Chapter 146

AURORA

I leaped into his arms. “Claim me. Mark me. Give me something to hold onto. Something to remember when he tries to take everything else away.”

Holden’s bond with me would prevent Dane from making me his in any binding magical way, but I could only cling to hope—and even here, Holden’s commands wouldn’t let me speak of it. “Maybe since the goddess gave us this moment, something about it will stay with me.”

He didn’t hesitate, didn’t question, just grasped my hips and pressed me hard against his body while he lowered his lips to mine. The kiss was deep, desperate yet tender. He was searing himself onto my soul like a slowly burning brand, hiding away part of his warmth inside me. I could only pray it would be enough to warm my heart when the Nameless took my memories and everything else turned cold.

His fingers tightened on my hips, and he pulled me against him. The place we were looked like autumn, all blue sky and water and gold leaves. I was barefoot, and the grass under my feet was cool and soft, and the breeze was warm.

I twined my arms around Dane’s neck and returned his kiss. This dream, this vision, could end at any time, and I wanted to make the most of it.

The years ahead will be dark… Gods, please don’t let it be years. If there was any being out there that loved Dane and me even a little bit, I prayed it wouldn’t be that long.

“I’m going to find you,” Dane said, breathing heavily as he tore his lips from mine. The words burst from him, sounding determined. “I won’t give up.”

“I won’t be myself when you find me. Dane… if the Nameless makes me into some kind of weapon because of these powers…” I held up my palm, and a silvery glow threaded between my fingers.

Dane growled. “If he wants you, maybe he’ll trade for me.”

“You’ve already done that! Do you know what it did to me to watch you die?”

He caught my face in his hands again. “Do you know what it did to me to watch you try and take my place? I was always meant to be the one sacrificed to this thing, Aurora. Not you.”

I laughed bitterly. “Oh, I was meant for him. They’ve apparently raised me since I was a baby to be his. Born favored of the moon and twisted into darkness.”

“There must be a way.” He kissed me again, then leaned his forehead against mine. “I won’t let you go.”

“Just be with me now. Imprint yourself on my soul. Try to help me save whatever scrap of myself you can.”

He was never a man to show his emotions, but what I saw in his eyes at the prospect of losing me was devastation. Despair. He smoothed the hair from my face and kissed my cheeks, my lips, my chin, my jaw.

“You are mine,” he said, sealing his words with more kisses. “You have always been mine. No matter what happens between us, we’ll find our way back to each other. You and I always find our way back to each other.”

As he spoke, his Alpha magic unfurled slowly into the air around us. We couldn’t bond, but there was something in this. Something that shifted deep, deep inside me, in a place even I couldn’t reach.

His. I’m his.

“Yes,” I whispered. “We always find our way back. We always will.”

He pulled me into the soft grass, his hands gentle as he slowly stripped, then touched and kissed every inch of my body.

Any second it would end, and I would find myself back in the cold clutches of the thing I thought was my ally. The thing I thought would save us but was actually the greatest enemy wolves had ever faced.

Even though we only had this tiny slip of time, Dane didn’t rush with me. He was gentle, casting off my clothes, then his. We wrapped our bodies together, content to simply feel the warmth of skin against skin.

Slowly, his touches heated. He pressed me onto my back and lavished kisses on my breasts. He sucked one nipple into his mouth and slid his fingers between my legs, stroking until I was wet and whimpering.

When he claimed me, it wasn’t in a mad physical rush. It was deliberate, thorough, and utterly possessive.

“Mine,” he growled as he slid inside me, filling me, owning me. His fingers twined through mine, pinning my hands in place in the grass. He looked deep into my eyes, and there was so much heat, so much power in him that it was as if he forged a bond between our souls. “You’re mine, Aurora. I claim you. Mine, our souls bound, from this day until forever.”

It was love—so much, too intense. He wouldn’t let me look away as ecstasy stole over me, ripping his name from my helpless lips. He kept moving, pumping inside me until he crashed over the edge with me, as well.

He pressed a kiss to my ear. “Mine,” he said one more time. “I promise, Aurora. I’ll find—”

Then his weight was gone. His warmth was gone. I had one second to see the moonlight slipping away…

And then I was in the darkness again. The cold, except for the silver that burned into my wrists. The Nameless hovered over me, his eyes greedy and chill.

“Interesting,” he said. “I’ll just take that memory, too…”

Then there was no more.