Page 22 of Make Me
My fingers fist the front of Talon’s shirt, gripping him like he’s the only tether I have to this moment, because he is. I’ve known I needed this for months now. Not the kiss itself, but the stillness it brings, thathebrings.
His mouth moves over mine like a promise, slow and intentional. Worshipful, almost, but not like I’m fragile.
Like I’m something wild he never expected to find, and now that he has, he’s never letting go.
A part of me is terrified of that, but there’s another,deeper layer reminding me that I deserve this.Thisis what I’ve been searching for, and I can’t be afraid now that I’ve finally found it.
When we break apart, it’s not with gasps or poetic sighs. Just the quiet thrum of two people whose lives have both changed for the better tonight.
I open my eyes and find his already on mine, his thumb brushing along my jaw in a motion so gentle I could cry from the tenderness.
No one’s ever touched me like that. Not just physically, but soul deep.
“Are you okay?” he whispers, as if he’s worried he’s asked, or even done, too much.
I nod slowly. “I don’t know what’s going to happen next,” I admit. “But I know this feels right. This whole evening. Going to that party, finding you, speaking with Vaelora, now waiting for Natalia. It’s a lot at once, but I can’t imagine none of it having happened now that it has.”
He exhales, his shoulders relaxing as though I’ve just given him a truth he didn’t dare hope for.
“I can’t promise you anything,” I add, hating that I’ve let doubt creep in. “I sacrificed my wolf’s soul. That might not be something even the witch can fix. While I believe that we’re mates, and I’m certainly attracted to you, if I can’t get my wolf back, you might not ever have a real mate.”
“Oh, Kasha.” He grips my face, his eyes locked on mine. “You could have been human for all I cared. I just knew I needed to find you and be with you. Bondedor not, your wolf’s soul or not, it makes no difference for me. I’m yours, if you’ll have me. Full stop.”
His words hit harder than they should, and my heart starts to pound in my chest. I knew mate bonds were powerful. I watched Spencer fall, saw what it did to her. But I didn’t think there was a possibility of anything like that for me with this block. Regardless of what is or isn’t, my body still reacts.
The need to be closer to him grows while my skin warms, and every part of me relaxes when he stares at me as he’s doing now with such care and determination…
If it’s not the bond, and just the sheer intensity of his presence, then I’m in trouble because I’m already coming undone.
Yet, there’s still a little voice in my head, one that I share with him, that says, “What if I can’t ever be fixed after what I’ve done? What if I’m…broken?”
The smile he gives me as he holds my stare takes my breath away, but it’s the words that follow that finally take away all my reservations.
“Then I’ll break with you,” he says without hesitation.
Gods, that answer. That fucking answer.
It burrows into me, into every empty place that’s ached for too long. I keep my eyes focused on Talon as the silence settles between us again, allowing the warmth of his presence to soak through me. The wind rustles nearby trees, the stars glitter overhead, and for the first time in what feels like centuries, I let myself imagine what it would be like to stop hiding.
To stop fighting the parts of me that I’ve spent a lifetime trying to erase.
To no longer feel so alone.
“Thank you,” I murmur and move to kiss him again, but my phone vibrates with a new notification.
I glance at the screen and shake my head.
Natalia: Don’t move. I’m coming to you.
“Are you sure you can trust her?” Talon says as I show him my phone.
I nod with certainty. “If Natalia can’t fix me, I doubt anyone can.”
He stands, pulling me up with him as he wraps his arms around me. “There’s nothing to be fixed. Only set free.”
“You know, for a retired tracker,” I smile widely up at him, “you’re rather good at saying all the right things.”
“Just for you.”
