Page 16 of Anders (The Sunburst Pack #2)

I do, she said. But I don’t know if it’s real or just another thing being done to me—another way I’m being controlled.

Anders shook his head. The mate bond can’t be artificially created or manipulated. It’s one of the few things no one could ever take from you.

He could see her processing this, that reporter’s mind working through the implications. So if I feel this…connection…it’s really mine? My choice?

Yes, Anders said with a single nod. Yours to accept or reject.

Something shifted in her expression then.

Before Anders could react, Etta closed the final distance between them, her body drawn to his by an almost gravitational pull. The heat of her skin radiated through his thin shirt as she rose on her toes, her hands sliding up his chest to press against the muscle beneath her palms.

Their breath mingled for a heartbeat before she pressed her lips to his, the contact igniting every nerve ending in his body.

The kiss was electric, a current of pure sensation that surged through Anders’s entire system and settled low in his belly with molten heat. Her lips were impossibly soft against his, tentative at first and then growing bolder as he responded.

She tasted of coffee and wilderness, a combination so intoxicating that Anders felt dizzy with need. His wolf surged forward with a triumphant howl, and for once, Anders didn’t fight it.

His arms encircled her waist, strong hands splaying across her lower back as he pulled her flush against him. She fit perfectly against his body, soft curves meeting hard planes, her breasts pressing against his chest as the kiss deepened with hungry intensity.

Anders angled his head to deepen the connection, his tongue tracing the seam of her lips in a silent request that she immediately granted.

The first touch of his tongue against hers sent sparks dancing along his spine and pulled a soft moan from deep in her throat that he swallowed eagerly.

His hand slid up to cradle the back of her head, fingers tangling in her silky hair as he explored her mouth with exquisite thoroughness, claiming every part of her with unhurried intensity.

Her scent changed dramatically beneath his hands—the sharp tang of chemical suppression giving way to something sweeter, headier. The subtle notes of moonlit flowers and forest rain filled his nostrils, arousing his wolf in ways he’d never experienced.

As their tongues danced and retreated only to meet again with renewed hunger, Anders could feel her wolf responding to his, pushing against the artificial barriers that had contained it for so long.

The mate bond between them pulsed with each racing heartbeat, growing stronger with each passing second.

Etta gasped against his mouth, her fingers threading through his hair and tightening reflexively as a tremor ran through her body.

Her teeth grazed his bottom lip, the slight edge of pain amplifying the pleasure coursing through him.

Her hips shifted instinctively against his, the movement drawing a low rumble from deep in his chest.

Anders pulled back slightly, concern momentarily overriding the desire that had his blood running hot and his body responding in ways impossible to hide from her. Are you okay?

Her eyes, when she opened them, were a brilliant gold—her wolf’s eyes, not her human ones. Something’s happening, she whispered. I can feel it—like walls breaking down inside me.

Anders cupped her face in his hands, studying the changes. Her scent was shifting rapidly, the chemical notes fading as her natural wolf scent emerged—sweet and wild and all hers.

The suppression, he said. The bond is accelerating its breakdown.

A shudder ran through her, and Etta gripped his arms tightly.

It’s too much, she gasped. Too fast—

Shh… Focus on me, Anders said urgently, pressing his forehead to hers. Feel our connection.

Her breathing was ragged, her pupils dilating and contracting as her body fought the chemical changes. Anders held her steady, projecting calm and strength through their nascent bond.

I’ve got you, he murmured. Your wolf has been waiting so long to be free. Don’t fight it.

Gradually, the trembling subsided. Etta’s breathing slowed, her grip on his arms relaxing. When she looked up at him again, her eyes had returned to their normal color, but something in them had changed—a wildness, an awareness that hadn’t been there before.

That was…, she began, then shook her head, seemingly at a loss for words.

Intense, Anders supplied, still holding her close. Your body is purging the suppressants even faster than I expected.

Etta nodded, then surprised him with a small, wondering smile.

What is it? he asked.

I felt her, she whispered. My wolf. Not just as abstract memories or sensations, but as a presence. As part of me.

That’s incredible progress.

Because of the kiss? Etta asked, her cheeks flushing slightly at the mention.

More likely because of what the kiss represents, Anders corrected. Acceptance of your nature, of our connection. The mate bond is accelerating your healing.

She considered this, then asked the question he’d been both hoping for and dreading: What happens now?

It was the right question to ask. The practical question, the one that brought him back to reality—to the surveillance equipment they’d found, to the organization that had used her, to the mark on her neck that might still pose a threat.

Now, Anders said, reluctantly stepping back, we continue your training while investigating who did this to you. The mate bond can wait—your safety comes first.

Disappointment flickered across her face before she nodded. You’re right. There’s too much at stake.

Anders led her back to where they’d left his backpack, kneeling to retrieve a water bottle. As he handed it to her, their fingers brushed, sending another jolt of awareness through him.

This was going to be more difficult than he’d imagined.

Thank you, Etta said after taking a long drink. For being honest with me.

Anders nodded, unable to trust his voice for a moment. When he finally spoke, he kept his tone as professional as possible. We should head back. You need rest—your body is going through significant changes.

As they walked back toward his vehicle, Anders maintained a careful distance.

But he couldn’t ignore the way her scent had changed, or how his security-trained mind was already cataloging the differences in her movement patterns—more fluid now, more graceful, her wolf closer to the surface than ever before.

Anders? she asked as they reached his truck.

Yes?

What you said about the mate bond accelerating my healing—does that mean more memories will return?

Probably, he said. Are you ready for that?

Etta took a deep breath, squaring her shoulders. I have to be. Whatever I remember—whatever they did to me—I need to know.

Anders nodded. He knew, with bone-deep certainty, that he would do anything to help her succeed—even if that meant putting his duties as guardian second for once in his life.

As he started the truck and headed back toward town, Anders kept one eye on Etta and one on their surroundings.

His security systems would have recorded every change in her behavior over the past days—the erratic moments near windows, the times she’d paced like a caged animal as the full moon approached.

Now those recordings would serve as evidence—proof of what had been done to her, and perhaps clues to who was responsible.

But as Etta dozed beside him, her body exhausted from the chemical changes it was undergoing, Anders found his thoughts drifting less to security protocols and more to the feel of her lips against his, to the way her wolf had reached for his across artificially imposed barriers.

His mate.

After years of putting the pack first, of sublimating his personal desires to his duties as guardian, fate had given him a mate who needed his protection more than anyone ever had.

The irony wasn’t lost on him.

Anders drove on through the desert night, back toward his home, where security feeds waited to be analyzed and dangers lurked on all sides.

But for the first time since accepting the role of head guardian, his thoughts weren’t consumed by tactical assessments and threat analyses.

Instead, he found himself wondering what color Etta’s wolf would be when she finally shifted—and how it would feel to run beside her under the full moon.

In trying to protect Etta, had he found the one person who could protect the parts of himself he’d locked away for far too long?

The possibility was both terrifying and strangely freeing.

The moon rose higher, casting silver light across the dashboard, and Anders finally said to himself what terrified him most: not that he might fail to protect Etta, but that she might see him—truly see him—and find him wanting.