I frame his face with my hands and whisper, “I love you, Karl. So damn much it hurts.”
“I love you too, Princess.”
Our lips fuse again, and for a while, all I can hear is the pounding of our flesh joining and our labored breathing. We’re so in sync now that we fall apart at the same time, and despite the many orgasms I’ve had in this forsaken place, each new one seems to be more obliterating than the last.
When the wave of pleasure recedes, my body goes slack. I lean into Karl, hiding my face in the crook of his neck, and take comfort in his scent.
“I’ll never get tired of this, Manu.” He runs his fingers down my back, sending goose bumps across my skin. The laceration has healed already, which begs the question: How long have we been screwing like rabbits?
“Me neither.” I lean back. “But we have to find a way out of here.”
He raises a brow. “Do we?”
Alarms sound in my head, and I tense. “Of course we do, Karl. We can’t stay in the Valley of Lost Souls forever.”
He touches my face with the tips of his fingers. “I don’t see why not. There’s nothing for us outside of here besides pain and despair.”
I don’t speak for a couple of beats, processing his words. That doesn’t sound like Karl at all. I pull away from him and try to slide off his lap, but he holds me tighter, and desperation seems to shine in his eyes. “Don’t go, Manu. Don’t leave me.”
“I’m not leaving you. But we can’t stay here forever.”
“I have everything I need right here.” He kisses one corner of my mouth, and immediately, the flame in the center of my core ignites. Lust spreads through my body, and the urgency to leave this place gets pushed to a dark corner in my mind. I want to ride Karl again, feel the heat of his skin against mine.
A loudboomin the mist jolts me, and my adrenaline levels spike.
Karl pulls back and looks over my shoulder. “What in the world was that?”
“Do you see anything?” I ask.
“No, but we’ve lingered here for far too long.”
My head is clear, and I no longer sense the urge to mate coming from him either. We jump to our feet and get dressed in a hurry. It’s then I realize that we’re no longer next to the lonely tree and the fallen monster. We’re surrounded by stone walls that go up until they disappear in the mist.
Steps approaching on loose gravel tell me we’ve made a grave mistake. Something is coming, and there’s only one way out of here. Karl’s body is tense—he’s ready to shift if the need arises. We wait until a lonely figure emerges from the fog. It’s not a beast… it’s a man.
“Found you.”
KARL
The wolf is churning inside me, ready to come out, but I wait. I’m trying to pick up the scent of whatever is coming closer, but I get nothing. This place is not only messing with my senses, it’s messing with my head. I have no recollection of coming to this location, nor do I know how much time has passed. I don’t feel hunger or thirst. The only thing I crave is Manu.
Finally, the newcomer walks out of the mist, and I’m shocked to find out it’s a man. He’s a little over six feet tall, broad shouldered and muscular but not bulky, and his light brown hair is about the same length as mine. He seems to be in his mid-twenties, but his clothes aren’t modern. He’s wearing brown leather pants and boots, paired with a loose tunic the color of straw.
“Found you,” he says.
“I didn’t realize there was anyone looking for us in this godforsaken place,” I grit out, not hiding my aggression. I’m not picking up a threatening vibe from him, but I don’t trust him either.
He walks closer, seeming unfazed by my stance. “It’s easy to become unaware of your surroundings here. It’s the nature of the magic in the Valley of Lost Souls.”
“Who are you?” Manu asks.
He glances at her, and his blue eyes widen a fraction. “You remind me of someone.”
I move closer to Manu, draping an arm around her waist. “She asked you a question.”
He looks at me. “My name is…” His brows pinch together. “I’m sorry, give me a minute. The knowledge of who I am comes and goes.”
I trade a glance with Manu, reading in her yellow eyes the same worry that must be swirling in mine.
