Feel his power

The midnight silk hugged my curves like a second skin. Thin lines crossed over my back and around my neck to hold up the scoop neckline that exposed the swells of my breasts. My brunette hair was freely flowing in soft curls over my shoulder, and when I looked in the mirror, I could have sworn my skin was glowing.

Was it the power of the wolf in my blood? Or was it Apollo bringing forth this effect on me?

Perhaps it was both.

Apollo was at my side as we walked towards the massive conference center on the fifth floor of the luxurious hotel. His suit just as dark and matching the color of the dress he chose for me.

If anyone else had tried to pick what I wore, I might have literally clawed their eyes out. The thought made me smirk..

I could feel the presence of the wolves in the air. It roiled around me as though wild nature surrounded me, and at any moment, I expected to see fur and fangs around every corner we turned. It was almost overwhelming, but Apollo reassured me that those feelings would feel normal as I grew accustomed to the wolf lying in wait under my skin.

"Are you ready for this?" His voice was calm, yet through our connection I could feel the turmoil in his heart.

"Are you?" I returned. For me, this wasn't a Luna meeting her new pack as it might be for Apollo. It was, in a way, but for me, this meeting Apollo called was another mission.

Beyond those doors, we would walk into a life-or-death situation. Facing the snakes who wanted to turn against their Alpha.

With each step we took, we got closer to the conference doors and the ugly head of violent excitement grew in my chest, rising from the core of my being and up into my chest, where it blossomed into a roaring fire. My skin bristled with it, and my gums ached to rip and shred.

Apollo paused; eyes glazed over as he looked at the door. He inhaled deeply, and I tightened my hold on his arm as if instinctively reassuring him.

"To be honest, I'd rather be doing anything else." He turned his head down to look at me. "I'm disappointed, and hurt, that some of my wolves would turn on me just to make a profit with an enhanced drug. It doesn't seem worth it to me."

My hand moved on its own, reaching up to cup his cheek. I rubbed my thumb over the stubble of his beard, and he closed his eyes at my touch.

"I don't know what it's like to have that kind of connection with others and feel hurt by their betrayal," I started.

"And you never will." Apollo's eyes snapped open to meet my gaze. I smiled at him and continued.

"My organization wants to kill me, and I'm not surprised. In fact, it would shock me if they didn't hunt me down." I shrugged and took a steadying breath. "Although I don't know the feeling for myself, I can feel your hurt through our bond. I don't want you to feel this way any longer."

"Callie..." I put my finger over Apollo's lips to stop him from something I wasn't ready to hear.

"I need you to remember that I have seen wolves from your pack moving this product with my own eyes, and I know there are wolves in there you trust and care for. Do you trust me to do what needs to be done? Can you stand by and watch what I will become in there?"

A monster.

Apollo held my gaze for what felt like an eternity. After several long seconds of holding my breath, he grabbed my hand on his face. Curling his fingers in mine and pressing his lips into my wrist, not breaking eye contact.

"She licks blood off her fingers, and she looks like divine absolution. Careful, Meleager; this is your sport, but she's not playing a game." He quoted Sixty-Eight's last words and my eyes widened a fraction.

"When we met, I didn't like the light in your eyes in the face of danger. But I also told you to tell me everything that you had ever done and to let me love you, anyway." He released my wrist, and in the blink of an eye, his hand shot out to curl his fingers around my throat, to pull my face closer to his. I gasped and something warm coiled in my belly as his breath fanned my face.

"Apollo." His name was barely more than a whisper on my lips. I felt his power in the surrounding air and the same energy in my blood shimmered to life to match his.

"So, Calypso, tell me of the terrible things you will do, of all the atrocities you've committed. Let me witness you in all your glory, and I will still love you." He crashed his mouth into mine so suddenly that my vision blurred, and my lips hurt.

But that beast under my skin purred with delight and danced in the fire that the Alpha awakened in me.

The sound of the door opening broke us apart. My lips were swollen, and it was harder to look away from Apollo than I would admit.

But time came to a standstill when I turned to look at the man who had opened the door. My blood felt hot, and my skin visibly rippled as the wolf in my veins tried to push free. I had to swallow down burning rage and the fierce desire to strike on sight as recent memories came to me of the first time I had seen this wolf.

The older man who oversaw Myst being transported off a boat and into a truck.

I watched in horror as he turned to Apollo with a wide smile and opened his arms for a hug.

"Apollo! You really did it! You found her!" The older man embraced my mate and my lips trembled with a growl as I forced myself to swallow.

"Yeah, Jackson! This is her, my mate, Calypso." They continued talking, but I started putting pieces together in my mind. Turning over every bit of evidence I had collected before losing access to the organization and all my supplies.