“You shouldn’t have blamed Rowan.”
“I know, and I’ll apologize to him later, but Wren, you’re such a danger magnet in Kalista.” Strands of blue hair fell into his face, and he pushed it away with his long fingers. “I could do so much more to protect you in the Ice Kingdom.”
“She’s not going to the fae realm,” Damien cut in, and Thorn waved him off.
“I know that. I just wish I could protect you more.”
My lips curved into a small smile as I shook my head. “Thorn, you gave me a report this week of seven students that you entered a contract with to keep me safe.”
“I gave her a report of eight,” Damien added smugly before Lachlan growled at him.
“My point is, you do so much to protect me, and I will always be grateful for that, but my protection isn’t all on your shoulders or my other potential mates. My protection should also be on my shoulders.”
He shook his head and went to open his mouth, but I grabbed hold of his velvety cape from his realm and pulled his face to mine, cutting him off with my lips before he could argue more.
Magic filled my body with an icy heat and flowed into Thorn from my lips as nostalgia flooded my senses. Flashes of every stolen moment at the village where I’d sneak into the forest off the pack lands and meet with him came into my mind, and I gasped, pulling back and staring into Thorn’s wide eyes.
“Their magic is linking,” Kian mumbled. “They’re mates.”
“I thought that was what was happening,” Lachlan muttered.
“Oh, little bird, please let me watch this time,” Damien whined, but there was a lack of enthusiasm in his tone that I didn’t miss.
“Is this real?” Thorn’s trembling hands cupped my face as his eyes filled with unshed tears. “Are you really my mate?”
With a smile on my face and the matebond weaving into place between us, I nodded. “It seems that way.”
“Thank the Fates,” he breathed before his cold lips captured mine again.
Ice magic coated my skin as his tongue swept into my mouth, and I pressed my body closer to him.
“We’ll give you your privacy,” Damien said. “But I expect the same from you all when it’s my turn.”
I pulled away from Thorn to glance over just in time to see the three of them fade into the shadows, and my heart ached for a split second before the bond filled the forefront of my mind.
Thorn unsnapped his cape and tore his shirt off before throwing them to the forest floor, and his exposed skin made mine tingle as I thought about what it would feel like for our bare flesh to be against each other.
I’d had wicked fantasies of Thorn since I was a teenage girl, but I buried them deep because I never actually believed mates were in my future.
But everything was different now.
My fingers fumbled with my buttons, and I tossed my shirt to the ground as he stepped out of his pants.
Thorn standing in the middle of the forest in only his underwear was a sight I needed to burn into my brain. He didn’t have bulging muscles like Rowan did, but his muscles were toned, and his mark was glowing in sync with mine while our magic flowed between us.
I pulled my pants off with one quick motion before I stood naked in front of him. “Your turn,” I said, my voice soft, and his lips quirked into a teasing mark.
“Only if you enter a contract with me.”
His magic danced over my skin, and I giggled. “Thorn, I told you I won’t make a contract with a fae.”
“I’m your mate. Not just any fae.” His eyes twinkled. “Humor me.”
I arched my brow, wrapping my arms around myself, covering my breasts as I sighed. “What’re the terms?”
“Fae cement matebonds by creating contracts of equal gain and loss.”
I tongued the inside of my cheek as I thought about it. I trusted Thorn, and if he was my mate, there was no way he’d make a botched contract with me. “Okay. I’ll agree to enter the contract if you agree to let me mark you.”
