Karizma: Reborn

Chapter 8: Lukas

Lukas inhaled sharply as he walked to Ryleigh's house. He had changed into a pair of jeans and a white t-shirt for his meeting with her and Kristopher. He had sensed her return to the pack about an hour ago, but he needed space from her. The panic that possessed him, the terror that coursed through his veins when her magic disappeared, it shattered him. The only way that he had been able to find her was through the mating link, and he was thankful for that. The mating link allowed him to feel her emotions, but her cloaking herself like that had cut him off from everything completely; the only good that came of the mating link in that moment was her location. I did not even know if she was alive, he remembered. He was enraged when he discovered her alive, and that she was hiding from her enemies. Once again, his beautiful mate had to hide herself from the world, when all that he wanted from her was to flourish. She had spent her entire life hiding, and she did it again like it was nothing.

Lukas understood her need to hide herself while she located Naomi. Ryleigh was brilliant and strong, and he never doubted her, but his fear birthed doubt in that moment. What if her magic failed, and she was found? I cannot fight this war without her, Lukas thought. Mates are tied together eternally when the bond is complete. In extreme cases, mates can die from heartbreak and shock because they feel each other experience everything. While the mating bond granted Lukas the best orgasms that he had ever felt because he experienced Ryleigh's with his, the mating bond would promise him the experience of her death. The mating bond was not only beautiful, but terrifying and deadly. Lycans can mark each other, but only true mates can experience the bond, which was why Lukas did not worry about marking her for her resurrection; never in his lifetime would he have considered a born-again lycan as his mate. He felt her birth, and the knowledge that he could feel her death petrified him.

Lukas knocked on Ryleigh's door gently. Her house was a few houses away from his own, but close enough that he could reach her if something went wrong. He still intended on training her to control her wolf when she was afraid or angry, but that was not what tonight was for. He needed to talk to Kristopher. Ryleigh could not put herself in another compromising position. Her magic protected her tonight, but what if it had not? Lukas had heard how strong Naomi was against Ryleigh. For all that any of them knew, she already found out that Ryleigh was alive, and she was just waiting for Ryleigh to reveal herself and claim the prized cow. Lukas growled deeply at the thought of his mate captive for eternity; now that she was immortal, Naomi could keep Ryleigh until the end of time.

Ryleigh opened the door and tensed slightly. Ryleigh's crimson hair had been tossed into a bun, and she was wearing a black crop top with a pair of jeans. Lukas watched her eyes study his face, then trail down his body. He cocked an eyebrow at her curiously. If I didn't know any better, I'd say that she was appreciating me, he thought. Her eyes returned to his, and a hint of gold flashed through her emerald ones. So she was, Lukas thought. Her taunting him in the woods had been one thing, but her actions revealing that she was interested in him was another. He felt his wolf purr quietly, a soft whisper that only Ryleigh could hear. Her emerald eyes flashed bright suddenly and she stepped backwards. Lukas restrained the smirk that teased his lips and nodded at her; she had forced her wolf away and ended her response to him. For now, he thought.

Kristopher approached Lukas and shook his hand. The vampire's blonde hair was messed over his head, his brown eyes full of curiosity. Kristopher was wearing a black muscle shirt and a pair of jeans, a light glow emitted from his pale skin with the contrast. Lukas felt his free hand twitch at his side at the urge to brandish his claws. His wolf despised this vampire at the knowledge that this vampire continued to please his mate. Lukas nodded at Kristopher and shook his hand in response. Despite the circumstances, Kristopher was one of the good vampires. That was the entire reason that Lukas had sought him out in the first place; Lukas had a feeling that the infamous Karizma Killer had grown a heart with the most recent target, and he was right. Kristopher's heart is the only reason that Ryleigh did not remain dead, and, for that, Lukas would be ever thankful.