Page 31 of Shaped By Darkness

He loves Serena just like the rest of us, and I’d bet my life he’s her mate, too. It’s only a matter of time before they are tied together as well.

He’s right, though. We totally forgot he was there until after, too lost in the moment and each other. And while I don’t regret it, not even a little bit, I don’t want to rub it in his face either.

“Sorry, man.” I rub the back of my neck, feeling a little uncomfortable under his gaze.

He holds me in his stare for a moment before his usual easygoing smile pulls at his lips, and I know he’s not mad, even if he is a little jealous.

“I know you are man, no hard feelings. Besides, I say we’re even after earlier.” He claps me on the shoulder hard enough tomake me stumble as he walks past me and out the door. “Let’s go see our girl, why don’t we?” he calls back, and I don’t hesitate to jog after him until we’re walking at the same pace through a castle that one day Serena will be the Queen of.

Life is a little wild right now, but I have faith in us, in Serena.

I always have.

We catch up with Rosalynn and Blair easily as they talk about the gods of old and make their way to the hall without the tiniest bit of urgency.

“Damn, I hope they don’t run out of those potato things. They’re so good,” Pike whines, and I chuckle at him and his love of food.

They are good. I'll give him that, but most of the food is. A lot of it looks like things we have back home, but the flavors are different, richer in a way I can’t even begin to explain.

I want to get there too, but not for food; well, not that kind of food.

We finally make it through the doors, and Pike and Blair go to the right of the table, and I stay on the left. They like to be able to see Serena, while I enjoy being next to her, touching her.

Garrett said it was because the bond is so fresh, but I hope this feeling never goes away. I love Serena with every part of myself. So much so, that I’d cease to exist without her, unable to breathe, lost in a world with no gravity to hold me here.

As if she can hear my thoughts, she turns toward me. My breath catches, my heart hammers so fast I worry it might juststop as her eyes meet mine across the room and her lips turn up in a smile.

Not just any smile, but the same one I’d seen on her face with my brother and Pike in the library not long ago. A smile so full of emotions that it gives me butterflies. I feel like a kid again, back when she was the only girl I ever talked to who didn’t think I was just some geeky kid they could cheat off of.

Damn, I really have loved her for as long as I can remember, even if I didn’t realize it.

I was stupid before, but not anymore. Not with her, never again.

Tomorrow isn’t promised, and I meant what I said to her about not wanting regrets, so with all the castle occupants in the room, I make my way to Serena, my mate, and pull her up from the table to stand with me.

Her eyes are full of questions, but she doesn’t voice them, instead trusting me in a way that only cements the fact that I want this, her, forever.

With the guys, guards, servants, ladies-in-waiting, King, Queen, and everyone else around, I press my lips to hers and kiss her like she’s the air I need to breathe, because she is.

And then rain begins to fall from the skyinsideof the main hall, and I can’t help but laugh when Serena squeals as the cold water falls from the ceiling. I know I did it, a side effect of my emotions bubbling over, I’m sure. I don’t care to bottle them up; I want to bask in the feeling of loving someone and having them love me back. I feel her lips pull up in a smile against mine, and I’m thankful for the rain, just like I’m thankful for Serena.

Serena’s been sneaking around.

I think we all know it, or most of us do, but none of us have said anything. At first, I kept quiet because I was worried she would be upset with me. So much is already going on; I’m not sure I could handle her being pissed off at me. I’m not even mated to her like the others are, and they’ve all been fighting left and right.

I don’t say shit because I might sound crazy, but I’m pretty damn positive that she’s happier. She seems more herself than she has since everything went down with Lyle, and while I can’t guarantee that’s because of her nighttime adventures, I’m not going to risk fucking it up if it is.

Unfortunately, it would seem that the whole ‘curiosity killed the cat’ saying isn’t just about cats.

Which is how I find myself sneaking around the castle, sniffing around for the scent of the girl who stole my heart years ago. A lesser beast wouldn’t be able to track her like this. Her scent is damn near plastered around the building from the weeks we’ve lived here.

But my wolf finds her newest trail with ease, and before I know it, we’re outside, running through the woods, her scent thick and delicious, like a trail of candy left for us to follow.

It’s not until I hit the clearing she’s in that I even register the fact that her scent isn’t the only one.

Blair is with her, but that’s not really a shock. He’s always with her, but what, or who, does this other scent belong to?

Fuck, what was that guy’s name? The one who saved her from Lyle—fuck, what was it?

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