Page 19 of Loving Amari

Damon just bows his head at him. “Hello, young alpha.”

“I’m going to go find my Nala now.”

I smile as I watch him walk off.

“Don’t worry about it, Amari. These shifters are young and they are very primal, so he’s more focused on building community. But over time, he’ll grow to learn the necessities of the technology you’ve brought him.”

“I know.”

Damon’s expression shifts, concern replacing the pleasant mask. “I don’t like this. Carla and all of her children gone in limbo without a word.”

"Look, don't scare me." My voice comes out sharper than I mean it to. "It's already bad enough that I miss her like hell."

And I do. God, I miss her like I’m missing a limb. Every moment without her is agony. I keep reaching for her through the bond and finding nothing but emptiness. It’s like trying to breathe underwater, drowning slowly in her absence.

Damon nods and falls quiet, then goes back to helping the other shifters.

I finish up at the Academy, going through the motions, smiling when I’m supposed to, answering questions, demonstrating equipment. But my mind is elsewhere. With her. Wondering if she’s safe. Wondering if she’s thinking of me. Wondering if she knows how much I need her.

Then I leave and hop into my vehicle. I race through the town as fast as I can. My hands grip the steering wheel tight enough to leave impressions. I pull into my coven, tires squealing.

I stop immediately, shifting my car into park, not bothering to cut the engine. I jump out, running up the stairs. The doors magically open before I reach them. My guards immediately go down the stairs to park the car for me.

I can feel them. I can feel her.

Carla and our children. They’re back. They’ve returned to me.

Relief floods through me so intensely I nearly stagger. She’s here. She’s safe. She’s home.

I see Carla in the hall, still in her nightgown, pouting about something.

I flash to her with my vampire speed and pick her up, not even giving her a chance to speak. My arms wrap around her, crushing her against my chest. I kiss her dizzy, like a man starving, desperate for her. I pour three days of fear and longing into that kiss. My tongue sweeps into her mouth, tasting her, claiming her, reassuring myself that she’s real.

Her curls tangle in my fingers. Her heart beats against my chest. Her warmth seeps into my cold skin. She’s here. She’s alive. She’s mine.

I notice Tofi standing nearby, but I just hold Carla. I can deal with our daughter in a moment. Right now, I need this. I need her.

I finally break the kiss, both of us gasping for air.

“You have no idea how much I’ve missed you. All of you.”

Carla gives me a nervous smile, but she doesn’t speak. There’s something in her eyes, something she needs to tell me, but I don’t care right now.

I kiss her again, softer this time but no less intense. I trail kisses along her jaw, down her neck, finding the claim mark and pressing my lips there. Mine. She’s mine.

“Amari...”

“Please, Carla, just let me hold you for a little while.”

And she does. She melts into my embrace, her arms wrapping around my neck. I bury my face in her hair, breathing in her scent. Peaches and magic and home. I miss the smell of her, the beat of her heart, the warmth of her body against mine.

My hands roam her back, her sides, reassuring myself that she’s whole and unharmed. I press kisses to her temple, her cheek, her lips. I can’t stop touching her, can’t stop kissing her. Three days felt like three centuries.

I don’t know if I can take her leaving me again. The thought of going through this torture another time makes me hold her tighter, as if I can keep her here through sheer force of will.

She’s home. That’s all that matters. Whatever happened in limbo, whatever she needs to tell me, we’ll deal with it together. But right now, in this moment, I just need to hold her and remember how to breathe.

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