Chapter 83
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And THAT scared me more than anything.
“This is Lycanthropy,” I said slowly, testing the words. “This is what it means to be p>
“Part of this world?” Dmitri finished. His dark eyes studied me. “Yes p>
He leaned forward, and suddenly his grip was on my forearm. Not painful. But grounding. Intense.
“Everything here has real, tangible power, Lilith. To heal. Or to utterly destroy p>
His voice dropped lower.
“If you WIELD itโif you make it YOURSโit will be an asset. A strength beyond measure p>
His grip tightened.
“But if you let it consume you, if you surrender to it without understanding it first p>
Something flickered in his eyes. Something haunted. Ancient.
“โyou will lose yourself to it completely p>
The way he said itโ
It wasnโt just about the bond.
There was something MORE in his voice. A warning born from experience. From something heโd witnessed. Or survived.
Or LOST.
“Dmitri p>
His eyes changed.
Literally CHANGED.
The dark blue bled away, replaced by pale whiteโlike the color had been drained entirely.
My breath caught.
His grip tightened further, fingers pressing into my skin.
“She is wild,” he whispered, voice distant and haunted, “in the way sacred but broken things are. She is chaos and anarchy given form. The end clad within a soul p>
My heart slammed against my ribs.
“Who p>
And just like thatโ
It was GONE.
His eyes snapped back to brown. Dark and familiar.
His grip loosened.
He blinked, like heโd just woken from a dream.
“Dmitri?” My voice shook. “What was that? What did you just p>
“The Moonstone Masquerade is in three days,” he said, voice perfectly neutral. Like nothing had happened. Like his eyes hadnโt just turned WHITE. Like he hadnโt just spoken in riddles.
I stared at him. “What p>
“The High Alpha will come to teach you the steps this evening. After youโve rested p>
“Vladimir isโwait, what?” My brain struggled to catch up. “Heโs going to teach me to DANCE p>
“Yes.” Dmitri stood, already moving toward the door. “I suggest you nap. Youโll need your energy p>
“Dmitri, wait p>
He paused at the threshold. Looked back at me with those dark eyesโnormal now, as if theyโd never changed.
A ghost of a smile played at his lips.
“Break a leg, Lilith p>
Then he was gone.
I sat there.
Hand throbbing.
Lunar Crest still glowing faintly.
Mind reeling from everything that had just happened.
The incomplete bond. Vladimirโs red eyes. The punch. The broken finger.
And Dmitriโs warning.
She is chaos and anarchy given form.
Who was he talking about?
Despite being exhausted from the training, I couldnโt sleep.
Every time I closed my eyes, I saw Vladimirโs face. Felt his hands on my hips. Heard his voiceโrough and desperateโtelling me to RUN.
Felt the way Iโd wanted to do anything BUT. The bond wanted completion and part of meโ
A growing, undeniable partโ
Wanted it too.
*Thatโs the bond talking,* I told myself. *Not you p>
But was there even a difference anymore?
A knock at my door made me jump.
“Miss Brooks.” A servantโs voice. “The High Alpha requests your presence in the ballroom p>
My stomach flipped. There was a ballroom here? Of course, there was p>
“Now p>
“Yes, miss p>
I looked down at myself. Dressed in causal jeans and a shirt. Perfect. “Tell him Iโll be there in ten minutes,” I said.
The servant hesitated. “The High Alpha was quite clear that p>
“Ten. Minutes.” I flashed him a shaky smile.
Silence.
Then: “Yes, miss p>
My hand ached as I tried to tie my hair back.
I gave up. Left it down.
Stared at myself in the mirror.
My Lunar Crest was still faintly visible. Pulsing softly against my wrist, like I has gotten used to.
You will want the High Alpha.
Dmitriโs words echoed.
*The bond will make you want him p>
I took a breath.
Then headed for the ballroom. Time to face the Ice King. And pretend my heart wasnโt racing at the thought of his hands on me again.
Even if it was just to teach me how to dance.
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The servant led me through corridors Iโd never seen before.
Deeper into the mansion. Away from the familiar training wing. Away from my quarters.
The walls changedโdarker wood, older tapestries, portraits of wolves and winter landscapes that seemed to WATCH as I passed.
“How much farther?” I asked.
The servant didnโt answer. Just kept walking, like I didnโt exist.
Something prickled at the back of my neck.
Then I smelled it.
Vladimir.
But STRONGER. Richer. Like standing in the center of a storm instead of watching it from a distance.
Pine and frost and something darker. Wilder.
My body responded instantly.
Heat pooling low in my stomach. My Lunar Crest pulsing. The bond PULLINGโ
Come.
Come to me.
Youโre mine.
I stopped walking.
Blinked.
The servant was gone.
The corridor was empty.
“Hello?” My voice echoed off stone walls.
Nothing.
Panic fluttered in my chest.
I was LOST. In a mansion I barely knew. In corridors that all looked the same.
Get it together, Lilith.
I turned back the way Iโd comeโ
But the hallway looked different now. Darker. Unfamiliar.
Had I turned left or right at that last portrait?
Shit.
I started walking. Trying doors. Most were locked.
Thenโ
I passed a door at the end of a hallway and STOPPED.
Dead.
Something in my chest PULLED. It was not painful no, it was magnetic.
Like a hook lodged beneath my ribs, tugging me TOWARD that door.
I couldnโt breathe, couldnโt move, couldnโt think.
Thenโ
I felt him.
Vladimir.
Not physically present. But THERE. In my mind. In my chest. In the bond that thrummed between us.
Stay
His voice. Low. Rough. Intimate.
Youโre beautiful.
My breath hitched.
You drive me mad.
Heat flooded through me. My skin prickled. My heart RACED.
I couldnโt see him. Couldnโt even HEAR himโnot with my ears.
But I FELT every word like a caress.
Moya, he whispered. Mine. My mate.
The bond SANG.
Golden light blazed from my Lunar Crest, so bright it hurt.
Come to me.
My hand reached for the door handleโ
“LILITH p>
Hands grabbed my shoulders. Shook me. Hard.
I gaspedโ
My eyes snapped open.
Vladimir stood in front of me. Real. Physical. PRESENT.
But wrong.
He had stubble nowโdark shadow along his jaw that hadnโt been there this morning. His hair was rumpled, falling into his eyes. His shirt was half-unbuttoned, wrinkled.
And he smelledโ
Wrong.
Not pine and frost.
Something floral. Feminine. SOMEONE ELSE.
My stomach twisted into a painful knot and Kaia howled like she had been stepped on.
“What are you doing here?” His voice was sharp. Urgent. His hands still gripping my shoulders.
I blinked at him. Disoriented. Confused.
“Iโthe servant. You sent a servant to bring me to the ballroom p>
His expression darkened. “I sent no one p>
“Butโ” I looked around. Tried to orient myself.
We were standing in a hallway I didnโt recognize. Outside a door Iโd never seen before.
“What time is it?” I asked, voice shaking.
Vladimirโs jaw clenched. “Two in the morning p>
No.
“Thatโs notโI was justโit was evening. The servant came to my room and p>
“Lilith.” His voice was careful now. Controlled. “Whatโs the last thing you remember p>
I tried to think.
Going to my room. Lying down. Closing my eyes.
“I was resting,” I said slowly. “Before the dance lesson. You were supposed to come teach me p>
“That was eight hours ago p>
The world tilted.
“What p>
He stopped. Exhaled slowly.
“You were SLEEPWALKING, Lilith p>