It’s not what I want either. I can’t put my pack in danger. Anders has only just reconciled with our family. It would not be fair for him to be separated from them. “Would you still want to be together, even if we had to keep it a secret?”
Soren rolls onto his side to face me. He guides my hand to his mouth and kisses the back of my hand. “It’s not ideal. But you’re worth it, Lyall. I don’t want anyone to get in trouble because of us. So how do we make this work?”
I heave a sigh. “I don’t know. The TTA has a large presence in New York, and I fear Helena Cartwright does not trust me, rightfully, when it comes to keeping secrets from you. So staying in the present with you will be tricky, and bringing you into the past with me is also not an option…” A thought comes to me, making my heart skip. “What if we were to go somewhere the TTA doesn’t have a headquarters? Somewhere no one knew us?”
He looks as surprised as I am. I can’t believe I’m suggesting such a thing. Being away from my pack would break my heart, but it might be the safest thing.
Soren frowns. “Is there such a place?”
“I don’t know, but I know someone who might.” If anyone would know, it’s Arlo.
“It’s a lot to ask of you, Soren, I know. You have a job in the present, friends, your grandfather. I would travel to the future to live with you. You’d have to help me find a job and learn the ways of your time. You would not be the only one making such a big change. We would be in the same boat, aye?”
Gods, it’s too much to ask of him. I’ve overstepped.
“I’ll do it,” Soren says, and my heart damn near stops. “I’ll go away with you, Lyall.”
How can he say yes so easily? Has he not considered all that he’d be leaving behind?
“Are you sure? You would not miss your life in the future?”
Soren worries his bottom lip. “Of course I would. Leaving would be hard. But losing you would be harder.”
Knowing how deeply he’s come to care for me warms me to the depths of my soul. “Soren—”
He leans in for a brief but hard kiss, silencing all my feeble protests. “What about you?” he asks when we part. “Won’t it be hard for you, being away from your family?”
I think of Anders when we were pups, crying because he’d scraped his knee. We were young and hadn’t yet learned to shift. I’d taken his hand and led him back to the village and had never let go until his cut had beenbandaged by our aunt. Holding baby Gunnar for the first time, overcome with an emotion too strong for my young mind to understand. Little Wulfric coming into a world our mother lost her life bringing him into, wailing for our mother’s milk and comfort. I’d held him tight as tears fell down my cheeks and whispered, “I’m here. I’m going to take care of you, little Wulf.”
Haven’t I given enough? Sacrificed enough? Is it finally my turn to allow myself to be happy?
“Lyall?”
My vision is blurred when I open my eyes. Soren’s here, his hand warm on my cheek, his eyes full of worry. Blinking away the tears, I kiss the corner of his mouth, mapping a trail of kisses up his jaw to the shell of his ear. “I did my duty to my family. They no longer need me, not as they once did. I will miss them.” My throat starts to ache as I think of Wulfric and Kieran, Gunnar, Aunt Helga, Anders and his family… “Greatly. But I surrendered a part of my soul once, and I’ll not do it again. Wherever you go, so do I.”
Framing my face in his hands, Soren turns my head enough to claim my lips in a kiss that leaves me breathless with how desperately I want him.
I will never let us be separated again. I’m choosing Soren this time, for the rest of our lives.
The desire in Soren’s scent is enough to drive me mad. I can barely keep my hands on the oars, running them up his side, curling my fingers in his hair, rubbing his hard cock through his jeans. It’s a miracle we get back to the present without wrecking the boat.
When we return to Soren’s timeline, he takes my hand and pulls me close. He nips at my earlobe, breath hot on my skin when he says, “There’s a hotel nearby. Want to stay the night?”
“Why not go to your home, though?”
“Because I don’t want anyone but me to hear you screaming my name all night.”
I don’t think I’ve agreed to anything faster in my life. This hotel Soren spoke of isn’t far at all, but he does stop briefly to buy some supplies for our night together.
It’s not long before we’ve made it to our room. There are stunning views of the river from our windows, but I’m far more interested in the large bed. Soren tosses the bag of supplies on it and then takes my hand in his. It’s only a few feet to the bed, but in that time, we manage to get out of our clothes. The sheets are as soft as clouds look, puffing up around me when Soren pushes me onto the mattress.
I spread my legs wider to accommodate him when he drapes himself over my body. “Fuck, Lyall. It hurts to look at you.”
I frown. “What? Why?”
Soren’s eyes widen, then he laughs, pressing a kiss to my forehead. “Sorry. Not literally. I just meant—ugh. You’re hot. Okay? Really, really hot.”
“I feel quite cool, actually.”
