Defying the Lycan King (Kira and Derek) novel Chapter 279

Chapter 279: A Flare in the Dark

Lydia trailed soft kisses down Rolf’s chest, and he groaned beneath her, one hand sliding lazily along her spine as he soaked up every bit of it. When she’d had enough, she sat up, gathering the sheets around herself, and was halfway off the bed when his fingers closed around her wrist and held her there.

She looked down at his hand, then back up at his face, one brow arching.

"What is it?" Lydia asked.

"When am I getting Tyron’s essence?" His voice came out soft, but there was an edge underneath it that hadn’t been there a moment ago. "Everything’s in place. We’ve got the girl. I’m here. The alphas are ready and waiting. There’s nothing stopping us merging the powers now."

Lydia let out a breath and sank back down onto the mattress.

"Listen to me, my love. It isn’t going to work properly, unless we bring Kira over to our side first. There’s still resistance in her."

"That girl’s always been stubborn." Rolf’s mouth twisted. "I thought you’d put something on her wrist to leash whatever she’s got."

"I did." Lydia’s brow creased slightly. "And that’s the strange part. Her mental shield is far stronger than it has any right to be, and I can’t work out why. I went into her head today. I very nearly had her, right up until she saw her own brother standing there with us, and then she pulled herself back together in seconds."

She shook her head slowly. "What bothers me most is that there’s nothing coming off her. No energy at all. Not a flicker."

"Hmm," Rolf hummed, without an ounce of genuine interest.

He wasn’t remotely bothered by any of it. Let the woman fret over shields and energy readings. All he wanted was that essence in his body, and once he had it, once he was immortal and untouchable, the Nexus girl could be dealt with however he liked. He’d never understood why Lydia insisted on going so gently with her in the first place.

"Since we’re on the subject of the twin," he said, "how far do you actually trust him?"

"I don’t." Lydia said it flatly, without hesitation. "But he’s a useful tool for now. You should have seen what his betrayal did to her, how it cracked her wide open. If she keeps having to look at his face, that heart of hers will keep breaking, and a broken heart is a far easier thing to get inside."

Rolf considered that. "Is there really no other way to merge her powers?"

Lydia sighed. "One. If she’s killed."

His eyebrows rose.

"But it’s no guarantee," she went on. "Kira is stubborn to her bones, and a stubborn spirit is worse than a stubborn girl. If she dies without ever believing us, that spirit would fight us for eternity."

"So her spirit could still do the work."

"It could. If it were coaxed." Lydia’s fingers smoothed absently over the sheet. "But that’s a very dangerous throw of the dice. We’ve waited years for this. What’s a few more days?"

Rolf made a noncommittal sound, and his hand slid up her arm again, drawing her back down towards him.

***

Out in the corridor, on the other side of the heavy door, someone stood perfectly still with their head tilted towards the gap.

They stayed there until the voices gave way to other sounds, kissing, the low murmur of the bed frame shifting. Then they straightened, turned, and walked away down the dim corridor without making a sound at all.

***

Sleep took a long time to come for Kira, and when it finally did, it wasn’t the restful kind.

She lay in the dark going back over every choice she’d made. First they had used Nana to slow her down. Now Braxton. Her own blood, standing in that throne room in a pressed shirt, calling Lydia Your Majesty.

VERIFYCAPTCHA_LABELVerify