Page 28

This was my last night with Dahr. And he was running late.

After we arrived back at the camp, I wanted to jump out of the car and right into Dahr’s arms, but Markos explained that there were rituals that needed to be upheld before the day of the battle. He emphasised how important these were, especially now, and asked me for a favour. To wait until the evening. To allow Dahr to complete these rites just as he normally did, since we both knew that my presence would alter his emotions and possibly, his powers.

So I obeyed and returned to Karisha, who received me in between hugs and tearful scorns. Just like her mate, she begged me to reconsider, but when I told her my mind was made up, she welcomed me back, fed me and advised me to get some rest until it was time for dinner. For once, I listened to the exhausted cries of my muscles, which begged for a few hours of rest.

Mira woke me up in time for dinner and before Dahr’s arrival, she too welcomed me back with a pitiful but understanding gaze. Once I settled my heart enough to steady my breath, I placed myself near the entrance and waited for my mate’s return. After a few hours of rest and a belly full of food, I knew I wasn’t going to waste a minute longer not living the short fairytale I had found myself in.

This man would be my everything.

My story.

My salvation.

My destruction.

And I was determined to give him my all.

My soul almost left my body when I heard heavy footsteps stopping just outside the tent and Dahr’s voice reverberating through the dusky scenery.

“Take good care of your mate tonight,”

he must have told someone and even though I could not see his face, I heard the burden that strained his voice. Markos must have not said a word about my return, because Dahr did not seem in a hurry to come back to his tent and kept finding excuses to stay outside.

Not wanting to ruin his arrival, I stayed quiet and waited. I waited and admired the tall muscly shape that shadowed the leather fabric of the tent, the heavy tension in his shoulders and the arms that looked to be weighing a ton on each side of him, dragging his body weight from one leg to the next.

He kept urging his warriors on, kept saying his goodbyes to the camp and inviting everyone around to return home for dinner and a final night of enjoyment. And when he finally, finally, listened to his own advice and stepped in, I barely contained myself not to jump into his arms and allowed him enough space to breathe. And take me in. His inky eyes widened and the warrior blinked a few times as he gaped at me, looking as though he was seeing a mirage. Breath left his lungs and filled the air around the tent with hot stains as Dahr took a step towards me, slowly and tentatively, scared that I would vanish into thin air if he made a wrong move.

“Milenora, is that—”

Hearing my name fall from his lips made my heart flutter so desperately that I lost control and launched for him. I had to jump up to press my lips on his, but as soon as I lifted myself on my tiptoes, Dahr lowered to me to seal the kiss, the eagerness of his lips branding me like coals falling over fresh snow.

“Why did you come back?”

The warrior broke the kiss only enough to ask the question as his hands clung to me with desperation, pressing me to his chest as though he would never let me go again.

“How could you think I would leave you?”

I whispered as I reached up to cup his cheeks.

“How could you think I would leave my mate?”

Dahr fell to his knees in front of me, desperate and powerless, grabbing onto our connection like a drowning man.

“We will face tomorrow,”

I reached to kiss his worry-lined brow.

“And we will get through it together,”

I promised as I squeezed him tighter.