Page 27

CHAPTER 27

L ia

Morning came too soon.

I woke to the feeling of Silas’s arms around me, and I groaned. My body ached—not just from exhaustion, but from the deep soreness of muscles pushed past their limits and cracked bones. Every step I had taken inside that wretched cave, every fight, every injury, had settled into me like a permanent reminder.

I was alive, and Silas was still beside me. That was what mattered more than anything.

His warmth cocooned me, his slow, steady breathing puffed against my hair as his arm remained draped around my waist. It should have been too much, the weight of him, the sheer size of him pressed so close, but instead, it felt perfect. Like I belonged right there.

For a few more moments, I let myself stay, drinking in the feel of him, the way his fingers unconsciously curled against my hip as he stirred.

Then reality set in; we had miles to cover today.

I sighed, pressing my face against his chest before murmuring, “Time to move, Alpha.”

Silas groaned, tightening his grip for a brief second before exhaling sharply. “I don’t want to get up yet, Wildcat.”

I smirked. “You can keep sleeping if you want. I’ll just go tell Varek and Rowan that their fearless leader needs a little more beauty rest.”

Silas huffed, cracking one golden eye open to glare at me. “You wouldn’t.”

“I would,” I teased. I grinned and slipped out of his arms before he could pull me back down, stretching as I stepped outside. A few minutes later, he emerged from the tent.

We got moving a short time later and we traveled for hours, putting as much distance between us and the Nyktos hive as possible.

The terrain gradually changed as we moved—less rocky, denser with trees, the scent of water becoming stronger as we followed the flow of a small stream cutting through the wilderness. We drank deeply when we came upon it. It was colder here, the icy chill cutting through our clothing, but no water ever tasted sweeter.

We kept going until we found what appeared to be a hot spring hidden away in the mountains.

Varek was the first to realize the signs: a mist in the trees, the sound bubbling through the woods, the smell of minerals in the air. Peering through the thick foliage, he grinned and tilted his head toward his target. “Now that is something I could use.”

Rowan grunted, rubbing his shoulder where one of the Nyktos had clawed him. “Agreed.”

We pushed through the trees and found ourselves standing on the edge of a natural hot spring, steam rising into the air above the water. The pool was nestled against a rock formation, the minerals staining the stone in rust-colored streaks, the scent of sulfur faint enough to ignore.

I blew out a huge sigh of relief.

For the first time in days, I became aware of the sweat, the grime, the blood—all of it—clinging to my skin, settling into my hair, reminding me of everything we had just survived.

Silas glanced down at me, an actual smile on his handsome face. “We could clean up.”

I grinned back at him and nodded eagerly.

Varek raised a brow, crossing his arms. “I assume that’s my cue to leave?”

Rowan sighed, already turning back toward the trees. “We’ll keep watch.”

Silas nodded in appreciation. “Stay close.”

Varek smirked. “Oh, don’t worry, Alpha. I wouldn’t dare let anything interrupt your romantic bath.”

I shot him a glare, but it didn’t have much heat behind it—mostly because I was too damn tired. Still, he deserved it. He just chuckled, throwing me a look over his shoulder before disappearing into the forest with Rowan.

Just as they turned away, Varek slowed for half a step. His gaze flicked back to me, just for a heartbeat, his expression grateful. “You did good in there, Lia.”

Rowan turned and nodded. “Better than good. You saved our asses.”

The words were simple, but they landed like a blow to the chest.

I swallowed the lump in my throat and managed a small nod. “Thanks.”

They vanished into the woods, giving us space.

I turned back to Silas, raising an eyebrow, trying to smother the emotion bubbling up in my chest. “Romantic bath?”

He just grinned, eyes flickering over me. “Get in, Wildcat.”

I rolled my eyes, but didn’t argue. Slowly, carefully, I began peeling away the layers of dirt-caked clothing. Each motion tugged at cut, bruised skin and sore muscles. The scratches along my shoulder and down my back, the deep claw mark along my thigh—they all flared to life as I moved. My ribs protested sharply, the dull ache a reminder of the wall I’d been slammed into during the fight.

I wasn’t unscathed. I was battered.

And I had still kept up. I let myself feel a moment of pride.

Silas watched me undress, but it wasn’t lust I saw in his gaze—at least, not only lust.

It was reverence, along with something else. Concern, maybe? I wasn’t sure.

“Lia,” he said softly, stepping closer. “You don’t have to pretend you’re okay. You went through hell in that cave. You were hurt, worse than any of us, and you still—” He shook his head, his face tight with emotion. “You were so strong.”

The words hit me hard. I blinked, looking away for a second as the hot spring’s steam misted up around my bare skin.

“I was scared,” I admitted. “I didn’t know if I could keep up.”

“But you did.”

His voice was quiet now, full of something fierce and unflinching.

“You freed us and helped kill that fucking monster. You didn’t just keep up, Lia, you saved our lives. I’ve never been prouder of anyone in my life.”

I looked at him intently, my heart crowding my chest. Silas moved forward, carefully, his own body still stiff and healing, and gently helped me into the steaming water.

The warmth enveloped me the moment I slipped into the water. Sinking deep to ease my aching body, I felt the grime, the exhaustion, the weight of everything we had been through washing away. Steam rose in gentle tendrils, dampening my hair, my skin, and everything around the pool.

Sighing with contentment, I closed my eyes, letting the warmth seep into me.

“Feels good, doesn’t it?” Silas murmured.

I hummed in agreement, rolling my shoulders, feeling some of the soreness leave me. Behind me, I heard the faint rustle of fabric and the sound of a zipper, then the splash of movement behind me.

A moment later, Silas had his hands on me.

I startled slightly as he ran a bar of soap across my shoulders, the texture of it slick against my skin. His hand followed, smoothing over my arms, my back, the heat of his touch somehow warmer than the water itself.

My pulse skipped at his nearness. “You carry soap with you?” I asked.

His hands slipped lower, over the curve of my waist. “I like to be prepared.”

I exhaled shakily. “That’s very responsible of you, Alpha.”

His lips brushed just below my ear. “I take care of what’s mine.”

A shiver ran through me, despite the warmth.

Silas continued his thorough, gentle movements, working the soap over my tender ribs, my stomach, running it down over my thighs beneath the water, his touch owning me tenderly. The calluses on his palms scraped lightly against my skin, sending little sparks of sensation everywhere.

I sighed, leaning back against his chest without thinking.

Silas made a low, satisfied sound, one hand sliding up to my neck, tilting my head to the side as he nuzzled against me. “That’s better,” he murmured.

I smiled. “You like taking care of me, don’t you?”

His hand clasped slightly around my hip, his thumb drawing those little circles over my skin, sending a sweet frisson of pleasure racing through me.

“I love it,” he hummed.

My breath hitched, a bubble of emotion bursting in my chest at the way he said it.

I had really fallen for this man, but it just kept going deeper.

His beautiful eyes burned with emotion as he looked down at me.

“My sweet mate,” he murmured.

I swallowed hard, my fingers pressing against his skin.

“My Alpha,” I whispered.

He ran the bar of soap over my skin with slow, gentle strokes, tracing every curve and plane. His hand followed, smoothing away the grime, working over the aches and bruises I had suffered in the cave. Every touch was reverent, careful, like I was something precious to him, something he had almost lost.

I let my head tip back as he worked the soap through my hair, my pulse settling as I let myself be taken care of. The tension I had been carrying for days bled from my muscles, the soreness soothed by the heat of the water and the gentle strength of my mate.

He rinsed me off slowly, watching like he was memorizing every inch of me. I turned in his arms, pressing my palms against his chest, feeling the steady thump of his heart beating beneath my fingertips.

His fingers stroked over my jaw, tilting my face up so I had to meet his gaze. His golden eyes burned in the afternoon sunlight, soft but intense as he looked at me.

“I should have never left you all those years ago,” he said.

I blinked, caught off guard, my hands gripping his forearms beneath the water.

“I thought I was doing the right thing,” he continued, his regret evident in his tone. “I told myself I was keeping you safe, that leaving you with those humans was the only way you’d survive,” a muscle ticked in his cheek, “but I was wrong.”

I closed my eyes for a moment, my throat constricting.

“I never stopped thinking about you,” he said. “Wondering where you were, and if you were OK.” His hands tightened around my waist. “When I saw you again, and I realized you had survived without me—” He let out a loud sigh and shook his head.

I had spent years thinking about that moment, the night he left me. The sound of his footsteps fading into the trees, the way I had curled into myself, waiting for the reality of being alone without him to truly sink in.

I had been angry, had hated him for it.

Looking at him, standing here, touching me like he needed to, like he was still making sure I was real, I finally knew the truth. I had survived because of him. Because of the things he taught me and because he had cared enough to make sure I had a chance, even if it had meant walking away, I was here with him now.

I reached up, brushing my fingers over his face, feeling the rough stubble on his jaw beneath my fingertips. “You didn’t fail me,” I whispered. “You saved me.”

Silas exhaled, his forehead pressing against mine. “I should have come back for you.”

I tilted my head slightly, looking up at him. “And if you had?”

He closed his eyes. “I would never have walked away from you again.”

A shiver ran down my spine, heat blooming in my stomach.

“I was a child then; you did the right thing,” I murmured, “but I’m not a child anymore, and we’re here, together now.”

His breath caught.

Then slowly, tenderly, he kissed me.

It wasn’t rough or demanding. It was gentle and deep, the kind of kiss that made my heart turn over in my chest. He tasted like home and safety, like everything I had been missing for so long.

I melted against him, my body pressing into his, my arms sliding around his neck as he pulled me closer, his hands smoothing up my back, holding me like he was afraid to let go.

“I’m never going to let you go, my sweet mate. I love you to the moon, to the sun, to the very stars at the edges of the universe,” he murmured against my lips. “And back.”

My knees went weak, and my fingers tightened in his hair. “I love you too, Silas. So much.”

Silas released a long, slow breath, like a long-open wound had finally healed. He wrapped his arms around me, his body pressing against mine beneath the water.

In that moment, under the bright afternoon sun, with steam curling around us and his body warm and solid against mine, I knew without any doubt there was nowhere else I’d rather be.

He deepened the kiss, his lips claiming mine with slowly building intensity. His hands slid down my back, strong and insistent, pulling me against him until there wasn’t a breath of space left between us.

The hot water lapped around us, steam undulating through the air, but all I could feel was him: his hard body, his soft lips, the way his fingers traced over my spine, pressing into my skin like he needed to touch me.

I sighed into his mouth, tilting my head back as he kissed me deeper, his tongue sweeping against mine sensuously. My fingers tangled in his damp hair, holding him tighter, because I didn’t want space. I didn’t want any distance between us ever again.

I wanted him, in every way.

Silas broke the kiss just long enough to drag his mouth along my jaw, his stubble scraping against my sensitive skin sending a shiver down my spine.

“You’re so damn beautiful,” he whispered, his breath hot on my ear.

A purr escaped me as his lips traced the curve of my neck, his tongue flicking against the sensitive spot just beneath my ear before he sank his teeth in—a teasing bite, a reminder of the mark he had already placed on me. I shuddered, my nails digging into his shoulders.

“Silas—” I gasped.

He growled low in his throat, his hands tightening around me. “Say my name again, just like that.”

I grinned and said his name again.

His fingers slid lower, gripping my hips beneath the water, holding me against him, his hard cock pressed between us. His mouth was back on mine, hungry now, possessive, his kiss sending heat twirling through my body like tongues of fire.

I pressed myself into him, my body aching for more, but he slowed, teasing me, dragging it out, making me feel every touch, every brush of his hands over my wet skin.

“You drive me crazy,” he murmured against my lips, his voice gruff with need. “Every damn second I spend with you.”

I smiled against his mouth. “Good.”

He chuckled as he pulled back just slightly, enough to look at me, his lids heavy with passion. Silas’s hands roamed my body, his fingertips caressing over my waist, tracing the curve of my hip, cupping my tender bottom beneath the water.

I arched into him, my body thrumming with heat, the warmth of the spring nothing compared to what was burning beneath my skin. His fingers slid over my belly and up to my breasts in an intimate caress, like he was reminding me who I belonged to without having to say the words.

A shiver ran through me, and I squeezed his shoulders, my nails digging into the hard muscle beneath my palms.

He let out a low, satisfied rumble, his lips curving against my skin. “I can feel how much you want this.”

I bit my lip, glancing up through my lashes. “You’re not exactly hiding how you feel either.”

Silas laughed out loud, maybe the first time I’d heard what that sounded like, and it sent a fresh wave of warmth rushing through me. “You have no idea what you do to me, Lia.”

His teeth scraped along the curve of my neck, just enough to make my breath stutter, and sent a jolt of sensation straight to my core. I tilted my head back, giving him more, inviting him to do whatever the hell he wanted with me.

Because I wanted this too.

The heat of the water swirled around us, cocooning us in steam and silence, the rest of the world fading away until it was just us, just the slow, tender way he touched me, the way his hands held me like he couldn’t stand the idea of letting go.

I gasped as he pressed me back against the smooth rocks at the edge of the spring, his body hard against my soft one, his golden eyes boring into mine with dark, primal desire.

Silas leaned in, pressing his lips to mine, teasing, taunting, drawing out the moment until I was aching for more. I gasped softly against his mouth, my fingers tugging on his damp hair, wanting more.

My body responded eagerly, my legs wrapping around his waist beneath the water, his hard cock pressing against my slit. His hands clasped me tighter in response. He kissed me again, almost desperately. I tilted my head, deepening the kiss, running my nails lightly down his back, feeling the way his body shuddered beneath my touch. His breath hitched slightly before he growled, low and possessive, his hands sliding up my back, holding me with a bruising kind of tenderness.

“Please,” I breathed, the word slipping past my lips before I could think, before I could hold it back. Hell, I didn’t want to hold back.

Silas paused, staring into my eyes for a moment, then he growled again and his mouth was on mine again, and his tongue was sweeping in, tasting me, claiming me, his body caging me against the rocks, my strength and support.

“You want me inside you?” he murmured against my lips.

I moaned. “Yes. Please, Silas.”

With a rumble, his hands moved to my thighs—careful of my wound—lifting me effortlessly out of the water, the cool air biting on my wet skin.

I gasped, the sudden chill making me shiver, but then his tongue was licking across the swell of my breast, his lips closing around my nipple, sucking, teasing, nibbling. My head fell back, a breathless moan escaping me as I tangled my fingers in his hair, holding him against me, forgetting the cold.

Liquid fire coursed through my veins, turning me into a wild thing beneath his touch. I needed him, needed his cock inside me, needed him to take me.

I was burning for him.

As he lay me down onto the mossy ground, the cold seeping into my back, his body solid and hot above me, I felt any remaining control I possessed leave me. Silas covered me, kissing me deeply, hungrily, his tongue pushing past my lips, tasting me, hungry for me.

My body reacted instantly, arching up, seeking his heat.

Silas pulled back, his eyes locked on mine, his pupils dilated with desire. He reached down, taking his heavy cock in his hand, stroking himself.

“Are you ready for me, Wildcat?”

“Now,” I whispered, starving for him.

Silas growled, leaning in, his mouth crashing against mine, kissing me deeply. He slid one hand down my side, gripping my hip tightly as he moved closer, the tip of his cock pressing against my opening.

My body quivered in anticipation, heat racing through me, making my skin flush.

Thunder rolled through his chest, a sound that vibrated against me.

Then he thrust forward.

His cock pushed inside me, stretching me, filling me completely. I cried out for the joy of it, my back arching off the ground, my nails digging into his shoulders.

“Fuck,” Silas breathed, his teeth biting at the curve of my neck. “You feel so fucking good.”

My breath came in quick gasps as he started moving, his cock driving into me with slow, teasing strokes. My eyes fluttered shut, pleasure rising, my body tightening around him.

He grunted, his hips grinding against mine, the sensation sending shivers through my whole body.

His movements were rough, demanding, his fingers digging into my skin as he held me down, claiming me, his cock slamming into me, hitting every sensitive spot, making my toes curl, my pulse skip, my body ache.

Silas groaned, the tendons in his neck straining.

“Such a good girl,” he breathed. “Take my cock. Take all of me.”

My hands fisted in the moss beneath me, pleasure skyrocketing, spiraling through me, hot and molten. I wrapped my legs around his waist, grinding against him, desperate for more.

He plunged into me over and over, the pressure building, the pleasure reaching a fever pitch.

“That’s it, Wildcat,” he gasped. “Come for me.”

His hand slid down between us, his thumb pressing against my clit, sending a rush of sensation through me. I cried out, my body arching, every nerve ending sparking.

My climax slammed through me, ripping through my core and exploding outward. I clung to his shoulders and my thighs clamped around his waist. Hot surges coursed through me, burning through my every nerve and setting my body on fire.

Silas grunted, his hips thrusting harder, faster, his cock slamming into me. He blasted right past my orgasm and started driving me to my next one. Instantly, the hunger began to build again, rising, growing, threatening to break.

He threw his head back, his muscles tensing, his breath coming in harsh pants. He snarled, one hand gripping my ass, as he drove into me.

“Silas,” I shrieked as I came again, the intensity making me writhe and moan and beg.

Kneeling up and pulling me with him, my arms locked around his neck and my legs clamped around his waist, Silas yelled out his own passion. He squeezed my ass, pulling me onto him as he pounded into me, burying his face in my neck, grunting and panting with each thrust. His need, white-hot and consuming, sent shivers through me, making me cry out in response, my body shaking, my heart racing. His body grinding against me created the friction I needed to send another wave of ecstasy through me, triggering him at last.

His knot began to swell inside me, stretching me impossibly, and with one final, brutal thrust, hepushed the entirety of his massive cock into me, and I threw my head back, screaming his name, coming one final time. I cried out, again and again, my body seizing, every muscle going rigid as the ecstasy kept rising.

Silas roared as his knot throbbed inside of me, his cock buried at the entrance to my womb, and his arms locked around me, anchoring us both. As he yelled my name, his cum erupted inside of me, filling me so completely that my orgasm finally crested, exploding out from my core, and I keened, high and loud, convulsing with a blazing hot bliss that seemed to never end.

Silas collapsed forward, dropping me down then rolling to his back, taking me with him. I lay draped over his chest, powerless to move. He panted and gasped, his arms flopped to his sides.

“That’s a sound I’ll never get tired of,” he chuckled after catching his breath, his voice rough. “The sound of my mate coming for me, screaming my name.”

“Yeah, I gotta agree with you on that,” I giggled, still gasping for air.

It was perfect and I was complete. Utterly satisfied, made whole at last, a feeling unlike any other.

When we’d recovered, he kissed me deeply, his tongue sliding against mine, the taste of him sending goosebumps racing across my skin.

“I love you,” he whispered, his forehead pressing against mine.

I smiled, wrapping my arms around him, pulling him closer, savoring the warmth, the closeness, the safety.

“I love you, too,” I grinned, “but now we have to take another bath.”