Filed to story: Tangled in Moonlight Unshifted Novel by Lenaleia
“I mean it, little witch. We’re all aware of what you’ve done to keep us safe, and we’re grateful. I’m not saying you won’t be going out at all. We just need to be more careful. Coordinate everything. Either Kellan or I need to be with you at all times.” Ideally, it would be me every time. But the reality of life as Alpha is that I can’t do everything on my own.
A soft huff of breath warms my shirt. “You can’t argue with me when I tell you what to do once we’re at the taint.”
“Deal.” I press a kiss to her temple. The familiar spark of our connection tingles across my skin.
Our bond pulses between us, a living thing demanding attention. My fingers tighten in Ava’s hair as her breath warms my chest. The rage still burns hot in my blood, but my focus—our bond’s focus—shifts. The need to hunt transforms into something else entirely.
“You’re tense.” Her hands slide up my back.
A growl builds in my chest. That single gentle touch sparks a possessive need to claim. To mark. To lose myself in her scent until nothing exists but us.
In a perfect world, I’d hide her from everyone, burying ourselves in each other as the world burns, just to keep her safe. But life isn’t that easy, and too many people are under our protection.
“Lucas?”
I capture her mouth with mine, knowing the passion burning in me is a byproduct of fear. Fear of losing her, fury at the audacity of our enemies.
She tastes like the savory stew she forced her best friend to eat. And exhaustion. And home. And love.
Her soft gasp feeds the fire burning through my veins. My hands drop to her hips, lifting her against me.
“Need you.” The words come out rough. Primal. “Right now.”
“Now?” Her eyes are glazed with passion and confusion. “But we…”
I silence her with another kiss, deeper this time. More demanding. Her fingers curl into my shirt as she melts against me. The bond in my chest thrums with approval, with want, with need. It demands more.
I can’t feed it the blood of our enemies, but at least I can deepen the connection between us.
“Now,” I confirm. Her neck is warm, her scent blooming from her skin. I can already smell the desire dampening between her legs.
Her pulse races under my lips. “We’re supposed to be planning—“
“Later.” I nip at her skin, drawing a sharp inhale from her. “Let me have this moment with my mate. Isn’t our bond screaming for it?”
She shivers as my hands slip under her shirt, tracing the soft skin of her back. The bond floods with her desire, matching mine, amplifying it. The anger transforms completely into raw need.
“You’re impossible.” But she’s already tugging at my shirt, her touch eager despite her words.
LUCAS
I need to temper my desire, because there’s an aggression behind it born of frustration and anger, mixed with relief that she’s alive.
But Ava, my sweet mate, meets my passion at every step.
My fingers trail over Ava’s skin, savoring each shiver, each gasp. Her pulse races beneath my touch, and the sweet scent of her arousal fills my senses. Aurum’s already lost to it, demanding me to claim, to mark, to possess—but I force that primal urge down. Ava deserves better than a rutting beast.
Even if the bond in my chest tells me to leave every inch of her marked for my pleasure.
“Lucas.” Her voice breaks on my name as I peel away her shirt.
A growl rumbles through my chest at the sight of her bare skin. The marks I left days earlier have already faded, and something dark and possessive inside me needs to replace them. “Mine.”
Her fingers tangle in my hair as I trail kisses down her neck. The taste of her skin, honey-sweet and addictive, makes my head spin. Each breath draws more of her scent into my lungs until I’m drunk on it.
“Please.” She arches against me as I unclasp her bra.
The fabric falls away, and another growl tears from my throat at the sight of her perfect breasts. My hands span her ribcage, thumbs brushing the undersides of those tempting curves. Her skin is so soft, so delicate compared to my callused palms.
“Beautiful.” I capture her mouth in a fierce kiss as I back her toward the bed. Her pants join the growing pile of discarded clothing, leaving her in nothing but simple cotton panties.
The sight of her nearly bare before me steals my breath. How did I get so lucky? This fierce, stunning woman is mine. My mate. My Luna.
My hands shake as I hook my fingers in the waistband of her underwear. The wolf claws at my control, desperate to claim what’s ours. But I won’t rush this. Won’t let the beast’s urgency override my need to worship every inch of her.
“Lucas.” Her voice carries a note of command that makes both man and wolf snap to attention. “Stop teasing.”
A wicked grin curves my lips as I slowly drag the cotton down her legs. “As my Luna commands.”
My fingers trail up her inner thigh, savoring each tremor of anticipation. Her breath catches as I press a kiss to her hip bone. The sweet scent of her need fills my lungs, making my head spin. But I pull back before giving her what she wants.
“Lucas.” Her voice carries a note of frustration.
“Patience, little witch.” I trace patterns on her skin, deliberately avoiding where she wants me most. “I want to savor this.”
Her fingers tangle in my hair, tugging sharply. “You’re being cruel.”
“Am I?” I press another kiss to her stomach, letting my stubble scrape against her sensitive skin. Her whole body arches at the sensation. “I just want to appreciate every inch of you.” And bite every inch while I’m at it.
“I swear—” Her words cut off in a gasp as I nip at her hip.
“You swear what?” I move up her body, letting my weight pin her to the mattress. The heat of her bare skin against mine nearly shatters my control. “Tell me what you want, Luna.”
Her nails dig into my shoulders. “You know exactly what I want.”
“Do I?” I capture her mouth in a slow, deep kiss that has her writhing beneath me. When I pull back, her eyes are dark with need. “Maybe I need you to be more specific.”
“You’re impossible.” She tries to pull me back down, but I resist.
“I prefer thorough.” My hands slide down her sides, mapping every curve and dip of her body. She’s perfect—soft where I’m hard, yielding where I’m unyielding. The bond between us pulses with shared desire.
But I won’t give in. Not yet. The wolf wants to claim, to possess, to mark—but the man wants to drive her mad with want first.
I trail kisses down her neck, careful not to leave marks despite Aurum’s demands. Her pulse races beneath my lips. The sweet scent of honey and vanilla mingles with her arousal until my head spins with it.
“Please.” She arches against me as I lavish attention on her breasts.
“Please what?” I blow cool air across her heated skin, watching goosebumps rise in its wake.
Her growl of frustration sends a shiver down my spine. “Stop teasing.”
“But you’re so beautiful when you beg.” I capture her wrists as she reaches for me, pinning them above her head. The position arches her back, presenting her body like an offering. “And I’m nowhere near done with you yet.”
The bond between us throbs with shared need as I continue my torturously slow exploration of her body. Every gasp, every whimper, every plea feeds the possessive beast inside me.
Ava tastes like my personal brand of addicting madness. She writhes under my touch, her body arching into me, begging for more.
Soft moans become sharp cries as I mark her, unable to resist biting at the delicate skin of her breasts.
She’s soft and vulnerable beneath me, her fingers digging into my shoulders with sharp nails as I nip and suckle, drawing out little cries of pleasure I can’t get enough of hearing.
She’s so responsive, each mark making her shiver and twist, pressing that perfect body into me as hard as she can.
Neither of us can get enough. Her pulse thrums under my lips, and the heady scent of her arousal makes me dizzy. Aurum is drunk on it, his possessiveness growing by the second. The wolf claws at my control, wanting to leave marks that will last, bruises that will brand her as mine, visible to all the world.
It’s a struggle to hold him back, to maintain some semblance of restraint when all I want is to claim and mark and mate. To show the world this woman is mine and no one else’s.
But she’s more than just a mate to mark and possess. She’s Ava. My brave, stubborn, beautiful mate who deserves more than rutting in the dark. So I force Aurum to settle for marking the pale globes of her breasts, where the marks won’t be visible in the light of day.
LUCAS
Her breath catches as I tug with my teeth, and she cries out at the sting. The sound goes straight to my cock, making it twitch with need. “Harder,” she pleads, her fingers tightening in my hair. “Lucas, please.”
I oblige gladly, taking her swollen peak between my teeth and biting down harder, at the same time sliding my fingers between her legs and deep into that silken sheath.
She whimpers at the sting, her body bowing as her nails bite into my shoulders. And then she’s crashing back down, crying out as her body pulses around me, vagina tight against my fingers as I piston them into her.
She rocks against me, riding out the waves of her pleasure until she goes lax beneath me, breathless and sated, her chest rising and falling rapidly.
I growl in satisfaction, releasing her wrists and shifting to press soft kisses to the marks I left, soothing the tender skin with my tongue. But inside, Aurum is howling for more.
“Lucas,” she murmurs, her hips lifting again, rocking against my fingers.