“What’s it like, living with an animal inside you?” I ask, desperately altering the subject.
“It can be quite frustrating. Difficult to think rationally. Especially in times when there’s a cute brunette in a dangerously short dress."
Cute.I frown at that. "Is that why you tried to steal a kiss from me while I was half unconscious?"
"That’s a brave accusation,” he chuckles. “And not at all accurate.”
Something inside me purrs. I use his own words against him, breathy and sultry. “Oh, is that right?”
"You’ve got it backwards, Moonshine. Would you like me to remind you how it happened?"
I rise from my seat. If he doesn't prefer his mate to submit, then, by all means, I won’t. Collecting my plate and silverware, I smile. "Bet you'd like that, wouldn't you?"
He takes the plate from my hands and clanks it on top of his own. Axe takes a final step towards me, invading my space. Our size difference—it’s ludicrous. He hovers well over a foot above my head, eyes tracing the downward slope of my pulsing neck. It conjures a phantom touch, the memory of a soft caress that left goosebumps in its wake—roaming lips, just days ago. His lips. I fight the natural inclination to close my eyes as he cranes down, so close to taking the bait.
His voice is husky. "Keep it up and you might just learn how much I enjoy teasing."
My brow knocks upward. "Threaten me and it will cost you, Commander."
Staring me down, he wills that tenacious blue to sear into me. “My, my, Vespera. You sound like a Luna already."
I can't help but go clammy under his gaze. This ice we’re treading is getting dangerously thin, dangerously fast. A heady sensation comes over me as I contemplate how, if I grazed thewrong edge of him, I could get cut. That he could strike faster than I could react. Some deranged part of me has always been seduced by sharp things, finding thrill in being on the cusp of pain. All that dominance rolling off him—I wouldn’t be surprised if he is familiar with walking the fine line between pain and pleasure. The way he looks at me now, I’m certain he’d be more than willing to take me there.
“Why do you insist on calling me that?”
“Vespera,” he tries it out as a whisper.
My lips part as he says it, like the name of a precious jewel that belongs in the aurora’s shimmering array. I never imagined the three syllables I’ve carried with me all my life could take on such a meaning.
He utters them once more. “It sounds like a prayer one says in their darkest hour. The consolation I’ve been reaching for all my life but never had the name for. Never could grasp. Until I met you.”
Gods,do I want to kiss him. Exhaling a shallow breath, my core heats to a ferocious degree. Axe recognizes my longing acutely. His tongue darting out to wet his lips all but confirms it. When I take hold of his arm, his face darkens, locking in on my neck. Something in his eyes startles me. Like he’s been replaced. Whatever it is, it’s predatory. And it’s famished.
“Forgive me.” The words come out strangled as he peels away from me.
“What? Axe!” I shout after him.
By the time I dart into the living room, he’s already gone. Galloping across the quad, a shaggy black wolf races towards the forest. And doesn’t look back.
Chapter 19
VESSA
Outside my window, I hear the shuffling and chattering of a large unit of warriors assembling in the sopping wet quad. Clutching my coffee mug, I wrap a blanket around my shoulders and rest my elbows on the railing of my balcony.
Facing the Great Lodge, three lines form with shirtless young men and women in cropped nylon shirts. One is led by Qinnu, the second is a handful of female archers headed by Nell, and Tesni’s unit occupies the third. As the low visibility starts to lift, I can make out the familiar face of Tripp, who awaits the instructions of his poised Sentinel. She lifts her chin to the sky, rain pelting against her hardened expression.
Butterflies beat their wings in my stomach when I spot Axe. Striding through the quad in only a pair of shorts, the Alpha before his pack is unfazed by the damp cold or the way his wet hair clings to his brow. His bare form is a lethal instrument, packed with rigid muscle, torso coated in tattoos and miscellaneous scars. His legs—oh gods, hislegs. . .
Mangled, leathery scar tissue extends from his shins to his feet.
It's all I can do not to shudder, not to imagine the pain. But as I take in the faces of the elite fighters who face him, watching with admiration, I hush those thoughts. Long ago, Axe bested those flames. And then he absorbed their wrath.
Tripp approaches his Commander along with another young recruit from Qinnu’s unit who is summoned next. Axe motions for the other cadets to back up, clearing space for the two grunts to face each other.
“The purpose of today’s sparring is to determine which of you will join Tesni on her reconnaissance mission. In four days, you will head north to seek what remains of the portal. This time of year, daylight is scarce and storms are ruthless.”
Portal? What portal? At the realization, my stomach caves in.Holy shit. He’s sending them to the dormant portal which conceals the gates of Somnium. Gates that can only be opened if my blood is spilled upon them.
