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His father put his hands up. “Okay, fine. But later, you and me need to chat.”
Lucian knelt and removed a blade from a sheath on his belt. He turned the handle toward his father and said, “I need you to cut through the tatts.”
“What?”
“Each one has an outline in dark gray. That’s where the magic is. You have to cut the line, and that will break the spell. I’ll leave the ones on my arms uncut until we reach the stronghold.”
His father looked down at the blade, opened his mouth, and then closed it again with his lips pressed in a firm line. Lucian turned away so his father could reach the tattoos on his back. He felt the cold tip of the blade and then a whisper of pain as it slid through the boundary of the magic. The power felt like sand pouring down his skin as it drained out. With each broken tattoo, he felt the creature inside him grow stronger.
Berserker.
He’d never even uttered that word. It had been nothing but a death sentence for his mother. Her family had been afraid of Lucian as he aged, but once he started getting tattoos to keep his nature under control, they weren’t scared of him anymore. The tattoos worked so well that he basically became human. Just a whisper of the creature writhing inside him. He knew, though, that the monster was more active when he was in Wilde Creek, and he was entirely sure it was because of Mia.
When the last of the tattoos on Lucian’s back, legs, and chest were cut, he rolled his neck and let out a growling sigh. The cuts were already mostly healed, but the tattoos would have to be redone in order to be effective again. He dressed swiftly, strapping his weapons on, and then looked at his father, who had appeared from the back of the house. He was now wearing black pants and a long-sleeved black shirt, and had strapped a hunting knife to each thigh.
“I’m ready when you are, son.”
“It’s a two-hour drive, but we have to make it in less than eighty-five minutes or they’ll dose Mia again.”
“Then let’s get on the road.”
With his father at his back, he left the house, jumped behind the wheel and put the car into gear. In minutes they were out of town and on their way to the ravens. He kept one eye on the road and one on the clock.
“The berserker nature,” his father said.
“No. I just want to get Mia to safety. Don’t distract me.”
“Fine. But you promise me that you’ll give me time to say my piece when she’s safe.”
“I swear.”
He could feel the berserker rolling under his skin. The fury was there, anger at Mia’s harm and those who had caused it. He’d never embraced his nature; he’d always pushed it away. It gave him strength and speed and faster healing, but that was all that he’d allowed. The tatts had kept it at bay, and now that it was nearly free, he could feel it pulsing under his skin.
Fucking don’t hurt Mia, he told the beast.
* * *
Mia licked her dry lips and forced her body to remain still. The bed had been moderately comfortable, but after the second dose of the mating-heat drug, it had become increasingly intolerable. Her skin was pressed up against sharp nails and tacks, not a thin sheet. Her skin was crawling with hyper-sensitivity. She was sweating but felt chilled, and every joint in her body ached.
Already, she was as turned on as she’d ever been during a heat-cycle. She craved skin-to-skin contact with a male, but didn’t dare voice her thoughts. There were ravens just outside the room. Although the door was shut, she could hear them talking, but not clearly enough to know what they were saying.
When Dario had dosed her the second time, she’d already been on edge with arousal. She hadn’t wanted to, but she’d begged Lucian to help. She’d heard his voice, the panic and the rage buried in the promise that he’d save her, but she wasn’t sure if she believed that would happen. There wasn’t any hope in this room.
A bolt of pleasure shivered through her, making her stomach clench and her pussy throb. Her breasts tingled, her nipples so hard she was sure they’d turned to stone by this point. She gritted her teeth against the moan that bubbled up in her throat. Her toes curled, and she jerked on the restraints. She could smell fresh blood, and saw that she’d cut another furrow into her wrists from the bindings.
The door opened with a soft creak, and she squeezed her eyes shut and thought of the only thing that had kept her moderately sane: Lucian. Part of her hated him. Hated that he’d pushed her away, that whatever shadow games he was playing with his work life and his private life had bled over onto her. But her wolf, as faint as she felt right now, still believed that he was her mate, and Mia knew in her heart that was true. Some females were very lucky with their mates – they were kind and loving – but some weren’t, and Mia seemed to have fallen into the category of the female who had a lousy mate.
No matter how much she felt physically attracted to him, or how much her wolf craved him, she couldn’t stop thinking about the words he’d said to her in the woods outside Mal’s home. That she was ofno consequenceto him.
Who the hell said something like that?
“Time’s running out,” Dario said. He moved silently, appearing at the foot of the bed. She didn’t have to lift her head to know that he was staring at her body on full display. She was tied up spread-eagle on a bed, entirely at the mercy of a group of shifters who at best were scientists and at worst were nutcases.
A warm hand slid over the arch of her foot, and in spite of her desire to not show an ounce of arousal to him or anyone else, she couldn’t control her hips, which wiggled against the bed. She curled her fingers into fists and let out a soft gasp.
“It’s fascinating,” he murmured. “I didn’t find you attractive at all before, but now I can’t get you out of my head.”
She wanted to jerk her foot away. To curse him and scream for him to leave her alone. But she didn’t. After how many hours? A little touching felt nice. Better than nice, actually; it felt like heaven.
