Page 180 of The Heart of Winter

Then, the mating call escaped my throat, the one asking for consent to mark him…

And Winter responded!

But this time, it wasn’t just a crude attempt at a receptive sound—the kind any omega could produce effortlessly, but was nearly impossible for a beta to mimic. Now, Winter did it flawlessly, as if he had been born an omega himself. Surprising? Not so much anymore.

My fangs shot out and pierced his neck gland, and bliss exploded… but I kept moving inside him as the sweet culmination tore through my body, shaking me to my core.

He was swept up in the ecstasy too.

Even then, I didn’t stop. I knew I could go on, the magic was already happening between us, the fated mates’ libido rising and solidifying.

And Winter took me beautifully, smoothly, perfectly, my cock fitting into him like it was made for him. Just a few minutes later, we both orgasmed again.

Yep. Another sign that theBondwas real.

Climaxing for the third time would normally be difficult outside of heat, but we were now beyond normal limits.

Immersed in him, I had a vivid sense that Winter was thinking about it too, but he seemed afraid to talk about it. For me, it was almost like a fun game, but for him… there was this hint of fear, of ‘what if it’s still some coincidence?’ So I had simply respected that he wasn’t ready. I was fine leaving it alone for now, just seeing how things unfolded.

Eventually, I slid off his body and settled beside him, keeping one hand resting on his back.

"Now that we have food," I murmured, "we can afford to use some energy on other things." I sent him a playful wink.

"Couldn’t agree more," Winter answered, smirking. "There’ll be more laundry, but I’m not worried about it. Now, a trip up the volcano slope won’t cost me an entire day’s worth of calories." His voice was laced with sarcasm.

"You always think about all these little details no one else does." I smiled, then leaned in and brushed my lips over his.

Afterward, I stretched out on my back, resting my hands behind my head and staring up at the ceiling.

"I'm so happy the worst is over, Winter," I admitted. "Sometimes it's still hard to believe. The only question is… will anyone ever come to this island? Will we ever be found?"

Winter sighed. "I saw some bottles washed up farther up the beach. I think, from time to time, some tourist ships must come near here, probably in the summer. People looking to get a close-up view of the volcano."

"You think we’ll be here that long?"

"I don’t know. But I do know that in spring, there’ll be even more food. Nesting season will start, and we’ll have eggs. Warmer waters near the coast should bring more shrimp, too. I think we’ll manage."

I lowered my hand and found his in the dim light, gently squeezing.

"With you…" I exhaled softly, "I’m not afraid of anything."

And there it was again—that strange, shy energy in him. But almost as if to contradict it, his fingers tightened around my hand. Then he leaned in to kiss me.

Soon we were at it again…

WINTER

For quite a while, I couldn’t get over how much our situation had changed.

Every two days, we made trips to the wetlands, bringing back a steady supply of food. I had no complaints about our diet, it was quite healthy.

By the fourth day after discovering the wetlands, I could say I felt almost back to normal. The weakness was gone. Even my body temperature seemed higher. The brain fog from malnutrition had lifted, too.

Sariel and I had now circled nearly the entire island. On the far side of the volcano, we discovered two more small thermal streams. Each had some mussels in them—meaning we’d had the worst luck ever, stumbling across the only one that was nearly empty. I suspected it was because of its high temperature, making it inhospitable for cold-water species.

Food trips were no longer a grueling ordeal. We walked along the beach, holding hands. It had been Sariel’s idea. At first, he reached for me with a hesitant smile, but then he grew bolder. We probably looked like a couple strolling romantically along some coastal promenade in a bustling city—easy to forget, we were walking across the windy, volcanic shore of a godforsaken island.

We talked. A lot.

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