And suddenly the room felt as if it were spinning, her vision blurring, distorting as her skin burned with something too hot, something too raw. The silence stretched like a vast canyon, and yet it seemed to hum with their heat. His eyes locked with hers, a liquid dark that bore into her very core as if he could see right through her. It was as if he could see everything.
A breath escaped him, the most gentle of exhales like the rush of wind through trees, like the beginning of a storm. His eyes seemed to darken then as if he struggled to hold himself back, as if he was almost about to break through his control. And she could feel him, every inch of him, radiating the most inviting heat. Her Omega thrashed, her pulse stirring as a thrill ran up her spine.
She burned.
Her words were caught in her throat as he teased her, closing the space between them, lips parted. His breath was steady. There was a rawness in his eyes, and it was as if he were on the edge of something they could not escape. "What do you mean—"
He moved so quickly she barely had time to draw another breath, and suddenly he was kissing her as if he'd die without a taste. His purr vibrated loudly from his chest, and hers stumbled free through a gasped whimper.
She was fucking purring; her Omega was thrilling.
What the fuck?
He swallowed her sounds down, desperate groans flooding from his tongue as his lips swept for hers, dragging her into a mire of wet heat. He kissed her like he was consuming her, cock hard and swollen against the seam of her pussy. And for a glorious long moment, she allowed herself the needy grind of her hips, allowed her clit to catch upon his heated length as their lips met again and again.
A second and he was off her, panting hard and glaring with such aching longing that she was utterly befuddled.
"True mates," Levi panted, and she almost unravelled from the flush of his cheeks and the devastating need in his eyes. He was gorgeous then, glowing in the darkness of his shadows like the fullest moon. "Are rarer than soulmates. Do you see me fucking myself on Dante's cock like it feels fucking good, creaming myself on his dick? Do you see them impaling themselves on my fiery cock as if it feels like heaven?"
Her cheeks were hot then, understanding dawning upon her. He'd felt her guiding Dante; they all did. "Oh, shut up."
"I tolerate Dante," he told her. "Just as they tolerate me. We burn each other. It fucking hurts to fuck those overpowered fuckers. Sure, they love me, they lust for me. They want me. We Rut. We're soulmates. But a true mate sings like a missing piece. It feels right, it feels good. You can't cheat when you've got a fucking true mate. It's like going down on your knees to eat fresh, steaming dog shit when you've got a platter of ambrosia on a fucking table." His smile shone then, calling to her like a siren out at sea. "They'll say the same."
"You've got Kieran, and he's not dog shit," she blurted out, her chest tight with the weight of the moment. "You're always fucking him. We've talked about this before. You're just unlucky to have overpowered soulmates."
"He doesn't come close to you, and we both know it." Levi hissed. "Who do you think we're both thinking of when we fuck? Whose name is on our tongue?" His grip tightened then, not enough to hurt but just enough to sting. "Whose?"
"Mine," she admitted weakly.
He went back for her lips, luxuriously slow and erotic as his tongue fondled with hers, coiling and stroking until they were spots in her eyes. There was a flash of befuddled outrage from her, and her hand lifted to push him away with a hot flush on her cheeks. But he stopped her with a hand, fingers lacing with hers so thoroughly she felt a tingle run down her spine.
He broke from her lips with a choked sob, pressing a kiss to her shoulder. The touch electrified her, and she jerked in his grip with a shaky gasp. Her skin was burning for his touch — warm, rough and yet so deliciously tender. And each caress had her sinking into him, needing him, her Omega pulling towards him like a magnet as if guided by an invisible pull that refused to leave. "Guiding can work both ways," he admitted hotly, panting lightly. He was so fucking sexy, lips swollen red, rock hard and needy. The thought had her insides throbbing with want. "I'm just taking your poison from you."
"Y-You," her fists pounded gently on his chest. She could barely speak now, her thoughts muddled by his touch. Her body was dripping wet, coaxed by the gentle petting of his fingers along the length of her spine. "You're just taking the chance to kiss me—"
But she paused, sudden clarity growing in her mind. The darkness had disappeared from her mind, the mud dripping off her, the longer he touched her. Bewildered, she looked his way to see a smirk on his lips. And then he flew at her again, tongue against tongue, lips to lips. But she was the degenerate pervert this time, hands clasping at his ass, forcing him closer to her, cock digging into the silky folds of her cunt. Warmth grew against her belly as he spilled precum over himself with a throaty moan.
Possessed, she continued to cling onto him, pushing the filth in her mind into his veins. And he choked out a husky whimper. She saw it now when she parted from his tongue to look into his eyes, no longer burning with a devilish heat. The way the whites of his eyes seemed to pool with ink, sclera tainted by a darkness that was not his fire or his rock. Lust glazing hooded depths.
Ink.
She flinched back, horrified. The need was immediately replaced by concern. "Levi—"
Levi didn't seem to give a fuck, laughter on his tongue, chest heaving as he gasped for air. "I do all this for you for a reason. And if you cared, you'd have known that true mates are the head of the pack of a complete soul." He gave her a look. "They're almost always the most beloved soulmate. And the fact that you aren't a part of our soul has broken a long-standing ancient tradition. It fucked with Seraphim so hard he's lost faith in his abilities as an Oracle. It fucked with my pack because you're Omega. But my shadows and I don't give a fuck. It wants you, and that's enough for me." He snarled out the last bit with a curse.
True mates. Rue stared at him. "It's not just you?"
"No shit?" he smirked at her. "The boys must have mentioned the term."
Her brows furrowed. "Seraphim talked about it, said something about being married…"
"He's warming to the idea, then. How about Halcyon?" he said. "Valentino? Altair? Kieran?"
"All of them?" she gawked at him.
"That's right," he nodded. "They can't hide their secrets from me."
"Except Dante."
He smiled. "You're an Omega who can touch him, you can also use his lightning like it's yours. That's a sign for zeus, for what is mine is yours." His gaze darkened. "You're ours."
The control she had over their powers.Her powers.He was talking about her ability to use their strength. There was a twitch in her brow, lips parted into a gawk. Edmund's words whispered in her ears. Temporary pack. Hera's call.
What if her ability to control Levi's shadows was not a sign that she was his? Fear spiked in her chest. What if they weren't true mates? Would he change his mind? Would he still want her?
But why did she want him to want her?
Why did she want to be his true mate?
Why did she want to be their true mate?
"It could be bullshit," she said. "I'm not normal."
"Maybe," he shrugged, but levelled her with a serious look. "I don't care. I just do what I want."
"I'm an Omega with a monster for a soulmate."
"I. Don't. Fucking. Care." He held her hand then, fingers squeezing tighter. His eyes were two endless pools of ink, but they were the warmest reflection of his soul. And she could feel him now as she looked into his eyes. The lack of distance between their souls, the certainty of his conviction, of their bond. His love, steady and so unyielding engulfing her in its hold, forcing her to understand the safety that he could provide if she allowed herself to believe him. Levi repeated those words then. "I don't care. I don't care. I. Don't. Care."
She couldn't speak then, choked up on a strange rush of emotions she could not understand. And her gaze drifted down to his neck. His veins were prominent now, darkened with something odd. The poison. She stared, a rush of despair and concern flooded her as she traced it down his skin. "Was this how I looked to you?"
His brow raised. "Is it on me?"
"It looks like…Death."
"Don't worry about me, little lamb." His fingers tucked a lock of her hair behind her ear. "I'm just glad you look well, and it's gone from your system."
She scowled, but concern fluttered through her. "I'm not worried for you." She was.
Levi seemed to read her mind, a lazy smile on his lips. "Thank you, darling. But unlike you, I can burn right through the poison."
His veins seemed to glow then, ignited by the hot roaring fire that pulsed into embers in his eyes. He glowed from within, his veins laced with fire, the imprint of his heart now showing under his chest, pounding against her skin beneath the shadows of bones and flesh. But Levi was never hot under her fingers, he was always warm. And right now, he looked like a glowing star.
Her star.
He stumbled, a sudden groan erupting from his throat. She caught him before he could fall.
"Levi—"
"That shit was potent," he growled. "That fucker tried to kill you."
She couldn't answer him, hands pressed to his chest, eyes on his heart, staring at the way it soared. The way it pulsed like a firefly's beacon. "Levi," she said, "your heart. It's racing."
"It's because of you," he shrugged lazily. "Fuck, I can't hide anything from you, can I?" And she could see it now, the pulse of it as she traced his collarbone with her fingers. The way his blood surged when she looked into his eyes. She could now see the full physical effect she had on him, and it was crazy.
He captured her lips again then, tongue parting her, taking her into a slow erotic kiss until she was whimpering against his chuckling mouth. He pulled back, but his heart continued soaring at a crazed pace. The juxtaposition of his outward appearance and inner condition was fucking insane. And there was a touch of embarrassment on his cheeks as the fire died into embers, the glow in his veins fading steadily.
Levi cleared his throat. "I should take you home."
She was in awe. "You're going into cardiac arrest."
"Shut the fuck up."
"You're having palpitations." She blinked, squinting into the fading light. The joy that grew within her soul was immense. "Do you have a massive crush on me?"
"You think?" he snorted, hands on her waist, gentle against the slope of her lower back.
Their eyes locked once again, and for the first time, Rue finally recognised the heat in his eyes, the steady thrum of his heart. The love that hummed in his veins, threatening to overflow.
He was in love with her.
"We'll talk about everything later," the hades sighed, a flush of embarrassment on his cheeks. "For now, Dante's practically killing himself with worry." There was a flash of anxiety in his eyes then. "The fucker's deep in Rampage. He thinks he's gotten you killed. They all do."
Read ahead to Chapter 53 on
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