The cabin is peaceful. She’s warm and tucked into my chest. For the first time all day, her body isn’t coiled in tension.
The lines of her face have softened, her lips parted slightly, her breath brushing against my skin. Her hand rests over my heart, fingers curled loosely in my fur.
I could stay like this forever. Just watching her, holding her, knowing she’s safe.
A scent slams into me, stealing my breath, flooding every sense I have. Sweet, thick, intoxicating.
It’s not a heat cycle. I’ve been around newly claimed Rhavari females before—bonded mates, their scents thick with estrous. But this? This is something else entirely.
My nostrils flare, and my entire body goes rigid. I inhale deeper this time, and the scent coats my tongue. It’s something her body is making. Something I’ve never smelled before.
Every instinct I have snarls in recognition. This devastating scent was made for me.Only for me.I turn my head to theside, attempting to breathe fresh air, but something warm spills across my leg.
My fur is damp where her thighs rest against my lap, and her shirt is soaked straight through.
When I look down—ves’thrahk.(Holy fuck.)
Shimmer glistens where I run a hand across my wet fur. A slick, iridescent substance. I stare at it for a heartbeat. The moment it touches my skin, it starts to dissipate into the whirls of my fingers. My body completely absorbs it, andreality fractures.
My mind... isn’t just mine anymore.
A rush of sensation floods through me, like lightning under my skin.
Her voice slithers through my brain like static. Her lips haven’t moved, but I can feel her voice.Inside me.
Her thoughts. Her feelings. Her soul.
Andrik...
My head snaps toward her. She’s still asleep, eyes closed, breathing softly.
I lurch forward with a gasp, claws raking through the floorboards to calm myself. My pulse hammers so loud it sounds like my heart is going to fall right out of its cage.
What is this?
Her voice floods me again, not a thought this time, but a feeling.
Are you there?
I slam a hand to my chest.
Yes.
I don’t know if I say it, scream it, or bleed it into the bond between us.
But she must feel it; her fingers twitch, reaching for me in her sleep. I crawl back to her and press my brow to her temple. I’m burning for the first time since I was created.
Andrik... please...
“Lumi?” I whisper aloud, even though I know she probably can’t hear me like this.
I can hear you.
I freeze.
Saelûn?
Yes.Her voice echoes through my mind.I can hear you.
