flex, had him exuding a power that was undeniable.
I was, I’d admit, in awe of him. And even as a part of me—the she-wolf—wanted to leap on to him, it felt wrong.
Weird.
Austin had just been in a fight for our lives, and in another place, he was injured and recuperating while my third mate was watching over him, waiting for me to return for him.
To claim him.
Because that was what this was.
I knew that like I knew nothing else.
They’d all spoken of claiming me, and while that was the case physically, in every other sense, that wasn’t true.
Spiritually, emotionally, I’d done that, and I had to figure that this entire situation—as much of a dream-slash-nightmare combination as it was—was what it was all about.
About us getting closer, about me coming into my powers. About my being tied to them and to the Mother in ways they would never understand.
Which meant, horrendously enough, I knew there’d be another scenario like what had happened with Austin.
My heart rate plummeted at the thought as I longed for the innocence of what I’d had with Austin. Those initial days were filled with peace and tranquility, a joie de vivre that would be impossible to replicate, especially now that I knew that things could be turned on their heads in an instant.
I sucked in a breath as he moved toward me though, and even as stressed as I was, even as my brain struggled to deal with what had just happened moments ago, the urge to be in his arms was so powerful I couldn’t fight it.
I moved over to him, drifting through the water as he walked toward me.
There was fire in his eyes, a fire that would cleanse and reset me, but mostly, I saw something else.
I saw a need for me that went beyond sex.
A need that would tie him to me, and me to him. That would ground him.
It was lonely at the top, and Eli had it lonelier than most, with his strength and with how he’d shifted so early. Then with the covenant not granting him a mate, he’d had to fight for every last thing by being the strongest of them all.
I wanted to be that one person who could make everything better, and I hoped I could do that. Truly, I did.
Maybe it was a lot of pressure, but I didn’t think so.
If I was born to be able to deal with all of this, then wasn’t I born to handle him? To give him exactly what he needed, and for him to give me the same?
So, when we collided, it wasn’t a kiss that would let the world end around us without us knowing, it was me sliding into his arms, my slick body against his, his against mine, and his arms curving around me, providing me with a shelter I knew would always be there.
It would never go away.
He would never leave me.
Fuck, just knowing that I’d never be alone again, that I’d always have these men, him, with me?
It made me cry.
Honest to God cry.
With how overwhelming things had been after the wolf attack, with fearing for Austin and now being plunked here once more to deal with round two of whatever the fuck the Mother cooked up, I needed the solace of his embrace more than I needed my next breath.
He pressed a kiss to my head, then held the back of my skull to him, so when he sank down into the water, I didn’t even yelp in surprise, I just went with him.
His dick was there, and he was rocking a semi-boner, which I knew was his natural response to me, but it wasn’t like he was pushing things. It wasn’t like he was making me aware of it either.
His dick, my tits, the parts that made us sexual creatures, they were just there.
We were mates in another way at that moment.
Our souls collided as I sank into him and gifted him with my trust.
“He’ll be okay,” Eli assured me, his words soft, his tone husky. “Trust me, those boys have been getting into worse shit since the day they were born.”
His words had me reaching up to slide a hand over my wet cheek, knuckling the silly tracks away as I chuckled. “I’ll bet. You’ve been watching over them for a long time?”
He snorted. “Since the start. I’ve always liked them. I didn’t piece things together for a while, of course, but I have a connection with them, and they