Page 26
26
Dagny
I wake to a low hissing sound and a slight pressure on my chest—just enough to pull me from my delicious dream. I blink away the thick haze of sleep, finding it does no good due to the lack of light in the bedroom. A wriggling sensation draws my gaze downward, and shock clenches my chest as I come face-to-face with a pair of slitted serpentine eyes. My stomach clenches as a long, inky tongue flicks out, nearly brushing the tip of my nose as the snake samples the air.
“Syn?” I whisper, trying to think past the powerful whooshing in my ears and the pressure building beneath my skin. “What are you…? You’re not supposed to be here.”
A low hissing sound breaks the silence as the snake rears up, staring deep into my soul with its swirling golden orbs. Syn’s jaw extends, showcasing the two needlelike fangs situated at the front of her mouth, curved inward and dripping with a clear, viscous liquid.
I lie utterly still at the edge of the furs, too scared to breathe, to blink in case it triggers the creature to attack. And though fear is at the forefront of my mind, a calming warmth also spreads through my veins. Telling me it’s all going to be okay.
I glance to the side, and the air thickens with a charged stillness as I take in the sight of Kaebl lying next to me on the floor. His pinky reaches out, brushing against mine—barely a touch, but the contact has heated sparks dancing across my skin.
A small whimper pours from my lips, and Kaebl turns his head to the side, capturing me in his piercing golden gaze. His pupils expand, consuming the molten glow of his iris in a single heartbeat, concealing the ravenous hunger gleaming beneath. Quiet, little one. You’ll wake the others.
“What are you doing here? I thought… I thought you couldn’t stay?” I whisper, my eyes widening as his palm slides over the top of mine, enveloping it in his warmth. Instead of answering, his fingertips trail up my arm, following the gentle dip and peak of my collarbone and leaving a trail of tingling heat wherever he touches.
“Kaebl?” His name enters the air a breathless plea, a sound that has a growl building in the base of his throat and his abdomen shuddering with desire.
Syn slithers off my chest as Kaebl’s clawed hand snaps up, wrapping around my throat and squeezing my pulse points, cutting off the oxygen to my brain and filling my ears with a loud whooshing noise. Pleasure spreads through my veins, overpowering the niggling fear in the back of my mind as I get lost in the sensation of my mate’s touch. The loss of control is terrifying, but twice as exciting—and I have no doubt Kaebl feels the same way.
I can’t fight it anymore, he whispers into my mind, his tone a sinful hush. You consume every thought I have—every fractured piece of my soul, even the ones I didn’t know I possessed. I’m breaking, my heart—I’ve broken. For you. It could never be anyone but you.
Releasing my throat, he trails his hand down my center, his breathing turning ragged as he slides between the valley of my breasts, stopping for a deliberate moment before continuing his torturous exploration, leaving a trail of fire wherever his skin touches mine.
How I've missed this. Just touching you. Knowing you’re here. That you’re real. That you’re mine. His fingers splay across my stomach as a low growl builds in the base of his throat—possessive and animalistic and intoxicating—and the sound makes me forget all about why this is a terrible idea. I lose myself to the pleasure thrumming through the bond, the rush of blood in my ears, the ever-present, unyielding desire coursing through my veins, tearing at the threads of my soul.
I reach down, placing my hand on top of Kaebl’s and directing him lower, desperate to feel his touch against that needy part of me. Kaebl obeys, stopping when his fingertips brush the apex of my thighs, his shoulders shuddering with the strength it takes to restrain himself. But he doesn’t need to anymore.
“It’ll be okay,” I whisper, my eyes finding his through the dark. “You’ve fought it for so long. We both have. It’s okay, Kaebl.”
He shakes his head, his breath coming in uneven, shuddering pants. Too… dangerous… I… can’t… can’t… can’t…
But it’s not his decision to make anymore.
A bolt of searing pain spreads from the center of my forehead at the same time that a wave of power surges through me, originating from that invisible force tying our souls together. It flows through my veins, spilling out of my pores and open mouth, changing the sound of my screams to cries of bliss that explode into the silence with so much power that the walls shudder.
When I come back down to earth, a matching bond mark glows beneath Kaebl’s skin, the brilliant golden hue stealing the breath from my lungs as I’m smothered by the weight of what I’ve just done.
The final thread of the soul bond snaps into place as Kaebl rolls on top of me, pinning me between his powerful forearms as a thunderous growl echoes into the air, filled with a hunger I’ve never known.
I take in the thick shadows consuming his golden irises, the lengthening canines and enormous pitch-black wings spreading out over his shoulders, materializing from the depths of the shadows as his beast breaks free.
And at that moment, I know it’s all over.
We break, together.
Table of Contents
- Page 1
- Page 2
- Page 3
- Page 4
- Page 5
- Page 6
- Page 7
- Page 8
- Page 9
- Page 10
- Page 11
- Page 12
- Page 13
- Page 14
- Page 15
- Page 16
- Page 17
- Page 18
- Page 19
- Page 20
- Page 21
- Page 22
- Page 23
- Page 24
- Page 25
- Page 26 (Reading here)
- Page 27
- Page 28
- Page 29
- Page 30
- Page 31
- Page 32
- Page 33
- Page 34
- Page 35
- Page 36
- Page 37
- Page 38
- Page 39