Davian

I took Adele north. Far north, to where there was more night than day. We settled into a primitive cabin at the top of a mountain, surrounded by sheer drop-offs and tall drifts of snow. Making sure Adele was taken care of, I surrendered myself to a full day's sleep, unable to stay awake.

"This is lovely," Adele said when I awoke. She pulled back the curtains across from the bed. The night sky twinkled at her in agreement, making her skin gleam with starlight. I'd started a fire for her when we'd first arrived, and once the cabin had warmed, she'd removed her clothes. She'd gained weight since we'd left Huntsville, and while her skin remained pale, it now had a rosy tinge to it.

"You're what's lovely." I stood and stretched my arms overhead, working out all the kinks in my circulation. Then I went and pulled her over to the bed. We fell onto the mattress together and she ended up on top, her delicious weight pressing into me. Holding her tight, I kissed my way across her collar bone, savoring the heat of her body and the steady drum of her heart.

"No regrets about mating with a vampire?"

She threaded her hand through my hair."No. Never. You okay with a werewolf who used to have a drug problem?"

"Yeah. She sounds perfect for me." My fingers danced across her nipples and she sighed.

"Are you sure it's all over? That this is the end of it?"

"I'm sure. Zion is gone. The video we got has restored order among the vampires, and I am officially on vacation."

"When do you have to go back?"

"I may never go back." I'd shipped the video off to the Contessa and left her to manage it. Last I'd heard, she, along with the general and the baron, had cleaned house.

A slow smile crossed her face. "So, we have time."

"All the time we want."

"You won't miss it?"

"What? Cutthroat politics?" I shook my head. "No. I would miss you, though. You're my priority now. Someone else will have to worry about the next Zion." Anyone who held Zion's views wouldn't dare make a move for several decades at least. There would be peace...for a while, which, I'd explained to the Contessa, would be the perfect time to train someone else for my job.

"But..." She frowned. "What if there are other blood rings? We should help them."

"Then we will, if we find any."

"You're a good man, Davian. Always honorable and so damn sexy I can't stop thinking about you." She traced my shoulders with her hands. "I can't believe I found you."

I nodded. "It is improbable."

"Perhaps fate meant for me to be an addict."

I grimaced at the thought."Fate can be cruel."

"Yes, but also so very sweet." She kissed me, her tongue dueling with mine and flicking over my fangs.

"True." I flipped our positions on the bed, putting her on the bottom. Nuzzling the nape of her neck, I drank in the scent of her. She still had a lilac note despite our snow bound location, but I also caught hints of fresh air and herbs that hadn't been there before. "What did you do all day?"

"I ran the mountain. There are herbs up here, under the snow. I made tea."

She started to say more, but I sucked her nipple into my mouth and she fell silent. The nub became harder and harder under my tongue and she writhed underneath me, her hands grabbing onto my shoulders. My cock throbbed and her need became mine.

I teased the other breast with my fingers and then switched sides.

"Davian." She craned her head to look at me.

I lifted my head and placed one finger on her lips. "Shh. Let me love you." I'd waited so very long for this, I didn't want to rush it.

Her hands slid down my torso, reaching for my hard length. While I kissed every inch of her, she caressed me, testing the limits of my control.

I slipped down her body and away from her hands. Kissing her pubic mound, I nudged her thighs apart with one hand. The sweet fragrance of her core filled my senses and made my head spin. Blood lust warred with carnal desire. I wanted everything from her all at once.

Dipping my head down, I flicked my tongue across the sensitive bud nestled at her center. She gasped. A wolf, her wolf, sauntered into my mind's eye and sat, watching me.

I paused, shocked at its appearance.

"Davian?"

Giving a mental nod to the wolf, I focused on Adele. I'd started life as a shifter, perhaps this was a vestige of that. Becoming a vampire hadn't changed my DNA. Deep down, I was still a wolf. One who'd never come into its fur, but a wolf, nonetheless. Apparently, the mating bond would work between us. I just wish I'd found her long ago, before I'd died. We might have been able to save each other a lot of pain and loss.

"I see your wolf," Adele said.

I froze. "What? My wolf?"

"The cloud, it's your wolf now. You're stunning, Davian. Soft, dark fur and big as an alpha." She looked at me and frowned. "You can't see him?"

I shook my head.

She reached for me and coaxed me up until we were face-to-face. "Love me and he'll come to you."

"I don't think that's how it works." I tried to pull away, but she held on.

"It can. I've met wolves who've been through this. Trust me. I'm your mate. And a half-trained healer. I know things." She gave me one of her surprise kisses, darting in and pressing her lips against mine. Our tongues tangled and she spread her legs beneath me. Breaking our kiss to take a breath, she said, "Take me, Davian."

I plunged into her heat. Pure bliss enveloped me, warm with life and all the good things I'd never thought would be mine. Her body absorbed me, taking all of me and welcoming me with a pulsating sensation.

"Yes. Now more." Her hands gripped my hips, using them as handles to push her body into mine.

I threw back my head and let my wolf sing for the first time in centuries. For too long, I'd kept him locked up. My howl ricocheted around the cabin, more powerful than I remembered.

Adele howled with me, adding a soprano note, and our voices twined into a song unique to us. No other wolves would sound like we did. Our song was the fingerprint of our mating.

A shadow thickened in my mind, coalescing and undulating. Adele's wolf seemed to recognize it and welcomed it by rolling onto her back, exposing her belly.

Our bodies rocked together and we howled with the truth of what we were to one another. Mates. Lovers bound by heart and fur, never to be parted. Pleasure rose and flooded my senses.

The shadow grew and shrank, pulsing with the rise and fall of sensation in my body. Adele's breath came in uneven pants, her breasts bouncing with the way we moved together. I dove into her again and again. A red flush crept up her chest to her neck. Unable to resist, I leaned down and buried my fangs into the nape of her neck. Sweet, hot blood filled my mouth.

Adele screamed, shuddering underneath me as if shaken by an earthquake that threatened to tear her apart. Within moments, I screamed, too, and reared back as I exploded inside her.

Suddenly boneless, I collapsed on top of Adele, too weak to move.

"Davian? Are you okay?"

I struggled to speak but couldn't. Opening my eyes, all I saw was a blur. The only thing that remained normal was Adele's scent. That stayed with me, but the rest of my senses spun out of control. The world swirled around me in a smear of color. I couldn't focus, couldn't move. Adele spoke to me, but I didn't understand the words, it was just sound.

I felt as if I was falling from a great height, even though I knew I must still be on the bed. I fell and fell and when I landed, everything went dark.

***

Adele

Davian was melting. His body caved in next to me, falling in on itself. I jumped up, scared that somehow he'd died and was turning to dust.

But no.

Fur sprouted on his collapsed form, and the air around him shimmered. Muscles slithered under skin, bones lengthened or shortened, shedding his humanity. He was shifting. For the first time.

I covered my mouth with one hand, stunned at the transformation. Several minutes later, his shift finished and a large black wolf lay in his place.

"Davian?" I reached out and touched him, stroking the soft fur that lined his body.

There was no response and he wasn't breathing. Should a vampire, who was also a werewolf, breathe? I didn't know.

"Davian," I said, louder this time. I put more pressure into my touch. The barest tremble shook my hand and his tail twitched.

Vampire wolves didn't breathe then, but apparently, they were heavy sleepers. Davian didn't wake up, no matter what I did. I yelled. Bounced on the bed with my knees. Smacked his shoulder and nothing, none of it worked. In the end, I shifted as well and climbed into bed with him. Wrapping my wolf's body around him, I snuggled in close, inhaling the musk of his beast.

He smelled like home.

I don't know how long we slept, but Davian woke first and then nudged me awake with his nose. I stretched, showing him my belly and wagging my tail. He yipped. I yipped back. We touched noses and he gave me an affectionate head butt. I noticed his canines were still vampire fangs, but everything else about him was all wolf.

We jumped off the bed together, completely in sync and headed for the door. It took a bit to turn the doorknob on the front door of the cabin, but once we got it, Davian shot past me into the night. I followed after him and we ran. The snow glowed like the moon and crunched under our paws. The sky above sparkled with stars and flashes of color from the northern lights.

We raced to the top of the mountain and then rested in a small nook, leaning against each other. Davian threw back his head and howled. I joined him and we sang our song to the world.

My head was clear as the cold winter night and my heart was full. I craved nothing anymore. Except him. I'd finally found the right drug. My mate. My love. My everything.

***

Thank you for reading! Yes. This is the end. If you enjoyed the story, please leave a review. If you want to read more about Davian and Adele, they first appear in The Alpha's Fight, which is the story about how her sister, Lia, came to save her and ended up finding a mate.

Don't forget to

The Huntsville Pack Series

(Free!): Chloe's wolf finally comes and chooses her mate.

: Chloe claims her place as Alpha's Mate and defends the pack.

: Sheriff Talon Garde learns love doesn't care about law and order when his mate wants nothing to do with him.

Alpha Ryder Chase fights for a future worth having while unraveling the mystery of the strange woman who is his mate.

The Alpha's Bite: Adele Fleurgriffe, werewolf and addict, believes her recovery and heart belong to a vampire who doesn't want her.