The silence that followed Tate’s words wasn’t empty. It buzzed with the unspoken promise of something new and real. Raven lingered in the shelter of his arms a heartbeat longer before stepping back. She glanced at Gavin, expecting a snide comment, but he only grinned, rocking back on his heels and looking up at the treetops.
Tate’s hand stayed on her lower back as they began to walk, guiding her with the subtle insistence of a man unused to letting anything he valued out of reach. Gavin drifted along at their side, chattering about the reconstructed perimeter and how he wanted a new lookout for himself.
“Hey, Gav,” Tate said, his voice softer than usual. “Thanks for looking out for her.”
Gavin c****d an eyebrow. “Is that a polite way of saying I’m in the way?”
“No, I mean it. Thanks for greeting her when she arrived.”
Gavin offered an exaggerated bow. “Anything for our luna.”
Raven rolled her eyes. “Don’t start with that. Besides, it isn’t official yet.”
“Technicalities,” Gavin said. “Unless Tate wants to change his mind and give you to me?” He laughed as Tate snorted.
“Keep dreaming.” Tate nudged Raven’s hip, gently guiding her with his hand. “Come on. I want to show you something.”
They turned off the main path, cutting through a stand of ancient pines that filtered the afternoon light into a blue-green haze. The forest was alive with the sound of wind and the distant, faint pulse of pack life. There was laughter from children, the steady sound of the patrol running around the border.
Tate pointed out the new trip cameras and how the guard rotations now overlapped so that no blind spots existed along the northern ridge. It was clear he’d spent hours walking every inch of their border, memorizing the weaknesses and then erasing them, one by one.
They walked in silence for a while, the path curving up, growing steeper as it skirted the edge of a shallow ravine. Tate’s hand never left her back, but sometimes his fingers slipped to catch her palm, threading through hers and squeezing gently. Each touch sent a little bolt of warmth through her, a reminder that whatever this thing between them was, it wasn’t just arranged or forced. It was alive.
At last, they broke through the thinning trees to a cleared patch of earth, where a new structure rose above the hillside. It wasn’t large, maybe the size of a generous shed, but the materials were better than anything the pack had used before. It was made of reinforced steel and thick, triple-glazed windows, the sort of tech Raven had seen in Genesis during her visits with her parents.
“This is the new lookout?” she asked, breathless, not from the climb but from the view. The valley sprawled below them in all directions, every inch of Black Ice Pack territory visible. She could even see the river that cut their southern border, glittering like a silver thread in the late sun.
“There’s a direct line to Genesis if the radio ever fails.” He sounded proud, but not boastful. More like he was showing her the first rough draft of something that might one day be perfect.
“Holy hell, you put a skylight in there? That’s new.” Gavin ran up the stairs, opening the door.
“It was a surprise for Raven. Do you like it?” Tate smiled at her as she continued to gaze at the building.
“It’s incredible.”
From inside the lookout, Gavin’s muffled voice floated out, “Are you two coming in?”
Tate rolled his eyes, but his mouth was close enough to Raven’s ear that she could feel his breath. “He’s never going to let us have a quiet moment, is he?”
“Are you wanting a private moment … Alpha?” Raven batted her lashes at him and listened to his rich chuckle. He led her up the stairs, letting his fingers brush across her chest.
“Love the skylight, Tate.” Gavin grabbed a remote that allowed it to open and shut. “Soundproof glass too. Nice touch.”
Tate watched Raven as she walked around the room, her fingers trailing over the maps and his monitoring system before she moved to the bed in the corner. She sat on it and then smiled at him.
“I’m proud of you,” she said, and the words surprised her with their intensity. “You built all of this. It’s incredible, Tate.”
“Gav,” Tate called. “You mind giving us a minute?”
“Fine, but don’t take too long. If I get murdered by a rogue while you two are making out, I’m haunting you for the rest of your miserable lives.” He made a show of slamming the door on the way out, but it was just for fun.
“Lock the door,” she said, not quite a whisper. “And come get your reward.”
Tate’s eyes darkened as he flipped the lock, making his way to her. He knelt before her, hands sliding up her thighs, fingers rough but reverent. “You’re already my reward, but I’ll take extra.”
She hooked her fingers through the front of his shirt, pulling him up until their mouths met. The first kiss was sweet, but she felt the tension in his shoulders, the barely-leashed hunger. She bit gently at his lip, and he responded instantly, deepening the kiss, his tongue tracing hers in slow, deliberate sweeps.
Tate pressed her down against the mattress, bracing himself on one arm as his other hand threaded through her hair, cradling her head. His breath was ragged as he kissed along her jaw, down to the sensitive skin below her ear. “Missed you,” he murmured against her neck, and the words vibrated through her bones.
“Liar,” she breathed, arching up so his body slotted perfectly into hers. “You’ve been too busy to miss me.”
“I missed you every damn day,” he growled, and then there was no more talking for a while.
They’d been together before, in stolen moments and hidden places, but this was different. They didn’t have to rush. She was here to stay. Raven let herself relax, opening to the sensation of his hands as they mapped her body like she was uncharted land. He tugged her shirt over her head, peeling it away to reveal the faded tank beneath, fingers skimming over her skin.
She helped him strip off his own shirt, running her hands over the planes of his chest, feeling the shift of muscle beneath. He’d grown harder since she’d last seen him, more defined, every line a testament to the hours spent preparing for a war no one wanted. She loved him for it and hated the world that made it necessary.
“Well, Alpha?” She pulled him down, her mouth finding the hollow at his throat, her hands busy at the waistband of his jeans. “Are you going to claim your reward?”
He let out a shuttering breath as his eyes flickered with his beast. “Yes, my luna.”
They fumbled at each other’s buttons, zippers catching and tugging denim, everything frantic until it was just skin, and they tumbled together on the narrow bed, limbs tangling, hands searching.
Raven savored every second. The bite of his teeth on her collarbone, the heat of his hands on her hips, the way his hair fell into his eyes as he looked down at her. She pressed her nails into his back, leaving tiny red marks that would fade in an hour, but he shuddered like she’d branded him.
It was all familiar, but it was also their beginning. Every touch sharpened by the knowledge that this was home now. And she would never have to spend a night away from him again. This would be their last time before they were marked, which would happen at the ceremony in a couple of days.
He kissed her slow, then rough, and she let herself feel everything, holding nothing back.
She thought she knew everything there was to know about Tate. The way his shoulders bunched when he was thinking hard, the precise temperature of his hands, the infuriating calm he wore like a second skin. But every time they were alone, skin against skin, he became something new. He was softer, gentler, but also hungrier. It was in the way he shuddered at her touch, how he took his time with her, mapping every inch like he was cataloguing the only thing worth remembering.
He touched her reverently at first, hands skimming her ribs, tracing the hollow of her waist, the dip of her hip, then grew bolder, coaxing gasps from her as his mouth wandered over the column of her throat, the swell of her breasts. He knew every spot that made her tremble. He’d committed them to memory, practiced them until she was squirming under him, clutching at his back as if she couldn’t take anymore.
She answered his hunger with her own, rolling them so she straddled his hips, hands braced on his chest. He groaned, the sound vibrating against her palms, and she grinned, grinding down in a slow, delicious friction that made him buck beneath her. She didn’t rush; she wanted to savor the way his eyes went heavy-lidded, the way his jaw clenched as he fought to keep control.
“Raven,” he gasped, and there was so much in that single word. Need, adoration, desperation.
She bent low, hair falling to brush his cheek, and kissed him hard, teeth clashing for a heartbeat before she let him take over, flipping her onto her back with a growl. His hands slid down her body, leaving a trail of fire in their wake, and she arched into him, letting herself dissolve into sensation.
He entered her slowly, her eyes closed, and he stopped, waiting for her to look at him. He always wanted their eyes connected while they were making love. She smiled and fluttered her eyes open. It was what he was waiting for. He set the pace, each thrust deep and unhurried, but she matched him, urging him on with the press of her heels against his lower back, her arms wrapped tight around his neck.
Their bodies moved together, old rhythms recalled and perfected, every sound and touch amplified by the closeness of the narrow bed, the knowledge that this was theirs alone. Sweat beaded on his brow, dark hair falling forward as he lost himself in the motion, and she found herself whispering his name, over and over.
When she came, it was all-consuming … it always was. Her vision whited out, breath catching, fingers digging into his flesh as she held him to her. He followed a moment later, pulse stuttering as he buried his face in the crook of her neck, biting down gently, practicing for when he marked her. They stayed like that for a long minute, shuddering together, letting the world rebuild around them.
He finally rolled to the side, gathering her up so her back pressed against his chest, arms wrapped around her waist. “You always ruin me,” he murmured, lips brushing the shell of her ear.
She laughed. “You ruin me as well.”
He ran his hand along her thigh, tracing lazy circles. “I don’t know what I’d do without you.”
“You’ll never have to find out,” she said, meaning every syllable.
She twisted to look at him, eyes searching. “Sometimes I wonder if this is real. Or if it’s just—” She gestured vaguely, meaning her power. The power of a sheya meant the ability to manipulate things, even mate bonds.
He propped himself on an elbow, leaning over her, brushing his knuckles across her cheekbone. “Raven, I chose you. Every damn day, I choose you. If you can make us fated mates … that’s just the icing on our cake.”
She bit her lip, the force of his words settling something in her chest. “Good. Because you’re stuck with me.”
“Forever,” he promised, and sealed it with a kiss, softer this time, but no less fierce.
They lay there, limbs tangled, watching the blue fade from the sky as dusk crept in. At last, he sat up, stretching, then tugged her up with him. “We should get moving. Our parents are waiting.”
“We’re probably already going to get a finger wagged at us, but you’ll bail me out, right?”
“Always,” he vowed.
Slowly, he dressed her, mentally promising to destroy her again tonight. They left the lookout hand in hand, the chill of evening sweet on their faces.
Raven took a deep breath, steadying herself, and when she looked at Tate, she saw his eyes slightly hazed over with a mindlink.
“Tate?”
“Our parents are leaving now. They want to get started with the first group to Elysia. They said we will perform the ceremony when they get back.”
“They know time is running out. I bet a fairy messenger came to urge them to leave now.” Raven pursed her lips together as Tate stopped and pulled her to his chest.
“As long as I have you, I can face anything in the world.”
“Same. No matter what.” She softly kissed his lips.
“I love you, Raven.”
“I love you.” She stared into his eyes and felt as if their souls were connected.
“Let’s hurry and see them off before they leave.” Tate grabbed her hand as they ran down the path together. Step by step, side by side, no matter what the future held … they would conquer it, together.
Aksara