Soon he’s alone, bleeding from a dozen wounds and limping, his perfect face marred and half-melted as he sneers at us.
“This isn’t over,” he snarls, which means that clearly it is. “We’ll never stop hunting your kind. Every single one of you must die.”
Then he dissolves into shadows, vanishing back to their realm in a cloud of black smoke, leaving only the smell of blood and fae magic behind.
Panting and trembling, I turn to check on Kieran. He’s already shifting back to human form, fully naked, and the sight of his taut bronzed skin sends a different kind of heat through me. My heart is still pumping hard and fast, my veins full of adrenaline, and now desire as well.
He doesn’t appear to be hurt, despite the blood streaking his chest and hands. Most of it is black, and where his own red blood runs, the wounds are already healing. I exhale shakily with relief, slowly sliding my daggers back into their sheaths, mentally reminding myself to clean them later.
Kieran’s eyes lock onto mine, and the world narrows down to the two of us. The bond pulses between us, and suddenly I realize how close we are. His breath fans across my face, the scent of pine and cinnamon and man filling my lungs.
“You’re hurt.” He reaches for me, his fingers ghosting over the wound on my back.
“It’ll heal. Slowly, but it’ll heal.” I step back to put some distance between us, but my legs are shaky from blood loss and adrenaline, so I stumble.
Kieran catches me, one arm around my waist, the other at my neck. Instinctively I reach up to push him away, only to find my hands on his chest instead, his heart beating against my fingers. I freeze, staring up at him, hyper aware of his nudity.
“Aurora.” My name is a murmured plea on his lips. “You could have died taking that spell for me.”
“You would have done it for me.”
He slides his hand into my hair, bringing our faces that much closer together. “You don’t know that.”
“Yes, I do.”
I’m not sure who moves first. One moment we’re staring at each other, breathing the same air, covered in blood and dirt and ichor. The next his mouth crashes down on mine and he invades me, body and soul. The kiss is desperate and hungry, born of five years of betrayal and longing and heartbreak. His lips are firm but gentle, and when his tongue licks into my mouth, I open for him with a whine.
The bond flares to life between us, no longer an ache or a source of pain, but an inferno of desire and longing. I can feel his cock press against me, my hands sliding down his chest. His fingers tighten in my hair and on my waist, pulling me closer until nothing separates us but my clothes. I taste blood and magic on his tongue, and something uniquely Kieran that makes me tremble.
Reality comes crashing back in when his fingertips brush against my wound. The pain clears my head as I jerk back with a gasp. The bond protests, trying to bring us back together, but the moment is over—and my arousal is quickly being replaced by shame and regret.
Oh god. What did we just do?
I back away, shaking my head. Kieran reaches for me, his expression lost and confused. “Aurora, wait?—”
“I’m sorry, I can’t do this,” I manage to choke out as I stumble away. “You know that.”
I can’t let myself believe in this again, only to face the same inevitable pain and heartbreak at the end. The memory of that day in the amphitheater feels alive again around me: the hope and joy, followed by crushing pain and humiliation.
I turn and run, ignoring his voice calling after me. Fleeing through the ruins, I run until my legs give out, the wound on my back flaring with pain each time I stretch too far. When I can’t run anymore, I collapse against a half-destroyed wall and press my hand to my lips, where I can still taste him. The memoryof his cock pressed against me, his naked body warm and muscular, his mouth hungry with need forme—it’s more painful than the still-healing wound on my back.
For one perfect moment, I had everything I ever wanted. He was there with me, wanting me, ready to do… what, I don’t know. And now I have to live with the fact that I ran away.
Kieran will never truly be mine.
And I don’t know how much longer I can keep pretending that doesn’t destroy me.
Chapter 20
Kieran
My wolf howls in agony as Aurora disappears into the ruins.
The urge to chase after her is overwhelming, nearly impossible to resist. My legs are shaking from battle fatigue and pent-up arousal. The taste of her lingers on my tongue; honey and lilac and something uniquelyher.I can still feel the caress of her hands on my bare chest, the warmth of her body through her clothes as I pulled her against me. I’ll never forget the way her soft lips yielded to mine, her submission a gorgeous complement to her strength.
A sharp pain lances my chest as the rejected bond throbs, desperate to be completed. My wolf claws at my skin, trying to get out, desperate to follow our mate. He’s furious with me—and he doesn’t understand why I keep denying him what we both need.
Weakness is poison.Even after all these years, I still hear my father’s voice in my head as if he were my own subconscious mind.An alpha must be strong above all else. Otherwise, he cannot lead his pack.
