September Moon (Alexa O'Brien, Huntress #8)

“Alexa, don’t.” There was such bitterness in those two words. Arys trembled under the weight of the force thundering through us. “Don’t push me away. I won’t let you do that again.”


“You won’t let me?” The dark side of our bond was in control now. It whispered in my ear, a violent demand that I made sure he knew that no man controlled me. I was the dark queen here, and I would make him remember that. “You think that Shya controls me? What about you? I am done with your ego making decisions for me.”

With a push of power, I reached out to drape him in my thrall. Oozing an intoxicating cocktail of seduction and malevolence, I attacked Arys by using his own greatest strength against him. Because our shared power was a double-edged sword, I could use it on him with ease. His eyes widened as he realized my intent.

“What’s wrong, Arys?” I asked with the same stone cold stare he’d given me at Shya’s. “You don’t like it when I push back?”

He didn’t fall as easily under my spell as Kale and Jenner, but he did fall. I saw it in his eyes. His pupils dilated, and his grip on me softened. A wicked smile stole over him. “Like it? Hell, I fucking love it,” Arys murmured, leaning in to kiss me.

The sound of my hand slapping his face was loud in the sudden quiet. My palm stung, and I stared in shock, having surprised myself. Before I could overthink it, I shoved back with both my hands and my power.

Arys was ready for it, and he countered with a push of energy that hurt even as it taunted my desire. We were too evenly matched. Being a vampire gave him an advantage though. He could channel more than I could because of my mortal limits. That would change soon enough.

Frustration spurred me forward. I let loose with a flurry of hits that he did a great job of blocking. Except for the last one that landed with the smack of flesh hitting flesh.

His head snapped sideways, and I leaped back out of reach. A low chuckle came from him. Arys turned to face me, grinning as he wiped a drop of blood from his lip.

“You know how this ends just as well as I do,” he said with a nod toward the bed. A sinful glint in his eyes revealed the monster within him. The darkness driving him was strong, called forth by our mutual wrath.

It was impossible to maintain a level of rationale with that force thrumming through me. Arys’s cocky comment didn’t help.

“Not this time,” I snapped. “Not after what you did. It will be a cold day in hell before I pretend that didn’t happen.” I shook with rage. I was all fangs and claws, wanting so badly to take a swipe at him.

His twisted amusement faded, replaced by a deadly glare. “Get over it, Alexa. I did what I had to do. And I’m not sorry.”

That did it. I snapped. I launched myself at Arys with an angry growl. Anticipating my temper, he braced for the attack. He caught me with a growl of his own and wrestled me to the floor. The echo of my beast shone in his eyes. Despite my struggles, he managed to pin my arms to my sides and bare my throat.

“What do you say, sweet wolf? Why don’t I just take you now? We can end it here, and Shya never gets the chance to sacrifice you.” Arys’s voice was husky with the snarl of a wolf that could never manifest.

It usually frightened me to see the remnant of my beast lurking within him. Not this time though.

“Do it,” I demanded. “Why put off the inevitable? You might as well destroy us now and save me the heartache of having an audience.”

Something in my strangled cry gave him pause. “Is that what you want?”

A swell of emotion bubbled up to mock me, and I stifled a sudden sob. “I want the waiting to be over.”

Arys gazed into my eyes, finding the anguish eating away at me. The storm in him settled, and he said in a ragged whisper, “So do I.”

Again we were one. Just like that. Torn apart and thrust back together in a heartbeat. The curse of twin flames: endless conflict amid undying love. We lived with the hunger to consume the other even as we longed to be consumed. It was a hell of a thing.

I understood fully why Lilah and Salem had both suffered a loss of sanity. It was happening to us too. Knowing that, however, didn’t make it easier to accept. The supernatural force commanding us seemed at times a conscious entity of its own. It hovered over us, swept through us, and lifted us up to a dangerous place full of false promises.

I didn’t care. I was ready for it to be over.

“Do it,” I begged.

Arys appeared torn, though the longing was evident in his eyes. He stared at my jugular, deciding how fast or slow to make my death. He would want to make it last, I knew that. I’d been inside his head. That’s how he worked. Why rush the good stuff?

“Do it!” I repeated, using a slap of power to enforce my command.