My cock burns. I squeeze it, desperate to will the need away, but her scent... My mate. My Noël. This isn’t right. Not yet. But goddesses, it hurts.
It has never been painful before, not like this.
My head drops back, and I bite down on my tongue to stifle the sound, holding in the roar that threatens to escape.
My hips keep moving as I spill, every thrust filled with a single thought—I’ll breed her, fill her so full she’ll have no choice but to take it all, to carry my scent. Even as my release hits hard, the need doesn’t fade. I can see her, swollen and full with what I’ve given, hers and mine. The vision drives me, pushing me over the edge again, unstoppable, until there’s nothing left but the thought of her beneath me.
I pant heavily. I will never forgive myself for this.
As the night deepens, my ears twitch at every subtle sound in the forest. We will restore the balance, one step at a time. After a final glance at Noël, I call upon the leaf spirits. The leaves rustle in response, their inner light intensifying as they gather around me.
“Did you listen to our conversation?” I whisper.
They nod and circle me, then drift toward my mate.
“Of course you did.” I wave my paw, and they rush back to me. “You have smaller hands, spirits,” I whisper, getting down on all fours. “I want more of my scent on her. Having just a few of my hairs in her bed-nest is not enough.” I shake my body, and many hairs fall to the ground. The spirits rush to gather them, while others pluck clumps of fur from all over me.
It feels amazing, and I stretch. Kaël usually scratches himself on a tree or annoys Zephyr until he does it for him.
Will Noël brush my fur? I roll onto my back, arms and legs extended into the air, so the spirits can pluck fur from my chest and abs.
Once we’re finished, I sit up, and the spirits begin weaving the hairs together. I have a feeling I’m missing a step, but they seem to know exactly what to do.
The sun will rise in a few hours, and the fur blanket is ready. “How should I thank you for your kindness?” I ask the spirits, and they giggle in response. They fly over to my mate, circling around her as she sleeps.
“Will it be enough?” I tilt my head. I lift the blanket and it falls nearly to my knees. The leaves fly away from Noël and, in a perfect line, measure the blanket.
“It will.” I nod. “Let’s get her some food before she wakes.”
They move quickly, gathering fresh berries and water from the nearby stream. They arrange everything on a broad leaf, and I cover it with larger leaves to keep it fresh.
As dawn breaks, Noël stirs, and though her eyes gently flutter open, her movements are sharp. She’s alert. Her body tenses, ready for action. Her gaze sweeps her surroundings before settling on the food I’ve prepared. Her eyes widen, but she is still tense. Perhaps it’s a habit she built up through years of training in the “military.” It’s a side of her I haven’t seen until now.
“Theron,” she says, “did you do all this?”
“With help from the leaf spirits. I wanted to make sure you had everything you needed.”
She looks at me with those alert, curious eyes, her expression softening in a way that makes my chest tighten. “Thank you,” she says. “This is really thoughtful.”
I reach out and gently squeeze her hand. “You’re welcome, little dove. We have a long journey ahead, so eat well.”
She nods, and then when she takes a bite of a strawberry, her eyes light up.Hm.
After she sips from the water, I take the empty leaf from her, and she goes back for another satisfied bite of the strawberry.
“Did you eat already?” she asks, stopping mid-bite.
“I’m fine. My focus is on you. We’ll have plenty of time to eat together when we reach Ávera.”
Watching her smile, unguarded relief crossing her expression, makes the long night of starving worth it.
Once she’s done with the berries, the leaf spirits take the empty leaf bowl and fly away. As my mate gets up and stretches, I turn to get the blanket from a branch. The leaf spirits hung it so it’d stretch and even. I think.
“What’s that?” Noël asks, walking over to me as I turn around with the blanket in my paws.
“You will be cold on the way, so the leaf spirits and I made you this blanket from my fur.”
She blinks at me. Is she confused?
