The old stories were true,he thought dimly.The harp chooses its own. And it chose her.
Ours,the beast purred in sated triumph.Our mate.
He shifted, intending to roll off her, but her arms tightened around him.
“Don’t move,” she whispered, her lips brushing against his temple. “I like the weight of you.”
He settled back against her, propping himself up on his elbows so he wouldn’t crush her. He looked down at her face, at the soft, satisfied smile that curved her lips, and something in his chest—a knot of tension he hadn’t even realized was there—finally loosened.
“I’ve never felt anything like that,” she said, her fingers tracing a path down the scarred muscle of his arm. “I read about it in books, of course. They described it as a biological function.” Her laugh was a soft puff of air against his chest. “They left out the parts about seeing stars.”
His lips curved into a smile against her skin. “Good. Then I’ve given you something new to study.”
“What happens now?” she asked quietly after a long silent moment. “Merrick won’t stop. And my father… He’s trapped too, in his own way. And there’s still a Vultor warrior wandering around the village?—”
“We’ll figure it out.” He tightened his hold on her. “Tomorrow. Tonight, I just want to hold my mate and pretend the universe isn’t trying to tear us apart.”
She tilted her head up to look at him, her silver-flecked eyes searching his.
“Your mate,” she repeated, like she was testing the word. “That’s what I am now?”
“That’s what you are. What you’ll always be.” He cupped her cheek in his massive hand. “My mate. My partner. My—” The human word felt inadequate, but he said it anyway. “My love.”
Her skin blazed a brilliant violet.
“I love you too,” she whispered. “I didn’t know I could. I didn’t know I was allowed to want things like this. A family. A home. Someone who looks at me like I’m not a science experiment.”
“You’re not.” He kissed her forehead, her nose, her lips. “You’re a masterpiece. You’re a miracle. And you’re mine.”
She fell asleep in his arms, her body warm and pliant against his, and he lay awake in the darkness, listening to the distant song of the Echo-pipe and the steady rhythm of his mate’s breath.
The universe was indeed trying to tear them apart, but not tonight. Tonight he could just hold her in his arms and keep her safe.
CHAPTER 19
Valrek woke to the sensation of fingers tracing the scars on his chest—careful, reverent touches that mapped each raised line of tissue with quiet curiosity. He kept his eyes closed, not wanting to disturb the moment, and let himself simply feel. The bond hummed between them, a constant thread of awareness that was both strange and deeply right.
“I know you’re awake,” she said.
“Mmm.” He cracked one eye open. “How?”
“Your breathing changed.”
“Observant.”
“I’m a scientist’s daughter.” She propped herself up on one elbow, looking down at him. In the soft morning light, with her hair tumbled around her shoulders and the mark on her neck still fresh and new, she was the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen. “Also, I felt your heartbeat speed up.”
“It does that when you touch me.”
Her skin shimmered pink.
“The mark,” she said, reaching up to touch her shoulder. “It doesn’t hurt anymore. It actually feels… warm. Like sunshine trapped under my skin.”
“The bond is settling.” He pulled her down against his chest, unwilling to let her go even for a moment. “In the old days, mated pairs spent the first week together. Never separating. Letting the connection deepen.”
“A week sounds nice.” She nuzzled into his neck. “Unfortunately, I don’t think Merrick will give us that long.”
The name was cold water on his contentment.
