Finally, I can wait no more, and my legs spring into action, carrying me towards my Winter Star, my mate.
The moment I unleash myself, the cave walls blur around me. My muscles propel me forward with the full force of the beast I have held in check for centuries, closing the distance between us in mere heartbeats.
I do not run.
I hunt.
The tunnel walls flash past. The scent of her is stronger now, sharper with exertion, rich with anticipation. She knows I am coming. She believes she is running toward safety. She does not yet realize she is running straight into my arms.
I let her think, just for a moment, that she could escape me. But she cannot because she is already mine. She always was. But tonight, I will carve that truth into her soul. Brand my claim into her flesh.
I tear through the tunnels, faster than breath, faster than thought. Faster than fate itself.
The path she has chosen ends ahead, a cavern of shimmering crystal and moonlit stone. The perfect backdrop to her beauty.
I move faster. The air pulses with my presence, with the raw, electric energy of the hunt reaching its climax. I see her now, just ahead—her muscles coiled as she spins, realizing her mistake. The tunnel has betrayed her.
There is nowhere left to run.
I slow just enough to drink in the sight of her. She is wild and perfect, chest rising and falling with exertion, skin flushed with heat. Her curls are a halo of tangled fire, her wide eyes burning not with fear—but with hunger.
For me.
She cannot yet see me, but I see every inch of her. She senses my approach, a slow, wicked smile curving her lips. She stands her ground, hands fisting at her sides, pupils blown wide. Her scent thickens, laced with the primal understanding of what is about to happen.
Dahlia
A burst of silver light unfurls before me as I stumble into a cavern that looks as if it has swallowed the night sky. The walls are lined with jagged crystals, catching the dim moonlight from a narrow crack in the ceiling, refracting it into a thousand fractured constellations.
I pause, mesmerized, my chest heaving.
The air shifts. A ripple of energy—electric, charged—pulses through the cave, shivering over my skin.
The beautiful distraction is my downfall; air whooshes out of my lungs as a strong arm wraps around my middle and snatches me from where I stand. A startled scream leaves my lips before a hand clamps down over my mouth as his scent surrounds me, snow and pine and mine.
Harsh panting in my ear turns to a satisfied groan as he growls out, “Mate.”
I sink my teeth into the fleshy palm covering my mouth, startling him enough to drop me to my feet. I take off back the way I came, away from the beautiful crystals. I am feeling smug at my escape until a hand wraps itself in my hair streaming behind me. I’m brought up short, pain prickling delightfully across my scalp as fear pools in my belly.
Eryon
I let her run. Let her think she’s escaping. The thrill of the chase sings in my blood, coils in my muscles, but I don’t lunge—yet.
Her scent is a beacon, blazing through the darkness, guidingme toward her. She smells of fire and spring, of sunshine andmine.
Her hair, loose and streaming behind her, is a gift. I seize it, wrapping the wild curls around my fist, and pull.
A sharp gasp, a stumbled step—then she’s mine again.
She fights me, her small body bucking like a feral thing, but I trap her beneath me, pressed against the earth, helpless and perfect. I fist a hand in her hair, tilting her head, baring her throat. I lower my face, inhaling deeply.
The beast in me snarls in triumph, savoring the feel of her pinned and breathless beneath me. Soft where I am hard. Fragile where I am unbreakable. She is so small against me. But not weak. Never weak. She bares her teeth at me, fierce and defiant.
I love her for it.
I will break her anyway.
She whimpers, thighs pressing together, her scent thickening. She likes this. Shewantsthis. A growl rumbles deep in my chest, primal and approving.
