Page 10 of Echoes of Us
Talon pressed his forehead to hers. “You are my Mate. My only one. Human or not, that will never change.” He pulled away slightly, staring into her eyes. “Do you still love me, Willow?”
“I never stopped.” She whispered as another tear escaped, shifting her gaze from his. “Do you forgive me?”
He forced her to look at him again to see the truth in his eyes. “There is nothing to forgive.”
The moment their lips met, it was as if no time had passed—like a year of pain, distance, and longing had never existed. The connection between them was still there, burning just as fiercely, if not more so.
Talon crushed her against him, his grip unyielding, his kiss desperate and consuming. He poured everything into it—the anger at losing her, the agony of missing her, and the undeniable truth that she had always been his.
She responded just as fiercely, her fingers tangling in his hair, her body pressing against his as if she, too, was afraid this was just a dream that would slip away.
But this wasn’t a dream or echoes of the past. This was their future from this point forward.
Talon deepened the kiss, his wolf howling in satisfaction, and he knew—he would never let her go.
CHAPTER 6
Talon pushed the truck harder up the mountain, the engine growling like the beast inside him, but it couldn’t outrun the storm in his soul. He had spent the night and the whole day with Willow, talking with her and holding her. Things were still shaky in their relationship, but they both agreed they wanted to give it a try. There was no trying on his part. She was his and always would be.
Leaving Willow had damn near torn him in half, but he needed to get his head straight before the weight of it all crushed him. His father. That bastard. He should’ve known the truth. Talon had never respected the man, never bowed to him as a son or as a wolf. The old Alpha had been a tyrant who thrived on hate, especially when it came to most humans. And it was him, of course it was him, who’d been behind driving Willow out of town and out of his life. The thought made Talon’s hands clench the steering wheel until his knuckles whitened. Everything finally made sense, and it sickened him.
He turned hard into the driveway, the tires spitting gravel toward the house he and Cory had taken over after the old man died. They’d gutted it, stripped it clean of every damn reminderof the bastard who had called himself a father. Talon had fought Cory about living there at all, but an Alpha’s duty chained him to the pack’s heart. Whether he wanted it or not, this place was his.
The moment his headlights swept the yard, his gut dropped. With a curse, he stopped and shut off the truck. The hum of angry voices rolled through the night like a low snarl, sharp and bitter. Cory stood stiff in the center of the drive, shoulders squared, his jaw tight as some of the elders of the pack pressed in around him. They weren’t attacking, but they weren’t far from it either. The air was thick, hostile, pulsing with barely checked aggression.
“Tell us the truth, Cory,” one of the older wolves snapped, his eyes glowing faintly in the shadows. “Is it true? She’s back?”
Before Cory could answer, another shouted from the back. “The Alpha cannot mate with a human.”
A middle-aged male shoved forward, his lip curling. “A human? He’s planning to mate with a human, bring her into our world? You can’t expect us to stand by and let that happen.”
Murmurs rippled through the crowd, growing sharp and cruel.
“She’ll destroy us. We’ll be vulnerable.” Another male shouted, his voice as angry as the others. “If our Alpha cares more about a human, he isn’t worthy of the title.”
“Careful what you say about my brother.” Cory’s voice lowered in a threatening growl. “AboutyourAlpha.”
Gravel crunched under Talon’s boots as he crossed the yard, every step slow and deliberate. His presence alone made the air thicken, but the low murmur of voices didn’t stop. The pack,hispack, clustered together, their hostility so sharp it cut through the night.
One voice carried above the others, dripping with venom. “Arthur would’ve ripped her throat out by now.”
Talon froze mid-step, his wolf clawing beneath his skin. The fury that ripped through him was instant, white-hot. He turned his head, eyes glowing like embers, and pinned the speaker with a look so lethal the man flinched but didn’t back down.
In a blur, Talon moved, his hand fisting in the front of the male’s shirt, slamming him against the side of a truck hard enough to rattle metal. The pack jolted, but no one dared intervene.
“You dare speak his name to me?” Talon’s voice was a low, dangerous growl, his beard brushing the wolf’s cheek as he leaned in. “My father was a tyrant. He ruled through fear, through hate, and you all lapped it up like starving dogs. I am not him. I willneverbe him. And if any of you think for one second I’ll let his poison dictate my future, you are sadly mistaken.”
The man tried to look away, but Talon yanked him back, eyes blazing.
“She’s mine. Human or not, Willow belongs here because I say she does. And if any of you so much as whisper about spilling her blood, you’ll answer to me before meeting my father in Hell.” Talon snarled, his wolf close to the surface.
Talon released him suddenly, shoving him so hard the man stumbled to the ground. The rest of the pack stood frozen, the weight of Talon’s dominance pressing into their bones. The name of the old Alpha died in every throat, buried under the fire of their new leader.
Talon straightened, his chest rising and falling with the effort of control. His wolf prowled inside, restless and eager for someone’s blood. But Talon made his point for tonight. Tomorrow, he knew, the war for Willow would start all over again.
The crowd dispersed in a slow, muttering shuffle, glances thrown back over shoulders like Talon might sprout horns and drag them all to hell for daring to question him. He caught fragments of whispered slurs—human,weakness,mistake—and each word landed like a stone in his gut.
When the last man vanished into the tree line, Cory stayed put, arms folded, his mouth already curved into that sarcastic grin.
