Lunar Claimed

Chapter 8

Pain throbbed through my cheek as the twins practically carried me into the back of their black SUV.

“I can walk,” I protested weakly, but neither of them listened.

Darius slid in on one side of me, Damien on the other. The doors slammed shut, and the vehicle took off up the mountain road toward Blackthorn Manor before I could even think about fighting back.

“You’re coming with us,” Damien said, voice leaving no room for argument. “Sienna crossed a line. You’re not safe at your grandfather’s cabin tonight.”

“I didn’t ask for your protection,” I snapped, pressing a hand to my bleeding lip.

Darius gently tilted my chin toward him, his silver eyes dark with barely contained rage. “You have it anyway.”

The drive was silent and heavy. My body still buzzed with leftover adrenaline from the fight, but underneath it was something worse — exhaustion, confusion, and a terrifying awareness of how safe I felt between them despite everything.

When we arrived at the manor, the twins didn’t give me a choice. They escorted me straight to a large guest room on the second floor, locking the door behind us.

I spun around the moment the lock clicked. “You can’t just kidnap me!”

“This isn’t k********g,” Darius said, leaning against the door. “This is survival.”

Damien crossed the room and gently pushed me to sit on the edge of the massive bed. He disappeared into the bathroom and returned with a warm cloth, kneeling in front of me.

“Let me see,” he murmured.

I tried to pull away, but he caught my chin again, this time with surprising gentleness. He dabbed at the cut on my lip, his stormy gray eyes focused entirely on me. The tenderness in his touch made my chest ache.

“Why are you doing this?” I whispered.

Darius moved closer, standing behind his brother. “Because watching Sienna put her hands on you made us want to rip her apart.”

The air in the room grew thick.

I stood up suddenly, needing space. “I want the truth. All of it. Why does your family hate mine? What is this blood feud really about?”

Damien rose slowly. The gentleness in his eyes faded, replaced by something darker.

“You really want to know?” he asked.

“Yes.”

He glanced at Darius, who gave a small nod.

Damien exhaled harshly. “Our families have been at war for over two hundred years. Your bloodline — the Lunar Born — was prophesied to either unite the packs or destroy them. My grandfather killed your great-grandmother to stop the prophecy. Your mother ran away to protect you. My father ordered her death when he found out she had a daughter.”

My knees buckled. I sat back down on the bed hard.

“And you two?” I asked, voice trembling. “What were you supposed to do when I arrived?”

Darius answered this time, his voice rough. “We were ordered to kill you. Quietly. Make it look like an accident.”

The words hit me like a physical blow.

Tears burned my eyes. “Then why am I still alive?”

Damien stepped closer until he stood directly in front of me. “Because the second we smelled you, everything changed. The mate bond… it’s real. Stronger than any order. Stronger than blood. We couldn’t hurt you even if we tried.”

Darius moved to my other side, caging me between them again. But this time it didn’t feel like bullying. It felt like desperation.

“We’ve been fighting our wolves every single day,” Darius admitted, voice cracking slightly. “Every time we get close to you, we want to mark you. Claim you. Keep you.”

My breathing grew shallow. The heat under my skin flared again, matching the fire in their eyes.

“I hate you both,” I whispered, even as my hands reached up and gripped Damien’s shirt.

“We know,” he replied, voice low and rough. “We hate ourselves for what we almost did to you.”

The tension snapped.

Darius moved first, tilting my chin up and crashing his mouth against mine. The kiss was hungry, desperate, full of weeks of suppressed need. I gasped into his mouth, and he took the opportunity to deepen it.

Damien watched for only a second before he turned my face toward him and claimed my lips next. His kiss was slower, more intense, like he was savoring every second. I moaned softly, caught between them, my body trembling with overwhelming sensation.

Hands roamed — over my waist, my back, my thighs. Not forceful. Not cruel. Just desperate.

“We shouldn’t,” I gasped against Damien’s mouth.

“We know,” Darius whispered against my neck, pressing hot kisses along my skin. “But we can’t stop anymore.”

For one dizzying moment, I let myself fall into them completely — their heat, their scent, their need. My hands fisted in their shirts as they pressed closer, surrounding me.

Then reality crashed back.

I pushed them away, breathing hard. Tears spilled down my cheeks.

“I can’t do this,” I choked out. “You were supposed to kill me. You’ve tormented me for weeks. And now you’re telling me I’m your mate? I don’t know who to trust anymore.”

The dam inside me finally broke.

I curled into myself on the bed and cried — really cried — for the first time since arriving in Blackridge. All the fear, grief for my mother, confusion, and unwanted desire poured out of me in ugly, shaking sobs.

Damien sat on one side of me. Darius on the other.

They didn’t try to stop me. They simply wrapped their arms around me, holding me between them as I fell apart. No words. Just warmth and presence.

For the first time, I didn’t feel trapped.

I felt held.

Hours later, I woke up in the middle of the night.

The room was dark except for the moonlight streaming through the tall windows. I was tucked under thick blankets, still wearing my clothes from earlier.

But I wasn’t alone.

Damien and Darius stood at the foot of the bed, watching me sleep.

Their eyes were glowing — bright silver and stormy gray — as they fought to keep their wolves contained. The tension in their bodies was visible. Fists clenched. Jaw muscles tight. Breathing ragged.

They looked like they were one second away from losing control completely.

I sat up slowly, heart racing.

Neither of them moved.

But the hunger in their glowing eyes told me everything I needed to know.

The full moon was coming.

And the twins were running out of time.