Chapter 189
Aria’s POV
The beeping grew louder, more urgent, drilling into my skull with each pulse. My chest heaved with ragged breaths that didn’t seem to bring oxygen Cassandra circled me, pressing her warm body against my legs as I trembled, her amber eyes reflecting worry as she tried to anchor me with her presence.
The dual–natured Goddess remained unmoved, her mismatched eyes–one blinding silver, one fathomless black–fixed upon me with ancient patience. She spoke no words, offering neither comfort nor release from what was to come.
Cassandra whined softly, nudging her muzzle beneath my chin, forcing me to look up. “Trust,” she seemed to say without words, her consciousness brushing against mine.
y throat. I had no choice but to witness what
As the As the room dimmed further and the memory crystallized with merciless clarity, a desperate sob tore from my came next, trapped in this liminal space between life and death, between knowing and ignorance
After what seemed like an eternity of repeating the same lines, I quieted, trembling at having to watch the worst night of my life.
The memory unfolded before me like petals opening to moonlight. I watched, unable to look away as past–Ethen approached with measured steps, his movements fluid and deliberate. He entered my space with a predatory grace that should have frightened me, yer didn’t
His nostris flared slightly as he inhaled, catching my scent. With unexpected tenderness, he reached forward, fingers hovering momentarily before Brushing an errant lock of hair from my face. The rouch was feather–light, reverent almost, as he traced a path from my forehead along my temple before tucking the strand behind my ear.
“Extraordinary,” he breathed, his eyes darkening with an emotion couldn’t name
My well–Cassandra–responded with a soft, yearning sound that vibrated through my chest. Without conscious thought, my palm found its way to his sternum, resting over his heart. The moment skin met fabric, a jolt of sensation–like lightning trapped beneath the surface–surged through my fingertips and up my arm.
The perspective shifted abruptly, and suddenly I was inhabiting my past self rather than observing. The full force of those sensations crushed through me, the subtle scent of pine and whiskey clinging to his skin, the steady thrum of his heartbeat beneath my palm, the mesmerizing green–gold of his eyes reflecting the die hallway
were coming.” His palm cradled my face, fingers curling of the nape of
“The been waiting,” he whispered, his voice like grond wrapped in silk, as if I’ve known you were o my neck. “Tell me you feel it too.”
i coming to you. I just didn’t know it was you I sought.”
The words rose unbidden to my lips, drawn from somewhere deeper than thought: “I’ve always been co
I watched this exchange with mounting disbelief, shaking my head violently. “This is fabricated, 1 accused, turning to the dual–faced deity. “You’re manipulating what happened.”
The obsidian half–face remained impassive. “We do not create. We reveal The voice was midnight and stone, immovable in its certainty.
I pressed my palms against my temples, trying to reconcile this tender exchange with what I’d believed for six years. “If this is true if we truly connected this way–then how could everything that followed happen? How could he just… leave me afterward?”
“Continue watching.” the light voice urged, not unkindly. “The tapestry reveals its pattern only when viewed in full.”
Against my will, my gaze was drawn back to the scene unfolding.
this band found the small of my back, the touch barely there yet somehow anchoring me to the earth. My skip beneath the thin fabric of my shirt grew warm, then hot, as though his fingerprints were branding me. A smile–genuine and tinged with wonder–transformed his features from merely handsome to breathtaking.
He dipped his head, cling the sensitive junction where my neck met my shoulder. The gentle brush of his lips against my pulse point sent a tremor through me. drawing forth a sound cought between sich and plea. When he pulled back, his güze dropped to my mouth with such nuked hunger that I felt consumed before hed even Listed me.
He rested of mulyoak and midnight promises. His art–pine needles crushed underfoot, rain–soaked earth, and something uniquely him–filled my first real breath fit ever taken.
by lungs like the
This can’t be a mate bond,” I protested, the words catching on a sob. “If Ethan were truly my mate, I would have known the moment w training camp. We’ve been around each other for months with nothing–nothing like what I’m seeing here.”
we met again at the
“But your wolf was dormant, the shadow voite
ce reminded me, “poisoned into a
slumber, protecting you from a truth your heart w
wasn’t ready to face.”
I swallowed hard, forcing myself to maintain eye contact despite the heat crawling up my neck. First everything,” I admitted, each word hanging between us. “Firu real kiss that mattered. First touch that burned. First time I’ve wanted someone to… I couldn’t finish, but my meaning was clear.
Chapter 189
He went utterly still, his gaze sharpening as it searched mine. “Are you certain?” he asked, voice dropping to that register that seemed to bypass my ears and vibrate directly through my bones. I would never want you to regret
His hands at my waist guided me backward with exquisite care until I felt the mattress against the hacks of my legs. He broke the kiss only long enough to murmur against my lips, his voice threaded with both passion and promise: “You’ve become essential to me in minutes. I don’t understand it, but I won’t fight it.”
“Then don’t,” I breached, polling him closer.
His mouth found my neck again, trailing fire wherever it touched. A gasp escaped me as he discovered a particularly sensitive spot beneath my ear. My body arched instinctively, seeking more contact, more heat, more of him. His hands slid beneath the hem of my top, fingers splaying across my ribs before gently moving upward, taking the fabric with them watil it cleared my head and fell forgotten to the floor.
When he lowered me to the bed, his movements were measured, controlled–a stark contrast to the wildfire in his eyes. “At any moment,” he vowed, his voice strained with the effort of restraint, “one word from you and we stop. You have my promise.“
as though.
I felt myself being pulled away from the scene, the edges of the vision blurring as darkness began to encroach. My body felt impossibly heavy, as th gravity had intensified tenfold.
