Ember watched as the gypsy healer’s second victim fell to the ground. She was confused. How and why was a gypsy healer using dark magic to murder women? And how on earth was she able to flash in the way of Ember’s own species?

She waited until the healer flashed away, and then Ember herself flashed to where the dead woman lay. She could feel the taint of the evil that was a part of the dead woman’s natural essence, and then she could feel the evil residue the healer had left behind. Ember recoiled and took a step back as she stared with wide eyes at the lifeless body.

“It can’t be,” she whispered to herself. “It can’t.” But despite her protests, the magic was unmistakable. She’d felt that same magic centuries ago, and it was the reason she’d fled her realm and her people. She’d been living in the human realm ever since, blending in and changing her appearance when needed. The high fae council knew of her decision at the time, and they’d allowed her to go. She wondered if they’d forgotten about her in the intervening centuries. Regardless of how she felt about Volcan, she couldn’t ignore what was happening. Perizada and the council needed to know a rogue healer was on the loose, wielding the ancient evil fae’s magic. She flashed, remembering Perizada’s home in her mind. When she reappeared in the high fae’s living room, she was met with a round of snarls and a slew of cursing.

“What now?” asked a young woman to no one in particular. A large male sitting beside her jumped up and assumed a defensive posture. Ember could sense this one was a werewolf. “Instead of just gasping, why not tell the blind chick what’s going?”

Another woman spoke up. She was sitting next to another large male and werewolf, also standing to defend her. “An unknown fae just flashed into a room full of on-edge werewolves. Nothing exciting has happened yet, Heather.”

The woman called Heather sighed. “Fine. But you better tell me the second it does.” Her head turned just a tad when she spoke again. “And Stella, don’t think I didn’t notice that you kept your trap shut, you excitement hoarder.”

Stella’s face scrunched together. “Did you seriously just call me an excitement hoarder?”

“I am so sorry to interrupt what I’m sure is to be a riveting conversation,” Perizada interrupted the women. “But considering a fae that I have not seen in centuries has just popped into my home uninvited, I imagine what she has to say must be quite urgent.”

Ember continued to look around the room, feeling out the magic of its occupants. Her eyes widened as she turned back to Perizada. “All three are healers?”

Perizada smiled. “They are. Times are changing, Ember.”

“So it would seem,” she said, but her voice quickly lost its tone of wonderment when she remembered what she had to tell the high fae council member.

“I have been living in the human realm in a city called New Orleans,” she began, speaking quickly, sure that time was of the essence. “There’s enough supernatural presence there that I can maintain my magic undetected. But tonight I came across a supernatural being that I haven’t seen in a very long time. She was a healer, like them.” She pointed to the three women whose mouths had dropped open. All of a sudden, two males jumped to their feet. Perizada immediately threw up her hand, and they froze.

“Don’t mind them. They tend to become stupid when their mates are involved. Please, continue.”

“When I saw what she was doing, I knew I had to come quickly. The healer was wielding some very dark magic,” Ember said.

“How was she wielding it?” Perizada asked in a careful tone.

“I watched her kill two human women.”

The wolves who had been frozen were snarling like rabid beasts but still unable to move. Ember took a step back from them and then looked back to Perizada. “I assume you know her.”

The high fae nodded. “We do. Was she a redhead or brown?”

“Red,” Ember said simply.

“Then she belongs to that one.” Peri pointed at the large male with cool blue eyes. He looked ready to kill.

Perizada stepped up to Ember and lifted her hand. “May I?” she asked, motioning toward the other fae’s head.

Ember nodded.

Perizada pressed her palm to Ember’s head, and the woman felt the high fae sifting through her mind.

When she pulled her hand away, Peri turned to talk to yet another werewolf. “Remember what I told you, that the pixie had come and told me about two women dying a few months ago? When I was … indisposed,” she added through gritted teeth.

“Follow the bodies,” the blonde man said.

Perizada nodded. “It’s time.” She turned back to Ember. “Thank you for informing me, Ember. It is good to see you after so many years. I would ask that you consider returning to your place among our people. We are in need of strong warriors.”

Ember swallowed hard. “Does this healer have anything to do with Volcan?”

Perizada didn’t seem surprised that Ember knew.

“She has everything to do with him.”

“I will consider your request.” Ember gave a slight bow to the healers and then flashed, heading back to her home, back to a life she knew was about to change.

* * *

Peri glared at the two wolves who were glaring right back at her. Lucian stood next to her, not really glaring so much as just making it clear he wouldn’t tolerate any threats toward his mate.

“I know I cannot leave you here, no matter how much I might want to. You both have a right to see your mates, and I have a sick feeling that without you they are going to go down a very, very dark path. Jewel is already on that path, Dalton. You must, I repeat, you must keep your crap together when we find them. Reign in your possessive, protective, macho bull and keep a clear head. Otherwise, you might lose your mate forever.” She let out a harsh breath and added, “I’m going to release you now. Think about how you should react when I do because my fuse is short, and my desire to kill something is very, very high.”

She waved her hand, and Gustavo and Dalton each took steps back as they gathered themselves. They were both shaking with emotions, which Peri knew could explode at any moment. Not only did they need to see their mates, but if she left them there, they’d destroy her home. And that would suck.

“You.” She pointed at Dillon, who stood silently watching his Beta. “Go home. Your mate has been without you long enough. I will make sure your wolf is safe. I’m not asking. You three”—she pointed at each of the healers—“stay here and stay out of trouble.”

“They’re with us. What kind of trouble could they get into?” Nick asked.

Heather raised her hand and waved it erratically. “Me, me! Call on me to answer please.”

Peri rolled her eyes. “By all means, Helen, share your knowledge.”

Heather dropped her hand, and her brow rose. “Oh, you really want me to share, because I totally thought you were going to ignore me. Alright then, Nick, the kind of trouble a female can get into with a man, especially a man she’s attracted to tends to be of a sexu—”

“Nope,” Peri cut Heather off. Then she looked at Nick, who was covering Kara’s ears. “Really? You think she doesn’t know this stuff?”

Nick’s eyes danced with humor. “She’s jailbait. I feel very strongly about keeping things PG.”

“And once she’s not jail bait any longer?” Heather asked.

“All bets are off,” Nick said with a smirk. “And I’ll be the one showing her how to get into trouble.”

Peri loved seeing this lighter side of all of them. She loved seeing how the mate bond changed the males for the better, and as much as she harped on them, she cared deeply for their species. She wanted to sit and shoot the breeze with them, to tease Kara for turning bright red, and threaten the males bodily harm if they hurt her healers. But she couldn’t. She had two others who were in need of the very bond she was now seeing at work. The growling behind her grew more insistent. She held out her arms for them to touch as she spoke. “I’ve got the location in my mind from Ember, so l know where we’re going. When we get there, we don’t act rashly. We assess the situation. We do not run off like feral dogs.” She stared pointedly at Dalton and Gustavo as she said this.

When they arrived in the alley that Peri had seen in Ember’s mind, the high fae nearly gagged at the thick scent of evil mixed with magic. Her eyes were immediately drawn to a woman lying motionless on the ground. Peri walked over, leaned down, and touched the woman’s head. There was nothing. No memories left, no soul to feel. She was an empty shell.

“I can smell her,” Dalton said, his voice taking on a thick guttural quality as if his wolf was struggling to emerge. “But I smell him as well, and his scent is getting stronger.”

Peri could tell it was hard for Dalton to say those words, but she was glad he was accepting the reality of the situation so she wouldn’t have to hit him over the head with it later.

“Let’s go.” Peri motioned for them to touch her arms. “I can follow the magic.”

They flashed from location to location, finding a lifeless body at each one. She knew that with every single kill, Volcan’s magic grew stronger inside of Jewel. Peri was truly beginning to wonder what they would find when they finally caught up with the healer.

By the sixth female, Dalton was pacing as Lucian used his dominance over the wolf to keep him from phasing. Things were going from bad to full-blown nightmare very quickly. When they flashed the seventh time, there was no body.

“Thank the Great Luna,” she muttered and looked at the building in front of her.

“Anna,” Gustavo growled at the same time Dalton said Jewel’s name.

Peri should have seen it coming, but both wolves were in a state of shock. So when they went straight through the glass windows of Little Shop of Horrors, rather than taking time to actually open the front door, all Peri could do was shake her head. With a muttered spell, she repaired the glass and then followed her own level-headed mate through the front door.

“Lucian,” Peri spoke quietly. “Make them phase. Their wolf will be less intimidating for the girls right now. A human male will be too overwhelming, especially for Anna.”

“Agreed,” Lucian said as he grabbed both males, who were attempting to smash their way through a locked door. Normally they’d have gone through it like a hot knife through butter, but Peri held it in place with her magic. “Phase,” he said in a command that even Gustavo had to obey. Both males were in their wolf forms from one breath to the next. Clothes were shredded, and Peri made quick work to make them disappear.

Peri dropped her magic, and the door opened slowly. A woman Peri had not seen in a very long time walked through it.

“Jezebel.” She said the woman’s name with affection. This was a woman that Peri had been friends with when Peri didn’t have many friends. And she respected the hell out of her for the choice she made so long ago.

“I figured you wouldn’t be far behind them,” Jezebel said as she hugged Peri. “I’m glad you’re here.”

“I’d have been here sooner, but I’ve had other crises to handle. Let me make introductions quickly before the two snarling hair balls explode.” She pointed to Dalton. “The steel grey one is Dalton, Jewel’s mate. And the one with the red tips over the grey undercoat is Gustavo, Anna’s mate.”

Jezebel’s eyes widened. She took a step toward Gustavo, and the wolf growled viciously.

“I mean you no ill will,” Jezebel said softly. “I simply want to meet the man who’s destined to keep my Anna safe. I am thankful the Great Luna has given you to her. As her mother, I must insist that you be better than good to her. You need to be remarkable because she is remarkable and deserves nothing less. Not perfection, but the continual pursuit to have a relationship that seeks the need of the partner first. You do that and you will have my sincere gratitude.” She paused and then added. “But if you hurt her, Volcan’s destruction will look like tinker toy blocks compared to what I will bring down on you.”

“And on that note, why don’t we go up and find their mates before Gustavo decides he doesn’t care that you’re his mate’s mother.” Peri pointed toward the door.

The two wolves were moving before any of them could take a step. Peri flashed to the top of the stairs, forcing the pair to come to a quick stop or risk running over her.

“Remember, keep your crap together,” she reminded them.

When Jezebel met them at the landing, followed by Lucian, she opened the door and stepped aside, allowing them to enter. Both Dalton and Gustavo took off down the hall, and just before they turned the corner, they phased back to their human forms.

Peri shot her magic at them, clothing their nakedness while cursing them at the same time. “Damn wolves never listen,” she muttered and followed Lucian, who was jogging after them. When she got to the door where Lucian paused, she walked up and stood beside him. Tears filled her eyes, and she felt her heart break. She often forgot how incredibly gentle the males of her mate’s species could be. And it never ceased to take her breath away when she witnessed it.

* * *

He was everywhere all at once, and she felt as though the weight of the world had been lifted off of her crushed body. Jewel shook violently from head to toe. Her vision was non-existent, and it was hard to breathe as she wept. She’d held it together throughout the night, but during the last two women, she’d turned off her emotions altogether. It made her sick and relieved her at the same time. But as soon as Dalton touched her, it was as if a light was being shone into a dark room in her heart, forcing the shadows to retreat. All the emotions that the darkness had covered came rushing back, flooding her like a hurricane, and she was lost in it.

“I’ve got you.” She heard him speak, and she latched onto those words as if they were the only life raft in an ocean void of any people but her. She’d been treading water, and her legs were so tired. She’d given up. She’d allowed herself to start sinking into the dark sea of Volcan’s magic. And then, suddenly, Dalton was there. He hadn’t walked calmly into the room, or hesitantly. He’d barreled through the doorway, honed in on her, and wrapped her in his arms without any words passing between them.

“Shh, Little Dove, it’s going to be alright. I’m here. I’m not going anywhere.”

She hadn’t realized that in the midst of all her weeping she was talking. “Don’t leave me. Please, please, just don’t leave me.” It was her mantra. It was the only prayer she had in that moment. But she knew once Dalton saw how evil she’d become, he would leave her. How could he not? Who could love a person who wantonly murdered innocent women, repeatedly? No one. She answered her own question. No one could love someone who’d done what she had. With her mother gone, the only person who might have loved her completely, flaws and all, had been Dalton. But now she would lose him, too.

“Jewel, hear me, I will never let you go.”

He tried to pull away, and she felt a desperation she’d never known as she clung tightly to him.

“I just want to look at your face, love,” he said in a voice so gentle that she broke all over again.

“Peri, do something.” She heard Dalton growl. “She’s going to make herself sick.”

Jewel was sick. She was like a virus that had spread from victim to victim, unleashing her life-stealing infection. It was too late for her. She wanted to tell him that. She wanted to tell him not to waste Peri’s time with her because there was nothing that could be done.

Jewel felt a cool hand on her forehead and the pulse of magic. It was painful and she recoiled from it, but the fae held her still. The last thing Jewel remembered hearing was Peri’s voice. “Meet her in her dreams.”

Dalton felt helpless. Nothing he said did anything to calm his mate, and every word uttered from her mouth ended with him leaving her. How could he get her to understand that he would never leave her if she refused to listen to him? He tried to pull her back so he could look in her eyes, but she’d reacted like a terrified child, clinging to him with a desperation that stabbed him in the gut. He didn’t know what was going on around them; he didn’t even know who else was in the room. All he could focus on was his mate and how devastated she was.

He rubbed her back and ran his fingers through her hair while he spoke softly to her, trying to reach her chaotic mind. He wished he could simply reach into her mind and speak to her through the bond. Then she’d be able to feel him and feel the certainty in is words. His actions would have to convey what the lack of the mate bond wouldn’t allow.

When she started shaking so violently she couldn’t talk, Dalton turned and growled at Peri to do something. He didn’t know what she’d done, but Jewel had calmed and fallen asleep.

“Why did you put her to sleep?”

“So you can meet her in her dreams,” Peri said. At his confused look, she sighed and pointed to his neck. “That stone you wear is powerful. I don’t know who gave it to you, but they bewitched it so that it is loyal to you alone. Jewel has an affinity for magical stones, of course. If you direct the magic in that stone to seek her out in your dreams, you will be able to dream walk with her. The stone and Jewel’s affinity will protect you in the dream from any attack should someone try to reach you there.”

Dalton had known that the stone was powerful, but he’d never attempted to learn what it could do. He’d been told he would need it one day and that it was imperative that he have it with him at the appointed time. Since then, he’d never taken it off. When he phased, he didn’t know where it went, but when he phased back to his human skin, it was always back in place, around his neck again.

“Dalton.”

He heard his name and turned to look at Jezebel. “I have another room where you can take her.”

He stood with his mate in his arms. “Thank you. She wouldn’t want to wake up with everyone around once she is calmer.” He knew she would be embarrassed, though no one present would judge her. He followed Anna’s mom to a room just next door. Once he was inside with Jewel, Jezebel shut the door quietly.

Dalton laid her on the bed and then stretched out beside her. He wrapped an arm around her waist and tucked her close against him. She was tiny compared to him. And it just reminded him of how fragile she was.

Dalton closed his eyes and focused on the stone that lay just below his sternum. He didn’t fully understand what he was supposed to do so he simply gave his request. “I need to dream walk with my mate, Jewel.” He felt the stone grow warm on his chest just before he slipped into sleep.

“Where are we?”

He blinked several times and then turned around to find Jewel looking at him. “We’re in a dream.”

Her lips pursed. “Is this another one of those dreams where you aren’t real?”

He walked over to her and took her face in his hands, the way he had wanted to do when they were awake. “No, Little Dove. I am very real, as are you.”

Her eyes widened, and she took a step back. “You’re really you and I’m really me? I mean you aren’t just my subconscious mind producing an image of what I need at the darkest hour of my life?”

He reached for her, but she stepped back again. He growled. “Quit backing away from me, Jewel. I need to touch you and hold you.” He didn’t say that he needed to soak her in like a dry desert soaks in the first rain of the season, but that’s how he really felt. “Please.”

“So, you are the real Dalton actually speaking, not just the dream Dalton?” Her bottom lip quivered as she held up a hand to keep him from getting closer. “Because I don’t want dream Dalton right now. I don’t need dream Dalton.”

In a blur, Dalton pushed her arm away as he took two steps and then had her in his arms. “You need me,” he whispered as he pressed his forehead to hers. “I am not a figment of your imagination, Little Dove. I am dream walking with you like we’ve done in the past. I’m real. I’m here and I’m not going anywhere, not unless you’re going somewhere because where you go, I go.”

“But—”

“No,” he cut her off. “There are no buts.”

“How—”

“No,” he interrupted again.

“Why? I don’t understand why?”

“Because there is no me without you.” He breathed out in a plea for her to understand.

“You won’t think that when you find out what—”

“Jewel!” Dalton’s voice rose above her growing protests. “I know. I know.”

She gasped as if he’d punched her in the stomach and tried to pull away, but Dalton wasn’t about to let her go.

“You know what, exactly?” she asked, sounding very much like she didn’t actually want the answer.

“I know that you left with Volcan to sacrifice yourself for your friends. I know you tried to protect me by pushing me away. I know that you were forced to change Anna into a witch because his magic demanded it even though it sickened you to do so. I know you think you’re evil because part of you craves the knowledge and power. I know you’ve lost your mother, and you haven’t had time to grieve for her. I know you’ve been tortured and in some ways brainwashed. I know you’ve killed eight women because of the dark magic Volcan forced into you.” As he spoke, he put his hand gently around her jaw and held her head still, forcing her to look into his eyes. “I know, and I love you still.”

She started to shake her head as tears filled her eyes.

“I know it all, and I am still here. And it will take Volcan and one hell of an army to remove me from your side. I know, Jewel, and I still see the beautiful person you are.” Her body was trembling as she fought to keep her composure. He hated to be the cause of her tears, but he needed her to understand with totally clarity what he was telling her. “You are my true mate, Jewel Stone. You hold the other half of my soul, and I hold yours. We are at our best when we are together. We are at our strongest when we are working together. I go where you go. Do you get me?”

She nodded.

“I want to hear it, Little Dove. Tell me.”

“Yes, I understand,” she coughed out between sobs.

“You understand what?” His grip tightened on her, and he pulled her closer to him.

“You go—” She paused and bit her lip. She started to shake her head.

“DAMMIT JEWEL, SAY IT.”

“You go where I go.” She breathed out.

“Say it again,” he demanded.

“You go where I go.”

“Again.”

“You go where I go.”

Dalton leaned down and pressed his lips to hers, and he felt his own tears mingle with hers. His voice shook as he spoke, but his words were clear. “I. Go. Where. You. Go.”

She stared up into his eyes and he saw it, the moment she really grasped it. “To hell?”

“I go where you go.”

“Across the world on a quest for an evil fae?”

“I go where you go.”

“To a cemetery to bury my mother?”

“I go where you go.”

“To the same store a thousand times to see if the shoes I want have come in? To the movies to see the same movie we’ve seen five other times since it came out because I love it so much?” Her hands were gripping his shoulders, and her words were coming out faster and faster as she continued to come to terms with what he was telling her. The tears still ran down her cheeks, her face was flushed, and her eyes sported dark circles, yet still she was beautiful. “To the bathroom to hold my hair back while I throw up because I drank too much for the first time in my life and I just wanted to see what it was like and you insisted that I do it with you where I was safe? To visit the other healers because I miss them like crazy once they have gone to live with their own mates?” She paused and placed both hands on either side of his face. This time she spoke slowly but with just us much passion as she stared up at him. “To the end of our story, to look back with me on the life we had together?”

Dalton’s gut clenched as emotions overwhelmed him. “To all of those places, Little Dove, because I go where you go.”

She closed her eyes and relaxed in his arms. She let him hold her up, relying completely on his strength and trusting he wouldn’t let her fall. She may not have realized it, but Dalton saw the significance in her physical surrender.

“When we wake up, I might need you to tell me again,” she whispered against his chest.

“I will tell you as often as you need,” he said, pressing a kiss to her hair and breathing in her precious scent.

“The day after tomorrow, too?”

“Yes, my love.”

“A year from now, even though I’ve already asked you to say it every day?”

“Without fail, Little Dove.”

“Okay.”

Dalton knew the moment was but a small reprieve. There would be more breakdowns and more tears. There would be more doubts that he would need to defeat with the truth, and he would gladly do it over and over, for Jewel.

* * *

Gustavo was practically shaking with the need to touch her. But he refused to give in to what his wolf wanted because he knew how frightened she must be. They’d come a long way in their relationship from the time they’d spent simply talking through the bond, but that didn’t mean she would welcome him with open arms.

Anna was looking up at him with narrowed eyes and a furrowed brow. She chewed on her bottom lip as she stared at him as though she was dissecting him. She hadn’t woken up until Dalton was already carrying Jewel from the room, and even then she’d still been groggy. It wasn’t until she saw him that she sat up and looked around and then back to him. He hadn’t said anything because he wasn’t sure if he had complete control of his mouth. He had a feeling if he opened it, his wolf was going to declare her his own and demand she let him mark her. Instead, he waited. He would wait for eternity if it meant he could be in her presence.

“Gustavo?” When he didn’t respond she looked over to where Peri, Lucian, and Jezebel stood.

“He’s holding it together by a thread,” Peri told her.

Lucian took a small step forward, and Gustavo growled. “Peace, wolf,” Lucian said. “I will not harm her, and I do not want her for my own. She does not understand.” Lucian looked back at Anna. “His instinct is telling him to mark you, to make it perfectly clear to every wolf or other supernatural that you are his. He is fighting that instinct right now. You’ve been in danger. He’s been unable to protect you, and the fact that he’s standing there instead of sinking his teeth into you is a testament to how much he is willing to do to keep you from being afraid of him.”

Anna looked back at Gustavo, and he felt his wolf back down a bit. It had wanted to tear apart Lucian, who had captured his mate’s attention, even for a short time.

“Can you leave us alone, please?” she asked.

When none of their audience made a move to leave, Gustavo’s wolf forced his hand. “Leave!” He snarled, turning his eyes away from Anna and meeting the eyes of each of those who might think to keep them apart by some misguided need to protect her. She was the only creature on earth that didn’t need to be protected from him.

Lucian held his gaze as he pulled his mate from the room and ushered Jezebel with them. The door closed, and their footsteps moved further and further away.

“The dream didn’t do you justice.” Her voice caused his head to snap back around, pinning her with his glowing eyes. His head titled slightly as his wolf tried to understand her meaning. She breathed out a laugh. “I mean you are much more handsome in real life.” When he still didn’t move, or speak, she stood up and walked toward him. The smell of sweet spices and ocean air hit him like a freight train, and the need to touch her grew tenfold.

“Lucian is right. I don’t really understand what’s going on in your head right now. But you seem to be in a tough spot, and I’d like to help. Just tell me what to do.”

Anna took a step closer to the man she’d gotten to know over the course of several months simply by talking through the supernatural mate bond. He was a stranger in many ways, but in many others, she knew him and she wasn’t afraid.

“Gustavo, I’m your true mate, correct?”

He nodded.

“And you won’t ever hurt me.”

He nodded his head.

“Then I trust you. You aren’t going to scare me.” One more step and she was less than a foot from him. “I get it. You’re intense. I can feel what you are feeling right now, and it’s off-the-charts confusing but that’s okay. If I’ve learned anything through this whole massive mess, it’s that life is much too short to live in fear of the unknown. So, yes, I don’t understand much about you or the mate bond or all the other stuff that goes with it. But I do understand what I feel for you. I do understand that no one else will ever fill the void that you have filled. I do understand that I sure as hell don’t want some other female being on the receiving end of your attention or affection. Please,” she said quietly, “let go, Gustavo. I trust you.”

“I don’t want to scare you,” he ground out through his tightly gritted teeth.

“I’ve faced Volcan and a sadistic vampire. Gustavo, you won’t scare me.”

He closed his eyes, and when they opened, they were glowing even brighter. Maybe reminding him of what she’d been through wasn’t the best strategy. After several heartbeats, she realized he wasn’t going to move. His fear of doing something that would send her running immobilized him.

Anna closed the small distance between them and looked up at him. She raised her hand and pushed her fingers through his black, wavy hair. It was as thick and as soft as she imagined it would be. She let her hand trail down the back of his head to his neck where she wrapped her small hand around him. With her other hand, she ran her fingers across his creased brow and down his clenched jaw. His features were classically handsome, and he was the perfect specimen of a Spanish male—tan skin, dark brown eyes, a natural sensuality that came through in the cadence of his speech. He was temptation wrapped up in the form of a male Canis lupus. And he was hers.

“I’m going to be honest. I’m pretty clueless when it comes to the whole relationship thing, but the lack of reciprocation of my touch is a tad insulting.”

“Mujeres no saben lo què están pidieñdo.”

“Still don’t speak Spanish, handsome.”

“Are you sure?” he asked. His accent was thick, but he sounded a bit more like the man she’d spoken to so many times through their bond.

“That I don’t speak Spanish? Yes, quite.”

He growled at her, and she shivered.

“Pequeña gitana, you will be the death of me.” His words were the first sign that he was giving in to her request. He was letting go.

He wrapped a muscular arm around her waist and pulled her against him as he buried his face in her hair. His warm breath against her neck was a sensation she’d never felt before. She tilted her head, giving him more access, and encouraging him not to stop. When she felt his teeth scrape against her skin, Anna bit her lip so she didn’t moan like a wanton idiot. Apparently, she didn’t hide her desire very well because her mate chuckled, a deep, dark sound that made her stomach clench.

“Don’t tease,” she said in a breathy voice she’d never heard come from her lips before.

“Not teasing, mí amõr, simply giving you a taste of what is to come.” He pressed a kiss to the same spot and then leaned back so he could look down at her. “That is where you will wear my mark when we complete the Blood Rites.”

“When does that happen?”

“When you’re ready,” he answered as he pushed her hair back, his fingers brushing against her skin as he exposed her neck and collarbone. He was staring down at her as though the world turned only because she existed. She never thought she would be on the receiving end of a look like that.

“Criña.”

“Yes?”

“I’m going to kiss you now. If you don’t want me to, simply say so, and I will respect that.”

Anna stared back at him, her lips unmoving.

“My brave pequeña gitana,” he murmured just before his sensual lips pressed against hers.

Gustavo let his wolf have control as he took his mate’s offered lips. Ours, mate. His wolf growled. Yes, the man agreed. Want, need, touch. His wolf was desperate for skin on skin contact. He let his hands slip around her waist to her back and then under her shirt. Her flesh was warm against his hands and as soft as silk. She was perfecto, and she was his.

Gustavo tilted his head and ran his tongue along the seam of her lips. She submitted immediately and opened her mouth. He could feel her eagerness through their bond and was incredibly humbled that she wanted such intimacy with him.

As her tongue danced with his, he poured his desire into her mind, and her response was instantaneous. Her skin flushed and her eyes widened as she pulled back from the kiss. Her chest rose and fell as she tried to catch her breath, and he decided he liked the way she looked after he’d ravished her.

“Yep,” she said breathlessly. “Intense. The word should have your picture next to it in the dictionary.”

“Scared?” he asked, knowing she wasn’t but needing to hear it from her.

“Not in the way that you are asking. I’m scared of how you turn me into a hussy simply from a kiss.”

Gustavo chuckled. “There is no shame in desiring your mate.”

“This feels like something more than desire,” she said as she ran her hand up his chest and let it rest over his heart.

“It’s the bond between us. It is growing stronger and will continue to do so. It will be painful to be apart. You will need my touch, just as I need yours. Please know, you can touch me whenever you want. No matter the circumstance, if you need me, I’m yours. Always yours first.”

“What do you mean, need to touch you? I’m getting the distinct impression you’re not necessarily talking in an intimate way.”

He shook his head. “No, not like that, though I do hope you will want and need that kind of touch as well. I just mean contact. The comfort of knowing I am with you. The confidence that the freedom to touch me gives you, just as allowing me the freedom to touch you gives me confidence. It is essential to our kind. A lone wolf would eventually die without the connection of pack.”

“And you crave my touch?”

“All you have to do is use the mate bond to feel what I feel for you, Anna.”

He could feel her searching his mind, and he gave himself the freedom to search hers. And despite everything she’d learned, she wasn’t scared. But she was exhausted.

He swept her up into his arms and settled her in his lap as he sat on the bed and leaned against the headboard. He wrapped his arms around her and tucked her head against his chest. His wolf rumbled in satisfaction, and for the first time in his long life, Gustavo felt peace.

She wrapped her arms around him and snuggled closer. “So, this feeling is mine for the rest of my life, barring that we make it through this Volcan witch mess alive,” she clarified.

“Yes, Criña, this is yours. I am yours.” He pressed a kiss to her forehead, and because his wolf was still much too close to the surface, his tongue darted out and tasted her skin.

“Did you just lick me?” She laughed, though it sounded tired.

“My wolf likes the way you taste,” he said without shame. “Now, hush, and let me hold you while you sleep. You need rest. I can feel the weariness in your body. Let me take care of you.”

She yawned. “It’s a little disturbing to me that I find your bossiness incredibly sexy.”

Gustavo smiled. “Then I will use it to my full advantage, my beautiful mate.”

“I’ve no doubt you will.” She sighed, and he felt her relax. “You’ll be here when I wake up?”

“Every morning for the rest of our lives,” he assured her.

“I can live with that.”

Gustavo’s wolf practically purred as he felt his mate surrender to them. She wasn’t scared. She wasn’t running. She wanted them. He thanked the Great Luna for giving him such a precious, brave woman. He would protect her with his life. And he would wait to mark her until she said she was ready. He was pretty sure resisting that instinct would be more difficult than even being separated from her had been.

“Stop worrying. I won’t make you wait long.”

“I will remember you said that, Criña.”