~~XANDER MORTAIN~~
~~THE ECLIPSE PACK~~
The ceremony was a success. The moon had crossed its peak. But the curse remained.
Every other wolf in the pack received the divine gift of recognizing their mate. The curse robbed me of that right. I could stand in a room with my soulmate and see nothing but a stranger.
Year after year, it was the same torture.
But I wouldn't have to stomach this emptiness for much longer. I was twenty-seven, running out of time. If I didn’t claim my Luna by my thirtieth winter, I was a dead man walking.
Three years. That was all the sanity I had left before I rotted from the inside out. Three years before I went feral and became the monster everyone thought I was.
Tonight came up empty, as always. Ironically, I noticed a girl at the ceremony who seemed practically begging for a taste of my agony.
What’s crazier is that I could almost understand her pain. Standing beside her, my own ache eased. But the most I could do was stop Conor from exploiting her misery.
I ditched the ledge the second the ritual ended, choking on the heavy atmosphere. I pushed through the doors and stumbled into the night.
A cold sweat broke across my brow. It felt like my bones were shifting under my skin.
I forced myself through the quiet streets, desperate to hit the woods without drawing a crowd. I needed to shift. I needed to let the beast take the wheel until the pain numbed. It was the only relief, even if the shift itself was pure agony.
Right then, while I fought for a shred of sanity, the scent hit me.
Lilitu Root. Unmistakable.
"It's been banned for decades," I muttered through gritted teeth. "How could—"
My thoughts derailed as another scent cut through the night.
Jasmine and blackberries.
I stopped dead, breathing deep to make sure. In a flash, the crushing weight off my chest lifted. My beast stopped snarling.
It was her. She was close.
The stench of Lilitu Root hit me again, stronger this time. The pieces clicked: someone drugged her.
My instincts took over, and I moved.
With every step toward her, my pain waned. I tracked her to a blind alley near the barracks.
There, I found a drunk leaning over her, pawing at her dress.
Pure rage surged through me. I didn't just shove him; I slammed into him, cracking his ribs. He sprawled into the dirt, scrambling backward like he’d just seen the grim reaper.
“Run,” I growled, my voice vibrating with fury. “Before I feed you to the crows.”
He didn't need a second warning. He scurried off, whimpering into the dark.
I turned to her. Up close, the scent was intoxicating. The drug had forced her body into a feverish state, triggering a premature heat.
“Stand,” I barked.
She looked up at me with unfocused eyes. “I... I can’t,” she whimpered.
I reached down and pulled her up.
A rumble tore from my throat. The sheer relief of her touch nearly brought me to my knees.
I scooped her up, tucking her shivering frame against my chest. My wolf let out a satisfied purr.
The noble move was to take her home, but I had no clue where she lived. I could drop her at the guest house, but I knew how Lilitu Root worked. She wouldn't just sleep it off. She would burn until the fever killed her or she found release.
That was exactly why the stuff was outlawed.
“I need you,” she whispered against my chest, her breath soaking through my shirt.
That confession stopped my heart.
She needed me. And God help me, I needed her more.
But the man in me—the rational part that was losing ground fast—knew this was playing with fire.
"Where do you live?" I gritted out. "I'm taking you home."
She stiffened, clutching my shirt in a panic. "No," she gasped, shaking her head against my chest. "Not home. Not Nana."
"She can handle it," I insisted, even as every instinct screamed to keep her close.
"No!" A sob ripped from her throat. "She'll be terrified. And the smell... if the others catch my scent..." She shivered, burrowing closer. "Please don't..."
Her words hit me like a freight train. She was right. The root triggered a chemical heat so potent her scent was already bleeding into the alley. If I took her back to the slums, every unmated male for miles would lose his mind. Nana couldn't fight them off.
"Then you're staying with me," I promised, my voice heavy with a finality I couldn't take back.
I moved fast, heading straight for my private wing—a sanctuary strictly off-limits.
I kicked through the doors.
The night maids froze. Their eyes bugged out in pure shock.
I couldn’t blame them. They knew me as a cold bastard. They had never seen me carrying a woman. Let alone a girl in a torn dress.
I didn't give them a second glance. They knew better than to ask questions.
I took the stairs two at a time, my wolf pacing with a restless energy.
Once inside my chambers, I kicked the door shut. The room was freezing. I usually kept it that way to numb the burn in my blood, but right now, some heat sounded like a good idea.
I laid her on my silk bed. The scent of jasmine and blackberry filled the room, mixing with the heavy musk of the root. It was intoxicating.
She was panting in short gasps. Her skin burned. Sweat dampened her hairline.
I forced myself to step back, scraping together whatever discipline I had left. It was wrong to stay, and deadlier to be this close.
But I didn't get far.
Her hands shot out, locking onto my wrists with surprising grip.
“It hurts,” she choked out, her gaze pleading. “You have to make it stop.”
“You don’t know what you’re asking. If I start, I won’t stop.”
Half-lidded eyes stared up at me. “I’ll never ask you to.”
The last thread of my self-control snapped.
I groaned, pulling her against me. I rested my forehead against hers, breathing her in.
I tried to list the reasons I should hold back. But logic flew out the window the second her arms looped around my neck.
Her lips brushed mine. She whimpered, tilting forward, silently begging for more.
"Patience." I traced the seam of her lips with my tongue. It was a kiss that didn't just silence the storm in my head; it wiped it out entirely.
I took everything she offered, starving for it.
My beast roared in pure satisfaction.
Her hand shot down, grabbing my belt. Her grip was desperate. She yanked, pulling me closer, her hips arching off the mattress.
She didn't wait for permission. She hooked a leg around my waist, dragging me down until my chest hovered over hers. She ground her pelvis against mine, a needy friction that almost sent me over the edge right then.
"I need you inside," she demanded, the drug stripping away her pride. "Now."
I groaned, crashing my weight against hers. I didn't bother with gentleness. I rolled, pinning her wrists to the sheets above her head. She arched into the restraint, letting out a keen of approval.
My hands slipped beneath her dress, trailing fire over her skin, claiming every inch. I ripped the linen from her body, leaving her bare.
My breath hitched. She was stunning. And she was begging for me.
"Xander," she gasped, her legs locking around my waist. "Please."
I buried my face in her neck, biting the sensitive cord of muscle.
She screamed my name, her nails digging deep into my back, dragging down my spine.
“Don't stop,” she hissed, bucking her hips against me. "Don't make me wait."
I caved.
The feel of her healed me in ways I couldn’t understand. Every time I tried to pace myself, she yanked me closer, her nails scoring my skin, her body milking mine for every drop of pleasure.
My control snapped. With her, I lost it completely.
I felt her tighten around me, dragging us both over the edge. We shattered together, the world narrowing down to the sound of her crying my name.
The frantic gasps faded into steady breathing.
I stayed draped over her, listening to her heartbeat. For the first time in twenty-seven years, the air didn't burn my lungs.
I looked down. She had crashed into an exhausted sleep, her hand still gripping my arm like she was afraid I’d bolt.
I brushed a stray lock of hair from her forehead.
She was mine now. I had tasted her, filled her, and marked her with my scent.
God help anyone who tried to take her from me.