His eyes scorched into me as he said, “I’ve been wanting to do that since you nearly bowled me over in Allesdale, little fox.”
The immensity of what this was came flooding back into me—the power of fate, of magic, of bonds that stretched into immortality coursed through my veins.
I took a hasty step backward, out of his grasp. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
Grae cocked his brow. “Why didn’t I tell you I was completely bewitched by you?” His voice was a low rumble that made my toes curl in the soil. He tilted his head, eyes trailing down my figure. “Why didn’t you tell me the same?”
“I-I . . .” I pressed the heel of my hand into my eye. “You’re assuming that’s true.”
“It is.” Grae’s canines glinted as he flashed a wolfish grin, and the sight of those sharp teeth made my stomach flip. “I know you felt it as much as I did when the moonlight touched your skin.” He reached out and ran his rough, calloused hand from my collarbone, over my amber necklace, and up my jaw until he cupped my cheek. My eyelids flickered at his soft touch. “You’re my mate, Calla. You and I were always meant to be.”
I shuddered at those claiming words, turning my face into him until my lips skimmed the inside of his wrist. It felt so right—his scent, his touch, my name on his lips.
He smoothed back his thick hair, watching me with hooded, wanting eyes. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner. I was afraid of what my father might do if he knew.”
“And Olmdere?”
“I never wanted to stop you from helping your homeland. Believe me,” Grae said, his eyes filled with pleading. I wanted to believe him—I wanted to believe in every inch of him at that moment—but the events of the day had shredded my faith in everything I was raised to believe: the pack, our duty, the family that we’d have. Grae dropped his hand and a pained longing made me want to reach for him again. The need to touch him—to always be touching him—filled me to the core. “One day, I pray to storm the castle by your side and watch as you retake your parents’ throne.”
“But?”
Grae hung his head. “But my father is a dangerous man, more than you could ever know, and I fear what will happen if you stand between him and his plans.”
Kings and their plans—for gold, for power—it was a hungry, bottomless pit, not so different from what Vellia had told us of dark magic. What was the difference between a greedy King and an evil sorceress? All they both wanted was more.
“He can’t kill me now that we’re tied together,” I whispered, hating that my voice wobbled. “But he’ll make the pack hate me.” My gaze dropped to my feet. “Everyone will call me runt behind my back. They’ll think you’re shackled to me. And there are no other Golds to come to our aid—it’s just you and me . . . and Briar.”
With my sister’s name, I prayed to the Gods to have even half of Briar’s composure. My emotions always seemed bigger than hers, as if the well ran deeper within me. The slightest look or ill-spoken word could swing me from one extreme to the next. Briar seemed immovable compared to me, steady, easy, calm—words never used to describe me. It’s what would’ve made her a beloved queen . . . when there was nothing easy to love about me.
Grae’s long finger lifted my chin until I met his storming eyes. He held my gaze for a moment, as if hearing all the worried thoughts in my mind. “You have no idea, Calla, not one bit.” I bit my lip as he said my name like a prayer. “It is you and me—and that’s all I’ve ever wanted. My whole life, you have been my best friend, little fox.” My eyes welled, a burning lump in my throat, my emotions so beyond my control now. “I counted the days until the next full moon because I was so eager to see you. And when circumstances kept us apart, it broke me.”
His confession stole the air from my lungs. He brushed his thumb over my bottom lip, and I stared up at his perfectly angular face and intense eyes. Breathless, desire flamed anew, and it blasted away all my doubts. The rest of the world faded away when Grae looked at me like that. My fears could wait. Nothing mattered in that moment other than him and the way he stared at my mouth.
“You are brave, and smart, and vicious,” he said, “and so breathtakingly beautiful that it hurts not to touch you.”
I reached out and pressed my hand against the center of his chest as though I could feel the ache inside him. Grae reached up and covered my hand with his own, holding my palm to him.
“Then touch me.”
My soft plea unleashed him, his hands snapping to my waist and hoisting me up. I wrapped my legs around his narrows hips, the soft flesh biting into his belt as my mouth met his. My heart exploded from my chest as his tongue skimmed the seam of my mouth and I opened to him. That hot, branding kiss made my thighs clench tighter to his sides, my hips tilting of their own volition.
He groaned and spun until my back collided with a tree trunk. I gasped as he pinned me there, the rough material of my pilfered dress doing nothing to keep the bark from scratching my back, and I rubbed against it and him, wanting more of any sensation caused by Grae.
I opened my eyes for a second to see nothing but feral lust in his gaze. It was a magic unlike any other, one that burned me up with wanton need, wanting him to press into me until I couldn’t tell where I ended and he began. That mating bond begged to be fulfilled in every way, the moon practically screaming at us to realize our fate.
I pulled Grae’s face back to mine, delighting in the carnal smile on his lips. His hands slid up the fabric of my tunic and he growled as he skimmed my bare backside. His fingers kneaded my ass as he pulled me harder against him, the outline of his erection straining against his trousers. I arched into his touch, heat pooling in my throbbing core, as I rocked against him. I had done nothing like this before, and yet, nothing had ever felt more right. As if by magic, I knew exactly what I wanted—needed—how I was desperate for him to touch me, fill me, cry out my name, and make me come undone.
My hands dropped to his belt buckle as a crack rent the night sky. We both jolted, looking up to the eerie green clouds that blocked out the moonlight. A trickle of fear traced down my spine.
“What in the . . . ” I murmured as Grae set me back down on my feet, any disappointment vanishing as my warrior instincts kicked in.
Without a word we ran into the clearing, gazing out toward the tallest spires of the castle peeking above the tree line. Bolts of green lightning shot down upon the castle as swirling storm clouds spiraled above. Acid rose up my throat as I stared at the verdant light. Rooks cawed overhead and emerald flames licked toward the sky.
“Sawyn.” Another bolt of lightning zapped from the sky, its crack echoing through the mountainside. “We’ve got to go help them.” I swallowed the thick lump in my throat and took off into a run—not toward the castle, but deeper into the woods.
“Where are you going?” Grae called, easily keeping pace beside me.
I glanced over my shoulder at him. “To get my dagger.”