Page 91 of Dante's Circle Reborn

He threw back his head and laughed. She relished the sound. He rarely laughed, but when he did, it waseverything.

“I meant I’m going to bite you on your shoulder and mark you as mine.”

She blushed. “Oh, that’s fine. Get biting. Get in me right now, Ashen. Don’t make me reap your ass.” She winked as she said it. He rolled his eyes, and then he positioned himself between her legs and plunged. His eyes were on hers, and she gasped at the intrusion, needing more, wanting more. Except, at the same time, it was all too much.

He leaned down, thankful, and she took his lips. She kissed him, running her hands down his back as he plunged in and out of her. They made love, sweetly, then hard and fast,everything. And when she arched up into him, her breasts pressed against his chest, her fingernails digging into his back, he bit into her shoulder and marked her as his. The sensation sent ecstasy through both of them, and he pummeled into her harder. And then he came, roaring her name. She wrapped her legs around his waist and held on tightly.

Then she followed him into the abyss and knew he was hers forever. The bond that tied them together snapped into place.

She was his, and he was hers, and they were mated.

Finally, a reaper and his banshee.

It was a perfect match on the loom of fate.

He was death, and she could sense it. And, one day, if he went back to his duties, she would help him. She could sense the souls that needed to be reaped beyond those that were decreed from on high.

Things were changing, the world was settling, albeit in a new way. And she had her mate.

The man she would stand by for the rest of her life. The one who had helped her find out exactly who she needed to be.

Her reaper, her song, her forever.

Epilogue

Dante leaned back against the bench at his bar and looked across the table. His circle had grown over the years. Not only with the seven lightning-struck and their mates. Nor with only his mates and children.

No, they’d added friends and family over the years. People who had fought their own battles and had asked for help when he was able to give it. And, in some cases, not even then.

His mate, Jace, stood next to his brother, talking with Torrent and his new mate—or perhaps his name was Ashen now. They were off to the side, keeping their distance, but Dante understood what was needed. They were new to this life, much like the other couple near them.

Misha and Caly laughed together, though the vampire and his family weren’t mingling with the others quite yet. Dante understood that was needed since they’d spent centuries running and hiding from others who didn’t even know they existed. Dante let out a snort with a trail of smoke.Hehadn’t known of their existence, and that baffled him. He wanted to knowallthe secrets of the realms, and as a dragon, the fact that he didn’t vexed him to no end.

Poppy, his bartender, laughed at something her mate Jonah whispered to her, and Dante held back a grin. He had a feeling he’d be needing a new bartender soon, but that was understandable. He tended to lose them these days to mates and finding peace. And if that was the price he had to pay, then so be it.

Dante looked over at the final new couple and let out a sigh. He’d watched the two wolves fight themselves for years and find a way to create a family over time. Liam and Alec danced together near the others, their child sleeping in the large playpen that Dante had built. At least six children were sleeping in there at the moment, with others in arms or crawling and walking around the bar.

Dante’s Circle wasn’t so much a bar anymore, it was a place for family. A harbor in the darkness. He might take out the taps one day, or at least change it up so there were more comfortable places for people to rest and mingle. Though Dante’s Circle would always be in his heart, he knew it was time to move on.

“Dante?”

He looked down at his mate and kissed the top of her head. “Yes?”

“You look sad. What’s wrong?”

He shook his head and looked up at his other mate, who still stood near his brother, looking as if he’d seen a ghost. In essence, he had.

“I’m thinking about the changes that must be made.”

“What kind of changes?”

“This bar. We have children, and our family is here more often than not. It’s time to transition it into a new part of our lives. Rather than a bar for laughter and drinks, it should be a place to meet when we need to. Somewhere for those on the run to take refuge and find safety.”

Nadie studied his face, frowning. “You could always build a new place. One for families. We could keep this one a bar if you’d like.”

He thought on that, nodding. “Maybe. I’m not sure. But change has come. Things changed forever with that lighting strike, then when I found you and Jace. Again when our children were born. Life has moved on, and we must move with it.”

“I’ll miss the place if it changes too much,” Nadie said, leaning into him. Jace sat next to them in the next moment as if he felt their emotions through the bond. Perhaps he had.

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