Elena’s grip on my hands tightens. “We need to complete the bond now, or we’ll lose them all.”
Our eyes lock, and in that moment, all doubts vanish. From the first moment I saw her—that brilliant, compassionate healer looking up at the sky with scientific curiosity rather than fear—something in me recognized her as mine. Every moment since has only confirmed what my eagle instincts knew immediately.
“I choose you,” I tell her, the ritual words merging with the truth in my heart. “Storm to healing, sky to earth.”
“I choose you,” she answers, her voice strong and clear. “Healing to storm, earth to sky.”
The circle flares to life around us, symbols burning gold and silver-blue as if the stones themselves remember. The air thrums with ancient power, demanding not words but action. Surrender.
I pull Elena to me. She fits against me as if carved for this moment, her warmth sliding into the spaces I’ve carried empty for years. Our mouths crash together, hungry and desperate, the kiss tasting of lightning and breathless need. The bond hums through us, alive, ravenous.
Around us, Viktor screams, prisoners cry out—but then the circle’s magic shifts. Light erupts upward, rising in a column that seals us in. To the outside world, it is blinding radiance,opaque and humming, concealing us completely. Even sound is swallowed; beyond the barrier, they hear nothing.
Inside, it is only us.
Clothes dissolve into light. Skin to skin, she glows with silver fire while golden arcs crawl harmlessly across mine. She gasps when my hand cups her breast, when my thumb brushes over the hardened peak. I answer with a growl and take her nipple into my mouth, sucking until she cries out, hips arching against me.
Her legs lock around my waist, dragging me closer. The slick heat of her core presses against me, and my control shreds. I press the head of my cock to her entrance, sliding against her folds until she’s gasping, begging with nails in my shoulders.
Then I push in.
She moans, body stretching to take me, gripping me tight. Inch by inch until I’m buried fully inside her. The circle responds instantly—light blazing, symbols flaring brighter—as if it too shudders with our joining.
I draw back, thrust deep, and the sound she makes tears through me. Each stroke sends ripples of power through the chamber, but inside this cocoon of stormlight, it’s only ours to feel, ours to savor. Her hips lift to meet me, greedy, insistent, urging me harder, faster.
I pin her wrists above her head, pressing them into the glowing stone. Our joined hands spark, bolts of energy running down our arms with every thrust. She writhes beneath me, moaning, crying out my name, body clenching around me until I’m nearly undone.
I angle deeper, and she shatters—screaming my name, body locking around me as silver-blue light bursts outward. The flare slams through the bond, pulling me with her. I drive harder, pounding until I spill inside her with a roar, lightning cracking across the barrier in response.
We don’t stop. The bond won’t allow it. We keep moving, keep taking each other higher, orgasms stacking, tearing through us in waves until I lose count. With every climax, the magic swells, weaving us tighter, sealing what began weeks ago with absolute finality.
When at last the storm eases, I collapse against her, still inside her, both of us glowing faintly in the aftermath. The barrier hums softer, then recedes, leaving us clothed again, though damp with sweat and trembling.
Outside, the prisoners stare in wide-eyed hope, Viktor still raging at the edge of the circle, but none of them saw. None of them heard. What happened in that sacred space belongs only to us.
Her fingers stroke my cheek, tender despite her trembling. “I love you,” she whispers.
“I love you,” I answer, pressing my lips to her temple. And this time, it isn’t just words—it’s vow, covenant, destiny.
Beyond our private universe, Viktor screams in fury. The corrupted magic he’s gathered conflicts with the ancient temple’s original purpose, creating dangerous instability.
“What’s happening?” he demands. “What have you done?”
Elena and I rise together, our bodies still glowing with mate-bond energy. Though physically separate again, I can feel her presence in my mind, her thoughts intertwining with mine. We stand hand in hand, facing Viktor with the full power of our completed bond.
“The temple was built for unity, not domination,” I explain, my voice echoing with storm magic. “Your ritual contradicts its fundamental purpose.”
“The blade can’t handle conflicting magical intentions,” Elena adds, her scientific understanding flowing through our bond to me. “It’s designed to absorb life force, not process freely given power.”
The ritual blade’s vibrations increase, cracks appearing along its surface. Viktor tries to release it, but the weapon has bound itself to him through the corrupted ritual. Panic flashes across his face as he realizes his mistake.
“Stop this!” he commands, his voice breaking. “I am the prophesied leader! I am the storm-born ruler!”
“No, Viktor,” I say, feeling no triumph but only sadness for what he could have been. “You’re a leader who forgot that true strength comes from protecting your people, not sacrificing them.”
Elena steps forward, her healer’s instinct responding to suffering even now. “Let us help you. It’s not too late to release the blade’s hold on you.”
For a moment, something like recognition flickers in Viktor’s eyes—a glimpse of the warrior who once fought beside me to protect our clan. Then his expression hardens again.
