Page 88 of Toward Immortal Ruin

He’d yet to move from where he lay on the grass, panting. The gaping hole in his abdomen worried Eden the most, and blood darkened his ebony coat in too many places.

Seconds later, Luna manifested and crouched by Nero’s side. “Shift back, Nero. I can’t get a good read on where your injuries are through your coat.”

Seconds later, his familiar face was grimacing below her, his eyes squeezed tightly shut. A wave of healing power sizzled across Eden’s fur, ruffling it in an odd sensation she’d never experienced before. Instead of lying there and simply letting the healer care for him, Nero tentatively lifted a battered hand toward her.

“You’re beautiful, Eden.” He managed a tight smile. “I knew you could do it.”

Whimpering, her wolf nosed under his hand, coveting the sensation of his touch. Crouching down on her belly, she crawled closer toward him and gently rested her muzzle on the sole unbroken patch of skin: his clan mark.

Nero was right—she had done it.

Eden had become vampire—and werewolf—when it’d been doubtful she could do either. Everything she’d ever been had changed.

She couldn’t wait to explore the world with Nero at her side. The man who’d saved her, cared for her, and trusted in her. Eden loved him unconditionally, and always would.

The mating bond between them flared to life in vibrant color. What was once as impermanent as smoke now solidified, becoming a steel cable that connected them on a fundamentallevel. Eden gasped at the sensation of their connection intertwining their souls in a dazzling display of intimacy.

Gravity shifted, her spirit coalescing around loving and cherishing him. The life that had been black and white, now burst into dazzling color.

Nero was her world.

A painless shift carried her back into her human form, and Nero’s arms immediately went around her to protect her from the violence around them.

“My mate. My love.”

The deep rumble of his voice was a purr in her ears, and she nestled into him with a contented sigh of her own. “I love you, Nero.”

“Sit still, sovereign. You’re bleeding,” came Luna’s indelicate comment. And then, “Maybe get Eden a blanket.”

With a jolt, Eden realized she was naked as the day she’d been born. Nero swiftly manifested a cozy fleece and swaddled her in it.

“We’ll work on shifting with clothes.”

The next twenty minutes were the longest of her life.

With half of his lieutenants out ensuring immortal secrets weren’t exposed to humanity and Nero still wounded, Eden’s stress levels skyrocketed. She felt the wolf within her anxiously pacing beneath her skin, ready to leap forward at a moment’s notice should her mate or new pack come to harm.

“You’re a beautiful wolf, Eden.”

She frowned, suddenly self-conscious. “I am?”

He nodded. “I’m never seen a more marvelous creature. Your coat is a lovely reddish brown, and your eyes turn stark blue.” An appreciative shake of his head. “Lovely.”

Certain her cheeks were on fire, Eden dipped her head and nestled it into his shoulder. “Plenty of time to inspect afterwards. Maybe focus on getting better?”

“He’ll be good as new in the morning,” came Luna’s response.

Then, he stiffened. “They’re on their way back. Aidan and Key are injured.”

In a single, mass teleport, a dozen immortals landed on the patio. Multiple, competing voices rose over the escalating sound, but Nero was already on his feet and moving toward the two more gravely injured parties.

Key, nursing a vicious looking laceration down her back, merely shook her head when Luna went to go to her first, motioning toward Aidan instead.

The wolf was pale, having lost a lot of blood from several areas of torn flesh along his legs. Wordlessly, Zia joined the healer a second later, aiding the attempts to put him right.

“Did you strap bacon to your legs and whistle?”

The alpha glowered darkly at Nero. “I was trying to lead them away from your defenseless Elemental. You’re welcome.”

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