Katie woke to the sound of her own heartbeat thundering, wild, as if it were trying to claw its way out of her chest. Every nerve in her body screamed, not with pain, but with fire. Real fire. Not the poetic kind that dances and fades, but a blistering, aching inferno that licked up her spine and settled low in her belly, coiling there like a beast.
And then she felt him.Strong arms wrapped around her. A body, hot and trembling, holding her too tightly. She opened her eyes. Liam. His golden gaze locked on hers, wild and unguarded. His breathing was harsh, lips parted, jaw clenched like he was trying to stay human.
She gasped. Her body arched involuntarily, her skin feverish. The bond was no longer dormant it was alive. Hungry. She felt it in every inch of her. A tether, thick and thrumming, pulling them closer, tighter. It hurt to breathe. Hurt worse not to touch.
"You're burning up," Liam whispered, his voice hoarse. "What are you?"
Katie didn't know how to answer. Because she didn't know. Not really. All she knew was the way the world tilted when he looked at her. The way her soul felt like it had been marked, claimed, devoured.
"I'm not... just a wolf," she choked out. "There's something inside me. Something that's waking up. You felt it."
His hand cradled her jaw, thumb brushing her flushed cheek. "I felt everything."
Then he kissed her. The world stopped.
It was not soft. It was not tender. It was every bit as chaotic as the storm inside her. Their lips crashed together with a desperation that bordered on violence. Fangs scraped skin. Tongues collided. Her fingers twisted into his hair, dragging him closer as if her bones would break without him. And maybe they would.
His scent smoke and pine and something darker wrapped around her. Her moan was swallowed by his mouth, and his growl vibrated against her throat as he bit down just enough to claim, not enough to break.
And then the fire exploded.
Somewhere, deep in the land's bones, something shifted.
Miles away, a figure shot upright in an ancient tomb, gasping like the earth had given birth to him.
Lucian.
He tasted her kiss on the wind. And he raged.