Page 45 of The Last Storm
I shouldn’t be surprised and yet, it still somehow managed to catch me off guard. I had kidnapped her. Of course, she would run. But it felt like more than just a prisoner running from their captor as the deep, gut-wrenching ache threatened to swallow me.
It felt like a reminder. A reminder that my father didn’t want me. That I killed my own mother. That my only friends were here out of obligation.
But even as the thoughts bombarded me, I couldn’t stop my feet as I stormed out of the library to the front door and shot to the sky, surveying the land.
I had to find her. Even if it made me every bit the monster my father was.
She couldn’t have gotten far and she would be heading the way we came. She wouldn’t know any other way.
Rain poured, soaking my hair and clothes as I flew over the forest leading to Blackburn when I spotted her. Even with her hood pulled tight over her head, hiding her face and hair, I knew it was her. I would recognize that scent anywhere. Rain and wildflowers.
I slammed into the ground in front of her, and she halted in her tracks as fear flashed in her eyes. Hurt flared again, quickly replaced by anger. She was not just fleeing from Ravaryn, but me. She was leaving me. Her mate.
“Let me go,” she said tightly, gripping her dagger.
“You know I can’t do that,” I said, stepping closer. Her scent filled every corner of my mind, blurring everything else from existence. I needed her like my fire needed air, and my feet stepped closer of their own volition.
She hesitated as I edged closer, her lips parting. The same heat burned behind her silver eyes as her cheeks flushed with desire.
Her body sang for me, just as mine did for her.
I closed the final step between us and looked down at her, meeting her gaze. My heart raced, my breaths heavy, and her chest rose and fell just as quickly.
Gripping her chin, I raised her face to mine. Soaked hair clung to the sides of her face, water dripping off her eyelashes.
Every inch of me craved her.
My eyes dropped to her lips, red and soft, calling to me. They parted in a gasp and my self-control snapped. My mouth crashed to hers in a bruising, breathless kiss.
Right. This felt so, so right. Even as my mind told me it was wrong.
She kissed back ferociously, bringing one hand to my face and pushing herself into me as if she yearned for more. She ground her hips into me and I hardened, pressing into her. She gasped against my mouth at the feeling of it. I grinned, sliding my hand down her hips, holding her against me.
She stilled, pausing for a moment, before burying her dagger into my stomach and taking off in a sprint.
Rage and lust burned through me as she ran, her cloak billowing behind her. She had fooled meagain. I let out a roar of frustration, and she whipped her head back to me in fear before running harder. I pulled the dagger out and dropped it to the ground.
“You can run, Ara, but it will do you no good.”
Giving her a head start, I took to the sky, following behind her. I knew she was afraid, but it did nothing to stop me. It only fueled the deep, primal instinct she awoke in me. The prey to my hunt.
She ran for almost an hour, but she was tiring and still nowhere near Blackburn. Finally, as the rain shifted to a torrential downpour, I swooped down, landing directly in front of her.
Standing tall, I glared down at her.
“Are you done?”
She shook her head slowly, breathing heavily, her jaw clenched.
My little fighter.
Mine.
The bond was blinding me and I could see nothing but her.
Her.
Mine.
