Afterwards, as she slept curled against him, he stared into the dying flames and tried not to think about how different everything would be once her people arrived.
The next day they reached the base of the mountains and the foothills spread before them like a brown sea. After two days of snow and rock and treacherous mountain trails, the sight of open grassland stretching towards the distant horizon felt almost surreal. The air was warmer here, carrying the scents of earth and dry vegetation instead of ice and stone.
She stood at the edge of the last tree line, her face tilted up towards the pale sun. She looked tired but triumphant, and when she caught him watching her, she smiled.
“We made it.”
“We did.” He moved to stand beside her, his hand resting on the small of her back. “How do you feel?”
“Terrified,” she admitted. “Excited. Ready. Not ready at all.” She laughed softly, shaking her head. “Is it possible to feel all of those things at once?”
“Yes.” He understood perfectly. The same contradictions warred in his own chest—eagerness to face whatever came next, and a desperate wish to stay frozen in this moment forever.
They found a suitable campsite at the base of the foothills, a small clearing sheltered by a ring of young trees. He built a fire while she unpacked their remaining supplies, her movements automatic and distracted.
When she finally pulled the beacon from her pack, her hands were trembling.
“Once I activate this,” she said quietly, “everything changes. They’ll come for me. For us. And then…”
“Then we face whatever comes.” He crossed to her, taking her hands in his, beacon and all. “Together. Remember?”
She nodded, drawing a deep breath. “Together.”
She pressed the activation switch.
The red light flickered once, twice, then began pulsing a steady green. Somewhere in the distance—in Port Cantor, perhaps, or wherever her family’s security forces monitored their frequencies—an alarm would be sounding. People would be mobilizing. A ship would be launched.
The countdown had begun.
“How long?” he asked.
“Depends on where the nearest response team is stationed.” She set the beacon carefully on a flat rock, positioning it so the signalwould have a clear path to the sky. “It could be a few hours or it could be most of the day. We should stay close—they’ll track the beacon’s location, but it’s easier if we’re visible when they arrive.”
Hours.Possibly their last hours alone.
He pulled her into his arms, burying his face in the curve of her neck. She came willingly, her arms wrapping around his waist, her body melting against his.
“I keep thinking,” he murmured against her skin, “that this might be the last time. That once your people arrive, once you’re back in your world…”
“Don’t.” She pulled back just enough to meet his eyes, her expression fierce. “Don’t think that. I didn’t fight this hard, come this far, just to lose you at the end. You’re mine, Rykan. My mate. Whatever happens next, that doesn’t change.”
“Your people might not accept me.”
“Then they’ll learn to.” Her hands fisted in his shirt, pulling him closer. “I’m done letting other people decide who I can love. Who I can want. My father spent years protecting me from the world—I’m not going to dishonor his memory by letting it destroy me now.”
The conviction in her voice soothed something anxious in his chest. She meant it, every word. Whatever complications waited in Port Cantor, she intended to face them with him at her side.
Brave,his beast purred.Our mate is brave.
He kissed her then, slow and thorough, pouring everything he felt into the contact. Love. Gratitude. The fierce, protective devotion that had grown from the moment he first caughther scent. She responded with equal fervor, her hands sliding beneath his shirt to find bare skin. They’d made love so many times now, but each time still felt new—a rediscovery of pleasure he’d thought forever beyond his reach.
Clothing fell away piece by piece until there was nothing between them but sunlight and air.
He lay her down on their spread blankets, taking his time, worshipping every inch of her with hands and mouth. She gasped and writhed beneath him, her fingers tangling in his hair, her hips rising to meet his touch.
“Rykan… please…”
He couldn’t deny her. He could never deny her anything.
