Kiera slowly regained awareness of her physical form, lying spent on the hard-packed earth of the cave floor. She felt utterly drained yet somehow more vitally alive than she had ever been
The merging with Ryker's primal spiritual force still had her reeling.
She'd experienced raptures and revelations far beyond the reaches of any mortal mind to comprehend.
For a transcendent, infinite moment, she had been more than just Kiera - she'd been the very embodiment of the luna renigitio itself.
"Breathe deep, little Luna," came Ryker's gruff baritone beside her. "The first immersion is always head-spinningly intense."
She turned her head toward him, blinking to clear her vision.
He looked as ruggedly corporeal as ever, yet there was an undeniable aura of power emanating from him now. His entire being seemed to thrum with preternatural dominance and ancient glory.
"That was...I've never felt anything like that in my life," Kiera managed, her voice trembling. "It was like being reborn into something much greater than myself."
Ryker's full lips curved into a wolfish grin of clear satisfaction. "Indeed.
You've taken the first step on the true path to realizing your destined role as the embodied conduit of our goddess's authority. The renigitio force capable of overturning the despotic regimes that have profaned our sacred rites for far too long."
Kiera pushed herself up onto one elbow, feeling the lingering tingle of cosmic energy still thrumming through her very cells. "So that was just the first baby step? There's more to come than that mind-shattering experience?"
"Much more," Ryker affirmed with a curt nod. "Our spiritual merging and the awakening of your primal essence was merely the first of seven cosmic gateways you must unveil and pass through.
Each will unlock more of the infinite renigitio power lying dormant inside you until you burn with the radiant force of a newborn celestial body."
He rose fluidly to his feet and began pacing before her in the cramped confines of their small grotto.
Despite his fluid grace, Kiera could sense the predatory prowling of a caged alpha beast struggling to contain its feral intensity.
"We'll need to move locations soon to begin the next phase," he stated, his gravelly tone taking on an edge of rasping urgency. "Somewhere more expansive.
Damien's bloodscent patrols are still combing this entire forest. We can't risk them picking up your awakened essence now that the change has begun gestating in your core."
Kiera felt a flutter of apprehension in her gut. "You mean leave these woods? But how can we hope to evade Damien's entire hunting force out in the open? They'll sniff us out for sure!"
Ryker fixed her with those depthless hazel eyes that seemed to glitter with ancient secrets. "We'll use speed and stealth under cover of night to cross into the Viridian Ridge Valleys beyond the western foothills.
My family's sacred ancestral redoubts are hidden deep within those fern-shrouded glades and escort tunnels. That's where your transformation to primality's next phase must take place."
Kiera worried her lower lip, feeling utterly overwhelmed by the monumental path being laid out before her.
Could she truly manage to reach these alleged inviolable ancestral lands of Ryker's lineage? And if so, at what ultimate cost would she be expected to pay for her freedom from the old regime's tyranny?
"If we're pursued and captured..." she ventured uncertainly. "Damien will stop at nothing to make us both pay for my defection. You know that, don't you?"
Ryker's expression turned grimly resolute, all hints of renigitio metaphysics falling away to reveal the lethally pragmatic alpha hunter.
"Then we cannot allow ourselves to be caught," he replied with a finality that brooked no argument.
"At all costs, Kiera - your path as the Luna regeneratrix must be cleared of all opposition. No matter what savage barbarism we must unleash to ensure our safe passage."
Kiera gave a slow nod, feeling the ruthless lupine side of her own nature rising in concord with his single minded ferocity.
They were committed to this destined upheaval now, for better or for worse.
"Very well," she agreed, locking her gaze with his,solidly. "On your lead, Ryker. I'm ready to embrace whatever primal savageries await on the road ahead."
His features shifted subtly at her sublime acceptance - burning with a predatory mixture.
Ryker gave a curt nod of approval at Kiera's words.
She could see the intense hunger flaring in his eyes - not just the carnal craving of a potent male for a willing female, but the deeper, more primordial yearning.
The insatiable alpha desire to utterly dominate, to conquer and subjugate every aspect of her being to his indomitable will.
It should have terrified her, this blatant threat of violation deep in her omega's core. But instead, Kiera felt her own nascent submission rising to meet his stark dominance head-on.
Some newly awakened part of her was rabidly eager to be mastered, overcome, absorbed into his transcendent primality.
Perhaps that was the true essence of Luna renigitio's infinite power - existing in perfect synergy with her alpha's feral supremacy.
Seeming to sense the electric charge now crackling between them, Ryker closed the distance separating their bodies with two powerful strides.
His rough, callused hands found her waist, drawing her flush against the rigid planes of his muscular frame.
"We move under cover of night," he growled in a low, gritty rasp that made her nerves tingle. "Travel swiftly and silently until we reach the ridgeline ravines as dawn breaks.
I'll show you the hidden path into the ancestral redoubt where your metamorphic progression can begin."
The ancient ceremonial dagger gleamed crimson in the pale moonlight as the high priestess raised it high. Kiera's breath caught in her throat, her heart pounding like the drums echoing through the stone hollows. This was really happening. Against her will, she was being subjugated to the cruelest tradition of the Blackwood Pack - the Blood Moon mating ritual that would bind her for life to Damien, the most ruthless and detested Alpha wolf in the entire ancient lineage.She risked a defiant glance at the hulking figure awaiting her at the altar. Damien's piercing amber eyes locked on her, a menacing snarl twisting his lupine features as if he could sense her reticence. A shudder ran through Kiera's slender frame. She averted her gaze, wishing she could somehow escape this inescapable fate.The priestess's chanting rose to a feverish climax as the assembled pack members howled in ceremonial union. With a sudden slice, the blade opened a deep gash across Damien's calloused palm. His t
Kiera's heart pounded in her constricted chest as the massive Rager continued its steady advance. The putrid reek of its feral musk overwhelmed her heightened senses, making her want to retch. She steeled herself, falling into a defensive crouch as it neared with those savage, slobbering jaws agape.Suddenly, a resounding crash echoed through the trees to her left. Kiera barely had a chance to turn before a blur of fur and muscle slammed into the Rager's broad flank, bowling it over with a bone-jarring impact. Snarls and gnashing fangs erupted in a frenzy as the two beasts grappled, tearing viciously at one another's hides and musculature. Kiera scrambled back, wide-eyed, as their battle played out in a whirlwind of tooth, nail, and spraying arterial vitae.At last, the Rager's challenger emerged victorious - a powerfully-built werewolf male in his prime looming over the eviscerated remains of his foe. As his chest heaved with exertion, he turned to face Kiera, his features still t
Ryker's rough lips moved over Kiera's in a hungry, demanding kiss. She tensed at first, but then felt herself melting into his powerful embrace. Something primal awoke deep inside her. A fierce, wild energy she didn't know existed. It raged through her veins like a raging wildfire, consuming her from the inside out.Kiera gripped Ryker's broad shoulders as the kiss deepened. She nipped at his full lower lip with her newborn fangs, drawing a droplet of blood. He growled low in his throat, the vibrations sending a shockwave of desire through her body. When they finally broke apart, Kiera was panting hard. Ryker's hazel eyes blazed with undisguised hunger as he looked her over. "That's it, luna," he rumbled in a gravelly tone. "Let that primal side take over. It's the only way to unleash your true power.""I...I've never felt anything like that before," Kiera admitted, still tingling from their explosive liplock. "It was like something animalistic just took control of me."Ryker nod