69- The Blood Between Us
POV Lunara Grimwald:
I studied him more closely, admiring him. Fair skin, dark hair, brown eyes with flecks of honey. He looked young, close to my age, but being a lupine, he could have been hundreds of years old and still appear no older than thirty. And he smelled good—like eucalyptus.
Bogdan was bold enough to place his hands on my waist and pull me toward him.
"What do you say?" he asked, running his tongue over his dry lips. "How about having some fun with me?"
I hesitated.
My wolf didn’t seem very... convinced. She was quiet, observing, but I could feel her hesitation—and the anger at having another male’s hands on me. She might hate Edric with every fiber of her being, but he was still the one she wanted.
"I... I..." I stammered, unable to finish the sentence.
"I promise I won’t insist if you don’t want to right now," he said. "We can go to the bar, have a drink, talk, get to know each other, and maybe hope to meet again another time."
God, how could they be so different from the males of my father’s pack? They would never have given me the chance to choose. A male would have dragged me into some corner and raped me. And no one—absolutely no one—would have done anything about it.
I opened my mouth to speak, but the words died.
Bogdan trembled, his eyes widening. His body convulsed. A metallic scent filled the air. He coughed, spitting blood from his mouth. I blinked, confused, trying to understand what had happened.
The hands on my waist loosened. He looked down toward his chest. I followed his gaze, gasping, and stumbled back when I saw a hand—with elongated claws—piercing through his torso, holding his heart outside his body.
A strangled scream caught in my throat. I pressed my hands to my mouth, swallowing the bile that rose.
Edric stood behind him, his golden eyes fixed on me. Then he pulled his hand out through Bogdan’s back, still clutching the heart. The male collapsed to the side, dead.
There was now nothing between the Eldoria leader and me. His arm, bloody up to the elbow and his fingers dripping red, was raised, holding the vital organ in his palm right in front of me.
I felt my wolf bristle—proud of the male who had killed for us, showing his dominance and his claim in front of everyone. Meanwhile, I was speechless, completely horrified.
My animal side was insane. As insane as Edric. The two of them—perfect for each other.
I noticed the silence rising around us. My lips parted in a ragged breath.
"What the fuck did you just do?" Konrad shouted, clutching the sides of his head, looking between Edric and Bogdan’s lifeless body sprawled on the floor.
A red pool stained the ground, spreading as blood gushed from the hole in the wolf’s chest.
Edric didn’t answer the Cyndrael alpha. He simply flexed the absurd strength in his arm and threw the heart at him. The organ hit Konrad’s chest with a wet smack, splattering his clothes before falling to the floor.
My body recoiled.
Was he out of his mind?
I could feel everyone’s eyes on me. Out of the corner of my vision, I noticed Thalira standing far enough from the alpha to remain safe. I could feel Edric’s pheromones filling the air, radiating fear into everyone around us.
"It’s fine, I would’ve done the same," Aldren intervened, raising his hands in surrender. "Bogdan belonged to my pack, and I forgive Edric for killing one of mine. The male deserved it—he touched a female who wasn’t his, breaking one of our laws and offending a leader."
"Won’t you declare war against Eldoria?" someone from the crowd asked.
Aldren laughed, shaking his head. "Never."
I couldn’t take my eyes off Edric. My heart was racing, and my breathing was unsteady.
"Too bad it wasn’t one of mine," Sullivan mocked, crossing his arms over his chest.
I didn’t know when he had approached, but he was as silent and swift as Edric.
"Please, don’t start," Konrad snapped. "The Valmorin leader hasn’t declared war against Eldoria for the wolf’s death, so there’s nothing else to see. Go on, get back to enjoying yourselves."
Gradually, they began to disperse, returning to their previous spots. Thalira moved toward Edric, but not fast enough to reach him before he turned and started toward me—his supernatural speed astonishing.
"What the hell do you think you’re doing here?" he hissed, inhaling sharply, his nostrils flaring.
I blinked, bewildered. "I’m having fun, just like you."
For a second, he just stared at me, as if debating whether to drag me out or strangle me right there.
Choosing the first option, he grabbed my arm and steered me toward the doors, pulling me out of the party.
"I didn’t say I wanted to leave," I taunted.
"I don’t care what you want."
He kicked the doors open with a loud crash, startling the sentinels. I squeezed my eyes shut, tears pricking at them as I tried to adjust to the brightness of the corridor. It wasn’t as bright as a place lit by electricity, but it was far lighter than inside the party.
He said nothing as he dragged me away, farther and farther from it all. The night breeze was welcome—cool and soothing against my hot skin.
Outside, there was no sound at all, as if it were a rule that everything happening within the Elders’ castle had to stay there.
I let him drag me for what felt like miles, not resisting. I had achieved what I wanted—to infuriate him. He only stopped once we stepped onto Eldoria’s lands. I could tell by the stench of death that lingered along the borders, where Edric had planted the heads of Alessio’s wolves on sharp wooden stakes.
He released my arm and began pacing back and forth, his hands in his hair. Then he turned to me, baring his fangs.
"How dare you let another touch you?" he hissed.
I leaned against the rough trunk of a tree, hiding under the shadow of its branches, slipping away from the silvery light of the full moon.
"I don’t understand why you’re so angry," I said, crossing my arms.
He let out a sharp, bitter laugh. "You don’t understand?" In the blink of an eye, he was right in front of me, his breath hot against my face. "I already told you no male is to touch you."
I tried to stay calm, to control my temper, but it was impossible when he pushed me against the wall as if I were the one in the wrong—when he had let Thalira sit on his lap just hours earlier.
I pressed my index finger against his chest, digging my sharp nail into the fabric of his shirt.
"I saw Thalira with you today," I confessed, my tone laced with hurt. "Right after you told me you were sorry for sleeping with her. If you can do that, then I can too."
He blinked, stunned. "What?"