Chapter 66: 66. Athos

I listened to her slow, deep breaths. They contradicted that fast thundering within her chest. It was deafening, and it made my beast restless. I did not dare move, though. I let my gaze fall to where she was situated next to me, noticing that her eyelids were screwed shut. The elevator continued to move smoothly, taking us further up through the building. Her small and delicate hand squeezed my own. My beast reached out through my skin, touching hers lovingly. He's been doing that a lot lately.

The movement stopped, that soft 'ding' announcing our arrival to the penthouse. I heard her relieved sigh, and the corners of my lips curled into a light smile. She watched the metallic doors of the elevator part with eagerness in her eyes, and I stepped inside with her hand still in mine.

"You okay?" I asked tentatively. She turned to look up at me, her eyes meeting my own. She gave a small nod. I smiled, unable to resist as I placed my hand on her jawline and pressed a kiss on the top of her head.

"I'll go wash and change, and then I'll wait for you here. Does that sound good?" I proposed, earning myself another small nod from her.

"Yeah, okay."

I let go of her and turned in the direction of my bedroom, my gait rushed as we were so eager to be back in her presence as soon as possible.

"Oh, and, pick a dress if you can," I suggested with a wink as I paused in the doorway, looking at her from over my shoulder.

"Okay," She nodded quickly, her cheeks gaining a twinge of colour.

I entered the bedroom after that, closing the door behind me with a soft click. My hand immediately dove inside my pants pocket, fishing for that small device I always used to stay in touch with Leo whenever I was travelling to the human world. The screen lit up, and I unlocked it with a swipe of my finger, my eyes falling on those words once again.

She doesn't know. That scumbag Cassius is the real dad. Take care of her, brother. Please.

My fingers wrapped around the device, making the screen go black again. I went and placed it on the nightstand.

Well, that explained a lot. It all made sense now. Her going into heat. Her uncanny ability to fight, her sensitivity to silver. It's been there all along. Her shifter spirit. It's been lying dormant within her, waiting to be awakened. I understood now our Holy Mother's words. Why she had called me her creator. I was the one responsible for all this. I had created that bridge between her and her shifter spirit. And now, now it was slowly coming to life. It was blooming within her, with every day that passed. I could feel her, I could feel her reaching out, little by little. Day by day. It was only a matter of time until she would finally come out. And I worried about that day. I worried about it a lot. She was a halfling. And there was a reason why wolves were forbidden from procreating with humans. Their genes weren't strong enough to completely override the human DNA, unlike the lycans'. And it didn't matter that Cassius was an Alpha. The human with whom he had conceived Calla, it was obvious that she wasn't his Goddess-given mate. And all that, it only decreased her chances of surviving the shift.

I shuddered at the thought, my heart torn with guilt even though I couldn't have known beforehand. And even then, I wasn't sure that I would've stopped. It was a selfish thought for me to think about, I knew that. But I couldn't stand that look on my brother's face, that excruciating pain that was starting to bloom inside of him upon witnessing his mate lying in his arms, lifeless. He had already suffered way too much in this life, and he deserved a chance.

I could only hope that with my blood mixed with hers, she would stand a better chance. Speaking of, I would soon have to convince her to drink from me again. I wasn't even sure how I was going to explain everything to her. She was still shaken and suffering after everything that happened. I didn't need her words; I could feel it all myself. It was there, hidden behind her eyes with every smile that she gave me. Crawling beneath her skin and tearing at her heart, little by little. It was bound to overwhelm her soon, I could sense it in this strange and unique connection that we shared. And I could only try to soften the blow. Ease her pain in any way that I could.

I stood in front of the mirror, peeling off my shirt hastily. I had idled enough in here; I needed to wash and get ready as quickly as possible. I had promised her a night out, another taste of what the human world had to offer.

The shirt fell to the floor, my gaze inevitably landing on the scars that greeted me through the mirror. They were almost healed, except for that bigger one that dragged between my ribs. I couldn't help but remember that look on her face, the tears in her eyes upon witnessing them. It only served to fuel my hunger, this sickening urge that I've been having for a while now. I smothered those thoughts quickly and then proceeded to finish undressing.

I showered as fast as I could, careful not to reach out for those thoughts again, even as a certain part of me continued to disobey. I couldn't. I wouldn't. I did not want to feed into it, give in to those shameless thoughts. It was bad enough that I couldn't even control myself around her properly.

I stepped out of the shower and patted myself dry with a towel, ignoring that pestering ache in my groin and my beast's grumpiness. He was angry at me for denying ourselves release, even though he did understand the reason why.

I walked to the dressing room, grabbing a random shirt and a pair of pants, a pair of underwear, and a pair of socks. I wondered if she was done dressing already, the thought giving me haste. I soon exited the bedroom all dressed and ready, not really surprised to notice that she wasn't in the common area yet.

She was probably still getting ready. So I decided to go to the seating area in the middle and wait for her, as I had promised.

It didn't take long for that door to open, and for her to step outside. However, as soon as my eyes fell on her, all that composure that I had worked so hard to maintain flew straight out the window.

She was... No. The word ravishing wasn't even enough to begin describing her. She was... a fantasy come alive. A temptress wrapped up in red silk.

She wore one of the dresses that the female vendor had thrown among what she had picked, and I cursed that nameless human female to the Moon and back. It was a dress made out of dark red silk, that clung to her body like rippling water. Two thin straps were hanging over her shoulders, showing off her delicate collarbones. Her shimmering bronzed skin. It had a plunging neckline, the material outlining the plumpness of her cleavage. I swallowed thickly, casually noticing that she wasn't wearing a bra underneath. I continued my shameless perusal, my eyes trailing lower and lower. The skirt ended at the middle of her thighs with a crack over her left thigh; one meant to give her room to move without it hiking up her butt, and to torment me ceaselessly, with every glance thrown there. Fuck. I was really starting to regret not having given in to my brazen urges back in that bathroom.

I blinked and cleared my throat, snapping myself out of that daze forcefully. "You look... You are so beautiful, my Luna," I stammered hastily, meeting her soulful eyes. They sparkled at my appraisal, a faint blush tinting her cheeks.

"Thank you," She smiled so radiantly, the sight making that stirring low in my gut intensify. I breathed slowly through my nostrils, and that action only made it all worse as soon as the sweet scent of her wafted underneath my nose. She still smelled of me; of us. Even after so many days since I had last given her my blood.

Ours... my beast purred, that certain word shocking the very life out of me. What the fuck!?! I stumbled back a step before I could catch myself, meeting her confused gaze. I straightened immediately, pretending to smooth out some invisible creases in my shirt.

"I-I wasn't sure if I had made the right decision to wear this, I..." she stuttered timidly, and I met her gaze again, offering her a smile.

"It's perfect." It wasn't. It really wasn't, because all of my thoughts now alternated between that hot and simmering jealousy I knew I was going to feel, knowing that so many human males were going to look at her with lust in their eyes tonight, and the memory of what I knew that was hiding beneath that tiny dress. I swallowed again, conjuring my strength. Fuck. Keep it together, Athos. Keep the fuck together. I offered her another smile, stepping closer to her. "Shall we?"