Page 39 of Reign of the Beast

“I wasn’t sure. It’s only just settled within me.”

“Ryker,” I reprimanded.

“I did what I had to do to protect all of us,” he argued. “You heard him at the Maven Coven, you heard what Draco said about my potential. To a magical being like him it means untapped power. All these months, that’s what you’ve confused with burnout, me trying to access it, to take my magic to the next level. And I succeeded today. You didn’t see because you were fetching Mia at the time, but I was able to knock Draco back with a fucking bolt. Theonlyreason I managed it was because I accessed this next-level power. Me being tapped out right after was my body acclimating to it, rewiring.”

“This is the power I saw you briefly tap into when you tried to save us from Cornelius'phantasmal plane.”

“Yes.”

“Why couldn’t you channel it during the Maven Coven battle? More was at stake then than the situation of being pulled into the plane.”

He dropped his gaze. “Fear,” he rasped, barely able to utter the word.

“You were afraid of Draco?”

“Of his invincibility, of losing my surrogate family that night, of losing Mia.” He raised his head, his gaze intense. “Of losingyou. Everything was on the line and I wasn’t ready for it. I let it get the better of me. Since then, any alone time I’ve had, I’ve been at the Coven ruins in the oneRuminathut remaining working to move beyond that fear that incapacitated me that day.” His eyes flashed, green sparks filling his irises, a brief flare of his new power. “And I did it.”

“Why have you kept this from me?”

“I knew you’d worry. We already had enough going on trying to beat back Draco’s acolytes. I didn’t want to add to it, especially when I didn’t know if I could actually do it. It was a major long shot that paid off.”

“I abhor secrets.”

“Yeah? Tell me then, what did Vincenzo want from you? Why did he come to you after all this time?”

I released him, but he didn’t move away, staying close to me.

“Word reached him of Cornelius' capture. He was the one being he feared the most, the only thing keeping him at bay. He emerged from hiding at that point and learned ofourrelationship. You are known by reputation to all those with significant power, acknowledged for your staggering abilities. Vincenzo wanted me to forsake you, agree to siphon your power to the point of your death, so that we could reunite and run together as we once had. With your magic protecting us, he believed no one would ever have the means to stop us again.”

“Wow. That’s a hell of an offer.”

“One completely abhorrent to me.”

“Why did you let him leave knowing that’s his goal?”

“I didn’t possess the means to detain a being of his power. Nor did I possess the means to kill him. I intended to buy time, have him believe I would come around in time, so that I could obtain such an item.” I met his gaze. “A weapon that is now here in this house.”

“You don’t have your own? Knowing he was still alive out there and how dangerous he is, why wouldn’t you—”

“That knowledge is precisely why I don’t have one of my own. Unrequited love can quite easily turn to hate. If that had occurred and he’d come for me, having a weapon like that could’ve meant my demise. His strength and abilities equal mine. We were sired mere days apart. He could have turned my own weapon against me. The risk was too great.”

“Unrequited love? You never loved him back then? I thought—”

“Ryker,” I cut in. “In all my centuries of life,youare the only being I have ever loved.”

His eyes shone.

And then his mouth crashed down upon mine.

I rose to his explosion of passion, meeting his deep kiss, rolling my hips and relishing the feel of his hardness against mine.

“Fuck,” he gasped, pulling back and shucking off his hoodie. “I need to feel you. Right now.”

“Yes,” I breathed. “Strip and sit on my cock. I’ll fuck you until my chest is coated with your cum. You’ll take it as I make you taste release over and over again until you can cum no more.”

He trembled with anticipation, his fingers fumbling in his haste to strip off his jeans.

A forceful knock at the door startled him and aggravated me.

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