Page 70 of Ember's Claim

Her grayish-blond tail flicks as she sniffs around the cave, and I slowly wade to the edge. There are smooth rocks lining the rim of the hot spring, and I lean against them as Ember’s wolf trots deeper into the cavern.

My little brother was also fated to a wolf shifter. Although, that was so many hundreds of years ago, it’s difficult to remember if it was seven or eight hundred. They hadn’t completed their mating bond, so her life wasn’t tied to his. Once I fully claim Ember, she should be essentially immortal. Not the anti-aging type most shifters possess, but truly immortal, like my kind.

Well, there is one way to kill a druid. If we fail to complete the monthly ritual where we pay homage to Mother Nature, then we will fade and eventually perish. Mine needs to be completedagain tomorrow night on the full moon, and I’m unsure how the little wolf will tolerate the ritual.

When my brother lost his mate, it didn’t kill him, but it did decimate his will to live. The following full moon, he refused to replenish his magic. Shortly after, he made the choice to be with his mate.

Shaking my head, I attempt to force away those memories.

Ember’s wolf approaches slowly with her nose toward the ground. I’m unsure if she senses my sadness, but she makes it to me and bumps her face against mine. I bring a hand up, burying it in her thick fur as she begins to lick my cheek.

“Aww, you’re an absolute darling. Aren’t you, precious?” I chuckle. “I heard you growling and snarling at Anders and Veryn earlier, but you’re a sweet girl for me.”

Ember’s wolf grunts, pulling back and baring her teeth.

“My apologies. You’re terrifying. I’m humbled by your power.” I lower my gaze in deference and barely catch her wolf’s belly flying over my head as she dives into the water.

Chapter Twenty-Six

Ember

Lorcan knows how to play my wolf like a fiddle, which is bizarrely cute. It also makes us wonder how he knows to say exactly what she wants to hear. The change back happens instantaneously, which is nice because my wolf isn’t always keen to hand over control so swiftly.

I bob in the water behind the druid. His back is just as covered in runes and sigils as his front.

I reach out a wet hand, running my fingers over the muscles that line his shoulder. He has more of a slender build, but he’s stacked with lithe muscles. He spins to face me, and the bun on the back of his head bounces with the movement.

He raises a hand, and my hair piles on top of my head in a similar style. A slow, sexy grin crosses his face as my mouth falls open. I’ll probably never get over how easy and convenient it is to have his magic at the ready.

His knees bend, and he lowers in the water until most of his chest is submerged before slowly floating toward me. Steam rises off his shoulders, and my wolf screams to pounce.

The cool night air is a delicious opposition to the nearly scalding hot spring, but all I can focus on is Lorcan’s playful gray eyes as they twinkle and those sexy dual hoops in his nostril.

“I have a special nest set up for you in the house when we return.” He glides closer, gripping my hips and lifting me until my feet no longer touch the bottom. “Technically, Alpha, you should be able to claim the much larger home that belonged to Aimes.”

My head shakes as my legs float until they can circle his waist. “I have a feeling he took that house from Sofia and Kent. If so, it will be returned to their family.”

Lorcan tugs me closer with a hand on my back and the other on my cheek. “And you feared yourself unready to lead your pack.” His thumb traces down my lower lip. “Have I told you today how utterly fucking stunning you are?”

My face heats, and I look away from his expressive stare. It makes me feel a little too vulnerable, like he can see straight into my soul.

“I’d have none of that,” he murmurs, digging his fingers into my hair at the base of my skull. He directs my mouth to his as I float above his lap in the warm water.

He nips at my lower lip, taking the opportunity to shove his tongue into my mouth. Lorcan is a bossy kisser, and it only deepens my desire for more.

I’m beginning to think he wasn’t so far off with his comments about my dual nature. My wolf is an alpha. There’s no doubt in my mind about that, but I personally find it exhausting to have to make all the difficult calls. I’d actually prefer my mates take some of those choices off my plate.

His hand tightens on my lower back, shoving me against his lap.

I shiver, digging my fingers into his beard. There’s something about the commanding way he holds me to him while absolutely wrecking me that makes me burn for more. We’ve been closer to the cave side of the small spring, but the water teases my skin as he moves us closer to the waterfall. My back hits the rocksthat line the edge of the pool, and he grinds against my core, still owning me with tantalizing kisses.

I whimper when he pulls his mouth from mine, lifting me and placing me on one particularly long, smooth rock. Cool droplets of water ricochet onto my right side as the water falls only a few feet away.

It’s an enchanting backdrop, but I’m too focused on my druid to take in more than the basics of our surroundings.

Lorcan smirks, crawling over me. His heavy cock bumps my thigh while his lips meet mine. He holds himself up on one forearm and works the other between us.

Groaning, I bow off the rock and toward him at the feeling of his fingers testing my aching core.

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