Page 137 of Crown of Fate

I push myself upward, needing his lips on mine. “Then don’t.”

With a groan, his mouth claims mine.

I give in to the heady rush of need, tearing at his clothes, trying not to scratch his skin with my claws, which, despite my best efforts, just don’t want to stay retracted.

There are so many contradictory parts of me. Metallic angel wings. Wolf’s claws. Blacksmith’s power. And right now, they’re all clashing within me.

“Don’t hold back, Caera.” He groans against my mouth. “I don’t want a restrained version of you. I want all of you.”

I can’t get my clothes off fast enough.

He can’t seem to lift me fast enough.

Our bodies crash against each other, fitting perfectly as he takes me against the tree, every wild thrust driving me higher until a perfect release washes over me.

Oh, but it will never be enough.

We drop to the ground, me on top of him, where I plant my hands on his chest, drop my mouth to his, and kiss him while my body rocks against his.

All the push and pull.

The light and dark.

I don’t know what his power is now. All I know is that it balances mine. All that matters is the rhythm we beat out together.

A perfect connection that’s all ours.

My back arches as we crash again, our bodies slick with sweat, our chests heaving, and I drown in his eyes. Drown in his body.

And now—finally—I can believe that I’m not going to lose him.

We end up beneath a patch of clear sky where the branches don’t conceal the beautiful darkness above us.

I’m not certain what the future holds for us, but I know one thing: I will fight for it.

I will not give up the peace I’ve wrought, and I will not give up his love as long as he’s willing to share it with me. Never again.

I nestle against his side, my upper leg resting over his hips while I wait for my breathing to settle enough to ask him what I need to know. “What name did you choose for yourself?”

His voice rumbles at my ear. “Ah, but to tell you that, I need to tell you a story that started a long time ago.”

I lift my head from his chest, needing to see his expression. “How long ago?”

He gives me a mysterious smile. “Very long ago. And it’s a story that doesn’t start with me.”

I narrow my eyes at him, a little bit of darkness making me impatient. “A story that starts with someone else? Well… does it have betrayal and death and darkness? If so, I will listen.”

He pulls me upward to kiss me, a demanding kiss that heats my body. So much heat that I find myself wondering how much of his story I’ll listen to before I distract him…

“Betrayal,” he says. “A lot of betrayal.”

His fingertips play across my back as I wait for him to continue.

His smile grows. “Once upon a?—”

“Ugh!” I press my palms to his chest, my claws extending as I slip my legs to either side of his hips. “Start like that and I’ll find other things to do.”

He laughs. “Wait, you need to hear the next bit.”

I give him a pointed stare. “Which is?”

His voice lowers to a dark rumble. “There was a sky filled with blood, a beast filled with rage, and a silver-haired woman gifted with more power than she realized.”

When I continue to consider him, he asks, “Want to hear more?”

I can’t help my smile as I flex my fingers against his muscled chest and lean down to kiss him, inhaling his new scent and welcoming all the promise in his eyes.

“Tell me,” I say. “Tell me everything.”

A sky filled with blood, a beast filled with rage, and a woman whose power would alter fate… and lead to the creation of the keepers…