33. Phaedra

PHAEDRA

W hen my tears finally dried and I could actually speak without sobbing, I told Asher the truth.

"I love you, too." His shoulder muffled my voice. "I've loved you all this time, and I wish I'd had the courage to tell you this before."

"We're both fools," he whispered. "But there's no sense in dwelling over the time we wasted being stubborn. Let's do better by each other from here."

Butterflies swarmed in my stomach. "Yes," I said, pulling back just enough to look at him. "Let's."

We moved in for the kiss at the same time. There was no trace of hesitation or shame or second thoughts or doubts now. We had both fully accepted and admitted our love for each other, and for now, nothing else mattered.

I pushed Asher down onto the soft earth, and he yielded to me, letting me straddle him. As we continued kissing, my wrist began to tingle, as if someone was holding a lit match just close enough to feel the sting of the flame. I knew instinctively that Asher must have felt the same thing.

I didn't think it was possible, but somehow, the fated mate marks returned, and this time, I had every intention of keeping them.

Asher was rock hard beneath me, his hands caressing up my thighs to my waist. His wolf claws tore through the silk fabric and tossed them away. I let him raise my hips and lower me onto his cock. We moaned into each other's mouths as his length slipped into my slick pussy inch by wonderful, blissful inch.

I rode him slowly at first, adjusting to this new position. My hands found his, and our fated marks pressed to each other as our fingers intertwined.

My body began to move faster on its own, each movement sending a jolt of sweet, sweet pleasure into my blood.

Gasping, I broke the kiss. I kept the hands without the fated marks intwined but braced my other hand on his muscular chest.

Asher watched me with hooded eyes, and then he raised my wrist to his mouth, watching me as he slowly dragged his tongue along the mark. I cried out. It was like I'd been dipped in champagne, delicious, bubbly tingles spreading along my skin. Gods, it had never felt quite like that before.

He must have felt that same jolt in his body, but he was smirking, whereas I was just a sweaty, panting mess. He gazed up at me with eyes full of love, obsession, and mischief. He licked the mark again, this time letting the tip of his tongue trace against the outline of it.

The orgasm whipped through me, so powerful and sudden, I couldn't prepare for it. He came with me, his hot seed pulsing straight into me. I shuddered on top of him, collapsing against him. He held me to his chest and continued thrusting up into me.

His breathing was rough and hurried. "Yes, yes," he grunted into my ear. I gripped the grass, my guttural moans echoing into the cave. I didn't care how loud I was. I'd had to be quiet all my life, but today, even the gods would know that my mate was here, that he loved me, and that he intended to prove it by giving me pleasure no one—god or mortal—had ever experienced before.

I hadn't allowed myself to fall asleep even when the adrenaline wore off and my body began to shut down. I didn't want Kestrel to take control of me again. But in Asher's arms, the very real and present dangers didn't seem so close. So, I nestled into his chest and let myself drift off.

Fortunately, I was back in the room filled with light, with Mara. It was such a relief to see her that I almost hugged her. What stopped me was the fact she looked so grave, so regretful.

She was standing, which was unusual. Seeing her without her throne sobered me. Things were serious.

" I didn't expect she would get so powerful so quickly ," she said. " If I had realized I could contact you sooner… maybe things wouldn't have turned out that way. "

"I'm sorry I haven't mastered my powers," I said. "If I was stronger, she wouldn't have been able to do that to me."

She shook her head, her expression despondently blank. " It's really not your fault. It's mine. Nothing has gone according to plan, Phaedra. I shouldn't have blown up at you the way I did. Or at all. None of this is your fault. Mortals should be left out of our affairs, and I am so very sorry for dragging you into the crossfire."

I shivered. How bad were the odds of our success if a goddess was apologizing to me?

" I will also tell you that I was the one who bonded you and Asher together ."

"What? You did?"

She nodded. " It wasn't an easy thing. The ability to intentionally create fated bonds is a dying art on Emerys. It took a lot of study, but I believed you would be stronger if you had a fated mate by your side. " Her smile was closer to a smirk. " I'm glad I was right about that much at least. When the two of you are together and united, you're much stronger—spiritually and physically ."

"That's… okay, wow." I blushed. "I'm sorry I had it dissolved. I'm sorry I gave my blood to Kestrel. I'm sorry I started this."

" You didn't, believe me ," she replied, rolling her eyes. " That woman has been dead set on finding a way back to Emerys since she was bound to the mortal world. She would have figured out a way to get her talons on your blood eventually. "

"Oh," I said. "I… I guess you're right. It feels wrong to say that this was completely out of my hands."

She shrugged. " Some things are just meant to happen. "

"What do we do now? How do we fight her?"

" You need to wake up and head to feral lands. You ought to be safe there while you look for it. "

"Feral lands?" I repeated. "What am I looking for? Why?"

" There's something there that you need. I think it will help you defeat Kestrel. "

"But what?—"

I woke before I could finish my question.

I sat up quickly. Asher wasn't next to me. Panic crept in, until I smelled fire and the delectable scent of roasting meat. I got to my feet to find him by the fire, where rabbits were cooking.

"Good morning, beautiful," he said as I sat at his side. "You were incredible last night."

Blushing, I pressed my nose to his shoulder. "So were you."

"What do you want to do with your newfound freedom?" he asked. "Maybe go for a second round?" He winked.

I blushed. "I wish, but after breakfast, we need to get moving. Mara visited me last night."

"Ah." He was suddenly all business. "What did she tell you?"

"Well, actually, she told me a couple of things. For one, she was the one who bound us together as fated mates."

His eyebrows rose. "Oh."

"Yeah, ‘oh'." I was blushing again, so I quickly moved on to the more pressing information. "She also told me we need to go get something to defeat Kestrel. Unfortunately, it means we have to go into the feral lands."

His head jerked back. "I beg your pardon? She wants us to go where?"

"I know, I know," I said. I wanted to laugh at his absolutely baffled expression, but the situation didn't call for it. "She said we would be safe there?—"

"Safe!" He looked as incredulous as he sounded.

"Asher, I know it sounds insane, believe me I do. But she said there's something there that will help us defeat Kestrel."

"What could be there that we—oh." He groaned.

"What?"

"That explains it. I had a dream about the feral lands the other night."

"Really?" I gaped at him. "Mara probably gave you that dream. Did you see what it was? Or maybe where it was?"

"Oh, I saw what it was. It's the puzzle box my father gave to me."

I paused. "Wait, the one you threw away?"

He nodded. "Maybe she was using it as a metaphor? I doubt she meant the actual box. How could it have gotten to feral lands? I threw it in the ocean."

I frowned, considering that possibility. I wouldn't have thought it would be Mara's style to send a metaphorical dream—then again, she was often very cryptic.

"She didn't show me a map of how to get there, but the box was buried below a pair of trees whose trunks had crossed over each other."

"Got it," I said. "Then, that's where we need to go."

He let out a deep sigh. "Since we're low on options, we'll do this. We'll go as wolves, and we'll stick together, okay? Neither of us are going wandering around out there, understand?"

"I do." I looped my arm through his. "I'm not leaving your side ever again."

He let out a small chuckle, and I smiled back at him. This moment of levity was necessary, considering we were about to go to a place where there were no rules, no protection, and the ferals ran free.