And released a huge sigh of relief.
“I’ve been wondering about that.”
I whirled at the sound of Evie’s voice, jerking the zipper closed.
She laughed softly. “I detected Bren’s scent on that one. I was happy to hear he still lives. After what happened with his sister and my son, I worried that the men had killed them both out of jealousy.”
I blinked up at her stupidly. “You know Bren?”
Her head tilted in that dog-like way Sensors often adopted—confirming my guess that she was one. “Of course. I know everyone in this city, even if I’m not allowed to see them.” Her eyes saddened for a moment, then grew animated again. “He’s a good boy. So is my Ryker, once you get past the pain and bitterness. He was never the same after Bren and Isabella left. I’m truly happy that he’s found another worthy of his affections, though. He’s always been so lonely.”
Fresh beads of sweat peppered my forehead as I felt a blush rise to my cheeks. This was now officially awkward and uncomfortable. I could only imagine Ryker’s reaction if he knew about this conversation.
I carefully slung the packs over my shoulders and rose to my feet. “Um, thank you for these. It was nice to meet you. I should probably go, though. The men have an uncanny sense of smell and will probably be here soon.”
My lame joke fell flat as Evie stared at me quizzically. Not knowing what else to say, I shuffled back the way I’d come. My hand was on the window when she whispered, “What does it do?”
I turned and immediately froze when I saw what she was holding. A syringe. Filled with yellow liquid. She’d taken one of the memory serum vials. When I simply gaped at her, not knowing whether to spring forward and snatch it away or run for cover in case she came at me, she sighed. Then brought the needle to her neck.
“No!” I blurted, raising my hands.
She lowered it and arched a dark eyebrow. “One way or another, I always find out what’s going on around here. What’s this serum for?”
Wow. Nosy and unpredictable. Like mother, like son.
“It steals your memories,” I explained. “Locks them up so you can’t even remember your own name.” Stars, I really hoped she didn’t tell Rollie.
Her expression flattened. I waited for her to demand the full story, but instead, she pocketed the syringe and nodded at the window. “You’d best be going. Hide those backpacks so they don’t fall into the wrong hands.”
Before she changed her mind or demanded more answers, I slid the window open. Halfway through, I paused and glanced back at her. “Don’t you ever try to escape?”
Evie slowly shook her head. “No.”
“Why not?” I couldn’t help but ask.
She gave me a sad smile. “Because a mother will sacrifice pretty much anything to protect her child. Even her own happiness.”
The next several minutes were a blur. Not because I was scrambling to put as much distance as possible between me and that building, but because I couldn’t stop crying. Her parting words reminded me of Mum, of everything she’d sacrificed for her children. It had only been a few days, but I already missed her so much. And I hadn’t told her that I loved her, that her memory had given me the courage to face the Trials—and come out on the other side.
I finally had to stop running. My brain was having a meltdown or something. Thinking of all the people I wanted to save, yet feeling completely inadequate to the job, had me curling into a ball. I fought the compulsion, continuing to crawl into the dark recesses of an alley, but my arms eventually gave out.
Get up, get up! It was no use. I had reached a limit I’d been unaware of. Still, I scanned the area through my tears, searching for a possible hiding spot. And not just for myself. I needed to stash the backpacks, then contact Jaxon—
A hand touched my head.
An involuntary shriek escaped me and I jerked back, promptly smacking into a wall. I looked up to see a massive form looming over me. When no features presented themselves, I decided to attack. My boot made contact with a kneecap. The form curled forward with a pained grunt. Using their superior weight against them, I lunged for the neck and threw myself toward the ground, bringing them with.
The packs broke our fall and we rolled. I came out on top and quickly pressed my forearm to their throat. “No one’s claiming me unless I say so, scumbag!” I snarled, applying more force to the windpipe.
A deep rumble vibrated through my arm as the man began to choke. No, he was laughing. Laughing? I growled, squinting for a better look at the idiot’s face. Familiar golden eyes greeted me. “Bren?” I whispered in disbelief, loosening my grip. Then again, I’d been projecting my Visionary ability and he could sense the energy. I had led him straight to me.
“You’re so beautiful,” he said, still chuckling, and reached up to touch my face. He paused with his hand inches away, as if remembering the rules.
Screw the rules.
I tilted my cheek into his warm palm. He stiffened, but didn’t pull away—simply stared, unblinking. As if afraid I would disappear at any moment. We stayed like that for the longest time, unwilling to break the spell. Then, his thumb ever so gently swept across my cheekbone. Drying my tears. Stirring the wings in my stomach. His breath caught. The small noise awakened my desire for him with a roar.
His muscles bunched as he pushed himself into a sitting position, leaving me to straddle his waist. The air grew charged between us, fit to ignite. To reactivate the raging fire that had never gone out.
“Please,” I whispered, not bothering to suppress the quiver in my voice. “Touch me. Kiss me.”
Please, stars, please.
“I shouldn’t.” His voice was equally affected. “It’s too dangerous.”
“Then let me touch you,” I breathed, suddenly desperate for this one last opportunity before we were forced to keep our distance. “Just for tonight while the rules allow it. Please, Bren.”
When he didn’t protest, I laid a hand on his chest. He shuddered and closed his eyes. Encouraged, I slid my fingers into his thick wavy hair—right where they wanted to be. A hum came from deep in his throat. He eased a hand beneath my shirt, pressing his palm to the small of my back. A thrill went through me when he gathered me close, fitting us together like two puzzle pieces made to belong.
He stilled, reopening his eyes to carefully search my face. “What about Ryker?”
“What about him?”
“You’re supposed to get married to him.”
“I know. And I’ll do what has to be done, but this is what I want. You. Me.”
“I won’t share you,” he softly growled, tightening his grip.
“You don’t have to. Kiss me. Kiss me and I’ll prove that you won’t have to.”
His head lowered. Our breath mingled. Yet he continued to hesitate, not bridging that gap I so desperately wanted him to cross. I slowly shifted in his lap and he stiffened, hissing through his teeth. Butterflies jumped in my stomach. My thighs instinctively clenched around his, and this time, it was my turn to suck in a gasp as heat barrelled through me.
In one swift move, he was on his feet, carrying me into the alley’s secluded depths. His gaze was fire and passion, love and adoration. Everything that I wanted. He never once looked away as he moved. The backpack containing the box of serum dug into my spine as he backed me against a wall. I fumbled for the straps, trying to wrestle the packs free.
Bren had other plans. He reached behind me and gave a sharp yank. The wall fell away as we entered through a door. He toed it shut behind us.
His plan was better. Much better.
I dropped the packs just before he pressed me to a wall again. Feeling the length of him against me sent a weak moan rolling up my throat. His mouth—stars, his perfect mouth—finally found my skin. My head fell back as he kissed a scorching trail up my neck. My fingers clenched in his hair and he growled, low and deep, his teeth tugging at my ear as repayment. I bit my lip to keep from crying out.
“Claim me,�
�� I panted, half out of my mind for him but lucid enough to know what I was asking. “Before the others come and I have no choice. Claim me, Bren.”
He balked, drawing back to look at me. The room was dark, but I could still make out the yellow glow of his irises. “Do you know what you’re asking?” he replied thickly. “You would have to bind yourself to me. Submit. Give yourself. You want that?”
I touched his face. “I do. My heart is yours. Only yours. No matter what happens after tonight, I need you to know that.”
“I don’t want you to make a rash decision and regret giving yourself to me—”
“I would never regret it,” I interrupted him, then softened my voice. “I want to. More than anything.”
His inhale was sharp, as if he couldn’t believe what I was saying. So I added, “This is my choice. Not something I’m doing simply because a king is forcing me to marry his son. It’s you, Bren. Your quiet strength, your teasing, your crooked smile, your gentleness, your kind heart, your sayings that don’t make sense. Everything you are, the good and the bad. All of it. I want it all. I want . . . I want you.”
He closed his eyes for a moment, murmuring some more of those sayings I didn’t understand. “If the boss discovers us,” he said, slowly reopening his eyes, “he might lock us up for good. Or worse.”
“Then we better not get caught,” I dared challenge him. “But right now, it’s just you—” I pulled his face closer to mine. “Me—” I tilted his head, kissing his ear, then his jaw, slowly working my way toward his mouth. I stopped just shy of his lips as I finished with, “And an abandoned building.”
His skin practically vibrated under my fingertips. I knew he was weakening. Knew it in the way his hands tightly gripped my hips, his chest heaving against mine. The power—the control I had over him—was intoxicating. Not that I wanted to steal away his choices. But seduce him a little?
Freaking, yes.
I shrugged before trying a new tactic. My tone was dripping with sarcasm, but I was still hoping for a reaction when I whispered, “Or you could give Ryker and me your blessing as we—”
“Never,” he interrupted with a growl, that one word holding a world of anger and hurt, desperation and want. “I will never give my blessing. You’re mine.” He made a sound in the back of his throat. Dark. Feral. “You’re mine, Lune Avery.”
Oh.
And then he finally did it.
He claimed my lips in a powerful rush.
The kiss was intense. Possessive. Punishing. Punishing me for my words.
I took it, asking for more. He gave. And gave. With a fervor that was almost frightening. His scent wrapped around me, consuming my senses. I drank him in. Willingly drowning. His mouth worked mine hard.
Branding.
Claiming.
My lips parted as I asked him to claim the rest of me. Asked. Because it was my decision. And I chose him.
His tongue swept inside, and mine eagerly met his. I gasped as they intertwined. He explored every inch of my mouth and I his, until we were both shaking with need. His fingers found the zipper of my jacket. Mine were already tugging at the collar of his shirt. In seconds, we were stripped to the waist, our clothing tossed into the darkness.
He claimed my lips again and I arched against him, inhaling sharply when our skin met. New sensations overwhelmed me, the feel of his hard chest against the softness of mine.
More. My body craved more of him. All of him. Wanted to crawl inside of him.
His legs suddenly gave out and he dropped to his knees. As he lowered me to the floor, I expected to feel the cold bite of concrete. Instead, something soft cushioned my back. Moss. Nature had claimed this room. I grasped Bren’s neck to pull him on top of me, but he halted the movement. His fingers encircled my wrists, placing them on either side of my head.
I tried to make out his face but was distracted by his eyes. They were taking in the bare skin he’d never seen before. As his gaze ran over me like a caress, my breath hitched. He swallowed up the reaction, his irises brighter than I’d ever seen them. I squirmed under his all-consuming stare, feeling exposed and vulnerable.
His eyes lifted to mine. “I’m completely undone by you.”
I stilled.
His next words had me wholly enraptured.
“I claim you, Lune Avery, as my mate,” he said quietly, but his voice was steady. Reverent. “From this moment forward, you are mine and I am yours. I will protect you—” He lowered his head and I watched him press a kiss to my bare stomach. A riot of butterflies took up residence there and I lost my ability to breathe. “Honor you—” His lips found my rapidly beating heart. “And love you. Until my very last breath.” He kissed my mouth, this time gently, and I struggled with the overwhelming urge to cry.
I was trembling, heart in my throat and completely clueless as to how this claiming thing worked. He had labeled it a predatory act, but this—this—was beautiful.
And I wanted to claim him in return.
I nudged him back until he was the one lying down. His eyes tracked my every movement as I slowly straddled him. My whole body flushed under that penetrating gaze, but I still managed to say, “I claim you, Brendan Bearon, as my mate. From this moment forward, you are mine and I am yours.” My voice shook with nerves, but I didn’t falter once. I repeated the rest, kissing his stomach, his heart, and his mouth, lingering each time. Relishing the way he responded to my touch.
A slight weight, one I’d borne for eleven years, knocked against my chest as I shifted. I reached up and removed the bear tooth necklace he’d given me. And looped it around his neck. I rested the tooth on his chest and placed my hand over it. “You’re mine now.”
He wrapped an arm around my waist, rolling me under him. “You have no idea how much I love the sound of that, little bird,” his voice rumbled in my ear. Then his body was on mine, pressing me into the moss. A moan left me as my brain fogged, as the world receded and all I could do was feel. His lips on my skin. Kissing. Every. Last. Inch. His strong yet gentle hands exploring the contours of my body for the very first time.
He built a fire in me. Then soothed the ache.
He stole my breath completely.
He loved me. Until I only knew him.
As my heart swelled to bursting and the feelings overflowed, I cried out. The love I felt for him in this moment was bigger than words. This was my soul’s desire, for as long as I could hold onto it. Maybe we’d have an hour. But maybe we’d have a lifetime together after facing the challenges ahead of us. I greedily soaked up every precious second of time with him. Because he and I both knew how much time enjoyed tearing us apart. But this moment . . .
It was ours.
“Jump.”
I wrinkled my nose.
Bren gave me a devilish grin. “I swear I’ll catch you.”
“Or maybe I’ll just up and fly,” I purred, enjoying the easy banter we’d fallen into. “Why can’t I have the ability to fly instead of haunt people’s brains?”
Laughter burst from him. Light and carefree. Happy. “Come on. You totally made this jump during the Arcus Point Trial.”
“Yeah, but I had a saber cat trying to eat me then.” I rolled my eyes but backed up a step. Then ran toward the rooftop’s ledge. As I soared through empty space, knowing certain death awaited six stories below, exhilaration gave me wings. All too soon, the neighboring rooftop came up fast. I stuck the landing. Sort of.
True to his word, Bren caught me before I face-planted into concrete. I laughed as he swung me around, pretending for a moment more that dawn wasn’t approaching and this wouldn’t have to end.
“They’ll have a hard time tracking us up here,” he said, setting me down only to twirl me. I bit my lip in a vain effort to stop from smiling when he reeled me back in and started to dance.
“What are you doing?”
He quirked a brow. “Dancing.”
“And avoiding the inevitable?”
He dipped me low, whispering
in my ear, “Don’t remind me.”
“Bren.”
“Hmm?” We were off again, leaving me breathless and far too happy on a night that could still go terribly wrong.
“Bren, we need to discuss this.”
We slowed. Then stopped.
He sighed, gently tucking hair behind my ear before saying, “Okay.”
“When Ryker arrives, we have to act like this never happened.”
“I know.” He gave me a tight smile, but it quickly fell.
I fingered the leather cord around his neck, then slipped the bear tooth beneath his shirt. “I know it’ll be hard, but I really do have a plan. Promise not to leave me behind, even if things go south.”
Bren had found an epic hiding spot for our backpacks, but I couldn’t help worrying that he’d take the box of serum and return to Tatum City without me. He was compromised, but I didn’t doubt that he’d try to complete his mission anyway. And that scared the crap out of me.
“I will never leave you behind again, little bird. Things are different now.”
“Why? Because we had—” My mouth snapped shut. I was so not ready to say that word. But now I was thinking about what we’d done. How patient and attentive Bren had been. How incredible he’d made me feel—like the center of his universe.
His fingers distracted me as he plucked something from my hair. When he held up a cluster of moss with an insufferable grin plastered on his face, my cheeks caught on fire.
“You’re so adorable when you blush,” he teased. I scowled, but had to bite back a giggle when he suddenly turned me in his arms and sat. We stretched out on the rooftop, my legs between his, my back resting against his chest. He kissed my temple as I placed my head on his shoulder.
We stared up at the starry sky in peaceful silence. I didn’t press him further. Not right now. Later. There would be time for all of that later. I hoped.
“To answer your question,” Bren said, surprising me, “things are different because of the promises we made. I don’t take them lightly. Claiming a mate is as binding as marriage—maybe more so, since I now consider you my other half. My soulmate. I will defend, respect, and cherish you until my very last breath.”
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