Chapter 32
CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
ISLA
A sher stays silent the entire way to the conservatory, and with most of the pack still out on the run, there’s no one to see us as we move quietly through the castle.
His grip on my hand is beginning to make my fingers numb, but I don’t dare attempt to wiggle them. Not when I know he’s teetering the line between going feral or breaking down completely.
I’m not far behind him in that aspect now that the adrenaline is starting to wear off. Someone tried to kill me. Again. Worse, I have no clue why.
Estee and I came up with different scenarios earlier, but after five hundred years, I still don’t understand why someone would see me as a threat.
Jealousy makes the most sense, as my sister mentioned, but how could that kind of emotion be driving someone that insane after all this time?
Walking up the last set of steps on the east side of the castle, I know that’s not an answer I need to worry about now.
My focus returns fully to Asher. Though as we enter the glass-dome room, I do find myself uncontrollably distracted by its beauty.
The clear roof glows a soft silver under the light of the twin moons and the stars feel so close that, as they twinkle, I’m tempted to reach out and grab one.
We step down on to the inset floor. There are multiple telescopes placed throughout the room, each one pointing in a different direction. The black carpet has the silver insignia of Polaris placed at the center of the room and with the door closed behind us, the only sound I hear is the rapid beating of our two hearts.
Asher tugs me closer, holding my face with the utmost care as he stares into my eyes, his gaze shimmering with all the emotions I already sense through our bond. “You’re okay.”
I grab one of his hands and place it over my chest. “I really am. I’m sorry, Asher. It was a stupid idea to begin with, but I wasn’t?—”
His mouth crashes against mine, rendering me speechless for more than one reason. He keeps his one hand pressed over my heart and uses the other to pull me closer, covering the lower part of my back with his palm.
My fingers grip on to his white dress shirt as he devours me not only with his mouth, but his mind and the love pulsing through our bond.
He still shakes with pent-up emotions, so I do the only thing I can think of to calm him. I start to undress him, never allowing my touch to leave his body, no matter where my hands move .
He continues to kiss me, making my skin shiver even before he finally starts to push the straps of my dress down, revealing every piece of me, one slow inch at a time.
Only when we’re both stripped free of our clothes does he finally break the kiss. “I can’t lose you, Isla. Not now, not within the next five hundred years. I need the time we lost back. I need you. Nothing else matters if I don’t have you by my side and in my heart.”
“I’m not going anywhere,” I promise him. “Until we figure this out, you can consider me an extension of yourself. I won’t leave you, not for one second.”
His forehead presses to mine and he brushes his lips over the tip of my nose. “I’m going to hold you to that.”
Asher picks me up and I wrap my legs around his waist, wiggling against his hard length as he walks us toward the lounge couch near the row of telescopes. As he lays me down, I can’t help but look up. A contentment that I don’t expect after the evening’s events settles into me.
The moonlight that comes through the glass feels as though it’s seeping into my skin, igniting a power within me that promises nothing will ever take me from this life again. Not the way I was ripped away before.
Goosebumps cover my arms and I close my eyes, taking a deep breath. The connection with Asher, the force of the moons, the thrum of my wolf’s strength, all of that combined takes away the last of my fears as I look back into Asher’s gaze. It’s as if we both feel relief from the terror of losing one another.
“We’re going to be okay,” I say, lifting my head to kiss him again .
He doesn’t respond with words. Instead, he slides a hand under my ass, lifting me up as he kisses his way down the front of my chest. His other hand covers my center, using two fingers to slip between my folds and making me gasp.
With my head and back arched, Asher nips at my skin, his teeth scraping over my nipple, detonating all my senses. I reach for him, desperate for another kiss, but he doesn’t budge.
As his fingers make my pussy ignite with desire, his mouth brings me to the point of insanity, and I don’t know where I’m supposed to keep my focus. Muscles begin to coil, my core turning into a swirling tornado of lust that suddenly explodes.
My cries echo around the room and I can barely breathe as my chest heaves. My body is on fire, only partially satisfied, even though that might have been the most powerful orgasm I’ve ever had.
When my vision becomes clear again, Asher is leaning over me, a smile finally back on his face. “Thank you. I not only needed this, but so did my wolf.”
“You never have to thank me for letting you love me,” I tell him, holding his cheeks as my thumbs stroke over his stubble. “I need this just as much as you do.”
“We’re only just getting started, love.” The deep timbre of his voice moves over my body, his words branding me with the promise of a future filled with lifetimes of joy.
Reaching between us, my fingers wrap around his cock and my thumb rubs over the milky tip. “Now, I want all of you.”
“You’ve always had that, even when you didn’t realize it,” he says, making me fall in love with him all over again, even though that’s not what I meant. Though his actions still respond to my previous statement, rendering me speechless.
Wrapping his hand around mine, he helps me guide him toward my waiting pussy. I release my grip and slide my palm over his ass, pushing him forward until his dick is fully submersed. Only then, and when I’m seconds from feeling as though there’s a real possibility that he might break me in two, do I stop encouraging him deeper.
He starts to move over me, hitting deeper with every thrust, but it isn’t enough for me. My hands press over his chest, forcing him to roll onto his side, then his back.
I expect some resistance as I take control, but then again, Asher never was one to feel inferior with me being in the lead. He’s always respected my worth and made sure I’ve never forgotten that I’m not just his mate, that I won’t be left to wait in the shadow of his greatness.
I was meant to be a queen.
I was meant to be his, just as he was meant to be mine.
And no one, no matter how many times they try, will change that.
As we settle into our new position, my thighs straddle him as I look down at the astonishing man beneath me. One who has suffered alone for so long, but no more. We’re in this together, now and for all eternity.
Rolling my hips forward, I place one palm over his chest, then lean down until I can capture his mouth with mine. Kissing briefly, I pull back only far enough to murmur, “Me and you.”
“Always and forever.” His whisper of those two words has me moving once again.
We used to say them before we ever shared “I love you”. We didn’t need those three words to know what the two of us had was more than just love.
Asher and I were written in the stars, a love fated for greatness. Our time apart doesn’t change that. If anything, it’s made me appreciate each moment more than I could have before.
I rock my body over his, the force of my weight pushing down on him and sending bolts of ecstasy racing through me. When he starts to lift up with his hips in time with my movements, I’m hit with exactly what I was looking for when I moved to be on top.
A completeness that I’ll never get anywhere else.
He pounds into me and I meet every one of his thrusts, pushing onto my knees and slamming down on him, over and over again, until the stars above us aren’t the only ones I see.
With my head tilted back, Asher takes advantage and grabs a fistful of my long strands. He moves to sit up and wraps my legs around him, keeping our contact close. Once he has a good hold on me, he leans against the back of the couch and my movements increase in speed. I’m right on the edge of the most glorious cliff and there’s no stopping me from flying.
I grind against my mate, loving him with everything I have and then some. His grip moves to my hips and he somehow hits deeper, driving into me with an unmatched intensity.
“Fuck,” I moan between clenched teeth, every muscle within my body tightening to the point of a pain that I don’t want to let go of until I can no longer control the release.
I cry out his name, my head hanging back, and the light of the moons once again washing over us. There’s a glow within the room that feels like magic. Hell, it probably is, considering how today has gone.
The gods might have stopped interfering in our world, but after allowing me to be cursed to Earth for so many damn years, letting Asher and me bond earlier outside of normal means was the least they could do.
Whoever is watching over us now better keep sprinkling that magic around us until we figure out how to make sure nobody else will ever tear us apart.
Once I’ve regained control of my body again, my eyes are on Asher’s face. His eyes are burning sapphires and I know he’s nowhere near done with me, but I need a minute to catch my breath. Plus, as much as I know we both needed this physical connection, my mind now needs to be soothed, and I tell him as much.
“I’m surprised you let me wait this long,” he says, kissing my neck and holding me tighter.
I angle my head, giving him more space to venture, even though we’re supposed to be talking. “You weren’t the only one hurting for the other.”
He pulls back to look at me. “I know and I’m sorry I yelled at you. It doesn’t matter if you’d intentionally put yourself into that situation or not, you deserve better from me. You’re your own person and it’s never my intention to think I can control your decisions.”
“But we’re a team,” I remind him, cupping his face. “I may have forgotten that when I was furious earlier while talking to Estee, but I know this now and you have no reason to apologize for your reactions. It was too close of a call tonight and now you need to tell me what you know about Noen and Declan. Why should I run if I see them? ”
He shakes his head. “Just Declan. We already have Noen. Mali found the two of them once we realized they weren’t present for the pack run.”
My stomach sinks. “Found them doing what?”
“Noen had a dark magic object, and they were arguing about getting rid of it before I found it because Noen knew I would kill them both without blinking,” Asher says, his tone sharp. “They’re right. If you hadn’t called for me… I was seconds from shredding Noen into pieces.”
I know that I suspected Noen, but hearing Asher’s words…that slices into my chest a little more than I expect.
“How did Declan get away?” I ask, then to be sure there aren’t three people we’re worried about, add, “That was him who attacked me, right?”
His grip on my hips tightens. “It was. Mali was waiting for me to get there before making himself known, but Declan mentioned something about needing to go before it was too late. Mali didn’t realize that meant he was planning to attack you, which is something my advisor is rather remorseful for not catching.”
I’ll have to remember to speak with Malimorte myself. If he’s the only other person Asher can depend on right now, we need him fully focused, not feeling guilty.
“So, you didn’t get to talk to Noen?” I ask, needing any of this to make sense to me.
“I was only there long enough to get my hands around his neck,” he says, shaking his head. “He’s been trying to get through to me since I found you, but I’m blocking him out. Unless he’s going to tell us where Declan went, I have nothing to say to him.”
“Maybe I can get the information out of him,” I say, and I can see the objection on Asher’s face before he even opens his mouth, but I hold my finger over his lips and continue. “With him chained and with you right on the other side of the door, I’d be perfectly safe. But if he truly did this, Asher, we both know why, which means I hold the most power over him.”
“You have no idea how much I fucking hate that you’re right,” he says between clenched teeth.
“I know.” I trace my finger over his chest, following the dips and curves of his defined muscles. “And if it weren’t the quickest way to find Declan, then I wouldn’t suggest it, but I’d rather find him and have this be over and I think you agree.”
“Furiously so.” He stands quickly, making me squeal. His hands hold on to my ass, keeping him fully seated within me as he switches our positions again. “I’m done talking about them, love. This night is for us. I have Mali recruiting our best trackers to look for Declan and Noen isn’t going anywhere. Tomorrow will be soon enough to deal with them ourselves.”
I open my mouth to respond, but he nearly pulls out of me, only to slam forward again, stealing all the air from my body and replacing it with pleasure.
Tomorrow might even be too soon.