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Thewhat?

I turned around to the mirror and stumbled back into the dresser.

Twothingsgrew out of my head. Now that I was aware of their existence, I felt them weighing on me. Just like in that last dream I had…

Not even bothering to hide my magic anymore in Nikolai’s presence, I ignited the lamps scattered around my bedroom. Their soft yellow glow illuminated the antlers. Their smooth horn arched outwards before they followed an elegant curve and then jutted almost straight up.

“By the trees I know and the land I have walked for centuries,” I breathed, raising a hand to touch one of the blunt tips.

I felt it in my bones.

Note to self: touching them makes me horny. How fitting.

“Why did you scream like that? It took me at least ten minutes to wake you up. You kept pleading with someone to ‘let him go’. Broke my heart to hear you like that.”

“I dreamt of my mother. And you,” I confessed in a low whisper.

He needs to know.

“Not for the first time. She tries to take you away from me, and no matter how much I scream and fight I can never reach you. It always ends in the same way. I turn into this. She kisses you, I shatter the mirror, and you are lost forever.” My voice cracked like the glass did under my fists.

“Hey, baby boy, come here.” A pair of strong arms wrapped around me in a hug. “Let’s get you back to bed. You are freezing.”

Nikolai guided me to my bed and helped me get tucked in. He laid down facing me. I had to be careful about the antlers and the hooves, but it worked well, especially considering I’d had them for all of five minutes.

“I’m so sorry for what happened with your mother. I promise you I will never leave you. No matter how rich or beautiful she might be. I’myours, Jules. Do you hear me?”

“She’s got powerful magic,” I cut in.

“So do you. Don’t forget that. And we have the mate bond connecting us, Jules. I’m only human, but even I can feel how powerful it is.” Nikolai rested his hand on my chest, and warmth spread out over my heart.

“You are my human, Bunny. And you have a bit of my magic in your veins now. You are tethered to my life force.”

He raised himself up to look me in the face. His eyes darkened with a possessiveness I’d never seen there before.

“See? Even if she tried to take me away from you, she wouldn’t succeed. I’m yours.” Nikolai kissed me again. “For me, it was instant. When I saw you on that path for the first time, it was as if I’d finally found what I didn’t even know I had been looking for.”

“Yes, Bunny. That is how I feel about you, too. We are two halves of the same being. Technically whole apart, but better and happier together.”

“Yeah, that sounds like us.” He beamed at me. “A few of my colleagues have found their mates, but I never thought I would be so lucky.”

Warm lips pressed on my mouth and a tongue dipped inside. His kiss made me forget about my fears and the terror that had consumed me only moments ago.

“See?” Nikolai barely withdrew from the kiss, speaking against my wet lips. “Do you think, for a moment, that anything in this world is a match for the power ofthis?”

“No.” The answer came from deep inside my heart. “We belong together.”

“That’s right, baby boy.”

He pressed his lips back on mine as his hands roamed my body and set me alight with desire.

“It’s the fucking best that I can do this to you, Jules. You are so turned on, aren’t you?”

One hand gripped my hard length. He stroked me with slow jerks that made my toes curl. The other teased a nipple before trailing up to repeat the slow pace up and down an antler.

“Yes, Bunny,” I moaned. “How you touch me feels so good.”

“I know you are about to come for me. I can feel the orgasm building in your body.” His delicious moan made me whimper under his touch. “Be a good boy and drench me in your cum, Jules.”