“Look at me,” he demanded, and somehow she forced her eyes open. “When you come, I want you to see who you’re with.”
His golden eyes were burning with an inner fire, the beast looking out through them, and that knowledge sent her over the edge. She convulsed around him, her body tightening as pleasure washed through her in endless waves. He pulled her down over him, his mouth going not to her neck but to the inside curve of her breast.
She felt the sharp press of fangs, the bright sting of pain, and then another release crashed through her, the pleasure so intense that stars danced in her vision. She heard him roar and felt him pulse inside her as he somehow grew impossibly larger, the strange heat of his claim spreading through her blood like wildfire.
For a long moment, she couldn’t think. Couldn’t move. Couldn’t do anything but lie there in his arms, trembling with aftershocks, feeling more complete than she ever had in her life.
He gathered her close, stroking a hand up and down her spine in slow, soothing passes, gentling her as her breathing gradually calmed. She started to raise her head to look at him and the movement tugged at their still joined bodies, sending another shock of pleasure through her system.
“Don’t move,” he groaned. “We are still locked together by my knot.”
Her eyes widened at the realization. She knew about Vultor biology, of course, but reading about it and experiencing it were entirely different matters.
“It will pass.” He kissed her forehead, her temples, her cheeks. “In a few minutes. Until then…”
He rolled them onto their sides, tucking her body against his so they lay facing each other, still connected in the most intimateway possible. She traced the lines of his face, learning the shape of him with her fingers.
“I didn’t know it would be like that,” she whispered.
“Neither did I.” His golden eyes searched hers, and she saw the raw vulnerability there, the wonder. “It’s never been like that. With anyone.”
They lay in comfortable silence, the knot gradually subsiding until he could finally withdraw from her body. He cleaned them both with a soft cloth, his movements tender and reverent.
She settled back into his arms, her body aching in the most delicious way. She could feel the new bond between them, shimmering and bright like a thread of gold connecting them.
“You marked me,” she said, her fingers touching the tender spot on her breast.
“I claimed you.” His thumb stroked over the mark, his voice full of possessive pride.
“But you chose somewhere private.”
“Yes.” His arms tightened around her. “I wanted… I needed you to know that this is between us. Not for display, not for proof. Just for us.”
Tears pricked her eyes, but she didn’t try to hide them. She pressed a kiss to his chest, right over his thundering heart.
“I love you,” she whispered. The words came easily, naturally, as if they’d been waiting all along for the right moment to emerge.
His breath caught. His whole body tensed beneath her, and for a terrifying heartbeat, she thought she’d said too much, too soon. Then his arms crushed her against him, and his voice, rough andbroken, whispered back, “I love you too. Gods help me, I love you so much it terrifies me.”
They lay wrapped together as the grey morning light shifted towards noon, neither willing to break the spell of the moment. But eventually, inevitably, the world intruded.
“You said the pass will be clear soon,” she said quietly, tracing patterns on his chest with her fingertip. “We should start preparing.”
He nodded, although his arms tightened around her reflexively. “The descent will take two days, maybe three. We’ll need to pack supplies and check the weather patterns.”
“I’ll need to plan.” Her mind was already spinning ahead, cataloging challenges and complications. “Marina won’t have expected me to survive. That gives us an advantage, but only if we move carefully.”
“We’ll figure it out together.” He pressed a kiss to the top of her head. “Whatever you need, whatever you’re facing—you won’t face it alone. Not anymore.”
She believed him. After everything—after the crash and the isolation and the slow, painful work of learning who she really was—she finally believed that she didn’t have to carry the weight alone. But she wasn’t the same fragile girl who had boarded that doomed ship weeks ago. She was stronger now. Braver. And she had Rykan at her side—her protector, her teacher, her mate.
It was time to go home.
CHAPTER 21
Three days later, Rykan stood at the cabin door, watching the sunrise cast a golden glow over the snow-covered peaks. Behind him, Ember moved quietly through the cabin, packing the few possessions she would take with her. The soft sounds of her movements filled the small space—cloth rustling, leather creaking, the gentle clink of the fire poker as she banked the coals.
His cabin. His territory. The refuge he’d carved out of nothing after losing everything. And now he was leaving it.
