better.” I cleared my throat. “Without going crazy.”
“You won’t.” His lips twitched. “That’s what we’re here for. But that’s exactly how strong you’re going to be. It might take some time for you to work into the role, but you’ll get there. Of that I have no doubt.”
Snuggling into him, I stared across the beautiful pond, safe in his arms, even though I was nervous about what this place held for us. “You have faith in me, don’t you?”
“More than you even know,” he rasped.
“Thank you,” I said on a sigh, and when he wrapped his arms around me tighter, I sighed again, loving his touch, needing this so badly that I didn’t understand how I’d survived without it.
Kian, the man who’d had all my heart for so many years, who I’d been mourning since he’d passed, was a distant memory now.
I felt bad about that, but I wasn’t the same Sabina as I had been before.
I was different.
I was transformed.
And for the first time, I realized that wasn’t a bad thing to be.
Eli
Being with her like this was a blessing I’d never have anticipated.
I wanted to be inside her more than I wanted my next breath, but fuck, I could see how fragile she was, and after viewing the carnage of the scene she and Austin had left behind, I got it.
I did.
That was a brutal challenge from the naturals, and even though I was curious what the fuck had triggered it, I was impressed that Austin had survived.
I could scent no less than eight wolves, and while I knew how powerful Austin was, I was astonished nonetheless.
Of course, things were different when a mate was involved.
Especially a newly claimed one at that.
Austin could have probably taken on twelve, and he’d have made sure that Sabina would have been safe, that was simply how we worked.
However, what did come as a surprise?
The smell of cordite in the air.
Gunpowder.
Interesting.
More than that, a scent I remembered…a scent… It couldn’t be. The last time I’d smelled that strong odor was back when father still lived.
Shrugging off the thought, I peered around the site, trying to discern what had happened here. I’d left Sabina by the pool, curled up on the shore, comfortable, even if she was uneasy with being here again.
A part of me was jealous that Austin had gotten that time with her where she could be free from worries, but also, this was my time. I had to make the best of it and make her comfortable even if it wasn’t as idyllic as I’d have liked.
That was why I was tilted the way I was.
Half veered toward her, just in case another threat appeared, while looking over the scene of the crime, as it were.
I’d already seen how the magic had taken away my clothes, and before she’d rolled out of the pool, she’d summoned a comb, so it didn’t take much to figure out the state of play in this world.
“I need a BLT,” I rasped under my breath, and just as she had, I held out my hands.
When one popped up, I’d admit to thinking that was one of the coolest things I’d ever seen, but then, this was another place.
Another time.
Yeah, she’d drowsily clued me in on her nickname for this bizarre Eden as she was drifting off to sleep, and it fit.
Even as I had to wonder where we were and when, mostly I was trying to figure out what was going on.
I knew for a fact that all mated couples didn’t go through something like this.
It wasn’t that complicated. I knew because this place had an unmistakable scent.
And when Austin and Sabina had returned to us?
They’d reeked of it.
It wasn’t a bad scent, more like the earth after a good rainfall—a rich, pure aroma that was entwined with lavender and water, a smidgen of fire, and perhaps even some ozone.
I’d smelled it once before.
And that was the key word.
Once.
I’d smelled it around my parents when they were together.
That told me what was happening here.
This was the Mother’s version of a bonding exercise for the leaders of her packs, but I could have done without it. I didn’t need to be here on some kind of fucking task while I just wanted my woman.
She’d already been traumatized, and while this was evidently how an omega was prepared, how being tied to her alphas helped ground her, I didn’t need to add to the stress she was already under.