<i>Zephyrine </i>


    +10 <b>Free </b>Cans


    Blinking through the haze, I felt warmth spread in my chest when my gaze locked with his down there.


    But behind me stood yet another obstacle, a man I could not push away, bound as I was by the spell that chained me.


    I choked at the reality, lowering my gaze to fight the endless tug of war in my life, only to be snapped back to myself.


    Jump.


    That was the mind–linked voice that thundered in my heart.


    I fluttered my eyes open, just as the sky parted, and heavy rain poured down. He stood there, his gaze fixed on me, and as if under his own enchantment, I reached for the window and leapt. I didn’t care. I trusted him with all my heart.


    Inded perfectly in his powerful arms, my hands circling his neck as he held me tight. My body surged with force and emotion, making me remember what I had forgotten in the haze. In the dark.


    “Zephyr!” The voice of Dessyn came just as the carriage screeched to a halt. Slowly, Lycannar set me down on my feet, and I turned to her. My best friend stared at me in horror.


    “My gods! Are you okay?” she gasped. Before I could answer, the main doors burst open. Nyroth came storming out with his Beta at his side.


    His mother and Olivia followed quickly, rushing into the rain as the rest of the pack gathered, watching in awe at the scene that had brought Apex Blood into their midst.


    “Come back here, Zeph!” Nyroth snapped, his hand closing around my wrist as he pulled me away from Lycannar just as thunder roared and rain poured harder. “She is mine. You are mine, Zeph. No one else’s.”


    The words unsettled me, but I couldn’t resist them. The emotions I had felt when I looked at Lycannar began to fade. I moved into Nyroth’s chest under the eyes of all, as though to make a choice.


    “You do not belong <i>to </i>Nyroth, Zeph! What are you doing?!” Dessyn cried, her voice cutting through the storm. “Zephyr, snap out of it. You love the Lycan King, not Nyroth!”


    <b>16:16 </b>Sat, Sep 27


    Confusion tore through me. I knew I didn’t belong in Nyroth’s hands, but something bound me, holding me back. I stood still, then slowly met the gaze of the Lycan King before me. He didn’t speak. He only looked at me in another man’s arms, then lifted his gaze to mine.


    And I felt it. The ache.


    “Lycan,” I breathed in awe. In reply, he extended his hand toward me.


    “Come here.”


    Agonizing pain ripped through my chest when I tried to move. The same pain that had made me cough blood seized me now, choking me as I fought against it.


    “Lycan,” I whispered desperately, and he nodded, encouraging me.


    “You can break it yourself, Zephyrine. It’s the ne around your neck. It will hurt, but I am here. You do not belong here. Not to him. Let me take you back home and keep you warm. Please.” His voice was desperate, unlike I had ever heard it before.


    “Zeph, you won’t listen to him, will you?” Nyroth cut in sharply, halting me. “He is cursed. Would you truly choose a man like that?”


    “Zeph,e back here,” Pam pleaded, her voice heavy. “We know we wronged you, but please… give us a chance to make amends. Do not pull that ne off. Nyroth is your first love. Let’s return as one family.”


    My heart stilled. My senses dulled. They were right. Lycannar and I could never be a match. He was a Lycan. I was a wolf. Maybe Nyroth was where I belonged. My hands dropped at my sides, ready to ept him…


    But then it surged. A force hotter than any word could describe.


    A spell might bind me to Nyroth, but Lycannar’s eyes reached deeper into my soul than anything else ever could.


    Against the pain tearing through me, I reached for the ne. With one jerk, I ripped it from my neck and flung it to the ground.


    The impact shattered the spell. My body trembled, copsing as I sank back into myself.


    Lycannar was swift. He caught me before I hit the ground, gathering me in his arms under the storm. I clutched at his cor, shuddering.


    “Lycan…” I whispered, guilt weighing heavy in my heart. Guilt for dragging him into another storm. Another problem.


    *10 Free Som


    I buried my face against his chest as he kissed my hair, then pulled me gently to my feet, holding me close.


    “Can you stand?” he asked, and I nodded weakly, my gaze darting to Dessyn. At once, I rushed into her arms. But leaving Lycannar free was a mistake.


    In a blur, he was upon Nyroth, gripping him by the throat before the Alpha could blink. With inhuman speed, Lycannar mmed him against the wall, choking him hard.


    “Lycan!” I screamed, horrified. But my man was beyond reason.


    His eyes burned, shifting from pale gold to storm–grey. His voice was raw, acidic.


    “Touch my woman again, and I swear on the crown I wear, you will pay with your life.”


    He released Nyroth, shoving him down roughly. The Alpha copsed to the ground, coughing and gasping for breath. Pam froze in terror. One wrong move, and her son would have been dead.


    I trembled at the sheer force Lycannar wielded. And yet, when he turned back to me, his rage melted. His eyes softened. He carried me to Dessyn’s carriage, cing me carefully inside.


    With the carraige I have ride into Hue pack as well, it moves.


    As the wheels rolled forward, Lycannar mounted his ck horse and rode alongside us, through the storm, back toward the Lycan Kingdom. <fn9345> The source of th?s content is Find?Novel</fn9345>


    And in that moment, our love was solidified. Not only pure, but beyond the reach of any spell.


    16:16 <b>Sat</b><b>, </b><b>Sep </b><b>27 </b>