I rush downstairs, my heart pounding with anticipation, not just for breakfast but for the chance to see Nickolas. Being in the same house but sleeping in separate rooms has been torture, especially with Mom still not trusting him, even though a month has passed since our arrival. She also discovered my pregnancy, thanks to my growing bump and unexplainable morning sickness. Despite her reservations about Nickolas, she’s thrilled to be a grandmother again and can’t wait for the new addition to our family.
The past month has been eerily quiet, with no word from Lord Easterlin, which troubles us all. But we’ve been using this time to prepare diligently for the impending war. Nickolas is adamant about me staying out of the fight, even though I’ve assured him I’m fit enough. His men have been training relentlessly alongside our werewolf warriors. Today, we plan to discuss taking the fight directly to Lord Easterlin.
As I approach Nickolas’ room, a smile spreads across my face the moment I see him stepping out of the bathroom, a towel hanging low on his waist. My eyes hungrily roam over his chiseled abs, water droplets glistening on his skin, making him look even more irresistible.
“You know all of this is yours,” he says with a cocky grin, catching me gawking at him.
“I know,” I reply, moving closer, drawn to him like a moth to a flame. He pulls me into a tight embrace, and I don’t care that my shirt gets damp as I rise on my tiptoes to capture his lips in a passionate kiss.
“I missed you,” he murmurs against my lips, his hands gripping my ass possessively, igniting a fire in my core.
“I missed you too,” I breathe, deepening the kiss, my tongue exploring the warmth of his mouth. I wrap my legs around his waist, pressing myself against him, craving his touch.
“Are you up for a quickie?” he asks, his hardness pressing against my belly, fueling my desire.
“Yes,” I reply without hesitation, yanking my shirt over my head, desperate to feel his skin against mine.
Our lovemaking is swift but passionate, and as we enter the dining room, it’s clear that everyone knows what we’ve been up to. Alissa’s knowing smirk says it all. Nickolas and I take our seats, joining the others, silently praying they won’t tease us mercilessly as they usually do.
“How are the fights going so far?” Dad asks Nickolas as he fills my plate with pancakes. He only eats because of me, and that never fails to make my heart swell with love.
“They’ve reduced,” Nickolas replies, referring to the clashes between lycans and werewolves on the training grounds. The deep-seated hatred between our kinds runs deep, and even though the leaders of both kingdoms have come to forgive each other, their people aren’t as open-minded. But we still hold onto hope. Both kingdoms need each other right now, so they have no choice but to learn to tolerate one another and, hopefully, one day, accept each other fully.
“That’s good to hear. What about the cave warriors? Have they finally agreed to join us?” Dad inquires, referring to the lycans Caleb and I helped during our last encounter. My hunch was correct – they refused to fight for Lord Easterlin after he killed Nickolas, their beloved king, and sought refuge in that cave.
“Not yet, but I’m hopeful they’ll come around,” Nickolas says, his voice tinged with optimism.
Dad nods, and we continue eating, discussing war preparations between bites. After breakfast, we head to the training grounds, opting to observe rather than train immediately since we just ate.
“Do you think you could beat me in a fight, Nickolas?” Caleb asks, sauntering over to where Nickolas and I stand.
“I would crush you,” Nickolas retorts, his signature cockiness on full display. Caleb smirks in response.
“I’d love to see you try,” he challenges, opening his arms wide as he backs away, goading Nickolas.
“You know you could die from this,” Nickolas warns playfully, moving to the center of the field.
“Enough talk. Show me what you’ve got,” Caleb demands, assuming a fighting stance.
“Don’t you think you need to shift first?” Nickolas asks, mirroring Caleb’s stance.
“To take you down? I can do that without shifting,” Caleb boasts, launching his fist at Nickolas, who deftly dodges the blow.
For the next hour, I watch my brother and my mate engage in a thrilling dance, each trying to land a hit on the other, both drenched in sweat, drawing the attention of every woman in the vicinity. Pride swells in my chest, knowing that they can only look at Nickolas, but never touch, because he’s mine and mine alone.
“I think that’s enough, you two. The ladies need to train,” I call out, pulling their focus to me. They glance around, noticing the crowd that has gathered, consisting of more women than men, some of whom I suspect aren’t even warriors.
“Because you said so, I’ll let him go untouched this time,” Caleb concedes, stepping back from Nickolas and peeling off his sweat-soaked shirt. The collective gasp that follows makes me chuckle, but what Nickolas does next is even more outrageous.
“Yeah, right,” he says with a mischievous grin, removing his own shirt and deliberately wiping his abs, drawing even more attention to his godlike physique. I can’t believe they’re showing off like this. Men!
Nickolas strides back to me, attempting to wrap his arms around me, but I quickly dodge his advance. “Don’t come near me,” I warn, scrunching my nose in mock disgust.
“Why? I don’t smell that bad,” he protests, swinging his arm at me, which I narrowly avoid.
“You do,” I insist, pinching my nose for emphasis. “Stay away.”
“No way. You need to get some of this,” he declares, his movements becoming more determined as he tries to transfer his sweat onto me. I take off running, giggling as I flee from his pursuit.
“Don’t come close to me,” I squeal, glancing over my shoulder occasionally to gauge his progress.
“Oh, mate, don’t let me catch you,” Nickolas whispers menacingly in my mind, sending a delicious shiver down my spine. His words, dripping with sensuality, set my blood on fire.
“You can try, but I doubt you will,” I taunt him, pushing myself to run faster, exhilarated by the thrill of the chase.
As I sprint through the forest, a thought crosses my mind: never in my wildest dreams did I imagine I’d find myself being chased by Nickolas in these very woods where I grew up. If my mate were a fellow werewolf, perhaps, but definitely not the king of lycans. It’s a testament to how far we’ve come, and I couldn’t be happier. The fact that he just had a training session with my brother is surreal in the best possible way.
“Tsk, this was easier than I thought,” Nickolas says, appearing before me with a triumphant grin, pulling me from my reverie. I must have been distracted by my thoughts, allowing him to gain ground.
“Nickolas,” I say, putting my hands up in a feeble attempt to keep him at bay as I take a step back.
“I told you,” he growls, grabbing me by the waist and pulling me flush against his chest, “you shouldn’t let me catch you, mate.” His hot breath fans across my neck, igniting a fire within me that spreads to my very core.
“Eww,” I say, even though disgust is the furthest thing from my mind, my body burning with desire.
“Eww?” he repeats, arching a brow, his eyes hooded with lust.
“Yes,” I breathe, my resolve crumbling under his smoldering gaze.
“You’ll be saying ‘eww’ a lot more by the time I’m done with you,” he promises, licking a tantalizing trail along my neck.
“Nickolas,” I giggle, closing my eyes as warmth pools between my thighs.
“I haven’t even started, love,” he chuckles, capturing my lips in a passionate kiss that steals the breath from my lungs, as it always does.
True to his word, by the time Nickolas is finished with me, I’ve ewwed-or rather, moaned-so much and so loudly that I can barely speak. His talented tongue has explored every inch of my skin, bringing me to the heights of pleasure, not once but twice. Sated and spent, we make our way back to the castle, shower, and head for dinner.
***
Later that night, as I lay wrapped in Nickolas’s arms, the acrid scent of something burning jolts me from my slumber. I sit up abruptly, my heart pounding in my chest as I scan the room, searching for the source of the fire, but find nothing amiss.
“What’s wrong?” Nickolas asks, his voice thick with sleep, roused by my sudden movement.
“Something is wrong,” I say, a sense of unease settling in the pit of my stomach. I throw the covers off my body and step out of bed, pulling Nickolas’s shirt over my head as I move toward the fireplace, checking to see if we left it burning.
“I can smell it too,” Nickolas says, climbing out of bed and hastily pulling on his boxers before joining me in my search for the source of the fire.
“I don’t think it’s in here,” I murmur, realizing the smell is emanating from outside the room.
“Yeah, let’s put on proper clothes and go check,” Nickolas suggests, a hint of concern in his voice.
We quickly dress, me slipping back into the pajama shorts Nickolas had removed earlier without ripping them this time, and him pulling on the jeans I had helped him out of just hours before.
“Let’s go,” he says, grasping my hand tightly as he pulls the door open.
The moment we step out, a gasp escapes my lips, my eyes widening in horror at the scene before us. Chaos reigns everywhere, the entire castle engulfed in flames. But it’s not the fire that has my heart racing in terror. Lying just outside our door is the lifeless body of a lycan, his eyes staring blankly at the ceiling.
We cautiously move further down the hallway, only to be greeted by the sight of lycans and werewolves locked in a vicious battle. Werewolves shifted into their wolf forms, snarling and snapping at their opponents, while lycans, their eyes glowing a menacing red, lash out with razor-sharp claws.
I turn to face Nickolas, our eyes meeting in a moment of grim realization. “We’re under attack,” we say in unison, our voices barely audible over the sounds of snarling, growling, and the crackling of the flames.