Chapter Twenty-Two
Bast O’Connor
Soul Deep
Sunlight streams through the bedroom windows, turning droplets of water on Bridget’s skin to diamonds. She’s sprawled beneath me on the wet sheets, dark hair fanned out like spilled ink, and my wolf purrs at the sight. Mine. Finally, completely mine.
Each breath she takes echoes in my chest like a second heartbeat. Each small movement sends ripples of awareness through my heightened senses.
“You’re staring,” she whispers, her lips curving into a smile that makes my heart stutter.
“Can’t help it.” I trace the curve of her cheek, watching how she leans into my touch.
My heart races with anticipation—I want to complete the final bond that will tie us together forever.
Memories of the fight flash through my mind.
Her breaking through impossible wards. Her magick pouring into me, saving my life.
Her choosing me over everything she’d ever known.
Part of me worries she might hesitate, might need more time. My wolf knows she’s ready, but the man in me is still holding his breath.
Her hand comes up to cup my face. “What are you thinking about?”
“How you are mine.” The words come out rougher than I intend. “How I’m never going to let you go. How much I want to complete our bond so that when we go get your sister, I will be able to find you no matter what.”
Relief floods through me when her eyes light up. “I want that too.” Her fingers trail down my jaw, sending sparks across my skin. “I can’t imagine feeling more than what I do now, but if there’s more to experience with you… I want it too.”
I lean down to capture her mouth, pouring everything I feel into the kiss. She responds instantly, arching up against me as her fingers tangle in my hair. But this is about more than physical desire. This is about completion. About forever.
“There are ancient words,” I murmur against her skin. “A pledge that will bind us for life.” I trace the line of her jaw, feeling her pulse quicken beneath my touch.
She shivers beneath me, but through our connection, I feel only anticipation, desire, certainty. “Tell me,” she breathes.
I pull back slightly, needing to see her face for this. Her green eyes glow brighter than ever, like emeralds catching sunlight. Her fingers trace the first set of tattoos on one of my wrists.
“Chun tú,” I say softly, watching her lips form the words after me. “It means ‘to you.’”
“Chun tú,” she repeats, the Gaelic flowing naturally from her tongue.
“Geallaim.” I press a kiss to her forehead. “I pledge.”
“Geallaim.” Her voice is stronger now, more certain.
“Mo chroí.” I take her hand, placing it over my heart. “My heart.”
“Mo chroí,” she echoes, her palm warm against my skin.
“Agus anam.” I let my weight settle more fully against her, skin to skin. “And soul.”
“Agus anam.” The words come out breathless as her body arches into mine.
“Go deo.” I brush my lips against hers. “Forever.”
“Go deo,” she whispers against my mouth.
The pulse of our shared magick tells me she’s memorizing each word, feeling the weight of what we’re about to do. Her hands come up to frame my face, and waves of love crash over me, so intense I can barely breathe.
“Together now,” I murmur, my forehead pressed to hers. Her certainty flows into me like warm honey, mingling with my own readiness to the extent that our emotions become seamless. The air around us grows heavy with magick, tingling against my skin.
Our voices twine together in the ancient pledge: “Chun tú Geallaim mo chroí agus anam go deo.”
The words ripple through the air like visible waves of heat, and magick surges between us. A burning sensation circles my wrist, just above the first set of tattoos. My chest swells with fierce joy as I watch through half-closed eyes—this is real, this is happening.
A second band of Celtic knots etches itself into my skin in shimmering emerald, marking me as hers just as surely as she is mine.
Pride and possessiveness surge through me as Bridget’s matching marks appear, the intricate patterns weaving themselves into existence.
My wolf howls in triumph inside me—we’ve claimed her, bound her, protected her in ways no one else ever could.
Her magick floods through me, no longer held back by any barriers. My wolf’s power answers, rushing to meet hers. Where they collide, something new is born—a perfect fusion of both our natures. The bond explodes with sensation, with emotion, with absolute certainty.
Mine. Yours. Ours. Forever.
Bridget cries out, her back arching as the power crests. Her eyes blaze like green fire, and I feel everything she feels—wonder, joy, completion. Love so deep it defies description. The final pieces of ourselves clicking into place.
“I feel you,” she whispers in awe, her hands tracing patterns on my chest. “Everywhere. In every part of me.”
“Because you are every part of me.” I capture her mouth. Everything feels heightened—each brush of skin, each shared breath. The completed bond hums between us like a living thing, pulsing with our shared heartbeats.
I feel her joy as if it’s my own. Taste her pleasure on my tongue. Sense every flutter of emotion that crosses her mind. It’s overwhelming in the best possible way, this total unity of body and soul.
I run my fingers over her new tattoos, feeling the lingering warmth of the magick that created them. The wolf in me is utterly content for the first time in my life.
Neither of us can stop touching the new marks, watching how they shimmer when they catch the light. Everything feels heightened—each brush of skin, each shared breath. Our connection throbs between us like a second heartbeat, wild and fierce and eternal.
“It’s like I can feel your heartbeat inside my own chest,” Bridget whispers, her fingers tracing the lines of my face as if memorizing every detail.
“Because it beats for you.” I capture her wandering hand, pressing my lips to each fingertip. Her pulse jumps at the contact, and I feel the echo of her pleasure through our connection. “No one has ever done this to me, made me feel this way.”
Her body melts into mine as I trail kisses down her throat, tasting salt and steam on her skin. Her soft gasp becomes my own, my desire feeds into hers until it’s impossible to tell where one of us ends and the other begins.
“Bast…” She breathes my name like a prayer, her hands sliding down my back. The simple touch sends fire racing through my veins. Her desperate need matches my own.
“Mine,” I growl against her lips, letting my wolf side show in my eyes.
“Yours,” she agrees, her nails scraping lightly down my back. “Show me.”
The bond amplifies every sensation as I slide into her. We both gasp at the intensity—it’s different now, deeper. Not just physical pleasure, but so much more. The exchange of trust and love takes my breath away.
Wolf and witch, two halves of a whole finally united. Every spark of pleasure echoes between us, amplifying in an endless feedback loop. Her magick wraps around us both like silk ribbons of light. The scent of her surrounds me, forever imprinted into my soul.
“Oh, oh,” she breathes, her eyes wide with wonder. “Is it always going to be like this now?”
“Forever,” I promise, starting to move. The dual sensations nearly overwhelm me—my pleasure and hers tangling together until I can barely think. Her hands grip my shoulders tightly as I set a rhythm that has her crying out my name, her voice climbing higher with each thrust.
She’s approaching the edge. I can’t tell anymore if I’m feeling my own pleasure or hers—it’s all mixed together. We rise together, each moment more intense than the last.
“Let go,” I whisper against her throat. “I’ve got you. Always.” As she surrenders, a wave of release crashes over both of us. I hold her tight, cherishing the physical connection, as her breaths come in soft pants against my chest and her body quivers in the tender aftermath.
“That was…” Bridget trails off, seemingly unable to find words.
“Yeah.” I press a kiss to her temple, tasting the salt on her skin.
She shifts to look up at me, those incredible green eyes still glowing with power. Her fingers trace the double bands around my wrist, making the marks shimmer. “I can feel everything you’re feeling. It’s like…like you’re inside my soul.”
“Because I am.” I press my palm against hers, watching our fingers intertwine. “And you’re in mine. This is what a true mating bond is meant to be—complete unity. No walls, no secrets, no doubts.”
Through our connection, I feel her momentary flash of worry about her sister, followed immediately by fierce determination. “We’re stronger together now,” she says, her voice steady despite her concern. “When we go after Brianna—”
“Nothing will be able to stop us.” I tighten my arms around her, letting my certainty flow through our bond. “The Mathairs won’t know what hit them.”
She nestles closer, her body fitting perfectly against mine. “I never thought I could have this,” she whispers. “Love like this. Trust like this.”
“You have everything now,” I promise. “My heart, my soul, my strength—it’s all yours. And nothing they send at us will change that.”
We lie there in comfortable silence, watching the morning light play across our new marks, reminding me that time hasn’t stopped, no matter how much I might wish it. The real world waits just outside these walls—with its Delta Teams and rescue plans and looming war.
“We need to go.” The words come out like a growl against her hair, my arms tightening around her instinctively.
Every part of me rebels against leaving this bed, this moment.
But duty calls. “The pack needs your input on the incoming witches. And we have to prepare against another attack on the Gallaghers.”
“I know. I just wish we could stay here in the bubble and pretend reality doesn’t exist.”
“Same.” I brush a strand of hair from her face, marveling at how natural this feels—her in my bed, in my arms, in my soul.
She presses a kiss to my jaw before sitting up. “The sooner we deal with everything, the sooner we can come back here.”
I watch her gather our scattered clothes, admiring the way sunlight plays across her skin. The double bands on her wrists catch the light, reminding me that no matter what comes next, she’s mine. Finally, completely, irrevocably mine.
“Bast.” Her voice carries a hint of laughter. “Stop staring and get dressed.”
“Can’t help it.” But I force myself up, reaching for the clothes she holds out. “You’re beautiful, and you’re mine, and I’m allowed to appreciate that fact.”