Sylas

SYLAS

I adore my mate.

I adored her before now, her patience with me, her soft touch and voice, the way she smells, the way she feels underneath me or riding my cocks. But tonight is something else.

Alex is something else. Running wasn't her first choice, but she let me lose control in a way I don't think I have ever done before. She set me free.

The way she fits in my arms after I've nearly plowed her into the ground is incredible. Her smile, the one only for me, the one which lights up the night even brighter than the apros, is something I want to sear on my brain, so I see it even when I close my eyes.

"As pretty as all of this is, I'm getting a little cold," Alex says as I kiss her once more. "I'd say you could chase me home, but I think walking will be a challenge at the moment."

My heart pounds at the word "chase," but this time I control myself as I lift her to her feet, curling a wing around her fragile body. Instead I let the word "home" wash over me.

"It would be my honor to escort you home, little feather."

I keep my wing around her as we pick our way out of the denser forest onto more open ground. The apros are fading away now, their activities done for the night.

"I need to find my dress and jacket," Alex laughs. "I left them both somewhere around here." She stumbles over a tree root with an exclamation about the darkness. "Come back, apros, all is forgiven," she adds.

I attempt to scent her clothing, but my head is full of her and our chase and our mating and how much I want to be with her always.

"Oops!" Alex says, darting away from me in the night. "There it is! How did it get…"

She is silent. A sudden silence which fills up everything.

"Alex?" I call out, scanning the area where I think she went. There is no response. "Little feather?" I move forwards, seeking out her pale form in the gloom. "I can chase you again if you wish." I mock growl.

But still nothing.

This is not like before, not when she ran, fleet of foot but still making some noise, her arousal easy to detect among the branches and vegetation. This time, the sounds of the forest loom large.

No Alex.

I growl under my breath, half amused, half concerned.

"Alex?" I call again.

And this time I see it…her. A pale form, unmoving at the base of a tree. Next to her, the dull sheen of her dress.

" Eregri ?" I step towards her, and something slithers over her waist.

With a roar, I'm in the air, claws extended, wings flashing as I descend on the thing touching my mate. It squeaks and writhes as I slash at the thing. A vicious barb on the end attempts to get at me, but I've tackled far worse in the dome, and it doesn't take me long to rip the thing from the ground and tear it into pieces so I can get to my mate, gathering her in my arms.

I brush her hair back from her face as I move away from the area where the creature was attempting to touch her.

The twin moons of Trefa are full tonight, and their light filters into the small clearing where I have Alex in my arms.

Her face is pale, her eyes closed. She opens her mouth, but no discernible sound comes out.

On the side of her ribcage, there is a black mark. As I look, it spreads out, tendrils winding as if it wants to take over her body.

"Did something sting you?" I ask her.

This time her eyes roll in her head, and she moans.

"The creature I killed?"

Her body is hot, too hot, and her eyes flutter under closed lids. She shakes.

I beat my way into the air, rising over the canopy and getting back to our home as swiftly as I can. The balcony is open to me as I make my way into our bedroom and through to the shower.

Alex is too hot for a human. I turn on the water and step into the icy stream with her still in my arms. She grumbles, but otherwise I get nothing from her. The mark on her abdomen hasn't got any larger.

"It's going to be okay, little feather," I croon into her soaked hair. "I've got you, and I will never let you fall."