Page 32 of Blood So Brutal

“You can force me to the altar all you want, Wolf, but it will be your brother I swear my life to.”

Without warning, both of his hands landed on my neck, lifting my mouth to his as he pressed a fierce, rushed kiss onto my lips. It was hard, aggressive, filled with anger and envy and lust and violence. His entire body pressed against me, pinning me to the wall.

I wasn’t sure what the fuck got into me, but I kissed him back just as angrily. I pulled his lower lip into my mouth and bit, but he only growled and kissed me harder, squeezing my neck lightly as I threw my arms around his waist.

The thin fabric of my dress did nothing to hide my own body’s betrayal to him. With one hand applying pressure to myneck and holding me still against the door, the other slid up the slit of my dress to the aching apex of my thighs. “Does my brother touch you like this, Huntress?” His fingers teased me over the fabric of my panties before he slid a finger beneath the hem and ripped them off completely.

I gasped as the cool air hit my wetness, but Wolf only growled in approval as he felt how much I needed him.

He took his time kissing me deeply as one finger dipped inside. Fuck, I needed him. I needed himnow.

I fought the urge to grind my hips against his hand, but fighting it became damn near impossible. My legs trembled as he moved his thumb in circles against my sensitive peak.

“Answer me,” he demanded against my mouth. “Does my brother touch you this way?” He added another finger, pumping deeper inside me until I crumbled in his grasp.

“No.” My eyes fluttered closed. “No, he doesn’t.”

“Good girl.”

Before I could fall apart entirely in his hands, he dropped to his knees before me, forcing one of my legs over his shoulder and breathing against my exposed core. But he didn’t stop there. He held me up against the door with his hands while he flicked his tongue against me, feasting on my body and pulling his name from my lips before I had a chance to fight it.

He only moaned in satisfaction, lapping his tongue harder and faster until I was trembling, shaking.

I would have said anything to chase the release that only he could provide me. Goddess fucking help me. Wolf didn’t stop until my climax wrecked my body, and even then, he held me against that door until he was satisfied with himself, until he tasted enough of me.

Slowly, he let my leg slide off his shoulder. Slowly, he stood back up to face me.

“Nobody else gets to touch you, Huntyr. Get that through your thick fucking head, because if you have to marry anyone to stay alive before I can get us out of this mess, it will be me.”

And then he stormed off, leaving me crumbling in the shadows of the bedroom, lips swollen and face wet, wondering what the fuck just happened.

Chapter 10

Wolf

Light simmered in my palm. Alone in the dark shadows of the vacant wing of the castle, I took a long breath, watching the way my power moved and flickered across my skin.

I spent so much of my time suppressing my full potential, and it was a relief to come here and let it seep out of me, like running out extra energy.

My magic was growing. I didn’t want to accept that being near Huntyr affected my power, but it was true. I noticed it in Moira, and ever since we bonded during the Transcendent, it was undeniable.

Huntyr’s power growing was changing me too, which was why I needed help.

I quieted my senses and let my ears focus on the castle around me, ensuring no other living being was in this wing of the castle. My knees grew sore against the stone floor beneath me as I let my head fall back.

To anyone else, I surely would look sadistic, and that wasbeforewhat came next.

I pulled out the small dagger I kept in the sheath at my hip and sliced my palm. I didn’t even flinch as the blood pooled there, dripping down to the floor.

Drip.

Drip.

Drip.

At least Moira was right about something: drawing blood was the quickest way to access your deepest pools of magic.

But for me, it could access something else too. I’d been able to speak with Era herself since my father sacrificed my soul. She came to me in dreams on occasion, but this time, I needed to speak with her onmyterms. I had been patient long enough.

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