Chapter 24

Kellan reached the castle and yelled at anyone who approached to get out of his way. He ran straight to the greenhouse and stopped in front of the locked door. Neither of them had the key.

He hated to do it, but he didn’t have a choice. Kellan altered his stance. He was going to kick the door open, assuredly destroying it in the process—again.

“Wait, don’t,” Nora pleaded, her voice small.

Her energies were fading, and Kellan grew alarmed at the sight of her pale face. It seemed the boost in power from exchanging blood was temporary; her injury too was severe.

He decided to ignore her and kicked out, not comprehending that the lock on the door had already been disengaged and a strong breeze was now pushing it open. His foot met air and he stumbled.

“I told you to wait,” Nora griped. “I have powers now, Wolf. Quite a few, apparently.”

Even on the verge of passing out, his wife was full of fire. He loved her for it. For so many other reasons, as well, but right now he truly loved the fight in her.

Kellan entered the greenhouse and took her to the corner containing the healthiest-looking greenery. He didn’t want to let go of her, but he forced himself to place her on the ground.

“What should I do?” he asked.

“Nothing,” she sighed.

Nora relaxed against the soil. The plants and flowers reached for her, the connection stronger than ever.

This must be what it was like for the other elementals, a oneness with their power. For the first time in her life, she not only felt like she could receive power, she felt like she could give it. Or, rather, she could if she was feeling stronger.

She had no idea how much blood she’d lost, but it must have been a great deal. Nora was weak, and the chill had returned to her body. Despite this sense of weakness, she was elated it wasn’t because she was leaking power, as she had been doing since the day she was born.

As she laid there, feeling the muscles and skin stitch back together. She was thankful she knew how to heal herself.

As far as Nora knew, she was the only elemental who could absorb energy in the manner she did. It had been necessary for her in order to stay alive, so she had never given it much thought.

Most elementals manipulated their element, deploying it for practical tasks. Of course, many had long ago figured out which herbs and plants had healing properties, and could create wondrous medicines. But that was different than pulling a life force into one’s own body to replenish the soul.

Her thoughts turned to her mother and the reason Nora’s soul had been injured in the first place.

Nora lamented never having known her mother. Though, she did take some comfort in knowing she had ended Mara’s life, who had probably been the one who took Elora’s.

Nora did not delight in the taking of life, but she felt like she had allocated justice and righted an old wrong. She hoped her mother would have been proud of her.

Kellan sat beside his wife, and watched in amazement as her body healed. He caught bits and pieces of what was running through her brain. He felt for her. Kellan had time with his father, to know him, to learn from him. Nora had not been afforded that same luxury.

He closed his eyes, feeling the energies surrounding Nora. He could not communicate with them, but he could feel them and knew they comforted his mate.

Kellan vowed his children would never have to grow up in a world without their mother. Whatever it took, Nora would live and thrive. He would see to it until his dying day.

Kellan would once again hunt down each and every threat. He made the mistake of assuming Sephtis Kenelm had perished along with its last member. He would not make the same mistake twice. Neither his mate nor his children would ever be unprotected against such insidious forces.

He felt a hand on his leg and his eyes popped open. Nora was kneeling in front of him, a shy smile on her face.

“Thinking of children already, Husband?” she teased.

Kellan smiled and shook his head. “Reading my thoughts already, Wife?”

Nora giggled. She adjusted herself to sit with her legs crisscrossed, mirroring him. She moved close so that their knees were touching, and did her best to ignore his nakedness. Nora wasn’t quite used to the wolfman’s lack of modesty.

Kellan laughed as he reached for both of her hands.

“You’re going to have to refrain from reading everything in my head, Kellan. It’s unnerving.”

“I didn’t. You looked at my crotch and quickly averted your gaze, as if you’d never seen it before. I thought it funny.”

They both laughed. This is how she wanted her marriage to be. Exactly like this, with the intimacy of holding hands, with the banter, with the reverence she could see in her husband’s gaze.

She knew it was possible. They’d had moments like this before. But she didn’t know how to close the distance they’d created between them. She felt guilty for keeping secrets from him and she was still upset with how he reacted.

Kellan’s face sobered. “Nora. Close your eyes.”

Nora hesitated, unsure what he would do.

“Please. Close your eyes, my love,” he implored.

How could she refuse the King when he spoke so sweetly? Nora closed her eyes.

“Open your mind to me.”

Nora relaxed, concentrating on Kellan’s touch, on his voice, on his very essence. Information flowed freely from Kellan to Nora, as though he was pushing it into her head. She could see images, could even feel what he was feeling.

Kellan fed his mate his memories, strong ones, ones he held close, ones he refused to ever forget …

Learning to ride a horse with Foley. Deer stalking with his father. Dancing and laughing with his mother.

The day he returned home to find his father had been murdered. Trying to keep his mother alive as he worried over her life force, over not knowing if she was strong enough to withstand her mate’s death.

The comfort of a friend—Nora’s father—refusing to leave his side, as they hunted and killed those that dared to take what they held most precious.

The first time he scented Nora and knew he had found his mate. The indescribable joy he felt that day, and every day that followed, knowing she was his. Knowing he would not have to settle for a loveless marriage to a stranger.

Tearing himself away from Nora to return home, not wanting to, but leaving so he would not be tempted to steal her away before she had a chance to grow up. Coming across Ghost and knowing it was the perfect gift for his mate.

Writing to Nora each day of their separation, but never sending the letters, fearing she was too young, that he would overwhelm her. Every gift, carefully picked out, packaged by Kellan himself, not able to stomach anyone else touching her things.

The years he spent trying to grow plants and flowers in the greenhouse. Every day he spent in this room, painstakingly caring for each and every living thing. He wrote the letters in this room, where he felt closest to her.

The yearning he felt for the day she would finally be with him. He felt alone without her, even when surrounded by wolves.

Their wedding day, her beauty, her sharp tongue, the first time they made love. Every time after. He loved it all. Loved her more than his own life.

Kellan loved her. He loved everything about her, even when she fought him. Even when she cut him with her words. His love was unyielding, unwavering, and, he feared, unrequited.

Tears fell from Nora’s eyes as she watched and listened to all that was inside Kellan’s mind, inside his heart. She opened her eyes and saw his blue wolf irises glowing, staring back in complete adoration.

“It’s more than adoration, Nora. You are more than a means for me to produce an heir. If we could never have children, I would accept it, as long as I had you. You. Are. Everything. My entire world. Do you understand now?”

The tears came faster and her vision blurred. She couldn’t speak.

“Shh, no, please do not cry. I did not mean to make you cry. I only wish to make you happy, Nora, to make you see, to understand what I feel for you.”

Nora shifted forward so she could crawl into his lap. She wrapped her legs around his waist and cuddled as close as she could.

“Oh, Kellan,” she sobbed into his neck.

Kellan held her against his frame, wanting not an inch of distance between them. He rocked her gently, hoping to sooth her. Nora had been through much this day.

He could very well have lost her. He loved her so much he did not know if he would survive her demise. Kellan was amazed his mother had been able to go on without his father.

As he held his wife, Kellan did something he had been frightened to do. He opened his mind to Nora, begging her to show a sign of her affections.

He held his breath, hoping against hope he would find she felt something for him. As the images and emotions entered him, the air left his lungs. He had difficulty drawing a breath. He had not expected what Nora was communicating.

Love. So many messages of love and rightness at being his mate flowed into his mind, he thought his heart might rupture. His mate loved him.

His body shuddered with emotion, scarcely able to believe his good fortune. It was the one thing he wanted most and now he had it.

They sat there for several minutes, clinging to one another, sharing their inner thoughts of love and hope for the future. Eventually, Nora began to move. She wanted to see her husband’s face.

She kissed him softly then turned her head towards the wall where several pieces of small, wooden furniture sat. Her eyes fell upon the chest.

“You kept them?” she asked.

Kellan looked over at the heavy chest against the wall, somewhat surprised she had never asked about it before. It was an unusual thing to keep in such a room, but he had needed it for private storage.

Each day, after tending to the plants, Kellan sat and wrote Nora a letter. One letter for every day they were apart. Much of his correspondence would probably read like gibberish now, as he wrote whatever was on his mind.

Some of it was mundane—if not a little silly—such as his inability to choose the perfect bed linens for their mating bed, wanting to make sure she was as comfortable as possible.

Some of it was serious. He wrote of the forest and his concerns for his people, of his frustrations at feeling powerless in his ability to find a solution.

Most, though, would likely show his optimistic outlook for their lives together. He told her of his favorite places in Burghard, and how eager he was to show them to her. He also wrote how he wanted her, in turn, to do the same with him when they visited Gwydion.

He wanted to know everything about her, no matter how inconsequential. He wanted to know what she ate, if she liked music, what her favorite books were. Every detail he would commit to memory.

In one of the letters, he asked how many children she would like to have. The thought of her belly round with his babe had made him crazy with want.

He would give her as many as she desired. Kellan had meant his words from earlier, if they could not conceive, it changed nothing. He had everything as long as he had Nora.

When he wrote, he was having a conversation with her. It made him feel closer to Nora, like he had his true mate in the same room and could confide in her, could be himself and not just the King of Burghard.

He debated what to do with the letters, contemplating burning them at one point. Allowing Nora to open them never seemed like a good idea, especially when he believed she thought of him as a stranger.

“Yes,” he finally answered, “I kept them.”

“May I read them?”

Kellan grinned sheepishly and his face warmed. He was a touch self-conscious about them, but his wife shook her head.

“No, do not be embarrassed. I love that you wrote to me every day and kept the letters locked in a chest. It’s terribly romantic.”

Kellan inhaled, scenting the truth in her words. His chest puffed out at her proclamation.

“Then you may read them. But I’ll warn you, there are over two thousand. It will take some time.”

“I look forward to it.”

Nora leaned in and kissed him again. Feeling bold, she allowed her tongue to invade his mouth and a small growl emitted from his throat. It excited her and she tightened her legs around his back.

“Careful, mate, or I’ll give you what you are seeking,” he warned.

“Of course, you will. Mate.”

Nora called the air to close the door and it slammed shut. She then engaged the iron lock. It clicked loudly and a small thrill raced up her spine that she was locking him in the room.

An excitement such as she had never known invaded her body, and not just because she now had control over the elements. All of them, it seemed, like her mother. But that would have to be explored later. She had another matter on her mind.

“I thought we had to bite one another to blood-mate,” she said.

Kellan’s grin grew. “Yes, well, that is typically how it’s done. In the throes of passion, it is the easiest way to draw blood.”

“So, all we really had to do was say the words and willingly share blood?”

“Yes. How did you know that, by the way?”

“The forest told me.”

“The forest told you,” he repeated.

“Yes. Nature knows more of the world than we do. There’s much to discuss on that front, but perhaps later, my love?”

Kellan’s cock hardened at hearing her endearment. “Oh, yes, Wife, much later.”

As he leaned in to kiss her, Nora put her hand on his mouth. “Wait. Since we’re blood-mated now, I can get pregnant?”

“Yes,” he replied, worried what she might say next. He could easily dip into her thoughts, but he did not want to be a constant invasion of her privacy.

“Um, well, Mara said the tonics made me infertile. I don’t—I don’t know if that’s permanent. She said she thought it would prevent you from wanting to mate,” Nora’s eyes were downcast as she spoke.

Kellan tipped her chin up, forcing her to look at him. “While I hate that she broke your trust in such despicable ways, it does not affect us.”

“But—”

“I love you, Nora. Nothing will ever change that. Nothing. We can figure out the rest later. For now, just let me love you.”

Nora didn’t say anything. She had heard love in his thoughts, but this was the first time he had said it aloud. She placed both hands on Kellan’s face and brought her mouth to his. Sparks flew, her fingers itched. Wind whirled around them.

She kissed him with a hunger she wasn’t sure could be satisfied. Nora started pulling at her clothing, desperate to get it off. She kicked her ankle boots off but couldn’t get free of her dress in this position.

“Here, allow me,” Kellan offered, easily slashing through the material with his claws.

In a heartbeat, she was naked. Kellan could smell her desire, her need, stronger than ever before. Normally, he would prepare her, but Nora wasn’t having it.

“Now. I need you now,” she whined.

“Nora—”

“And I want you to bite me. Hard,” she demanded, grinding against him.

It was all Kellan needed. He flipped over to her hands and knees and knelt behind her. He reached down and found his mate was saturated. She was ready.

Kellan pushed inside Nora and she moaned. He did it again and Nora began bucking her hips. She was already so close. The air in the greenhouse heated along with their bodies. Small cyclones of wind picked up soil and leaves.

Kellan thrusted into her, harder and harder. His grip on her hips was bruising her skin. Nora loved it. He had never taken her like this. So hard, so savage. She reveled in his animalistic nature; she wanted more of it.

Kellan reached around and rubbed his middle finger on her swollen clit and she came hard and quick. The wind was now blowing her hair in all directions.

It was the most lascivious thing she had ever experienced. She wanted to do it again.

“More!” she begged.

Kellan withdrew and flipped her to her back. He entered her again and started pounding into her heat, his chest rumbling with wolf noises. It drove Nora mad and she thrashed, mewling like a lioness while scratching at his back.

He nuzzled the skin between her neck and shoulder, licking it, preparing it for his bite. Kellan felt Nora’s teeth on the tendon on the opposite side of his own neck.

“Do it. Now, Nora.”

Nora bit as hard as she could, tasting the metallic tinge of his blood as it seeped into her mouth. Kellan immediately ejaculated into her, involuntarily. The pleasure was too much.

“Bite me, Kellan,” Nora purred into his ear.

Kellan’s incisors extended, and he bit down, drawing blood and lapping it up. Nora’s channel tightened around him as a powerful orgasm ripped through her. He continued to pump until he felt her body soften beneath him.

Once their breaths slowed, he took inventory of Nora’s body, making sure she was okay. The bite on her neck was deeper than he had intended.

“Maybe you should heal this,” he suggested as he kissed the bruised and bloodied skin.

“Absolutely not. I want the scar. I want to wear your mark, Kellan.”

Instead of becoming overwrought with emotion at her words, his shaft hardened. Kellan took her there in the soil twice more, exactly as he had envisioned doing a thousand times before.