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“I don’t know. I’m afraid that I don’t really have the knowledge about this.” He pauses. “Does the idea of that upset you?”
“I mean. Maybe other people would like the idea of some crazy destiny, but I’m not one of them. I never needed a destiny to feel special. I just needed other people in my life.”
North’s face is too high up for me to see right now. I’d have to crane my neck to look up at him to see his expression, but I can still feel him smiling. “Well, you’ve got us in your life now.”
“That I do,” I agree. “And you’ve got me.”
It’s not exactly the traditional kind of promise, but it’s more than I’ve ever given any of them before. Considering how reluctant I was at first and how much I didn’t trust this bond to start out with, I think it’s important that I say it, even if North can now sense how I’m feeling just like I can sense how he’s feeling.
He kisses the top of my head. “So you think that maybe these dreams—sorry, these visions—are a part of your blood?”
“I don’t know what else they could be. And Roanac seemed to think that my having Ancient blood, whatever that means, is something important. It makes my blood more powerful or something.”
“Hmm.” North seems to think for a moment. “It could just mean that your blood has more magic in it. That doesn’t mean there’s some fancy prophecy about you.”
“I suppose. It just feels like it’s too much to live up to. Roanac’s after me like I’m someone important, but I don’t feel particularly important or powerful. No more than any other fae.”
“You’re preaching to the choir.” North sighs. “I don’t know what I am, either. I know, logically, that I’m a wolf shifter, and I’m a fae. But it’s hard to reconcile the two sides of me. I lost the shifter part, and I can’t seem to access it, and now it feels like I’m losing my fae side as well.”
“We’re like two sides of the same coin,” I say softly. “I’m pure blood and you’re two different things but we’re both confused about who we are. What we are.”
North nods, and I can feel it against my own head. “Now we have to figure out what the fuck to do with that.”
I let out a snort of laughter. I have no fucking clue what to do about this. “All I know is that we’ve got to stop Roanac.” I pause. “I just hope that we can also figure out what these visions are because I’m not too keen on them.”
“No?”
“No.” I shake my head. “I’m alone in my vision, and I don’t want to be alone. Not anymore. I want to be with you three.”
North holds me a little tighter. “Well. We don’t want to be without you, so it all works out. And you know that just because you don’t understand what’s up with your bloodline, or what it means, that it defines you. You’re amazing just as you are, Kiara. Not because of whatever blood runs in your veins. Just because you’re you.”
I stroke his chest. “Well, that goes the same for you, too. You can’t tell me that sort of thing without applying it to yourself, okay? I don’t care about whether you ever shift again or not. I don’t care if you use the Sight or not. That’s not what makes you who you are, okay? You’re an amazing leader and fighter. Cain and Raven rely on you and trust you and so do I. I care about you for who you are and that’s all about who North is, it’s not because you can turn into a wolf or not.”
North pulls back enough that I can see his face, and I don’t even know what to call the expression I see there.
It’s awe.
It’s gratitude.
And even though it scares me a little to admit it, I think it’s even… love.
He doesn’t speak another word, but he leans in and kisses me, and I know what he’s trying to say.
CHAPTER14
Our kiss starts off soft and sweet, which isn’t exactly how these things usually start between North and me. His lips are gentle on mine, his tongue exploring my mouth with slow strokes.
It deepens as he pulls me a little closer, but there’s none of the frantic desperation I’ve felt before when the two of us have come together. Maybe it’s because we’re both beginning to truly believe that what we have could be permanent. That we don’t have to rush, because we have all the time in the world.
His hands are skillful and possessive as they rove over my body, groping me as if he’s trying to memorize every line and curve. He undresses me slowly, and I do the same with him.
By the time he tosses away the last article of my clothing, I’m breathing harder, my skin flushed and heated.
But still, North doesn’t rush.
He lays me on my back, bracing himself on one elbow as he leans over and kisses me. His tongue sweeps into my mouth at the same time his deft fingertips find my nipple, rolling the sensitive bud between them.
I whimper into his mouth, and he meets the sound with a low growl. He stops toying with my nipple and switches to kneading the flesh of my breast, making me arch up into his touch as I silently beg for more.
