Chapter 193
~ NYSSA
"Nothing!" I exclaimed a little too loudly as I turned to Aria who was watching me with narrowed eyes. "I was just getting ready to take a bath because of the... dirt and all."
She watched me suspiciously, her eyes narrowed. "Right... well, I’m heading out. Eric is going to be outside. Rowan said he will be back soon, but I don’t know how soon he means. I’d suggest not waiting up for him. It’s a mess out there."
"How bad?"
"Terrible. The girl is fine, he didn’t sever any major arteries and it’ll take a lot more than a knife to the back to kill a lycan. If he hit her spine..." she trailed off, shaking her head slowly. "That would have been a fucking mess."
It was crazy how things had gone from exciting to chaotic in only a matter of seconds.
"What’s going to happen to him? Is he going to die?" I asked softly.
"He’s in the cells for now. Rowan will decide his punishment, but it is a crime to turn on one of your own. He’ll probably die, but I don’t know Rowan to make a spectacle out of anything. If it was our dad..." her lips curled slowly, her eyes distant in thought. "Well, like I said earlier, you don’t have to worry about anything. You just sit here and look pretty."
She added the last part with a smile that felt far too patronizing for my comfort but before I could say anything, she walked out of the room, shutting the door quietly behind her.
By the time I gathered my wits, she was already gone.
I chalked it up to a miscommunication because there was no way that Aria would be that rude to me... not now, not after everything that had happened between us and how kind she had been during all of it.
After my shower, the adrenaline bled from my body and in its place came a bone deep exhaustion that made my legs buckle under their own weight. I barely managed to make it to bed still clad in just a towel and I must have passed out at some point because the next thing I knew, I was in some kind of forest.
The sky was pitch black but somehow I could see perfectly. I could make out the birds flying between the trees and the insects crawling on the ground beneath my feet.
Above me, the moon was a bright shade of red—angry and full, shining down on me. The metallic scent of blood filled the air; warm and earthy. I could even taste it.
My body seemed to move of its own accord. I felt like a bystander watching someone else control me.
I ran through the forest on all fours, weaving through trees with expert precision. I had no idea where I was going, but my body seemed to know. I crouched behind a tree, staring straight ahead at a brook when I saw it... a deer.
It was young, with beautiful brow skin and soft wide eyes. It seemed unaware of my presence because it bent low to drink.
I leaped from the trees and was on it in a second, sharp teeth clamping on its throat. I tried to wrestle control, tried to pull back, but I felt like a captive in my body. Warmth flooded my mouth instantly and I awoke with a gasp.
I could still taste it, the metallic, earthy taste of blood. I tried to conjure up the disgust but it never came, instead, I felt a rush of heat in my chest, a longing so deep that I could not explain it.
I knew of other wolves who hunted in their wolf form and ate raw animals. I always found it weird, but perhaps it was because I never had a wolf until recently.
"You’re fucked up," I hissed to my wolf as I pulled myself to my feet, rushing into the bathroom.
"I don’t know what you’re talking about."
"Dreaming about raw animals? That’s a low. If you want to eat it then take control next we run and keep me out of it."
"I didn’t do that," she said pointedly, her voice laced with confusion. "I mean, yeah, it would be good to have a rabbit or something but I’m well fed."
I paused, my body bent over the sink as I splashed water onto my face. "What do you mean it wasn’t you? It couldn’t have been me?"
She shrugged. "People dream about shit all the time. Maybe it’s what happened earlier."
Maybe, but I doubted it.
Before I could respond to her, I heard the door to the room creak open slowly. I glanced out the window, frowning when I realized just how dark the sky out was.
There was only one person who would be here so late.
"Nyssa?"
I sighed softly at the sound of Rowan’s voice. "In the bathroom."
Heavy footsteps made their way over and he settled in the doorway, his eyes hooded and his mouth firmly pressed together as his eyes ran over my body.
It was only then I realized that I was stark naked. The towel must have come off me while I slept.
He swallowed deeply, his throat working as he cleared his throat. "You should be asleep."
"I just woke up actually. What’s your excuse?"
He shrugged. "I had to kill one of my recruits today."
"Oh." I took a slow step towards him. "How do you feel?"
"Better now that I’m with you."
Once I was within reach, his arm rapped around my waist, tugging me towards him. He pressed his lips towards mine in a hungry open-mouthed kiss, his tongue sliding into my mouth.
I moaned softly, hands finding their way around his neck as I pulled him closer, deepening the kiss.
"I missed you," he murmured against my mouth. "So much. Did you miss me?"
I drew his bottom lips into my mouth, nibbling softly. He groaned, pulling me closer so I did it again, but I must have bit down too hard because my mouth flooded with warmth as blood pooled.
Something churned inside of my chest and I heard a voice, cold and ancient. "More."