Karizma: Reborn

Chapter 14: Lukas

Lukas' wolf grinned as his gold eyes brightened. He had the overwhelming desire to fuck Ryleigh right there up against the wall in front of her previous lover, but he decided against it. The way that she was wrapped around his waist already revealed too much skin for the public; any further skin would be shown to him when he could freely lose control of himself for her. He felt Ryleigh's entire demeanor shift as the weight of reality crashed down on her. Right back into the depths of pain and regret did she tumble, but Lukas knew that she did not regret what happened, because he did not. She regretted being caught and not explaining herself to Kristopher sooner.

"Please, put me down, Lukas," Ryleigh whispered softly. His hands squeezed her ass again, but this time it was for assurance. He forced his wolf away while the rational part of his brain noted the situation. While she was his destined mate, she did love Kristopher; regardless of the magnetic pull toward Lukas, he knew that she was hurting from the pain that was written on Kristopher's face. "I need to talk to him," Lukas replied. Ryleigh would not be able to explain what this was, but he could, and he knew the second that he did, Kristopher's devastation would rise.

"Let her go," Kristopher ordered darkly.

"Or what?" Lukas asked as he cocked an eyebrow in amusement. "If you try to hurt me while I'm holding her, you won't survive the next five seconds. If you want to hurt me, I won't fight it, but you better not fucking try while I've got her in my arms."

"Put me down, Lukas," Ryleigh repeated firmly. Before his brain could stop his wolf, Lukas kissed her briefly. She inhaled in surprise but untangled herself from his grasp. Lukas released his lips from hers and gently set her on the ground. She went to walk toward Kristopher when Lukas grabbed her wrist.

"No," Lukas said softly.

"I need to talk to him," Ryleigh said.

"My love, let him get this out," Lukas replied as he looked at Kristopher. "If I saw you with another, it wouldn't matter what anyone said to me in the moment. Allow him to take out his pain on me. It is the least that I can do." Lukas really did like this vampire, even considered him a friend to some extent, but he had been done fighting the mating bond. Holding hands and being in each other's company was no longer enough; him and his wolf needed more. Had she gone inside when I told her, none of this would be happening, Lukas thought. And then she brought up wanting to kill herself again, he thought. I couldn't fuck take listening to her pain and feeling it, knowing that there was something I could do to help her. I just couldn't live with her pain anymore. That was his ultimate undoing; he needed her to know that she was not alone anymore.

Lukas heard Kristopher's heartbeat change and Lukas quickly shoved Ryleigh out of the way. Kristopher's fist attacked Lukas' face before Lukas could even blink. His head snapped back immediately, but he remained firmly planted where he stood. There was no pain. Kristopher was strong, but Lukas was stronger; it was going to take a lot more than a punch to affect him. He heard Ryleigh shout as another punch snapped Lukas' head back. He simply held up his hand to her, signaling to her to stop protesting. Kristopher needed this. Lukas knew how deep the bond was between Kristopher and Ryleigh. While Lukas was more than relieved to finally succumb to his mate, he could not deny that he felt immense guilt. This is not how finding a mate is supposed to happen, but, for whatever reason, it was how he was destined to find his.

Kristopher issued one more punch into Lukas' face before he stopped. Lukas' gold eyes met Kristopher's red ones. "We done?" Lukas asked.

"Why her?" Kristopher croaked out. "Why her? You're the fucking Alpha of the lycan pack. You could have any bitch, or, hell, any human, for that matter. Why her?" His gaze shifted to Ryleigh as he took a step toward her. Lukas immediately stepped in front of Ryleigh. "And why him?" Kristopher continued. "What happened?"