Lily
Days passed, and my strength slowly returned under Elis's relentless care. He wouldn't let anyone else tend to me, not even Eunice. He fed me with his own hands, helped me dress, brushed out my tangled hair with a tenderness I hadn't expected from someone so fierce. At first, I laughed, teasing him about acting more like a nursemaid than a king. But it didn't take long to realize this wasn't just care, it was his way of keeping me close. Keeping me safe.
And I let him. I let him see me in my most vulnerable state. Let him carry me when I couldn't walk. Let him hold me long after I was asleep. Because I loved him. I didn't plan to get hit by that blade that night. It wasn't some noble, calculated act of sacrifice, I just moved. Instinct took over. One second the assassin had leapt from the shadows, his eyes locked on Elis, and the next, I was between them.
The blade hit into my belly like fire, driving the air from my lungs. If it had struck Elis where it was aimed…dead center…it would have pierced his heart. It would have killed him instantly. I couldn't let that happen. But I should have died that night. No ordinary person survives a hit like that and walks out days later with nothing but a faint scar and a few broken ribs. And that's the point. I'm not ordinary.
I knew I was a witch. But that night proved I wasn't just any kind of witch, I was something more. Something... altered. I couldn't die in the ordinary way. Zal knew it. That's why he was hunting me. That's why I felt him every time the wind stirred unnaturally or the moon seemed too quiet. He followed me from my grandmother's cabin in the woods, to this place. He wanted me. Too bad for him, Elis had already claimed me.
He may not have said it in a thousand declarations or wore it like a badge, but I felt it every time he looked at me with that fierce, grounding gaze and each time he made love to me. He was only waiting to mark me. Zal could summon storms, bend shadows, whisper nightmares all he wanted but I wasn't afraid of him anymore. Not while Elis breathed. Not while I was still standing.
But as I healed, the need to return to myself, to my own chambers, my practice, began to stir. I couldn't stay hidden forever, even if a part of me wanted to, I had work to do. I needed to find my grandmother's coven and her sworn sisters. Still, before I left the comfort of his rooms, there was one thing I needed to do.
That evening, the air felt different, softer and warmer. We sat beside the fireplace, the flames dancing across his features. I rested my head against his chest, listening to the quiet thrum of his heartbeat beneath my ear. He exhaled, fingers trailing gently through my hair. "I almost lost you," he whispered.
I tilted my head up to meet his gaze. "You didn't."
His throat worked. "I don't know what I would've done if you had…"
I reached for his hand and pressed it over my heart. "I'm here. Alive. Because of you. Thank you for all the care."
For a moment, he just looked at me, his golden eyes unreadable, until they softened with a kind of ache I felt in my chest too. Then he said it. "I love you with my life."
A quiet gasp left me. I had known. Of course I had. But hearing it from his lips, hearing the raw truth in it, made my heart swell so fiercely I thought it might burst. I reached up, cupping his face, brushing my thumb over the stubble on his cheek. "I love you more, Elis."
The moment the words left my lips, something in him shifted. Broke. Released. He stiffened beneath me, his breath catching. Then I felt it, the hunger and the restraint crumbling. His grip tightened around me, not harsh, but desperate. His breath grew ragged as he buried his face into my neck, inhaling like he needed my scent to stay grounded. "Your scent…" he growled. "It's driving me insane."
I shivered, tilting my head to bare my throat without thinking. It was just Instinct. And trust.
He growled—a low, primal sound that vibrated against my skin. "Mine."
That single word sent a rush through me so powerful I trembled. My body reacted before my mind caught up, arching into him, needing him.
His hands were on me then, firm and reverent, lifting me effortlessly. My thin dress might as well have been nothing with the way his heat seared through it. I could feel everything; his need, his restraint slipping and the powerful storm building beneath his skin.
"Elis," I whispered, threading my fingers into his hair.
He kissed me like a starving man. Deep and consuming. I melted into him, breathing him in, clutching his shoulders as our bond surged, flaring hot and bright between us. It was almost too much to bear.
He pulled my dress down with shaking hands, his mouth moving to my throat, to my collarbone, to my breast…tasting and claiming. I gasped as his tongue traced over my nipple, as his hands molded my waist, my hips, memorizing every part of me.
"Say it again," he growled against my skin.
"I love you endlessly," I whispered.
He groaned, lifting me again, carrying me to his bed with a kind of reverence that made my chest ache. When we hit the mattress, he hovered above me, his body taut with need. "There's no turning back, Lily," he rasped, golden eyes burning into mine. "This… us… it's forever."
I cupped his face, holding his gaze. "Then make me yours."
And he did. He kissed me again, and this time, there was no holding back. We undressed each other with hurried, trembling touches. His skin burned against mine, his body heavy and warm, everything I had ever wanted. He tasted every inch of me with his mouth, his tongue trailing fire down my body. When he paused at the scar on my stomach, his touch was gentle. He kissed it; slowly, reverently and then let his tongue follow its length, igniting nerves that had long since gone numb.
"Elis, please…" I moaned, aching for him, writhing beneath him. I couldn't stay still. I didn't want to. I needed him, more than air, more than anything. I reached for him, grinding against him, drenched and ready.
And when he finally entered me, it was everything. It wasn't just physical, it was our souls binding together, the bond sealing tighter than ever, our spirits howling in unison. I felt him everywhere; inside me, around me, a part of me. His wolf had never been closer.
"You are mine, Lily," he whispered against my ear, his voice hoarse and trembling. "Mine."
"I've always been yours," I whispered, legs tangled around him. "And you are mine, Elis. We are already joined by fate."
He moved inside me like he was afraid to let go, like he needed to prove it was real, that I was still here. His release was deep, overwhelming, pouring into me like a reclaim and a vow. And when we finally collapsed together, sweat-slicked and breathless, I stayed curled in his arms, listening to the rhythm of his heart against mine.
Outside, the moon glowed brighter than I'd ever seen it, as if it bore witness to our union. Tomorrow, I'd return to my chambers. Face the palace. Play the part. But tonight, I belonged to no one but him. And he belonged to me. Forever.