Pregnant After One Night With The Lycan By Kellie Brown
Chapter 17 Full Moon – The Curse
Tanya’s POV:
The howling continues, each guttural roar more pained than the last. I know Marco told me to stay in my room no matter what, but his t*ortur*ed cries pierce my soul and reverberate deep within me until I can’t take it anymore.
I open the door of my room, hesitating in the hallway for a moment as my concern for Marco wars against fear and uncertainty. Finally, I reach his room, but when I knock on the door, there’s no answer. Every few minutes, there’s another pained howl, and the silence in between is just as alarming.
His room is locked from the inside, and the door won’t budge when I struggle with the knob. Desperation intensifies my need to reach him, to help him. I look around until my eyes land on a decorative candelabra on the hallway counter. Another anguished howl snaps me into action, and I instinctively grab the candlestick and slam it onto the doorknob. It takes me a few tries until I manage to knock the metal hard enough that the lock gives in, and I’m able to swing the door open.
Inside, the room is dark, but I can make out Marco’s silhouette a few feet away from me. Only it’s not Marco, at least not the Marco I know. He’s shifted into his Lycan form, his usually broad shoulders and defined muscles becoming even larger and sharper. His fur is black as night, and the moonlight glints on the curved claws. In this form, he’s as terrifying as he is beautiful. But what shocks me isn’t the fangs or fierce aura around him, but rather his eyes. His beautiful blue eyes have turned a shade of red, like a crimson fire burning beneath the surface of cyan ice.
“Marco?” I ask softly.
His wolven ears twitch at the sound of my voice, and his gaze dives into me. My heart pounds in my chest, my breathing ragged as I take in the sight of him.
His clothes have been reduced to torn rags, his shirt is utterly destroyed, and his pants are shredded. But the strangest thing is the silver line across the base of his palm. I’ve never seen anything like it before. The silver vein glows as if moonlight and steel flowed through it instead of blood, flickering and pulsing softly like a heartbeat. I watch in horror as the silver begins to spread slowly, rising past his wrist and slithering up to his forearm.
I barely have time to worry about it because Marco starts moving toward me. I take a few shaky steps across his room as he circles me with a wild, menacing gaze. He stalks me with the skill and elegance of a predator, herding me deeper into his room until I’m cornered against the back. He comes closer, pinning me against the wall. His arms are on either side of me, and my breathing turns ragged with fear.
All I can do is close my eyes as tears stream down my cheeks. He’s not in control, I tell myself. A chill runs down my spine as I feel something cold and sharp trailing softly along my collarbone. I brace myself for the pain of his imminent strike, but it never comes. Instead, I open my eyes in time to see Marco tear my mother’s ruby necklace off my neck.
I wince as the necklace clatters on the ground, and the moment it leaves my skin, I feel something indescribable burst within me. An unspeakable f*orc*e ripples through my body as I feel myself caught in a vortex of energy I can neither see nor understand. Something changes deep within me, like some kind of chain around my soul has been snapped beyond repair. I gasp in a trance-like state as I even feel the sound of a wolf’s howl echoes in my mind. B
But then, just as quickly as it appeared, the energy around me dissipates, and the haunting howl also goes quiet. Everything in the room is exactly as it was only a moment ago, and I start to wonder if I imagined all of it. Before I can think about it further, Marco roars again, and his pained howl is so overwhelming that I quickly forget about the wolfs howl I heard in my mind.
“What… what’s happening to you?” I whisper.
Marco breathes heavily, and something flickers in his eyes like there’s still a part of him fighting against the f*orc*e taking hold of his body. Slowly, I raise my hand and press my palm against his heaving chest, trying to soothe him in any way I can. Something softens about him, seemingly calmed by my touch, and I watch in awe as he shifts back into human form.
But those red embers of maddens still glow in his eyes. The bloodlust of his Lycan form has faded, but whatever dark and feral power courses through him is still affecting him.
Suddenly, he wraps his arms around me and picks me up in one swift motion, and I can’t help the small cry that escapes me. He carries me to the windowsill until I’m sitting on the edge.
“Marco…” I mumble in surprise. The sound of his name on my lips makes him growl softly, but not with anger. Desire radiates off him like an aura, primitive and raw. He trails one hand over the back of my palm, drawing little patterns up my forearm and dragging over my shoulder. Then his hand is around the back of my neck, his fingers tangled in my hair as he pulls me closer, resting his forehead against mine. My lips part involuntarily at the warmth of his breath against my skin.
“My mate,” he says, and before I can process the words, his lips are on mine.
He kisses me hungrily, and I forget about everything for a moment. All I can think about is the sensation of his lips against me, dangerous and demanding. His other hand slides down the curve of my lower back and along my hip. I gasp slightly as he pushes insistently on my thigh, spreading my legs so he can stand between them, closer to me. His teeth graze my lower lip playfully, and I feel heat coursing building inside me.
He must be confused, the madness clouding his senses. He probably thinks I’m Lily again. The realization makes my heart shrink with sadness, but then he’s kissing my neck, and I let my head tilt to the side, exposing myself to him.
“Wait,” I tell him, pressing my hand against his chest to push him back. He stops kissing me but stays close, his muscles taught under my palm. “Marco, do you… do you recognize me? Do you even know who you’re with right now?”
His hands are still on my body, making it hard to focus, but he holds my gaze and his words are unmistakable when he replies.
“You’re Tanya… my mate,” he says, and then he kisses me again.
I don’t understand what he means. Does he actually know he’s with me? He said my name, but does he think he’s with Lily somehow? I know I should probably stop him, but the feeling of his skin against mine is intoxicating. Marco kisses me deeply and passionately. I finally give in, wrapping my legs around him, and he presses himself closer to me. He wraps his arms around me and carries me to the bed.
Marco looms over me, his breath ragged with desire, his lips come crashing down against mine again. His calloused hands roam over me, exploring my curves and sending goosebumps along my skin. He smells like the earth after it rains, mixed with cinnamon and smoke, and everywhere our bodies touch sends speaks flying with me. He looks like he wants to rip the nightgown right off my body.
That silver vein continues to pulse on his arm, and every now and then, I see his muscles tense, like the curse is still sending shocks of dark power through him. But I silence his pained growls with a kiss, and the beastly aura recedes slightly. I caress and comfort him, and the roaring becomes less frequent as if my presence soothed him. Eventually, he stops convulsing entirely as he gives himself over to the ple@sure of our embrace.
The desperation in his kisses becomes tender and soft, and he rolls onto his side, resting his head on my chest. I run my fingers through his golden brown curls, letting him find peace and calm. His breathing slows, and my own racing heart steadies as he drifts off. Once I’m certain he’s sleeping soundly, I try to slip out of his arms to go back to my room, but he’s so large and heavy against me. When I move, he wraps his arms tighter around me, holding me against him.
He keeps his head on my chest as if my heartbeat was the lullaby that carried him peacefully into sleep. I’m so relieved to see him resting that I don’t have the heart to wake him, so I let myself relax under his weight and warmth. Before I can make sense of anything that happened tonight, my eyelids grow heavy, and my thoughts are drowsy.
I fall asleep wrapped up in him.