Chapter Three: Total Eclipse of the Heart

Three days later, Kira was getting ready for her first date with Luka. She'd curled her hair and put on her dress. Tonight, Luka was taking her to one of the upscale restaurants on the Upper East Side. As she looked in the mirror, she never realized how nervous she would be. Deep breaths. It's just a date. Nothing to be nervous about, she thought, trying to calm her nerves. But deep down she knew that was a lie. She'd seen the future, and knew where this path may lead her. She just couldn't decide if that was what she wanted.














Luka got off the elevator in Kira's apartment building when his phone rang. "MacRieve." he answered.

"We are heading to the airport now. Is there anything you need before we leave?" Leland asked.

"No. I'm all set. I'll see you in a few weeks."

 "Luka, remember what I said." Leland cautioned.

 "You doona have to remind me. I know how this could end." Luka said grimly. He would either win his mate over, or die trying. Those were his only options. "Did you get the information I asked for?" 

 "Aye. Witches are physically the weakest in the Lore. They are separated by castes, but I doona know what they are. They are mercenaries, and will no' help anyone without some kind of payment first. They are notorious for partying and they ally with the Valkyries. That's all I was able to get, and that information set you back about three hundred thousand pounds."

 "Thanks. I doona know how useful it will be but, it's better than going in blind. I'm at her apartment. I'll see you when I get home." he said and hung up. He walked over to her door and breathed in, smelling her scent. It calmed his beast immediately. He raised his hand and knocked on the door. 

 Kira opened the door to find Luka on the other side. "You look beautiful." he said as he let his gaze take her in. The fabric of her dress clung to every curve of her body, which made him want to rip it off so he could caress each one. "Thank you." Kira said with a smile. 

Luka cleared his throat as he tried to push the thoughts out of his head. "I have a car waiting downstairs. Are you ready to go?" He asked. "Yes, just let me grab my purse." She answered. 

After arriving to the restaurant, they were sat down at a table and ordered their meals. "So what caste do you belong to?" He asked, trying to get to know her better.

"I see you've done your homework. Is that supposed to impress me?" 

"No. I just wanted to know about my mate."

"Don't call me that." she said with irritation. "I know you may think we are destined to spend eternity together, but I'm not even sure if I like you as a person."

Luka sighed. This wasn't going the way he'd hoped. "Fine. What do you want to know?" 

"By your accent, I'm assuming you're from Scotland?" 

"Aye. I've lived there my entire life. What about to you?" he asked.

"Oh, here and there. I moved around a lot, but for the past two hundred years I've been living in North America."

"What about your family?" he asked her as the waiter brought them their food. Family was important to the Lykae clan. They were close and would die for each other if it was necessary. They might be the beasts of all Lorean kind, but they had the biggest heart, and they were extremely protective of their own.

"I never knew my father, and my mother died in the last accession when I just a toddler. I was raised by the elder witches in my mother's coven."  She answered as she cut through her salmon. 

"I'm sorry about your mother. I've lost both my parents and older brother." he said sadly. It had been seven hundred years since their deaths, but it still hurt. 

"What happened?" she asked

"My father was killed in the last accession after the vampire horde attacked the castle. My mother could no' handle it and her beast took over, causing her to be driven mad. After slaughtering two local villages, she was finally capture. We tried everything to make her pull her beast back in, but it was no use. She was lost. My brother decided to take revenge after my mother's death, and set out to the vampire horde's castle in Russia. That was the last I ever saw of him." He said as he recalled those events so many centuries ago. He was isn't even a century old then, and he went from a loving family to being alone in least than a week. He'd tried everything to get his brother to stay. No one had ever found the entrance to the horde's hideaway, and many had died trying. It was well guarded, not to mentioned in the middle of the coldest and roughest terrain in Russia. Hypothermia may not kill Lykaes, but it slowed them down and caused them to lose limbs. It was hard to fight when you only had one leg to stand on. But, his brother left anyway. Luka knew he was either dead, or locked in the horde's dungeons, driven mad from centuries of torture. 

"Oh, Luka. I'm so sorry." Kira said as she put her hand on top of his. She'd seen the pain in his eyes, which had flashed ice blue, as he told the story of his family's demise. She couldn't imagine what it must have been like to lose everyone. Yes, her mother had been killed too, but she was too young to remember

"It was a long time ago. How old are you? he asked, trying to change the subject. He didn't want to linger on the pain and loss of his family. He wanted to start a new family with his mate. Lykaes could reproduce with creatures who were not their mates, and some chose to when they'd given up on finding them, but he could never see himself settling down with anyone else. Another reason was when one of them found their mates, it left the other heartbroken. It wasn't something he wanted any part of, so he'd waited.

"Around five hundred, give or take a decade. You?"

"Almost eight hundred. You seem younger than you are." he stated.

"I had a rather uneventful life. I wasn't exposed to a lot of things that most Lorean children are exposed to. I was lucky." she said as she finished the last of her salmon. He nodded in agreement. She was lucky. The Lore was a violent place. A lot of Loreans didn't have children until they were older. The older you were, the stronger you were, and you'd need ever ounce of strength to keep your children alive.

Kira looked around at the humans at the other tables. There was a couple with two kids, and she watched as a toddler tugged on his mother's dress for attention. Another couple across from them were so wrapped up in each other, they hadn't even touched their food. "Are you gonna answer my earlier question?" Luka asked, interrupting her.

"What question? About the castes?" she asked, and he nodded in response. She normally wouldn't reveal such information about herself. It was better for the enemy to be oblivious about her powers, but he wasn't exactly an enemy. She also grudgingly thought that he was easy to talk to. "I actually belong to three of them. Conjurer, Healer and Seeress."

Recognition sparked in his eyes. "That's what happened to you the day after we met. You had a vision." he accused.

Damn him for being observant, she thought as she starred at him wide eyed. "No it wasn't." she lied.

"Kira, you're a horrible liar. I can hear the change of rhythm in your heartbeat."

Fuck. He's like a walking lie detector. "Okay, fine. Yes. I had a vision, no I don't want to talk about it." she insisted.

He studied her for a minute, recalling what happened that day. He thought about what could have riled her up so much. Then he thought about her reaction afterwards. Me. It had to have been about me. He knowingly smiled as he asked, "Was it no' a good one?"

"No. Yes. I don't know yet. I'm still deciding." she said as she glared at him. No way in hell was she telling him about that vision. 

He hadn't completely blown his chance, so he decided to take a risk. He offered her his hand across the table. "Dance with me."

"What?" she asked surprised. "No one else is even dancing."

"So? Dance with me. Please?" he added.

She looked at him with his hand stretched out to her. He looked so vulnerable as he waited for her to accept or reject his offer. For once he didn't look so smug about winning her over. Because of that, she agreed.

She put her hand in his, and he led them over to an empty space that overlooked the East River. He cupped her waist firmly as they dance to the smooth jazz playing from the speakers. To her surprise, he was a lovely dancer. "Everyone's watching us." she whispered to him when she noticed everyone's eyes were on them.

"I doona care. Let them watch." He twirled her and brought her back to him, tighter than before. As they danced, the world seemed to stop, and only revolve around the two of them. She was his only focus. The curve of her body, the softness of her skin, the way her scent seemed to wipe out everything else out of his mind except for her. As the song was ending, he dipped her low to the ground and slowly brought her up. He leaned in towards her face, and glanced down at her lips. He paused two inches in front of her face, giving her enough time to move away from him before he kissed her. When she didn't move, he moved in closer, but before he could kiss her, their onlookers burst in applause. Bloody fucking humans! he thought as he was ripped away from the allusions of them being the only ones there. He cleared his throat and brought her back to her feet.




The car pulled up to Kira's apartment way too soon. She was surprised at how much fun she'd had with him. What surprised her even more was that she was going to let him kiss her after they danced. In fact, she'd wanted him to, and she still did. So when they got to her apartment and he moved into kiss her again, she let him. She immediately regretted it, because she knew she would never get kissed like this by anyone else. It was passionate and feverish. He acted like his entire world rested in the fate of this kiss, and damn if he didn't make it count. His lips were softer than she imagined they would be, and she couldn't help but enjoy the taste of him. She drew her hand up to his face as he grabbed her hip, bunching the fabric of her dress. One small tug from him would have it lying on the ground, and this would turn into something more. She wasn't ready for that yet. She pulled back, and they were both panting. She noticed that his eyes had gone from their soft golden color to the intense ice blue of the beast. He had to clear his throat twice before he could speak. "I apologize. I canna control myself around you." he said through heavy breaths. He stepped back a couple of steps, because he'd meant what he said. If he didn't leave now, he'd have her pinned up against the wall in a matter of minutes. "I should go." he muttered more to himself than to her.

"I think that's probably wise." she replied.

"I'll ring you tomorrow." he said as he grabbed for the door, and then he was gone.

Kira was even more confused now. She knew sex with him would be mind blowing, and if that was all he was after, she would have fucked him tonight. She might have been sheltered from the big bad world, but being a prude was just not in her DNA. Witches were slightly promiscuous by nature, so she'd had her fair share of lovers over her five centuries, but that wasn't all he was looking for. She knew she could never cross that line until she was absolutely sure she could give him all of her.

 *****

Over the past week, Kira and Luka talked on the phone quite a bit. He explained his Lykaen ways to her, and she him about her Witch ones. She'd learned that his beast wasn't it's own entity, but more of another part of himself. They were separate, but it was all still him. The fact that the beast was him gave her comfort. She feared when she was looking into his ice blue eyes, that a rabid animal was starring back. Thankfully that wasn't the case. She explained to him about her castes, and what she could do. He seemed impressed, so it inflated her ego a bit. Since the Lore was full of violence, the Witches belonging to the Warrior caste got more recognition for their gifts. The Enchantress caste was also useful. Being able to enchant handcuffs or cages that no one could break out of went for shit loads of money in the Lore. Her Seeress caste was the most impressive of her castes, because information was priceless, but her lack of control over it was not. He'd told her more about his family. His mother was down to earth, and very motherly. She was always in the kitchen baking bread or sewing them clothes. His father and brother were both hot headed warriors who trained a lot, but they, including Luka she suspected, had a playful side. They'd play football with the other Lykae's in their village. Mostly their games ended with everyone covered in blood, but it was "all in good fun." he'd told her. He'd made her laugh and hung on to her every word. She'd be lying if she didn't admit that she at least liked him as a person. He was witty and had a charm all his own. This afternoon he was picking her up. They were heading down to the beach to swim in the ocean, and this time she was actually excited to see him.

The traffic was horrible, so they'd gotten there just in time to watch the sunset from the shore. They both sat down on the sand and leaned into each other. He lightly stroked the small of her back as the hue of the sky changed from yellow and orange to a brilliant pink. "It's beautiful." Kira excalimed as she watched the sun slowly sink into the Atlantic. "Aye, it is." he murmured into her ear. She twisted her body to face him and she leaned in to lightly kissed him. She let him deepen the kiss further, as he separated her lips with his tongue. She felt his claws scratch at her back as her hand rose to grab his hair. He ended the kiss by biting down slightly on her bottom lip and pulling at it before he let go. He gave her a lopsided grin. "Hekate, you're so....wolfy." she teased. He laughed and got up, offering his hand to pull her up with him.

 They walked out into the ocean and swam out where they could be a little secluded. They splashed each other, swam and kissed under the starry sky. Both enjoying the company of the other. "I'm no' as bad as you thought, am I?" he said after awhile.

"No, you're not the same half-crazed beast I met almost...three weeks ago." Has it really been that long?

"I was only like that, because my ma- err a female was in danger." he replied, correctly himself. Almost three weeks, and time is almost up. 


"Not exactly a nice save there, Luka." Kira teased.

"It's hard to erase what I've called you for almost eight hundred years, Lass. It goes against the Instinct to no' admit who you are. I canna just erase it overnight." he explained. This is no' going to happen in time. 

That made Kira feel slightly guilty. She didn't know she was making him go against his own nature. She wondered what else he was holding back. Then again, he expected her to be his mate when they'd just met. Her guilt ebbed dramatically. "Is this hard for you?" she decided to ask anyways. Guilt be damned.

"You have no bloody idea." he admitted.

"Do you wish I was a Lykae instead of a Witch?" she said, not knowing if she wanted to know the answer or not.

He paused and thought about it for a couple of minutes before he answered. "I doona want to lie to you." Again, he guilty thought, "It would have been easier if you were a Lykae. You'd have the same Instinct I do. It's difficult, and I'm having control issues around you, but I would no' change anything about you. Our Instinct picks out our most ideal mate. Someone we could fall in love with, start a family, live out the rest of our lives with. Obviously, a Lykae was no' my ideal mate, a Witch was."

Fuck, that a good answer. You're just full of surprises aren't you, Luka? She thought, surprised by his answer. She watched him as he waited for a response to his answer. He had the same vulnerable look in his eyes as he did when he'd asked her to dance. It made her heart melt a little. She rewarded him with a kiss instead, and he slightly sagged against her in relief.

 After Luka took her home, looking slightly disappointed that she didn't invite him in, Kira took a shower and washed all the salt water out of her hair. She laid down on the bed thinking of the last couple of weeks. She had a decision to make, and after spending so much time with Luka, the items on the con side of list dramatically diminished as she started ticking them off one by one. He accepts me for what I am, even though it was a harder path. There's no reason why I couldn't do the same for him. He wants to sink his fangs into my neck. That's a little kinkier than I'm used to, but it's a one time thing. I should be able to endure that. Could I spend the rest of my possibly long life with him? She let the memories of them together fill her mind. She noted each surprising thing about him. The secret vulnerable side to him that she'd glimpsed. The tender side to him when they'd dance. The safeness she felt when she was with him. Yes, I could. she finally thought. So what's stopping me? It finally clicked in her head. The stories he'd told about his parents. How his father had died, and his mother went mad from it. Would that happen to him if I died? She was already starting to care for him. She didn't think she loved him, per se, but she was falling for the Scottish wolf. He'd managed to break through the barrier she had around her heart for as long as she could remember. Can I handle that kind of pressure? What if I die a hundred years from now? Am I supposed to just accept that someone I love will die with me? That's just fucking absurd. she thought. Luka's voice from her vision chimed into her head. "You canna worry about things that could never happen." He was right then, and she knew he was right now. I can no longer let my fears dictate my life. What's the point in living forever if you don't actually live and take some risks? She smiled to herself, finally knowing where she stood on being with Luka, and tomorrow night, she'd show him too.





 She let the stress and tension fade away from her as she drifted off to sleep. She dreamed of all the things she wanted to do to Luka tomorrow night. Unfortunately for Kira, she didn't realize tomorrow night was the full moon, and things wouldn't go exactly as she planned.

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 AUTHOR'S NOTES:

I was initially going to include a lot more in this chapter but this felt like a good stopping point. (That means next chapter there will be a sexy time scene. I hope everyone is ok with that, because I had fun writing one for my Burkhart legacy, so I thought I'd give it another try, unless someone objects.)  There are a few bloopers with this chapter. The football (soccer for some of us) reference was a bit off. Wiki says the earliest historical reference to football in Scotland was in 1424 (Luka is older than that) and apparently the Highlanders in that time never played such a game. So let's just pretend that Loreans had football long before Humans. My next blooper was the sunset. Since I'm claiming this is New York City, there shouldn't be a sunset over the ocean, because it's on the east coast, and the sun rises over the ocean here. I didn't think about this while I was taking photos in my game, and I was too lazy to take more pictures of them doing something else. I guess that's the downside to being a little more realistic, well apart from the whole creature feature thing I've got going on. Another blooper was Kira's hair at the beach. I forgot to change it back before I took those, and again I was too lazy to start up my game to retake them. (Seriously, it takes like 10 min to get from my desktop to the game. It's ridiculous and I'm impatient) Also, the title of this chapter is a song by Bonnie Tyler. (I like to use song titles for some reason) The actual song has nothing whatsoever to do with this chapter, but I thought the title of it was somewhat fitting. This generation has to go by faster than I'd wanted. I was initially going to drag this out for a few chapters, but as I've mentioned before I need to get them out of Bridgeport before I start having errors. I apologize if this feels rushed, but this chapter is supposed to cover the 20 days Luka had before the full moon. Thank you all for reading, and I hope you enjoyed it.