Chapter 4
Thane
The mountain changes moods faster than any creature I've known.
By dusk the blue sky's gone gray, the air thick with the promise of snow. Wind claws at the shutters, trying to get in. Inside, the fire burns low and gold, throwing shadows that climb the walls. She sits in front of it, curled in one of my furs, hair loose, eyes fixed on the flames.
I shouldn't be this close.
But every instinct wants her nearer. Wants her safe. Wants her to be mine.
I spent most of the day outside, away from her, only coming in to prepare meals for her. I made all my favorites for her—roasted hare, venison steak and wild mushrooms, sweet mountain berries—and she seemed to enjoy them all. My human has a hearty appetite.
I set down the axe I've been pretending to sharpen. "You should rest."
She glances back, half-smiling. "Every time you tell me to rest, you end up pacing all night. Doesn't seem fair."
The sound that escapes me is half-laugh, half-growl. "You notice too much."
"I'm a writer. Noticing is my job."
When I crouch beside her, the air shifts. Heat, smoke, her scent—sweet and alive—wraps around me. The wind howls harder outside, and the cabin answers with its own rhythm: fire crackle, heartbeat drum.
"Storm's back," she whispers.
"It won't touch you." I mean it. "Not while I'm here."
She turns, close enough that firelight paints amber across her skin. "You keep saying things like that."
"Like what?"
"Like promises."
I swallow hard. "They are promises."
Silence hums between us, thick and waiting. She lifts a hand, fingertips brushing the scar on my jaw. The touch is tentative, then bolder when I don't pull away. My body goes taut, every muscle tuned to her.
"Thane..." Her voice trembles. "Why does it feel like I already know you?"
Because you do. Because you were made for me. Because the mountain whispered your name into my blood even before you were born.
"Because you're mine," I say, the truth slipping free. "My Thurok'hai."
She blinks, breath catching. "That word. It means—?"
"Fated mate." The words come rough. "It means I will spend my life keeping you warm. Keeping you safe."
Her pupils flare. "And if I’m not sure I believe in fate?"
"Then let me convince you."
The fire pops, sending sparks upward. She leans in first, small hands pressing against my chest. Her mouth grazes mine—soft, uncertain—and I'm gone. Her lips fit perfectly against mine, my tusks gently brushing her cheeks. The world shrinks to heat and breath and the taste of her.
When I deepen the kiss, she gasps, opening for me. Her tongue meets mine tentatively, then with growing confidence. The small sound she makes in the back of her throat goes straight through me.
I pull back just enough to look at her. Her lips are swollen, cheeks flushed, eyes dark with desire. "Lila," I say, my voice scraped raw. "I need you to understand what this means."
She reaches up, tracing the line of a tusk with one finger. The gesture is so gentle, so accepting, it nearly undoes me. "Tell me."
"The bond—Thurok'hai—it's not just words.
" I take her hand, press it flat against my chest where my heart hammers.
"I can feel you here. Like you're part of me already.
Your fear, your warmth, your—" I stop, struggling for human words.
"When you're happy, something in me settles.
When you're frightened, I want to destroy whatever caused it. "
"Is it magic?" she whispers.
"The mountain's magic. Old magic. Older than my kind, older than yours." I slide my hand along her jaw, tilt her face up to mine. "It chose you for me. But you still have to choose to seal the bond. You have to choose me."
"What if—" She hesitates, and I can feel her pulse jumping under my thumb. "What if I'm not enough? I'm just human. I'm ordinary."
The laugh that escapes me is half-growl. "Ordinary.” I lean my forehead against hers. "You're not ordinary, Lila. You're brave and stubborn and mine."
"Yours," she echoes, testing the word.
"If you'll have me."
Instead of answering, she kisses me again. This time there's no hesitation. Her hands slide up my chest, mapping the planes of muscle, tracing scars. When her fingers find the laces of my shirt, she tugs.
"Show me," she says against my mouth. "Show me what it means to be yours."
I lift her easily, settling her more fully in my lap so she's straddling me. The position puts us nearly eye-level, and I watch her expression as I slowly unlace my shirt. Her gaze tracks the movement of my hands, then drops to my chest as I shrug the fabric off.
She's looking at me like I'm something precious. Like I'm not a creature that could break her with one hand. Her palms flatten against my chest, and I feel the bond pulse between us—a warmth that has nothing to do with the fire.
"You're beautiful," she whispers.
"Beautiful?" The word sounds wrong applied to me—to green skin and tusks and scars.
"Yes." She traces a particularly long scar that runs from my collarbone to my ribs. "What's this from?"
"A boar. Five winters ago."
"And this?" Her finger finds another.
"My brother Kroy. Training accident."
She leans forward, presses her lips to the scar. The tenderness of it steals my breath. She kisses her way across my chest, mapping scars with her mouth, and I sit perfectly still, letting her explore. Letting her accept me.
When she pulls back, her eyes are shining. "Your turn."
My hands shake as I reach for the hem of her shirt. "Tell me if you want me to stop."
"I won't."
I lift the fabric slowly, giving her time to change her mind.
She raises her arms and I pull it over her head, dropping it forgotten to the floor.
Firelight catches on her skin, turns it to gold and honey.
She's softer than anything on this mountain, curves where I'm angles, smooth where I'm scarred.
"Beautiful," I say, because now I understand the word. This is beautiful—trust and vulnerability and the way her breath hitches when I trail my fingers down her side.
I kiss her shoulder, her collarbone, the hollow of her throat where her pulse flutters. She arches into me, fingers threading through my hair. When my mouth finds her breast, she makes a sound that's half-gasp, half-plea.
"Thane—"
"I have you." I lay her back onto the furs, following her down. The firelight plays across her skin as I map her with my hands and mouth, learning what makes her sigh, what makes her fingers tighten in my hair, what makes her hips lift in silent plea.
She's responsive, unguarded. Every touch draws a reaction, and I'm drunk on the power of it. That I can make her feel this way. That she trusts me enough to let go.
I finish undressing her, marveling at how gorgeous she is. And when I slide my hand between her thighs, she's molten. Ready. The scent of her arousal thickens the air and the bond hums with her need. I stroke her carefully, watching her face, learning her body's language.
"Please," she breathes. "Thane, please—"
"Not yet." I gentle my touch, keeping her on the edge. "I want to know all of you first."
She makes a frustrated sound that becomes a moan when I lower my mouth to taste her.
She's sweeter than wild mountain berries, and the sounds she makes drive me to the edge of control.
Her thighs tremble on either side of my head.
Her fingers twist in my hair, not pulling away but holding me to her.
When she comes apart, she cries out my name like a prayer.
I take off my pants and kiss my way back up her body, settling my cock between her thighs. She's flushed and trembling, eyes dark and sated, but when she feels me against her, her hips tilt in invitation.
"Are you sure?" My voice comes out strained. "Lila, I need you to be sure."
She cups my face, brings me down for a kiss. "I already chose," she whispers against my lips. "The moment you carried me out of that fire."
I enter her slowly, carefully, feeling her body adjust to accommodate me. She's tight and hot and fucking perfect, and the bond sings between us—a golden thread pulling taut.
"You feel it?" I manage, holding still though every instinct screams to move. "The bond?"
"Yes." Her voice is awed. "It's like… like light. Like warmth spreading through my whole body."
"That's us," I tell her, pulling back only to thrust slowly home again. "That's what we are together."
We find our rhythm—slow at first, savoring each slide and grip. But the bond pulls tighter, the need building between us like the storm building outside. She wraps her legs around my waist, pulling me deeper, and I'm lost.
I press my forehead to hers, breathing her air, feeling her heartbeat sync with mine. "Mine," I growl.
"Yours," she gasps. "Yours, Thane—"
When she tightens around me, her release pulls mine from me like a tide. I follow her over the edge, the bond blazing between us. Sealing us, marking us, making us one.
After, I gather her against my chest, both of us slick with sweat and trembling. The fire burns low. Outside, the storm has reached its peak, but here in the circle of my arms, she's safe.
"That was—" She stops, laughs softly. "I don't have words. And I thought I was good with words."
"Neither do I." I press a kiss to her temple. “But with Thurok’hai, words aren’t necessary.”
She tilts her head up to look at me. In the dying firelight, her expression is soft, open. Vulnerable in a way that makes my chest ache. "What happens now?"
"Now?" I trail my fingers through her hair, untangling the knots I put there. "Now the bond settles. You'll feel it more clearly over the next few days. We'll be able to sense each other—emotions, general location. Not thoughts," I add quickly. "Your mind is still your own."
"But you'll always know where I am?"
"Within reason. And you'll know where I am." I search her face for fear, for regret. I find neither. "Does that frighten you?"
"No." She traces the line of my jaw, fingers gentle on my skin. "It feels right. Like it was always supposed to be this way." She pauses. "Is it always this intense? With Thurok'hai bonds?"
"I don't know," I admit. "The others—my brothers—they've never described it to me. It's private. Sacred." I cup her cheek. "But I know I've never felt anything like this. Like I'm complete for the first time."
Her eyes shimmer with unshed tears. "I came up here to escape. To hide from a life that wasn't working. I thought I'd write my way through it, create happy endings for fictional characters since I couldn't find one for myself."
"And now?"
"Now I think maybe I was running toward something instead of away." She smiles, blinking back tears. "Toward you."
The words settle into my chest, warm and true. I kiss her, slow and deep and reverent. When I pull back, I'm smiling. "The mountain has a sense of humor. Sending me a woman who writes romance stories about monsters like me."
She laughs, the sound bright in the quiet cabin. "You’re the least monstrous man I’ve ever met. And none of the heroes in my stories came anywhere close to being as wonderful as you.”
I roll us carefully, pulling her on top of me and wrapping us in furs. She sprawls across my chest, head tucked under my chin, fitting against me like she was carved for this purpose.
"Thane?" Her voice is drowsy.
"Mmm?"
"Thank you for saving me."
"Thank you for letting me." I tighten my arms around her. "Sleep now. The storm will pass by morning."
"And then?"
"Then we decide together what comes next."
She yawns, burrowing closer. "Together. I like that."
I lie awake long after her breathing evens out, feeling the bond pulse steady between us, gold and warm and certain. Outside, the storm rages. Inside, wrapped in furs with my mate sleeping trustingly in my arms, I finally understand what my brothers tried to tell me.
This isn't just love. It's home.
"Thane," she murmurs sleepily, "I’m a believer now. Fate really did bring us together.”
“Yes, my sweet Lila, it did.”