Page 198 of Bane of the Wild Hunt

Think clearly. Say the words deliberately in your mind the way you would say them aloud,I reminded her.

She heaved a sigh and closed her eyes. I felt her focus gathering behind that wall until she seemed to find some small opening through which to squeeze a response.

Prick.

I laughed at her, and her eyes widened in surprise and excitement that she had managed to push a word at me.

Good job, Summer. Even if it was rude. One more time,I insisted, and she sighed again as fresh sweat began to bead on her forehead and upper lip.

I. Am. Tired,she confessed at last, each word clipped, and I nodded quickly before any signs of my surprise at her could show.

She had expressed a vulnerability. Admitted to a need. It was much more in line with her character to get cranky and mouthy with me when she was done, but this time she had merely verbalized it.

Come sit with me,I invited, determined to reward her.

She was quick to abandon her cross-legged position and crawled over my knees to straddle my hips in what I knew was becoming her favourite position to sit with me. Her arms wound around me, and she buried her face into the crook of my neck and shoulder.

Right over her mark on me where our combined scent was the strongest.

I ran my hands soothingly over her back and kissed every love bite that I’d left on her neck that was still vibrant and gorgeous. She made a sound of approval and melted into me even harder while I began to wonder if she would ever consent to me marking her as permanently as she had marked me.

We sat like that for some time, just revelling in one another’s proximity, until I felt her clenching me tighter with a swell of potent anguish spreading through her.

Sage,she sent a tentative plea that she seemed unsure would reach me.I have lost everyone I ever loved.

I still remembered her slipping up and telling me that I was her sanctuary. And I hadn’t been able to stop thinking about the heartfelt letter she had read to me earlier which we had dropped off for Rian to look over.

I am not going anywhere. I promise you that.

“You can’t make such a promise,” she protested aloud, lifting her head to look up at me with eyes that begged me to prove her wrong.

“I can,” I assured her as I tucked a few stray strands of her hair behind her furred ear, smiling when it flickered at my gentle touch. “I pity anyone who tries to part us.”

“Don’t say that,” she whispered, her hand rising to try and press against my lips and quiet me, but I took it and kissed her fingers in reassurance.

“I mean it, Summer. I will take this,” I said, giving the bond a little tug between us until she gasped and put a hand on her chest, “and hold on tight. Nothing could ever keep me away from you. Do you understand?”

“Sage,” she breathed, leaning her head against my jaw, and I felt her choke down a sob. “Promise?” she gritted.

“I promise. You are myanam. My beautiful mate. There is nothing that will keep me from you.”

She nodded, and I felt her tears dampening my jaw as she gave me the same tug in my chest. Except that it felt more like she was sinking teeth and claws into our bond to hold onto it with an uncompromising fury.

“I promise the same,” she whispered after a moment. “Nothing will keep me from you.Nothing.”

“Good,” I grunted, my voice gruff as I became rather emotional myself after her fierce promise.

I tipped her back to meet her eyes again only to find her cheeks streaked in so many tears that it made my heart leap in anguish.

“Please do not cry,” I begged her, leaning forward to kiss away the dampness of all her tears, and I could not help licking their saltiness off my lips.

She closed her eyes as she soaked in all my affection for a moment while even more tears fell before she took a breath and looked up at me. Those stunning silver-green eyes bounced backand forth between my own with such seriousness that it sobered me instantly.

I love you.

Her precious words took the breath out of my lungs with so much force that it felt like being kicked in the gut. Her eyes widened at my shocked reaction, and she looked wholly terrified before I remembered myself and reached up to cup her face. I kissed even more of her tears away, scattering the kisses across every inch of her face until she had finally relaxed again.

“I love you too, Summer,” I told her, and she released another harsh breath in relief before sinking against me hard as if she were hiding from something. I thought at first that she was merely hugging me and wrapped my own arms around her, but then her body began to shudder. The trembles became jolting, like she was trying to hold in the sobs, before they began to wrench out of her.

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