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I groaned as the sharpest sting whipped through my blood. Touching her was as painful as falling into a patch of nettles.
She trembled in my hold, but she didn’t try to pull away this time. She looked down at where we were linked, her lips tight and body tense.
The sting between us grew hotter, arching with sensitivity.
I’d never felt this way before.
Never felt this level of awareness when sleeping beneath a tangle of wolfen limbs or running on a sun-etched day.
But with this girl?
I burned.
I had every answer I needed.
Salak and his pack had followed her, just as they’d followed me. We both had no memories. We both had a mark. And I’d dreamed of her. That was enough—more than enough—to say we had history.
Until I knew what that history was, I wasn’t going to let her out of my sight. Threading our fingers tighter together, I tugged. “Come.”
“Come?” Her eyes snapped to mine. “Come where?”
“Salak’s cave.”
“Cave?” She dug her heels into the earth as I dragged her toward the hilltops on the horizon. “I can’t go to a cave. I’m expected back at camp.” She looked over her shoulder again with a different fear in her eyes. “I’m so far from them. I didn’t see how far I walked. I need to get back. They’ll worry.”
The thought of her being with others filled me with hot possession. “You said they found you. They are not your kin.” I pulled again, firmer this time. “But I am. We were together, in a life we can’t remember. We just need time to—”
“Let me go.” Her hand squirmed in mine. “I can’t just leave.” She tripped as I kept pulling, wanting to break into a run but unable to with her dragging her heels. “I said let me go. I can’t leave with you.”
I slammed to a stop. “But I found you. I told you I know you—”
“You said you don’t recognise me. That isn’t knowing someone. That’s just blind delusion!”
“I’d rather live in a delusion than survive another day alone.” Temper flared as she tried to use her other hand to pry my fingers off her. “Until we know for sure, you’ll be safer with me. We can remember together.”
“Just because you think we’re the same doesn’t mean I’m yours.”
“It does. And even if it didn’t, I’ve already made my choice.”
“What choice?”
“I’ve chosen you as my mate.”
“What?”
“Salak has many. I only need one. I choose you.”
Her squirming turned into outright struggling. “I’m not anyone’s mate. Especially someone as dream-touched as you. Let. Me. Go.”
“I can’t.” I pulled her until she stumbled. “I can’t lose you now that I’ve found you.”
She stilled and took a deep breath, fighting her own rising temper. She used words that sounded kind but in a tone that couldn’t hide her frustration. “Then come back with me. Meet the Nhil. Request Solin to ask the flames where you belong. If there’s anyone qualified to help you, it’s him.”
“I don’t want him. I want you.”
“You’re not listening to me!” She locked her legs, leaning all her weight backward. “I’m not going with you!”
“You have to,” I growled, slipping into the tongue the wolves had taught me. My teeth itched as if my canines lengthened into fangs like Salak’s. “I’m not leaving without you.”
“Then we have a problem because I’m not going with you!”
“But—” I swallowed, unable to understand. “We were alone. We’ve found each other. Why wouldn’t you want to come with me when we finally have each other?”
She narrowed her eyes. “I’m not alone anymore. I was found by others...like I told you. I cannot just abandon them.”
I froze. Darkness descended over my thoughts. “Are there other males?”
“What?”
I drew her into me, locking my eyes onto hers. “Is that why you don’t want to go with me? Because you’ve already been claimed by another?”
I felt sick.
“No, I haven’t been claimed,” she spluttered. “But that’s beside the point.” She scratched at where our palms were joined. “Just let me go and return with me. They’ll welcome you. They took me in, even though I have no memory, just like you. They’ll give you a place to stay while you remember—”
“I remember you. That’s all I need to know.”
“But you said you don’t recognise me!” she repeated, her cheeks turning red.
“Not your face but I recognise your heart.” I pressed my free hand over the swell of her breast, seeking the rhythm of her spirit. “I recognise this. I know I do. Your heartbeat calls to mine. Tell me you don’t feel that. Tell me that you don’t suffer the same sting that I do.”
She went instantly, shockingly still.
I froze too.
Beneath the fur, the thundering of her heart kissed my fingertips. The crackling awareness between us flowed with thicker heat.
She sucked in a thin breath, forcing more of her feminine flesh into my palm. “Whoever you are...please...let me go.”
