Maple made her way through the mansion's corridors on unsteady legs, her bare feet silent against the marble floors. The grand staircase loomed before her, and she climbed it slowly, each step a reminder of what had just transpired between them.
He probably thinks I'm some desperate archaeologist who throws herself at powerful men.
The thought made her stomach clench with embarrassment. She'd spent years building a reputation for being professional, controlled, unflappable. And in one evening, she'd destroyed all of that by letting her body override her brain.
Her guest suite felt like a refuge when she finally reached it, and she closed the door behind her with a soft click. The sitting area was exactly as she'd left it—elegant, pristine, untouched by the chaos that had just unfolded downstairs. She moved through the archway to the bedroom, her steps purposeful now. Kneeling beside the massive four-poster bed, she reached underneath and pulled out the small treasure chest that contained the claim marker.
The red stone seemed to pulse stronger with inner light as she lifted it from its cloth wrapping, and the moment her fingers made contact with its smooth surface, warmth flooded through her body. Not the overwhelming heat that had plagued her yesterday, but something gentler, more familiar.
This thing wasn't just some dragon artifact I was chasing.
The realization hit her with startling clarity as she cradled the claim marker in her palms. For years, she'd told herself she was hunting for proof that dragons existed, that her childhood fantasies had some basis in reality. But this—this was so much more than archaeological discovery.
This was destiny. Connection. The invisible thread that had been pulling her toward this place, toward Rune, her entire life.
The warmth spreading through her body now was the same sensation she'd felt when Rune touched her, when he'd held her against him and made her feel complete for the first time in her life. The claim marker wasn't just reacting to her—it was reflecting the bond between them, the connection he was so terrified to acknowledge.
If he thinks he's going to push me away that easily, he's got another thing coming.
The thought surprised her with its conviction. This morning, before she'd known this world existed, she'd been desperate to unbind herself from the marker's influence. She'd wanted her normal, safe, predictable life back.
Now, after one taste of what it felt like to be truly seen, truly wanted, truly connected to another soul, the idea of losing it made her chest ache with something close to terror.
She'd spent her entire adult life being told that her passions were impractical, that her dreams were childish fantasies. Harrison had wanted her to be smaller, safer, more manageable. Her parents had taught her that wonder was embarrassing.
But Rune—despite his fears, despite his desperate flight from their connection—looked at her like she was magnificent. Like her curiosity was a gift rather than a burden. Like the parts of herself she'd learned to hide were exactly what made her precious.
I'm not giving that up without a fight.
TEN
RUNE
Rune's eyes snapped open to the pale morning light filtering through the windows of his private chambers, but sleep had been nothing more than a cruel illusion. He'd spent most the night staring at the ornate ceiling, replaying every devastating second of what had transpired on his dining room table. The way Maple had felt beneath him—soft, warm, and perfectly responsive. The way she'd shattered so completely in his arms. The way her inner walls had clenched around his cock and milked him as he'd spilled himself deep inside her, marking her in the most primal way possible.
Such a foolish mistake.
But his dragon had snarled all night, a constant rumble of disapproval that plagued him until sleep had finally pulled him under from the tiresome internal war.
Rune dragged himself from the tangled sheets, his body aching with exhaustion and unfulfilled need. The mate bond pulsed beneath his skin like a second heartbeat, stronger now, more insistent. Every fiber of his being screamed at him to go to her, to finish what they'd started, to mark her skin and bind them together permanently.
The memory of his father's hollow body in the mahogany casket crashed through his mind with brutal clarity. The way the once-mighty Alpha had withered away after his mate's death, reduced to a shell of broken grief and expensive whiskey.
That was exactly why Rune couldn't complete the mate bond. He had sworn over that grave that he would never allow himself to become so dependent on another soul that losing them would destroy him.
But last night, when Maple had looked up at him with those green eyes dark with desire and whispered that she needed him, every wall he'd built over five centuries had crumbled to ash. His dragon had surged forward with triumphant possession, and for those perfect, consuming moments, nothing had existed except the feeling of coming home.
That's precisely the problem.
He'd been frighteningly close to carrying her upstairs to his private chambers, to laying her across his own bed and worshipping every inch of her skin until she was screaming his name and begging to complete the bond. His dragon had been pushing him to mark, to make the bond permanent and unbreakable. The urge had been so overwhelming that for a terrifying instant, he'd almost surrendered completely.
Then reality had crashed back. The image of his father's funeral. The sound of dirt hitting the coffin. The promise he'd made to himself never to become that vulnerable.
So he'd run like a coward.
Rune stalked to his walk-in closet, shoving hangers aside with unnecessary force as he searched for something to wear. His usual business suits hung in perfect rows, but the thought of sitting in some sterile office while his mate was under his roof made his skin crawl. Instead, he grabbed a black henley and dark jeans, pulling them on with sharp, angry movements.
She didn't come looking for me last night.
