Page 195 of Ensnared by the Pack: The Complete Series (Destined Realms #3)

AUDREY

I ached, not a screaming, painful ache, just a steady, persistent throb, and my head felt thick, my thoughts muddled. A heaviness dragged at my limbs, making it impossible to open my eyes, so I just lay there, drifting in a dark limbo, lulled by the nothingness in my head.

Whil had said I was absorbing all of Tzanagoth’s power and it was putting me to sleep… but I didn’t feel asleep. I felt…

I wasn’t sure what I felt. Tired? Worn out?

Empty.

I was empty. The pressure that had filled me, that had grown slowly inside me and I hadn’t realized was there, was gone. My stomach felt good, no nausea, and nothing burned which meant Tzanagoth’s power was gone.

Bishop, Knox, and Cyrus had done it.

But my wildness was gone as well.

A weight squeezed around my heart. I’d feared removing the evil power would also remove my newfound wolf and alpha power, and now I was back to being me.

It stung to think that I’d been so close to having everything I’d wanted, to have a wolf and to be a normal shifter. The loss of the hope that somehow I’d be complete hurt and sliced deep into my soul.

Someone moved beside me, and I realized I was lying on something soft just as the sweet scent of fresh-cut grass enveloped me. Straining, I peeled my eyes open and fell straight into the warm brown depths of Bishop’s eyes. They were dark, his wolf close to the surface of his consciousness, and the green flecks sparkled like stars, mesmerizing me like they always did.

Love and devotion flooded through our mating bond, filling the void inside me and warming my heart.

God, I loved this man so much. He was amazing and kind and welcomed me from the moment I’d fallen into their lives, a terrified, barely alive mess.

He’d fallen in love with me the way I was, without alpha power or a wolf, or hell, barely any self-confidence, and I knew in the depths of my soul that he would love me no matter what did or didn’t change with me.

Woven through Bishop’s love was Knox’s, a ferocious passion that made my soul sing. We’d had a rocky start — to say the least — but he’d become a fierce protector. His bond was edged with worry and I could sense he wasn’t as close as Bishop, probably outside, unable to control his wolf or his claustrophobia.

I sent a wave of love and thanks through our bond and felt his worry burst into relief and joy.

“Thank the Sisters you’re awake,” Cyrus rumbled, his voice low and broken.

I dragged my gaze away from Bishop’s to look at Cyrus. He knelt beside the bed, looking absolutely terrible, his expression haggard and exhausted and edged with a biting desperation. It appeared as though he hadn’t slept in days, and the urge to hold him, claim him, protect him from whatever had caused his suffering, washed over me like a tidal wave.

He’d risked everything just to save me — even his pack if we couldn’t get back to his realm.

My throat tightened. We’d have saved so much suffering if he’d accepted what I’d known from the time after we’d returned from the death goddess’s land. He wouldn’t be suffering now, and him putting it off hadn’t helped because he’d ended up saying the mating vows at the worst possible moment.

Of course, I wasn’t free of blame, either. I could have been courageous and made him talk to me. I hadn’t said anything because I was afraid and I hadn’t known if me thinking we were mates was all in my head.

That, and if we had bonded, we’d have had no way of getting to my realm to find a fae sorcerer… which I guess they had.

And now here we were, him staring at me like a starving man, completely strung out on what I knew was a burning need to seal the mating bond.

Except if he looked that bad how long had I been asleep? It usually took weeks, sometimes months, before the compulsion to seal the mating bond drove the bonded mates crazy.

Although in my case, my bonds had been anything but usual.

“How long was I…?” I asked, my voice rough as if I hadn’t spoken in a long time.

“Only a few hours,” Bishop replied, gently brushing a lock of hair away from my face.

But if it had only been a few hours, why did Cyrus look so utterly broken?

“Audrey.” Cyrus’s voice cracked and his expression grew more strained, the muscles in his jaw flexing as he fought to control himself.

“You and Cyrus need to talk.” Bishop pressed a soft kiss to my cheek and inhaled, drawing in my scent then stood. “Knox and I will be outside.”

I watched my mate leave, my heart aching for him, needing to be close to him — to all my mates — even though I knew Cyrus and I needed to embrace our fate… which would involve very little talking.

The door closed behind Bishop, leaving me alone with Cyrus, and I turned my attention back to him.

His gaze locked on mine, the weight of his pain and desire radiating from him, and I could practically feel the lust pouring off him as he stared at me with an intensity that made my heart race.

“I’m sorry,” he whispered, his voice laced with anguish. “I’m so sorry for everything.”

And I knew he meant it. He’d humbled himself before, just after Bishop had been poisoned, and I hadn’t been sure I could trust him, but I understood him better now. He needed to be in control and he needed to protect everyone. It was a primal instinct that drove him, made him do and say whatever was necessary to get the job done even if it hurt someone’s feelings.

I didn’t agree with his tactics, but knowing changed how I saw a lot of our interactions.

I also knew he loved me. He’d been desperate when Tzanagoth’s power was flooding into me, and I recognized his fear. It was the same ferocious fear I’d felt when Bishop had been poisoned.

He was stubborn and too self-sacrificing, always putting his pack above himself, but in some ways, we were a lot alike. Both of us were willing to give up everything to save someone we loved, and we both had a strong drive to protect those around us.

Cyrus gently cupped my cheek, his touch warm and tender as he looked deep into my eyes.

“I meant every word of our mating vow, Audrey,” he confessed, his voice gruff. “I didn’t say it because I was protecting my brothers. I said it because it’s true. Bonded or not, I would have gone crazy if I’d lost you. You’re my fated mate and I want to be a part of your life.”

Warmth spread across my chest and sank low within me. I could feel the truth in his words, the intensity of his love, and his need for me. It was everything I’d felt from Bishop and Knox.

It felt like our fates had finally aligned.

“I was a fool to have ignored my wolf and the truth. You are an amazing, kind, caring woman, and I’d be the most blessed man in all the realms if you’d accept me as your mate.”

Joy and heartache swirled into the mix of emotions inside me. Joy because he was finally saying what I had known in my soul was true, and heartache because we’d suffered so much fighting against the undeniable truth. My chest tightened with emotions I couldn’t contain, and I blinked back tears as I reached up to touch his face, feeling his rough stubble against my fingertips.

“You’re mine,” I whispered, my voice barely audible as my throat thickened with emotion.

“I am,” he murmured back, his gaze filled with certainty and love.

I leaned toward him and he met me halfway, our lips connecting in a sweet, tender kiss that sank, slow and sultry, into the depths of my soul.

A hard knot in my soul, that I hadn’t even realized was there, unraveled, and my wildness, the power I’d thought I’d lost forever unfurled within my chest. The power was warm, comforting, and something settled inside me.

I was complete.

I didn’t know how, but I was.

Then Cyrus’s sensual kiss grew insistent, his soft exploration becoming strong and demanding, his grip on his control over the urge from the mating bond slipping. An urgency swelled between us, growing stronger and stronger, and I moaned into his mouth.

“Mate with me,” I said against his lips.

“Yes.”