Chapter 10 10
Rhea's Pov
“Punishment?” I whispered, my voice rising in disbelief.
Lucien didn’t answer. He just gave me a dark, heavy, look, full of promise. Then he straightened up, his face smoothing back into the mask of the professional professor.
“Group Alpha, move out,” he commanded loudly. “Stay on the trail. This forest is old, and it doesn’t like stragglers.”
He turned and started walking. He didn’t check to see if I was following. He knew I had no choice.
The hike was brutal.
The terrain wasn't a gentle slope; it was steep, rocky, and covered in thick roots that seemed to grab at my ankles. The air grew colder the higher we climbed, smelling of damp earth and pine.
I tried to stay in the middle of the pack, surrounded by students. I wanted to hide.
But Lucien made that impossible.
“Miss Hale,” he called out from the front. “Come up here. I need you to carry the map coordinates.”
“I’m fine back here,” I called back.
“That wasn’t a request.”
The other students glanced at me, thankful it wasn’t them. I gritted my teeth and marched to the front.
For the next hour, I walked right beside him.
He set a punishing pace. I was breathless, my legs burning, but he didn’t even break a sweat. He moved over the rocks like water.
“You’re struggling,” he noted, not looking at me.
“I’m human,” I snapped. “We don’t all have super stamina.”
He stopped suddenly. The group was a bit behind us, struggling over a fallen log. We were momentarily alone on the path.
Lucien turned to me. He reached out and brushed a stray hair from my sweaty forehead. His fingers lingered on my temple.
“You aren’t human, Rhea,” he murmured. “And pretending to be one is starting to make you weak.”
“I’m not weak.”
“Then why are you trembling?”
He stepped closer, blocking the path. His massive frame shielded me from the view of the students behind us.
“Your fiancé isn’t here to save you,” he whispered. “He’s miles away, probably tripping over his own feet. It’s just us.”
My heart hammered against my ribs. “What kind of punishment were you talking about?”
His eyes darkened. He leaned down, his lips brushing the shell of my ear.
“The kind that reminds you who you belong to,” he rasped. “Every time you let him touch you, Rhea, we will touch you ten times harder. Everytime he kisses you, we'll kiss you a hundred times harder. And everytime he has sex with..."
"Let me guess, you'll sex me a thousand times harder."
"No. We'll tease you a thousand times harder until his scent is gone. Until you forget his name and face and is begging for us."
I shivered, heat pooling in my belly despite the fear. For some reason, my core suddenly felt hot and damp.
“Professor!” a student called out from down the trail. “Are we there yet?”
Lucien pulled back instantly. The dark look vanished, replaced by cool indifference.
“Almost,” he called back.
He looked at me one last time. “Keep up, Miss Hale.”
The trees finally broke.
We stepped into a massive, circular clearing.
The Ruins of Aethelgard.
It wasn’t a castle or a house. It was a circle of ancient, jagged standing stones, covered in thick green moss. In the center was a stone altar, cracked down the middle.
The air here felt like a hum in my teeth.
Nyra woke up instantly. Sacred. Ours.
I rubbed my arms. The energy was intense. It felt wild.
“Everyone gather round,” Lucien announced.
The students dropped their bags, exhausted. They sat on the grass, drinking water.
Lucien stood by the central altar. He looked completely in his element. The shadows of the stones fell across his face.
“These ruins are older than the university,” Lucien began, his voice projecting clearly. “Legend says this was a place of binding. A place where ancient warriors swore oaths that could not be broken.”
He walked around the altar, trailing his hand over the rough stone.
“Today, we are discussing the rituals of connection. The transfer of energy between two beings.”
He looked up. His eyes found me instantly.
“I need a volunteer.”
I took a step back, trying to hide behind a tall guy from the rowing team.
“Miss Hale,” Lucien said smoothly. “Step forward.”
“I’d rather not,” I said.
“It’s part of your grade,” he countered.
I let out a frustrated breath and walked to the center of the circle. My heart was pounding. Everyone was watching.
“Stand here,” he ordered, pointing to the spot right in front of the altar.
I stood there.
“In ancient mythology,” Lucien explained to the class, stepping behind me, “the connection point was physical. The pulse.”
He reached around me. His large hands took my wrists.
He didn't just hold them. He slid his thumbs over my pulse points, pressing down firmly.
A jolt of electricity shot up my arms. My knees buckled slightly, but he held me up.
“You can feel the life force,” he said to the class, his chest pressing against my back. “It’s frantic. Fast.”
He was talking to them, but he was speaking to me.
“Relax,” he whispered in my ear. “You’re racing.”
“Let go,” I whispered back.
“No.”
He moved one hand from my wrist. He slid it up my arm, over my shoulder, and settled it on the side of my neck.
His thumb pressed against the sensitive spot right below my ear. The mating gland.
Nyra purred loudly in my head. Mate.
For Christ's sake, shut up already.
“The neck,” Lucien continued, his voice dropping. "The most vulnerable point. To allow someone to touch you here is the ultimate sign of trust. Or submission.”
He stroked the skin with his thumb. Back and forth. Slow. Hypnotic.
My head fell back against his shoulder involuntarily. I couldn't help it. The sensation was overwhelming. It was like he was drugging me with his touch.
The class was silent. They were watching, captivated. They thought it was a performance.
They didn’t see the way his fingers dug in slightly, claiming me.
“This is where the bond is sealed,” Lucien murmured, his mouth so close to my neck I could feel his heat. “Where the mark is placed.”
I closed my eyes, my lips parting. For a second, I forgot where I was. I forgot Mark. I forgot the students. I just wanted him to bite. A moan even escaped my lips anticipating it.
Snap.
A twig broke loudly at the edge of the clearing.
“That’s enough.”
The voice was cold. Angry.
I snapped my eyes open. Lucien went still behind me.
Mark was standing at the edge of the trees. Group Beta had arrived.
He was covered in sweat, dirt on his knees, looking like he had run the last mile. And he was staring at Lucien’s hand on my neck with a look of pure murder.
Lucien didn’t pull away immediately. He let his hand linger for one second longer, a final taunt, before slowly releasing me.
"Goodluck dealing with that." He whispered in my ear.
This was it. This was the punishment. Dealing with Mark now.
Lucien turned to Mark. “Mr. Evans, you're late.”
Mark didn’t answer. He marched across the clearing. He grabbed my arm, pulling me away from the altar and away from Lucien.
“Get your hands off her,” Mark spat.
“It was a demonstration,” Lucien said, crossing his arms. He looked bored, but his eyes were sharp.
“It looked like something else,” Mark snarled.
He looked at me. His blue eyes were wild, his hand holding me tightly. “What happened? What the hell were you doing up there?"