After about fifteen minutes of walking, War stopped in front of a clearing. Wildflowers in shades of purple, white, and yellow surrounded the small pond in the clearing's center.
“I found this place a few decades ago,” War said, gesturing toward the pond as Thane headed in the direction of the flowers. "It suddenly reminds me of you."
I looked at him with a mixture of surprise and confusion written on my face. “What do you mean?”
“You’re like a wildflower in the winter,” War said, looking at me with a softness in his eyes that I had never seen before. “Delicate and beautiful, but also strong and resilient. It’s one of the things I admire most about you.”
I felt my cheeks grow warm under his gaze, and I looked away, feeling suddenly shy.
“You’re one to talk,” I said finally, looking back at him. “You’re like a lion. Powerful and fierce, but also gentle and protective.” I ran my eyes over him. “And you’re a fucking giant, so there’s that.”
War’s eyes darkened with emotion, and I felt the air between us grow thick with need. The guys had stopped a few feet away, giving us space, and I could feel their eyes on us. Thane scanned the flowers carefully while Gareth pretended to inspect the pond.
All I could focus on was the electricity between War and me, crackling like wildfire. Without thinking, I took a step closer to him, and he did the same.
I felt his hand slip around my waist, pulling me closer to him, and I wrapped my arms around his neck, losing myself in the intensity of the moment. I kissed him gently, letting my tongue glide against his as he groaned into my mouth.
The kiss lasted for what felt like hours, but also felt like it ended too soon. When we pulled away, we were bothbreathless, and I could see the desire and longing in War's eyes.
“I'm glad I met you, little wolf,” he said softly, his voice husky with emotion. "Circumstances aside."
“Maybe it was worth it," I whispered, feeling tears prick at the corners of my eyes.
We stood there for a few moments, simply taking each other in, before Thane cleared his throat, breaking the spell. “Ahem,” he said pointedly. “As happy as we are for you two, we still have work to do. Also, I'm freezing my ass off.”
War and I pulled away from each other reluctantly, and I felt my cheeks flush with embarrassment.
“Right,” I said, nodding quickly. “Back to work, slackers.”
Gareth was staring at the two of us with an unreadable expression. It wasn’t angry, but it was intense. We were mates now. Officially, biologically, and emotionally. I could feel a sense of urgency inside me that didn’t feel like it was coming from me but rather from some outside source.
I immediately realized I was feeling Gareth’s emotions, just like my cousin told me she could feel her own mate’s emotions.
Thane gathered up a bunch of the wildflowers that poked their heads up from under the snow. I was surprised that anything could survive these temperatures. But like War said, they were resilient.
“What are those for?” I asked Thane. He didn't strike me as a flower guy with all those badass tattoos and piercings.
”Tea,” he said. “These little beauties make delicious breakfast tea. Calms the nerves.”
Leave it to a warlock to know the best kinds of herbal remedies. I smiled at Thane, seeing a softer side to the badass warlock. I knew I needed to have a private chat withhim soon. We still needed to discuss this whole soul bond thing between us. There was so much we needed to understand about the way his magic called out to me.
I thought about what they’d said. About how whatever Estelle had done to alter my DNA might have given me some kind of magic that I didn’t know about. Even if it was nothing tangible, it was obviously enough for me to form a soul bond.
I needed to remind myself to ask Bastian about it when we opened the portal again tomorrow to discuss our findings with them.
Once Thane gathered the wildflowers, the weather started to roll in. Clouds obscured the sky, and snow began to fall. Off in the distance, though, I heard the sound of rolling thunder across the mountains and knew we were in for a long night.
We made it back to the cabin and settled in for the storm. Thane was in the kitchen brewing some tea while Gareth and War poured over more of the lists of names. They were deep in conversation while I joined Thane in the kitchen.
As Thane poured the hot tea into mugs, I couldn't help but feel grateful for his presence. He had been a rock for me throughout this entire journey, and I knew that I wouldn't have been able to make it this far without him.
"Thank you," I said softly, taking the mug from him.
"For what?" Thane asked, raising an eyebrow.
"For everything, I guess," I replied. "For being here for me, for helping me with my magic, and for cracking stupid-ass jokes when I'm freaking out."
Thane smiled at me, and for a moment, I could see the sadness behind his eyes. "You don't have to thank me. I'mjust doing what feels right. You're precious to me. More than you realize."
