Page 41 of Wild Wolf

We were closing in on them now, only twenty feet dividing us and Sin roared as he lunged but a flash of glimmering stardust sparkled in the moonlight. Despite my screams of despair and Ethan’s howls of protest, the stars ripped our prey into their grasp and snatched them away from us in the blink of an eye.

Sin bellowed mournfully, a thousand bubbles exploding from his mouth and washing over us in the balmy sky as he swung back around towards the beach.

A sob caught in my throat at how fucking close we had come to stopping them, how near we had been to reclaiming what they had stolen from my mate.

Ethan gripped me tightly, his own pain at our failure clear as Sin dropped towards the shore with a mournful cry which sent even more bubbles tearing over us.

We landed heavily and I was almost thrown from Sin’s back as he crashed into the sand, clearly not used to navigating the enormous form the way Dante was.

I slipped from his back with the balmy night air clinging to my skin, and I stumbled to a halt at what I found before me. Cain was gripping Roary’s arm while he stared horror-struck at the dark sky, his eyes locked on the place where Vard had slipped out of reach.

“They got away,” Roary rasped, still staring at that spot of nothing.

My gut lurched, heartbreak threatening at the raw emotion in his words, but we had no time to dwell on it.

The sound of Gustard battling with his confinement was growing louder, thumps and roars from within the burning compound filling the air and now that Vard had taken Roary’s Lion away from this place there was nothing left here for us.

Sin shifted back into his own form behind us and the talian corvid landed on his shoulder with a mournful ca-caw like it sensed the weight of our loss. The four of us drew together, each of us looking to Roary with hurt and sorrow written across our expressions.

“We’ll get it back, Roar,” I swore, taking his hand in mine and tugging him in the direction of the beach. “But right now, we have to run.”

He nodded emptily, letting me pull him after me as I broke into a sprint and the five of us set a course for the dock where our boat remained anchored – one of the last remaining in place.

The sea was full of retreating Fae, their vessels making a fast pace out onto the ocean as they escaped the carnage we had brought to their door.

A furious roar echoed from the compound at our backs and Ethan turned to look at it, raising his hand in the air before closing it into a fist.

All at once, the compound collapsed in on itself like the hand of some giant had swept it from existence. Flames billowed towards the moon above as the bricks and beams all caved in and the sky was illuminated in blazing orange before us.

We kept running, our group racing back onto our boat, my hand never once loosening its grip on Roary as I drew him onboard.

Sin cut the tethers holding us to the dock and Ethan worked with him to launch us out to sea.

I watched the burning rubble of the compound as it retreated from view and a lump thickened my throat as a huge figure burst from the ashes, screaming furiously at the sky.

But we were already too far for Gustard to reach us, and as Grimolda Isle faded away into the distance, I finally let myself breathe again.

I turned to face Roary, pain spearing me at the hopeless expression on his face and as he met my gaze, he flinched.

Roary dropped his head, trying to tug his hand from mine and backing up a step towards the cabin in the centre of the boat.

“Don’t you dare run from me again, Roary Night,” I growled, matching every retreating step of his with a pace of my own.

He moved back into the cabin and I followed, never once releasing him and kicking the door shut as I stepped through it to afford us some privacy.

“Rosa,” he rasped and I surged forward, kissing him hard, forcing him to do nothing at all other than feel the truth of my love for him in the simple press of my lips against his.

Tears slipped from my hold, the salt of them tracking between our mouths as they moved as one and his hands slowly slid around me, gripping my waist and holding me tight.

“You are mine, Roary Night,” I said into that kiss. “My love for you withstood the walls of Darkmore. It persisted in the years which parted us and grew with every moment I have claimed in your arms since. Don’t you dare try to shut me out now. Lion or not, you’re mine. Do you understand that?”

I took his arm in my hand, my thumb pressing down on the mate mark which proved the truth of my words beyond all doubt.

“I am yours,” he said helplessly, his voice ragged and broken. “But I’m not all I should be anymore.”

“Yes you are,” I disagreed, my hands moving to the buttons of his shirt, fingers tugging them free while our kiss deepened and his tongue sank into my mouth.

Roary seemed to resist for a few moments before finally giving in, his fingers knotting in the back of my top before tugging it up and over my head.

---