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She takes my hand and tugs me farther out. Weeds sway along the lakebed. A school of fish scatters around us, and even in the dark, I can make out every pebble on the bottom. She tows me through the shadows under the bridge, where her brothers are waiting. Cael flashes blue and silver, with Nereus gliding beside him in deeper green.

I’d be laughing out loud if I could. They pick up speed with me sandwiched in the middle. I’m a wolf. I am not supposed to be able to do this. They swim me all over the lake.

Sirena speaks into my mind again. I am happy the name lives in you.

Why? I think back at her.

She squeezes my hand. Because you make the name warm. Whole. She doesn’t look away from me. And I have the privilege of having a sister named Aya.

I wonder if I can cry underwater. I might be about to find out. My wolf wakes up for the first time since the fire. She paces and whines for Sirena. Thank you, Mother Fate.

My air runs thin way too soon. Sirena kisses me again, and when she pulls away, she speaks without a sound. You will get sick under the water too long. It is time to take you back.

I pout, but I nod. I wave goodbye to her brothers before Sirena swims me back to the border.

We break the surface. I suck in air and blink the lake out of my eyes. Sirena is already drifting away. “That was wonderful,” I sputter. “Wait, where are you going?”

I turn around. Ezra stands at the edge of the border, glaring down at me. I can smell how frustrated he is from down here. Oh shit.

“It was worth it!” I call up to him.

His frown curls into a grin, and he reaches down. I swim over and take his hand. He hauls me out of the lake and into his arms. Over my shoulder, he waves at Sirena. “See you soon.” She presses a hand over her heart and sinks out of sight.

Ezra rubs my arms up and down. “Let me fly you back to the cabin and get you warmed up.”

“I thought you were going to be mad at me,” I admit. There isn’t a trace of anger in his scent. All I get off him is love.

“I thought about it.” He leans in, sniffing at my neck. “Your wolf is alive again. I have my Aya back. It wasn’t me who could restore you. It was the Mer. I owe them my life for it.”

I gasp, and he drags me in for a kiss. When I come up for air, I grab the front of his button-down and look up at my mate. “Take me home and fuck me.”

His wings snap out of his back. “Gladly.” He crushes me against him and shoots up into the air.

Ezra flies us over Ash Clan. Down below, the blue fire shrinks to a dot, and I can’t hear the music anymore over his wings. I shiver in my wet gown. It’s freezing up here. “Where are you taking us?”

He keeps flying. “What we’re about to do tonight, the clan doesn’t need to know about.” I giggle and hook my arms tighter around his neck.

Ezra sets us down in front of our cabin on the community lands. He leads me inside by the hand, past the boxes by the door and up the stairs.

In the bedroom, he undresses me first. He has to peel the wet gown down inch by inch while lake water runs off my braid and down my back. He strips out of his own clothes after that. We stand there naked in the dark.

His scent turns smug. He thinks he’s running this.

I grab his shoulders, throw him on the bed, and climb on top. He props himself up and watches me. We don’t say a word.

I kiss down his stomach until I’m face-to-face with his dick. It’s thick, hard, and already wet at the tip. I grip the base and peek up. His eyes glow blue, with smoke leaking out of his nose. I wrap my lips around him.

His hips buck. I take him deep and suck hard and sloppy. I hollow my cheeks and drag my tongue along the vein on the underside. He makes sounds I’ve never heard him make.

He grabs my hips and pulls me around onto his face. He works my clit from every side with his forked tongue. I moan around his dick, and it turns into a race.

He eats me with long, greedy licks, but I suck him faster. I squeeze what doesn’t fit and bob on him until his thighs shake. He arches off the bed. He’s losing.

“Aya,” he gasps. “Hold on. Wait⁠—”

He tries to scoot up the bed. My dragon is trying to run. I pin his thighs down and don’t ease up. When I hum around him, he roars. His nut rolls down my throat hot and thick. I swallow it all and keep sucking until he twitches. I sit up and wipe my lips with the back of my hand.

He snarls and tosses me onto my belly. He yanks my hips up, spreads me open, and eats my ass. He drags his tongue down to my pussy and back up again until I’m drooling and clawing at the mattress.