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“There are no rules for mating. When shifter couples were common, they would usually spend many years together before deciding to bring children into their dens. Because they often mated as soon as the frenzy dragged them together, they had to get to know each other and become friends while sharing a home.”
Damn.
Hotdamn.
“That sounds difficult,” I admitted.
“It’s also difficult to fight the frenzy. Neither way is simple; both require effort and perseverance.”
I guessed that was a good point. “We haven’t talked about how long we’re going to be able to fight the frenzy.”
“I will fight it as long as you ask me to, without complaint.” His hand skimmed my back.
“That doesn’t mean we should continue doing it. It’s getting stronger, like you said. I’ll think about it while we run to the next den.”
Ivaylo made a noise of disagreement. “We’re still going home.”
I knew how to win that argument, though. “If we go to the other den, we’ll be able to close it, and I can keep my side of our deal, remember?”
He was silent for a moment.
A long, long moment.
My lips curved upward against his chest as I waited. I slowly wrapped my arms around his waist, returning his hug.
“Alright, we’ll stay the night there,” Ivaylo finally agreed, his voice gruff. “But if the itch grows too strong, you tell me, and we’ll run home regardless of the hour.”
“Deal.” I hugged him a bit tighter, and his grip grew firmer as well. We both lingered there for a long moment before he reluctantly released me.
“We need to get moving.”
I bit my lip to hide a grin and nodded.
Though I had been reluctant to agree to the terms of his deal at first, I was getting pretty damn excited about it.
The frenzy’s constant rippling around me certainly didn’t hurt that, but I was pretty sure I’d be excited even without the lusty magic.
twelve
EZRA
Our journeyto the cave didn’t settle my itch very much. I wasn’t ready to think of it as myfuritching, but I couldn’t come up with a more perfect way to label it than an itch.
My mind wandered back to my grandparents as we ran, the way it often seemed to.
I still loved them so much it hurt. I couldn’t help but consider what they would say if I could sit down and tell them about everything that had happened over the past few weeks.
They would be stunned, of course. Anyone would be.
But… I had the feeling they would also be intrigued.
My grandma would find it exciting, and my grandpa would be fascinated by my descriptions of Evare. The three suns and two moons would blow their minds—and the wolves’ story would have them on the edge of their seat.
Grandpa would’ve warned me to take it slow with Ivaylo and make sure I could handle the cultural differences.
Grandma would claim she had something in her eye when she teared up at hearing how much he had ached for a mate. She would tell me to be just as careful with his heart as I was with my own, too.
We would talk and laugh for hours. By the time I walked away, I would feel better about everything, including my bond with Ivaylo.
