Chapter 249: Flint
(... continued)
The music slowed.
Its sultry pull curled through every note, every beat syncing to the throb in Autumn’s chest.
Her face was a breath away from his.
Just one tilt...one slip of restraint...and her lips would be on his...tasting him...And if she did, there would be no turning back... no matter the magic, no matter the masking scent, no matter her power, her strength... her taste would definitely give her away. Kieran would know it’s her... no doubt about it.
Kieran’s eyes were hooded, dark, searching.
The kind of look that stripped everything...the kind that begged,threatened and dared...all at once.
Her mask...her anger...her resolve...her carefully erected walls...were fast crumbling away.
He looked like a man starving, and she was the feast... Like one lost in the desert and she was the oasis.
Her pulse roared, too loud, too consuming. His breath feathered across her mouth, dragging her closer without even touching.
Her body screamed. "Kiss him. Just once. Damn the rest."
Autumn’s nails, accidentally, dug a little into his shoulder...though sharp even through the fabric of his coat.
She could feel him tremble, though his grip on her waist was iron, pulling her closer as if he would die if he let go.
Her lips parted.
She could taste him already through the breath that they shared...a huff...almost like a moan...a heavy exhale...his wolf, his heat, the ache of something long buried between them clawing its way out.
She whispered, barely air. "Sweet...isn’t it?!"
Kieran inhaled...sharp.
His forehead tipped to hers, their noses pressing, his mouth hovering over hers...as though one wrong breath would collapse the dam and drown them both.
Autumn swore she could feel his wolf howling in her chest, rattling her ribs. Her own wolf pushed, screamed, "Take him. Claim him."
Their mouths aligned...
But then...a sharp tug shattered it all... accompanied with a shrill voice.
"Alpha Kieran!"
Lyla’s voice cut through the charged air... slicing through the tension.
Her heels clacked against the floor as she stormed forward, fury twisting her delicate features.
Autumn breathed, her jaw clenching, body stiffening even as Kieran didn’t pull away.
For one insane moment, he stayed. His eyes still locked on Autumn’s lips, his body swaying with hers as though Lyla’s voice was nothing more than a ripple of noise.
"Alpha Kieran, what the hell do you think you are doing?!" Lyla snapped, uncharacteristically furious. Her hand was suddenly there, gripping his arm, yanking him away from Autumn.
He flinched...even though his hand still pressed hard against Autumn’s back, unwilling to release.
Kieran’s throat worked. His gaze wavered between the smokey mask hiding Autumn and his wife clawing at his sleeve.
Lyla’s voice rose, desperate at the moment. "Alpha, you are here as the leader of the mighty Blackmoon Pack. But she...she is a stranger! You don’t even know who she is!"
With a bold, ruthless shove, she pushed herself between them.
Autumn stumbled back, her chest heaving, fury flashing in her eyes as she caught herself. The loss of his touch left behind a gaping wound where he had been holding her.
Kieran’s hand lingered in the air as though reaching for her still.
But then Lyla seized him, yanking his face down to hers in front of everyone.
And before he could react, before he could wrench free...Her lips crashed against his.
Gasps rippled through the crowd.
Autumn’s breath stopped, her body locking as though she had been struck.
Kieran froze beneath the kiss, his fists curling tight at his sides. He didn’t lean in. He didn’t respond. But he also didn’t shove her back!
Lyla clung tighter, kissing him harder... eyes closed, fingers tightening around Kieran’s neck, pulling him closer!
Every nerve in Autumn’s body screamed. Her wolf tore at her insides...a violent snarl reverberated in her chest. "That ’was’ mine..."
Her glassy eyes narrowed over the mask, and she hissed under her breath, shaking with the effort not to rip Lyla away then and there.
Kieran finally wrenched back,"Enough, Lyla."
But the damage was done.
Autumn’s lips trembled, her heart slamming painfully against her ribs...the taste of fresh betrayal burning on her tongue instead of that sweet stolen peck that her soul desired.
Kieran finally ripped himself free of Lyla’s clutch...his chest heaving too.
His eyes flickering like storms barely contained. His gaze snapped back to the masked woman.
He opened his mouth to say something...
But his words did not even get the chance to fully form...
Instead his head jerked suddenly, violently, towards the open air beyond the dance floor.
His nostrils flared, eyes widening until they were nothing but wild gold. His jaw dropped, then clenched, hard enough Autumn could swear she heard his teeth grind.
But then she froze too."Jas? What in the fucking world..."
Her own body turned, following the direction of her head...though she already felt it too... and knew exactly what was going on.
And then she saw it with her own eyes...
The flare.
The streak of brilliant blue, slicing through the night sky like lightning made of flesh...a living, breathing shooting star.
It sparked, shimmered...if only a little...then steadied into a glow as it skimmed beyond the fortress barrier...swiftly taking off...
The entire crowd fell silent.
At this point, everyone else could see it clearly as well...a childlike shape...too small...zapping across the heavens, wrapped in that bluish aura.
Autumn’s composure shattered! The music faltered, echoing that loss of control.
Kieran’s chest rumbled, his wolf surging forward so fast, his voice cracked like thunder then turned into a growl.
"My child?" His eyes bulged, burning, locked on the blue flare. "Autumn? Impossible..."
Autumn staggered a step forward, every muscle taut.
"Jasper!!!" Her nose flared, her senses catching the unmistakable thread of his scent too. "What the fuck are you doing,you stupid boy!" Her heart dropped into her stomach.How was she going to cover this shit up anymore? "Where the fuck are you, Orion?"
Kieran growled aloud.
The ferocious sound made the nearby guests shrink back in alarm.
His claws split through his skin, his chest expanding with the force of his shifting wolf.
"This... this can’t be!" He staggered once, then snarled towards the flare again, eyes blazing, every inch of him vibrating with unchained instinct.
"That’s my son ??!!! I have a son?!"
Autumn’s eyes snapped to him, rage flooding her chest. "NO!He Isn’t! "
But Kieran barely heard her.
His wolf had already taken over. His entire frame trembled, bones snapping, flesh warping, until fur ripped through skin and his enormous beast tore free.
Gasps shrieked from the crowd, women backing away, men grabbing their mates protectively.
"Alpha Kieran!" Lyla shrieked, her voice cracking, desperate now, scrambling after him. "What are you doing...stop!"
But Lyla no longer existed in that world where Kieran was breathing.
Kieran’s wolf exploded...out of his control...His massive frame collided hard against the fortress walls , claws screeching across it before digging in.
And then he tore it open...and ran.
Like a lunatic unchained. Like the world narrowed to the single pulse of blue fire.
He didn’t see the flinch of men.
Didn’t hear Lyla shrieking his name.
Didn’t notice when she stumbled in her heels, catching her dress and sprawling to the floor.
He was gone...a streak of fur and savage hunger, tearing through the crowd, scattering guests in panicked waves.
Autumn’s chest constricted.
She stood frozen, watching the chaos his wolf ripped through her carefully built illusion.
Glass crunched beneath paws. Lanterns swung violently from the rafters. The music was dead now, nothing but the drumbeat of murmurs rising in its place.
Gasps. Accusations.Fear... Questions... Dread!
"Did you hear what he said...?"
"Whose child is that...?"
"Is this some kind of trick...?"
Autumn’s throat tightened.Her wolf snarled, "Do something!"
But her feet remained pinned...until from the corner of her eye, she saw Niva and Velor.
They were rushing up to her...cutting through the guests, their expressions unreadable, eyes trained directly on her.
" Autumn? Autumn is that really you?"
" Autumn, stop!"
Niva rushed faster towards her, arms raised... "Autumn, wait! Please. Listen to me! Gosh! This is fucking insane! "
Her breath hitched.
The murmurs swelled louder, pressing at her from all sides.
Her wolf shoved hard. "Move. There’s no time for small talks. We need to get Jasper! "
Autumn exhaled...sharp...one ragged, furious breath...and then she spun around.
" Ah, Jasper Ulfsen, ah! I just asked you to stay put for one night...just one night, you spoiled little brat. I promise you are going to be in a hell lot of trouble! Just wait till I catch you and whip your ass!" With a heavy sigh Autumn added. "You never met him, but at the end of the day, turns out, you are so much like the man whose seed you are... Aren’t you, Jasper?! I was so close to getting everything... So close... And now, everyone knows who I am. Congrats, little boy! Cover successfully blown! Now we are back to ground zero... All over again! "
With that Autumn too was gone... leaving all her guests stranded... rushing after that howling beast, her ex mate ,who was chasing Jasper in such a blind desperation... he wasn’t even watching his footing or steps...
Autumn tried to catch up with the wrecking ball, called Keiran.