Page 202 of When Sisters Collide
“You’re my soulmate,” she repeated in a whisper.
“Yes.” Still, he didn’t move—rooted in place as if caught between yearning and fear.
Alena gathered herself and slowly raised her hand.
Leukos flinched, the movement barely perceptible. “Alena?—”
“Trust me,” she breathed, her words steady despite the chaos inside her.
Because now, she knew the truth. She hadn’t dispelled the North Wind’s storm during the attack because she was the Omega.
It had been this—them.She was his soulmate. His Gift had known her even before she did.
Her fingertips brushed the sharp line of his jaw. She braced herself for the familiar sting of his magic, but the ice didn’t bite as it had before. Instead, it thrummed beneath her touch, a steady pulse like the ebb of a restrained tide.
A thrill shot through her, settling deep in her bones, the truth unfolding with undeniable clarity. She was Leukos’ soulmate—the North Wind’s magic knew her, answered her, and bent to her will.
Her fingers drifted over the hard planes of his chest before coming to rest against the steady beat of his heart.
Leukos tensed beneath her touch. His dark eyes searched hers, as if afraid the moment would vanish if he let himself trust it.
He hesitated, then lifted his hand and gently covered hers. His palm was warm, and when nothing happened—no surge of magic, no biting cold—his lips parted, a shaky breath escaping him.
Alena smiled. “The Cyprian knew,” she murmured. “I can help you keep it under control.”
Leukos’ eyes churned with emotions too vast to contain—hope, fear, disbelief. Yet he didn’t pull away.
The space between them seemed to shrink, and in that charged moment something shifted. A bond neither of them could ignore awakened, fragile yet undeniable.
Alena’s breath faltered. It was as if some missing piece of her had slid into place, silencing the ache and doubt that had haunted her for so long. She looked at Leukos, truly looked—and found the same raw longing reflected in his gaze.
His heart raced beneath her palm, and warmth unfurled within her, spreading outwards despite the icy chill of the waterfall’s mist. The force of it shook her—a love so consuming and absolute it burned through every thought and fear.
All she wanted was him.
“Touch me,” she whispered.
“I can’t.”
“You can.” She pressed closer. “Your Gift won’t harm me now. I promise. Touch me.”
Still, he resisted, every muscle in his body rigid with tension.
She frowned. “What are you so afraid of?”
Leukos dipped his head, his words a rough, tortured whisper. “That if I touch you now…” His hand rose, fingers trailing along the curve of her throat and down to her collarbone, stopping just above her chest. “I won’t be able to stop.”
His confession sent a shiver through her, and her pulse leapt in answer. “Then don’t.”
The words hung between them like a challenge. For a heartbeat neither moved—suspended in the taut pull between them.
Then his mouth claimed hers, stealing the breath from her lungs. One hand tangled in her hair, tugging her closer, while the other encircled her waist, pulling her flush against him. His warmth engulfed her, an inferno against her skin, as if his very touch could melt her.
His tongue teased her lips, and she opened for him, surrendering to the passion that ignited between them. He growled against her mouth, the sound vibrating deep in her. Her fingers dug into his shoulders as he half-carried her, feetskidding over the slick rock until her back met the rough cliff face.
The kiss was messy, unrestrained—the culmination of every moment of longing and fear they’d endured. Each touch was a declaration of everything they couldn’t say, a release of the agony of being apart. His hands roamed her with desperate intensity, leaving trails of fire across her skin. She gripped his shoulders, her body arching into him as if she could somehow draw him even closer.
He was the air she’d been starving for and, with his lips on hers, she could breathe again.
