Page 37 of Mate Night Snack (Hollow Oak Mates #2)

EMMETT

E mmett led Katniss along the familiar forest path, their fingers intertwined, the silver cord from their handfasting ceremony still wrapped around their joined hands like a promise made visible.

"Are you sure about this?" he asked as they approached the sacred grove. "We could go back to the cabin. More comfortable, more private..."

"This is perfect." Katniss squeezed his hand, her voice soft with wonder. "This is where it all started, where we first chose each other. It feels right to come back here as husband and wife."

The clearing welcomed them like an old friend, the ancient trees standing sentinel around the space where the Veil grew thin.

Fireflies danced between the branches, their light weaving patterns that seemed almost purposeful.

The air itself felt alive with magic, humming with the same energy that had blessed their ceremony hours before.

"The whole place is singing," Katniss whispered, her seer abilities picking up harmonies invisible to ordinary perception. "Can you feel it?"

Emmett nodded, his shifter senses attuned to the subtle shifts in the forest's mood.

"It's blessing us," he said, understanding flooding through him. "The Veil, the forest, all of it. They're giving us their benediction."

Katniss turned in his arms, her face upturned to catch the moonlight.

The wildflower crown was gone now, but her dark curls still held traces of the ceremony's magic, tiny sparkles of light that caught and held his gaze.

She was beautiful, had always been beautiful, but tonight she seemed to glow from within.

Fireflies drifted in slow spirals overhead, their golden glow brighter than usual, like the woods themselves knew what this night meant. The breeze carried the scent of pine and blooming thistle, the air full of warmth even though the moon hung high and silver above them.

Emmett stood still for a long moment, just watching her.

Katniss in white.

The dress hugged her curves in such a way that made his chest ache.

The fabric shimmered like starlight, falling off one shoulder, soft and wild like her.

Her thick black waves tumbled down her back, pinned with tiny silver leaves.

Her hazel eyes, sharp as ever, were shining like she was still a little surprised the world hadn’t torn this moment away.

"I love you," she said simply. "Not because the mate bond tells me to, not because magic demands it, but because you're you. Because you see me, all of me, and love me anyway."

"There's no 'anyway' about it. I love you because of who you are. You make me better than I ever thought I could be. My wife,” he said, barely more than breath.

She turned, the soft skirt of her dress whispering against grass and flower petals that hadn’t been there minutes ago. Her smile curled slow and sure as she crossed to him, her bare feet leaving no imprint in the moss.

“My husband,” she whispered.

He kissed her like it was the first time all over again.

No desperation. No looming danger.

Just need. And reverence. And love he couldn’t carry quiet anymore.

She tasted like oranges and magic and something that had always belonged to him.

When their lips parted, she reached for the buttons of his white shirt, her fingers slow but certain. “I want to feel you,” she said softly. “All of you.”

His breath caught in his chest, but he nodded. “You have me.”

The clearing wrapped around them like a secret. The petals beneath their feet grew thicker, spreading like the forest had laid a bed just for them. The vines curled low along the roots, and somewhere in the trees, a bird sang once and then went silent.

Emmett slid the dress off her shoulders slowly, carefully, until it pooled at her waist, and then let it fall the rest of the way. She stepped free of it, fully bare in the moonlight. Her skin glowed with the faintest shimmer—soft bronze kissed by firelight and magic.

His mouth went dry. “You’re… you’re everything.”

She didn’t look away. “So are you.”

He undid the rest of his shirt, tugged off his jeans, and stepped close until their bodies met again. Her warmth pressed against the muscle of his chest. Her thighs brushed his. Her eyes held that mix of fire and tenderness threatening to undo him.

He lowered her gently to the petal-strewn grass.

The quilt of wildflowers beneath her bloomed wider with every breath, a bed born from the bond between them.

She gasped as he kissed down her throat, then lower, tasting every inch of her like he had all the time in the world.

Her fingers curled in his hair as his mouth found her breasts, tongue circling her nipple until she whimpered, hips lifting into his. He moved lower, trailing kisses across her belly, then nudging her thighs apart with his broad palms.

“Emmett—”

“I want to memorize the way you sound,” he murmured.

And then he tasted her.

Slowly. Thoroughly.

His tongue moved through her slick heat, coaxing more breathless gasps from her lips, teasing and tasting until her legs shook against his shoulders and her hands trembled in his hair.

When she came—soft and sharp and full of light—it wasn’t just physical.

The mate bond opened wide between them, flooding him with her sensation, her joy, her love.

He groaned low against her as it hit him, the emotion crashing like a wave, undeniable and perfect.

He kissed his way back up, settling over her, their breaths mingling.

“Again,” she whispered. “I need to feel all of you.”

He braced his hands beside her hips and met her gaze, holding it like something sacred as he aligned with her center. The air between them vibrated with anticipation, heavy and sweet, like the moment before a summer storm breaks.

With a slow press of his hips, he eased inside.

Katniss gasped, her lips parting in a breathless sound that sent shivers down his spine. Inch by inch, her body took him in, stretching around the thick length of him, slick heat pulling him deeper with every breath.

“God, Katniss…” he groaned, voice fraying.

Her hands gripped his biceps, nails biting into muscle as her legs wrapped around his waist. Her eyes never left his, wide with awe and wonder, her hazel gaze flickering with something fierce.

“You feel like… home,” she whispered, voice ragged.

“So do you,” he said, the words low and reverent.

He sank into her fully, hips flush against hers, the heat between them unbearable in the best way. For a moment, neither of them moved—just breathing, just feeling. Her inner muscles fluttered around him like her body already knew this rhythm, had been made for it.

Then she moved—tilting her hips, rolling against him—and that was it.

They began to rock together in the moonlight, slow and fluid, their rhythm intimate and unhurried. Each thrust was deliberate, drawing them tighter into each other. Emmett gritted his teeth, barely holding on, the feel of her—tight, wet, clenching around him—so perfect it bordered on painful.

Katniss’s head tipped back, her black waves spilling over the wildflowers, lips parted as soft moans slipped free. His mouth found the delicate column of her neck, trailing kisses up to her ear, catching her lobe between his teeth before whispering, “You’re everything.”

She gasped and clutched his back, her nails dragging across his skin and leaving lines his wolf would wear with pride.

“Harder,” she breathed, her voice trembling. “I can take it.”

He growled low in his throat, the sound raw and primal, and drove into her harder—deeper—his thrusts gaining force. The soft slap of skin against skin echoed in the clearing, mixing with the rustle of leaves and her breathy cries.

He gripped her hips tighter, pulling her into each thrust, filling her completely, stretching her around the full length of him.

“You’re mine,” he said, the words guttural against her throat.

“Yes,” she cried, hips rising to meet his. “Always.”

The bond between them, always simmering, flared like a flame doused in oil. Power surged through his chest, through his limbs, anchoring him to her in a way that went beyond touch.

Golden light spilled from her, a radiant pulse that cast their bodies in soft, otherworldly glow. It moved across her skin like a living thing—flowing, searching—tracing the arc of her ribcage, the curve of her hips, the line of her jaw.

And then it touched him.

The magic spilled from her fingers, lighting up their joined bodies in threads of glowing gold.

Vines bloomed beneath them, curling around their limbs with soft green tendrils, blossoms unfolding with every heartbeat.

Where they touched, warmth spread—not just over skin, but into bone and memory and soul.

“Emmett,” she gasped, her voice trembling on the edge of awe and release. “Look…”

He looked. And forgot to breathe.

Her magic had come alive.

Vines traced protective sigils across her body, glowing lines of ancient design weaving over her thighs, her stomach, her breasts. They crossed to him next, marking him in mirrored patterns, twining over his shoulders and arms, wrapping around the old scar on his left shoulder.

“It’s healing me,” he whispered. “Your magic… it’s healing everything.”

She cupped his face with both hands, her thumbs brushing the edge of his jaw. “It doesn’t hurt,” she said. “It feels like… like we were always meant to fit.”

His throat burned.

“You are my fit,” he said, voice thick with love and something more primal. “My perfect match.”

Their bodies met harder now, her legs locked tight around his waist, her hips rising to meet every stroke. He could feel her close—tight and trembling and about to shatter.

“Come with me,” he said, burying himself deep and grinding against that spot inside her that made her whole body tense.

She cried out his name, her climax breaking through her like a wave crashing over stone. Her body arched, her pussy clenching tight around him in pulsing waves that dragged him under.

He followed with a growl, driving into her one last time, emptying himself in a release so consuming it left him breathless. As they climaxed together, the bond between them exploded in a radiant surge.

Tiny golden petals burst from the vines and floated skyward, catching in his hair and on her cheeks like glittering blessings.

The mark blazed, and beneath it, a new one formed across his heart, lit by her power, sealed by their union.

They collapsed together, tangled in vines and magic, her body pressed flush against his, the sweat and wildness between them slowly fading into quiet.

The sigils dimmed but didn’t vanish.

They settled into their skin like tattoos made of light.

Permanent.

Sacred.

His.

"Well," Katniss said eventually, her voice dreamy with satisfaction. "That was unexpected."

"Which part? The magical light show or the fact that we're apparently glowing?"

She laughed, the sound bright as silver bells in the hushed clearing. "All of it."

"Maybe it's never had a bond like ours to work with." Emmett traced one of the faint light-patterns on her shoulder, marveling at the way it seemed to pulse beneath his touch. "Built on choice instead of compulsion. Love instead of just instinct."

"You think that makes a difference?"

"I think everything about us makes a difference." He pulled her closer, feeling the protective magic hum contentedly around them. "We're writing our own rules, remember? Creating something new."

Emmett held her as she drifted off, his own eyes heavy but reluctant to close. This moment felt too precious to lose to sleep, too perfect to let slip away into memory. The protective magic continued to pulse gently around them, a living reminder of what they'd created together.

Emmett smiled and finally let his eyes drift closed, secure in the knowledge that this was only the beginning. They had a lifetime ahead of them, full of ordinary moments and extraordinary love, small challenges and great adventures.

But tonight, beneath the protective canopy of ancient trees and surrounded by magic that had blessed their union, they were exactly where they belonged.

Together, bound by choice and sealed by love, ready for whatever the future might bring.

And for the first time in his life, Emmett Hollowell was completely, utterly, perfectly at peace.