Page 21 of Reveal Me (Immortal Vices and Virtues: All Hallows’ Eve #2)

Dion

I tasted the bitter scent of leaves and earth as I raced through the dark woods. A growl echoed in the distance, low and throaty, as if it was warning me to turn back. There was no turning back. I wasn’t going to let her face that panther alone.

My claws extended. My body trembled with the need to shift. I felt the beast within me, coiling, ready to break free and tear through the woods in search of her.

The moment I shifted, my senses exploded into hyper drive.

The weight of my body melted into the sleek, predatory form of my panther, claws digging into the earth, muscles rippling with controlled power.

The air smelled of wet foliage, crushed leaves beneath my paws, and the heady scent of the Forbidden Forest—earthy, sharp, and intoxicating.

I could feel every shift in the wind, every movement in the trees, as if the world itself was speaking to me.

I growled low in my throat, the sound a rumble of warning vibrating through the air, a challenge that should have echoed loud enough to send any creature running.

My eyes locked on the massive black panther lying at Niamh’s feet, its form powerful and menacing—its presence a threat I couldn’t ignore.

My eyes narrowed. My growl deepened. A strange shift occurred.

The panther, massive and wild as it was, didn’t react.

It didn’t lunge at me, didn’t bare its claws or show its teeth.

Instead, it lay there, resting its large head in Niamh’s lap.

She stroked its fur absentmindedly, the image so surreal that for a moment, I froze in place.

I blinked once, twice, as my mind tried to process what I was seeing. My panther instincts screamed at me to defend her, to fight the beast that should have been a lethal threat. But something in the way the wild creature rested—vulnerable, calm, even—caught me off guard.

“Shush,” she said, her voice calm, almost serene. “The panther’s sleeping.”

I was stunned, still frozen in my panther form, trying to understand what was happening.

This wasn’t how it was supposed to go. Panthers didn’t curl up in anyone’s lap.

They didn’t trust. They didn’t show weakness.

They certainly didn’t allow a fairy who carried poison in her very veins to touch them without a single ounce of fear.

Shifting back to my human form, I left the dark shape of my panther behind. “What the hell is going on?”

“I found a panther who won’t cheat on me.” She stroked the beast’s fur in the wrong direction, and it didn’t bristle.

“We’ve been through this, Niamh. I knew it was you. From the moment I met you here. You smelled like mine.”

“Yeah, I know.”

“You know?”

She nodded, stroking the panther’s fur in the wrong way. Instead of hissing, the beast purred contentedly. It was my hackles that were in a bind. That oversized cat was in my spot.

“I’ve decided to trust you. If you tell me you haven’t been to bed with another woman since me, then I’ll believe you.”

I opened my mouth and closed it.

The serene look fell from Niamh’s face. The panther lifted its head. Accusation was clear on both their faces.

I held up my hands. “I went to your room about to climb into your bed. There was a woman there. I thought it was you. It was Stella.”

“Oh? So you do incest.”

“I did not do incest. I almost lost my life. Oz came in.”

That got a burst of laughter from her. “And he didn’t break your face? I’m glad. I like your face.”

“I like your face, too.”

“That’s good because there are other parts of me that are broken.”

“Me, too.” I ventured closer, like a visitor introducing itself to the resident house cat. “Maybe my broken pieces will fit your broken pieces.”

Niamh chewed at the inside of her lip as she stroked the panther. This time she stroked its fur the right way. “Did you know that the beasts in this forest have been poisoned?”

“They were cursed by Pan.”

“Curse? Poison? Some people see the same thing.”

“You cured him?”

Niamh nodded, patting the beast as it rose and licked her face. She gave the mangy cat a smile. The beast glared at me, then trotted off.

There were so many of my people still trapped in their animal forms. Niamh could cure them. Families could be reunited.

She was going to make the perfect queen, not just for me but for all of my people.

I inhaled deeply, her scent filling my lungs with a mixture of wildflowers, sweet earth, and that dangerous bite I would never get enough of. Every breath was like taking in a little piece of her, like I was drinking her in. I didn’t want to stop until I was drunk.

“What are you doing?” she asked, her voice a little breathless, as if she already knew the answer.

“Savoring your scent in my nose before I take you with my tongue. I love the way you smell.”

“You really knew it was me the other night when I seduced you?”

“Yes, love. I knew it was you. I knew what you were doing. I knew what I was doing. We were both being complete idiots. Now I want to be smart.”

“Me, too.”

“You’re going to make a brilliant queen.”

“Oh, right.” Her brows drew together. “I forgot about that part. I get a crown.”

I reached for the plants at my feet, coaxing them to come together as I wove their stems, leaves, and petals.

Each strand was a reminder of who she was, of the power and danger that rippled through her veins.

Niamh dipped her head as I held the crown over it.

The dark green and purple hues of the leaves stood out against the silver moonlight, the sharp, almost metallic scent of the poison mixing with the floral sweetness of the wildflowers.

“If you break my heart, I’ll poison you.”

“Deal.”

Her lips met mine in a kiss that wasn’t just a kiss.

It was an answer, a promise, a release of everything we’d both been holding back.

Her taste—sweet, intoxicating, and lethal all at once—was like nothing else.

My hands found her waist, pulling her tighter against me as if I could fuse us into one being.

I kissed her like I’d been starved for her touch, each movement desperate, urgent, and filled with every bit of emotion I’d been burying. Her body trembled in my arms, and I knew she felt it too—the pull, the connection, the undeniable force of fate.