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Mara
I couldn’t breathe the moment I saw him-Lucian. My body moved before my mind could catch up. I was in his arms, clinging to the warmth, the weight, the scent I thought I might never touch again.
Tiffany had muted the news earlier. The silence that followed wasn’t peace-it was dread. I didn’t think the fighting would end this quickly.
“Lucian,” I whispered, voice cracked with disbelief.
His lips brushed mine-slow, savoring-like he was trying to memorize me. I felt the tears slip down my cheeks, but I didn’t
wipe them away. They were proof that this moment was real.
“It’s over, Mara. We won,” he said gently, and I broke, melting into him. His mouth found mine again, this time deeper,
hungrier. I tasted the fear, the relief, the raw edge of survival. I didn’t want to let go.
A knock at the door shattered the stillness. Reluctantly, he pulled away. My skin ached where his warmth had been.
Lucian opened the door, and Darian walked in. His eyes met mine first, unreadable.
“Hey,” he said, glancing toward the couch.
“She had her heart in her throat the whole time,” I told him, nodding toward Tiffany. His expression softened slightly- barely-but it was enough. He walked over and scooped her into his arms like she was precious glass. She stirred, eyes fluttering open.
“Darian?” she whispered.
He didn’t reply. Just looked at her the way you look at someone you wish you didn’t care about-but do. She wrapped herself around him, pressing her face to his chest, and he held her tighter as he carried her out.
The door closed again.
And Lucian was on me.
He crashed into me like a storm breaking after too long held back. His kiss wasn’t gentle anymore-it was fire and fury, need and knowing. I opened to him with a gasp.
“You kept me alive,” he whispered against my lips. “Now let me feel you.”
He lifted me effortlessly, and I wrapped around him like instinct. He laid me back on the bed, his hands trailing heat wherever they touched. His mouth followed, tracing my collarbone, my ribs, my hips-slow, reverent, aching.
I arched into him. My body didn’t want soft. It wanted real. It wanted everything.
“Lucian…” I moaned, my fingers threading through his hair as his mouth teased lower. He kissed my inner thigh, then paused, just long enough to make me tremble.
“You were brave, Mara. You stood strong. I need you to feel how proud I am of you.”
And then he showed me.
His tongue found me and I shattered, gasping his name like a prayer. My hands clutched the sheets, the pleasure building sharp and fast. Every flick of his tongue was a reminder that he was here. That we were alive.
Somewhere, my phone rang. Distant. Meaningless. The world outside this bed could wait.
Lucian moved above me, his eyes locked on mine. He slid inside and I gasped-full, complete, home. Our bodies moved
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like we remembered each other down to the bones. Like we’d fought through hell just to make it back to this.
We clung to each other, every thrust a vow. When release finally took us, it wasn’t just pleasure-it was relief, reunion,
resurrection.
He stayed inside me for a moment, forehead pressed to mine, hearts still racing.
And for the first time in days, I felt safe.
I laid my head on Lucian’s chest, listening to the steady rhythm of his heart. Each beat reminded me he was home. Alive.
With me.
“Thank you, Mara,” he murmured, fingers trailing softly down my spine. “Your quick thinking saved us out there.”
I blinked against his skin. I hadn’t even known what I’d done.
“The curfew you enacted-it stopped their reinforcements from reaching the front. We were able to overwhelm them.
We’ve got two in custody now. We’ll learn everything.”
I pulled back slightly, meeting his eyes. It hit me slowly-what he was saying. I’d ordered that curfew to protect the
civilians, to keep the chaos from spilling across the Island. I hadn’t known it would tip the scales in their fight.
I swallowed, voice quiet. “I just… didn’t want them to reach the city. I wanted to keep people safe.”
“You did,” he said. “You saved lives.”
Tears stung the corners of my eyes, but this time, I let them fall without shame.
“Thank you for coming home to me,” I whispered. “I was so afraid… that I’d never see you again.”
Lucian sat up slightly, brows knitting as I followed him upright, my hands on his chest.
“I mean it,” I said, voice firmer now. “The thought of losing you-it wrecked me. And I don’t want to waste any more time. I
want your pups, Lucian. As many as we’re blessed with.”
His eyes lit up like stars flickering awake.
“That would make me the happiest man alive,” he said, a slow smile spreading across his face. He pressed a kiss to my
forehead, pulling me tightly into him again.
We shifted under the covers, arms tangled, hearts slowing in sync. My head rested on his chest once more, and this time,
I drifted off without fear.
I woke to the sound of raised voices.
The light through the curtains had changed-softer now, golden. Six in the evening. We’d slept through the entire day. My body felt heavy and slow. I sat up, disoriented, the weight of sleep still fogging my thoughts. A wave of nausea rolled through me, catching me off guard.
Lucian stirred beside me.
“Mara?” he murmured, voice still raspy with sleep.
I managed a smile and slipped out of bed, heading for the bathroom. I needed to freshen up, shake off the haze.
The moment I put the toothbrush in my mouth, my stomach lurched. I barely made it to the sink before I threw up. I clutched the edge of the basin, breathing hard, eyes finding my reflection in the mirror.
I looked pale. Drawn. Like the fight hadn’t ended at all.
I rinsed and tried again, this time more carefully. But before I could finish, I heard the bedroom door fly open, voices rising again.
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I knew who it was before I stepped out.
Tina.
She stood in the middle of our room-pregnant, teary-eyed, and storming with emotion. Her hand rested dramatically on her rounded belly, and her eyes were red and puffy.
“I was worried sick, Lucian!” she cried. “I had my heart in my throat all night. We couldn’t sleep!”
She emphasized we, patting her stomach like a punctuation mark. Always the performance with Tina.
Lucian sat up, jaw tightening. “Does that give you the right to barge into my room?” His voice was ice.
Tina’s eyes snapped to me, then flicked back to him. There was silence. Tense. Electric.
And I just stood there, bathrobe clutched around me, nausea lingering, and something else-an ache, low in my belly. A knowing.
Something had shifted.
