Page 55 of Under Crimson Blades

“How can I help you? What can I do?”

“There’s nothing that can be done, Ava.”

Though every bone in her body fought against the finality of it, she merely squeezed her fingers against his. She wouldn’t keep pushing—not when he was so vulnerable—but one thing was certain.

“I hate your parents for doing this to you.”

He sucked in a breath, stiffening against her. The mating bond between them lit up with echoes of old emotions, from shame to anger to misery. In that moment, she knew what’d happened to his parents. He didn’t have to say the words, but he did anyway.

“We were clanless because no clan would accept them: they were intentionally cruel. Evil to the core. Finally, one day, I retaliated.” Remmus shook his head. “When I was fourteen, I ended their lives.”

Ava slowly retreated to catch his eye. “I’m proud of you.”

His gaze clouded with unshed tears, and she wondered if he’d ever heard the words before. To know that Remmus, barely a teenager, had slain his tormentors was both a relief and a torment. It sounded like no one had protected him as a child, and he’d been forced to take matters into his own hands. Nobody should have to live with their abuser.

Reaching up, she cupped his cheek with one hand, her thumb gently brushing across his cheekbone. Ava poured every ounce of her affection into their unfinalized mating bond, desperate to let him feel how deeply she cared for him.

Slowly, her fingers trailed down his neck, across his shoulder, and down his arm.

The same arm curled around her waist only seconds later, hoisting her up on the counter beside the brownies she’d made specifically for his enjoyment. His mouth descended on hers with an ownership that made her melt.

Fisting a hand in his shirt, she dragged him against her, wanting him plastered against her body so she could feel every muscular inch. He growled at her predatorial reaction, savoring her taste as he dove in for more.

His fingers tangled through her long coils of blonde hair, using them to pull her chin up so he had access to her neck. A gasp of surprise left her when his mouth gently teased her throat, teeth gently nipping at the sensitive flesh. Ava shivered at the contact, desire blooming within as she yanked on his shirt. Her feet wrapped around his waist, hooking behind his back as he continued worshipping her throat. A breathy moan sounded in his wake.

A chime on her phone startled them both.

Ava turned to glance at the display, groaning when the text from Aidan said Dominick’s den in Houston was waiting for them. “Are you feeling up to going?”

Remmus hummed a yes, pressing his lips into her jaw when she’d looked away. The bond between them pulsed, mirroring desire on both ends, before Remmus managed to pull away.

“Oh, Blondie, if you keep enticing me, we’ll never get out of your quarters.”

Every deep word was a purr that stroked the inner parts of her soul, her wolf practically vibrating with her need to claim him. Mine.

“Houston can fend for itself. I’ve got a tray of delicious brownies—and a delicious mate—here in my quarters,” Ava decreed. “I’m all set.”

He chuckled but retreated anyway. She sighed, the sound loud and annoyed, and spun around to grab him a brownie. “Corners or center?”

“Center. Fates, how is that even a question?”

Rolling her eyes, she cut out a piece from the middle. “We can agree to disagree.” She spun, offering him a bite. “Open up, mate.”

He flinched a second before he bit down on the brownie—but the reaction was gone before Ava could read into it. A groan tumbled from his throat, and then his voice echoed in her mind.

Delightful, Blondie. I’m gonna need another taste.

***

Ten minutes later, they arrived on Dominick’s pack lands.

Ava hadn’t been here since they’d redone the entire structure two decades ago. It rose three stories high in the center, but the majority of the pack member’s quarters were on the ground floor, spanning outward instead of upward. That way, getting in and out as a wolf was far easier.

“If it isn’t the legend herself!”

Dominick’s shout of greeting came from behind them, and Ava grinned. Spinning, she accepted his eager hug with a chuckle. “Nice to see you too, Dom.”

He cast a suspicious eye over Remmus. “Is this your technopathic mate?”

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