Chapter 0216

Seraphina

“Where did you go?” Julian demands the moment I step into my apartment. “I expected you back hours ago.”

“Since when are you my keeper?” I snap irritably.

My mood was already foul. The slippery bastard I’d been tracking for days had given me the slip. Again.

He rolls his eyes as I shrug off my jacket and hang it by the door. “I’m trying to do you a favor. Getting rid of him means he won’t interfere with our plans. Isn’t that what you want?”

That Rogue had been lurking too close to Obsidian Howl. I didn’t need the complication.

All focus should be on me.

Julian presses his lips together, a frown creasing his brow.

“This is for us. Hunting Lycans and Wolves isn’t some new pastime for me, Julian. I’ve been doing this since I was a teen. This Rogue isn’t the first I’ve encountered. Though he is proving more clever than most.” I pull the knives and gun from my waistband, dropping them onto the coffee table.

His expression softens slightly. I close the distance and press my lips to his. No man has ever gotten this deep under my skin. It’s almost charming.

His dark gaze drops to my weapons. He’s looking for blood, but they’re still clean. “He’s still alive?”

“For now. The bastard knows exactly what he’s doing. Maybe I should just let him be. He’s clearly targeting someone in Obsidian Howl. But he’ll just kill them. He won’t break them first.”

“You should have told me. I would have helped.”

My eyes lock with his. “Some things I need to handle alone, Julian.”

He still struggles with that part of me. Even though he called me ‘Lone wolf’ when we met. He doesn’t fully grasp my need for independence. Athena and Alexander are different; that plan requires both of us.

Every second spent on this Rogue is a second longer until I sink my claws into my dear half-sister.

I press my body against his, letting him feel every curve. He grinds his hips into me, his hands roaming my sides. I can already feel him hardening against me. I thought my drive was high, but his is on another level.

He nuzzles into my neck, drawing a soft moan from me. He sucks and nips at my skin. Then his teeth begin to press deeper.

I shove him back, glaring. “What the hell do you think you’re doing?” I storm to the mirror. Small punctures mark where his teeth were about to claim me. Thankfully, they’re already healing. I stopped him just in time.

“We could link,” he argues.

“That’s your excuse? How dare you! I said I’ll tell you when—and if—I’m ever ready for that.” I stride back to him, eyes narrowed. I snatch a knife from the coffee table.

He backs against the window. I press the blade under his chin, the tip breaking skin. A bead of blood wells up.

He raises his hands. Sometimes he forgets. I’m the one who allowed him into my life. I make the decisions. I let him stay.

“Don’t you ever try that again!” I snarl. “I swear, I will gut you and hang you by your own intestines for the entire world to see.”