Filed to story: Confirming His Luna by Eyes Novel >>
“I know,” I tell her. “And I’m sure you meant to, but things kept getting in the way. Other people, the curse, the war… Perhaps in another world, you might have gotten the chance. Perhaps in another world, you could have met a better man, and you would have fallen in love with him with plenty of safety, comfort, and time, far from all this darkness and bloodshed.”
She takes another step toward me, so close that I can feel the warmth coming off her body and smell her scent of flowers and morning dew. “I would rather have you in this beautiful and broken world than have anyone else in a better one,” she says, raising a hand to press her palm against my chest, and my heart thunders beneath my ribs as if trying to reach her touch.
She lowers her gaze as if she can see it beating for her.
But it cannot be hers, and she cannot be mine.
I tuck a golden strand of hair behind her ear, brushing my hand down along her cheek and trailing my fingers along her jaw. I take her by the chin, tugging at her so she has to raise her face and look me in the eye.
“I know I have to let you go, Iris. My little flower. My hope. After the conclave between the nightwalkers and the wolves, you and I must part ways. I understand that. I am not a fool, though I would gladly be one for you. But do not ask me to stand here as you say goodbye. I can’t. I won’t.”
She raises her hand to wrap her fingers around my forearm as if to hold me in place. “What makes you so sure I called you up here to say goodbye?” she asks softly, something glinting in her eyes.
“Do not toy with me, little flower,” I warn, my voice low.
What else could this be about? The Rovers can’t stay here forever, and coming with me would mean risking her life. She’s still cursed. I can see the mark on her chest as plainly as ever.
“I would never,” she replies firmly, holding my gaze with such determination and intensity that I waver.
No. She wouldn’t. Everything she has ever done has been with the hope of protecting those she cares about.
“So don’t say goodbye, then,” I tell her, my voice catching in my throat. “Say something else. I want you to speak the words. I need to hear it.”
She places her hand on my shoulder and pulls herself onto her tiptoes to whisper into my ear, her breath tickling the skin on my neck.
“You are my mate, Tristan Lyall. My king. You are the sun in the sky and the ground beneath my feet,” she breathes. “I love you.”
It seems I lied to myself again. I am a fool, after all.
I’m a reckless, selfish fool because I asked her for the very words that would be my undoing. My wolf stirs in my soul at her touch as if it were no more than a needy pup, eager and hungry for its mistress.
She moves to pull away slowly, and all thoughts slip from my mind. Logic, reason, and restraint fade into a distant memory until all I can feel is how much I want her. Nothing else matters except for those three whispered words.
I turn my face towards hers, my lips meeting hers. I’ve wanted to be patient for her. I’ve tried to be gentle, and mild, and cautious, and indifferent, and all manner of things that go against my very nature. But seeing the woman she’s become and hearing her say what I’ve longed to hear at last is enough to make me unravel.
There is nothing soft or tentative about the way my lips press greedily into hers, and she matches the kiss with equal fervor. She moves to wrap her hands around my neck, and her fingers tangle in my hair, tugging me down to her, closer to her, and pulling me against her as though she has been starving for me just as much as I have for her.
I feel her jolt against me, her tremor causing me to snap back to my senses as I realize the curse is hurting her. A soft growl escapes my lips as I pull away and rest my forehead against hers as she gasps, our breath mingling between us.
“Don’t stop,” she whispers, and I shut my eyes with a frustrated sigh.
“Iris…” Her name comes out like a warning, low and dangerous.
I’m trying to get a hold of myself, and she is not helping.
“Send me to the moon, my love,” she says, her voice breathless but determined. “You were my home when I thought I could never have one, you were my friend when I did not believe I deserved such a thing, and you were my family when I did not even know what that meant. I need to be your mate, Tristan, and I want you to be mine. I love you, and I am so gods damned tired of fighting it. So just… be with me.”
Tristan’s eyes widen as if I’d just asked him to jump off a cliff. I suppose it’s not that different from what I’m actually suggesting.
“No,” he says, his voice low and raspy as if the word pained him.
“Hear me out.”
“No,” he says again, more firmly this time, but when he moves to pull away from me, I take his hand.
“Tristan, just listen to me. I don’t—”
“Iris, no. I want to be with you, but not if it’s going to cost you your life. I want us to have a future, not just spend one night together only for it to kill you,” he says almost frantically, but he doesn’t move his hand away from mine.
“I know. I get that, and I wouldn’t be suggesting it if I didn’t think there was a chance for us to have that future together. Is it dangerous? Yes. Stupid? Arguably. Deadly? Possibly. But it’s a chance.”
This isn’t exactly a promising pitch, but I have to be completely honest with him if we’re going to try this. As far as I know, it might not just be my life on the line.
“What are you talking about? Iris, you still bear the mark of the Goddess. That curse could kill you.”
“Yes, I know that. But the Goddess is the only one who can remove it.”
“What?” He shakes his head in disbelief. I take a deep breath and hold his gaze, willing him to just calm down and listen.
“Where do wolves go when they die?” I ask slowly.
“Our souls return to the Moon Goddess. Her magic created us and allows us to live, and in death, we return to the source. But what does that… wait… no….” he trails off, and his golden eyes widen as his own words sink in. “Oh, you can’t be serious.”
But I am. I don’t think I’ve ever been more serious about something in my life.
“You want to let the Goddess’s curse kill you… so you can ask the Goddess to remove her curse?” Tristan asks, staring at me intently. “That’s insane.”
New Book: Veiled Desires of the Alpha King Novel
Dayson was the alpha of the largest pack in North America. Powerful figures from other packs sought to offer gorgeous girls as potential mates for Dayson. He steadfastly rejected these advances, he was not a pawn to be manipulated. But eventually there came a mysterious girl he could hardly say No. Who was she?