Page 40 of Moonveil and Magic

The world tilted. Kael’s mouth found mine again, harder this time, tasting of the wild and untamed wolf, while Lucien’s teeth nipped at the sensitive cord of my throat. I let out a broken sound as I finally let go. I stopped trying to control it and let my power flare as it wanted to.

The shard in the safe roared in response, a physical shockwave that rattled the glass walls of the penthouse, but I barely felt it. All I felt was them. Kael’s hands moved, rucking up the bottom of my shirt while Lucien’s hand slid lower, his touch elegant and warm as he found the hem of my skirt. There was no hesitation between them, only a synchronised and ancient hunger.

“Look at him, Ivy,” Kael commanded.

I turned my head slightly to see Lucien watching me. His amber eyes were no longer human. They were glowing with the predatory gold of the puma, his pupils blown wide. He looked at Kael over my shoulder, a silent communication passing between them, older than the city itself.

In one fluid motion, Kael lifted me. My legs instinctively wrapped around his waist while Lucien braced us both, his arms a cage of iron and velvet. The friction was agonising, a slow-burn torture of silk and skin. We were not just three people in a room; we were a storm.

“Ours,” Kael growled against my mouth.

“Always,” Lucien answered against my skin.

The physical heat between us had been simmering for days, but sitting here in the quiet, I found myself craving the foundation beneath it. I needed to understand the men behind the alphas before we surrendered to the bond completely.

“Lucien,” I began softly, leaning back into him. “I feel the structural trust between us. But Kael... I still feel like I’m only skimming the surface of who you are.”

Kael’s dark eyes met mine, unreadable at first, then softening slightly. “Little red, there’s not much glory in where I came from.”

“I want to know,” I whispered, leaning forward. “No more masks. If we’re doing this, I want all of you.”

Kael inhaled sharply, his jaw tightening as he pressed himself against me. “I was nine when a rogue shapeshifter slaughtered my parents in front of me—left me for dead in the gutters of the South District. A motorcycle pack took me in—taught me how to fight, how to survive, and how to control the beast. I grew up believing vulnerability was a death sentence.”

My heart ached. Reaching up, I laid my hands on both cheeks, the scorching heat of his skin grounding me instantly. “Kael... I’m so sorry. But you survived. And you don’t have to hide behind the armour with me.”

A faint glint touched Kael’s dark eyes, his fingers reaching up to brush my own cheeks. “You make me want to let someone in, Ivy. That frightens me more than the High Circle ever could.”

“And the warlock-turned-financier?” I asked, turning my gaze toward Lucien, leaning my head back against his shoulder.

Lucien offered a wry, lingering smile. “I was the last of a dying puma pack, left on my own at eighteen. I learned to hunt in the corporate world because numbers are predictable. People aren’t. I became a warlock to survive the High Circle’s politics. But with you... I don’t want to look at the bottom line anymore. I want to build something real.”

Lucien playfully bit the nape of my neck and put an arm around Kael's back, pulling us both closer to him in a silent gesture of solidarity. Kael gripped Lucien’s arm in return—a fierce, quiet acceptance. A fifty-year rivalry dissolving right in front of me.

“I owe you an apology too, Ivy,” Lucien murmured, his voice turning husky as his amber gaze pinned me. “I was clinical when we first met. I was protecting the shard, but I treated you like an equation.”

“Same here,” Kael added, his thumb tracing my cheekbones. “Protecting you wasn't non-negotiable business. But no one’s forcing your hand now, little red. If we do this, know that I’m here for every pulse, every shiver, and every step.”

My blood ran hot, a sweet, thrumming ache settling low in my belly. The shard hummed in sympathetic resonance with the three of us, amplifying the heavy, charged air until breathing felt like a luxury.

“I want this,” I said, my voice steady, leaving no room for doubt. “I want the magic, the trust, and both of you. Together.”

Lucien’s amber eyes flared into molten gold. His long fingers trailed up the sensitive skin of my thigh while Kael pressed in from my other side, his heat radiating through my clothes.

“Then no more waiting,” Lucien growled softly against my neck.

“No more hiding,” Kael agreed, his strong hand holding me up, anchoring me right where I belonged.

Decrypted Shadows

Mia

My fingers were practically numb, flying across the mechanical keyboard in a rhythmic, desperate staccato. The air inside Moonveil Books and Craft still smelled of Lola’s fresh shifter wards and Aggy’s screaming lilies, but my focus was locked entirely on the glowing green text cascading down my middle monitor.

“Anything yet, tech-girl?” Lola asked, stepping up behind my crate while wiping bloodied mortar off her knuckles with a rag.

“I’m through their secondary firewall,” I muttered, adjusting my glasses with the knuckle of my index finger. “Whoever set up Shirl and Muriel’s proxy server thought they were clever using ancient High Circle ciphers wrapped in modern dark-web encryption. But they forgot that binary code doesn't care about blood magic.”

With a heavy clack of the Enter key, the final security wall dissolved into green streams of decrypted data. Folders spilled across the screen—audio logs, blueprint scans, and location coordinates.