Lunar Claimed

Chapter 4

I should have driven straight home.

Instead, I stood frozen in the dark parking lot of the Howling Moon Diner, my back pressed against Grandpa’s old Jeep while Darius Blackthorn caged me in with his body.

The cool night air wrapped around us, but all I could feel was the heat rolling off him. His silver eyes glowed faintly under the weak streetlight, making him look more predator than human.

“Move,” I said again, my voice sharper this time. “I’m tired, and I just want to go home.”

Darius didn’t budge. If anything, he leaned in closer, one hand planted on the roof of the Jeep beside my head. His scent — pine, rain, and something wild — surrounded me completely.

“You’ve been running from us all day,” he murmured, voice low and rough. “In the parking lot. In class. Even here at work. But you can’t run forever, little moon.”

I swallowed hard. My heart was pounding so loudly I was sure he could hear it.

“I’m not running. I’m just not interested in whatever game you two are playing.”

Darius let out a dark chuckle. His free hand came up, fingers lightly tracing the line of my jaw. The touch was surprisingly gentle, but it sent electricity racing across my skin.

“This isn’t a game,” he said quietly. “Not anymore. The full moon is in three days. Things are going to get… intense. You need to be careful.”

I frowned, confused. “What does the full moon have to do with anything?”

He didn’t answer. Instead, his gaze dropped to my lips for a long second before returning to my eyes. The hunger there was unmistakable.

I pushed against his chest with both hands. “Let me go, Darius.”

He didn’t move. His body felt like warm steel under my palms. No matter how hard I pushed, he stayed exactly where he was.

“I can’t,” he whispered. There was something raw in his voice. Almost pained. “You have no idea what you’re doing to us.”

Before I could respond, a second shadow detached from the darkness behind the diner.

Damien stepped into the light, his stormy gray eyes locked on me. He moved with the same silent grace as his brother, like the night itself parted for him.

“You’re still here,” he said, voice deep and rough. He stopped beside Darius, boxing me in completely between them.

I was trapped. Again.

My breathing grew shallow. Being this close to both of them at the same time made my head spin. Their combined scents were overwhelming. My body reacted even as my mind screamed at me to run.

“Why are you doing this?” I asked, looking between them. “Why do you hate my family so much? What did we ever do to you?”

Neither of them answered right away.

Damien’s jaw clenched. For the first time since I’d met them, I saw something like conflict in his eyes. Real vulnerability.

“We don’t hate you,” he said quietly. “That’s the problem.”

Darius let out a shaky breath. “We’re trying to fight this, Nova. Every instinct we have is screaming to take you. To claim you. To keep you. But we know what that would mean for you.”

My heart stuttered.

“Claim me?” I whispered. “What the hell are you talking about?”

Damien stepped even closer until I could feel his breath on my forehead. “You feel it too. Don’t lie. The pull. The heat. The way your body reacts when we’re near you.”

I wanted to deny it. I wanted to scream at them that they were crazy.

But I couldn’t.

Because they were right.

A new voice suddenly cut through the night.

“Get away from her.”

A tall, athletic guy with messy dark brown hair and warm amber eyes stepped out from between two trucks. He looked around my age, maybe twenty. There was something dangerous in the way he moved — controlled, but ready to explode.

“Jax,” Darius growled, his body tensing against mine. “This doesn’t concern you.”

Jax didn’t back down. His eyes flicked to me, full of urgent warning. “Nova, you need to get in the car and drive. Stay away from the Blackthorn twins. They’re dangerous.”

Darius let out a low, threatening sound that vibrated through his chest. “She’s ours.”

“She doesn’t belong to anyone,” Jax shot back. “Especially not to two bastards who—”

Damien moved so fast I barely saw it. He was suddenly in front of Jax, their chests nearly touching. The air crackled with violence.

“Say another word,” Damien said softly, “and I’ll rip your throat out right here.”

My heart slammed against my ribs. This was escalating too fast.

“Stop!” I pushed myself between them, pressing a hand against each of their chests. “Just stop.”

For a moment, everything froze.

Damien and Darius both looked down at me. Their expressions were a mixture of hunger, frustration, and something almost protective.

Jax watched me with wide eyes. “Nova, please. You don’t understand what they are.”

“I understand enough,” I said, my voice shaking. “And right now, I just want to go home.”

I turned and yanked open the Jeep door. Darius tried to stop me, but I slipped inside and slammed it shut, locking it quickly.

As I started the engine with trembling hands, Darius placed both palms on the hood and leaned down, staring at me through the windshield.

“This isn’t over,” he mouthed.

I put the Jeep in drive and floored it out of the parking lot, tires squealing against the asphalt. My heart was pounding so hard I felt dizzy. In the rearview mirror, I could see all three of them watching me disappear into the night.

The drive back to Grandpa’s cabin felt endless. Every shadow between the trees looked like it was moving. Every howl in the distance made my skin crawl.

When I finally pulled up to the cabin, the porch light was on. Grandpa Elias was sitting in his old wooden rocking chair, a shotgun resting across his lap.

He looked exhausted. Older than his sixty-eight years.

I climbed out of the Jeep on shaky legs and walked up the creaky steps. The night air felt colder now. Thicker.

“Grandpa,” I started, my voice hoarse. “The twins… they—”

Elias looked up at me with tired, heavy eyes. For a long moment, he just stared.

Then he spoke, voice rough and final.

“They’ve already scented you. There’s no running now, Nova. You’re theirs… or you’re dead.”