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“Good morning,” he said, planting a kiss on her lips as she reached him.

Evelyn smiled, unable to hold it back. “Good morning and thank you. You’re a saint.” She took the mug of steaming coffee he handed her. For a brief moment, Evelyn wished this was their normal. Waking up on a rainy morning, sipping coffee together.

No murders. No prophecies. No duty.

“You’re overthinking,” Kade said over the rim of his coffee mug. He leaned against the counter, taking her in.

Evelyn sighed. “How do you know?”

He scoffed. “First, your heart races a little when you do. And”—he ran his fingers over Evelyn’s brow—“you become quite serious. What are you thinking?”

Evelyn took the first sip of her coffee. “The other unions, the previous Son of the God and Daughter of the Goddess, they weren’t . . .”

“Like us?” Kade finished. “No, they weren’t.”

Evelyn shut her eyes and swallowed. She stood before Kade, summoning that courage.

“Fated,” she whispered, opening her eyes to catch the flash of gold in his as she said the word.

“Fated?” Kade asked, taking a step closer to her and running his thumb across her bottom lip.

She shuddered from his touch. “Last night, you said mates for werewolves. For witches, we call it fated,” she said.

Evelyn didn’t meet his eyes, setting her coffee mug down and taking in his build. His jawline. That chest. Those arms. His Adam’s apple bobbed as he swallowed under her perusal. The leather-corded necklace caught her eye and an idea struck.

“Take this off,” she said, slightly pulling it with two fingers away from his neck.

Kade’s breathing hitched, and after a beat, he did as she’d asked. Moments ticked by as he reached behind, unclasped the back, and pulled it from his neck.

The moment it landed on the counter behind him, Evelyn staggered back, his magic, his wolf, barreling into her. The onslaught of Kade stole her breath and made her knees weak. Evelyn felt every bit of Kade. He hummed with an energy of his own and her magic brightened, like his magic made hers more alive. All the senses she possessed were taken over by him.

Her skin heated, and she swore she smelled the forest after the rain, and she saw a deeper, crisper version of him.

Kade straightened. “Evelyn, are you all right?”

Evelyn nodded, smiling, almost laughing at the feeling of him, of their magic intertwining.

Evelyn looked down at her own bracelet, using her opposite hand to singe it into oblivion with her flame. The ashes had yet to reach the ground before a deep growl erupted from Kade, and before it had finished vibrating around them, he’d pushed her against the wall in the kitchenette.

Breathless, he gazed down at her, shaking. “I’m sorry. Your magic . . . my wolf . . .”

Evelyn nodded. “I know.”

She kissed him, curling her hand around his neck and pulling him closer. Pure ecstasy overwhelmed them.

Kade pushed her arms above her head, grasping her wrists and placed them against the wall. Evelyn whimpered at the exposure, the sensual power and control of it. The taste of him, drove her magic mad, swirling around him, reaching for his wolf like it was a lifeline. Against her own lips, she felt his smirk, but he didn’t stop molding his lips to hers, exploring her mouth with his tongue, stroking it against her own.

Evelyn bucked her hips into his groin, and a deep gravelly growl of approval and distress vibrated through her. He finally backed away, still leaving her arms locked above her. Kade blinked and released her arms, his eyes roaming over her face.

“I didn’t mean to lose control,” he said, easing away from her but still keeping her in his orbit.

“Stop talking,” Evelyn said, pulling him back to her.

They kissed, a fiercer version than the night before. A hunger, one manifesting deep in Evelyn’s core and unlike one she’d ever had before, consumed her.

Kade’s hands trailed down her bare thighs, pushing up the fabric of her tunic. Evelyn hissed, the touch of his fingers driving her mad.

He stilled. Entirely. “Do you want me to stop?”