Chapter 19 EIGHTEEN
(NYRA'S POV)
You will call me stupid after hearing what I'm about to do. It's been a few hours after the encounter with the Dark Alpha or Xorus rather and though I was a bit shaken, Riven was there.
He always is.
So now that I'm completely rested, I decide it's time to take the bull by the reins and seduce Lucien. I need my powers unlocked and I'm not letting his self loathing bullshit get in the way.
So that's why I'm standing before my mirror in a red lace lingerie that screams “please fuck me!"
I adjust my hair, spray some perfume and throw on the lace robe that came with the outfit, if you could call it that.
“Let's go get fucked!" Lyric cheers and I can't hold back a laugh.
“How sure are you that he's going to even fall for this?" I ask as I step out of my bedroom and pad bare feet down the corridor.
“He'll have to be blind not to." Lyric says. " He's on the terrace. I can sense his wolf.”
If confidence were armor, I’d be invincible right now.
The corridor is quiet, torches dimmed low, the castle settling into that deceptive calm it always wears at night. My bare feet make no sound against the cold stone, but my heart is loud—thudding, reckless, determined.
The terrace comes into view, moonlight spilling over marble railings and silvering the ivy climbing the walls. He’s there, just like Lyric said.
Standing alone, facing the moon with his back to me.
Shadows coil lazily around his boots, responding to him the way fire responds to oxygen. He looks carved from night itself, silver blonde hair falling carelessly, sleeves rolled up, head tilted slightly as if he’s listening to something only he can hear.
I take a breath and step onto the terrace.“It’s rather cold to be out here alone, don't you think?””
He stiffens.
Not much, but just enough that I notice. The shadows ripple, then still.
“You shouldn’t be here,” he says without turning around.
I smile to myself and take another step. “Funny. You shouldn't be here either. But here we are.”
He turns around, exhaling slowly, like he’s counting. “Nyra. Go back to your room.”
I don’t.
Instead, I let the robe slip open just enough to show him I’m not wearing anything underneath but lace and bad decisions.
His mismatched eyes darken and he clenches his first.
Lyric hums approvingly. “Oh, he feels it.”
For half a second, his mask cracks.
His gaze drops—just briefly—to my legs, the curve of my waist, the flash of red lace at my thighs. The shadows jerk sharply, reacting to the spike of emotion he tries and fails to bury.
Then his face hardens like a slammed door.“Don’t do this,” he says quietly.
I tilt my head, blinking innocently. “Do what?”
“Use your body like a weapon.” His voice drops. “It won't work.”
I scoff and walk closer, stopping an arm’s length away. “Oh, really?” I take one step after the other till I'm standing directly in front of him. " Your wolf is whispering with need, reaching out for Lyric and you say my presence doesn't affect you?”
His jaw tightens. “I don't know what you are talking about?”
“I think you know exactly what I’m talking about,” I counter softly. “And you’re just pretending.”
His eyes flash, shadowed, dangerous. “You’re wrong.”
I reach out.
My hand rests on his chest and I slowly caress the bare skin beneath his shirt with my nails. His heartbeat picks up and his shadows wrap around my wrist, stopping me.
“See?” I whisper. “Liar.”
The grip tightens, firm but not painful. “Stop.”
I meet his gaze, unflinching. “Why? Because you’re scared of me? Or because you’re scared of what I’ll unlock in you?”
His hold tightens for half a heartbeat—then the shadows slide away.
“You don’t understand,” he says, turning away again. “What I am. What happens when I lose control.”
I step into his space, pressing close enough that I can feel the tension radiating off him. “Then explain it to me.”
His laugh is hollow. “You really think this is about want?”
“Yes,” I say immediately. “And fear. And self-loathing.” I poke his chest lightly. “You’re drowning in it.”
He spins on me so fast I barely have time to gasp before my back hits the railing.
Lucien cages me in, hands braced on either side of my hips, not touching—never touching.
His face is inches from mine.
“Don’t,” he warns, voice rough. “Don’t tempt something you don’t understand.”
My pulse stutters.
Despite myself, despite the danger humming in the air, I grin up at him. “You’re really bad at threatening people when you won’t even touch them.”
His breath ghosts across my cheek. “If I touch you…”
“...you might enjoy it?” I finish sweetly.
The shadows surge violently, slamming into the railing behind me.
Lucien squeezes his eyes shut, forehead dropping briefly to mine without contact. “You think this is a game.”
“No,” I whisper. “I think you’re hurting. And I think pushing me away is easier than admitting you want me.”
He pulls back abruptly, breaking the moment like glass.
“You deserve someone who won’t break you,” he says flatly.
My chest tightens. “You don’t get to decide that.”
He steps away, putting distance between us like a physical shield. The shadows retreat, obedient but restless.
“Go back to your room, Nyra,” he says again, softer this time. “Before I forget why I’m resisting.”
I study him for a long time. Then it flips and I step even closer to him. “Listen here, we have a battle ahead and I have to unlock my powers. I can't do that if all my mates don't claim me."
I don't have any issues with Riven, or Keiran or even Kade. Lucien is the only one who blatantly makes it clear we can't happen. Too bad we don't get to choose how things are to happen in our lives.
“You are going to put aside your self loathing bullshit and stop pitying yourself and take what you want," I drop the robe to the floor and his eyes widen. I step closer till I'm in his space. “Me."
Without waiting for him to push me away, I rise to my tip toes and slam my lips on his.