AllFreeNovel
Share Us
And then it’s over, leaving me panting and hollow, craving more than just my own fantasies to keep me warm at night.
Enough.
I need air—something real to cut through the fog of lust clouding my brain.
I push off the sheets and stalk over to the window, shoving it open with more force than necessary. The cool night breeze slaps me awake, sobering.
I slip out, feet finding familiar paths in the dark. The temple looms behind me, silent and judgmental. I ignore it, moving like a shadow until the cliffside opens up before me. That’s when I see him—Luka, standing there like he owns the night.
I wonder if I’m dreaming, maybe going into yet another heat thanks to the eros.
…but he turns and sees me, and speaks—and I’m hooked.
“Can’t sleep either?” His voice is a low rumble, unsettling in its calm.
“Too many thoughts.” I keep my tone even, not wanting to betray the storm he’s just interrupted.
“Anything interesting?” He turns to face me, green eyes catching moonlight and holding it captive.
Fuck. Is he psychic after all? Gunnar used to claim as much, said Luka knew things he shouldn’t…and right now, it feels like he’s peering right through me, seeing the way I was shamelessly rutting against a pillow and imagining it was him.
I swallow hard. “Depends on your definition of interesting.”
“Wanna share?”
I huff out a laugh. “No. I don’t.”
He looks around, finding the cliffside empty. No one ever comes out here—it would be impossible to escape this way, and the island is so isolated the docks are the only means of escape.
Even if I can slip out the window, that doesn’t make me less of a prisoner.
“Let’s catch up,” he says, taking a seat and patting the grass next to him. “Got some information you might want.”
I sit, tucking my legs under me while keeping my voice light. Luka sighs, resting his elbows on his knees and staring out at the foggy grey sea.
“Saw someone being hauled out of the temple today, I think,” he says. “A bound and gagged girl—an omega, probably.”
“Where were they taking her?”
“Headed in the direction of the clinic,” he says. “You know what that’s all about?”
I bite my lip, thinking back to the last few rituals, then I nod. “The omegas…they’re trying to get them all pregnant,” I murmur. “Babies…it’s cruel, but babies keep us tied to Terra Vitae. Our young are our biggest vulnerability for them. The ritual is designed to get us pregnant so we’re stuck here with mates who won’t let us leave.”
Luka stares at me, and I glance over, frowning.
“What?”
“It’s just…it’s cruel,” he murmurs.
“I never said it wasn’t.”
“And you haven’t given in?”
I let out a full-throated, bitter laugh at that—mostly because I was just fantasizing about Luka himself, because I’m so touch-starved that it feels like I’ll waste away. “Not until you.”
“And even if you did…”
“The implant they gave me at Dreamland should hold out another year or so, thank fuck,” I mutter. “After that…well, I’d better not be here in a year.”
