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“I love you too. Elias of Zolmara.”

He smiled, and we stayed there contently holding each other for long moments.

When our breathing steadied, and our bodies cooled, I beganlooking around the room. I was trying to gage if there was enough space. I concluded it would suffice.

“Okay. Show me.”

Elias shifted to look at me. “Show you what?”

“The wolf.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

Ifigured it was time to see the wolf up close – to verify it was Elias I had been dreaming of all this time.

“I can’t,” Elias sighed. “My senses and abilities are very much dulled from the wolfsbane. It may be a few days before I can shift again, if I’m lucky.”

I slumped my shoulders. “I see.”

Elias gave me a sly smile. “As soon as I can shift again, I promise I’ll show you. You deserve to see…all of me.” He reached a hand to my neck and pulled me in to kiss my lips tenderly. My body ached for him again immediately.

I placed a hand over his chest as he kissed me, and was met with textured skin. I pulled away from him to look down and see the scar. There were so many of them, all over his chest, his abdomen, his arms. Most of them were deep lines, lacerations made from silver blades. But some of them looked like they could be burn marks.

“Does fire hurt you?” I asked, running my fingers over one of the marks.

He chuckled. “I still feel pain from all wounds. But I think I know what you’re asking. I can heal from fire just like any other injury.” He looked down to where my hand trailed the scar. “This isn’t from fire, though. It’s from boiling water. I think the reason the burns never healed properly is because the wolfsbane that was in my system for so long prevented a lot of the healing.”

My breath hitched at the thought of all Elias had been through. Centuries of torture. Being stabbed, beaten, and having boiling water thrown on him. A small sob caught in my throat.

“Hey. Hey,” Elias said, gently rubbing his thumb over my cheek. “It’s okay. I’m okay. The scars don’t hurt, I promise.”

But the memories did, I was sure.

“What about you?” he asked, sweetly caressing the skin around my bandaged neck. “Does it hurt?”

I let out a breathy laugh, pulling myself out of my dark thoughts. “You tell me,” I replied. I reached up and pressed firmly on the center of the bandage that covered the wound inflicted by Volund. Sharp but bearable pain shot through it. At that exact moment, Elias’s eyes widened and he pressed his hand to his own neck.

He pulled his hand away to inspect his fingers. “I felt it. But more so than before.”

A sense of awe struck me. “Are you sure?” My heart sprang wildly as this confirmed it further. Confirmed that our bond was completely set. That we were mated for life.

Elias nodded. “When Horus’s blade sliced you, I felt the slight burning of it. It hurt, but not as badly as a wound like that should. When your head was splitting, I felt a dull headache. But this feels…sharper. More real. I can feel what you feel completely, instead of it being numbed.”

“But watch what happens when we’re touching.” I placed one hand on his bare chest, energy flowing through my fingertips, then reached for my wound with the other. I pressed again. This time, the sharp pain immediately dulled instead of lingered.

Elias furrowed his brow. “Extraordinary,” he whispered. “The bond stops the pain.”

“Did you not know a mating bond could do that?” I asked.

He shook his head. “No. I hadn’t met too many lycans who found their fated mate. Those I did meet, I never asked them about it. So some of the things that happen with a bond are still a bit of a mystery to me. I never cared to know because I didn’t think I’d be lucky enough to find my mate.”

“Hm,” I mused, then leaned forward and planted a short kiss on his soft lips. “I guess you thought wrong.”

Elias grabbed me around my waist and lowered me onto my back, his face hovering over mine as my head hit the pillow. His beautiful golden eyes narrowed with his smile. “And I’ve never been more glad to be wrong. You are my mate, and I am never letting you go,” he said with a deep, possessive voice that heated me all over again.

He lowered himself until his gorgeous, naked body pressed against mine, and kissed me so passionately I almost came undone. Shit. I could make love to this man all fucking day.

I gently pushed on his shoulders and he immediately stopped and looked at me, his features feigning confusion. “As much as I want to set our bond again and again, we need to get dressed before poor Nadia walks in on us. She was very excited to see you.”