Page 108 of His Atonement

And we've come full circle, it seems.

I will not tell him the true nature ofhe who shall not be named's visits, nor will I tell him of what they lead to or anything else specific to him.

No one needs to know of any of this at all, let alone prior to the horrible events destined to take place this night.

"Have you seen him before?" I counter his question with one of my own, it may help steer things back toward him and if he doesn't want to get into his own drama, then Colt will surely put an end to this so we may move on.

He shakes his head.

"But you've seen someone like him before, yes?"

Colt tenses immediately, his eyes flicker white, a muscle in his jaw ticks but he shakes his head again.

He lies.

The wolf lies and I know it to be fact.

Colt most definitely has experience with someone likehe who shall not be namedwhich is why he could see him at all. The wolf has been touched by evil, the purest evil in existence, and I'd put money on it leaving him with a permanent reminder of the run in.

But I just grin like a bastard and finish my useless smoke. "Glad I was able to pop your Ancient cherry then."

Colt rolls his eyes. "You're an idiot."

"One you could not live without."

“Hardly." He scoffs. Then he meets my stare again. "Will you tell me what's going on with Frankie when you're ready?"

I sigh and nod. "I will." Because I'll have to. When this night is through, there will be no avoiding it any longer, no way to lie my way out of it or hide the cold hard truth. "I will share when I am ready." More like when I'm forced to be ready, but still.

"That'll do for now, demon, but I'm going to hold you to it."

"If you must." With my grin back in place, I clap him on the shoulder and start us back toward the house. "Now, let us join the others while the urge to kill that twat of a dragon has subsided. I doubt the king would appreciate dragging things out any longer than I have already, I'm sure."

But I want to.

I want to drag this night, these last few hours out as long as possible because I cannot even begin to comprehend the ones that will follow.

The only thing I know for sure is that I will be a version of myself I have yet to know, one that will surely make life miserable for everyone around me without even trying.

I will be reduced to nothing but the monster I truly am and then... then we shall see what the following hours do indeed hold.

Last Bullet

With trembling hands, I link my fingers with Frankie's, entwine them, lock them tight as I press our palms together and flatten our mate marks against each other's skin. I push our joined hands slowly toward the headboard as my hips rock against hers in smooth, unhurried thrusts, my cock swelling the second I feel that extreme zap of electricity from the contact of our markings.

And though my strokes are languid, almost lazy, they are deep, so deep and steady, hard and yet somehow gentle as I make love to my mate for the last time.

"Zan…" A silver tear rolls back into her hair, disappears amongst the blood red curls as Frankie whispers my name. "Zan… baby, I love you."

I drop my forehead to hers, and never break eye contact as I continue to love her body with my own, love her with everything I have. "Oh, my darling mate, there are not enough words to express how great my love for you truly is."

Another few tears escape her gorgeous woodland eyes, my own welling with those I promised I would not shed.

Frankie's velvet walls flutter around me, her orgasm approaching quickly, just as mine is, and when her hands grip mine tighter, when her legs wrap around my waist to send me deeper, that's when it happens.

Our mutual release slams into both of us so fucking hard that time stands perfectly still and I feel as if I'm floating, as if the only thing tethering me to this world is my love for her, our bond strengthening so much that I can physically feel the cords stretch from my heart to hers and back again.

The final waves of pleasure roll over us gently, bathe us in a warmth I have never felt, something that almost makes me believe that the universe is just as aware of the finality of the act, the definite end that is imminent and sealed by our love.