Chapter Twelve
Elske
Early morning crept through the shutters, soft and gold, brushing over his skin and catching the furs thrown half across the bed. The fire had burned low, with only a faint glow left in the hearth. I didn’t bother rekindling it.
Because Dierks’ body, warm and hard, was beside me. Or under. Or something in between. My body lay halfway on his, sated and for once, completely relaxed. He was awake. A lock of his tangled hair fell on his cheek, where his scar crossed it.
The edge of his mouth curved in a way that made my pulse stutter. The rumble of his words added heat. “Already morning.”
I smiled and drew a finger down his chest, tracing a scar that disappeared beneath the furs. “The keep’s still sleeping.”
“Thank the mother.” His fingers traced my throat, leaving warmth in their path, a hum low and sweet. It was meant to cuddle, not seduce, but he’d never been good at keeping one from the other. He certainly was doing it now, whether he knew it or not.
“The keep, and pretty much everyone else, will not rise for a while longer.”
The celebrations had gone long into the night, and some of it still lingered in the air. Mead. Smoke. Sweat. And laughter. A sound that had returned through the walls and the forest. It had faded now, but the feeling of something dangerously close to joy remained.
His stroke followed a trail down my back, onto my hip. And through the bond, I felt it. His calm. His wonder. His fire and his wolf that no longer raged–against one another, against the world.
And for a long time, our hearts were all the sound filling the room.
The kingdom breathed, the pack slept, and the new day found us where we were supposed to be.
Together.
I felt the shift in his mood through the bond. “What is it?”
“I’m the Alpha.”
“You sure are.”
He remained silent, then nearly whispered, “How am I supposed to lead a kingdom I always hated and barely understand?”
“With strength, heart, and brains, things you have plenty of.”
“And you. I won’t do a damn thing without you.”
I kissed his chest, letting out a chuckle because the worry in his growl was more than clear. “I will always be there with you.”
But even as peace stretched between us, remembering that a future was waiting threw a shadow on my mood also. The nobles wouldn’t yield. The old ways, so good for some of the pack, would not die quietly. Change never came without blood.
“They’ll fight us,” he said, his thumb drawing circles on my shoulder.
“They will.”
“And they’ll lose again. Not because I am stronger. Because we are. You and I. Us and the pack.”
“Can you feel them?”
He sighed, eyes closed now, but there was a smile in the burr of his voice. “Every damn one of them all at once. It’s a very odd feeling.”
I watched him for a long moment, the way his brow furrowed even in peace, and the bond between us seemed to explode with what I felt for him. Love. Pride. Joy.
His eyes opened and caught mine, and that surge thought bond made his growl deep in his chest. He rolled and pinned me beneath him. His mouth crushed against mine, the bond blazing bright enough to set the stars trembling.
And we burned.
Tomorrow would demand everything from us, and we would walk into it hand in hand.
THE END