Corson

I thought I’d been happy when I’d claimed Wren and made her mine, but now the emotion swelled to near bursting within me as Wren looked from her hands to me again.

“I am no longer the last of my kind,” I said to her.

A smile curved her mouth. She reached up as if to run her fingers through my hair, but before she could touch me, she jerked her hands back as if afraid she would injure me. She held her hands helplessly before her.

“I will teach you how to use and control your talons,” I assured her. “I’d prefer if you didn’t accidentally stab me.”

“It might not be an accident,” she replied with a smile. “Will they stay this size?”

“Mine grew as I aged, but yours might not. They’re still a deadly weapon if they don’t grow.”

I pushed aside her hair to reveal her ears. Other than the dangling bird, they remained the same, but when I ran my finger over the shell of one, she moaned. Stepping into me, she went to grasp my arms before lowering her hands to her sides again. Frustration flashed over her features.

I took her hands and ran my fingers over her knuckles. Wren gasped when the talons retracted, and then another burst of laughter escaped her. I’d never get enough of hearing that sound.

“Amazing!” she cried.

“Yes,” I agreed. Clasping her face in my hands, I lifted it to kiss her.

With a sigh, she melted against me while I undressed her. The cold air brushing over her caused goose bumps to break out on her skin, but her shivers eased when I drew her into my arms. I lowered her pliant body to the forest floor and buried myself inside her.

“Harder,” she moaned in my ear as her nails dug into my skin.

The muscles of her sheath clenched around me, and she came with a loud cry. I was about to sink my fangs into her shoulder when her mouth turned into my neck and she bit down. My hands slammed into the ground beside her head; my body went rigid as her two tiny fangs pierced my flesh.

Complete. The knowledge blazed through my mind as I drew her flush against me.

“Mine,” she whispered when she released her bite.

“Yes,” I agreed as I lost myself to the marvel of Wren.

* * *

Wren

Being a demon wasn’t bad at all. I had that whole immortality thing on my side now, but most importantly I had Corson. His body warmed mine as he locked his leg possessively over my thigh. Leaves crackled beneath us, and the earthy scent of the dirt drifted to me.

The volatile sway of my emotions had eased when my newly discovered fangs sank into his flesh and I’d claimed him. As a human, I’d loved him enough to change for him; as a demon, I would tear this world apart for him. We were bound together now, for as long as we both lived, and nothing would change that.

My emotions didn’t completely calm with the claiming, but whereas before they’d felt like a tornado waiting to touch down and destroy, now they were more like a thunderstorm. It would take time, but Corson would help me gain control and learn more about what I was capable of now.

“I feel it, the Chosen bond. I feel it all the way to the core of my being,” I murmured and rested my hand over my heart.

He drew me closer. “It’s powerful.”

“Yes.”

“So that means you understand how there could never be another for me, or for you?” he asked.

“Yes.” The idea of being with another man made my stomach turn; the thought of him with another woman made my spikes reemerge. “Dammit. I need to control them before I accidentally stab someone.”

He gripped my hands in his. His soothing touch caused the baby spikes to retract once more. “They’re small enough that if you’re not touching someone, you won’t stab them. We’ll get through this together.”

“I know.” I closed my eyes. The scent and feel of him seemed ingrained in me now. His marks on my neck were tender but in a pleasant way. “You’re in every part of me.”

“Yes,” he agreed. “And you’re in every part of me, always.”

“When this is over, when we kill the horsemen and Astaroth, I want to start a family. I never believed I’d want one before, but I do, with you.”

He kissed my ear.

“The ears,” I groaned.

“Amazing, isn’t it?” he said with a chuckle. “And I cannot wait to have a family with you. We can return to the wall. It will be safer there, and if you start your fertile time, we can get to work on that family now. You may even still be on your human reproduction cycle.”

“I’d like nothing more than to be somewhere safe with you, but it’s not at the wall. Things are far too unstable right now. I also have to find Randy, or at least learn if he’s alive or not. We had a mission; there’s a chance he’s still carrying out his part of it. I can’t abandon him.”

“We’ll find him,” Corson promised.

“Besides, I’ve been in this fight since the beginning; I will see it through to the end, and I know that’s what you want too.”

“It is,” he agreed, “but above all, I want you to be happy.”

“I haven’t been this happy in years, demon.” I rolled over and cupped his face in my hands to draw him down for a kiss.

He grinned at me as he traced my ear, causing me to grow wet again. “And I can say the same to you, demon.”

I found I didn’t mind being called a demon at all, not as long as I had him as my Chosen. There was still a rough road ahead of us, still many obstacles to overcome, but I knew Corson and I would face them all together. For the first time in years, I looked forward to the future.