The night had deepened.
257Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSOEy7dhMQA
Andi’s old Jeep creaked as it came to a stop near the edge of the woods. They were far from the school now, far from the crowd and far from the watchful eyes of her family. The only light came from the sliver of moon peeking through the drifting clouds. The air was thick with humidity and scent damp leaves, wildflowers, and something deeper, more feral.
257Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOV9QlCCLyV
Lyra’s skin felt hot to the touch. Her breathing was shallow. Something inside her pulsed, throbbed urging her forward, to claim, to devour.
257Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmcZUyPNj2D
Andi leaned over, brushing a kiss against her neck. “God, you feel electric tonight.”
257Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡN6hRAAyKBI
She didn’t respond with words. She kissed him deep and desperate. Her hands clutched his shirt, pulling him close. His body was warm, willing, but even as their lips locked, something in her recoiled. His touch was eager… but thin. His scent sweet… but not satisfying. She wanted more. Needed more.
257Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXoAffiw8vr
She wanted strength. Depth. Dominance.
257Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0Mn5bVUlNI
Andi wasn’t it.
257Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWFG520b01f
Her eyes opened mid-kiss, glowing faintly golden.
257Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEUGAKCinys
“Lyra…?”
257Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPFykJCPDTK
But she was already pulling away, her breath ragged. “I’m sorry.”
257Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAB4HT2G0fC
“What’s wrong?”
257Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcMYJfze0Q8
“I” She clutched her chest. Her pulse raced. Her skin itched. Her bones felt like they were bending beneath her. “I need to go.”
257Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7nacN8UUL8
She flung the door open and stumbled out into the woods.
257Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXREcQRCSYc
“Lyra! Wait!”
257Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKZMHEjbFyr
She ran.
257Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡm3NZSrHX9m
Faster than she ever had. The wind sliced past her face, her feet barely touching the ground. Her nails were longer now. Her breathing shallow, but rhythmic. Her body was changing, not entirely into the beast her parents feared, but into something in between. A creature in heat. A female predator.
257Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrmJdzIx7vv
Her instincts dragged her toward the scent. It wasn’t Andi. It wasn’t random. It was something familiar, comforting... Jhon.
257Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkioxIoJXqz
257Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKPUiuP1QCY
He lived a few blocks past the school, alone in the cottage his grandfather left him. Quiet, rugged, older by a few years. Jhon had always looked at Lyra like she was something untouchable but she had seen the way his gaze lingered. The pulse in his neck quicken. The hesitation in his voice.
257Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpsdIV3iavF
He wanted her. Always had.
257Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTY5PpXkOKn
And tonight... he would have her.
257Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlhY0J64CY3
By the time she reached his door, her dress was half torn, her breathing harsh, hair damp with sweat and rain. She didn’t knock. She crashed through it, her eyes wild, her body trembling with lust and change.
257Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3sDdJM7Iew
Jhon stepped into view, shirtless, holding a mug of tea eyes wide.
257Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡo370MMYJU2
“Lyra?”
257Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNhEi35LCvL
Her lips were on his before the question finished. Her kiss was hunger and fire. He didn’t pull away. He knew. He had always known something about her was different. And still, he welcomed it.
257Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzol4u0LaxQ
She tore the mug from his hand, letting it crash to the floor, then shoved him backward until he hit the couch. She straddled him in one fluid motion, her thighs gripping his hips, her fingers in his hair.
257Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDEqxHQTK6u
“You’ve wanted me,” she growled against his throat. “I could smell it.”
257Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6lzcB8mEBk
Jhon swallowed, his voice low and hoarse. “I still do.”
257Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡown1uYu4Pc
He didn’t ask what she was. He didn’t tremble. He touched her the way no boy ever had without fear. His hands explored her body with reverence and craving. When his fingers brushed her spine, she arched like a bow, moaning deep in her throat. Her nails dragged down his chest, leaving red trails.
257Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9oSc1pt0yq
Her fangs brushed his shoulder, but she didn’t bite not yet.
257Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡS5TD08Fm06
They shed clothes in between gasps and growls. Skin against skin. Every inch of her burned for him. His body was strong, but more than that he yielded, not out of fear, but out of desire.
257Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡx7FlJufw3C
When he entered her, she cried out not in pain, but release. Her back arched, her body convulsed. It was as though the beast inside her paused, stunned by the perfect union of power and surrender.
257Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡitgQ2x2avJ
Their rhythm was wild. Her hips moved with primal force, but every time she looked into his eyes, she saw not terror but awe. Admiration. Love.
257Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDDyyztAYJ4
His fingers gripped her thighs, holding her as though anchoring her to the world. She howled once, loud enough to shake the windows. Her transformation surged to the edge of the surface her eyes gold, her teeth sharp but she held it back.
257Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5NDcQ8CRiC
Because she didn’t want to scare him.
257Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡM3oERFPChZ
But Jhon cupped her face, kissed her lips, then her forehead, and whispered, “You don’t have to hide.”
257Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzcNNOGfuCf
Her chest trembled.
257Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiyjtTMNLHK
“I know what you are,” he said. “And I’m not afraid.”
257Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKnJz0MWdCT
She broke then not from lust, but from something deeper. She kissed him softer now. Her hands gentler. Their pace slowed, deeper, fuller no longer just wild, but intimate. Sacred.
257Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFSfD9RBr4X
They moved together like nature itself storm and earth, wind and flame.
257Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjZRV6LXPoL
When she finally came undone, she cried out his name like a sacred word. He followed soon after, his arms wrapped tight around her body.
257Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡENCVjD3dIe
They collapsed against each other, sweat-drenched and gasping. Her heart pounded against his chest. The clouds outside parted, and the full moon bathed them in silver light through the broken door.
257Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrR0zLYYN7I
Her skin shimmered faintly.
257Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxvxlRxDnXS
He looked up at her, brushed a strand of damp hair from her cheek, and smiled. “You’re beautiful.”
257Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡN2A52XzvNh
“You’re crazy,” she whispered. “I’m a... monster.”
257Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzgcLHBxDuL
“You’re mine,” he said, without hesitation. “If you’ll have me.”
257Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNa1A5YZOd0
Tears welled in her eyes not from weakness, but from belonging.
257Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqlLf6j8lvj
“I will,” she said softly. “But I’m not human. I’ll change. Every full moon, I’ll crave... blood. Hunger. Sex. Power.”
257Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡL96eV8RSw0
“Then I’ll be there. Every time,” he said, pulling her close. “Let me be your anchor. Let me be your alpha.”
257Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbgNaUYBEWr
And with those words, the beast inside Lyra purred.
257Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡo9UeFFFKZu
For the first time in her life, she wasn’t at war with herself. She was whole.
257Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ33yWetup2G
And under the Blood Moon, she chose her mate not the one chosen for her, not one offered out of fear, but one who saw her... and stayed.
ns216.73.216.82da2
