The Corollaria (11 page)

Jenny excused herself, locking arms with Emily and taking her to the opulent dining room.

Luke plopped down into a chair opposite Carson’s and sighed, mimicking his older brother’s movement by running his fingers through his brown hair.

“What’s u
p little brother?” Carson asked. His face was serious and his gray eyes worried.

Luke sighed heavily and leaned forward, clasping his hands together between his knees. “Emily.”

Carson raised his eyebrows expectantly urging Luke to continue.

“I just, I don’t even know where to start. I’ve never felt so, so...” Luke trailed off.

A smile tugged at the corner of Carson’s mouth.

“Pulled.
That the only word I can think to describe it. I can’t think about anything but Emily. I want her,” his gray eyes lit up, fire and desire burning in their depths. “I mean, ever since the night I first phased, I feel so, so bound to her. It’s indescribable.”

Carson snorted softly. “Luke,
its okay to feel this way about her.”

“Is it? I mean all of a sudden it’s like all my choices are gone. Like everything I knew to be true has changed.”

“Listen,” Carson began, the smile vanished from his face and he leaned forward. “Luke, none of us have choices. We are all born into this life. Dad didn’t always want it either.”

Carson expelled a long breath and looked down. “Honestly, I don’t know how to feel about being Alpha. I always knew it was my destiny, and part of me always resisted it.”

Luke watched his older brother carefully, somewhat surprised by the admission. He’d rarely seen him be anything but serious and stoic.

“But little brother,” Carson looked up and met Luke’s eyes. “You have to accept what is. This is our duty. Our job. Our destiny.”

“But my feelings for Emily? Is that...” Luke wasn’t even sure how to finish that sentence.

“She is part of your destiny, yes. But the wolf only amplifies the feelings already there. It
’s meant to protect. It’s still
you
that loves.”

Luke felt that single
word—
love
— in the very pit of his stomach.
Did he love her?

Emily appeared in the doorway a minute later and crossed the room and sat on the arm of Luke’s chair.
“Dinner’s not quite ready,” she explained.

“I need to go home, check Mom and D
ad’s for clues and talk to the pack.” Carson’s gaze stayed focused on Luke. He crossed the distance between them and laid his hand on Luke’s shoulder. “You need to stay with Emily. Your duty is to her.”

Luke nodded. Emily laced her fingers through his and squeezed. She knew he was
here with her, that he was hers. But she knew he wanted to find his parents. She could feel that he needed to be at Carson’s side as much as he needed to be at hers.

She felt selfish. She needed him. She wanted him to be safe. Not scouring the city looking for Tristan and Cara, in danger. A knot formed in her gut.

“I’ll leave in the morning,” Carson added. 

“You mean, we’ll leave in the morning, after breakfast,” Jenny corrected
, coming back into the study.  Carson laughed once soundlessly and nodded.  She smiled victoriously.

Luke and Emily chuckled in amusement.

E
mily silently padded her way across the wood floor. There were two large glass French doors that led out onto a balcony at the end of the hallway. The brilliance from the moonlight and stars shone through just enough to light her way.

She had stood in the shower for a long time after she had escaped into her room that night, letting the warm water slowly work out the tension
in her muscles. She kept thinking about Samuel’s intentions, his sharp fangs against the soft flesh of her neck, his cold hands and their iron grip on her arm. She replayed the story she had heard from Jenny and Carson about the legend of the wolf and a girl.

And then Luke.

She thought about how good it felt to call him her wolf. How amazing his full soft lips felt against hers, and his calloused hands, hot against her skin. She’d sat on the edge of her bed, she’d paced, and she’d tried to lie down between the cotton sheets and count sheep. But nothing could stop her from craving him. Every time she closed her eyes she felt the shiver of fear jolt through her with the promise of nightmares.

She needed Luke.

Luke had stripped down to just a plain pair of cotton boxers, but still he felt hot. The sheets clung to his legs and he kicked them down to the foot of the bed.

What was he thinking?

He honestly couldn’t help himself when it came to her. He wasn’t even sure he wanted to. He took a deep breath, and stared up at the ceiling, unblinking for several minutes. Emily’s blue eyes flashed in his mind. Over and over again. And there was something, he realized, something so familiar and unchanged about the way she had looked at him when she’d called him her wolf, and after he’d kissed her. He wondered how he had missed it before. He flopped onto his stomach and buried his face in the fluffy pillows.

Maybe he hadn’t so much missed it as he’d tried to ignore it.  There had been this
one moment a couple of weeks ago, just after one of his shows, when they had returned home that played in his thoughts. 

Emily’s friend Kim had left earlier with some guy, and Luke and Emily had arrived home together. In the hallway, in the darkness between their rooms, they
had shared a moment.

Emily
turned to walk into her room, but quickly turned back to him. “I really like that last song you played. Is that new?”

Why did the air between them suddenly feel electric?  Luke asked himself.  He could feel her shallow breaths like they were touching his skin.  He was aware of the subtle shift in her body when he turned back to her. They were close, and his eyes—even in the dim light—focused on her lips.

A silent moment passed. Emily minutely tilted her chin up. Luke’s heart hammered in his chest. He looked down and cleared his throat.

“Night, Em,” he whispered and escaped back into his room.

In the present, unable to spend another minute without him, Emily paused outside Luke’s door, her hand on the gold knob.  She sucked in a deep lungful of air and tried to steel herself as she silently slipped into the room.

There was just a small sliver of moonlight that peeked through the windows. It fell across Luke’s back, highlighting his tensed shoulders and hard muscles. Emily took
another shaky breath. She stood there a moment fidgeting with the hem of her t-shirt. It occurred to her now how truly undressed she was in just a thin white cotton tee, and boy shorts.

“Luke,” s
he nervously whispered into the darkness. He raised his head from the pillows, looking at her over his shoulder. His eyes slowly took in her nervous hands, her long exposed legs and the way she was worrying her bottom lip.

Luke gulped. He should tell her to leave.

Instead, he rolled to his side, and held out his arms. She sunk down into the soft mattress and he reached for her, pulling her against his naked chest. They were both silent except for the rapid beat of their hearts. Luke’s arm curled around her, his palm slipped under her shirt and lay flat against her back. His other hand felt hot against her hip.

Emily’s bre
athing was ragged. Her body trembled with longing and anticipation. Her left arm draped over his shoulder, her right hand gently and tentatively caressed up the hard muscles of his chest, and then over his scruffy neck, and into his hair, her fingers gliding easily through the shaggy brown strands.

Luke’s eyes never left hers. He was waiting. Waiting for her or waiting for himself to fight against this, he wasn’t sure.
Emily wiggled herself forward, her soft breasts brushed against him, and he had to bite back a groan.

“Kiss me,” she implored impatiently. H
er breathy whisper was so husky and sexy Luke could no longer resist. He crushed his lips to hers, desperate and hungry. Emily’s lips were unbelievably soft. When she parted them, he slid his tongue inside the warmth of her mouth, and moaned at the taste of her tongue against his, sweet and delicate.

Luke’s hand on her hip slid over the curve, his thumb brushed the bare skin
there and she shivered. A new and intense heat surged through her, collecting between her thighs.  His hand gripped her firmly, pulling her body hard against his. Emily swung her leg over his hip as his hand continued to caress her, moving in slow circles over her back.

His lips left hers, kissing along her jaw and down the s
mooth slope of her neck. Luke’s nose brushed along her skin, inhaling the deep rich heady scent of her.  He buried his face in her neck and groaned.

“You’re killing me, honey,” he murmured
into her skin. His muscles were twitching and quivering, barely restrained passion burned in his veins. He had a fleeting thought to pull back, but then she whimpered and dug her nails into his shoulder.  Whatever semblance of control he had vanished.

Luke
kissed his way across her collarbone, and then back up to her jaw. His scruffy chin scratched her smooth skin, as he reclaimed her lips once again. Their mouths melded together with a fevered intensity. Emily was swept away. Luke hands under her thin cotton shirt skimmed along her ribcage, roving over her soft satiny skin.

All
Emily could think about was how good his hands felt against her bare skin, his tongue as it probed and explored her mouth.

Luke was completely lost.
Overcome by the intensity of his emotions and the way her body was reacting to his touch. He kissed her until she was breathless, panting, her eyes heavy and a deep dark midnight blue with desire. He slowly slid his hand the rest of the way up her torso, feeling her softness beneath his hands.

Emily gasped.
Luke stilled.  His breath was ragged.  He suddenly worried he shouldn’t be doing this. Was he taking advantage of her?
Shit.
 

“Luke?” Emily
asked softly.  He rested his head on her shoulder for a moment, trying to convince himself that he had to do the right thing. He had to stop. This was too much too fast.

“I’m sorry, Em.  I think
—” Luke cleared his throat, part of him kicking himself, part of him so full of desire for her he could barely breathe.  He took another deep breath and forced the words through his throat, “— we should, um, we should slow down.”

“
Oh,” she responded. “ Okay.” 

Emily
couldn’t help but feel rejected.  It pricked her skin and twisted in her gut.  Luke felt it too.  He quickly pulled her against him, an instinctual desperation to comfort her roared inside him. Emily hid her face in his neck, breathing in the familiar smell. Her breathing slowed as he rubbed slow circles on her back and pressed his nose against her ear.

Luke
hugged her to him tightly.
Mine.
He was startled by the thought.
Mine.
This moment, this feeling felt real and pure. And it had nothing to do with the wolf or destiny or some ancient magic.

~000~

Curtis paced. He felt restless. Inside there was a deep exhaustion that haunted him, a hunger that taunted him.  He hadn’t fed in days.  Escaping the lonely silence of his room, he walked downstairs.

Everything his father
had told him about the Hunters, about his true heritage, still thumped around inside his head.  Combined with the bloodlust that simmered just below the surface, he felt sick.

His father
had said the Hunters were said to be blessed with magic, and the original four families took honor in their heritage and their duty to protect the Hidden City.  To fight for the Faerie Queen.

Voices coming from the library made him pause.  He crept closer, listening intently.

“Nessa,” he heard his father say.  His voice was soft and tender, full of affection and remorse.  Curtis peeked through the slightly ajar door. 

Immediately he recognized Vanessa, her long black hair glimmered in the soft light.  Moonlight poured through the tall window covering the far wall.  His father crossed the room, resting his hands on her shoulders.

“This is all my fault,” she whispered brokenly.  She turned to face John, burying her face in his chest. His father’s arms wrapped around her.  Curtis was shocked by the affection, the closeness they shared.

“No, Nessa,” John whispered.  “It’s mine.  I failed to protect you both.”

Curtis’s brow furrowed in confusion.

“But I’m his mother!” s
he wailed.  “I should’ve protected him better.  I should’ve have known Samuel would go after him. I should have—”

She broke off, her words swallowed by her sobs, muffled only by John’s shirt.

“How could you have known, my dear.  I failed to protect my wife from the darkness, as I failed to protect my son.”

Curtis’s head was spinning.  Reeling. 
His son? Her son? Was Vanessa...his mother?