Page 11 of What Lies Beyond the Realms

“It looks like you’re teasing a very hungry Lycan the night before the full moon, and the only reason I’m not inside of you right now is because I have eighty years of practicing restraint under my belt,” he replies, and hearing him talk about being inside me makes my face warm and my thighs squeeze together.

“I’m not teasing you. I want you to take me. I want you inside me, Aidan.” I stare at him and see the animalistic look in his eyes staring back at me, taking in my words.

He takes a step toward me, keeping eye contact. “Have you ever been with a man, Cheeks? Not even just a man but a Lycan male?” His voice comes out low and guttural again.

“No, I haven’t.” My voice comes out smaller than I’d like.

“No, you haven’t what, Cheeks? Been with a man? Or been with a Lycan?”

“I’ve never had sex with anyone before, okay? Is that what you want to hear?”

“If you want this, Cheeks, it’s not going to be whatever fairytale you imagined in your head. I don’t know how to make love. I only know how to fuck, and with the full moon coming I can’t promise I’ll take it easy on you. My blood is boiling just looking at you. This is your one out, because once I touch you I’m not going to stop until you’re full of my seed.” He takes another step closer.

I feel afraid for a moment, and my heart is racing so fast it feels like it might burst out of my chest, but I don’t care. I want to feel him inside me, and I won’t let fear hold me back. I don’t know when I’ll ever have this opportunity away from the castle again. Better Aidan then Samael or one of his friends.

“I want it,” I whisper, and before I can take another breath he’s right in front of me grasping me behind the legs and pushing me back on the bed. He takes off his shirt, and I can see his erection pressed against his pants. He follows my stare and gives me a self-satisfied smirk while dropping his pants to the floor, releasing his hard cock in a bounce. I stare at it and suddenly regret my decision. He’s huge, and I don’t think he’s going to fit inside me. If he does, he’s right that it’s going to hurt.

He uses his knee to spread my legs. “Scoot back.”

I do as he commands, and he never takes his eyes off me. Just when I think he’s going to get on top of me, he doesn’t. He lies down next to me on his side. I look at him confused, but before I can speak he puts his finger to my mouth.

“Shhh. Just relax.” He runs his finger back and forth across my bottom lip. “Open your mouth.”

I do as he asks, and he puts his finger all the way in my mouth.

“Now suck.”

I coat his finger with my tongue and suck on it thoroughly. He makes a deep groaning sound then takes his wet finger away from my mouth, gliding it down my body and pressing it inside me.

“Already wet for me, Cheeks.” He breathes against my ear.

He curls his finger inside me and presses his thumb against my clit. A moan escapes my mouth. He moves his finger all the way out, then presses two fingers in and out slowly. My body answers to him by arching against his hand.

Then just as it's starting to feel really good, he pulls his hand away and sits up. He has a carnivorous look in his eye. He spits in his hand and rubs his cock with his slick saliva, then grabs my hips and flips me over, pulling me back to him. I reach out to catch myself as he slams his cock inside me. I feel an explosion of burning pain between my legs, and I can’t help the scream that comes out of my mouth. He grabs the back of my head, fisting his hand in my hair and shoves my face into the pillows. He holds my waist in place with his other arm while he thrusts in and out of me, hard. I feel wetness on my thighs, and I know it has to be blood. I bite into the pillow and take it. He releases my head and grabs my ass with both hands, pulling himself all the way out, holding me in place, and slamming back into me hard. He’s going faster and harder, and he has to be close. Please let him be close. I don’t know how much more of this I can take. Finally, he slams into me one last time and moans. I feel his cock twitch inside of me, and I know he’s coming in me. He stays there for a minute, breathing heavily, then pulls out of me and falls onto his back next to me.

I turn onto my side, unable to face him and pull my knees up to my stomach. My face is wet with tears, and it’s burning down there. I know he said it was going to be rough, but I had no idea it’d be like this. I expected sex to feel pleasurable, but what I experienced was far from it. He doesn’t say anything, and I can’t bring myself to move. Finally, sleep finds me.

Chapter Seven

Something's burning! The crackle and hiss of the fire overhead compels me to run faster. Viscous hot globs of . . . blood, I think it’s blood, rains down on me from the trees. I’m straining to see; the smoke and heat are burning my eyes. Everywhere I turn the flames fan up in front of me like they have a mind of their own. I try to wipe the sticky blood from my face, from my eyes. I drop to the ground choking on smoke. I squint to see anywhere I can go to get away from the fire. I put my arms out, digging my hands into the mucky earth, pushing with my feet and propelling my body forward. A hand grabs me by the arm and pulls hard. I kick out, panicked by the touch. A woman holds my arm. Her face is shadowed by a hood, and her hands are withered with age.

“You must choose, Lyra.” Her voice sounds desperate and demanding.

I’m jolted awake by a noise to find Luke standing next to me.

“Sorry, miss, but I brought you breakfast, and when you didn’t answer the door I wanted to make sure you were okay.” He looks down at me then at the blood on the blankets. His eyes widen. “Are you okay, Lyra?” His features soften, and he reaches down to touch my shoulder.

I pull the blankets up to my neck and sit up.

“Yes, I’m fine. Thank you for the breakfast. Can you leave it on the table for me? I’m not ready to get up just yet.”

“Yes, of course.” He eyes me and the blood then leaves the room. I hear him place the tray on the table then go out the front door, and I relax back onto the bed.

I have a throbbing headache, and a sense of regret hits me. Last night wasn’t what I imagined for my first time. Aidan did warn me, and I knew what I was getting into, but I didn’t expect it to be like this. The light in the room feels too bright, and I wonder if it’s because of the excessive consumption of potato piss. I force myself to get out of bed and find my nightgown on the floor. I quickly slip it on and head out to the fire.

Breakfast is very interesting. I’m definitely no longer in Tempest Moon. Luckily for me, someone has taken the time to put labels on everything, Luke presumably. I don’t know if I should be offended or not by the fact that Luke thinks I need my food to be labeled, but I’m grateful for it nonetheless. I’d be more grateful however if these labels included a description. The bowl with brown congealed jam reads wolpertinger jam. This would be helpful if I had any idea what wolpertinger is. The fluffy white buns look harmless enough, but they’re called towarra buns. I have no idea what towarra is. I pick up a bun, cutting it in half and spreading the jam on top. It smells like a mix of campfire, nuts, and earthy mushrooms, not a sweet jam like I’d expect to be served back home. I take a bite, letting the flavors coat my tongue. The buns taste like a normal biscuit, except it’s extra rich and buttery. The jam has a slightly salted earthy taste to it. It is surprisingly good. I wonder if wolpertinger is a type of mushroom. Maybe that is what’s giving it an earthy taste. I finish off the buns and jam, laughing when I see that the bowl of apple slices is labeled as well, as if I wouldn’t know what an apple is. The apples are divine, crisp and sweet. The apple skin is the same midnight blue as the leaves on some of the trees, and I wonder if those were a type of apple tree.

The fire is still roaring, and it looks like someone left a large bucket of warm water for me. Although I wish I had a warm bath to soak in, this will have to suffice for now. I feel dirty, and even after scrubbing every inch of my body with soap and warm washcloths the feeling just won’t go away. I trudge back to the bedroom and find my things Lili packed all laid out on the desk. I slip on some fur-lined leggings and a long-sleeve cobalt-blue tunic to keep warm. I go to the bathroom and glance at my reflection. My hair is a mess of long, tangled waves and curls. I comb through it the best I can then leave it to fall behind my back.