She pulled back a tad, putting space between them he didn’t want, but he wouldn’t force her to be in his arms if that’s not where she wanted to be.
“I feel that.” She poked him in the chest. “Frustration. Why are you frustrated?”
Gage inwardly groaned. “Don’t obsess over everything you feel from me, Little Wolf. It will drive you mad.”
She simply stared at him, her brows raised. Waiting.
He sighed. “I’m frustrated because you’re still determined to be a martyr if you must. I can’t help but feel a little rejected.”
“You think my heart doesn’t shatter into a million pieces at the thought of losing you?” Katy’s breath hitched. She wound her arms around his neck, pressing close like she was trying to melt into him. “I never even knew I wanted something like this until I met you. I never knew I had it in me to be a romantic and want the fairytale ending. But there it is. And now it could all be gone in an instant.”
Gage squeezed his eyes shut, emotions threatening to overwhelm him. He had to be strong for her, to give her whatever comfort he could in this nightmare.
“Katy, my mate,” he rasped, cupping her face in one big hand. Her eyes were bright with tears, wide and luminous like the moon. Gage brushed away the moisture from her cheeks with aching tenderness. “I cannot stand by and watch you sacrifice yourself. You have no idea what agony it would bring me.” The words were raw, stripped bare of his usual stoic façade.
Katy placed a gentle hand over his heart. Her touch scorched him, reminding his wolf how very fragile their bond still was. “I know,” she whispered. “Believe me, if there’s another way…” Her voice broke on a sob.
Gage crushed her to him again, inhaling her sweet scent as though to imprint it on his very soul. The rich aroma of cinnamon and honeysuckle enveloped him. It was the smell ofmate, of home. An invisible cord wrapped around his heart and pulled taut. The urge to protect, to claim, to never let go, nearly overwhelmed him. His beast was ravenous to fight and kill a foe, but the one that deserved killing had gone into hiding, and the foe before him, the reality of their situation, wasn’t something his wolf could fight. He’d never felt so damn helpless in his life.
“I’ll find another way,” he vowed again fiercely. “I swear on my life.” If Katy Dire left this world, then Gage would follow her into the next life.
Katy leaned back to meet his eyes, determination shining beneath her sorrow. “I have to face this. But knowing you’re beside me makes it bearable.” She cradled his jaw, tenderness radiating from her moonlit gaze.
Gage turned his head, brushing his lips against her palm. The aching need to taste her, to consume his mate until she was permanently seared into his soul, threatened to shatter his control. He shuddered out a breath. There would be time for claiming later after this crisis had passed.
If she lived.Gage shoved the dark thought away. Shewouldlive. The Dire Wolf was not so easily defeated. He hadn’t survived alone for centuries just to lose his mate after one stolen day together. Call it stubbornness, fate, or the will of Visata. Gage would save his female or die trying. Failure wasn’t an option. He had been alone too long and fought too many battles, with no real reason to survive. For the first time in centuries, the soul of his wolf knew peace. The emptiness inside was filled by Katy’s presence. She was the missing piece they’d unknowingly craved. No. He could not lose that now. Would not.
“Stay with me.” Gage lifted her into his arms and carried her toward the large bed in the center of the room. Everything in the cabin was sized for a male of his proportions. But in his arms, Katy felt so small, so fragile. An overwhelming need to shelterand protect her from the world and everyone in it rose inside of him.
Gage laid her gently atop the plush blankets and nestled in behind her. Her slim body contoured to him as though made to fit at his side. Gage buried his face in her riot of brunette waves, breathing her in, clinging as though to keep her tethered to this world through the force of his will alone. This was right. She was his balance, his missing half, the light to his darkness. He had found her finally. Surely fate could not be so cruel as to snatch her away again so soon. Gage held her tighter. He would protect what was his, no matter the cost. Katy was his mate, his to guard and cherish. And the Dire Wolf would rip the very stars from the heavens before he let anyone take her from him and leave him in the dark of this cruel world.
They lay together in silence as the first rays of dawn crept across the sky. Gage kept his arms locked around Katy, her back pressed to his chest. She relaxed into him with a sigh, her warmth and soft curves molded against his larger frame. He nuzzled into her hair, breathing her in, memorizing every detail. The steady thrum of her heart soothed his own.
Gage had almost lost himself to the mindless rage of his wolf many times over the centuries alone. The Dire beast within rattled at its chains even now, ready to slaughter any who dared threaten its mate. But Katy’s nearness settled his other half in a way nothing else could. With her, the man and wolf were finally at peace. She kept the demons of his past at bay. With her, the present was brighter and the future held promise.
If he could just save her somehow…
He sensed when Katy drifted to sleep, her body going lax. He continued trailing his fingers idly along her arm. Even resting, she looked weary, the toll of the past days etched in the smudges beneath her eyes. His brave mate had endured so much: the shock of discovering a whole hidden supernatural world, thecruelty of the serpent king, the terrible burden fate had placed upon her shoulders.
Gage’s arms tightened reflexively. He would rip apart the very fabric of the universe before allowing her to be taken from him. There had to be another way to save those girls without Katy’s sacrifice.
In the stillness, Gage sent up a fervent prayer to Visata. The Creator had said Katy possessed a generous heart. Protecting the innocent was part of her very nature. Gage knew he could not dissuade his mate from that righteous path.
But there must be some other means of saving the human captives without robbing the world of Katy’s light. She was meant for so much more. He had to believe that or go mad with grief for what they might have shared.
“Please,” he rasped into the quiet room, a single tear slipping free. “There must be another way. Tell me how to save her.”
The last vestiges of night slowly succumbed to the morning’s rosy touch. Still, no answer came. Katy slept on, her mate a silent sentinel standing guard against the darkness waiting to claim her.
Finally, as the first birdsong heralded the new day, Gage, too, slipped into sleep, his body curled protectively around hers. One arm stayed locked over her, anchoring them together.
Then the dream came.
Gage found himself in a lush forest, sunlight dappling the verdant ground. A figure stood at the edge of the glade up ahead, rays of light radiating from his form so bright that Gage had to drop his gaze. His breath left him in a rush. He would know this being anywhere—the aura of infinite power and grace. His knees hit the soft earth.
“Visata,” he gasped. “I need your guidance.”
“Come closer, but keep your eyes down.” The Creator beckoned.
