----
Itried stepping into the pool to reach him. I hissed softly as the
----
hot water stung my sore center.
. [hurt you..." he took a step back, staring at the thin stream of
red leaking into the water.
"No, no, you just lost control because you want me so badly,
because you''re mine and I''m yours." I tried to touch his face, but
his eyes were glued between my legs.
"Drakkar, it was just an ident..."
"No, no..." he started to shift slowly, shaking his head fiercely.
"Pm going to hurt you...
don''t deserve you... I''m a beast... I want
to destroy you, Lyra... I''m going to break youpletely..."
Each word built a wall between us.
He kept backing away and I just wanted to get closer. I felt him
slipping from me, like everything we''d built was crumbling.
"Drakkar, talk to me, it''s the curse, but give me time, I can fix it...
Drakkar, wait, wait!"
Treached out to grab him, but he slipped through my fingers,
leaping out of the pool and running away-from me, from us.
I tried to climb out to follow his trail...
"No, Lyra, stop." Aztoria''s firm voice halted me.
"This is worse than we thought. Don''t push him today, give him
space to calm down or it'' ll get worse."
"aztoria, I don''t understand this curse. In a world with so little
----
magic, how can something this cruel exist between mates?"
"T don''t know, but if we don''t figure it out soon, one of you will be
lost-either the man or the wolf."
Her words filled me with fear.
I needed to find a cure fast, but I had
no idea how to break the spell.
If Nyx or Laziel were here, things would be different.
I''d never envied my siblings'' powers-I''d always been proud of
my lycan bloodline-but now... I felt so damn frustrated.
"Guys, where are you? Maybe you wouldn''t have even fallen into
this primitive world."
''The worst part? Drakkar was gone all night.
By morning, I returned to our home.
Aztoria said she saw him watching from afar, but he never came
close.
And when I got to the packnds, he vanished into the forest
again
Thesitated at the door, staring across the in toward the tree
line, torn between chasing after him or giving him time toe
back on his own,
''Today was the damnpetition, and the sun was rising.
Before I could decide, a nasty voice rang out nearby.
"Well, you didn''t waste time fucking like a bitch in heat."
I turned to see Verak''s furious face. He looked like he''d been
----
waiting at the door.
Twasn''t in the mood for peasant drama, so I walked past him
without making eye contact, but he grabbed my arm tightly as 1
passed.
"If you think this is going to scare me off, you''re dead wrong. I
don''t care if you let him taste you-because when I mount you,
you''ll know the difference between us. Drakkar won''t win."
He let go, dripping venom, before I could rip out his foul tongue,
and walked off into the pack grounds with firm strides.
"What a pathetic male, your cunt''s still dripping with another''s
cum and he''s dying to get a taste."
Not even Aztoria''s vulgarity shocked me anymore.
Doubt dragged through my chest, regret creeping in for being so
impulsive-for letting the mate bond control me when I should''ve
been patient.
I nced again toward the wild monster of the jungle.
Thadn''t taught Drakkar many tricks, and worst of all... would he
still want to fight for me, or would he hand me over to Verak?