Page 91 of What a Wolf Demands

She complied, forcing her lids open. Then forcing herself to speak again. “I could die. And you—” She couldn’t go on. Couldn’t make herself say, “And you could lose someone again.”

He slid his hands to her cheeks, cupping her face with such . . . reverence.

As always, he was reverent with her.

A soft smile touched his lips, the expression at odds with the intensity of his gaze. “I could die tomorrow.”

She opened her mouth.

“No,” he said. “Listen to me. Nothing is guaranteed, Lily. I could die tomorrow or next week or next month. The sun could fall from the sky. The humans could lose their minds and set off a nuclear blast that obliterates half the life on the planet.”

The wind blew harder, snatching away his words.

But she still heard them. Nothing—not even the fiercest inferno—could mute the love pouring from his lips and shining from his eyes.

“None of us knows how much time we have,” he said. “And life can be really shitty sometimes. People die, Lily. It fucking sucks.”

Tears streaked from her eyes, drying as fast as they fell as the wind gusted around them.

He went on, sadness and love in his gaze. “I wish I had an explanation, but I don’t. All I know is that sometimes, just very occasionally, we get a little more time than we thought.” His eyes roved over her face as if he held something rare and precious and couldn’t quite believe it. “We get a second chance, sweetheart.”

She couldn’t speak. Couldn’t do anything but stand there and keep breathing, trying to absorb the enormity of the moment.

“I got a second chance,” he said, wonder in his voice. “And, dammit, I’m taking it.”

Leaves spun around them. The forest shook.

“Take it with me,” he urged. “Mate me, Lily Agincourt. Say the words.”

She nodded.

His lips curved, his eyes filling with tears. “My life for yours.”

Such simple words, the vow of the lux catena. But then, so was the human marriage vow.

He rubbed his thumbs over her cheeks, collecting her tears, her hair tumbling over his hands as the wind swirled around them.

Gaze locked with his, she said, “My life for yours.”

He smiled and drew her close, until his lips hovered just above hers. “Ah, Lily. It seems I’m always stealing kisses from you.” He lowered his head and kissed her.

The wind picked up, whipping around their legs. The trees rustled all around them, the leaves making a whispering sound that seemed to swell on the air.

Dom lifted his head, frowning.

“What is it?” she asked. Oh no. Did he regret pledging himself to her?

But he shook his head, a bemused look crossing his face. “Nothing. It’s just, for a second I thought . . .” He turned, his gaze taking in the trees before facing her again. “It was nothing, sweetheart.” He slipped his hand into hers and squeezed. “Let’s get back on the road before Max sends out a search crew.”

16

Dom kept an eye on Lily in his peripheral vision as he navigated the long, winding drive leading to the Lodge.

She was nervous, her anxiety so intense he imagined he could feel it crackling against his skin.

In fact, he felt closer to her. Connected. As if their mating had been a real one.

And why the hell not? So what that she was a latent, and the lux catena couldn’t work for them. She was his mate, pure and simple. He didn’t need a mystical chain to bind his life to hers.

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