Page 2 of Lycan and Lark
Except they hadn’t gone home. One thing after another had come up and instead of grabbing girls’ night cocktails at Palermo’s, Aria was downing beers at a little country bar in freaking Scotland.
“Earth to Aria?” Romani waved a hand in front of her face. She swatted it out of the air. “Sorry,” he said, raising his hands apologetically. Aria’s fingers gripped the mug he had given her. The glass was cool and damp beneath her palms.
“I don’t want to talk about it.” Aria nursed the crisp beverage.
Romani ran a hand through his wild hair. “You haven’t wanted to talk about anything since we got here. I’m worried about you.”
Aria said nothing. She pushed her fries around the plate, soaking each one in ketchup before piling it on top of the others. Romani took a massive swig of his beer and slammed the mug on the table.
“Okay, does this have to do with the day you were taken? You’ve been saying you can’t remember what happened but you haven’t been the same since that day. I don’t know why Gideon sent you here but I know he’s trying to protect you from something. I’m pretty sure you know what that something is.”
Aria let out a warning growl and Romani stiffened. His temporary wave of liquid courage couldn’t hold up when her wolf was so close to the surface. “Fuck. Off. Romani,” she hissed.
Romani’s hazel eyes turned sad and he reached a hand across the table to touch hers. “What I meant to say is, you can talk to me. About anything. I don’t know what happened that day but I’m here if you ever do want to talk about it.”
What happened that day.Romani was right about one thing. She had changed. Everything had changed the dayhecame into her life. Her heart beat faster as she thought of white hair, color-changing eyes, and warm lips.Lark.
* * *
Last November
Aria stood coiled and ready to fight. The complex was under attack. The Collectors had dumped the bodies of dead Chosen women all around the building. Those poor magical girls had been mutilated and then tossed aside like garbage. It made a deep fire of rage burn inside Aria’s chest. She wanted to rip the hearts out of anyone who would do such an awful thing. She knew they were trying to get to Nova. Her best friend, and a powerful ice-wielding Celestial, had been their target for months. Unlike these other Chosen witches, who had innate, smaller powers from birth, Nova was a Celestial, whose powers had emerged under the most horrific of circumstances. She was godlike in her ability to manipulate the ice and snow. The dead bodies surrounding Aria now were nothing more than Creedin’s science experiments. He had tortured them, hoping their Celestial powers would emerge as well.
Aria looked down at one of the bodies that had just been brought inside. The poor girl’s limbs were twisted gruesomely backwards and her jaw gaped unnaturally. Blood was the only thing that covered her creamy bruised skin. Aria had to fight the urge to cover the poor girl up. She had been given a job and she would see it through. Gideon had given her strict orders. Right now he trusted her to guard the front of the complex.
Brona and Matlena were chanting over the bodies. The two Chosen witches were tasked with checking each corpse for residual dark magic. Brona, the younger of the two, ran her hands over the bodies while her grandmother, Matlena, focused on their heads.
Aria gazed outside. The lycan teams combed the area, searching for survivors and continuing to bring bodies inside. The scent of death and rot filled her nostrils and sent intense nausea rippling through her gut. Her body stood tense, blood boiling beneath the surface. Everything felt wrong here and her wolf was clawing to get out.
The sound of rushed footsteps pulled Aria’s attention back to the complex. Nova hurried in, her silver hair flowing behind her as she approached. Gideon’s bodyguard, Leah, and the Beta’s wife, Laurie, were close behind her.
“What are you doing down here?” Aria’s voice sounded dark to her own ears. “Gideon said—”
“Something’s wrong,” Nova interrupted.
Aria’s gut clenched and the hairs on the back of her neck stood up. Nova was told not to leave the penthouse under any circumstances.Whatever is happening, it must be bad.
“What is it?” Aria asked.
“I don’t know.” Nova’s face was pale and fear radiated from her grey-green eyes.
Aria had more questions, but her train of thought was interrupted when Brona let out a blood-curdling scream. One of the dead girls had transformed into the familiar living corpse of a male Collector. Sigils flowed around him as he slammed a hand on the floor. Instinct drove Aria into action. She raced toward the women in need. She had barely made any headway when her wolf howled within. A presence filled her space, and when a large arm wrapped around her waist, the world around her disappeared.
* * *
Aria gasped as her body reemerged in an unfamiliar place. It was cold here and so dark that even her lycan eyes had to strain to see. She took a step back and hit something hard. Hard and warm. She spun to find a large hooded figure.
“Fuck!” Aria sent a punch flying toward the mysterious man. Her fist plowed through empty air and she nearly face-planted. Her lycan-enhanced speed allowed her to recover just before crash-landing. She whirled, trying to figure out where he’d gone. The man was behind her now. She charged and hit vacant space once again. “Fight me, you fucking coward!” she growled out in frustration.
Movement to her left caught her attention. She stilled, not giving away the fact that she had located him again. She feigned a dash in the other direction and then turned, sending a wild roundhouse kick sailing toward him. Frustration quickly turned to shock. Instead of vanishing, the hooded figure caught her around the back of the knee, pulling her forward until her body slammed flush with his. His hand heated her flesh as it remained tightly wrapped around her leg. A wave of dizziness overtook her as the sweet scents of caramel and burnt sugar overwhelmed her senses.
Aria could feel the heat of his body through the fabrics between them. She was still wearing her powder-blue gown from Darren and Nova’s surprise party. The man’s warm, large hand had caught her in the dress’s high-cut slit. His fingers burned into the bare skin of her thigh. She was frozen, mesmerized by the searing heat of his touch, and sugary-sweet scents that surrounded him. He towered over her. He must have been close in size to Gideon. His large frame swallowed up the space in the cave. She shifted her thigh in an attempt to wriggle free but he jerked her forward and she only succeeded in rubbing herself against him. A long, low growl came from beneath his hood. The sound sent desire rushing between her thighs. She swore she heard him scent the air. His grip on her tightened and another husky growl reverberated through her.
“You’re a lycan?” Her voice came out in a breathy whisper. How had her wolf not identified another animal sooner? She could sense his inner beast now. It was rising to the surface. The energy that surrounded it was wild and frenzied. She reached a hand up toward his face as curiosity gnawed within her. His hands were quick as he dropped her leg and caught her wrists before she could reach him.
“Don’t,” he growled out, and the timbre of his voice lit something to life inside her.
“Show me your face.” The words came out soft and shaky. The man remained still and silent. “Please,” she added, feeling a new level of desperation clawing through her rib cage. She needed to see him.
