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Izzy let out a low whistle. "He's rushing. That's either good news or very bad news. Unfortunately, I can't tell which yet."

"It's going to be both. It’s never one thing where he is concerned," Donovan said, easing into the room behind her with one hand braced against his ribs. "A cornered animal moves faster right before it either dies or gets desperate enough to take everyone down with it."

Sarah looked down at the feather still resting on the table. The gold thread caught the lamplight in a way that made her skin crawl. Whatever it was, it hadn't come from Lucifer's hand directly. That single fact rearranged everything she thought she understood about who was actually working against them.

"We need to know who left that before we go anywhere at moonrise," Sarah announced as the mark on her palm throbbed as if it agreed with her.

Abraxos made a low sound in the back of his throat, something rough and final, and hauled himself up onto his feet with the kind of finality that ended arguments before they started. His massive head swung toward Sarah, eyes glinting like banked coals in the dim light. "That's a job for the others," he rumbled, the words vibrating through the floorboards beneath her boots. "You and I need rest. You've been running yourself ragged, and I need to fully heal."

Sarah's eyes narrowed to slits, and she shook her head hard enough that a strand of hair fell loose from behind her ear. "I can't make them find these answers," she shot back, crossing her arms over her chest like a shield. "That's a bullshit move to pull on friends."

Across the table, Amelia reached out and laid her hand over Sarah's, her palm warm and steady against knuckles gone white with tension. "You can and you will," she said quietly, though there was steel underneath the softness. "Abraxos is right. It's far more important that you get even a little downtime. You have to replenish some of the energy you've been burning through, or there won't be anything left of you to fight with." She gave Sarah's hand a small squeeze, her gaze never wavering. "Don't worry about us."

"And don't feel guilty," Izzy chimed in from the doorway, arms braced against the frame and one brow arched in that way that meant trouble was coming. "It's our job to pick up the slack while you go be dramatic and broody somewhere quiet. Somebody's got to keep the legend alive, and frankly, watching you run on fumes is starting to ruin my whole aesthetic."

Sarah barked out a laugh and let him pull her to her feet. “Alright, thank you,” she told them before Abraxos led her from the room.

They were quiet as they climbed to the room that she had been staying in. “Is that your stuff?” she asked when they entered the space.

Abraxos nodded as he looked over his shoulder. “I had it brought over earlier. I can’t sleep apart from you, Sarah. We belong together. I’ve known that since the moment we met. I hope you’re okay with this.”

She smiled as she crossed to him and wrapped her arms around his neck. “I never took you for a sappy romantic.” She pressed her lips to his before he could respond.

The kiss quickly became heated, making arousal bloom hot and insistent in Sarah’s core. She wanted this man to strip her naked and remind her how good it felt when they joined.

Breaking away, she licked her lips and met his hungry gaze. “We’d better stop this now. You need rest so you can heal fully.”

Abraxos lifted her into his arms and carried her to the bed. “I need my mate more than I need sleep.”

His mouth was on hers, swallowing her reply. His tongue danced along hers, making her want him even more. He kissed her until she got dizzy. Panting, she stepped away from Abraxos and crawled onto the bed. She cast what she hoped was a hungry look over her shoulder before she settled against the pillows. Realizing too late she still had her boots on, she toed them off and flung them to the side.

“Are you going to stand there staring all night?” She punctuated her question by tugging her shirt over her head and pushing off her pants.

“It’s my favorite way to spend an evening,” he admitted before he ripped his shirt over his head. A second later, he eagerly followed her onto the bed.

He hovered over her and stared down into her eyes. She felt him all the way to her soul. He completed her in a way she never knew was possible.

The sight of his wings rising behind his broad shoulders sent a delicious thrill through her as his powerful body surrounded hers. “The scent of your arousal is driving me crazy. I can’t decide if I want to eat you or fuck you,” he murmured as he lowered his mouth to hers.

Arousal spread through Sarah in a slow, delicious wave. Abraxos’s dilemma warmed places in her that had been cold for far too long. After everything she had endured, there was nothing that was going to keep her from the future they had chosen together.

Abraxos slipped his hands behind her back and released the clasp of her bra before easing the straps down her arms. His gaze followed every inch of skin he revealed. Sarah rested her palms against his chest and held his stare. “Our mating might not have been traditional, but I wouldn’t change it for the world,” she told him as happiness softened the confession. “Not one moment of it.”

“I couldn’t agree more.” Abraxos’s expression shifted. Fierce devotion burned in the depths of his eyes. He lowered his head and pressed a lingering kiss on one breast before moving to the other. He treated her as though she were something precious. Something he intended to treasure for the rest of his existence.

“As soon as we eliminate the immediate threat, you will have an official ceremony,” he promised against her nipples. “There will be a celebration, a feast, and enough revelry to make everyone forget the chaos.”

“Will there be cake?” Sarah laughed as she threaded her fingers through his hair, her smile widening when he lifted his gaze to hers. The joy reflected in his expression matched everything filling her.

“All the cake you can eat.” His mouth dropped to her right breast as he sucked the nipple into his mouth.

A needy groan echoed from her lips as her hips lifted. She rubbed herself against the hard length trapped beneath his pants. His cock throbbed against her clit, intensifying the ache he seemed determined to prolong.

“Holy shit!” She arched her back, trying to increase the pressure where she needed it.

Abraxos caught her hips and held her firmly against him before rolling his pelvis in a slow motion that sent another rush of heat through her. “You like?” Abraxos challenged as one corner of his mouth lifted.

Sarah tightened her legs around him and moved against his hard body, refusing to let him retreat from the contact she craved. “Keep teasing me, Sparky, and Lucifer might be the least of your concerns,” she warned as she drew him closer. Happiness and desire tangled together until she could no longer tell where one ended and the other began.