Page 157 of Bound to the Dreadlord

Sera.

My mate.

My equal.

The bond has settled between us like a living thing, humming in my veins, burning through my very bones. But this—this is not about the bond.

This is about us.

Her dark eyes meet mine, fierce, unwavering. There is no fear in her gaze. No hesitation.

She has never looked more powerful.

More mine.

And yet, she stands untouched.

Waiting.

Challenging.

For all the battles we have fought, for all the ways we have torn each other apart, this moment is the one that will break us open.

She tilts her chin, her lips curving in something that is not quite a smile.

“I can feel you,” she murmurs, voice dark, taunting. “The bond. Your hunger.”

I step toward her, slow, controlled. Predatory.

She does not move back.

Of course she doesn’t.

She never has.

“You think you can test me, little siren?” My voice is rough, scraping against the silence. “You think I won’t take what’s mine?”

She exhales, a sound that is almost a laugh.

Almost.

“I think,” she whispers, closing the distance between us, her breath warm against my throat, “you have spent so long trying to control yourself around me that you’ve forgotten how to let go.”

She is playing with fire. And she knows it.

But she does not run.

She never does.

I let my fingers trace along her jaw, tilting her face up to mine. The bond between us throbs, desperate, impatient, but I will not let magic dictate this moment.

Not tonight.

Tonight, it will be her.

Me.

Nothing else.

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