Considering her words, I remained silent, my attention called to the shimmering waters that danced on the golden horizon. The truth hit me mercilessly.
It no longer mattered if Natasha’s fire was capable of killing me or not, it was too late for me… I was already hers.
With a heavy sigh, I wrapped my front leg around my sister’s torso, pulling her wolf closer to cradle her against me. Her head rested on my right paw. A rumble captured my chest when I nuzzled her ear lovingly.
“See? I knew you were my cuddly bear, twinsie, Hanny boo.”
I snorted.“I should have absorbed you in the womb…”
When Alyce and I returned to the estate, I took a shower to remove all the sand from my fur and skin.
By the time I made it back to Natasha’s room, the Countess forced the guys and me to leave, have something to eat, and rest while she and Isis stayed with our mate. It was hard to argue when she was right, we’d been by Natasha’s side the entire night after an intense battle with those bastards, and we weren’t good to anyone in this condition.
We all gathered in Dante’s room.
“I don’t think I can actually get any sleep,” I sighed. “You, D?”
The emotion changed in his eyes as he looked at Dante and me. “You guys can just call me André from now on.”
A genuine smile curved Dante’s lips. “Are you sure? I thought only Natasha and Vanessa had that privilege.”
He shook his head. “You, Hannes, and I are bonded too. We are mates, and there is nothing more important to me than that. This is the real me, and that is something I’m no longer willing to keep from you.”
Pulling Dante in, he kissed him, and they exchanged a heartfelt hug to seal his new vow of sharing his true self with us and never hiding again. His arms wrapped around me next, and we kissed, sharing the same vow.
“Let’s get some rest while we can.”
“Sure thing, André.”
He smiled at me.
It felt right to call him that. Things were finally falling into their rightful place.
As Dante disappeared into theTwilightto recharge, André and I passed out on his bed regardless of how much we didn’t want it.
About three hours later, I sat awake, rubbing my still tired eyes to find André was already gone, probably back to our mate’s room. Dante, however, sat next to me while shadow bands disappeared from around him, telling me it hadn’t been long since he returned from the darkness.
“Are you at a hundred percent?” The roughness of my voice accentuated the question.
“More like fifty-five,” he admitted, cracking his neck. “But I don’t want to be away for much longer.”
“Same.” We exchanged a glance that said even if we’d wanted, we couldn’t have enjoyed a restful sleep. Not with everything that was happening.
“Are you alright?” Dante asked, and I narrowed my eyes at him.
“I knew there was a reason you were still here when I awoke.”
His lips twitched. “I suppose you are not that intolerable. Besides, André only left about five minutes ago. We heard you growl in your sleep and knew you weren’t far behind us.”
A smile stretched my lips fully. “You were worried about me.”
“Save the smile. I’m not going to melt in your arms.” His lips twitched as he looked at me.
“Then why is your heart racing?” I taunted, leaning closer to him on the bed until we were only a breath away. “It’s okay, you know I can be gentle.”
His lips twitched again, but his gaze fell to my lips. “You fucking have to. Have you seen your size?”
Chuckling, I cupped his neck, my thumb caressing his lower lip before our mouths slowly closed over each other’s. He pulledme in by the shirt, deepening the kiss and sending tingles down my body straight into my groin. Our tongues danced together in an unhurried and sensual kiss, his hand gripping my wrist to guide my touch between his thighs.
