I thought I would be overjoyed to have my mate reaching for me in my arms. But watching her has dread pooling in the pit of my stomach.
I don’t know this woman… but my gut is telling me that something is off.
My heart pounds harder, panic races through my veins as I watch Willow’s eyes grow heavy.
“Hey,” I pat her cheeks, trying to snap her out of it. “None of that; you can’t fall asleep yet, angel.”
Not now. Not when I’ve just found her. I can’t lose her now that she is finally safe. But Willow doesn’t show any sign that she even hears me.
Her eyelids droop helplessly, as if no power in the world could hold them back.
She’s slipping away.
I have to do something. My mate has been poisoned by her extended exposure to silver. I need to wake up her wolf so she can heal.
“I have to do something to bring your wolf back.” I say the words out loud, knowing Willow won’t be able to respond.
She can hate me for this all she wants… as long as she lives. I can take her hating me for the rest of our lives as long as it means she survives today to hate me tomorrow.
I lean in, capturing her soft lips with mine.
Chapter 8
Willow
I am slipping in and out of the fog… I’m so tired… But this daydream that my soulmate has come for me is so cozy, all I really want to do now is lie down and rest.
Suddenly firm lips are pressing against my own—cutting through the haze of my dream-like thoughts.
So warm… the masculine tang of his scent and the musk of his wolf are all around me. I want to live in his scent. Build a home in it and never leave…
Oh, shit.
This kiss is no daydream… but I can’t bring myself to care. It feels so good… he feels so good. I feel like I’m really waking up.
I press myself closer, wanting more—no, needing more.
It’s as if my small motion unravels him. He groans, deep and wild, as his hands slip into my hair and against my hip, pulling me hard against him. Close enough for me to feel every inch of firm muscle… and a hardness pressing insistently against me, twitching against the back of my thigh.
Holy fuck.
As I gasp, he deepens the kiss. His tongue tangles up with mine, sweet as sin. All those sleek caresses, those plush lips eagerly pressing against mine—they light a fire in me that heats me all the way down to my lower belly.
It seems too good to be true, but also better than anything I have ever dared hope for.
This is really happening. This really is my soulmate, and he’s really here and kissing me… the bright tang of his arousal floods the surrounding air.
I haven’t imagined it? Has he really freed me from that horrible lab, bringing me somewhere safe, just to make out with me?
My soulmate… he’s come for me?
Something deep within my chest stirs awake at the realization, howling and yipping, clawing her way to the surface.
I gasp as I feel the strength of my wolf roaring through my blood. From within my body, she bursts into my consciousness, as if she’s broken through the surface of a frozen lake and is wading to the shore. She barks excitedly, every inch of her vibrating with excitement. Flooding my mind with one singular thought.
Mate. Mate. Mate.
Suddenly, my soulmate breaks off our kiss, wrenching his face away from mine and panting heavily. But he never puts me down. He still holds me firmly in his powerful arms. I look around, seeing we have come to a rest in a small clearing of the woods.