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I don't know what will happen after the battle. I don't even know if we'll survive it, and even if we do, I'll never have him, so I need this. I need him right now, just for a second, before the world goes up in flames around us.
He can hear them now. We all can. The thundering sound of footsteps and howling between the trees as the enemy draws nearer with every breath.
I wanted more time.
I pull his hand away from my own and stand on my toes, tilting my chin up to graze my lips along his.
"Flower..." he says so softly I'm not sure if I imagined it, the word like a broken plea on the wind.
"Please, Tristan. It will only hurt for a moment," I whisper urgently, using his own words. His jaw clenches as the instinct to protect me wars against the longing aching within us both. "I don't care. Fuck the curse. Please. Just one moment."
His resolve shatters in an instant at the begging in my eyes as my fingers curl into fists around his shirt, pulling him toward me. His lips come crashing against mine, and for once, he holds nothing back.
Tristan kisses me hard and hungry. He tastes like strength and sunlight and smells like honey and smoke, and I unravel into his touch, letting the world melt away.
He pulls away too quickly, and I'm left breathless from a bittersweet mix of passion and pain as the mark on my chest glows. But he holds me until I steady myself, panting as the last of the curse's agonizing sting courses through me.
He watches me wordlessly as the noise grows louder and louder around us, the battle crashing at our doorstep like a wave on the sand.
Then he turns around and starts making his way down the tower to the bloodbath that waits below, and I follow him into war.
Chapter Three
There is no beauty in war. It is not a dance like in epic poems; there's no heroic music, no melody in this noise, no harmony between the howling and screaming.
There's clamoring and clashing on the other side of the gate while our archers rain down arrows on the first of Viktor's forces to storm the bridge. I lose all sense of time, suspended in horror inside the gate while Mark, Amara, and Helena lead a charge outside meant to thin out the first wave of attackers.
I am in limbo, waiting for their signal, and I know I will never be prepared for what's on the other side, but the waiting... waiting is almost worse.
There are makeshift barricades and traps set up throughout the fortress, and I stand beside Tristan in the castle bailey. Around us, there are nightwalkers and Rovers already in their wolf form. They are a formidable sight, their fur bristling as they tense their muscles in anticipation of the coming battle.
Some snarl and growl, impatient as their brothers and sisters lead the first charge outside, while red eyes glint with equal intensity and unease.
The sun has started to rise, but the mist and clouds are thick enough that the nightwalkers are safe. For now.
Through the mindlink, I get flashes from Nico darting through the shadows, watching and reporting as the first phase of the battle unfolds.
Viktor's army is a force to be reckoned with, their numbers even greater than I could have anticipated. The only way we'll make it out of this alive is if we're smart and stick to the plan, forcing them to spread out and aim for those in charge.
We'll never outnumber or outlast them, but we can cut off the head of the snake.
There are five packs, including the Banes, and though they all follow Viktor, I expect many wolves will abandon the fight if their Alphas fall. After all, they may have formed an alliance under Viktor's command out of a shared fear of the vampires, but wolves look after their own. If we can get just two packs to surrender... maybe we stand a chance.
'Talk to me, Nico,' Tristan says, his voice shockingly calm as it echoes in my mind.
Before the scout can reply, a different voice pierces our thoughts through the mindlink, half-howl and half-scream.
Amara.
My mate clenches his jaw, his muscles rippling as his wolf threatens to burst out, but he holds it back even as I shiver at the sound.
"Second battalion, hold your ground. We wait for the signal," Tristan commands through gritted teeth.
'I've got eyes on two of the Alphas so far. No sign of Viktor and the others. But it's a bloodbath out here,' Nico's voice is frantic, his thoughts jumbled and breathless. 'There's too damn many, boss, and three of them have Amara.'
'I'm fine,' Amara hisses, but her thoughts are distant and muffled like she's too weak to speak clearly through the link. 'Once they get through the gate, it will be chaos. Be smart about this. Wait until we've identified the Alphas, and-'
Her message is cut off by an anguished howl on the other side of the gate. I don't know how badly she's hurt or if she'll survive this, but hearing that calm, wise woman scream like that makes my insides churn.
