Page 23 of His Spellbound Mate

She had to close it, had to seal the Veil before it was too late. Drawing on the last of her strength, she reached out in her mind to Neville, drawing on his strength to sustain her. Tamzyn turned her focus to the Veil, reaching out with her magic, feeling for the edges of the tear.

It was like trying to grasp smoke, the edges slipping through her fingers, but Tamzyn didn’t give up. She concentrated, pulling on the threads of magic, weaving them in a tapestry, trying to bind the Veil back together.

The effort was immense, the strain almost unbearable, but she could feel it working. The rift was closing, the darkness receding as she pulled the Veil back into place. The energy around them shimmered, the swirling vortex of chaos fading as the Veil began to mend.

Finally, with one last surge of power, Tamzyn sealed the Veil, the rift snapping shut with a finality that sent a shockwave through the clearing. The air crackled with residual energy, but the danger had passed. The Veil was intact once more.

Neville lowered her to the ground, kneeling beside her. Her body trembled with exhaustion. She had done it—she had stopped Isolde, saved the town, and protected the Veil. But the cost had been high, and she could feel the toll it had taken on her, and there was no way to get back those who had been lost to Isolde’s madness.

“Tamzyn,” he whispered, his voice filled with relief and awe. “You did it.” Neville’s smile was warm, his eyes soft as he leaned in, pressing a gentle kiss to her forehead. “You were incredible.” She reached up to touch his face, brushing a lock of his hair from his brow. She smiled. “What is it?”

“The curse—it’s gone. Isolde must have been the one to cast it. When I banished her to the darkness, it must not have been able to remain on its own.”

“There is nothing more that needs to be done?” he asked.

“The ground needs to be returned to the Earth.” At his lifted eyebrow, she smiled. “There is some salt that needs to be sprinkled all around this clearing and plowed back into the earth. If possible, an Ash tree, one native to Alaska, should be planted; its roots will ensure the darkness can never rise from here again.”

“Do you need to do it, or can the men take care of it?”

“They can do it,” she said. “I keep all the salt they’ll need in my little workroom…”

“Where you had all your books and herbs?”

She nodded. “All the salt in there has already been imbued with what is needed. But you need to sow it into the Earth by hand, using old tools. You’ll find those in that room as well.”

“Garrett, see to it. I am taking Tamzyn home.”

Garrett grinned. “I’m assuming you mean her new home as your mate.”

Neville nodded, standing up, drawing her to her feet, and scooping her up in his arms before settling her in front of him on the ATV. Tamzyn wrapped her arms around his neck, content to be surrounded by his arms.

Once they had returned to the compound and told everyone what had happened, Neville requested that the cook bring them food and leave it outside their door. Once upstairs, Neville helped her into the shower and left her there. The temperature of the water was perfection, and she allowed the steamy water to wash away the residual magic that had clung to her after the battle. It wasn’t so much that the magic remained, but the bits of the Earth that had been stirred up as she and Isolde had battled.

Clean and refreshed, she left the bath to find Neville had set up food on the balcony. Grabbing one of his shirts, she started to walk out to tell him that it was too bloody cold to eat outdoors. As she stepped outside, she realized she could feel no breeze, and it was warm.

“There’s a button just inside the door. It operates a glass partition that encloses the balcony and adjusts the temperature to whatever our bedroom is set at,” he answered her unspoken question.

“Oh, I think I’m going to like being the fated mate to a rich alpha wolf-shifter.”

He chuckled and drew her to him, removing his shirt so that he could pull her naked into his lap as he sat down in a large wicker rocker. “I intend to see that you do.”

They ate a light meal, enjoying talking about everything and nothing at all. Finally, he stood with her in his arms and carried her back to their bed. The rumbling sound that seemed to come from some place deep inside him was rich and evocative. Tamzyn could feel arousal and energy flowing through her with an intensity she’d never felt before. She lay back on the bed, watching as he pulled off his clothes and joined her, rolling on top of her and parting her thighs before settling himself there. The head of his cock nudged the entrance to her core.

“There will be a more formal bonding at a later time, but you are mine, Tamzyn. I have loved you since the beginning of time and will love you far beyond its end,” he whispered in her ear as he reached beneath her, surging forward and breaching her opening, burying his knot deep within her.

Tamzyn cried out. The stories of the pain involved in being knotted by an alpha wolf had not been exaggerated. Even with the pain, though, the strength of his possession was enough to make her climax as his cock drove home. Neville moved strongly inside her, holding her close as she clung to him. He thrust inside her with hard, abbreviated strokes, and she responded. As she began to climb toward her own peak again, she could see his canines elongate.

Her eyes never left his as he opened his mouth and lowered his head. His mouth settled on the space between the hollow of her throat and her collarbone.

“Mine,” he growled.

“Yes, yours,” she whispered, pressing his head closer.

Neville sank his teeth into her, and she hissed from the pain. Biting down more firmly, he shook her gently in his teeth. Steadying her with his hands, she felt him roll his hips forward and begin the dance of subtle and overpowering rocking movements. Tamzyn came undone—her nipples were so stiff they bordered on painful as the hair on his chest raked against them. His pubic bone rubbed against her in a highly sexualized way she felt deeply. Her pussy seemed to pulse in harmony to the steady rocking of his cock.

Tamzyn lost touch with reality and soared into a space where time and place had no meaning. All that existed in this rarefied air was Neville and the way he made her feel. She cried out, biting down on his collarbone as she came with an intense shudder as he rocked within her—strong and steady, before picking up a frenzied pace that sent her spiraling into ecstasy.

“Neville,” she cried, digging her nails into his back.

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