Tomorrow morning we’re flying off to Russia. Most of the stuff I’m bringing with me is already in the luggage, except for a few toiletries.
My bedroom and closet look like they’ve been hit by a tornado.
A brimming suitcase is on the floor in my bedroom. Shoes, boots, and sandals are everywhere. Discarded tops, pants, skirts, jackets, and dresses lying haphazardly on the floor and on my bed. It’s hard to pick what to bring and what to leave behind. Darius told me that it’s going to be cold there at this time of the year, but there are so many light pretty dresses and tops, not to mention open-toed shoes and cute strappy sandals that I’d like to bring with me even though I know I shouldn’t.
Darius is also taking me out for dinner tonight. He wants to go out in public with me as a couple before we leave for Russia where we have to pretend like we’re nothing to each other.
We’ve been inseparable these last few days, knowing that our time is limited. The only time we’re apart is when I attend classes. Being with him is heavenly. Just the thought of having to act like we’re not mates in Russia and be away from him makes me feel sad and a little anxious.
I don’t know where he’s taking me tonight, but I want to make sure to be dressed nicely for it. I keep trying on dresses and discarding them on the floor until Genesis and Serena make the decision for me.
After a nice hot shower, I dry off and put on what Genesis and Serena picked out for me. A black lace, open backed bodycon dress that ends a few inches above my knees. The top part of the back and the shoulders are made entirely of sheer lace. The back also has an opening that goes all the way down to the waist. The front and the bottom part is covered with black silk insert. The v neck at the front dipped low enough to show some cleavage, but not too low to keep it classy.
Serena dries my hair and pulls it up into a curly messy bun. She teases a few tendrils loose to frame my face.
I put on a bit more makeup than I normally do with a little bronze eyeshadow, a light dusting of rosy shade blusher, a coat of mascara, and a couple swipes of bright red lipstick. I rarely wear lipstick, but tonight I want to do something different.
Tonight I want to feel sexy. I don’t think I look sexy, but hey, A+ for effort.
A pair of diamond earrings and the medallion are my only jewelry for the evening.
I finish everything up with a pair of black satin Manolo Blahnik.
“You look gorgeous, darling,” comments Genesis imitating Serena’s British accent after she glances up to give me an
inspection. She’s lounging on my bed among my clothes, flipping through some magazines that belong to Serena.
Serena rolls her eyes and shakes her head with a small smile on her face as she fixes the back of my dress. “You do look gorgeous, love,” she says. “Very sexy.”
“Yes, I bet he won’t be able to take his eyes and hands off you tonight,” Genesis remarks. Her eyes alight with excitement and mischief.
Darius sleeps in my room and has left a few shirts in here, but most of his stuff is still in his own bedroom. So he’s getting ready in his own bedroom tonight. There’s no sound coming from the room next door, so I’m guessing he’s already ready and waiting downstairs.
Sure enough, I can hear him talking with Lazarus, Constantine, and Caspian downstairs as soon as we step out of my bedroom.
The men are standing in the grand foyer talking quietly. They are all so good looking. Tall and imposing. Darius is standing in the middle of them with his back facing the staircase.
They cease talking as soon as I step down the landing. Darius turns and I feel my breath is being knocked out of my lungs. He looks stunning in his black suit and black dress shoes. His fair hair is combed back and nicely styled. Underneath the suit, he’s wearing a white shirt and a striped charcoal grey and deep red silk tie.
His eyes widen when he sees me. They rake me slowly from top to bottom, then back up again before they settle back to my eyes. Something flared in his eyes when they locked with mine.
He steps forward as I descend the steps. “You look beautiful, Malyshka,” he says before he brushes his lips on my knuckles.
Standing at the bottom of the steps with him, I’m glad he’s so tall. Even when I’m wearing heels he still towers over me, making me feel delicate and protected. Well, okay…so delicate is stretching it a little bit. I’m still me. Delicate and Penny should not be used in the same sentence.
“Go out there and have fun, kids,” says Lazarus.
“Don’t stay out too late, we’re leaving early tomorrow morning,” reminds Constantine.
Sheesh…these two totally sound like my father. “Do we have a curfew, dads?” I ask them.
“Yes, be home before midnight. I’ll be here waiting with my shotgun,” says Caspian. “Young man, I’ll be watching you.” He points his index and middle fingers to his eyes then to Darius’s direction.
The others snicker while Darius just smirks and pulls me towards the front door before I could say anything.
“I know something about Quincy that you don’t!” I manage to yell before I’m being dragged outside.
Caspian’s eyes widen comically. “WHAT???” he yells back just before the heavy front door closes behind us.
Darius quickly bundles me into the passenger seat of his Mercedes AMG GT before he climbs in behind the wheel
himself.
Caspian comes running out the door after us. “What?” he yells.
“Beany? What???”
I see the prince pulling his hair in frustration through the review mirror as the car speeds away down the driveway.
Darius has the same smirk on his face and I try to keep a straight face.
“What is it that you know about Quincy that Caspian doesn’t?”
he finally asks me after some time.
“Nothing,” I answer. “I was just messing with him.”
Darius leans back in his leather seat and bursts out laughing.
Soon, I join him laughing until my side hurts.
“That’s very mean, Malyshka,” he admonishes me after he’s done laughing. He still has an amused smile on his lips.
Thirty minutes later, we arrive at Chateau de Rouen Restaurant Patio. Normal people would need to make a reservation a week in advance to be able to get a table here. I don’t know when he planned all this, but I don’t doubt he could snatch a table at a moment’s notice.
He exits the car and quickly comes around to open the door for me. His eyes linger on my face before they stray to my legs as I unfold myself out of the car. I raise an eyebrow as he openly ogles my exposed legs. He’s unashamed and unapologetic.
He doesn’t move away when I finally unfold myself out of the cream leather seat. Instead, he leans in until his lips almost touching my ear. “It’s all part of the benefit of having a mate, Malyshka,” he whispers. “To be able to look at what’s mine anywhere, anytime I want.”
The hostess seems to know who we are as soon as we enter the restaurant. She’s very professional, yet her eyes linger a bit too long on my mate for my liking.
As we are being escorted by the hostess to our table, Darius places his hand possessively on the small of my back. His hand feels warm and intimate on my bare skin, making body tingles all over.
I feel the eyes of other patrons following us as we make our way to our table. Some whip their head so fast to give us a second look that I thought they would sprain their neck muscles. Who could blame them? My mate is gorgeous. Strikingly good looking.
Serena told me that we make a very good looking couple just before we left the house, but I somehow doubt it.
I know I’m not ugly. I mean, compared to garden gnomes, I think I’d win by a little more margin than usual tonight but I’m not anywhere near as good looking as my mate. They say surround yourself with ugly looking people to make yourself
look good. I think I’m totally doing this the wrong way.
Unfortunately, you can’t control who you love.
The dinner goes quickly and I think we look pretty decent and normal to the people around us. If only they knew the truth.
We talk about pretty mundane stuff, but his legs are pressed against mine underneath the table making my heartbeat race.
When our eyes locked, the hunger in his eyes makes my mouth dry and my skin heats up. He watches me like a predator watching its prey. His eyes watch me intently as I put the food in my mouth. His heated gaze travels from my mouth to my throat as I take a sip of my drink. My skin sizzles as if he physically touched me. The air around us feels thick sizzles with electricity.
“Let’s order dessert,” he says suddenly. Now I realize why our dinner seems to go very quickly. He waved off soup and salad earlier. Now we’re almost done with our main course.
Somebody is in a hurry to get home.
“Okay, (плохо́й ма́льчик) plokhoy mal’chik,” I tell him, so proud that I managed to remember the words and he promptly bursts out laughing.
What? I just stare at him in puzzlement. It’s not good when you’re trying to call your mate with sweet endearment and he laughs at you. That’s not really a response I was looking for.
To be fair, he’s been looking like he’s trying not to laugh for days now every time I try new terms of endearment in Russian for him. Tonight’s the only time he openly laughs like this.
Now I’m miffed that he laughed at my attempt to find a Russian nickname for him.
“Don’t be mad. I love it when you call me with those sweet names, Malyshka,” he assures me.
“Really?” I ask him glumly. If he liked it, why did he laugh?
“Yes, really,” he answers. “I love it. Especially when you call me a bad boy….I’m your bad boy,” he says, looking very
amused….and trying hard not to laugh. Again.
Bad boy? Is that what those words really mean???
Serena told me that it’s legit sweet and that’s what she calls Lazarus sometimes when they’re alone. I’m going to kill her!
That’s it! I’m done with trying to find him a sweet Russian nickname. Everybody seems to be having too much fun with this at my expense. Even Serena! I can’t believe it!
“Come on, don’t be mad, Malyshka. I really love it that you call me with all those sweet Russian words,” he whispers as he leans forward and places his warm hand on my thigh.
I take a sharp breath when his hand travels all the way up underneath my dress. The tips of his fingers almost touching the hem of my lacy panties. My breathing speeds up. My skin is burning up for him.
I close my eyes and whisper, “Tu me vuelves loca.”
When I open my eyes again, he’s staring at me. His eyes intent and glittering, almost black.
“Quiero hacer el amor,” I continue breathlessly. My heart is beating like the wings of a trapped bird in my chest.
“Check, please!” he snaps at a passing waiter, his eyes never leaving mine.
“Wait, you understand that?” I ask him as he practically drags me out of the restaurant and into the car so fast, my head is reeling. I was speaking Spanish! He could not have understood that.
“When you live as long as I have, you tend to pick up a few languages,” he answers with a mocking smile. “It proves to be useful…especially now.”
Darn it! I only said those words out loud because I thought he couldn’t understand me.
“By the way, you sounded so sexy, mi amor,” his voice low and seductive. My knees go weak. I think I’ve melted into a puddle.
Needless to say, the drive back is very fast. Once in a while, he would glance at me. His eyes hold promises and warnings of things he would do to me when we get home. I can’t wait!
We arrive home in record time. As soon as he gets me out of the car, he places his hands on my waist and his mouth starts to kiss and nibble on my neck. Only after we get inside do I notice that the whole house is in total darkness. The backyard, however, is brightly lit.
“What’s happening? What’s going on?” I ask him.
He lifts his head from my neck, looks around, and groans,
“Why me?”
“You knew about this?” What is it?” I ask him again.
“Yeah, they’ve discussed it with me. Initiation into the pack,”
he says sullenly. “Why does it have to be tonight of all nights?”
He sounds like a sullen little boy being denied his favorite treat. I hear him muttering something about cockblocking under his breath and I swat his arm while trying not to laugh.
“Behave!” I tell him.
“Didn’t anybody tell you good things come to those who wait, mi amor,” I tell him. His eyes darken considerably at my words.
“Did I tell you, you sound so sexy when you call me that?” he growls in my ear.
I swat his arm again. Harder this time. “Tonight’s the last night before we fly off to Russia. It has to be tonight.”
He rubs his arm and mumbles something about hot violent mate under his breath. “But I need you,′ he groans. “Now.”
“I thought you had an ironclad self-control,” I tease him.
“Self-control be damned. I need to have you writhing with pleasure underneath me. I need to feel your skin against mine.
I need to hear you yell my name, and only my name when I’m
inside you.” His voice is deep and husky. His body is warm and hard behind me.
All of a sudden, I have a mental image of us wild in bed. Arms, legs, and bodies tangled together. My whole body feels warm and my stomach clenches.
“Let’s go. Let’s get this done,” he says as he propels me forward. I can see his lips tug up into a smug smile.
Darn it! Darius = 1, Penny = 0
I walk quickly forward then I drop down to my knees in front of him just before we reach the back door. I look up at him with a wicked smile on my lips. His eyes widen and his smile wanes.
Oh, the confused but hopeful look in his eyes!
I place my hand on his thigh then I casually slip off my shoes.
“I don’t want to walk out on the sandy beach in my high heels,”
I inform him as I stand up and turn around to walk out of the back door. Penny = 1, Darius = 1.
His hand clamps on my arm before I can get any further and he pulls me hard against his muscular body. He wraps his arm around me and his lips swoop down on mine with all the pent-up hunger. My legs almost give way. His tongue slips into my mouth to slide and tangle with mine. A delicious wave of pleasure engulfs my body. My heart thunders in my chest. He sucks and nibbles on my bottom lip as if he can’t get enough. I deepen the kiss, sucking his lips and the low sexy moan coming from his throat makes me press my core right against his hard thigh. My whole body goes up in flame.
“After this, Malyshka…I will take you back to our room and lock the door. Then I will show you over and over again that you’re mine to do as I want,” he whispers against my lips. “And you will beg me to do it over and over again,” he adds before he lets me go.
Okay, Penny = back to 0, Darius = 1000000 x infinity.
He takes my hand firmly in his and together we follow the flickering tiki lights that lead the path down to the beach.
I try to calm my heartbeat. The ocean wind feels cool against my heated skin. The sand feels soft under my feet as we make our way down our private stretch of the beach.
When we reach the top of the dune, I can see five silhouettes standing in the distance by the tall bonfire.
The moon is luminous and the stars are flickering against the inky night sky. The reflection of the moon is brilliant in the dark, ominous sea.
We walk further down the sandy beach and reach our waiting friends. Their perfect faces and figures aglow warm and golden from the raging bonfire and the tiki lights.
I can feel the warmth of the tall bonfire dancing in the wind. It is crackling and popping. The smell of the wood burning fire mixed with the salty wind from the ocean fills the air.
“Darius and Persephone Rykov, now it’s time for you follow our path, to take your oath to be part of this pack,” says Caspian above the sound of the rolling waves crashing the shore.
Lazarus, who is holding a copper chalice, steps forward to stand beside Caspian. The chalice looks like an antique with carvings of a crown flanked by a lycan and a wolf. It has strange symbols carved around the edge.
“Do you agree to be a member of this pack and do you agree to take this oath willingly?” asks Constantine as he takes his place next to Caspian. In both hands, he carries a very old looking dagger with symbols on the blade. The handle is embedded with a brilliant red ruby surrounded by gleaming emeralds.
“Yes,” Darius and I answered simultaneously.
Serena moves forward and drops a lighted match into the chalice. The fire flares then turn into a strange brilliant blue flame. Then she steps back to stand beside Lazarus while Genesis takes her place next to Constantine.
Caspian nods and Constantine hands him the knife.
Caspian holds the blade up, then he cuts a small line in the middle of his palm. “This blood symbolizes our lives, our vows, and my bond to you and yours to me,” he announces.
“Follow my lead and repeat after me,” he says before he tilts his already healing hand and lets a drop of his blood falls into the goblet. Suddenly the flame burns bright. It pops and fizzles, then turns back into the blue flame again.
“I swear my allegiance to you, as the member of my pack. Our souls are linked. You are privy to my feelings and senses, the keeper of my secrets. I pledge you my protection, in my honor.
My loyalty shall be yours. My strength shall quell your
weakness, my courage shall absolve your fear. This is my pledge to you,” he recites. He then hands me the dagger.
I wrap my hand around the handle and make a small cut in the middle of my palm. As soon as my blood drops in the chalice, the fire glows brilliantly before it crackles and pops and settles down into the blue flame again. The flame seems bigger and brighter now somehow.
Caspian recites the oath again and I repeat after him. My palm is already healing even before I finish reciting the oath. After I’m done, he nods solemnly and leans in to drop a brotherly kiss on my cheek.
I pass the dagger to Darius and he does the same thing. After he’s done reciting the pledge, they both nod and give each other a manly hug.
This, we repeat with Constantine, Genesis, Lazarus and finally with Serena.
This pledge affects me deeply. I feel my soul connected with each and every one of them, not quite like the way it’s connected to Darius’s but I can feel them. Deep in my bones.
I just pledged my life, my soul, my loyalty, and my honor to these lycans and my mate and they did the same to me. None of us take this pledge lightly.
This pledge might take us all to our deaths, but I wouldn’t have it any other way. This is my family.
Genesis pulls me into a tight hug. “I’m so happy,” she squeaks tearfully and almost inaudibly. Serena soon joins in, followed by all the others.
*(Spanish) Tu me vuelves loca = You’re driving me crazy.
* (Spanish) Quiero hacer el amor = I want to make love to you.
*(Spanish) Mi amor = My love.
