My arms are still wrapped around her, and God, I want to stay that way. But I know what she'll do the moment I tell her. So I move my hand from the back of her neck into her hair, threading the soft curls between my fingers, and lean forward until my forehead rests against hers. Her eyes close, leaning into me, but mine stay open, taking in everything from the scatter of freckles that mirror the stars above us to the slight pout of her kiss-bruised lips.
"Because," I breathe, everything in me bracing, "you're my mate."
Ivy
My heart may have stopped beating. Everything feels suddenly too tight, too close. I need to breathe. I unclench my hands from the front of Conall's shirt and press my flat palms against his chest. His arms stay around me, green eyes pleading. I press firmer and he reluctantly lets go. The loss of his grounding touch makes me wrap my arms around myself.
"I thought we agreed that was just for show. A lie Nick made up to keep me on the island until the wards could be fixed." I insist, somehow still hoping Conall is going to tell me I'm right. Mates? We couldn't…
Except I'd felt a pull toward him, that endless draw, since I'd gotten here. I just figured it was the protection spell. He let me think it was the protection spell. Heat rushes through me, sharp and sudden.
"You knew and decided to keep it from me?" I ask, and I'm so angry that my voice comes out smaller than I intend.
"No," Conall insists, stepping toward me, but I step back. He breathes, hands clenched at his sides. "No. I really thought it was the protection spell. That it had gone wrong just like the spell on the wards. But then Nick brought up mates and Laz discovered that the spell Shipton had done on the wards wasn't broken, just incomplete, and I started to realize it was more than possible that we were mates. I didn't know right away. My hound, he's a part of me but separatetoo. He knew. He kept saying it but I thought he was just being an overprotective ass. I didn't want to tell you until I was sure."
"Why?" The word comes out thin. "Because being mated to me would be so horrible?"
His jaw clenches. His eyes lift to mine and then drop again. My heart sinks. I turn and walk.
"No, Ivy—" He calls after me.
"Leave me alone, Conall." I manage to keep the tears out of my voice. I need to go home. Back to Everlane Cottage. For however long it's still mine.
Conall
Outside her cabin, I wait until the lights go out and she's asleep. My hound hates it, but I'm not looking for trouble tonight. I take care of two rabid gnomes, a whistler, and a knocker. When I'm sure nothing dangerous is left, I slip inside, shift into my human form, pull on some jogger shorts, and head up to the loft.
At the top of the stairs, I pause. Ivy lies on her back, one hand near her face and the other on the plane of her stomach. Her hair spreads out over the pillow. Her lips are slightly parted, her breathing steady. The thin sheet follows the gentle rise and fall of her body, showing every curve. She's right in the middle of the bed.
Moving quietly, I take the side with a little more space. I try to keep some distance, but she's sprawled out so much that it's impossible.
"Fuck it," I whisper, sliding in beside her. Instead of shifting or moving away, she turns in her sleep, wraps her arms around my waist, and holds me close. Her forehead brushes my chest and I can feel the warmth of her breathing against my sternum. She hugs me like I'm her favorite stuffed animal, every part of her pressed against me.
My chest aches as I try not to breathe too loudly. My hound growls inside me, wanting to pull her closer, to pin her down, to wake her with teeth and tongue and drive into her until the only sound in the loft is her saying my name.
All I want is to get through this.
I didn't realize that the woman hugging me in her sleep could undo me so thoroughly. I want to curl around her and protect her in ways that go well beyond this monster crisis. I want to soothe her, kiss her, and make her mine. I want to tell her that, though I denied it and raged against it, maybe being mates isn't the tragedy I first thought it was.
Maybe it's everything.
Ivy
A snout is in my hair again but I don't move. Slowly I open my eyes to fur and muscle and sharp claws. Knife-sharp teeth peek from the large jaw above me.
His arms are tight around me. Now that I understand that the hound isn't quite the same as the man, it feels different. I feel secure. This body has none of the tension Conall carries during the day. None of the reserve. The hound leans into me, and when I shift even a little his arms band tighter, as though even in sleep he's afraid of losing me.
When I tilt my head up to see his face, his big green eyes are already looking back at me. I suck in a breath, not sure if I mean to scream or just gasp. That low half-purr, half-growl rises in his chest. His head tips down and he presses his forehead to mine. The tenderness undoes me. The pressure in my chest cracks just a little and tears sting the corners of my eyes. I feel like a question I didn't even want to ask has been answered. It feels like care and heat and validation.
Mine, Freckles.
My eyes fly wide as I stare into his, so close and speckled with various shades of green. Only Conall calls me Freckles.
"C-Conall?" I stammer.
His clawed hand rubs up my thigh and over my hip, dipping under my shirt to tease at the plane of my stomach.
Mate.It's like hearing a voice from the other side of a wall, but it's there. I arch into his touch, my breasts brushing against his chest through my pajama shirt. A low possessive growl saws out of him. His forehead leaves mine as his nose brushes along my collarbone. Then his jaw opens and I tense. Sharp teeth press down on the skin at my shoulder, but only enough to feel possessive and needy. Not to hurt. His tongue sweeps across the skin along my throat between his jaws, and instead of pulling away I gasp and tip my head further to the side to give him better access.
