Page 58 of Into the Dawn

Istep outside the cabin and return with arms full of supplies kindly dropped off by Maisy and Holly.

The sight of Vanessa curled up on our new couch makes my heart skip. She looks up at me with glassy eyes, her skin flushed. The mate bond pulses with increasing intensity between us, but her heat has eased slightly, for now, letting us breathe long enough to eat and rest.

"You okay?" I ask, though my beast already knows what's happening.

Her first heat was triggered by being close to each other once more, with our bond completion pushing her into the full-blown experience at a rapid pace.

She nods, but I can see her hands trembling slightly, shaky from the orgasms and the overwhelming need inside her. "Just feeling a little... warm, but not as out of control as I was earlier."

The understatement makes me smile as I set down the supplies and move to her side. Nessie was wild and uninhibited. It was raw and animalistic, and I loved it.

"I don't have to stay here tonight if you're not ready to move in together," I tell her softly, though my beast protests the verythought of leaving. "I can shift and run, keep watch, burn off some excess energy."

Vanessa shakes her head, her pupils dilating as she notices my nervousness. "No, I want you to stay. Our first night in our own place." She pauses, a blush colouring her cheeks. "Besides, I think… it’s not over. I think I need you to be here. With me."

I pull her close, pressing a kiss to her forehead. Her skin still burns against my lips. "I've got you, Nessie. Whatever you need."

Breathing in our mingled scents, that's when I catch it, a subtle shift in her usual honeyed fragrance that makes my beast stand at attention. Could it be?

I say nothing. Surely, it’s far too soon to know. But my beast rumbles in satisfaction, and I give him his moment of glory.

“You’re happy,” she teases, palm resting on my bare chest.

Nessie feels it too.

Her eyes darken as she presses closer. Her beast reaches for mine, and her fingernails scratch my skin as she explores the dips and ridges of my stomach muscles.

"Ben." She breathes against my neck. “I think I need you again.”

Lifting her up and sweeping her into a bridal carry, already whisking her to the bedroom, I bury my face in her neck and kiss her mark.

“I’m here. Whatever you need. Forever.”

31

VANESSA

"If one more tourist asks me if I've seen any 'real were-animals,' I might actually shift just to give them what they want." Rachel grumbles, counting out the register at the end of another busy day at the Mountain View Café.

I laugh, wiping down the counter. "Better than last week when that guy asked if Bigfoot was just Jack having a bad day."

"Maybe he was onto something." Rachel’s smart and observant, and I have a feeling she suspects something's different about her new hometown.

The bell above the door chimes, and Ben walks in, fresh from a beginner tour. His hair is windswept, and there's mud on his boots, but his eyes light up when he sees me. Even after these past few weeks together, my heart still skips when he looks at me like that.

"Rough day?" I ask, already reaching for his favourite mug.

He collapses onto a bar stool. "Two twisted ankles, one case of altitude sickness, and a woman who thought her designer hiking boots would be fine without breaking them in first."

"Poor baby." I slide him a piece of apple pie, which was always his favourite, and run my fingers through his hair. "But at least Jack's letting you lead the advanced tours again next week."

"Thank god." He catches my hand and presses a kiss to my palm. The touch sends tingles up my arm, making every point of contact between us electric. "Ready to head home? Got a surprise for you."

Home. The word still gives me butterflies. We've been in the cabin for almost a month now, slowly turning it into ours. Ben has plans already drawn up for our new build, but that's going to take a while. For now, we're happy in our tiny little place in the woods.

"Go," Rachel says before I can protest about leaving her to close up. "I've got this."

Ben drives us home along winding mountain roads as the sun sets, painting the sky in brilliant oranges and pinks. When we pull up to the cabin, I immediately notice something's different.

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