Chapter 40 Madden Me
❦ Nikolai ❦
She’s not coming.
The thought rankled as I fisted my hands open and closed.
This was the second day, and the second time I’d channeled energy through desire so fiercely that her skin ought to have sizzled from the heat.
Only the thought that I might be causing her pain made me relent.
I paced the greenhouse, the large leaves brushing against my shoulders. It was packed with several species of untended plants with magical characteristics.
The crumbling stone felt too small, the lights too bright. All I needed was her. Her balmy presence, her shy smile that kept me tethered.
For so long, my life’s mission had been to serve Drusilla and cut down her enemies. I hadn’t allowed myself to imagine a life beyond those obligations, and now, my bride.
I thumbed one of the plants rumored to be a cure-all, eyeing the oak doors ahead.
There was no way she hadn’t gotten my message, my signal. We’d agreed to meet here, so where was she?
I stopped short. Had they imprisoned her? Or hurt her in some way for what I’d done?
Not showing up last night was understandable, she might’ve not had the opportunity to sneak out.
But tonight again!
Just when I’d decided to storm the fortress, mystically fortified and packed with wolves or not, her scent hit me.
So potent, so sweet. My lungs expanded as I greedily sucked it in—Jasmine and the metallic tinge of that exquisite blood.
I stood, frozen, waiting for her to appear. No such thing happened.
Then I picked up another scent. Wolf. A trap?
My lips pulled back from my fangs as I readied to fight.
Then one of the heavy doors swung out slowly. Dainty, pale fingers curved around the edge. She stepped out of the dark hallway behind her, into the muted moonlight filtering through the stained glass ceiling.
Still poised to attack, I regarded her. “Are you alone?”
“I am.”
Her voice was small, echoing. Her visage stiffened the hairs on my skin in goosebumps.
Unparalleled beauty. Mine.
I strode forward at once, sweeping her into my arms. Her warmth shocked me all over again, and I tightened my arms to feel more of her.
“Gods, bride. I worried for you, missed you. Why did you not meet me last night?”
“I couldn’t get away…”
She felt stiff in my arms. Cupping her delicate face, I asked, “What happened?”
I ran my gaze over her. She looked well, very well in fact. No injuries or proof of mistreatment whatsoever.
Appearing to choose her words carefully, she bit her lip before answering. “It’s hard to get time alone, I’m almost always supervised.”
That made sense. They wouldn’t trust her for the fact that she’d been marked by a vampire. I glanced at her neck instinctively to check.
Only my mark resided.
Relief filled my chest. The stupid Lycan still hadn’t marked her. As long as he continued to forsake her, I had time.
Her amber eyes glowed with health, and something else. Cunning.
I smirked at that. My fiery bride had something amiss as expected. Her eyes lidded as we watched and relearned each other. It had been one too many days since we’d been together, and I ached to remedy that.
Thumb brushing her plush lower lip, I murmured, “How’re they handling it? Surely you met resistance over our bond?”
She stilled, almost imperceptibly. Then she shrugged. “No. Everyone is so busy with the latest vampire insurgency. I go unnoticed, for now…”
I claimed her lips, unable to hold back any longer.
She moaned prettily in my mouth, soft flesh yielding to my embrace.
“Soon, Milaya, I’ll get you out of here. There’s only one last thing you could do for us. After that, no more…”
She pulled back and crossed her arms over her chest. My gaze strayed to the hardened peaks, they beckoned.
But when I advanced, she took another step back.
“Milaya?”
Her expression turned pensive, her breaths quickening.
“Nikolai… I…”
Dread built in my chest as she struggled with whatever she had to say.
“Has something happened?” I asked, even as my throat tightened with suspicion.
I glanced at her neck again, but only my mark marred it. Had I left her in the wolf’s clutches for too long?
As she struggled, turning from me to observe a plant, her shoulders stiffened. Exasperated, she kicked a shelf, only to wince as it caved.
It all slammed into me. She was different.
No longer weak, her skin shone with otherworldliness, her eyes glowing with a hint of power.
I drew in her scent, stripping beneath her intoxicating notes to those beneath. I recoiled. She smelled of wolf. Hers and his, entwined somehow. They’d formed a connection.
She’d awakened her wolf.
My mind rioted with denial, rage, and something akin to… jealousy. My chest caved. My bloodied heart iced into stone.
I watched her force the words out.
“I don’t want to leave IronWolf, Nikolai.”
Time stilled. Even the chittering insects within the green quieted.
All the nights I’d waited. The risks I’d taken. Meaningless? No.
An amused snort escaped me through a buzzing haze of red.
Her brows drew in confusion.
“Nikolai…”
I lunged, trapped her within my trembling embrace, and traced.
The last frantic notes of her scream continued inside my lair. She pressed a hand to her forehead as she tried to get her bearings.
“For gods sake, Nikolai!”
Ignoring her, I shrugged off my cloak, laying the folded fabric on the stone table while I leaned against the edge.
“Where are we?!” she demanded.
Striving for calm amid the pounding in my skull, I calmly replied, “It hasn’t been long enough for you to forget my quarters, Maeve.”
“You own many, and they all look similar. I’m asking where exactly!”
“So you can mind-link your Lycan to rescue you?” I dragged my tongue over my fangs at the mention of the wolf.
I’d kill him so slowly.
She froze, her eyes wide.
I pushed off the table, stalking toward her until she hit the wall.
“Oh yes. I can smell your wolf.” I snapped, “that’s why you chose to forsake me then? You have your wolf now, your Lycan must like you better, so you can stay to play house with him!”
My palms slammed the wall beside her face, cracking the stone. She turned away from me, lips quivering.
“You’re scaring me…”
“No. You are scarring me.” I hissed, the pounding filled my ears. I could feel myself coming apart, panic flooding my starving veins.
With her new powers, she would hear my heart thudding desperately. For her!
I turned her face to me with careful fingers. My claws had sharpened. “Have I really outlived my purpose then?”
“If you would just listen!” she breathed.
“I am. You choose the wolf.”
“I choose safety!”
“You don’t think I could keep you safe?”
Her eyes flashed. “No! You’re too scared of Drusilla to do anything right by me. You use me, lie to me, then hide me. I’m not stupid, Nikolai.”
That fire. Intoxicating. My pants tightened with desire. My head dropped lower until our breaths mingled.
“I don’t think you understand, Moya. You’re mine…”
“He has your trail,” she blurted. “He’s out hunting you as we speak. That’s why I asked where this particular lair of yours is. He’ll find us, and you’ll ruin all I’ve tried to build!”
“Let him!” I chuckled, darkness punctuating the sound. “I’ll kill him, then we’ll see what else dares to stand in our way.”
“Will you just fucking listen!” she spat, her little sharp fangs protruding.
Another pulse of my shaft. Desire roared.
“My bride curses now? No longer the shy little bride of that first night we met, hmmm?”
I collared her throat, grounding my throbbing cock into her. Let her feel what she does to me, this human turned wolf who dares to choose another.
She moaned when my lips captured her pulse point, her body melting against mine. My fangs sharpened, mind fracturing with the promise of her exquisite nectar.
She squirmed, generous breasts pressing against me. “Don’t distract me… need to talk…”
I growled, near mindless in her. “Later.”
“No. Now, Nikolai!”
When I kissed her deeper, she shoved.
I caught myself in time, nearly crashing into the opposite wall.
Wiping my palm over my mouth, I grinned. “My bride grew claws.”
She remained against the wall, chest heaving as she panted from my touch. Her face flushed, she bit her bottom lip, budded nipples drawing my attention like a magnet.
“I want you. But I want security more, Nikolai. And you can only give me one of those at this time…”
“Do you feel for him?” I cut in, to gauge the extent of her pain when I ended the wolf.
She raised her chin, eyes glinting with confidence.
“You may find this hard to believe. But I feel for both of you, equally.”
Equally, she says.
I almost laughed. The urge to end a life was all-consuming.
Amused, I tilted my head at this new side of her.
Could my bride be suffering from a malady? And was it contagious, as I’d been feeling out of sorts lately?