Ever since Kongar got me out of the place where he had kept me imprisoned, he had been acting strangely. Then again, everything about him was strange anyway.
When he saw the wounds he had inflicted around my heart, he seemed… angry. Of course he would be angry. He hadn't achieved the immortality he wanted so badly.
But why?
I was going to pull him aside and question him.
Just then, Arkan grabbed the hem of my nightgown and lifted it all the way up to my neck.
"What are you doing—" I asked as I felt his wet tongue against my skin. I writhed between pain and desire as I realized that his tongue was moving over the wounds Kongar had inflicted.
Instead of answering me, he growled.
"What did that bastard do to you?" he asked. His voice was deeper than usual, and the tone of it had aroused me.
Even if he got angry with me and yelled, I felt like I couldn't be afraid of him. Was this trust? Was something like this even possible? How could I trust this alluring wolf man when even the friends I trusted had abandoned me at that camp?
As if that wasn't enough, I desired him too.
"I missed you."
As soon as Arkan heard my words, he stopped and looked at me. Quickly averting my eyes from his blue gaze, I covered my face with my nightgown. How had I let something like that slip out?
It was practically like I was confessing my love… Me.
Was I in love? Was this what love was?
I was still very new to these things. Yet every time I saw him, my heart would start beating as if it were about to leap out of my chest.
Suddenly, Kongar came to mind. I think he would have loved the idea of my heart leaping out of my chest. Unable to hold back a laugh at the thought, I started giggling.
When Arkan pulled the nightgown away from my face, our eyes met. My giggling stopped instantly, and I couldn't tear my eyes away from his gleaming blue gaze.
"Those are beautiful," I whispered, reaching my hand toward his face. But before I could reach him, he caught my hand. Then he kissed the back of it.
"You're even more beautiful."
There it was. This time, my heart was definitely going to leap out of my chest.
"I missed you even more," he said and pressed his lips against mine. Then he tried to slip his tongue into my mouth. I didn't even resist. I gave him what he wanted.
I grabbed him by the nape and pulled him closer, wanting to keep him close to me. He responded to the gesture with a purr. Then he slowly ran his hand over my bare skin, stopping at my breast and beginning to caress it.
"Ah."
Arkan left my lips and began moving down my neck, leaving small kisses along the way. I could only writhe on the bed. But that didn't last long. When Arkan bit my neck, I reached my climax and came. With a single bite.
Then I grabbed his hair and bit him on the neck as well, right where my mark was. He growled, pressing his growing manhood firmly against me.
"Mine."
His voice was perfect.
"Mine," I said along with him.
At my words, Arkan took my face in both hands. He looked at me for a while without moving.
"Yes," he said. His voice had taken on an animalistic tone.
"I belong to you."
"I belong to you."
I heard two separate voices. Bozok must have been speaking along with Arkan.
Arkan pressed his lips against mine again and moved fully on top of me. Then he began rubbing his body against mine. I tried to press my body against his as well.
"I want you."
"Me too," I replied.
I was left breathless when Arkan suddenly entered me. Then he began moving back and forth over me.
---
"Kayra."
I irritably turned onto my side and growled.
"Kayra."
I wanted to sleep. Arkan and I had been together several times, and now he was interrupting my sleep too.
"Wake up," he whispered, grabbing my shoulder and gently shaking me.
Unable to take it anymore, I turned toward him and shouted.
"What is it—"
He had covered my mouth with his hand. Besides, it was still dark.
As I irritably tried to pull his hand away from my mouth, he brought his other hand to his lips and gestured for me to be quiet. My eyes widened in fear.
Now I was truly awake.
I nodded to him.
Arkan pulled his hand away from my mouth, and I whispered,
"What's happening?"
Without answering me, Arkan got out of bed and began rummaging through the closets. Then he handed me a few pieces of clothing.
"Get dressed," he whispered.
As I watched him curiously, he took out a few more pieces of clothing from the closet. Then he began getting dressed.
Seeing how rushed he was, I immediately started getting dressed as well.
"Alpha."
I flinched when I heard Soren's voice. When had he come in?
Luckily, both of us were dressed. Besides, he was whispering too.
"We're ready," Arkan said.
Ready for what?
Arkan came over to me and took my hands.
"The vampires started attacking earlier than I expected," he said. "Soren will take you to the shelter—"
Arkan suddenly cut himself off with a growl. Then his fangs began to grow longer.
"Kayra is mine!"
That had to be Bozok. His voice was extremely animalistic, and Arkan's entire body was trembling.
"Luna, let's go," Soren said. He gripped the door handle tightly, trying not to take his eyes off Arkan as he transformed.
"There isn't much time. I need to get you somewhere safe," he continued.
I wanted to object. But Arkan roared and ran toward me, rushing past me.
When I turned around, I saw a pair of red eyes in the window. They were glowing in the darkness of the night.
Then Arkan leaped toward the vampire and smashed through the window. In his Lycan form, he crashed into the vampire, and the two of them fell together.
We were on the third floor.
While I was trying to figure out what was happening, Soren picked me up and started running. As we left the room, my eyes were still fixed on the broken window.
"Arkan…"
---
Targen
"Sis."
My sister grunted as she put the sphere into her backpack.
"Are you ready?" she asked.
"I'm ready, but you—"
"Good. Let's get going right away," she cut me off.
I took a deep breath, walked over to my sister, and took her hand. At my touch, she quickly pulled her hand away.
"Don't touch me!"
"I'm sorry," I said, raising my hand into the air.
"Let this be over. You'll face your punishment too."
My eyes widened in fear.
"Are you really going to have your little brother executed?" I asked. I couldn't hide the hurt in my voice.
After making sure she had put the sphere into her bag, she slung the bag over her shoulder. Then she looked at me. The area beneath her eyes was swollen from crying.
I didn't understand what she saw in Kutay either. He wasn't even her fated mate.
"You betrayed me," she said.
"Didn't you want to see him again?" I defended myself. "You saw him."
"Ah, yes," my sister said with a bitter smile. "He didn't even remember me."
"Maybe we can help him remember," I said.
She looked at me with hopeful eyes. However, that didn't last long, and she frowned.
"Why did he kidnap that girl?"
I was wondering the same thing. What was he planning to do with Kayra?
"Maybe it's because of the master-servant bond," I suggested.
My sister shook her head as if she didn't believe that was the reason.
"No, there's something else," she said, wrapping her arms around herself. It was as if she were trying to protect herself from the cold. "The dark magic in the air was oppressive. I get chills just thinking about it."
"So what are we going to do?"
She took a few steps, placed her hand on my shoulder, and then gently pushed me toward the door as she spoke:
"Let's find Kutay first."
---
By the time we reached the Crescent Pack, it was already dark. We had parked the car under a tree in the wooded area before going inside. My sister was doing everything she could to keep the witches from finding out that we were here. If they found out too… I didn't even want to think about it.
As we approached the door, I tensed when I noticed there were more than two guards. There were too many guards. This wasn't normal.
"Sis," I whispered.
"I know," she said. "Something's wrong."
"Good evening," I said to the guards standing by the door.
"Good evening," one of them said. He looked uneasy.
"What's going on here?" my sister asked.
The guard turned his gaze toward my sister, then back to me.
"What did you come here for?" he asked.
"We brought what the Alpha asked for," I said.
The guard stared at the ground for a while. Then he turned back to me.
"You may enter," he said. "But the Alpha is busy right now. He'll meet with you over breakfast tomorrow morning."
"But it's urgent—"
"Those are the orders," the man said, cutting my sister off. "You can stay in the guest room tonight."
"Don't you want to save your Luna?" my sister asked.
"Our Luna has returned," the guard said. "She's in her room right now."
"How?" I asked.
The man shrugged.
"I don't know. That freak must have brought her," he said.
My sister and I looked at each other.
"He—Kut… Where is the freak now?" my sister asked.
"I don't know," he said.
We thanked the guard and went inside. There was no point in asking any more questions.
As we made our way toward the pack house, black smoke caught our attention. Under normal circumstances, smoke wouldn't come from somewhere without a fire. We quickly slipped into some bushes and hid. The hairs on my body stood on end, and my whole body tensed. This had to be dark magic.
"That must be him," I said, turning to my sister.
My sister was watching the smoke taking shape in front of us as if she were frozen. She was so absorbed that she wasn't even breathing. I gently nudged her.
She looked at me with a start. Then she looked at the smoke one last time and slowly took the sphere out of her bag.
The smoke completely took the form of Kutay… or rather, Kongar. His body was completely blackened. His eyes, however, flickered yellow.
I wondered whether this was caused by the dark magic or Kutay's soul. I needed to examine him, and I was going to enjoy doing it. Of course, if my sister doesn't stop me.
"She can't be my fated mate," Kongar muttered to himself.
His fated mate?
I immediately turned to my sister. Her hands were trembling as she held the sphere. A tear slipped from her eye and fell onto the sphere. When she realized I was looking at her, she averted her gaze and wiped the tear from the sphere.
Her heart must have been hurting. Even if I wanted to, I couldn't understand her.
"This is complete nonsense," Kongar continued. "I just need to take the heart."
The heart?
I frowned.
What was Kutay's purpose?
My sister pulled herself together and began whispering the magical words. The sphere slowly began to glow.
"I am Kutay. The immortal Kutay," he said, swinging his fist toward the tree in front of him. But he stopped before his fist could hit the tree. "I will not lose to fate. I am Kutay."
Then he brought his hand to his heart.
"Kayra," he whispered.
Something strange was happening here.
The light in the sphere was growing stronger and stronger.
"Sis, hurry—"
Kongar suddenly grabbed me by the throat.
"Targen, what are you doing here?" he asked.
My eyes widened in fear and surprise.
Did he remember everything?
Before I could answer, he hurled me toward a tree. Fortunately, I was experienced in this kind of thing, and I created a barrier around myself.
"Sarya, shut up!" he shouted and lunged toward my sister.
No one could hurt my sister!
I immediately started running toward them. But I couldn't reach them in time.
"Sis!"
Kongar reached his hands, covered in black smoke, toward the sphere and created a crack in it. However, the sphere suddenly began drawing in the black smoke spreading from his body. As if it were taking revenge on Kongar, it rapidly pulled him into the crack.
"Sarya, don't do this—"
Before Kongar could finish his sentence, he suddenly collapsed to the ground.
As Kongar's body on the ground began to return to its yellowish color, the sphere turned completely black.