The world stopped. Nothing moved. For one brief second I was in a bubble of emotion, and then it exploded. Right then I made a choice, a choice that would forever change my life, but there was no way to deny it any longer. Leaping up to my tiptoes, I leaned forward and kissed that damn bear like my life depended on it. Because I had just realized that it did. He was mine, and if my people couldn’t handle that, then I wasn’t sure I could be their queen. He loved me.
Kade wrapped me up in his arms; he was so huge that I was completely surrounded by his heat. His hard body pressed to every part of me. The kiss started off hot and heavy and didn’t ease up for a moment. His chest rumbled beneath us and I knew his bear was happy. My wolf was practically dancing a jig inside. She’d always been a Kade fan. As he held me even tighter, I found myself wrapping my legs around him. I needed to be closer. I needed more. This just wasn’t enough.
Kade swung us around, and I was pressed against one of the huge trees surrounding the cabin. Somehow my hands found their way into the gap of his button-up shirt, and then just as suddenly those buttons were gone. I had dreamed about touching him like this for so long, running my hands across his body. He wasn’t as hairy as many bears, but he still had a decent spattering of hair across his defined chest and down his abdominal muscles…
So many chiseled abs.
The kiss eased slightly and he pulled back so he could rest his forehead against mine, our lips inches apart. My hands were still pressed against his hot skin, the heat between us enough to start a forest fire.
Ari!
Finn’s urgent call cut through my hazy mind.
There is someone sneaking around the bushes. They are cloaked with magic. I can’t get a read on them, but you need to get back to your dominants.
Kade straightened then, and with one final kiss on my lips, gently dropped me to my feet. “We have to move,” he said. “Nix is picking up some strange energy. She’s with Finn.”
He’d gotten the same warning. If both of our familiars were worried, we probably should be also. The crunch of undergrowth had me spinning, but thankfully it was only Finn and Nix. My wolf galloped up, the giant eagle perched on his back. Nix did a little jump-swoop thing and landed on the king’s shoulder. But before we could move out, another figure appeared from the shadows and Kade reacted in an instant. He lunged forward and scooped up the smaller shifter with ease.
A flash of mecca shot him back and Violet fell to a heap on the forest floor. The magic born was back up and on her feet in an instant. She brushed herself off, throwing a cheeky smile at Kade. “Got to get up earlier than that if you want to bear-handle me, friend.”
He shook his head, some of the bear fading out of his features as he calmed a little. He’d partially shifted the moment he grabbed at the “intruder.”
“What are you doing here, Vi?” I asked, stepping closer. She seemed to be examining me with great concentration and I wondered how disheveled I looked. Probably I was a huge mess, looking exactly like a queen who’d just cried and been kissed all in one heartbeat.
“Vi!” My voice was sharper than I intended, but we were on a time crunch here. If it was fae wandering around these woods, we had to make sure our people were safe. We also had to get back to do the ritual. Until we could return the mecca energy, they were going to keep coming for us.
She smiled at me and it was a look full of knowledge. She knew exactly what Kade and I had been up to. Thankfully she wasn’t going to tell anyone. She valued my head, and would likely hope it stayed attached to my neck.
“I was just coming to find you all so we could head back to Manhattan for the fae ceremony. We don’t want to miss the peak of the full moon. But then I smelled a magical cloak and went to investigate.”
My heart was already hammering in my chest from my heated kiss with Kade. News of a magical cloak didn’t help with it at all. “Finn detected the magic too. It wasn’t you?”
Violet shrugged. “No, wasn’t me. But I’ve done some pretty crazy stuff with the other magic born when we were drunk off shifter wine two festivals ago. It’s probably a prank to steal your thrones or any number of stupid tricks.”
I relaxed a little. She was probably right. Shifters got pretty crazy under the full moon. Throw in alcohol and the magic of the summer festival … all kinds of mayhem could happen.
Kade stepped to my side; his hand brushed across my back, and I knew he was offering me comfort. Everything had changed between us – his declaration, the kiss. We could never go back, so now it was about figuring out how to do this. Together. Whether we hid our relationship, or whether we fought to destroy the prejudice that had lived for far too long between our people. We might be bear and wolf, but we were all shifters. We were the same. My heart was telling me it was time to stop the divide and bring back what once was.
I would have to be very careful with my council, but I felt like it could be done. Something for us to worry about tomorrow, after this ritual. In this moment though, I had never felt so at peace, like the thousand pound weight which had been sitting on my chest suffocating me had finally been lifted. That hole in my heart, well … it felt a little more filled.
Violet was just staring at me with a big lopsided goofy grin. My best friend knew exactly what was going on and she was happy for me. We walked out of the clearing and my mind was so fixated on Violet and the king that I didn’t notice anything weird until the smell hit me.
That distinct floral smell.