Archaic

by Lexy Timms

He’s trying to smoke us out.

  He’s trying to make sure Clarissa is bound to me.

  “Do you trust me?”

  I slide into a booth and pull her close to me as Vlad sits across the table from us.

  “Shall we order?” he asks.

  “Of course, I do.”

  “Then play along for the next hour and assume an apology is coming.”

  Chapter 20

  ~ Clarissa

  Sebastian slips his hand around my waist and pulls me into him.

  My body is pressing against his chiseled form and a heat is creeping up the back of my neck. I can feel everyone’s eyes on us. I can smell their curious scent in the air. Vlad is ordering for us, attempting to assert his dominance over Sebastian. But I can feel his nails burrowing into my skin. Piercing the outer layer and shivering my spine.

  I have to clench my jaw to keep it from trembling. The pain ricocheting through my body feels fantastic.

  Electric. Like the time Sebastian kissed me.

  Sebastian and Vlad talk like old friends. Shooting the shit.

  Updating each other on their lives. Sebastian’s talking about his cabin and the hole in it he had to fix. I grin up at him from underneath my eyelashes, and the look he gives me shoots straight to my core. He pulls me into his lap, and I can feel him growing underneath me. His groin pulsing against my body as I straddle his lap. It’s like I’m not even there. Like everyone isn’t staring at us, wondering what Sebastian will do with his mate.

  Part of me is worrying that the plan is to fuck me right there in the booth to prove I am his.

  And part of me isn’t concerned if that has to take place.

  I’m not sure why.

  I feel the urge to dip my face into the crook of Sebastian’s neck. His scent is overwhelming. The lust pouring off him sends me into a frenzy. I’m kissing his neck and sucking at his skin.

  His claws are protruding, piercing through the fabric of my tight shirt. I don’t have control anymore, and I don’t care. It’s not like me to not care.

  But for some reason, I don’t.

  Everyone begins to avert their gaze as I grind into Sebastian’s lap. The hold he has on me is electric. His claws. How they vibrate against my body. I can feel my teeth sharpening. I can feel the hairs on the back of my neck standing on end. My lips are poised against his jugular, and I feel the overwhelming sensation to bite down. To mar his skin and pull him from his pants and shove him into my body.

  Where is this coming from?

  What is happening to me?

  “What are you doing?”

  “Clarissa, it’s not me. Stay in control.”

  “I can’t. What’s going on? Why is this happening?”

  “Not now. Later. You have to back off. I can’t hold myself off much longer.”

  “Sebastian—”

  “Get. Off.”

  I force myself to slide off to the side, and I can hear my heart thundering in my ears. Sebastian is panting, and Vlad’s eyes are wide with intrigue. My nipples are puckered, and the fabric of my shirt is torn in the back. The cold air sweeps across my skin and forces my body to cool down. I’m shivering. Shaking violently against Sebastian’s side.

  But he doesn’t pull me back.

  He doesn’t pull me back into his warmth.

  “And here I thought we were going to have a show,” Vlad says.

  “Not how I operate,” I say breathlessly.

  “Not how you operate with Sebastian? Or not how you operate at all?”

  My eyes slowly pan over to Vlad, and I can feel his heat radiating out toward me. Sebastian begins to growl, his territorial instincts taking over again. The smell of his lust

  changes instantly, and suddenly I’m aware of why this is taking place. Vlad wants to claim me. To make me his own.

  Because he knows I’m not Sebastian’s.

  Shit.

  They know I’m not Sebastian’s.

  “We need information from him, right?”

  I look over at Sebastian, but his eyes are fully trained on his friend.

  “What if I played along?”

  “No.”

  “If everyone knows I’m not yours, they might not harm me if I begin to attach myself to Vlad.”

  “No.”

  “Sebastian—”

  I watch his eyes turn toward me as he falls back into the booth.

  The tension in the room is rising, and I know I’m already in trouble. I can smell Vlad’s want for me. I can feel his foot snaking against mine underneath the table. It makes me sick, but we have come here to talk with him about his father. About his father’s connection to Merti and how this all intertwines with Igo and the warriors.

  If such a connection even exists.

  “Fine. But if he makes one foul move toward you, he’s dead.”

  “No better than the Cat but acting like one?”

  Sebastian’s eyes whip over to me as my gaze settles on Vlad. I push my foot against his underneath the table as a grin crosses his face. He seems pleased with himself, and I hope he is. Our food comes, and we eat in silence, but I can tell alphas left and right are beginning to back off. Turning their heads away from us and training them back onto their own mates. Their own conquests.

  Vlad has somehow alerted everyone to the fact that I am his.

  And Sebastian is not happy.

  “Aren’t you hungry?” Vlad asks. “You haven't touched your food.”

  “I’m a bit cold, more than anything,” I say. “Do you have somewhere I could warm up?”

  “My dear, why didn’t you say something? I have the perfect place for us to be.”

  Sebastian grits his teeth as we slide from the booth. Vlad walks away without even paying, and I’m not sure what to think of that.

  People clamor around the booth, cleaning it off quickly and the action is curious. I’m not sure why any of this is taking place, but I figure it's probably because of who he is.

  Who his father is, really.

  Vlad offers me his arm, and I take it. Sebastian’s mind is screaming. Growling and ready to rip Vlad’s throat out.

  I try to block him out. To disconnect myself with him.

  But it’s hard.

  Sebastian’s electricity is still vibrating my rib cage.

  We walk in silence all the way up the road before taking a hard right. The snow is coming down heavier than ever, and I start shivering against Vlad. He wraps his arm around me, and I hate that his warmth is so comforting. I burrow into him as the street narrows until it turns into a staircase.

  A staircase up to a decadent home.

  “Let’s get you warmed up, shall we?” Vlad asks. “Sebastian, go find us all something to drink.”

  I whip my head around as Sebastian stops, his nostrils flaring with anger. Vlad turns his head around and grins before pulling me closer to his body. This isn’t good. Leaving me alone with Vlad isn’t going to go over well. And Sebastian knows it. But it’s the only way we can get information out of him, so it’s our only choice.

  “Be quick. Please.”

  “I’m not leaving you.”

  “We have no choice. We can’t leave now. We’re so close, Sebastian.”

  “I don’t take orders from him.”

  “Go get us some drinks.”

  Sebastian clenches his jaw before he turns his back on us. I can feel his anger. Smell his fury. He marches off in the opposite direction as Vlad continues leading me down the hallway, then we end up in a room. A beautiful room with nothing but pillows lining the outer rim and a massive four-poster bed against the wall.

  “My quarters,” Vlad says. “How are you feeling?”

  “Much better,” I say with a smile. “Thank you.”

  “Not used to the cold?”

  “Not this kind of cold.”

  “Here. Take this.”

  I watch Vlad shrug off his coat before he walks over to me. He wraps it around my shoulders, allowing his fingers to caress my cheek. He
smells putrid. Nothing like Sebastian. I choke down the bile rising up my throat as Vlad’s hands land on my shoulders, massaging my muscles as my body relaxes.

  “What brings you to this part of the world?” he asks.

  “Answers,” I say.

  “What kind of answers do you seek?”

  “What’s your father like?”

  “Interested in the history of the Wolves?”

  He takes a deep sniff of the air as his nostrils flare out with the scent.

  “In a way. Tell me about him.”

  “My father—Lord Wesley—is the oldest of the remaining Wolves. He established this town centuries ago as a safe haven for alphas and their mates. Our numbers are dwindling, and my father wanted to provide a safe place for alphas and their mates to, well, mate. Our dear city has three services. Food, shelter, and medical care.”

  “All of which are needed to procreate,” I say.

  “Exactly. Each room in every hotel and house in this city is decorated for romance. Set a mood. Spark a fire between a Wolf and his mate. Many children have been born inside the walls of this city, though most have been male.”

  “Why the fighting when we first got here?”

  “There’s a rumor that only the strongest of alphas have the highest chance of producing female children. If a suitable female comes with an alpha to the doors, her alpha and another alpha battle. And to the victor go the spoils of war.”

  “What if a female comes alone?” I ask.

  “Then she is brought into the village and any alpha interested fights for her honor. Her body. The right to mate with her to bear children. She is then bound to procreate until she produces two females to be raised within the city walls.”

  “So a female once brought here, is forced to stay.”

  “She is treated with the utmost care. Fed the best foods our country has to offer and is only mated with the most able-bodied alphas.”

  “Is that supposed to make it any better that she’s trapped?” I ask. “And what does this have to do with your father?”

  “Who do you think makes the rules?” he asks.

  His eyes turn toward me, and I don’t like the look in them. He takes a step toward me and I back up. I can feel myself approaching the bed. I can feel it knocking against the backs of my legs. Vlad’s scent is overwhelming. I cough, trying to get rid of it.

  “Where are you, Sebastian?”

  “Tell me about the feud between the Wolves and the Cats,” I say.

  “What is there to say?” Vlad asks. “We’ve always been enemies.”

  “Why?” I ask. “Why can’t they get along?”

  “For centuries, those animals have preached about falling from the gods. Being the greatest gift to creation and claiming they are the only ones who deserve this planet. Are you familiar with the Council?”

  “Yes,” I say. “I am.”

  “Why do you think it was formed?”

  “I don’t understand.”

  Vlad reaches out and caresses my cheek, and I have half a mind to bite his hand off.

  “It’s okay that you don’t. But the Council was formed originally to keep the vision of the Cats at bay. To keep Wolves and Cats from slaughtering each other until we were both wiped from the face of this earth. All Primals are represented, including Wolves and Cats, forcing them to co-habitat.”

  “Though you don’t like it.”

  “Me personally?”

  “Who else would I be talking about?” I ask.

  “I figured we were still on my father.”

  “What about your father? Does he not like cohabitating with Cats?”

  “He’s a little more progressive than most.”

  I’m close. I can feel it.

  Suddenly, I’m pinned to the bed. Vlad’s face is in the crook of my neck, and my legs are flailing. His claws are bared, and his teeth are sharp, and he’s growling against my skin.

  “You smell so good. And nothing like that mutt Sebastian.”

  “What are you doing? Get off me!”

  “You’re mine, mate.”

  “I am not your mate!”

  I knee him in his groin, and he howls out in pain. I scramble up from the bed and roll off the side. My claws are growing, and hair is sprouting along my hands. But Vlad is too strong. His hands grab my shoulders as his claws dig into my skin. I cry out, my mind swirling with ways to get him off me as he slams me into the wall.

  “Sebastian lost the right to you when he went to get us a drink.

  No alpha wolf ever takes commands from anyone. No one. That was my version of a fight. I don’t bare my teeth and shove my claws into the back of my own race. That’s cowardice. Weak. Pathetic. I show my dominance another way.”

  I feel his hands ripping at my pants, but I can’t move. His tongue is licking across my skin, and it’s physically painful.

  Tears rise to my eyes as his hand grabs my ass, his claws digging into the meat of my skin.

  “Sebastian!”

  “What the fuck are you doing?”

  Vlad’s claws are ripped away from my body as I fall to my knees.

  I can hear a thud against the wall as I sink to the floor. I’m shivering. My mind is racing. I feel helpless. Unable to control the reaction my body is having. Physical pain is shooting through every part of my body, and I can’t explain it.

  Sebastian’s claws felt so good, but Vlad’s hurt so much.

  Why?

  Why?

  “Why is this happening?”

  Growls of superiority are filling the room as I turn around. I can see Sebastian pinning Vlad to the ground. Vlad swipes his hand over Sebastian’s cheek, drawing blood and shearing his skin.

  Sebastian picks the wolf up by the throat and holds him in midair, his body throbbing. His muscles twitching. Bouncing in between keeping himself human and morphing. Shredding his clothes and killing Vlad on the spot.

  “You will never have her,” Sebastian says.

  “Don’t worry. It doesn’t smell like you will either,” Vlad says.

  Vlad kicks his claws out towards Sebastian’s stomach and pierces his gut. I scramble from the floor and go running for him as he sinks to his knees. I wrap my arms around Sebastian and try to pull him out of the room. Before he’s injured further.

  Before he’s killed.

  But Sebastian rips away from me and charges Vlad. He pins the man to the wall and sinks his teeth into his jugular. Blood is pooling on the floor as Vlad slumps, and Sebastian picks up a blanket and wipes his mouth off. People are rushing in. Nurses are tending to Vlad’s wounds. Sebastian backs away as my body begins to shake, my eyes wide with terror.

  “Come on,” he says. “We need to go.”

  “Is he? Did you?”

  “Come on, Clarissa,” he says.

  But it’s the groan from his throat that catches my attention.

  He’s still bleeding from his stomach.

  I need to get him back.

  Chapter 21

  ~ Toshi

  Clarissa comes barreling into the room with a wounded Sebastian wrapped around her body. She lays him on the bed, and Penny rushes up, trying to see what’s going on. Clarissa’s face is pale as she backs away from the bed. She’s trembling. Panting.

  And the terror in her eyes is unmistakable.

  “I’m getting some hot water,” Penny says. “I also need towels.

  And peroxide. And anything else you can find.”

  “Clarissa?” I ask. “Can you hear me?”

  But all she is doing is staring at Sebastian as he growls on the bed.

  She slowly backs away until she hits a wall. It’s like she’s not really here. She’s seeing, but not processing. Hearing, but not responding. My arms wrap around her body, and she slumps into me, her head falling to my shoulder.

  “It’s okay. I’ve got you,” I say.

  “These are deep,” Penny says. “This is gonna hurt, Rover.”

  Sebastian’s howl fills the hotel room as C
larissa begins to sob on my shoulder.

  “Come on. Let’s get you something to drink.”

  “I can’t leave him,” she says.

  “Penny’s got him for now. He’ll be okay.”

  “I’m not leaving him.”

  “But him seeing you like this won’t help.”

  My eyes connect with Clarissa’s, and she nods in silence. She leans into me as I carry her into the kitchen, her feet stumbling along. She’s only half here with us. Only half present in the moment. Sebastian is growling and cursing Penny’s existence as she tries to patch him up, and every time he howls Clarissa jerks.

  “What happened?” I ask as I grab her hands.

  “I can’t—it’s too horrible.”

  Her hands are trembling, and I bring them to my lips. I kiss them over and over, and I’m shocked when she lets me. She keeps shaking her head. Like she’s trying to rid herself of a terrible memory.

  “Did you find out anything?” I ask.

  She shakes her head “no” as a tear streams down her face.

  I reach out and wipe it with my thumb, my hand cupping her cheek.

  She turns her fearful eyes back to mine as her hand squeezes my own. I can see her coming back to me. I watch as she’s pulled back into reality. The shaking in her body settles, and the tears stop coming, but I can still hear Sebastian struggling in the other room.

  “Hold still, Beast.”

  “Then stop hurting me,” Sebastian says.

  “I have to get in there,” Clarissa says breathlessly. “I have to lick his wounds.”

  “No,” I say, knowing the connection that will breed. “You can’t.

  Not like this.”

  “Why do I want to lick his wounds?”

  Her eyes flicker from fear to confusion, and my heart aches for her. Urges she has and doesn’t even know why. Senses she experiences getting stronger, but she doesn’t know how to utilize properly. Do I tell her? Should I tell her? Is it my place to tell her?

  No. It’s not.

  It’s Sebastian’s.

  “It’s the Wolf in you, that’s all,” I say.

  “I don’t know if I want to be a Wolf,” she says.

  I smile carefully as my hand falls from her face.

  “You can be whatever you want. At this moment, at least. You’ll always have that freedom with me.”