“Heaven!” I roar, launching myself forward without thinking. The wind tears past me as my power explodes outward, and I push forward, hurling myself towards her as fast as I can.
I reach her seconds before impact, catching her against my chest, arms locking tight around her instinctively, and then I freeze.
She’s light.
Too light.
My heart pounds as I look down at her.
Her aura is steady. Calm and in control.
My heart slams hard as the truth hits me. She didn’t fall. I didn’t fucking catch her. She broke the fall herself.
Fuck…
Relief crashes through me so hard I drop to my knees, my heartbeat thundering in my ears as I hold her tight – anger, pride and fear at the thought of losing her colliding violently in my chest.
She’s fine. For this heartbeat, I just want to hold her, before the world rips us apart again.
Her aura… it feels different. Again. Reminding me of how it felt when we returned from the Gods’ Realm.
Ares sends a violent wave of water tearing toward Calindra, and Heaven’s eyes snap open.
Black markings begin to spider out from the corner of her right eye, curling across her skin surrounding her eye, the exact marking that she had on her face in the Gods’ Realm.
As always, she looks fucking breathtaking.
“Worried about me?” Her voice is soft, an edge of intimacy I know I shouldn’t entertain. But when her gaze meets my milky white eyes, I’m unable to ignore it.
“What do you think?” I murmur, frowning. And without thinking, I brush a stray lock of hair from her forehead, mythumb lingering against her skin far longer than it should.
Her lips curve into that slow, knowing smile. “I think… you look dangerously sexy when you frown.”
And the way she says it, like she knows exactly the effect she has on me, makes my pulse spike. My jaw clenches, and I feel something feral in me tug against my restraint.
“As much as I’d love to stay right here, I have a bitch to deal with,” she whispers, her hand fleetingly brushing my chest.
I can’t help but snicker breathlessly at that.
I want to tell her when this is over, maybe we could, but we can’t. I know that.
She rises, tossing her hair over her shoulder in a way that’s careless, yet commanding, and my eyes trace the line of her neck, the arch of her shoulders, the way her body moves with quiet power, with a confidence that both impresses and seduces me all at once.
“You going to be ok, Sweetcheeks?”
“Go help Jayce and Uncle Liam,” she murmurs, glancing over her shoulder at me. Her eyes are soft yet confident. Each word is a brush against my skin. “I’ve got this.”
Her hand flickers toward the air, summoning the Tongue of Dawn, its flare of light catching against the curves of her face, and for a heartbeat, our eyes lock again. Something tugs at me inside, and my wolf comes forward.
I want to step forward, press closer, brush my lips against hers and let the world burn around us, but I don’t. Instead, I release a ragged breath, let my hands fall, and watch her launchinto the air as her aura swirls around us – stronger than ever.
And I was right, it’s changed… She’s a mystery, one with so many layers.
I turn, about to return to Jayce and Dad, when the ground trembles. A unison of roars erupts through the sky, and then six wolves with immense power thunder past me, each one burning with a different elemental aura. Power ripples through the sky, tearing leaves from branches and bending the air itself.
I shield my face as I squint in time to see someone land beside Jayce with enough force to make the ground shudder beneath our feet.
A slow smirk crosses my lips.
