Chapter 26: In the Grip of the Beast
Leo
When I stood from the bed earlier today, I felt Ivy’s warmth retreating from my side. The haunting nightmare from before gripped me tightly, but it was not enough to tear me away from Ivy’s presence, her scent lingering in the room like a drug I craved.
Before I snuck out of her room, I left her a note on the pillow, knowing her soft eyes would find it the moment she stirred.
“I’ll always be here, Ivy. My heart is yours, no matter what I become. Just a promise I’ll never break. Leo.”
I couldn’t help but smile as I thought of her reading it, even though the ache in my chest from the nightmares still lingered. I needed to go, needed to clear my head. With a last look at her peaceful sleeping form, I headed towards the balcony. I leapt from the ledge and landed with a soft thud, my boots kissing the pavement.
My penthouse was still dark as I entered, and the silence seemed to follow me, a stark contrast to the chaos of the night before. I made my way to my desk, the soft glow of the screen lighting up my face, and saw the stack of messages waiting. Business deals, offers—important stuff. But as I sifted through the messages, one caught my eye.
It didn’t take long to figure out that it was from that pup. The idiot who thought he could claim Ivy as his. The message was simple: “Stay away if you want to live. Ivy is mine.”
I clenched my fists, a growl building in my throat. The audacity. The arrogance. The possessiveness I felt for her surged through me like an uncontrollable storm. Ivy was mine. She would always be mine, and no one—not even some foolish, misguided pup—was going to change that. My wolf was restless, pacing, snapping at the edges of my control.
I quickly freshened up, grabbed a quick breakfast, but the gnawing irritation of the message still clawed at me. The thought of Ivy with anyone else… It made my blood boil.
As I sipped my coffee, my phone rang, pulling me from my thoughts. Zane.
“Boss,” he said, his voice steady. “The attack went well. Malrik and his men, we ambushed them—but Malrik managed to escape.”
My jaw tightened. “Let him run. Let him hide. Because if I ever lay my eyes on him again… he’ll regret it.”
Zane paused, but I could feel his understanding over the phone.
“Understood,” he replied.
I sank into the chair, my mind racing. Malrik’s escape was one thing, but Ivy... Ivy was another. A deep, burning need to protect her swelled within me. I couldn’t afford to let her out of my sight. Not with Dina now knowing about her, and not with the ever-looming threat hanging over us.
I briefly thought about her blood—how it had tasted like heaven, and yet, when it coursed through my veins, it seemed to lift something inside me. The darkness. The curse that had been lingering for centuries, a curse that had once felt like my shadow... Ivy’s blood made it disappear for a second, like there was a key, and I could almost see it.
She was my salvation. My second chance. But how did her blood play into this? Was it really as simple as crowning her Luna? What if there was more to it than that? What if Dina was right?
As the day stretched on, the desire to be with her grew unbearable. A minute away, and I felt an ache in my chest, an unease that gnawed at my insides. What if something happened to her? The thought alone was enough to make my wolf restless, howling for me to return to her side.
At work, I couldn’t focus. My mind drifted back to her, back to that damn message from that mindless pup. No one was going to take her from me.
Finally, when I couldn’t take it anymore. I sent her a message. “Meet me later. We need to talk.”
I hadn’t even finished typing before my mind began to race again. My wolf growled softly within me.
****
The moment Ivy walked into the room, I felt it. A wave of calm washed over me. But then, my eyes flicked to her expression, and it was different. Something was wrong. My Lycan side, the darker, stronger part of me, could sense it immediately. Whoever had made her upset, I would tear them apart.
“Would you stay with me at my place for a while?” The words escaped before I could stop them.
Ivy’s eyes shot up, and for a moment, excitement lit her features. But then, something flickered—unease. Doubt.
“I-I’m not sure if… I’m not sure, Leo.”
The words stung, and my chest tightened. What was this doubt? Was she still attached to her ex-mate? Can’t she feel the pull I feel? My Lycan side growled in frustration. She doesn’t feel the same way I do. Does she?
“Leo… your eyes…” Ivy whispered, her voice quiet but full of emotion. I could see the glimmer of tears threatening to fall.
The turmoil inside me surged, my wolf pacing, clawing at the control that my Lycan side had taken over. I couldn’t let her go. I couldn’t let anyone else have her.
I pulled her to me, lifting her gently into my lap, her legs straddling me as I held her close. She flushed with embarrassment, but I didn’t care. I needed to feel her warmth against me, needed to hear her breathe.
“We’re in public, Leo,” she whispered, but the tone in her voice betrayed her. She didn’t want to pull away.
“I don’t care,” I murmured, pulling her closer. I tilted her chin up and whispered softly into her ear, “Do you hear that?”
Her breath hitched as she nodded. “It beats for you,” I muttered into her ears. She smiled, relieved. “It’s yours, Ivy. Everything I am, everything I will be, it’s all yours.”
She nodded, pressing herself closer to me. I felt her anxiety melt away, and in its place, a sense of calm, of acceptance, washed over us both.
But then, as she looked up into my eyes, she voiced the fear that had been lingering. “I’m just worried… that I’ll be consumed by the secrets. The ones you don’t want to tell me.”
I chuckled darkly. “That’s your worry? Ivy, right now, I want to consume you in every pleasurable way possible.”
She blushed, her breath fanning against my neck, and I felt the heat of her body make my Lycan side growl in hunger. The thought of marking her, of claiming her as mine, consumed me.
“You know you can have me, right?” Ivy whispered, and that was all it took.