Filed To Story: The Perfect Luna by Marissa Gilbert
A wave of adrenaline rippled over Nikki’s body. Were they discussing her? The last thing she remembered was an ambush at the penthouse and the fight where Bjorn fought for her even though he didn’t have to. She was their target from the very beginning. Not him.
Nikki swallowed the lump in her throat, remembering how Darius’ chest was pierced again and again by the assassins sent to get her. She couldn’t forget how they dragged her out, leaving him lying there in the pool of his own blood.
A loud roar cut the silence of their surroundings, making the blood freeze in her veins.
“What the f*ck is that?” one of the men asked before a soul-shuttering scream…
Nikki spent her life on the Firstborn Island surrounded by all kinds of shifters, but she had never seen a monster like that. The warehouse she was held in was dark, so the dull glow of the creatures eyes caught her gaze and sent a shiver down her spine. It wasn’t pointed at anyone in particular, but still gave off such a menacing aura that Nikiah cringed in her chair.
Luckily, five men stood between her and the creature. There used to be more, judging by the blood dripping from the Beast’s mouth. He reeked of death.
Three werewolves, one werebear and a fox shifter, turned one by one, and every muscle in Nikki’s body strained. She could tell it wouldn’t be enough.
Her captors launched their attack, charging at their enemy in turns.
Big mistake. The only chance they had was if they worked in sync, which they did not. If Astrea was here, she would have rolled her eyes and called them morons.
A wolf lunged, snarling as he leapt at the beast, and the latter didn’t even turn his head to look at it, raising his enormous paw with what looked like talons. Those slashed the enemy’s chest, throwing him away as if he was nothing.
The monster stepped into the light, and Nikki’s lips parted as she look it in. It resembled a white bear, but when it snarled, she saw rows of the sharpest canines. The bloody talons also did not belong there, and neither did the spikes on the back
What kind of monster was that?
Most of all, she was terrified to see the enormous wings.
Those looked as if they belonged to a dragon, each wingtip bearing a sinister adornment-a curled spike that made him look like a demon. Was he one?
This bear-like creature seemed to defy the laws of nature.
He moved so fast, leaving dead bodies in his wake.
Screams of her captors pierced her ears as she tried to free herself from the silver chains, afraid she would be next.
She had to flee.
Luckily, the silver bindings weren’t that tight, and after considering becoming the beast’s dinner, she chose to break a few bones on her wrist to squeeze it out of the chains. The little sacrifice seemed reasonable.
A fox, covered in its own blood, landed at her feet when she was free and out of breath.
Nikki realised the warehouse became too quiet as she watched the puddle of wine-red liquid growing on the ground. She was screwed.
Hot breath burned the skin on her back through the flimsy fabric of her top.
She could only hope these wouldn’t be her last minutes, but chances were slim. Her wrists wouldn’t be able to
regenerate in time, and if she shifted, this would slow her down.
Yet the creature didn’t move. It smelled of blood and smoke.
And chestnuts… with a hint of wintergreen.
Slowly, cautious of her every move, Nikki turned on her heels and locked her eyes with the creature, realising it did not see her. The dull glow was still there, but…
“It can’t be!” she whispered. She knew Darius was a white werebear shifter from the North. He was Joran’s champion, and they said he grew some spikes during the war thanks to the blessing. But this… this was something else completely.
Not to mention she thought he had died in the penthouse.
The thought she didn’t let herself ponder on.
“Darius?” Her voice was barely a whisper, and yet it echoed through the empty warehouse.
The beast breathed heavily as if a large boulder was being lifted from its chest.
The glow in his eyes died, and they became a greyish-white colour, just like the rest of him.
“Darius!” This time, she was sure it was him. It wasn’t a question anymore, but she had so many others. “What-how?”*
He shook his head, a million thoughts running through his mind
Bjorn had no idea how he looked, but he sure felt different as power surged through him. Darker and stickier than before.
He felt the wings, but for now, he wasn’t sure how to use them properly. The talons came in handy during the fight.
And so did the sharp teeth.
He must have looked hideous and was not sure how to shift back. Her heart was racing in her chest. Bjorn could hear it. He scared her to death.
His whole body flinched when he felt her warm hands slowly wrapping around him. He must have been a spectacle, a real freak… but she didn’t seem to care.
Strawberry.
When he found her scent after he awakened, he was so mad knowing she was surrounded by the men who hurt her. He didn’t see her when they were defending themselves back at the penthouse, and she gave those assassins a good fight, but he knew those men harmed Nikki when the scent of her blood hit his nostrils.
They hurt her, thus signing their own death certificates.
He closed his eyes, trying to sniff her. Did she have any actively bleeding wounds? Was she okay?
“Darius, give me a sign it’s you, and I am not hugging a monster bear who will eat me for breakfast,” she said, her face tucked into his fur.
“It’s me.” He didn’t even realise how he shifted back, his hands sliding up her back and pulling her tighter.
“You-“
She was going to say how terrifying and ugly he was. It didn’t matter, though. She was fine now. He arrived on time and she was safe…
“You came.” Nikki tightened her hug, and Bjorn slowly lowered his head until his lips were touching her hair.
“Of course, I came for you, Strawberry,” he planted a small kiss at the top of her head and was about to do it again when she laced her arms around his neck and pulled him closer, crashing her lips into his.
It was so unexpected. He didn’t want to ruin that young girl, but neither could he resist her when she was that close, when her taste was now on his tongue.
He deepened the kiss and pressed her against his torso, only now realising he was naked. A little moan escaped her when she dug her nails into him, unable to control herself.
“Darius,” she repeated his name when she desperately gasped for air before returning to what they were doing.
And he completely lost it.
“Strawberry,” he growled, “if you don’t stop now, I wouldn’t be able to-“
“Then don’t!” she breathed into his mouth, and he cursed the men who were now corpses around them. How… unromantic was that? He couldn’t do that to her. This… this couldn’t be her memory about him later on.
“Not-here, Strawberry,” he shook his head, intoxicated by her closeness.
But the fear was stronger. That deep primal fear, born from his past wounds, that she would reject him. That she would give herself to him and then realise how wrong she was.
“I don’t care!” She drew her fingers over his bare back, not wishing to let him go. “Darius, I- thought they killed you.
“It would have been best for you if they did.”
“Don’t say that!” Nikki furrowed her brows. “If you were as bad as you try to imply, you wouldn’t have bothered coming to save me!”
Bjorn’s jaw ticked.
“Nik, I came to save you because-” He stopped himself in the middle of the sentence, knowing it was best not to finish it.
“Because-what?” Nikki slid her palm over his chiseled chest. He caught her hand, pulling her close again, unable to keep the distance between them. As if they were two magnets.
New Book: Veiled Desires of the Alpha King Novel
Dayson was the alpha of the largest pack in North America. Powerful figures from other packs sought to offer gorgeous girls as potential mates for Dayson. He steadfastly rejected these advances, he was not a pawn to be manipulated. But eventually there came a mysterious girl he could hardly say No. Who was she?