Chapter 36
ISLA
Isla awoke to a nudge against her face and a kiss of sunlight across her brow. Slowly, she cracked open her eyes, lifting her cheek from Kai’s chest. She’d been using him as a mattress after they’d spent the night in a heap of blankets before their fireplace.
Last night, in preparation for their first time apart since they’d been mated, downing wine had led to soft kisses and caresses, which then became the stripping of clothes, then finally, her legs wrapped around Kai as he blew the world away.
Isla’s vision cleared to find the bak pup as she typically did these past mornings, stubbed tail wagging, red eyes innocently gazing at her as if she were its entire world.
“Good morning,” she whispered.
A glance up beyond Kai’s still-slumbering features revealed the little sleep space she’d crafted him by the glass doors to their veranda. Isla had grabbed every blanket she could find, and the bak had tunneled a hole into them like a den.
He sniffed before padding forward on his notably clawless paws and shoved his head in the confined space beneath the brawny arm that had been looped around Isla’s back.
He pushed Kai’s arm up until her mate roused just enough for him to get beneath it.
As he snuggled in, Kai’s eyes fluttered open.
Confusion painted his face, then a mildly concerned smile when he took in Isla’s beaming grin. “Good morning, beautiful.”
The gravelly baritone of his voice in the morning never failed to send a shiver down her spine.
“Morning, handsome,” she cooed too sweetly for him not to frown.
He began to mouth something like what did you do when he finally clocked the leathery hide of something beneath his arm. He lifted it, and the bak yipped in protest. “Every morning that I wake up, I cannot believe this is real.”
Isla ran a hand over the bak’s head to get it to settle. He sidled closer to Kai’s side. She laughed, laying her own head back on his chest. “He is cuddly, isn’t he?” she said to the bak.
“Goddess, this is madness,” Kai murmured, relaxing his head back to stare at the ceiling.
Isla felt his fingers stroke down her naked spine.
“Perhaps. He also seems to enjoy your heat. Maybe he can take my place in the bed while I’m gone.”
Kai lifted his head, meeting her eyes, unamused. “Funny. And I don’t need the reminder.”
“I’m leaving in a few hours,” Isla said, and Kai dramatically shushed her. She chuckled. “You made it twenty-five years without me. You can survive a few days.” She pretended the words didn’t feel like a blow to her chest.
“I don’t remember what life was like before you, and I don’t want to.”
“Oh, you can do better than that.”
Kai’s chuckle reverberated through her body, and Isla sucked in a breath when he flipped them over, pressing her back into the floor and settling between her legs. His elbows bracketed either side of her head as he pressed his weight down onto her, her body igniting in response.
The bak stared at them, his head cocked to the side.
“Can you give us a minute?” Kai asked, and somehow understanding, the creature got to its paws and padded back to its burrow.
Kai watched him the whole way, bewilderment twisting his features before he hung his head and just…
laughed. It was something genuine that warmed her heart. “What the hell, Isla?”
Isla beamed, running her fingers through his curls, pushing them back from his face. “At this point, we should name him.”
“This is sounding more and more permanent,” Kai said, trying to sound stern, but those dimples bracketed his smile. Isla brushed her thumbs over them. “You do realize that he’s going to grow into a ferocious monster three times our size. A monster we’ve killed many of.”
That fact felt like a weight on her chest. “Well, right now, he’s a baby without a mother, and if he didn’t have us, he would die.”
“He’s a baby monster.”
“Maybe not.” Isla shrugged as she adjusted beneath him, her skin gliding along his. “Monsters are made.”
That seemed to strike a chord with Kai. Though still, he argued, “Instinct is instinct. He could hurt someone.” But then his features fell as a wave of thoughts and emotions passed over his face.
“We’ll talk about it when you get back.” He kissed her once, chastely on the mouth, and when he pulled back, he said, “You’re ready. ” Not a question.
Isla’s stomach clenched. “Verena will not have great things to say about Io or my father. I just can’t lose it. I need to detach myself, make them nothing to me.” When they meant everything. “Do you think she’ll speak plainly with me about the rebels? About what she wants?”
“I hope so. But I want you to be safe.”
Isla tsked. “When have I not been?” Kai raised a brow, and her beam widened. Wrapping her arms around his neck and her legs around his waist, she pulled him closer. “I’ll be safe, I promise. Ameera will be with me.”
He brushed his nose against hers. “Okay.” His kiss was soft and simple, but his following movements weren’t so pure. He moved to her jaw, her neck, between her breasts. Then to one, then the other.
Isla breathed a moan, arching into his mouth. “What are you doing?” she asked, even if it was obvious.
He blazed a trail down her stomach, peppered kisses on her hips, gripped her thighs, and kissed her skin before settling her legs over his shoulders. He smirked up at her. “A little parting gift.”
Even his wash of breath over her center had her bucking.
And then Kai leaned forward, sweeping his tongue over her once with that featherlight softness that drove her absolutely mad.
Isla let out a blissful sigh, fingers burying in his hair, undulating hips steadied by a firm hand on her coiling lower belly. She kept her eyes locked on his.
He kept things slow and soft, devouring her delicately yet holding her tight until her nerves were raw, until her skin tingled, until just one more perfect stroke would topple her over the precipice he’d gradually taken her to.
But he’d prevented that somehow, allowing the pressure to build, build, and build, her breaths becoming shallower as her muscles strained and her back arched.
Her nails dug into his scalp, her thighs squeezing, but his mouth—biting, licking, and kissing—was as relentless as his name slipping off her lips.
Let go, beautiful. She swore she heard the words—felt them—through their recovering bond.
And let go she did.
Isla had one thing she wanted to do before she left for Mimas: find Sebastian. Though she was trying not to let it cloud her thoughts, the last time she’d seen their father still weighed heavily on her heart, and if anyone understood him like she did, it was her brother.
Sebastian hadn’t been in his guest suite or anywhere else in the House, and it took asking the staff to learn he’d gone for a run in the nearby forest.
So, Isla had made her way to the woodland, perched herself on a moss-covered boulder, tall enough that her feet couldn’t reach the ground, while she waited for her brother to return.
The crunch of leaves and twigs beneath heavy feet and labored breaths hit her first. Not long after, Sebastian crested the hillside, his body dampened with sweat and his golden hair half-pulled back to keep out of his face.
He skidded to a halt, his eyes wide and his hands going to his hips as he caught his breath. “Pudge?” A warm, sly smile broke across his face. “What are you doing here, Your Majesty?”
Her title shouldn’t have grated her so thoroughly. She resisted the urge to ask him to drop the formalities and swung her feet several times, knocking her heels against the rock’s surface. “Looking for you.”
Sebastian’s smile faltered. “Well, that can’t be good.” He wiped his brow once with his equally damp forearm before going for his shirt, which he’d removed and tucked partly into the waistband of his loose running pants. “Are you here to tell me to be on my best behavior while you're gone?”
Isla held in her laugh, leaning back and pressing her hands into the soft moss behind her. “Maybe I should be.”
“Don't worry. I’ll be a model citizen.”
“Sure you will.”
All he gave in return was a grin as he slung his shirt around his neck.
Isla, though less devilish, found herself returning it. She wouldn’t tell him outright if only to prevent stroking his ego, but she was grateful he’d asked to stay. A war of guilt and relief waged inside her, touched with fear.
Maybe she should’ve put her foot down and told him he couldn’t remain here, to keep him safe. She couldn’t imagine him being dishonorably cast out as a rogue, unable to join any other pack.
“Why did you want to stay?” she asked. “You know the consequences of being out of the pack longer than you’re supposed to be.”
If the worst ever came to be, she’d likely make him stay here in Deimos, taking the brunt of the consequences and fighting anyone who tried to take him away.
Sebastian’s features scrunched as if that were the dumbest question anyone had ever asked.
“Because you’re my little sister. A big, new house, a fancy title, a crown, and a mate who could probably kick my ass—those things don’t change that.
They haven’t really changed you.” He gripped both ends of his slung shirt and paced a few steps closer.
“You’re still terrible at asking for help and want to do everything on your own.
You never want anyone looking out for you because you don’t want to be a burden. You’re stubborn to a fault…”
Isla narrowed her eyes yet fought to keep a smile from creeping on her face. “Please, go on.”
Sebastian snickered. “I’m afraid we’d be out here all night, and you have a boat to catch.”
Isla lifted her eyes, seeking the sun’s position. She didn’t have much time left. “Are you afraid you upset Dad?” she asked. Not the subject she should be focused on.