THORN
The cheers still echo in my ears long after the circle clears. But when Ember trembles in my arms, her bite raw against her neck, my world shrinks to just her — sweat, blood, and the intoxicating scent of jasmine tangled with cedarwood. My mate.
Finally.
We stumble back to the castle where I guide her carefully down to the baths to get the blood and grime off of us.
My fingers thread through her hair as I peel brambles and leaves from it.
Ember releases a moan that has me hard in an instant.
Before I know it, her hair is clenched in my fist as I enter her from behind.
Bent over the edge of the bath, my teeth sinking into her skin as her moans echo against moist stone.
A little while later, we stroll back to my quarters, her legs weak, my own body still thrumming from the bond between us. The fire in the hearth glows low, shadows flicker across the walls. No longer do these walls reek of loneliness, no longer does my heart beat for just one.
She sinks onto the furs of the bed, her hair wild, lips swollen from my kisses. Gods, I’ve dreamed of this for a year. I kneel before her, brushing damp strands from her temple.
“You’re real,” I rasp, voice raw. “Not a dream. Not a ghost. Mine.”
Her hand slides over mine, eyes blazing despite her exhaustion. “Always.”
The knot of doubt that sat in my chest since last year — fear she didn’t want me — unravels. I climb into bed and press my forehead to hers, breathing her in, memorizing the steady rhythm of her heart.
For the first time in a year, I can sleep. Because she is beside me. Because the gods themselves saw her choose me.
By sunrise, the valley is alive with movement from the Aurora pack.
Wolves and humans alike crowd into the wide valley.
Some still wear the marks of bites, some glimmer with the afterglow of mating, but all line up with their new bonds.
As I glance around at the faces, none of the widows returned.
Either Ember killed them, or they ran mating into another pack to escape us.
I also don’t find Ash, Lucia’s brother, among them.
I stand at the front, Ember at my side. The scarlet bite at her throat is proof enough, but I place my hand over it anyway, daring anyone to look away. She’s not just mine, she’s theirs as well.
“Aurora pack,” I thunder, voice carrying into the morning.
“The gods have chosen. Your mates stand beside you. Your bonds are forged in blood, in trial, and in fire.” My gaze sweeps over them, then settles on Ember.
“This is Ember. My mate. Your Alpha’s mate.
The one the gods chose for me — for us.”
Her chin lifts, fierce and unyielding. There’s still blood under her nails where she tore into the widows, and I know my pack sees it too. They see what I already know: that she’s not just a pretty face to stand beside me, but a wolf to fear and stand at my side.
A cheer rises, first scattered, then swelling into a roar that shakes the stones. Wolves pound fists to chests and stamping feet against the grass.
I grip her hand, lifting it high. “Today we leave this valley behind. We return to the Aurora caves carved from ice and stone, where the mountains rise above the clouds and the wind will test your bones. That is our home.” I glance at Ember, pride swelling in my chest. “And now it’s yours too.”
Her eyes glimmer, fierce and terrified all at once, but she nods, unflinching.
Then she turns toward Roman, whose green eyes are prideful as he looks over at his sister.
He meets my eyes, and I nod to him as well.
We had discussed his interest in the Aurora pack on the night of the feast. I’d offered him a place in my pack anytime.
Today, Roman nods back, shuffling the satchel of books the priests allowed him to take onto his shoulder.
I’ve never known the priests to allow anything to leave the Ancient Castle.
Roman must have made a good impression on them.
The pack parts as we step forward, mated pairs falling into line behind us. I howl into the morning to signal departure; I can feel the shift in the air. This year’s trials are done. The gods have spoken.
With Ember at my side, the Aurora pack will be forever changed.