156- Hunger That Burns
POV Lunara Grimwald:
“He did it because he was a monster, Lunara. Alessio had not a shred of scruple. He cared about no one but himself, just like your father. Kellan handed his own son over without a second thought, the moment it was most convenient for him.”
I opened my eyes and looked at him.
“Do you think that, someday, I’ll be able to recover from all this?
Sleep in peace and be alone?”
He set the bread on the pan and pressed it down with a spatula, browning both sides.
“When Catalina died, I isolated myself from the world. I needed to be alone, to get my head straight, to think clearly. It took me years before I could attend a council meeting again. I never got over the fact that I failed her, just as I will never get over my failure with Anton. These are traumas I will carry with me to my grave, but I learned to live with them.”
“How?” I whispered.
He placed the sandwich on a plate and set it on the counter in front of me, gesturing for me to eat.
“One day after another.” He repeated the same words he had told me earlier. “Only time heals wounds, even the deepest ones. You may not overcome them, but you will learn how to live with your traumas.”
I took a bite of the bread, moaning when I felt the taste of the cheese against my tongue. Edric smiled, looking thoroughly pleased with himself.
“You’ve been through a lot over the past few days, little wolf. It’s normal for you to be feeling this way,” he went on, browning his own bread. “And about your fear of being alone, have you forgotten that that will never happen again?” He lifted his face to look at me and arched one eyebrow.
A silly smile spread across my face.
“The pup.”
He nodded.
“And if he’s not at your side, then it’ll be me, or Lyris, or Celindra, Andrei or Nicoleta. We are a family.”
I sighed, swallowing one piece of bread after another, truly hungry.
“All that’s missing is my sister.”
“We’ll find Elowen. Now that Alessio is no longer a threat, you don’t have to worry so much.”
“I know, but I still need to find her. She’s my sister and she’ll soon go through her first transformation. She can’t be alone at such an important time.”
“I promised I’d find her, and I will keep my promise.”
I finished my sandwich and slid the empty plate toward him. I laid a hand over my belly, caressing it, satisfied and full.
“You never told me about your family.”
He put our plates in the sink and planted his hands on the edges of the counter, leaning forward. He was shirtless, and the movement made the muscles in his abdomen tighten.
“There isn’t much to tell. I never knew my parents and I don’t remember them. I was raised by the elders, for as long as I can remember.”
I gasped.
“Do you think they abandoned you?”
“Maybe.”
“I’m sorry.”
He snorted.
“You don’t need to be. The elders raised me very well, just like the other alphas. They gave territory and power to all of us.”
“A pup once told me that if the elders die, everyone dies.”
Edric laughed.
“There’s a legend going around that says: if the elders die, our world will end in fire. The pups love to threaten each other with it.”
“And is it true?”
He shrugged.
“In our world, is there any way to know what’s real or not?” he shot back, giving me a look.
“You’re right,” I agreed.
I couldn’t take my eyes off the slanted muscles of his stomach, nor his big, well-defined arms.
I ran my tongue over my lips, staring at him.
My core clenched and my panties grew wet with my arousal.
Edric’s pupils dilated and his nostrils flared as he caught the scent. He fixed his eyes on me, shades of gold surfacing in his irises.
“What do you think you’re doing?” he hissed softly.
“I’m not doing absolutely anything.”
Whether it was the pregnancy hormones or the last few days we’d spent apart, far from each other, the fear I’d felt of losing him, the longing for us—I didn’t know. I only knew that I wanted him, badly.
I felt my arousal trickle down my cunt.
“That doesn’t look like nothing to me,” he growled in warning, the muscles of his arms tightening.
I bit my lower lip.
“If I ask, very sweetly, for you to fuck me, will you?” I looked at him through my lashes.
A rumbling hiss tore through his chest.
“Only if it’s really safe for you.”
“I’m fine.”
“Are you sure you are?”
I rolled my eyes with an impatient huff and rubbed one thigh against the other.
“Yes, I am.”
He waited two more seconds, every muscle in his body rigid, restraining himself on the other side of the counter, before he was suddenly at my side in the blink of an eye.
His scent hit me full force, the swift movement tossing my hair. He turned my body, setting me face-to-face with him. He spread my legs and positioned himself between them.
“I missed you so much, little wolf,” he whispered, closing a fist in the hair at the nape of my neck and forcing my head up.
I traced the muscles of his stomach, rubbing my fingers over the defined ridges. He was all hardness, all tension.
“I missed you too.”
He pulled me in, pressing our mouths together. His tongue met mine, playing, sucking, sliding. The kiss wasn’t tender or romantic—it was desperate, pure longing.
I dragged my nails over the skin of his shoulders, catching the scent of his blood.
I parted our lips and brought my mouth to the wounds I had caused, licking them, tasting his purest flavor. He healed far too quickly.
Edric groaned when my tongue moved lower, tracing every ridge of his abdomen.
He slipped a hand between my legs, spreading them wider, hiking my nightgown up to my waist and touching my cunt over my thin panties, brushing his fingers against my clit.
I arched my back, settling on the stool.
“You’d better do that without anything in the way,” I teased.
He arched one eyebrow and smiled, showing his long fangs.
“Always so eager.”
He hooked his index finger into the waistband of my panties and, with a sharp tug, ripped the fabric off my body, tearing it apart.
“And you, a panty-destroyer.”
He laughed.
“Literally a panty-destroyer, because yours is soaked.”
I huffed.
He rubbed his fingers over my cunt, stroking the entire length. He touched my slick entrance with his fingertips, wetting them before moving to my clit. He circled it in slow, firm motions, up and down.
I closed my eyes and let out a heavy sigh.
I reached for the waistband of his sweatpants, tugging them down. His hard cock sprang free. I rubbed the rosy, swollen head, playing with the fluid spilling from the tip.
He growled.