My mind clouds and I forget everything—until a moment later when memories flood my brain.
Pictures so sharp in their clarity, the emotions they invoke make me dizzy with their intensity.
A cold dungeon cell. An office much like this one. Then a closet. The doctor— Logan —kissing me as if I were his last breath.
Vampires.
Ghosts.
My own bandaged wrists.
The pictures flash faster and faster. As Logan continues to drink from me, I choke on the pain. On the fear.
Brothers. Werewolves. Claiming me as part of their pack. Their mates.
Experiments.
Torture.
Death.
A bloody heart on a platter.
They aren’t pictures. They’re memories. And like a tidal wave, they return, crashing over me with the force of a monsoon.
At the center of it all, a monster with fangs of his own is waiting to slither into my psyche. He wears a face that is all too familiar in this dimension and the next.
Corbin Cutter.
He is the monster of nightmares. The one I risked it all to escape. And now, he is my betrothed. The one I’ve let get closer to me than the men my soul has sworn to love.
23
Logan’s bite is about more than just a recall; it is an unlocking that sends waves of Knowing through my veins. My hands grip his shoulders and I surrender completely to the magic that fills me, pressurizing my very insides.
It’s time to end this.
“Logan,” I gasp when the bond between us is complete.
He pulls back. “You remember.”
The words are not a question. I nod anyway.
“You already knew.” My words aren’t a question either.
He nods anyway.
I bite my lip, breathless now as my feelings rush in around the power that sings inside me. I am strong. Stronger than I ever knew. I hold up my palm and a bright golden flame bursts from it on command. I smile. My magic is mine, now. And I will use it to end Cutter. But in this moment, that monster doesn’t matter.
All that matters is Logan. And me.
He watches me, his eyes hungry for much more than my blood. And I don’t refuse him. My eyes locked on his, I pull him close.
“Touch me,” I whisper and his mouth crashes over mine.
The coppery tang of my blood hits my tongue, but I barely register it before Logan’s hands slip underneath my dress and push it high on my thighs. His fingers slide over my sensitive skin and I press closer to where he’s wedged himself between my knees. He pushes my panties aside and teases me with one finger, but I’m desperate.
The desire and the magic are one now.
I fear if I don’t release something, I’ll explode.
Moaning, I guide him so that his finger slides inside me. He responds by growling and grabbing me, swinging me up and around so that we’re both on the floor before I know what’s happened. He lowers himself over me, his eyes intensely locked on mine.
Somehow, in the blur of movement, he’s discarded his clothes. I can feel him pressed against my thigh and I push my hips upward, impatient.
His expression darkens and a ripple of anticipation makes me shudder.
“You’re mine now,” he whispers as he pushes into me.
And we become one.
Words disappear as we communicate with a language much more primal.
I spiral into him, as our souls are joined by the rhythmic movement of our bodies. He fills me, every memory, every thought, every emotion, drowning out the pain, the fear, the terror of our shared past.
We approach the edge together, our bodies winding and winding until they unspool in a cascade of fireworks.
We are silent for some time, holding each other like life preservers in a storm. After a while, I finally sit up and pull my dress down again. Logan watches me from where he lounges on the rug, his back propped against the couch. His eyes are hooded—still half-filled with desire—but there’s something else there now too. A glint of fury.
“It’s time,” he says quietly. “This has gone on long enough. Through dimensions it seems.”
My eyes sting with tears as I recall the pain and fear I felt just before we arrived in this particular timeline--if that’s what it can be called. “I remember right before everything changed,” I say quietly. “You told me I did it. I thought-- I’d hoped-- But it’s not over yet.”
“It’s not over.” He sits up, takes my hand. “We’re going to finish it. Together.”
I nod. “I know where Declan and Dean are. We should get them first. Then