Chapter 20
It took me days to calm the creature. The first twenty-four hours after Sylvie had so wisely left me alone in the woods, the beast refused to let me revert to my fae form.
I spent hours wrestling with Nanok in an effort to work off some of the insatiable energy, but not even that satisfied it.
It was when I refused to do a damn thing that the monster became more annoyed than restless.
I used meditation techniques taught to me by the soothsayers in my kingdom, disconnecting the mind and focusing on the soul.
The creature still beat at my skull, trying to edge its way in, but I was far too gone to let it under my skin.
It was now the morning of the fourth day, and the closest I was going to get, given there was little time left to convince Sylvie to be mine.
I wanted nothing more than to claim her the moment she accepted it, but she’d trusted me enough to reveal she’s never fully been with a male.
The first time should be showing her what I could offer her in that sense for the rest of eternity—that she would be more than a queen to take up the emptiness on the throne next to me or some simple incubator for my would-be heirs.
I coaxed most of the beast away, but my icy hair and beard remained, as well as a border around my eyes. My magic still overtook my gaze as well, that same glowing blue hue radiating in my eyes.
“Does it look that bad? Think she’ll accept me like this?” I asked Nanok, turning in a circle with my arms out at my sides.
Nanok raised his snout and made a chuffing sound, his form of a laugh.
Frowning at him, I shoved his shoulder and dragged a hand over the icy beard weighing heavily on my chin. “What would you know about attracting a female fae, anyway?”
My polar bear squared off his shoulders and bared his teeth as if when he were trying to impress a would-be mate.
“Fine. I know you’re a handsome bear, Nanok. I swear, you’re always fishing for damn compliments.” Grinning sidelong at him, chuffing again, I turned my gaze to the skies.
The evening drew closer, and I knew it was about time for her to switch shifts with her assistant.
With any luck and a whole lot of wishing on a winter’s star, she’d go straight back to her cottage for the night.
I couldn’t wait any longer. My kingdom, my people, couldn’t wait any longer.
And I’d gone long enough without a mate, a companion, a lover.
I wanted to make her my world, destroy anything that’d dare harm her, and show the entire winter kingdom why they, too, should cherish her the same way.
Hooves scraped the ground, putting me on alert, but those antlers put me at ease. I’d recognize those icy wonders anywhere—Fintan. As relieved as I was, it was him, not something attempting to attack us again. It also deflated me. If Fintan was out wandering the woods, it meant Sylvie wasn’t home.
Fintan stood motionless for a beat, his jaw rotating as he munched on berries that survived the frost. He moved closer and bumped his head against my arm.
“Hey now, buddy, what are you doing?” I dodged his sharp antlers from scraping my skin.
Fintan blew a puff of air through his nostrils before bumping into me again, this time harder and in a specific direction.
His strength was enough to make me stumble forward.
I gawked at where he wanted me to go—Sylvie’s cottage.
Letting Fintan lead the way, I willfully followed behind him, Nanok at my heels.
When we stepped over the hill, Sylvie’s home coming into view, a breath caught in my throat.
She wasn’t inside like I’d expected her to be, but sat at a frozen pond’s edge, dressed in a snow-white dress, a lace overlay littered with snowflakes amassing the ground around her.
Her head turned to look at me as if she could sense my presence, and those striking amethyst eyes blazed from the blanket of white surrounding her.
Fintan nudged me again. I waved him off, slipping my hands in my pockets as I made the rest of the way to her. I was barefoot, the same as she, and the sight pulled an emphatic grin to my lips.
“I’m sorry I didn’t come to you sooner. You wanted Jack, and my creature is—” I scratched the back of my head. “—demanding as of late.”
Sylvie rose, her eyes roaming the parts of the monster that remained. “I can see that.”
“Have you—” Spotting the tear in Sylvie’s wing, making a portion of it bend, I lurched forward. “Sylvie, your wing.”
My brave mate shook her head and glanced behind her. “It’s nothing.”
“It causes you pain. That is not nothing, faerie,” I countered, lifting my hand to it and stilling her with a firm grip on her shoulder when she startled. “I’d never hurt you.” Willing my ice blue magic toward the tear, it healed in a spiral of snow until it appeared as if nothing had happened.
Sylvie gasped and flapped her newly repaired wings, a resplendent smile that I put there gracing her face. “Thank you. I didn’t know you could do that.”
“I can’t do that for everyone.” I recoiled my hand, resisting the urge to feel her skin. “Just—”
“Your mate,” she finished for me, her eyes gleaming at the mention of that.
My heart throbbed in my chest with the ease with which she said it.
“Jack, I’m going to ask you one question, and I want you to be honest with me.” Sylvie quirked a blonde brow, awaiting my agreement.
“Alright.”
She stepped closer, dragging the lace train behind her. “When I offered you that cupcake. Were you going to take a bite of it before telling me it would be me accepting our bond?”
My blood froze, and I clenched and unclenched my hands several times. There was no point in lying about it. Either I lied and she saw through my bullshit, or I told her the truth and she’d forgive me or tell me to take a hike. Either way, I’d know.
“At first, no, I wasn’t going to tell you because I wanted you tethered to me no matter what the cost.”
Her throat bobbed, and a frown formed on those gorgeous, plump lips.
“But, right before the frost goblins attacked, I was riddled with guilt, and I wasn’t going to take a bite.” Risking it, I took Sylvie’s hand in mine and brought it between us, pressing a chilled kiss to her knuckles. “And that’s the truth.”
Sylvie slowly nodded, her faerie magic surrounding us in shimmers of cerulean, silver, and white.
She produced an identical cupcake to the one she’d offered the first time and held it up to me.
“Then take a bite and join me for a soak.” She edged her head past the pond where a small hot spring resided, surrounded by snow-covered moss and grey stones.
My chest squeezed, tightened, and the creature’s carnal desires surged, knowing what this all meant.
Keeping our gazes locked, I took a bite, blue frosting covering my lips and the tip of my nose.
Sylvie stood on her toes and delicately slid her tongue over my lips, licking away the icing, followed by sucking the tip of my nose.
She backed away, working down the shoulders of her dress, displaying those perfect, porcelain breasts. The seduction waltzing in her eyes was like she’d done this act a hundred times over. The fact that this was new territory for her, however, mesmerized me.
Sylvie sauntered to the hot spring, letting the dress fall past her ass and onto the snowy bank before dipping a toe into it. She beckoned me with a single finger.
My mate may have never been entirely with a male, and may not have the experience to back her brazen display, but my creature growled at the sight of her naked form disappearing into the steamy water. As I followed her, I knew she was blossoming into a seductress because of me.