Once the two Lycans begin moving I understand how they've never been beaten, the gracefulness between them was almost breathtaking. I'd never seen two being move in sync so fluidly, while Russ swipes Valda lunges. I spend the first few minutes watching their approaches, seeing who is better at what and which positions left them more vulnerable than others.

My speed saves me from most of the hits they almost land, the jaws of a beast are not something I plan on being put between. They are becoming impatient, something that I will use against them as one of us has all the patience in the world. I could fight them for hours, and although eventually, I would tire it would be way after they'd crashed from exhaustion.

The first real move I make has my foot meeting the side of Russ's head, the hard contact sending him a few feet away as Valda takes the opportunity to tackle me. Or attempt to. When her arms wrap around my middle, I'm bringing my knee into her torso and sending her to the ground in pain. I back up and wait for them to come at me again. I've hurt her, the unsteady breaths moving through her lips and the narrowed eyes tell me I'm about to be in for a hell of an attack.

They try a new tactic, this time attacking with the same moves and I decide to properly defend myself against the female as I was well aware Russ wouldn't go in for the kill. Valda's fist meets my jaw, and one after another she throws hits into my ribs. The pain unnerves me, but I grit my teeth and focus on getting my hands on her. Russ drags his claws down my back, trying to drag me to the ground so that together they can restrain me. Instead, I throw my elbow into his wolfish nose and spin around to land repeated hits on his form.

His helper can't stop me as I break one bone after another, each hit lands harder than the other and even though his teeth eventually latch onto one of my arms I don't stop. I'm pulling him closer to my chest, bringing the beast off of the ground while groaning with the pain of his teeth digging into me. My arm is broken, but it would heal quickly once I unlatched him from me.

Valda isn't attacking, waiting for me to finish one fight before she would truly begin another. I press one foot into the stomach of the creature I'm holding and pry his mouth from me before slinging him away with everything I have. I'm bloodied and pissed off—and hungry. I catch Alarik's gaze for a split second, noticing the worried look dissipate before I'm back in action.

I didn't want another pair of Lycan's teeth in me at any point, and that hope had just been ruined by the male being helped outside of the ring.

When my eyes land on Valda I see her calculating my injuries, watching as I set my arm back into place and begin my approach. Fear, she's fearful of what I am about to do as I show my teeth and growl out my displeasure. When we finally meet it is a battle of real strength and I'm finally throwing the anger of her hurtful words into this fight, allowing the hunger to fuel each attack.

She lands two solid hits, my body going slack for a moment but I'm able to catch myself and put some distance between our bloodied bodies. Her beast is in control of her human skin, prepared to beat her Luna for the sake of her pride. How cute. When her ferocious beating begins, I take every hit with a muffled sound, allowing her to tire the beast out as I await the opportunity. I shouldn't let the woman beat the life from me, but in the end, it'll be my victory at a very small price.

Only when I see those teeth elongate do I make my final move, throwing my weight into her body and putting us on the ground easily. I throw one punch after another her nose and mouth bleeding as she tries to fight me off. I pull back to look down at her and see the damage she's caused, Valda is trying to hide her face in anticipation of the next attack and by the grieving cries leaving her throat, I can tell I'm close to breaking her beast.

I land an elbow in the center of her chest, the sound of things breaking sends her into a new fit of rage and agony that I use to my advantage. I grab her by one arm and begin pulling her body beside mine, she's still trying to fight even through her pain. Legs and teeth were thrown in my direction. I snap her arm, and when even that doesn't stop her, I know in another life this woman would've killed me with her bare hands.

When I've thrown her beside the white line, I give her a choice—accept defeat or make me force you into submitting.

Valda gets to her shaky legs and every breath has blood flying from her mouth, I look at her for a few moments.

"Tap out," I tell her softly; the voice isn't my own and I can tell she's reacting to it. Trying to fight off the demand of her Luna but not wanting to give up. Wild eyes look around for something to fight with, but when I fall to my knees in front of her she's placing on foot out of the circle before flinging herself down beside me.

Fresh tears are cleaning the blood from her face. I grab her, gently pulling her against my chest as sobs wrack her broken body and she clings to me like the last breath. She's apologizing for her words, telling me she will honor my past decisions and that the shame of her judgment was eating her alive. I stroke back her beautiful hair and wait for her to calm down.

Even though we were surrounded by a pack of monsters, none of them dare say a word to the woman in my arms. They have their heads down, giving us a few minutes. With her apologies comes my forgiveness, and I do something I haven't in a very long time. I bite into my wrist and pull her head back to feed her.

Valda is taken back at first, unsure of what to do until I let a drop of my blood meet her lips, and then she's drinking from me. Many people were aware of the healing aspect that came along with our blood, and the older the vampire the better the benefits. After a few gulps, she pulls away, her eyes full of something I could not describe.

Asger is the one to take her away, wrapping her in his arms as he praises her for the job well done all a while, she looks back at me. My new friend was strong, and hopefully, we could lead the other females of this pack in the same direction. When I've collected my feelings and pushed them back inside, I stand up and move away from the pack that has no words for me. Not even Alarik says anything as I make my way into the forest and towards the sound of water.

The waterfall was calling my name, and as soon as I stand a few feet from the pool of clear heaven I begin pulling off my shirts and shorts. Underwear and a bra was a bathing suit, right? I begin washing the blood from me in the cool water, scrubbing, and making sure every piece of me is in good condition. My first thought of Alarik is the happiness I'd felt at his brutal rejection of another female even after the hell I'd put him through.

I liked knowing he was only for me and felt a little bad about making him wait to have me the poor man didn't know if I'd ever give in to him. I knew it had to be hopeless, but I need time to think. To become adjusted to the situation and decide what I want. My thoughts drift to Leslie, making a note to call the woman once I'd returned to the packhouse and let her know everything that's happened so far.

I'm floating on my back by the time I hear the Lycan approaching, he'd been spying from a few yards away but only now did he decide to get a closer look at the woman who'd bested his warriors. The trail he makes over my body burns, a never-ending path from my head to my toes and only stopping on the in-betweens.

"Will the big, scary Alpha be coming for a swim?" It's a taunt that forces a delicious growl from the man I was barely keeping my eyes away from. I could only pray the water was covering the scent of the arousal building in my core.

"I wanted to let you know we have a few humans at the packhouse for you, as a gift for your big win." He sounds less confident than usual, barely getting the words from his throat, and somehow making me even more attracted to him. The small bit of embarrassment he's shown since meeting him always draws me in—making the male adorable even at such an intimidating height.

"You could have told me that a while ago when you were stalking me like a little pervert." I throw a glance in his direction and notice the red coloring in his cheeks. I grin.

"It is...very hard to be away from you, unlike you it hurts me to not be close to my mate. You not wanting to be close hurts, even more, I think." I suck in an unneeded breath at the admission.

"Then stop doing things that make me want to stay away." It's barely a whisper through my lips, but he hears me loud and clear. There is no response and I decide to fill our awkward silence with even more negative talk. "Who was that pretty Lycan you spit at? An old flame? Perhaps she would be a better Luna."

He is in the water before I can tell him to stop, trudging towards me like a man on a mission—I barely have time to straighten myself before I'm being pulled against him. Alarik isn't gentle with me, unlike human males who'd always thought they'd hurt a woman so much smaller than them. To them I was weak, to Alarik I am not a fragile woman looking to be babied. I like that about him. He fists my hair, forcing my eyes to meet his and I'm going insane as my body settles against his.

"Mirinda is nothing to me. A strong warrior, a lover of many males in my pack, but she is dispensable. She wants to be Luna, always has and on more than one occasion I've spit on those trespassing feet. That female watches you with a threat in her eyes, one that I know will not matter when she is put against you because my little vampire would not lose a fight to someone like that." Somehow, he pulls me closer, and I release a soft moan that has his serious expression dropping just a bit. "You're my gift from the Moon, and even if you are wrapped in sass and anger issues, nothing and no one will ever mean more than you do—to me."

The words hit me harder than I thought they would, my nails digging into his shoulders as I stare into those silver orbs and imagine my future with someone who thinks so highly of me. Even after the shit, we'd put one another through, he still saw me as a gift. Only when I notice his beast taking overdo I begin my attempt at getting away, pushing away and wading towards the water as he tries to control his beast.

"We can talk again when you've settled down, I can not do this when you're on the verge of biting me again." I try to keep my tone reassuring, but I know it's filled with lust and anguish all at once. I should just give in, sink back into that water and show the Lycan everything I want to do with him. Sink my teeth into his neck as he does the same to mine.

"Why do you always leave me? Stop walking away, Eira!" My body spins around, only a few yards from the water's edge as I watch drops of water trail a path down his body that I so desperately crave to do myself. Oh, I can't think straight around him.

"This time I'm not angry, I am just confused and don't want anything rash to happen while we are having a moment. We both need to be clear-headed, and ready to face whatever consequences come with our actions." Alarik approaches me carefully, not making any moves that suggest he is about to grab me and take advantage of my stumbling self-control.

Oh, how I wish he would.

I can tell he is struggling, working hard not to attack me and dig those teeth into my neck again and I applaud him for trying. The effort is the biggest issue now, but not in the way of him trying to be with me—it's the Lycan needing to understand space.

"I have an old friend visiting today, from a coven so if you would do me a favor by putting more clothes on...we would appreciate it." He can't look at me as he disregards our conversation and goes on to ask for what he wants—for once. I nod, even though he doesn't see the movement.

"You always have clothes stashed somewhere, go ahead and grab me a pile but then you have to explain why you're just telling me about these vampires coming to visit." Without hesitation, he's moving behind one of the trees, and after a bit of rustling, he comes back with a shirt and shorts that will swallow me whole. They smell like him, and I'm in no way upset.

"The call was made this morning, and a few of the members were curious as to who my mate was after taking so long to find you. They're old, older than you for sure, and he is the closest thing to a friend I've ever had outside of my pack. I would like you to get along with them, and I promise they won't be eating any of the males we've accumulated for you." I slip his clothes onto my body and feel his eyes moving across my skin with greedy intentions.

"I will do my best not to fight your guests." I flash him an assuring smile before bowing my head and beginning the walk back to the packhouse, surprised when he doesn't follow after me. The weather is perfect and had I still been human I would've relished in the sun and enjoyed the feeling of grass beneath my feet.

My legs move faster, carrying me up the porch steps and into the empty house where I stare at the stares. I think about running up them, shutting myself in the bedroom I've become accustomed to, and refusing to meet the vampires who will be entering the pack lands with Alarik's blessing. It was humorous that we both had a habit of not making many friends.

Instead of following my first instinct, I move further into the darkened living room. Small streams of light shine through the spaces in the windows curtains, and I use those to view the different pictures hanging on their walls. Our walls? I did not enjoy claiming this place as my own, but even after a few days, I had begun doing just that. Noticing that I prefer the shower upstairs over the one in my covens' home and looking forward to the sexy Lycans scent every time I wake up.

When I was with my coven, I would spend days or weeks awake, finding things to fill my time and needing the comfort of activities to keep me sane. I had enough peace to sleep at night, here. Even if it was closer to Alarik than I'd prefer. Unlike this packhouse, my old one was not decorated in such a...family style.

The pictures hanging on their walls are effortless, the newer ones lead into the older and I notice all the familiar faces I have seen around. Scenes unfold in my head with every new photograph—a spike of jealousy has me grimly moving beyond the colored photos and towards the one in black and white. I note the way Valda smiled in Asger's direction in some, and how his eyes were always on her in others.

Alarik never touched a female, his arm never moving from his side unless he was beside his Beta or another male and something about that satisfies me. The grin on his face bringing one to my own. So handsome. A few more photos and I'm about ready to turn away, to go upstairs and make an effort to look nice for his guests—but then I notice something that would have taken my breath away.

My body freezes, my mind hyper-focused on the picture that I am now taking from the wall as I stare at the friendly posturing of my mate and the man who ruined my life. Long black hair brushes his shoulder, fangs extended as his eyes crinkle in the corner and he laughs towards the sky. His body just as large and beastly as I'd remembered, his shirtless form showing the only scar he'd received from the families he'd slaughtered.

This photo was taken after Ivan had turned me after he'd done the vilest things to me and so many others. Was Alarik aware of this? Was all this some type of ...game to them? I cover the sounds of horror that want to escape my shuddering lips and continue to stare at the happiness in both of their eyes.

I want to throw up.

I want to scream.

"What are you looking at, Love?"

I am screaming, the framed photo falling from my hand as I spin around a face the monster that haunts me every night. My body is falling backward, legs kicking as I try to get away but only back myself into a corner and I dig my nails into the floor as I lose my mind.

Every ounce of pride I've ever had is laid out in front of me, being stepped on by Ivan's amused smile as he takes in the sight of me. The green eyes I'd been forced to stare into so many times dance with hunger, while Alarik stands behind him—entirely confused.