“Huh?” I manage.
“You heard me, Lumi.” His voice is so guttural, it's hard to understand. He steps forward. Claws unsheathed—the bath water ripples from the weight of him.
“Who was here?”
I blink. “I—you? You were the only one here.”
His jaw ticks. A muscle jumps beneath his cheek.
“No, I wasn't,” he growls.
His head tilts slowly, fangs glinting in the low light. He looks absolutely terrifying.
I don't make any sudden movements. My breath stills in my chest. For the first time since meeting him, I'm not 100% sure he doesn't want to hurt me.
“The bond woke me. It ripped me from my sleep. I felt it—your pleasure, your voice—and it wasn't me you were moaning for. “
He takes another slow step forward, and the air around him snaps—frost crackles on the floor beneath his hooves. His eyes blaze brighter.
My body curls tighter against the tub wall.
Shit. Shit. Shit.
He takes another step, fingers flexing at his sides.
“Say his name again,” he snarls. “Say it, so I can hear it with my own godsdamned ears.”
This is not good, but I still can’t form any words.
My voice is caught somewhere in my throat, blocked by the terror pounding in my chest.
His eyes narrow as his nostrils flare.
He stills.
“Lumi...” he whispers brokenly, like my name is breaking him even as anger radiates from him in waves. He has said my name a hundred different ways, but I have never heard him say it like that.He inhales again, slower this time. His lips part.
“Gods,” he breathes, almost to himself. “You... you let him bring you to peak?”
He shakes his head in disbelief. A single, broken laugh escapes him.
“And more than that.” His voice cracks. “You—” He cuts himself off, then starts swearing in Vraksûn
I only catch a few words, but they feel like knives under my skin.
“You've never—” His jaw flexes. “You vaelis’thrae... for him?”
My brows pinch. “What... what does that mean?”
He looks at me, and something in his face splinters.
“You don't even know what you gave him.”
So much silence passes between us, and none of it helps ease my growing confusion.
“You've never done that for me, Lumi. Not once.”
Anonymous- 30 minutes earlier.
