“Please stop. You’re going to destroy yourself,” Lucie whimpered as Abaas’ dark eyes rested on her. A faint smile reached his lips.
“Better me than you. These clashing energies will destroy you.”
“Don’t say something like that. I won’t forgive you if you disappear, so I’m telling you not to.” Lucie stared at him with sorrow-filled eyes. His story was too sad. It was clear, though, that he planned to protect her even at the cost of himself.
“I’m not that weak, princess.” Abaas gave her a soft smile and winked at her.
But the energy inside her felt strained. She couldn’t allow him to do what he was doing. “You aren’t going to get out of eternity that easily.” She took in a deep breath while keeping her gaze on him. “Abaas, I order you to stop.”
At that moment, he couldn’t refuse his master. He had to stop, and the waves of her energy crashed against each other again. Her blood-curdling scream echoed in the room as the intense pain savagely ripped through her body. Abaas fought against his master’s order, something he could only do if it meant protecting her. He reached out and grabbed her hand as Mikah squeezed her against him tighter.
Lucie panted as she felt his energy connect inside her once again. She looked at him with pleading eyes.
“It’s okay, Lucie. He’s on his way,” Abaas whispered.
The next moment, the door flung open and Derrick stood there, heaving deep breaths as his gaze landed on Lucie. He rushed to her side, meeting with her green, pooling eyes. “I’m here, Lucie. I’m here.” He looked at Mikah and everyone else in the room. The other men who were with Derrick also arrived behind him. “I’ll take care of Lucie from here,” his authoritative voice echoed out.
“I’ll keep her energy separated so you can talk.” Abaas looked at Lucie. “Don’t worry, I still have more in me. I can’t do anything for the pain, but I can keep her from being torn apart. Once I feel the marking, I will rest.”
“Rest here for now. You shouldn’t use up more of your energy. Stay with Jasper,” Lucie wheezed out with a shallow breath. She watched him nod his head and back out of the room.
Hunter cleared his throat and soon the rest of the room followed. Mikah was the last to leave. He looked at Lucie and frowned. “This is going to hurt. Brace yourself.”
“You guardians are just wimps, that’s all. I don’t feel a thing.” Lucie teased dryly, giving Mikah a tiny smile. She felt as if she was being kicked in the stomach but kept her poker face up as Mikah left the room. Once the door shut, she curled herself up into a ball and struggled to control her breathing.
“My poor little mate.” Derrick reached out and pulled Lucie into his chest. “I heard about everything and I can explain.”
“Is this your way of stalling? Still haven’t figured out how this whole mating thing works?” Lucie let out a pained laugh as she looked into his amber eyes.
“I want you to know there isn’t anyone but you. What Stella?—”
Lucie lifted her hand up to his lips. “It was confusing at first, and I don’t know all the details, but I do know how you feel about me now.”
“Nothing happened with me and Stella. Ever. There was never an us. I’ve only ever loved you. You’re my first love and will be my only love. I don’t know about this video, but I never said I loved her. And the pictures were just that … pictures. She took selfies with all the soldiers. It didn’t mean anything.” Derrick ran his hand through her hair. “My Lucie. I missed you so much. What do I need to do? You’re in pain. I don’t want to hurt you more.”
Lucie gave him a side smile. “So you really do need some help figuring out where babies come from?”
Derrick chuckled. “You’re in so much pain. I don’t?—”
“You also need a lesson in werewolf and lycan biology.” Lucie chuckled. “When a wolf is in heat, marking and mating will make the pain go away.”
“Sooo … you’re saying that I can help you by helping myself to you?” Derrick’s eyes darkened as he looked down at his mate.
“Well, do you want me to run you through a play-by-play of a woman’s anatomy too? And how the two of us fit together?” Lucie smiled at the low, dark chuckle that rumbled through his chest. He grabbed the bottom of his shirt, pulled it over his head in one fluid motion, and tossed it somewhere behind him. Her breath caught. She’d seen him without a shirt before, but never like this—never with the heat clawing through her veins, turning every hard line of muscle into something her fingers ached to trace. The firelight carved shadows along his abdomen, and she let her gaze drag over him without pretending like she wasn’t looking.
He noticed. His eyes darkened.
He kneeled over her, lowering his face until his lips hovered just above hers.
“Gosh, I missed you, Lucie. So damn much.” His voice had dropped into something raw, stripped of everything except want.
He kissed her. Not gently. He sucked her bottom lip between his teeth, pulling until she gasped, then swept his tongue across the sting. He trailed his mouth along her jaw, her cheekbone, the sensitive spot just below her ear, each press of his lips slow enough to make her writhe beneath him.
His hand slid down her side, fingers tracing the curve of her waist before gripping the hem of her dress. He peeled it up slowly, knuckles dragging against her bare skin, and she lifted her arms to help him. The fabric whispered over her head, and the cool air kissed her stomach, her ribs, the swell of her breasts still hidden beneath thin lace.
He sat back on his heels, just looking at her.
The hunger in his expression made the heat spike so viciously she whimpered. Whatever tension had been coiling in her body before—fear, uncertainty, pain—dissolved beneath the weight of his stare. There was nothing left but him. The urgent, consuming need to have his skin against hers, to feel him everywhere.
