
I closed my eyes, savoring every ounce of her light, cleansing the darkness within me. I heard her quiet groan, her hand on my chest trembling. I opened my eyes and saw her pour the light into me, the monster within me retreating.
I placed my hand on top of hers, and she gasped. The light underneath her palm faded, the remaining glow quickly sinking into my flesh. “They’re gone,” she breathed, looking at my chest. “The dark threads…”
A laugh of surprise escaped me. I couldn’t believe what she had managed to achieve. She hadn’t destroyed the darkness within me, but she pushed it back, which was more than any healer had ever done to help me.
My Little Mouse raised her gaze to meet mine, and a faint blush crept onto her cheeks. “I… I’m sorry… If I hurt you-”
She tried to slip her hand out of my grasp, but I wouldn’t let her, keeping her firmly pressed against my heart. “I hurt you more,” I murmured as my other hand drifted to her waist. I half–expected her to flinch, but instead, I felt her tension ease. I dipped my head, looking into her golden–blue eyes. “You’re a powerful healer, Little Mouse.”
More blush appeared. “I didn’t know what I was doing,” she admitted. “I’ve never seen anything like this…” Her gaze traveled to my chest, as if she were recalling the dark veins that had been there just moments ago.
I drew a deep breath, processing the situation. “You shouldn’t be here. Why did you come to my chamber?”
Her throat worked on a swallow. “I didn’t know… Tariq came for me and took me here.”
Rage buzzed in my veins. “He did, huh?” I had no idea what the fuck he’d been thinking, but I would make him pay for this.
She sucked in a ragged breath, her voice dropping to a barely audible whisper, “I thought you were going to kill me.”
Fuck. She wasn’t wrong about that. Had she not pushed me away with her healing powers, I would have killed her. I would have fought my darkness until the end, but I doubted it would have been enough to save her life. “This wasn’t… me. I mean… not entirely,” I muttered.
Her eyes met mine again. “I thought that… Alpha Rune was going to kill me.”
Her words felt like a punch in the gut. A dry smile curved my lips. I knew that she would find out about my true identity sooner or later, but a part of me hoped I would be the one to tell her.
My eyes fixed on hers. Only then did I realize the way she looked at me had changed. She might have known I was the Shadow–the notorious assassin–but it was the leader of the rebellion that truly struck fear into her
heart.
I released her, and she quickly pulled it away before folding her arms across her waist in a protective gesture. I watched her step back away from me, and I couldn’t help but find it immensely irritating. I wasn’t mad at her, though. I was more mad at myself because I was the reason for her anxiety.
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Releasing a long breath, I sat on the verge of my bed. “I debated what I should do with you,” I admitted truthfully. To her benefit, she didn’t flinch or show more fear. Instead, she painted her expression blank, silently processing her situation.
“And… what did you decide?” She smoothed the tremor in her tone as much as she could while her arms. tightened around her waist.
Strange. I had wanted to savor her restlessness. I was supposed to toy with her, push her to her limits, and see what she was willing to do to save herself. But I wasn’t sure I still wanted to break her this way…
My eyes traveled up and down her body, clad in nothing but a thin, white tunic. I patted the mattress next to me. “Come here.”
She drew a shaky breath, then moved, cautiously sitting on the bed. I breathed in her scent, and a wave of heat rushed down to my cock. Not the best reaction I could imagine. A moment ago, I was on the verge of killing her, and now, all I could think of was tearing her tunic and tasting every inch of her body. But that couldn’t be helped. With the darkness shoved away, my bloodlust was gone, replaced with… well… lust.
My gaze dropped to her lips, and suddenly, I wanted her to know what it should feel like when my lips claim hers. I wanted to erase the memory of the pain I caused. My arms slid around her waist, pulling her closer. A faint smirk danced on my lips as I moved toward her, brushing my lips against hers-
She leaned back, lifting her hand between us to block me. “Um… what if… I could… become your healer?” she offered, her voice all but trembling.
My one brow inched up. Seriously? I could fucking sense her arousal, and yet she stopped me to say THAT?! Then again, she had done what I had thought was impossible. “You believe you can do it?” I challenged.
Her throat worked on a hard swallow. “If you tell me everything you know about this… illness, I will do my
best.”
I considered her words. She had this light inside her, the power strong enough to rival mine. What if she could become the solution I’d been hoping for? What if she could tame the beast within?
My gaze fell to her lips again. The scent of wildflowers filled the air. This surely wasn’t the time for reasonable conversation. “Will talk about it in the morning,” I murmured.
She was about to protest, but I wouldn’t let her. I watched her lips part only to claim them. Her eyes widened, but she didn’t resist. I fucking knew she wouldn’t. The first stroke of my tongue dragged a whimper out of her. I tightened my grip around her, and her hands hesitantly drifted to my shoulders.
Fucking hells! The feel of her fingertips gliding up my bare skin made my cock strain in an instant. I entered her deeper, moving one hand to the back of her head to steady her. She moaned against my mouth, and gods be damned if it wasn’t the sweetest sound I’d ever heard. More of her arousal filled the air as her tongue shyly began to dance with mine. A moment passed, and she became more daring, gently exploring, tasting, feeling…
Fuck…. That kiss was everything I had imagined it to be and more. Her hands moved to my neck, fingers drifting to my hair, tangling between the strands. I pushed her gently onto her back, breaking the kiss, only to move to her soft neck. A breathy moan slipped free, and I couldn’t stop a wide grin that stretched across my lips. I breathed in more of her scent, my hands traveling down to the hem of her tunic-
Her hands fell from my neck, landing limply on the mattress. I blinked and looked at her. Her eyes were
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Chapter 18
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closed, her chest heaving and falling with steady breaths…
She fell asleep. My Little Mouse was sleeping. I huffed out a laugh, one mixed with a sound of frustration. She must have been exhausted after using her power to fight my darkness.
pure
Muttering a curse, I lifted her in my arms and moved her to the side of my bed, covering her with sheets. “Sweet dreams, Little Mouse,” I murmured. “Rest well while you can.”
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Chapter 19
