The chamber was dim—lit only by flickers of ethereal light that danced across the broken marble floor. Strange symbols burned faintly in the shadows, remnants of ancient seals that Jeremy Soren had been unweaving for weeks.
And finally—finally—the last whisper of the arcane lock unraveled. The veil woman by his side whom he freed from the nether world had finally decided to drop her veil.
From within the swirling darkness, a silhouette emerged.
She stepped forward slowly, veiled in shimmering silk that clung to her like the final tendrils of mist before dawn. Her presence was intoxicating, not like any witch or wolf he had encountered before. Her magic didn't lash or demand. It enthralled.
The veil dropped.
Jeremy's breath caught.
Her face… it was nothing like he had seen in any realm. Neither fae nor divine. Something older. Wilder.
And devastatingly beautiful.
Without thought—without control—he dropped to his knees before her.
"My lady," he murmured, his voice shaking.
"Accept me. Accept me as your mate."
A melodic chuckle echoed through the chamber, curling around him like velvet fire.
She clicked her fingers.
And suddenly, the fog in his mind lifted.
He gasped, blinking rapidly, trying to steady his pulse. What the hell was that? He felt something alien swelling in his chest—a bond. A mate bond. The thing everyone whispered about, the pull he had mocked for years… it was real.
And it was tied to her.
His awe curdled into suspicion.
"You're playing tricks," he hissed, rising shakily to his feet. "This isn't real."
Yet even as he said the words, his anger withered under the intensity of her gaze. He couldn't stop looking at her. Couldn't stop wanting.
Her skin glowed like starlit snow, her body a sculpture of impossible curves and grace. Her long hair flowed like living blue fire, trailing over her bare back and covering her full hips and breasts with just enough modesty to drive him mad. Her eyes, those burning, ever-shifting flames of blue, revealed her thoughts even before she spoke.
Her lips—crimson and lush—parted slightly, and Jeremy's restraint shattered.
His body, usually so disciplined, was betraying him. Heat surged through him, raw and unfamiliar. Never—not even in his darkest indulgences—had any woman stirred him like this. He wasn't just aroused. He was possessed.
He stepped closer, reverently taking her delicate hands into his. She didn't resist.
Bowing low, he pressed a kiss to each palm.
"Who are you?" he whispered. "What are you doing to me?"
Her eyes softened for a moment, and for a flicker of time, she looked almost… sad.
She pulled her hands away slowly.
"I know what you feel," she said, her voice smooth as twilight rain. "It is not your fault. My presence—my form—was crafted to bend mortals and gods alike. But that is not who I am."
There was bitterness in her tone now, honed over centuries of being seen—but never known.
"They only ever saw the beauty. The curse of this body. No one asked what I carried within."
Jeremy straightened, his instincts as a predator sharpening. This woman… she wasn't merely beautiful. She was dangerous.
Then she spoke words that chilled even his corrupted soul.
"I was forgotten," she said quietly. "Erased by the very goddess who now plays savior among your kind. My beloved sister—Lunaria. You know her as the Moon Goddess."
The world shifted under his feet.
"What?" Jeremy breathed. "You're…"
"I am Valeria," she said, standing tall, regal in her silver threads. "Goddess of witches. The first flame. Sister to Lunaria—and rightful heir to the power that governs this world."
His knees nearly gave way again, but this time not from desire—from fear.
He had unleashed her.
He had been tampering with the Nether Seals, seeking power, seeking something ancient enough to match Eila's divine bond. And he had found Valeria, caught between realms, locked away by her sister's betrayal.
"I only escaped because you broke enough of the seal," Valeria said calmly. "But I remain… limited. My strength is fragmented. My essence bound."
Her eyes flashed—burning red now—with fury that had simmered for eons.
"I need but one final act. One death."
Eila's name wasn't spoken. But it rang clear between them.
Jeremy swallowed hard. "You want to… kill her?"
"She carries the divine vessel Lunaria chose to replace me. A mortal girl, born of prophecy and pity. If she dies, the seal collapses. I return. Whole. And everything that was taken… will be mine again."
For the first time in his cursed life, Jeremy Soren felt outmatched. Power surged from Valeria like a rising tide. Her beauty was only a mask—beneath it lay an ancient force, vengeful and eternal.
And yet… he wanted her.
Not just her body.
Her power.
Her wrath.
Her reign.
"You freed me," Valeria said, stepping closer until her lips nearly touched his ear. "And you will help me finish what you started. Together… we shall make the gods bleed."