Chapter 9

Alexi watches as Zara"s eyes drift open, her brow furrowing.

"What the…where are we?" she murmurs.

"Aziel"s penthouse. After speaking with Zeenia, she suggests this would be the safest place for you to recover." A wry smile tugs at his lips. "Don"t worry, she"ll ensure Aziel keeps his distance."

Zara"s gaze drops to the bandage on her arm, her brow furrowing. Alexi follows her line of sight to the crimson splotch on his own shirt.

"Don"t worry about it," he says dismissively, lifting the edge of his shirt to reveal the healing gash along his ribcage. "Cuts like that don"t disappear in a snap, even for us. Barely a papercut on my end."

Zara"s eyes narrow, suspicion gleaming in their depths. "I thought vampire healing was practically immediate."

Alexi forces a casual shrug, burying his unease and forces a grin. But in the shadowed corners of his mind, doubt smolders. Revealing that it"s because of her and the bond that hasn"t been accepted? Not an option.

Keep your shit together.Her mere existence has already sent his reality, sparking an inferno inside that threatens to rage out of control.

Alexi watches as Zara struggles to sit up, her face contorting in a grimace of pain. He immediately goes to her side, his hands reaching out to help her, but Zara waves him off.

"I"m fine," she insists, her voice tight with strain.

Alexi holds his hands up in a gesture of surrender, but he doesn"t move away. His eyes, a vibrant blue green tinged with flecks of red, remain fixed on her, a mixture of concern and something else, something deeper, swirling in their depths.

Zara"s gaze meets his, and for a moment, the air between them crackles with an unspoken tension. Then, she clears her throat, breaking the spell. "You said you"d tell me about the Ghaurs when we were safe. Well, we"re safe now. So spill."

"The Ghaurs..." Alexi begins, his expression grave. "They"re an abomination. Twisted creations born from a deranged vampire scientist"s experiments centuries ago to magnify our powers. But what he unleashed are soulless, mindless beasts driven by insatiable bloodlust."

Zara"s eyes widen with fear.

"Those were the things that attacked us?" Alexi nods grimly. "They were supposed to have been wiped out long ago. Their resurgence doesn"t bode well. It means someone"s been creating them." His jaw tightens. "I"m pretty sure the attacks, the missing humans, are all related to this. And tonight, it seems like they have a plan...like they know exactly who they are after."

Damn, I shouldn"t have dumped all this on her at once,he thinks, his brow furrowing. Alexi clears his throat.

As they sit together, the silence stretches between them, comfortable and yet charged with unspoken emotions.

"I was born into the Dragomir lineage, a family known for its loyalty to the Zampieri clan," he begins, his voice low and measured. "From the moment I could walk, I was trained to be a protector, an assassin for the vampires who ruled our world."

Zara listens intently, her golden eyes never leaving his. Alexi can sense her empathy, her understanding of what it means to be born into a role that defines your entire existence.

"For centuries, I lived only to serve, to carry out the will of my masters," he continues, a bitter edge creeping into his words. "But then...then I met her. A human woman who showed me what it truly meant to love."

Alexi"s eyes flash with a mixture of pain and longing. "Our love was doomed from the start. She was mortal, and I...a creature of the night."

He nods, wrestling down the grief rising in his throat. "After she died, I locked my heart away, encasing it in layers of ice and steel. I fooled myself into believing love was a fatal flaw, a weakness I couldn"t afford in my world."

Zara"s delicate touch sends a current racing through Alexi, her soft words piercing the armor he"s meticulously constructed around his heart. "I can"t imagine the pain of losing someone like that," she murmurs, her voice wavering with shared sorrow.

He looks up, his eyes locking with Zara"s. "I"m not telling you this to feel sorry for me. But when you crashed into my life, and everything shifted. You breathed life into a part of me I thought had withered and died."

Her breath catches, pulse pounding at the fervor of his confession. "I know what you mean," she whispers, her admission barely audible. "My entire life has been dedicated to preparing to lead my pack, to becoming the alpha they deserve. Love...or whatever this is…was never even a consideration."

Drawing in a shaky breath, her eyes glisten with unshed tears. "But when I"m with you, Alexi, the rest of the world disappears. The duties, the generations of hatred...it all just fades into the background."

Holy shit.Alexi"s heart hammers against his ribcage as the magnitude of her words sinks in. This brilliant, fierce, beautiful woman - his supposed mortal enemy - feels the same intense, undeniable connection blazing between them.

Alexi"s fingers graze Zara"s cheek, her skin soft as silk beneath his calloused touch. "Easy? No. Worth it?" He searches her eyes, his voice low and raw. "Abso-fucking-lutely. We"ve got a metric shit-ton of baggage to unpack, but..." He brushes his thumb over her lower lip. "I"ll fight like hell for this, Zara. For you."

Please, don"t push me away,he silently begs, his heart clenching. Not now that I"ve finally found you.

She nuzzles into his palm, lashes fluttering closed, her scent spiking with need. "The future"s a goddamn mystery, but this..." She covers his hand with hers, pressing it firmly to her cheek as her eyes open, blazing with intensity. "What"s between us? It"s the one thing I"m sure of."

The air crackles with tension. Fuck, I want to kiss her. Alexi"s cock throbs, straining behind his zipper with the unspoken promise of her touch.

The second their mouths crash together, an inferno ignites in Alexi"s blood, ravaging his senses.

Nothing could"ve prepared him for Zara"s intoxicating flavor - rich and dark, sweet with an edge of danger. Like the finest whiskey, smooth yet it burns so good sliding down his throat. He"s already addicted, craving more with every brush of her lips, every swipe of her tongue against his.

Christ, is this what kissing her will always feel like? A blissful torment I can"t resist? Alexi couldn"t stop if the world was ending, too drunk on Zara"s taste, her scent, the sinful slide of her body against his.

He"s painfully hard, desire raging through his veins like molten lava, threatening to consume him whole. Alexi deepens the kiss, devouring Zara"s mouth like he"s a man starved and she"s his last meal.

His fingers tighten their grip, one hand fisting in her hair, the other digging into the tempting swell of her hip. Alexi angles her head, plundering the honeyed recesses of Zara"s mouth with his tongue. He"s a man possessed, driven by the insatiable urge to taste her, explore her, lay claim to every inch of her untamed beauty.

The scent of her arousal floods his senses, overwhelming him with desire. Fuck. Need to slow down. The thought surfaces through the haze of lust. Before I ravage her right here.

There"s no finesse, no gentleness as their tongues tangle and teeth clash. It"s raw, carnal need that strips away any semblance of control. Alexi wants to mark her, possess her, fucking ruin her for anyone else.

MINE. The word reverberates through him, a vicious promise. Because this little wolf is his now. And he"s never letting her go.

Zara rocks against him, just as lost to the feverish desire sparking between them. Alexi can feel how much she wants this, wants him. It makes him fucking ache.

He gentles the kiss, just a fraction. Teases the seam of her lips with his tongue before dipping inside to taste her thoroughly. And fucking hell, nothing has ever been sweeter.

His finally lets guard drop, and an onslaught of visions slams into Alexi with staggering force.

Blood-soaked fields litter with broken bodies. A sky roils with angry clouds. Amidst the carnage, a figure emerges from the shadows – tall, imposing, with eyes that gleam with darkness and a presence that radiates malevolence like a physical weight.

The battlefield teems with mangled corpses, a grotesque tapestry woven by the clash of armies. Angry storm clouds churn overhead, mirroring the tempest raging in Alexi"s heart.

A menacing silhouette detaches from the shadows, striding through the gore with the lethal elegance of a hunting cat. Alexi"s pulse pounds as he takes in the figure"s towering frame and piercing gaze, a primal fear knotting his gut. Fuck, this guy radiates pure evil.

Striking, cruel features materialize from the gloom - an aristocrat"s bone structure married to a killer"s cold eyes. Raven hair whips about the man"s face, failing to soften the sheer malice twisting his lips. Power cloaks him like a living shroud, ancient and pitiless.

The figure stands triumphant over the ruins of a once-great city, bodies twisted in terror at his feet. A blood-red moon casts an eerie glow over the scene of destruction, and Alexi"s heart pounds with the realization of the great threat they face – a being of immense power and hatred that will stop at nothing.

Alexi breaks the kiss, his head spinning as the chilling images dissolve, leaving him breathless and disoriented. Zara"s lithe form remains pressed against his, their hearts pounding in frenzied unison.

Zara jerks back, her eyes wild. "What the fuck was that?"

He swallows hard, struggling to find his voice. "I... I think it was a vision."

"A vision? How the hell is that possible?" Zara demands, her voice shaky.

Alexi drags a hand through his hair, struggling to gather his racing thoughts. "Zeenia... she mentioned there might be some side effects when we..." He clears his throat. "When vampires find their fated mate."

Fated mate.The words echo in his mind, both thrilling and terrifying. Is this really happening? Is Zara truly accepting their bond?

His heart hammers against his ribs as he reaches for Zara, needing to feel her reassuring warmth. "I think us getting vision means you"re starting to embrace our connection. That we"re meant to be together."

Zara bites her lip, uncertainty flickering across her face. But she doesn"t pull away from his touch.

A shiver wracks his body as the implications sink in. His mind wanders back to the shadowy figure, radiating ancient malevolence and terrifying power... Alexi has a sinking suspicion he knows exactly who it is. Fuck me. They"re in deep shit if he"s right.

"I might know who"s behind the attacks," he says hoarsely, hands still unconsciously roaming Zara"s curves. "But I have talk to Aziel first, make sure I"m not jumping to conclusions. We need a plan before we do anything rash."

Anxiety and anticipation pulse through him in equal measure. Part of him just wants to grab Zara and run far away from this impending shitstorm. But if that vision was any indication, there may be nowhere left to run if they don"t stop this threat here and now. Goddamn it. Why can"t anything ever be simple?

Zara nods, understanding flickering across her face even as a hint of reluctance tugs at her features. "Do what you need to do," she whispers, her hand coming up to cup his cheek. "But be careful, Alexi. We don"t know what we"re up against."

He presses into her caress, lids drifting shut for a fleeting instant as he relishes the soothing heat of her flesh melding with his own. When they flutter open once more, his blood-red eyes blaze with a resolute intensity that steals the air from Zara"s lungs.

"I will," he promises, his voice a low growl that sends shivers down her spine. "I won"t let anything happen to you, Zara. Not now, not ever."

Alexi draws Zara near, settling his hands on the tantalizing curves of her hips as he loses himself in the mesmerizing depths of her amber eyes. A sense of urgency underscores his hushed tone. "Meet me back here, okay? I"ll be back as soon as I can."

I need her to be safe,he thinks, his thumbs absently tracing soothing patterns on her skin, the touch igniting a current of electricity between them. Zara"s delicate hands come to rest on his chest, the warmth of her palms seeping through the fabric of his shirt and into his very soul.

"I"ll be here," she vows, her breathless words kindling a flame low in his belly that threatens to consume him.

With one last lingering look, Alexi steps back, his body already aching at the loss of contact. He turns and strides towards the door, his mind racing with the implications of their shared vision and the urgent need to uncover the truth behind the attacks.