Chapter 26
CADE
Rowan opens the door, and for a moment, I forget how to breathe.
She’s not in training gear, not hidden behind bruises and sweat, but in dark jeans and a top that catches the faint light of dusk like it was crafted just to tease me.
Her hair falls loosely over her shoulders, soft waves brushing her collarbone, and her eyes—gods help me—still glow faintly from the energy humming under her skin.
She doesn’t even try, and still, she steals the air from my lungs.
Tonight is supposed to be about furthering her training. About teaching her to feel the energy in the land, to learn how to draw on it instead of letting her own power burn her alive. That was the plan.
Sensible. Controlled. Safe.
But looking at her now, I know I’m in way over my damn head.
Claim her, my wolf urges, the voice rough velvet in my mind. She’s ours. The bond is screaming for it. Why keep resisting?
Because she’s not ready, I snap back. I’d never force this choice on her.
My wolf growls low, disapproving, but I lock my jaw and force myself to move. I get why he’s so impatient. After spending hours, skin to skin, with our mate while going through combat moves in our two forms, it’s been the hardest on him.
He might be evolved and sentient, but at his core, he’s still a beast with needs.
And it’s my job to control him, but sometimes even I want to waver, like now.
If I stand here another second, I’ll do something reckless, like close the space between us and kiss her until we forget what the hell this evening was supposed to be about.
“Are you ready?” I manage, though the words scrape low in my throat.
Her lips twitch, eyes narrowing as she seems to take in my black pants and t-shirt. “I thought we weren’t combat training tonight?”
Is that disappointment I hear in her voice? The corner of my mouth almost betrays me with a smile.
I clear my throat, needing to center myself. “We’re not fighting tonight.”
Suspicion flashes across her face. “So this is…?”
“Still training.” The words come out sharper than I intend, so I soften them with the truth.
“But different. I want to take you somewhere quiet. There’s a creek on the far side of the property, a place where the ground hums with power.
If you’re going to learn how to control what’s inside you, you need to learn how to also utilize what’s around you. ”
Her brows rise. “So, mystical bonding with Mother Earth? I think I can handle that.”
A soft chuckle escapes her, and has me locking my knees. Even that simple act from her has the ability to destroy me, and she has no clue.
My wolf rumbles approval. Maybe tonight is when we finally show her.
I bite back the response that wants to rise—something far less appropriate than the lesson I planned—and motion toward the door. “Come on. You’ll see.”
Moving through the mansion, I lead her down the stairs, hoping we avoid seeing anyone, but that only lasts until we get to the lobby.
Iris is there, waiting with arms crossed, and her floral evening attire settling around her like an unattractive balloon. “Where do the two of you think you’re going?”
“Out,” I tell her curtly, still moving toward the door.
For an elderly woman, she’s faster than I give her credit for, and she steps in front of us. “If you think you’re leaving this house with my granddaughter without me knowing where, you’re sorely mistaken, Cade Westin.”
“We’re staying on the property, Iris,” Rowan cuts in as my chest begins to rumble. “You don’t need to worry.”
She eyes the two of us. “Uh-huh. Don’t do anything I would.”
Rowan groans, seeming to give Iris enough satisfaction to move out of our way.
The front doors part for us, and, in silent movements, it doesn’t take long for me to find the old, yet familiar, trail.
The path winds through the trees, moonlight slipping between the branches like silver threads.
Rowan keeps pace beside me, still quiet, though I can feel the weight of her gaze flicking toward me now and then.
Every time it happens, the bond tugs tight inside my chest, like an anchor trying to pull me under.
She wants you, too, my wolf murmurs, smug.
I grit my teeth and focus on the sound of the creek ahead. I can’t afford to let him be right, not yet.
We break through the last of the trees, and the sound of rushing water fills the clearing.
The creek glitters under the moon, tumbling over smooth stones.
Fireflies hover above it, their lights winking like sparks.
Rowan inhales softly, her wolf humming just loud enough for me to have the sound thrumming along my skin.
“It’s beautiful,” she whispers.
“It’s also strong,” I add, gesturing toward the water. “Energy runs through places like this. Normally, this isn’t something a wolf shifter would learn, but your makeup isn’t like others. You also need to know how to connect with what’s around you.”
She steps closer to the bank, crouching to dip her fingers in. The moment her skin touches the surface, the air changes—thicker and charged. My wolf rises further up within me, satisfied.
And then we both see it.
Next to the water, half-hidden in the rocks, a flower blooms in slow motion. Midnight petals unfurl, glowing faintly silver under the moonlight as if the light itself is feeding it. I blink, because I’ve walked this creek a hundred times and never once seen anything like it.
Rowan turns wide eyes on me. “Is that supposed to happen?”
“No.” My voice is low, roughened by something I don’t want to name. “That’s new.”
The petals keep stretching toward her, like the flower recognizes her.
It’s for her, my wolf says reverently. The land is answering her call.
My chest tightens as I watch her reach toward it, the moonlight painting her skin in a shimmering glow. She looks otherworldly, untouchable—and yet she’s mine. Though not how it matters most.
I’ve already taken a step closer before I realize I’m moving. “Careful, Rowan.”
She glances back, a smirk tugging at her lips. “Careful? With a flower? What’s it going to do, bite me?”
Better her bite you, my wolf grumbles.
I ignore him, but I can’t overlook the way the air shifts when her fingers brush the petals. The creek seems to inhale. The flower flares more vibrantly, midnight bleeding into blue, then silver, and Rowan gasps as if something invisible just surged into her veins.
Her aura swells, a low hum building in the air like static before a storm.
The fine hairs along my arms stand on end, and through the bond I catch the sharp edge of it—wild, raw power filling her too fast. She doesn’t realize it yet, but I can feel it pressing against my chest, warring with the bond that connects us together.
“Rowan.” My voice roughens with the strain of holding back my own wolf, who’s clawing to get closer. “You’re pulling it in too fast.”
She shudders, biting her lip, her body vibrating faintly under the night’s glow. “It’s—it feels like…lightning. It’s everywhere. I can’t stop it.”
The earth’s energy pulses toward her greedily, but I step forward until my shadow swallows hers, and low enough that my voice rumbles in her ear.
“Listen to me carefully, Rowan.” I place a hand on her shoulder to put a crack in the connection she’s formed.
“You’re taking too much on. I don’t know if it’s your Hollowborn energy that has the earth so drawn to you, but if you’re not careful, it’ll keep filling you until you burn from the inside out. You need to let it go.”
She frowns, still crouched by the water, her breaths sharp and uneven. “Let it go where? I don’t exactly see an outlet labeled for mystical overflow anywhere around here.”
My first instinct is to yank her back, to sever the link before it swallows her whole, but jerking her away could burn her out faster. My gut twists. I should have been more careful, eased her into this. Now I can only pray I haven’t made a mistake that further hurts her.
I drop beside her, my arm anchoring around her stomach, my other hand wrapping her wrist just above the water’s edge. The creek ripples as her aura vibrates against it, scattering moonlight across the surface like shattered glass. Slowly, carefully, I draw her back into me.
“Do you feel the hum from the dirt beneath us?” My voice is harsher than I intend, thanks to my growing panic, but she doesn’t seem to take offense as she shakes her head, jaw locked tight.
“Search harder. It’s there. Listen past the water. Taste the earth, the grit of it. That’s your outlet. Push into it. It might hurt like hell, but it’ll give you the relief you need.”
I don’t actually know all of that from personal experience. Wolves don’t bond with the earth in the sense of drawing power, only healing. Yet, I’d had this idea earlier today that Rowan might need to with the extra energy she seems to have.
Now I might have just caused my mate more harm.
Her entire body trembles against me, heat radiating off her skin like she’s running a fever.
“It’s like fire in my chest,” she chokes out, eyes squeezed shut, lips trembling as if she’s holding back a scream.
“Move it down, through your core, past your stomach, to your legs, then push it out through your feet. Trust me, Rowan. You can do this.” My grip tightens, maybe too much, but if she flies apart, I’m going with her.
Her skin burns hotter under my hand, and dread scratches at my ribs until the water finally stirs. First a tremor, then a violent swirl, like the creek itself is responding to her. A cyclone shoots up, silver and wild, until the spray lashes out.
It’s an explosion of water that thrashes around, drenching us both, until the pressure breaks in a rush that knocks her back into my chest. We tumble onto the grass, her body limp but alive in my arms.
“Rowan.” My heart hammers loudly as I cradle her head, brushing wet strands of hair from her face. Her chest rises and falls, shallow but steady. “Rowan, open your eyes.”
A hum escapes her, soft and low, and her lashes flutter before she peers up at me with a dazed smile. Her eyes glow faintly silver, alive with power. “I’m not eager to do that again,” she whispers, voice roughened by exhaustion. “But holy shit.”
Relief cuts me open. Still, I press. “But you’re okay?”
“More than.” She pushes herself upright, her wet clothes plastered to her skin. “Once the pain stopped, it was exhilarating. The earth—it’s so vast. Wild, but steady. Like it doesn’t care what I am or what I’ll be. We just belonged together.”
The desire to kiss her has never been stronger. Her lips hover only inches away, parted just enough to torment me. I reach up, brushing more wet strands from her cheek, and my fingers linger, tracing the line of her jaw as though I have any right.
Her gaze locks on mine, and the exhilaration from moments ago shifts into something heavier—hotter. A hunger that coils low in my gut, matched only by the pulse thundering in my veins. My wolf prowls at the surface, restless, claws scraping as if daring me not to act.
“Rowan.” Her name rumbles out of me, half-warning, half-prayer.
She nods, the movement subtle, almost shy, but her darkening stare betrays her. It flicks down to my mouth, then she wets her lips, as if inviting me to claim what’s already mine.
So, that’s exactly what I do.
I can’t hold back anymore. Not when she’s my mate—the other half of my soul—and looking at me like I’m the only thing connecting her to this world. The tension snaps, and I surge forward, threading my fingers through her tangled hair as I crash my mouth against hers.
The kiss is a collision, fierce and unyielding, but the second her hands clutch at my shirt, I’m undone. I deepen it, tilting her chin so she has no escape, sliding my tongue between her lips to taste her fully. Sweetness and fire. Controlled and untamed.
A growl tears from my chest, vibrating between us, low and primal. She answers with a whimper that sears straight through me, spurring me closer until there’s no space left at all.
The world narrows to the heat of her mouth, the slick slide of her tongue against mine, and the way she clings to me is more encouragement than I expect to continue.
My wolf howls his triumph, pressing hard against my control. Mate. Claim her. Now.
I force the beast back because, as much as I want to, I won’t ruin this moment by giving in to raw instinct alone. Rowan deserves more than just hunger. She deserves all the best parts of me.
As I do my best to give her just that, I know that nothing has ever felt so right than holding her like this.
Her fingers twist tighter into my shirt, and when she arches into me, the last thread of my restraint nearly snaps. Every part of me screams to give in—to let instinct take over and lay her down right here until the bond is sealed beyond question.
Our kiss turns hungrier, deeper, as if she’s breathing life into me and stealing mine in return. The heat of her lips, the rhythm of her body, the way she clings to me—it’s all-consuming. My wolf howls louder, once again testing the edges of my control.
I tear my mouth from hers with a ragged breath, my forehead pressing firm to hers. My chest heaves, lungs burning as if I’ve just run a battle gauntlet. She’s trembling, too, and when her eyes flutter open, I see the same storm inside her that’s ripping through me.
“Cade…” My name on her lips is a plea that I understand more than she knows.
I smooth my hand down the back of her head, forcing myself to steady even as every nerve in me riots for more. “If we keep going…” My voice is hoarse.
Her breath hitches, but her nod tells me all I need to know. Though the heat in her gaze doesn’t dim, she’s not ready for this to go any further, and I won’t have my mate regret any part of being with me.
Slowly and painfully, I pull back just enough to give her space. Her lips are swollen, cheeks flushed, and her eyes glow faintly in the moonlight. Gods help me, she’s never looked more tantalizing—or more mine.
The bond practically screams between us, alive and relentless, but I cage it down, burying my wolf’s innate desires.
Thank you, he tells me. We won’t hurt her, especially by losing control. She deserves more than hunger and instinct.
At least he’s finally seeing reason.
I press one last kiss to her forehead, lingering longer than I should. “How about we head back?”
She takes my offered hand, and together we stand back up and begin the walk back to NightShade.
Tonight, restraint wins.
But based on the way Rowan’s still looking at me, I can’t promise that will happen a second time. For either of us.