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It was electricity and getting high and getting drunk, and also feeling like I could be my best self, all at once. Somehow, all the many, many stories I’d heard just didn’t compare, leaving me utterly stunned.
Wherever our skin was touching involved the sweetest sensation, a balm to my nerves that let me know I'd never be alone again. No, no matter what happened, I now had my fated mate. I was connected down to a molecular level to someone who was meant for me, who would never betray me.
I needed to get her to safety. She was counting on me. I was her protector, her confidant, her haven in the storm. Whatever she'd ask of me, I'd do it to make sure she was safe. That she was taken care of.
Though the battle sounds were easing around me, it wasn’t enough, so I just ran with her, taking her away from the violence all around us. Our team would understand me leaving thembehind, as that was the whole point. We were all dedicated to doing whatever was necessary to making sure Ayla survived, and our citizens got the relic they needed.
“Wait, what about Darla?” Ayla asked once she realized how far I’d taken her away from the battle. “You can’t leave her behind! What about Tristan? Mad Dog? Irina?! No cryptid left behind!”
I couldn’t blame Ayla for being emotional, nor did I blame her for all the pain pouring through the bond connecting us. Because although those feelings were unpleasant, they wereours, distributing the pain and fear between the both of us, instead of Ayla having to deal with it on her own.
“They know what must be done,” I answered around my still enlarged teeth. I needed my arms to hold my mate, but I wasn’t willing to give up my biological weapons. Not until I was sure we were fully safe.
So I ran. I ran and I ran while Ayla protested. I ran until I found a secluded area right next to a creek that didn’t have any of our enemy’s scent upon it, the area pristine and quiet. Then I carefully set her down, allowing my body to fully shift back into human form.
After standing back, I just looked at her again, taking it all in. I couldn’t believe that after so many years, my search was over. I'd found my fated mate. Suddenly, that strange pull I felt toward her made sense. Some part of me knew, despite whatever the hell was going on in my head. Had someone cast a memory spell on me? But…why?
It was then as I studied her that I noticed how she held herself. Searching through the bond we shared, though it was faint, I could sense that she was indeed hurt.
No. No, no, no. That wasn't allowed. I quickly knelt in front of her, searching for where she’d been hurt.
“How can I help?” I asked dutifully. “Do you have a potion?”
“I’m fine,” she groused. “I can heal myself.”
“Please do, then. Would you like water? Do you need food to do it?”
Ayla didn’t answer for a moment, worrying away at her lips with her teeth.
I watched her in return, but I couldn’t bear to see how much pain she was in. Slowly reaching out, I let my thumb rest ever so lightly on her lower lip and pulled it from her surprisingly sharp teeth. “Hey, I’m here for you, all right? Just tell me what to do.”
“He cut me off from my magic,” she blurted before covering her own mouth, trapping my thumb against the satiny-soft skin of her lips. She was so warm, so smooth to the touch. But as much as her very existence turned me on and excited me, seeing the pain in her eyes instantly killed any of my libido. “It was like he was able to poison my own so I couldn’t use it, buthecould.”
“I’m so sorry,” I said, trying to push all the comforting feelings I could into my pheromones. I knew I was stinking up half the forest with all the scent pouring from me, so I might as well make it useful. “I can’t imagine what that feels like, but it’s gonna be okay. You’re the most talented healer I know. You can figure this out, I’m certain.”
Ayla let her hand lower from her face, and the uncertain look she gave me made my heart ache. “You’re… you’re not mad at me?”
“Why would I be mad at you?”
She just shook her head as if she’d decided to abandon that line of thinking entirely. “It’s nothing. I just, uh, I don’t know how to break this. What if I never get my magic back?”
“That’ll never happen,” I said resolutely. I let my instincts take over and took both of her hands in mine, looking deeply into her eyes. I wanted her to feel my soul, to know I was there for her no matter what. “You’ll figure it out, and while you do, I’ll be right here beside you, okay? You’re not in this alone.”
I could see dozens and dozens of thoughts moving across her face before her eyes suddenly widened. “I… I think I have an idea.”
“I’m all ears.”
“I’d have to use you.”
I smirked. Why was my mate so cute and so beautiful at the same time? It didn’t seem possible, and yet I was enraptured by all that she was. “Take me to dinner first, geez.”
There it was: that adorable, coral pink flush that crept up her neck and across her face until she was actually glowing. I wanted to kiss hersobadly, to press my lips against her pretty, petal-like ones, then not come up for air until we passed out in each other’s arms, but I knew this wasn’t the time.
“You’re stupid,” she said, rolling her eyes. “But I think I can use our m-mating connection to heal myself.”
I was gushing inside over how amazing she was. How smart and talented. I’d heard growing up how meeting one’s fated mate could turn even the fiercest warriors into utter saps. I was pretty sure I was there now, just chock full of admiration and oxytocin from the bonding chemicals.
We weren’t even truly mated yet. Yes, we were fated to be so, but neither of our teeth had been in the other’s mating gland. We hadn’t even so much as kissed.
