Page 4 of An Ancient Bond

If I had been in my human form, I would have burst into tears. There was wonder in his gaze, and recognition. He rose, pressing his nose against mine, sniffing at my muzzle, rubbing his neck alongside mine.

Everywhere he touched burned with ecstasy. I hadn’t been touched in so long, in either form, and I’d forgotten how it felt. Though I’d never known how this felt. To be welcomed by the other half of my own soul.

My legs grew weak, and I trembled as he towered over me. His wolf was huge, not as broad across the shoulders as our Alpha, but close. I felt small and almost fragile as he circled me, sniffing me, marking me with the glorious scent from his fur.

The Alpha grunted. “It’s time to run, young Rebin. Run with your mate, and honor the moon.”

Rebin? I’d seen that name on a list of notable Mountain shifters in our pack library’s histories. There had been another wolf with the same name, around two hundred years ago, who had been Alpha.

Rebin. It meant pathfinder, if I recalled correctly. My wolf barked, approving of her mate’s human name.

Rebin yipped once, then nudged my back leg, and I broke into a run, heading in the direction the other wolves had gone, toward the ridge.He had longer legs and was faster, but he ran beside me, our shoulders bumping, our legs almost tangling as we leaped over logs and fallen branches in tandem. Every touch set a part of me ablaze, until my wolf demanded we stop. We were close to the ridge, and wolves were all around us, running and playing, chasing shadows and moonlight.

I was done playing, though, and so was my mate.

He circled me a few times, rubbing his nose against me. When he stopped, he pressed me down with his strong, large body, and I lowered myself to the ground. He was behind me, covering me, entering me with his body, the bond I’d given him singing between us.

And then his teeth were buried deep in my neck, holding me as he thrust, tying us together forever.

My mate, his wolf purred into my mind. At last. We moved together, under the moon, crying out to Her with our pack all around, until exhaustion took us and we fell asleep in our wolf forms, wrapped in each other’s souls.

“Mate?”

The deep voice could have been a dream. I’d had hundreds that ended just like this, where a voice calling out to me from far away dissipated as the sun rose. I always woke up alone.

But this voice came from beside me, close, and was followed by a hand stroking my face, skin on skin.

My eyes flew open, and I jumped to my feet, unsure of where I was. A flush of heat moved from my head to my toes as I took in the young male who stood in front of me—barefoot, bare-headed, and bare everything in between—on the crushed grass.

“What… Who… How?” I stammered.

He was tall, with dark hair and tanned skin that was still three shades lighter than my own. His eyes were a bright blue, and his face as handsome as any I’d ever seen. Like a movie star in the human world. A prince from a storybook.

A young prince, I realized. He was… “How old are you?”

He grinned. “You have a lot of questions. I like that. I’m twenty-nine. As for who, what, and how? My name is Rebin Stone, I’m your mate, and if you check your nape, you’ll feel my mark.” He beamed with pride.

I was horrified, but tried to hide it. I didn’t succeed. His face fell, hurt blooming in those blue eyes.

“What’s wrong, mate… No. First, what is your name? Where are you from? I’ve never met you, never seen you, but you must be Mountain pack.”

I fought to control my growing disquiet as I stood before the man I’d claimed. “I am. I’m Annalise Booker. I live about a hundred miles northwest of the Den. Not too far from where the Little Snake and Otter Rivers branch off.”

“I’ve never been that way,” he said, trying to smile, but I could feel his anxiety rising. “You’ve lived there for a long time.”

“About as long as you’ve been alive,” I joked weakly. He didn’t laugh.

“Annalise, I, ah, want to thank you for saving me. I didn’t even expect to live through last night, and I never dreamed I’d find my true mate. Or, um, that you’d find me.” His hand flew to the mating bite I’d placed there while he lay unconscious.

When I didn’t speak, his expression hardened. My heart lurched, and my stomach tried to follow suit. “I’m glad I did,” I said at last, trying not to flinch as his gaze rested on the silver hairs at my temple, then skated down my body. I could almost feel every wrinkle, every deficiency I knew would be obvious in the light of day. “I’m glad I was able to save you.” I swallowed, knowing what I had to say next. “I’ll be heading back to my cabin today. I hope… I hope you have a good life.”

4

A Good Life

REBIN

Ihope you have a good life. The words might as well have been claws, tearing into my heart.

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