AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Hmm, I can’t say for certain, but the logic checks out.”
“But for the moment, my shadow is contained? It’s not going to hurt anyone around me?”
“Not seriously. There might be flare ups where it manages to lash out, but if I recall right, you’re already well aware of that.”
Yeah, I definitely was. So, despite the daunting news, I allowed myself to heave a sigh of relief. For the moment, my curse was contained and I could focus on our problems, like the war, the Shrouded Shriek, and none other than King Nathaniel.
It never got easier, did it?
Chapter 19
Ayla
I woke up to Kai curled around me, his breath warm across my shoulder. I lay there just taking in the sight of him.
He must have come in from his run with Oren after I’d fallen asleep. I hadn’t meant to fully pass out. I’d actually brought a book to bed and had hoped to do some leisurely reading—something I hadn’t done in ages. But before I knew it, I was so cozy and so relieved about the curse that I’d drifted off into pleasant dreams.
I took in Kai’s thick lashes protecting those gorgeous eyes of his, the ones that looked at me like he wanted to devour me. I took in his tousled hair and noticed that it was getting longer. Shifter hair did tend to grow fairly fast, and it’d been a while since any of us had gone to a barber. I normally trimmed my own hair with medical scissors in my tiny bathroom, but I hadn’t really had time for even that. Once everything was calmed down, I was going to cut it all the way up to my chin. That would be the shortest it had been in a long while, but it would be a nice change.
But that was all the future. For the moment, I just wanted to think about my mate.
He was slightly lower on the mattress, sleeping on his side so that his arms could wrap around me, and his head could rest on my shoulder. Somehow, in the night, one of my legs had gotten slung over his, and it was the most wonderful, casual, comfortable tangle of limbs.
I let myself just sink into the moment, nearly drunk on the sweetness of it all—the ease. It was something I could absolutely get used to if I got half the chance because I knew, without any doubt, I wanted to spend the rest of my life with Kai, however long that was. Since I no longer had to worry about my curse lashing out at him, or being discovered at the palace, there was no reason to hold myself back any longer.
Carefully, gently, I caressed his face, allowing the tip of my finger to trace those features I loved so much. His strong nose. His defined brow. That chin. The softness as I traipsed across his lips was insane, and I suddenly thought of all the times we’d kissed. Each one of them was their own journey, their own experience, but chained together in a beautiful story of our love.
I was so deeply in love with him in a way I didn’t even know was possible. We both had our flaws as individuals, but we were so much better together. I was braver and more trusting, while Kai was even more noble and dedicated. Now, more than ever, I wanted to be tied to him down to every facet of my soul.
And since the curse was out of the way, what was standing in the way of us completing our mating bond?
Thinking about it made my pulse begin to race, and I could feel that my pheromones growing heady. I tried to curtail that reaction, given that I wanted Kai to sleep, but there was only so long I could resist my body’s natural response to my mate.
The idea of his teeth in my neck, biting into my mating gland as it throbbed for him, that hard cock of his deep inside me… fuck.
Gods, I really was affected by him in so many ways.
But how was I supposed to bring up that I was ready? I didn’t want to just blurt it out of nowhere. There had to be a build-up, a time, and a place. Still, I couldn’t think of anything quite as romantic as being tied together in every way while on a warm island, with the ocean not that far off, in our little cottage tucked away from everyone.
I love you, Kai Reid, Nikolai DeLune, or whatever name you choose to go by.
I wanted to say the words out loud, to reaffirm them to the universe, but I also wanted him to rest as much as possible, so I kept them to myself. There’d be time in the future, and although tomorrow was never guaranteed, breakfast always was.
I wanted to stay cuddled up to Kai forever, but eventually, my wolf metabolism got the better of me, and my stomach let out a truly egregious grumble. Like the fated mates we were, Kai’s stomach answered in kind, and it was most definitely louder.
I couldn’t help it, I had to laugh. It was just so normal. I’d never realized what an incredible gift normalcy was, but there was no other word for it. Naturally, if my stomach hadn’t roused Kai, my mirth certainly did, and he smiled dopily up at me as he cracked open a single eye.
“Hey there, beautiful,” he mumbled.
“Hey there, handsome.” Now he was awake, I felt comfortable running my hand through his hair with more pressure than I’d used before, and when my mate pressed into my touch, I about melted. “You hungry?”
He nodded into my shoulder but snuggled closer, his grip on me tightening. “Yeah, but it can wait until later.”
He was so sweet that I could get cavities. “Actually, I was thinking that maybe I could cook something for you.”
Kai had been making breakfast more often than not and had genuinely been taking excellent care of me. Between checking in with how I was, making food for me, and the time he’d lovingly shampooed my hair after fucking my brains out, I felt more pampered than I’d been during my entire life.
“Oh, are you sure?”
