I snorted. “Only most of us.”
She rolled her eyes and opened the door to the balcony. “This place needs some fresh air.”
I dropped my own cloak before following her out. The tiny balcony barely had room for two people. The sky was almost dark now, and the realm’s single moon had risen above the tops of the buildings.
It was completely full.
Crikey.I exhaled hard. It explained much, actually. I was already primed for those over the academy. But staring up at this one, my beast felt its call as though I were home, on the station, surrounded by my pack.
For a moment, the longing to be back there stopped my breathing. But my beast didn’t want tobehome. It wanted tocomehome. Preferably inside her, with my teeth in her shoulder.
Anna followed my gaze to it. “Should we howl?”
I took a deep breath and managed, “Only if we want to attract the attention of everyone within the next two miles.” My voice had deepened and grown hoarse. The breeze carried her scent to me. No way I should be alone with her beneath a full moon. This was all kinds of bad.
She shot me a look. “Are you okay? You haven’t been yourself today.”
“I’m fine.”No.No, I was far from fine. I needed to exit the balcony to seek the slightly larger space available within the suite. Best to go for a walk, really...
My feet wouldn’t bloody move away from her. Her citrusy scent curled around me like a lover’s caress, bringing every cell I possessed to a full and aching state of awareness.
My human side shrieked that I was in big, big trouble.
My beast wanted more of it. More of her. It wanted to claim, but also to know where it stood.
Instead of moving away from her, I stepped so close I could feel her body heat. My nostrils flared, drinking her in.
“We will find Talakai,” I promised. “I swear it. But I need to know—what is he to you?”
Her eyes sought mine. “I think the question is, what is he tous?”
That was an answer, whether she knew it or not. I breathed her in and found a certainty within me. “Mate,” I whispered.
“Yes,” she answered. “I think so, too.” She reached a gloved hand up to stroke along my jaw.
I dropped it to lean my cheek into her palm.
“Do you mind?” Her gaze roamed over my face, reading my expression. “Do we have room for another?”
I had to know. “Are we making room for one, or two?”
“I don’t know.” She sounded so tortured, and as she bit her lip, her expression twisting, I pulled her into me.
“I am yours,” I said, barely audible. “And you don’t have to answer that right now.”
“What is wrong with me? What we are building here is so wonderful. Why do I feel the need to seek another?”
With my arms folded around her, my heart asked the same questions. “I also feel the pull toward Talakai. I don’t know why.” My lips twitched. “Fate does indeed work in mysterious ways.”
“Do you believe in it?” she asked.
“I dreamed of you before I ever met you,” I said. “If that isn’t Fate speaking, then what is?”
She didn’t answer, just slid her arms around me. I held her close and stroked her hair. This was where I belonged.
But my beast wanted more.
She moved a bit closer, and I almost groaned aloud as her body pushed into mine. I’d been in a right bloody state off and on most of the day, and was now completely rigid. Did she feel it? These black sweats didn’t hide much. And if I didn’t let go of her now, I might come to regret my choices.
