Chapter 18
POV: Amara
There was no other explanation.
No other reason my body had burned for him like this.
No other reason his touch erased pain no medicine could control.
No other reason my soul felt split open every second away from him.
He was my mate.
Mine.
A hysterical laugh almost broke out of me even through the panic.
Because the realization felt cruel.
Cruel and beautiful and impossible all at once.
He had pushed me away.
And now—
Now I was running straight back toward him like destiny itself had finally stopped pretending.
During the moon ball, territory boundaries blurred. Guards relaxed. Packs mingled freely beneath the Moon Goddess’s blessing.
So no one stopped me as my wolf crossed into Oak territory.
I ran faster.
Harder.
Desperate.
The closer I got, the stronger the pull became until it felt physical, dragging me straight toward him.
Toward home.
I crashed through the trees like something wild and hunted, my paws pounding against the earth so hard I could barely feel the ground beneath me. Branches scraped over my fur. Cold night air tore into my lungs. But none of it mattered.
Because my wolf knew.
She knew exactly where he was.
The moon ball glowed ahead through the forest, lights spilling between the trees like stars fallen to earth. Music echoed faintly through the night. Wolves filled the clearing—laughing, dancing, talking—but the second I stepped from the shadows onto the edge of the territory, everything stopped.
Every face turned toward me.
And then—
Him.
Riven stood near the center of the ballroom beneath hanging golden lights, dressed completely in black. Black suit. Black shirt. Dark hair pushed back from his forehead. Broad shoulders impossibly sharp beneath the tailored fabric.
Beautiful.
Terrifying.
Mine.
The moment his eyes found me, something inside the world snapped.
I saw it happen to him.
Actually saw it.
His entire body went rigid. His breathing stopped. His expression cracked open so violently it almost hurt to look at him. Pain. Recognition. Relief. Love. All of it slammed across his face at once, raw and uncontrollable.
Like he’d been drowning for years and had finally reached air.
His blue eyes burned gold.
And in that moment, I knew.
Not hoped.
Not wished.
Knew.
Mate.
My wolf whined softly and stepped forward, completely calm now that she’d found him. Around us, the entire ballroom had gone silent, but I couldn’t hear any of it over the pounding in my chest.
Riven stared at me like he couldn’t believe I was real.
Then he shifted.
Gasps exploded through the crowd as his massive black wolf burst forward, dark fur gleaming beneath the moonlight, blue eyes glowing with something almost painfully emotional.
He walked toward me slowly.
Carefully.
Like I was precious.
Like he was terrified I would disappear.
My wolf crossed the distance between us without hesitation. And when we finally reached each other, our foreheads touched.
The second we connected—
Everything detonated.
Warmth burst through me so violently my legs nearly gave out. It raced through my veins, my chest, my soul. Every ounce of pain that had haunted me for days vanished instantly beneath a tidal wave of relief and belonging and love so overwhelming I could barely breathe through it.
Him.
It was always him.
The heat. The ache. The desperation.
It was never madness.
It was him.
My mate.
A soft, broken sound left Riven’s wolf as he pressed closer, and then the world shifted around us again.
One second fur and claws.
The next, skin.
We were suddenly human again in the middle of the ballroom, completely naked beneath the moonlight, foreheads still pressed together as we both struggled to breathe.
Riven held my face like he was afraid to let go.
His hands trembled.
Actually trembled.
He looked wrecked.
His eyes were wet.
“Oh my God,” he whispered, almost laughing through the words. “It can’t be. It can’t—”
“Yes, it can,” I whispered back, tears burning my own eyes.
His expression shattered completely.
Then he kissed me.
And nothing—nothing—had ever felt like this before.
Every kiss we’d shared before this suddenly felt incomplete, like shadows of this moment. The second his mouth touched mine now, it felt like my soul opened wide inside my chest.
Warmth exploded everywhere.
Sparkles raced beneath my skin.
My wolf practically purred with happiness.
I felt loved. Claimed. Safe. Desired.
Home.
Riven made a rough sound against my mouth and pulled me impossibly closer, kissing me like he’d waited his entire life for it.
Maybe he had.
When we finally broke apart, we stayed there breathing against each other, foreheads touching again while both of us laughed softly in disbelief.
I’d never seen him like this.
Not cold.
Not restrained.
Just… happy.
Completely, overwhelmingly happy.
“Oh my God,” he murmured again, almost to himself this time. “Amara.”
My name sounded sacred in his voice.
Then suddenly a blanket landed over both our shoulders.
Lyra.
I looked up just enough to see her standing there with watery eyes and the biggest smile I’d ever seen on her face.
Riven turned toward her like he still needed confirmation.
“Lyra,” he breathed. “It’s her.”
She laughed softly. “Yes, idiot. It’s her.”
He actually laughed too, full and real, and the sound hit me right in the chest because I realized I’d never heard him laugh before.
Never.
He wrapped the blanket tighter around me immediately, protective instinct taking over at once, pulling me fully against his chest.
Then Lyra leaned closer and muttered dryly, “Now please go to your room. For the Goddess’ sake, you waited fourteen years for this.”
Riven barked out another laugh while I buried my burning face against his chest.
And for the first time since my heat began—
Everything felt right.