CAUGHT IN A DIRE-BOND

I-I DIDN'T DIE

CHAPTER THREE

SOLEIL

I froze in place, my hand still stretched in the direction of the bronze statue. NY body wasn't the only thing that froze, though. Even my breath had come to a standstill.

The same voice spoke again, lower and more enraged this time. "The only thing I hate more than intruders is repeating myself." A long pause that felt deliberate followed. "Turn around."

My body moved in response to the command, and I turned around to face the man who had just caught me. My heart stuttered and then it came to a total stop.

The man before me was a work of art. He looked... exquisite. Divine. Like he was made from a combination of heaven's finest properties. But that wasn't all that had me staring. His eyes were an insane shade of midnight blue, and his black hair was ruffled in a sexy way that made it seem like hands had run through only recently.

His small lips curved in a small smile. "Who are you?"

I couldn't interpret the smile. Was it one of amusement? Or was that the smile before he unleashed hell on me? Was he...

"And what did I say about you making me repeat myself?"

My mouth fell open instantly. "I'm Soleil. Soleil Ashbourne. A wolf."

His dark eyes roamed over me in slow strokes, and I had to fight the urge to cross my arms over my chest. "You're here because?"

I pointed at the jewelry behind me with my thumb. "I came to retrieve that bracelet. The Gamma in our campus claims that it belongs to her and asked me to help get it back."

"You came to my home to steal my belonging." It wasn't a question. The way he said it made my heart race in fear.

"No." I rebutted instantly. "She said it belongs to her. I was only..."

"Trespassing in my home. Breaking a s**t ton of campus rules. And taking something you know isn't yours." His smile became bigger, but it still wasn't readable. "Tell me how you want me to punish you."

My heart crumbled inside my chest. "I... I didn't... I'm sorry." The words started to flow out of my mouth with speed. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to. I swear on the moon goddess, if you let me go..."

He was standing so close to me in the next instant, fingers curled around my throat. "Take a good look where you are, Nosi. I don't answer to the moon goddess, I answer only to darkness."

And just like that a swarm of darkness enveloped me, making my head spin as I lost track of time and place. Everything spun around me, my head, my heart, what I knew, and even what I didn't.

I tried to speak, but I was on the verge of a collapse. Finally, after what felt like an eternity of swimming in darkness, it all came to a halt.

Carefully, I peeled my eyes open. What the f**k?!

Shock pushed me back a single step, and then another. How had I moved from the mansion to this place? All that surrounded me were trees - all of them huge. The ground was rough, and dark. The air around me was misty, making it difficult to see too far ahead.

"Turn around."

The same voice from the mansion. I spun around immediately. But... he wasn't alone. Beside him was a spitting image of himself, but this one had his hair laid back in the perfect sleek.

The mirror image spoke first, his expression much harder than that of his... brother? I would assume given the looks.

"What is a werewolf doing here in Delvarys?"

"I am sorry. I didn't mean to intrude. I was just..."

"Not what I asked."

"Someone sent me to help her..."

"You have no scent. I don't think you have the power enough to help." He paused. "Try again."

The ruffle-haired twin decided to speak up, obviously done playing nice. "She's not going to be honest. I have a better idea."

A look passed between them, and whatever silent conversation happened made them both pleased.

The twin with sleek-back hair looked back at me with unsmiling lips. "Run, princess. Don't let me catch you."

I balked. What in the world? Was he going to hunt me?

Tears started to stroll down my face and I fell to my knees, palms meeting as I pleaded for my freedom. "I beg you, please. I didn't have any idea what I was doing. I was here on an errand."

It was almost like they didn't hear a single word I said. Shadows started to dance around their feet as they stared at me, hands folded across their chests.

"Soleil Ashbourne," The twin I first met - the one with ruffled hair - spoke in a calm voice. "You have ten seconds to move. And make sure I don't catch you."

"If I find you," The second twin joined in, voice devoid of emotion. "Pray I don't."

And then the darkness swallowed them whole, obscuring them completely from my line of sight. My tears poured faster, but it still wasn't a match for the tempo my heart raced in as their threat hung in the air.

I did what I was told. I rose to my feet, turned in the opposite direction, and fled.

The wind whipped my hair into my face, branches catching my hair and nipping at my skin as I ran along the uneven floor of the dark woods. I could smell my own fear from three hundred worlds away, and that was all the fuel I needed to keep going.

If I could just make it over to the other side, then... then I could be safe. I pushed my arms and legs, gulping in air to keep up with my pace. I couldn't feel them behind me. Maybe I had lost them.

Tears of joy started to slide down my face this time, but then...

"I found you."

Strong fingers closed around my throat, cutting off the flow of oxygen as he lifted me off the ground. I scratched at his hand, my eyes bulging as new tears - this time from fear - coated my face as he moved toward the cliff's edge, holding me over it.

This was the end. I was going to die a slow and very lonely death. "I'm sorry," I said to my whimpering wolf.

"Let her go, Azrael," one of the twins spoke up.

My eyes snapped open. The twin with ruffled hair and an unreadable smile was walking in my direction. Our direction.

"You're joking," the twin, who I now knew was Azrael, countered.

"Can't you smell her?" His brother asked. "She's a Nosi. She can be useful. I have a few ideas."

The second twin sniffed the air once, then looked back at his brother. "What do you have in mind?"

I wasn't going to die. Goddess, thank you. I was going to see another sad day, but at least I would be alive.

"I have never f****d a Nosi before." His smile inched higher. "Better, I have never f****d a virgin Nosi before."

Why did he keep referring to me as a Nosi? What was that? What did it mean? Also, did I just hear him correctly? Was he talking about...?

"Please, please don't. I haven't. My mate would be furious."

The twin holding me finally cracked a smile. It was odd and cold, and it made my skin prickle with unease.

"You don't have a mate, Nosi."

What did that mean? "How—how do you know that?"

Both of them exchanged a look, and then I was slowly lowered to my feet. The twin whose name I still didn't know, stepped forward and touched my face gently, but there was something extremely sadistic about the way he eyed me up and down.

"Get down on your knees, Nosi. I want to f**k your pretty little, lying mouth. I want to show you how the Dires brand their prey."