Moonblooded

Chapter 14

Selene stood by the window, already dressed in a loose shirt and leggings that clung to her slight frame. Morning light filtered through the glass, painting soft shadows across her face. Her silver eyes were distant, fixed on the horizon, but the moment the door clicked open, she spun, startled, shoulders rigid with tension.

Kade stepped inside and closed the door behind him with a quiet but deliberate click. His presence filled the room like a storm rolling in silent, electric, and inevitable.

“Where did you go last night?” His voice was low, dangerous, like thunder just before the crack.

Selene didn’t flinch, but she didn’t speak either. Her gaze dropped for a heartbeat, then lifted defiantly.

“Out,” she said simply.

Kade’s jaw flexed. “I saw you,” he bit out, taking a step closer. “You left the grounds. Alone. After midnight.”

“I needed air.”

“You needed air,” he echoed coldly, the sarcasm biting. “So you vanished into the woods without telling anyone? Without guards? Without backup?”

She straightened her spine. “I’m not part of your pack. You don’t own me.”

That broke something inside him.

In three long strides, Kade closed the distance between them. His hand slammed against the stone wall beside her head, and his body pressed flush to hers, chest to chest, hips to hips, leaving no space to breathe.

She gasped, back arching slightly from the chill of the wall against her spine but she didn’t look away.

“I don’t own you?” he growled, the gold already bleeding into his ice-blue eyes. His aura flared, thick and oppressive, pinning her in place. “Then why does your scent live in my lungs? Why does my wolf claw at me every second you’re out of sight?”

Selene’s hands pressed against his chest, trembling slightly. Whether to push him away or anchor herself she wasn’t sure. Her voice came soft, a crack in her control. “You’re… hurting me.”

Kade’s body stiffened. His pupils contracted. For a second just a second it looked like the rational part of him returned.

But it wasn’t Kade who responded.

Varric surged forward, the shift instant and brutal. A guttural snarl tore from his throat as his eyes turned fully gold, glowing with primal fury. His voice, when it came, was layered—deep and monstrous, edged with something ancient and wild.

Before she could respond, he moved.

With a roar, he lifted her effortlessly and tossed her onto the bed like she weighed nothing.

Selene let out a startled cry, scrambling backward, but it was useless he was already over her, pinning her in place with the full weight of his body. The mattress dipped beneath them. His hand caught both her wrists, yanking them above her head, while his other arm braced beside her skull.

Her breathing turned ragged.

Everything in her screamed danger, but her body betrayed her. Heat bloomed in her core—shameful, fierce, unbidden. Her thighs clenched together on instinct.

Lira stirred.

He’s here, her wolf purred inside her mind. It’s him. Our mate. His wolf has come.

Lira he’s furious, Selene thought, panicked.

He’s claiming what’s his, Lira replied, tail swishing lazily. Don’t fight him. Don’t lie to yourself you ache for this.

Varric leaned in, dragging his nose down her neck. She turned her face away, gasping when his mouth brushed her ear.

“You smell divine little goddess. Let me taste you.”

Her body trembled beneath him. Her heart screamed for distance, yet her skin burned for more. His scent earthy, wild, sharp with want coiled around her, lighting every nerve.

“Do you know what your arousal does to me?” he growled, voice dark velvet. “It drives me insane. Makes me want to ruin you.”

Selene whimpered. Her thighs fell open slightly, her traitorous hips tilting upward, seeking friction. She hated herself for it but couldn’t stop.

Fear warred with desire, the bond pulsed with hungry fire. It made her skin hypersensitive, made her need even while her mind screamed no.

“You’re not fair,” she gasped, trembling. “You push and pull hurt and then touch what do you want from me?”

His answer was brutal and wordless.

He ground his hips into hers, slow and devastating, and she felt it the hardness, the hunger. A moan tore from her lips, one she hadn’t meant to release.

Varric’s lips curled in a feral grin. “That. That’s what I want.”

Then he bit her.

His mouth closed over her mate spot—hot, wet, claiming. He sucked hard, his teeth dragging before pressing in not enough to mark forever, but enough to brand. Enough to make her burn.

Pleasure slammed through her so fast it left her reeling.

She cried out, her hips arching off the bed. Her legs wrapped around his waist without conscious thought. Everything was heat. Pressure. Need.

Mine, Lira purred, satisfaction vibrating through her bones. Feel it. We belong.

Selene’s head tossed back against the pillow, her breath hitching as Varric whispered against her skin, “You feel that? That’s what happens when you forget who you belong to.”

He rolled his hips again, and she sobbed a breath gasping, raw, undone. Her fingers curled into the sheets, claws half-extended.

“You’re mine,” he growled. “Mine to protect. Mine to break if I have to.”

He licked the mark he’d left, slower now, possessive.

“Don’t test my control again.”

And then he was gone.

The weight lifted. The heat dissipated like a storm blowing past.

Kade stumbled back from the bed, breathing hard. His eyes flickered gold melting back to blue, his chest rising and falling like he’d been at war.

Selene lay frozen, wrists still pressed above her head, chest heaving, lips parted in shock. Her entire body pulsed with the echo of what had just happened. The bond flared and throbbed like a second heartbeat under her skin.

But she couldn’t speak.

Kade looked at her. His jaw clenched. His throat bobbed.

And without a word, he turned and walked out.

The door slammed behind him.

She stared at the ceiling, unable to move, heart pounding in her throat. Lira curled in her mind, smug and purring, already licking the wound on her soul like a cat with cream.

He’s coming undone, the wolf murmured. And you love it.

Selene covered her face with trembling hands.

She didn’t know if it was fear, lust… or something far more dangerous.

But whatever it was, she knew she’d never be the same again.

The morning sun slipped across the stone floor like molten gold, brushing against Selene’s bare legs where they hung off the bed. Her body still tingled from what had happened—what Varric had done. The mate spot on her neck pulsed softly, warmth radiating from the place he had claimed, however temporarily.

She hadn’t moved for hours. Had barely slept.

Not because she was afraid.

Because she couldn’t stop replaying the moment Kade had looked at her—and then vanished.

Because she had clung to the feral weight of his body like it belonged there.

A knock at the door startled her. “Selene?”

Taylor’s voice, cautious but warm.

Selene stood quickly, wincing as her legs trembled beneath her. She pulled on a hoodie and smoothed her hair back, forcing her breath to even.

“Come in.”

Taylor entered, a tray of food in her hands and an arched brow on her face. “You didn’t come down for breakfast.”

“I wasn’t hungry,” Selene lied. “I went for a walk. Couldn’t sleep.”

Taylor looked at her long and hard. Her eyes flicked briefly to the side of Selene’s neck, where the hoodie’s collar didn’t quite hide the redness blooming beneath the skin.

Selene shifted. “The air helped.”

Taylor didn’t press. But she set the tray down quietly and murmured, “Be careful where you walk in the dark. Not all shadows stay outside the walls.”

She left with a small nod.

As the door closed behind her, Lira’s voice stirred.

“She knows you’re lying.”

“I didn’t ask her to believe me,” Selene whispered aloud, clutching the edge of the table.

“Kade marked us,” Lira said softly. “Not completely, not forever. But enough to let others smell it.”

Selene touched her neck, pulse jumping beneath her fingertips. “Why would he do that if he’s just going to walk away again?”

Lira didn’t answer directly.

“He’s not the only one hiding things.”

“What do you mean?”

“Lucien. He hasn’t lied yet, but he’s holding something back. I feel it when he speaks. A weight he’s not showing.”

Selene closed her eyes, remembering the way Lucien’s gaze had lingered on her pendant. The way his voice had changed when he mentioned her mother.

“What if they all know who I am… and I’m the only one still in the dark?”

“Then we figure it out together,” Lira replied.