Chapter 45 - Warmth and Chill

*“To keep a warm heart in winter is the real victory.” ― Marty Rubin*

***Kiya***

“Just one more, my love. You can do it, can you?”

Sharp frissons of pleasure bayonetted through every cell nerve in my shuddering body. The damned demon toy—the rose toy, swallowed my clit again, and stayed in place by the man whose knowing smile commanded my heart to beat hard. A strangled cry escaped my parted lips as my nails raked down his taunted back, scrambling for purchase while my mind slowly blanked out from ecstasy.

My vocal cords stopped working long ago. I couldn’t form a damn sentence, not when the pressure in my groin pushed into my pussy. My inner walls tightened and pulled Neron’s fingers deeper, over the one spot designed to make me crumble. I squeezed my thighs together, only to remember I was in my boyfriend’s lap, legs propped on either side of his hips, knees resting on the mattress.

It was less than an hour ago that I was in the bath with Neron cleaning and taking care of me. Because of my frighteningly short refractory period, I begged him to use the rose on me again. I was afraid the pretty-looking toy I picked out had fully awoken the sex-hungry beast that laid dormant in me for years.

Ladies and gentlemen, I was a whore.

Neron pressed the button to change the vibration mode and my body lurched forward, pressing my chest against his with my hardened nipples rubbing his bare skin. His eyes widened and nostrils flared before curling his lips into a knowing and unbelievably sexy smirk. My hips gyrated in his lap, the smooth polyester of his pants adding to the tornado of sensations ravaging me.

“S-shit…” I mewled, burrowing my head into the crook of his neck. “I c-c-can’t…”

“You can.” He murmured into my ear, pumping his fingers to match the toy’s rhythm. “You’re doing so well, *min gudinna*. Just a little more…”

I squealed when he curled his fingers over my G-spot. Neron leaned into my neck and clamped his lips over my rapid pulse and sucked on the skin, torturing it with his needy tongue and gentle nips.

From the toy to his fingers to his mouth, I was holding on to sanity by a single thread. This was the third orgasm Neron was coaxing out of me, and I loved it. I loved everything about our lessons. While this lesson ended an hour ago, my desires soared to great heights at their single taste of freedom. Suppression? Never heard of her. Wild and untamed? They wanted to be. **I** wanted to be. I wanted to do so many things, *try* so many things, just to see how they felt to me.

With sex, there were endless possibilities to achieve pure bliss, but with how my body enthusiastically responded to Neron’s teachings, I needed to reel my body in more than letting it speak for me. At this rate, it wanted to be drained than doing the draining.

That was okay, though. I enjoyed having Neron’s fingers inside of me. But I was craving the ultimate prize. The *big* one. The one where I could barely wrap a hand around its girth. The one I worried about how it would fit in me. I was craving his co—

“FUCK!” A violent tsunami of euphoria engulfed me for the third time. My mouth dropped open in a silent scream as my walls squeezed the invading fingers hard to coat its gift all over Neron’s hand once again.

“Yes, yes, that’s a good girl.” Neron whispered in my ear, trailing burning kisses down and all around my throat as I rode out my orgasm in his lap, gradually coming to a stop when he turned the rose off.

I dropped my jellied arms, propping my chin on his bare shoulder as I caught my breath. Setting the toy aside, Neron growled softly as he ran that hand from the back of my neck, down my naked back, before reaching down to cup and squeeze one of my ass cheeks. I couldn’t stop smiling as he touched me like I was the most important person in the world to him.

Raising a hand, I tangled my fingers in his hair, gently pulling it down to lift his head. His smile was breathtaking. Once we were face to face, I pressed my lips to his, giving my praise through our connection. We remained like that for a while, just kissing and touching one another.

Our troubles with Apophis and Jonathan didn’t matter.

The world around us didn’t matter.

It was just the two of us, bathing in the afterglow of sex, learning more about one another through our hands and our mouths.

Our mate bond surged with the electricity generated by our proximity. For a split second, I thought the sensations I was feeling came from Neron, made clear by the bond.

But they weren’t from him. They were from me.

There was a pleasant twist in my gut. A seed planted in my chest and bloomed into something beautiful. Soothing fire flowed with my blood, swallowing my body in a heat I hadn’t felt before. My heart picked up a spark in its apex and it spread outward over the organ. These sensations, these feelings, made me feel giddy, excited, and hopeful at once. This unknown amalgamation that made me feel like I was floating on cloud nine consumed my thoughts and was exacerbated by the taste and movements of Neron’s lips against mine. I held his face with both hands and kissing him harder, like I was in search of the answer to why I was feeling the way I felt. His low moaning vibrated through me.

If there was one thing I couldn’t deny, it was how sitting in Neron’s lap, caged by an arm wrapped around my body, made me feel safe. Protected. I was as vulnerable as I could be with him; completely naked and unguarded. An act that would’ve made me run for the hills years ago made me feel secure because this alpha was the one holding me close to his presence.

To his *soul*.

*Was there a name to this feeling*?

When we pulled apart from the kiss, Neron slipped his fingers out of me and held them to my lips. Catching the hint, I parted my lips and skimmed my tongue over his digits, moaning softly as my taste coated my mouth. We didn’t break eye contact. His pupils blew wide with delight, watching me lick his fingers long after I cleaned them. Neron pressed his thumb to the bottom of my chin and pressed his two fingers down on my tongue and my bottom lip, his efforts earning him a dribble of drool dripping down the side of my lips.

“Fuck, you’re driving me crazy.” He groaned, removing his fingers and yanking me into another heated kiss, this time conquering my mouth with his tongue.

Tasting me. Tasting his *addiction*.

And goddammit, I was addicted too. I wrapped my arms around his torso and squeezed.

Once I suck his soul out through his cock in the future, my addiction would worsen. And I didn’t mind. Not one damn bit.

His back muscles relaxed under my palms when we separated again, heaving with his panting. Chuckling, he poked my nose and kissed both my cheeks. “That’s enough orgasms from you for one day.”

“I’m inclined to disagree, but I have to agree with you,” I replied breathlessly. I leaned forward and pressed my forehead against his, breathing in his heady scent. His eyes dragged me into their vibrant blue world. Inside laid different shades to all his emotions, but the blinding blue of his love for me conquered above them. Once again, I felt warm, like he had reached inside my chest and hugged my soul as tight as he could. My heart sped up again from the intensity of his feelings. “Would it be bad to ask for another bath? Ah, can we make that a shower?”

Neron nodded, smirking when I shivered from his hands roaming my bare hips. “Okay, but only because you asked.”

“Join me this time?”

“As long as you can keep your hands to yourself, naughty angel.”

I, in fact, didn’t keep my hands to myself. Neron didn’t either. We spent more time acting like goofballs and touching each other than cleaning. After the shower, I watched Neron don his thick black robe while I draped myself in a towel. He had his back turned as he adjusted the belt, leaving his backside exposed to me.

*Target located*.

I chuckled in my head like an evil scientist, rubbed my hands together, and cracked my hand across his robe-covered ass.

*Target acquired*.

He yelped like a hit puppy and twisted around to scowl at me, pointing a finger in my face. “…Don’t do that.”

“Oh, so you can smack my ass, but I can’t smack yours?” I complained, pushing my chest up when I crossed my arms. A smile graced my face when his eyes lowered to my enticing titties.

“That’s completely different.” He retorted. “It’s the universal rule to smack your girlfriend’s ass. Boyfriends’ asses are off-limits.”

“Then why are your cheeks pink?”

Neron paused, darting his eyes away. His cheeks continued to pink.

“You liked it, didn’t you?” I teased. “There’s no shame in that, Neron! Embrace it! If you want me to do it again…”

“Kiya, you’re on thin ice.”

“It’s a good thing I love to tap-dance!” I shot him a wink and a finger-gun. He responded by crossing his arms, but did nothing to hide his cute, blushing cheeks. Oooh, Mr. Intimidating. “What else do you like? Maybe hair-pulling? You’re super responsive when I do that.”

“It appears having multiple orgasms has turned you into a chatterbox.”

“You didn’t deny it!” I laughed. “I’ll keep that in mind for next time!”

“Kiya…” He warned.

“Okay, fine.” I rolled my eyes, walking around him toward the bathroom door. “I’ll drop it, if that’s what you want, Professor.”

When he turned away, I squeezed one of his ass cheeks.

Neron let out a ‘Hey!’ before chasing me out of the bathroom. “Why, you little brat!”

Laughing, I leaped to the opposite side of the mattress, leaving him stranded. We stared down at each other before his lips broke out into a grin. “That’s how you want to play, huh?”

I stuck my tongue out at him. Neron took it as an invitation to round the bed and grab my upper arms. I squealed, and we went tumbling onto the bed, laughing. However, my laughter died when he crawled on top of me and pinned my wrists to the mattress.

“Oooh, tough guy.”

“You’re a naughty little angel, huh?” He accused, arching an eyebrow. “You’ve been very good, and I’ve done nothing but reward you, and I would hate to have to punish you, *min gudinna*.”

“You’re going to send me to detention?” I whined, pouting up at him. “On what grounds?”

“One, for smacking my ass. Two, for squeezing my ass.”

“I take it you don’t like ass play?”

Neron raised a palm to his face, muttering Norwegian under his breath. He then lowered his head to nuzzle his nose on mine. “To answer your *earlier* question, yes. I like it when you pull my hair when we kiss, but don’t make this a habit. You have that disobedient glint in your eye.”

“Ah, so that’s why you keep it long.”

“Goddess, you’re insufferable.”

“So are you.”

“Touché.” Neron kissed me again, and I welcomed it. Our soft moans and grunts echoed between us, and our breaths mingled into one. Before we could touch each other for the umpteenth time, scratching echoed and whimpering echoed behind the bedroom door. Growling, Neron lifted his head up and poked my left breast.

“Stay here.” He ordered as he rose to full height and went to the door. And, of course, I leaned on my side and admired his southern hemisphere yet again. Opening the door, Neron yelped again when a ball of pure white fluff hopped into his arms with a cute ‘meow!’. Ebony trotted inside with her tail in the air and leaped onto the bed. Lupin raced toward the mattress, planted his paws on the surface and ran his tongue over my cheek.

“Lupin! I just got out of the shower!”

The husky barked and continued to lick my face. Ebony leaped into my lap once I sat up on my knees and curled into a ball in front of my belly, her weight almost pulling my towel off my breasts.

“Alright, Lupin. Off the bed.” Neron ordered when he approached the bed. Lupin panted, leaped off, and howled before resting his jaw on the crumbled bedsheets. His gold eyes watched us. Neron held Ivory in his arms, unbothered by the cat licking his cheek. “When did my bedroom become a zoo?”

“I think our pets missed us.” I smiled, rubbing Ebony’s head as she purred. “Or they sensed that we’ve been away for too long.”

“It’s probably the latter,” Neron said, taking his seat beside me. Lupin moved his head to his lap. His face scrunched up when he ran his hand through his fur, lifting them to be met with clumps of white and black. “Lupin is overdue for another trip to the groomers.”

“You know what, I haven’t taken Ebony or Ivory to the groomers since I came home. Ivory is a shedder and cleaning up after her is a nightmare.”

As we continued to talk about our pets, I realized the little slice of peace we had. We’re two people surrounded by animals in our little abode on top of his mattress. This felt normal, damn near natural. With the girls bonding well with the other children outside, our tiny little family felt secure and real.

I didn’t want this moment to end. From the sex to this piece of domesticity, I wanted to keep this moment running forever with no worries about magic or danger.

Just Neron and me, savoring what we had in front of us.

---------------------------------------------------

There were some things in the world that should last forever. Happiness, peace, hope, love, and more. Unfortunately, they didn’t. Instead, hardships become obligatory, and they dim the faith of those hoping to achieve the unachievable.

One of those hardships included watching the one you care about so deeply, struggling against a dark force, working hard to destroy everything he cared about, including himself.

In the past four days, I’ve watched Neron struggle against his dad’s influence. He confided in me that because of the attacks he had, one from our picnic and the other in the cave, he was sure it caused his predicament. Physically, he was fine, but there was a leech latched onto him both mentally and spiritually.

It started with the blinding headaches. Neron could hear his father’s voice in his head, like the personal demon he couldn’t get rid of. Sometimes, the headaches happened when we were in bed together, or when he goes for runs, or even when he was alone in his office. Because I couldn’t be with him every hour of every day, I’d only see those headaches occur in bed.

Fleeting moments of sleep were replaced with panic when I’d wake up to Neron groaning in pain while holding his head. And each time, I’d hold him until the danger passes.

“I got you. I got you.” I’d whisper to him, wrapping my arms around his shaking body.

Yes, he had Onyx to help him, but Artemis and I hated we couldn’t jump into that same realm and fight off Jonathan with them. When the headaches stopped, Neron insisted he was okay and returned to holding me as we slept.

But I’d lay awake, wondering if there was any more I could do for him.

The logical solution would be to use my powers to help, right?

“I know you want to use your powers to help me, Kiya, but I must ask you not to.”

How could I when he doesn’t want me to? Did he think he could fight his father on his own, or was there something else he didn’t want to expose me to?

One day, I was sitting outside on a smooth boulder watching Alana and Aiyana double-dutch with other pack girls their age. Aiyana swung the rope with a cute blond child while Alana revved up to jump in. About twenty yards away, Adonis was kicking a soccer ball toward Adama, Kwame’s little brother, while Orchid and Naomi were patting seeds in their little garden. Neron, Kwame, and Valerian were in a meeting, and Raina and Lorelai took a car into Portland, from what they told me, to shop for candles, mud masks, and other beauty stuff.

They were going to drag me into a mini-spa day in the future. With Jonathan’s shit hovering over me and Neron’s condition slowly getting worse, the last thing on my mind was to pamper myself.

I rolled a piece of selenite around my fingers as I held my cell phone to my ear. The crystal shimmered an ethereal silver and blue glow under the sunlight, soaking in the bits of the energy I was putting into it. I was on a four-way call with Asim, Phoebe, and Violetta. I had reiterated all that happened in the past week, including the discovery of the anti-worship book Neron found in his research.

“I believe the Book of Apophis exists. However, clues to find the book have been erased,” Asim spoke through the speaker. “Ancient Egyptian artifacts have been subjected to exhumation by archaeologists and greedy businessmen for decades. Much of Egypt’s history has been stolen, defiled, or mishandled by their hands. Records of the book could’ve been, as the Americans say, lost in translation.”

“Are you saying that finding the book is hopeless?” I asked, feeling my heart sink to my stomach. I watched Alana huff in a deep breath, hopping in between the twirling jump ropes and skipping with the speed. Aiyana’s cheering pulled my heart back into its place.

“No, I’m not saying that. What I am saying is that searching for the book will be difficult. I’ve tried when I first learned about Asir’s existence, but failed. While I don’t condone trespassing in museums in search of its records, we might have to come up with another solution.”

“There is a possibility that the anti-worship book is hidden beyond the human eye rather than being tampered with and lost from mishandlings,” Phoebe spoke. “There are many mysteries in the world that humans cannot see for good reason.”

“Eh, I don’t know if we need to go on excavations beneath the Sphinx. Haven’t we been underground long enough?” Violetta asked with a chuckle. “How do we even know if this book is in Egypt? Hell, it could be in Greece for all we know.”

“…Egypt and Greece have developed a kinship that transcended centuries.” Asim piqued, excitement underlining his tone. “In fact, historical records show that Ancient Greeks understood how the ancient Egyptians had a role in the development of their civilization. Cleopatra was the queen of the Ptolemaic Kingdom of Egypt, and she hailed from Greece.”

“And Hekate has some minor influence with the Egyptian pantheon.” Phoebe added.

“Wow, we’re all really connected in a way, huh?” Violetta suggested.

“I’d say so,” I added, smiling. Adonis’ soccer ball rolled to my feet, and I kicked it back to him, nodding when he thanked me. “What are the odds that the anti-worship book is hidden in Greece?”

“…I wouldn’t doubt that theory at all, Kiya,” Asim answered. “It’s an angle we can work with.”

“I wish we had a map of some sorts.” Violetta sighed. “It’d make things so much easier.”

A map…

*Wait*!

I recalled Neron calling me into his office earlier this week. I spotted a global map splayed out on his desk. While I saw it for a few seconds, it seemed important. It felt important. Why else would Neron have it?

“We *might* have a map…” I said into the phone, rising to my feet. Before I could continue, the combined scents of frankincense and patchouli floated my way. Turning my head, I spotted Kwame and Valerian coming toward me. Sensing their concern from afar, my fear spiked. “Actually, I have to go right now. I’ll call you guys back as soon as I can and explain everything.”

“Is everything alright?” Violetta asked. “Is it Neron?”

“…I hope not, but I think it is.”

“Keep us updated, Kiya. We’ll figure out what to do to help him.” Asim responded confidently.

“Thanks. I appreciate it.” With a heavy sigh, I hung up, shoved my selenite and cell in my pocket just in time for the two men to stop in front of me. “What’s up, guys?”

“Do you know what’s going with Neron?” Kwame asked, furrowing his eyebrows in worry. “He hasn’t been himself lately.”

I pulled on my bottom lip with my teeth. As much as I wanted to tell them the truth, I didn’t want to air out Neron’s business like that. If anything, he wouldn’t want them to know or wasn’t ready to tell them. “He’s been dealing with…personal issues. Did something happen?”

“Well—”

“Auntie, look out!”

On instinct, I ducked. Adonis’ soccer ball zoomed over my head and hit Valerian directly in the face. The Beta shouted profanities and clutched his nose with his hands. Kwame slapped his hand over his mouth, stifling his laughter.

“Oops. Sorry, Dad!”

I grabbed the soccer ball and tossed it back to the future Beta. “Be a little careful next time, Donny. Thanks for the heads up, though!”

Adonis grinned sheepishly, catching the ball in his hands.

“Adama, can you and Donny move so you don’t hit anyone else?” Kwame suggested.

“Sure, big bro. Come on, Don.”

“It’s Donny.” Adonis corrected with a huff as they retreated to a different patch of grass. Valerian rubbed his nose, huffing before turning to the Gamma.

“If you fucking laugh, I swear to Selene I’m kicking your ass in our next sparring match.”

Kwame laughed anyway, despite the warning. “Your son has the makings of a future soccer champ!”

“I’d prefer he didn’t use my face as a goalie net.” He grumbled before turning to me. “As I was about to say, Neron has been out of it during the entire meeting, like he couldn’t focus. It’s not him to be so absentminded, especially with pack developments.”

The Gamma cleared his throat, schooling his features. “He was also holding his head the entire time like he was having a headache. I know Neron long enough to know the man rarely gets headaches, even when Nuria was here.” He turned to me. “Val and I figured you’d know something about it, Kiya. He called the meeting early, which he never does.”

I blinked, pulling out my phone. Kwame was right. Neron runs his meetings for at least an hour, sometimes longer. It hasn’t been thirty minutes. A cold sweat dripped down my back. “I should check on him. Is he still in his office?”

Valerian shook his head. “No, he headed to his room.”

“Gotcha.” I shoved my phone away and walked past the men.

“Let us know if we can do anything!” Kwame shouted behind me.

“I’ll do my best!” I shouted back. Jogging toward the front steps, the men’s conversation drifted to my ears.

“*Are you sure you don’t need an ice pack for your wittle nose*?”

“*Asshole*. *He didn’t hit me that hard*!”

“*Yeah, sure he didn’t, Rudolph.*”

“*I will end you*.”

“*You’re more than welcome to try, Red Schnoz*.”

I chuckled, shaking my head as I entered the pack house. Jogging past Lupin, who captured the love and attention from the Omegas, I skipped every other step toward the fourth floor. Once I reached the top stair, the surrounding air suddenly chilled. My heart started pounding. Artemis grew restless. This wasn’t good at all.

“**Hurry, Kiya**.” She urged. “**I don’t like the feel of this**.”

“*You and I both, sister*.”

Once I arrived at Neron’s door, the door was slightly ajar. When I opened it, I bit back a shriek. Neron was kneeling on the side of the matters, elbows propped, and hands digging into his scalp. Part of his shirt and rid up, exposing the pulsating black staining his flesh.

I bolted toward him. “Neron! Babe, I’m here!” I dropped to my knees and reached out to touch him, only for him to scoot away, shaking his head as he buried it deeper into the mattress.

“N-n-no, Kiya.” He groaned, gritting his teeth. Tears burned the back of my eyes. “S-stay away, please!”

Shaking my head, I clenched and unclenched my fingers, feeling cooling energy swirling in my palms. “I can’t, Neron. Not when you’re like this!”

I couldn’t sit by and do nothing. I had to do *something*, even when he told me not to.

I reached out again to touch him; this time aided by moon energy until Neron grasped my arm. Tight. This touch…this *wasn’t* him. Neron wasn’t this *cold*. His nails dug deep into my forearm, forcing a wince out of me.

Neron stopped groaning. Instead, he started laughing.

It wasn’t *his* laughter. His laughter warm and inviting, not malicious.

All fear and concern evaporated from me, now replaced with white-hot anger. His nails pressed deeper into my wrist, drawing more blood, but that was the least of my concerns. I gritted my teeth, growling deep from my chest. “Who are you?”

“Oh, dear little Kiya. You forgot about me already?”

My world took a tumble. In seconds, I was thrown onto my back with my wrists pinned to the floor. The alpha’s body towered over mine, caging my lower body between his legs, holding me prisoner. I swallowed a gulp of air, bringing my eyes up to laser in his.

The eyes I was staring at weren’t Neron’s. They weren’t the sharp, clear, sapphire blues I came to love. These eyes were a diluted blue rimmed with a thick band of crimson almost swallowing the colored iris.

I knew those eyes. I’d recognize them *anywhere*.

“You fucking bastard!” I snarled. “Controlling your son wasn’t enough, but to possess him?”

“It wasn’t easy. The weakling fought as hard as he could, but of course, Daddy always wins.” Jonathan spoke with a triumphant smirk. I pursed my lips in disgust. “Now, onto you, brat. Killing you will be a great delight, but the icing on the cake is that I get to do it using the body of the man you love.”

“You can try.” I snapped, shrugging my shoulders. “I’m not afraid of you, and Neron won’t let you hurt me.”

“You have that much confidence in him?”

“I do.”

“You live a fool’s fantasy, stupid girl. My son is still the same man who hurt you all those years ago, and it’s only a matter of time before he does it again. I’ll prove it to you!”

Fear fed the monster. Deprive the beast of its main sustenance, and it’ll weaken. Jonathan wanted me scared, but I won’t give him my fear, because I had none.

Neron won’t hurt me. I believed in him more than anyone else ever could.

*Because I*…

I laid still, breathing easily, waiting for the strike. Jonathan narrowed his eyes in irritation and shot a hand down to enclose his fingers around my throat. But, as the fingers were about to touch my flesh, they shook. I blinked and watched Neron’s body succumbed to a full-body shutter. He rapidly blinked his eyes and roared, throwing his bulky body off of me. Propping myself on my elbows, I watched as my boyfriend shook two feet from me, holding his head once again.

*Come on, Neron*! *You can do this*!

After an agonizing minute, the sounds stopped, and the alpha’s body slumped to the side. A groan. A whimper. Then, a sniffle. Heavy palms slammed against the ground, pushing the body upright once again, heaving for air. His head rose, and I was met with a pair of beautiful sapphires.

“Neron…” I whispered, pushing myself to my knees. “You…”

“Kiya…” His eyes lowered downward, his body shaking again. “I did that…”

Confused, I followed his gaze to my right forearm, the one his nails were inside moments earlier. The wound closed up, leaving nothing but a blot of dried blood. “No, you didn’t. Your dad did this, not you.”

“I hurt you…” He whispered, shaking his head. “He used me…”

“No, no, please don’t do this to yourself.” I crawled to him, raising a hand to cup his face. Neron looked as if he’d had lost everything, absolutely devastated. He still shook when I touched him, unable to look me in the eye. “Neron, you didn’t hurt me. This is your dad’s new way of trying to break you by stealing your body for his own destructive needs.”

“He cursed me, Kiya.” Neron sighed. “This has to be a curse. A hex. I keep fighting and fighting, but I slipped, and he took advantage. He’s…he’ll do this again…”

A curse. Jonathan cursed his own son. His *child*. And by cursing him, he can exercise the control he always wanted to command, destroying Neron just as Neron destroyed him and his legacy.

It was revenge. His sweet revenge without directly lifting a finger. That must be why he had Odessa, Rhea and Katalina, because he knew they would do his dirty bidding while he stowed himself away to watch the chaos happen before his eyes.

*Entertainment at its finest*.

Neron raised his eyes, finally looking into mine. His eyes slowly watered, making his eyes appear shinier than normal. My Neron was scared—absolutely *terrified*. “I need to be locked away so I cannot hurt anyone.”

I was taken aback, staring at him like he had grown an extra head. “Neron, that’s way too extreme.”

“I can’t risk Dad possessing me like that again.” He shook his head. “He was centimeters away from strangling you. Who knows what can happen if he succeeds next time? It’s a risk neither of us can afford to take.”

“There has to be another alternative, Neron." I lowered my hand to my lap. "I can’t have you chained up like an animal. No way."

“Kiya, I need you to stop thinking like my girlfriend for just a second,” Neron commanded, his voice grave and serious. I clammed up, feeling the chill slam me in the chest. “Think like the warrior your brother trained you to be, bound to protect innocent people from harm. What would you do if there was a threat with the potential to hurt you and others you care about?”

I gulped, lowering my eyes to his laps. My training came to mind instantly, remembering the words hammered into my head by my trainers and Anthony, especially when I was granted the title as Delta. “There are two choices. Imprisonment or…execution if the enemy is a true danger.”

“And I’m a true danger, Kiya, because it won’t stop with you.” He explained. Every word he spoke sucked the air out of me. “If Dad takes full control of me, which he will try his damned hardest to do, I will endanger not just you, but every person here in Onyx Moon, and I cannot be responsible for that.”

“But…I could…my powers…”

“Kiya, if you went into my head gung-ho with your powers, I become the battleground. You know what it feels like to have two opposing powers fight for control over one entity. And it is too much of a risk for Dad to potentially latch onto you.”

Neron was right. He was right, and I fucking hated it. I understood, firsthand, how perverse the darkness of Apophis was. If I tried to throw myself into a mental fight with his dad without backup or a solid plan, with Jonathan’s control over him, he’ll fight back just as hard and he’ll hurt Neron more.

I’ll hurt Neron. Oh, Goddess, I’ll fucking hurt him.

Because Neron was one of my weaknesses.

“But, healing—”

“Drains you, thus leaving you more vulnerable.”

*Goddamnit*!

Darkness is so perverse. It can latch onto me again. Neron is trying to stop that from happening again.

I looked back at Neron again, watching his gaze harden like granite. I wanted to cry. I wanted my carefree and loving man back, not this one ready to throw himself or *hurt* himself to stop this madness.

“We have to make a choice, Kiya. What will it be?"