Page 173 of Ashes to Ashes

“Thirty seconds,” he agrees, rising to his full intimidating height. “Then I hunt.”

I turn and bolt into the forest.

Wild ground welcomes my bare feet like coming home. My body moves with inhuman grace, finding paths through undergrowth that shouldn’t exist. Branches part before me like the forest itself wants to facilitate this ancient dance.

But it’s more than physical—it’s personal. My bones settle into their true proportions with pleasant warmth. My senses sharpen until I can hear Academy bells tolling miles away, smell magic on the wind like ozone and honey.

This isn’t awakening. This is remembering. This is who I’ve always been underneath twenty-eight years of forced suppression.

Behind me, I hear his countdown reaching zero, followed by the most beautiful sound in the world—the beginning of pursuit.

This isn’t fear driving me forward but recognition. Every step strips away more of the artificial constraints I’ve livedunder. Power floods through channels that have been artificially suppressed for years, and for the first time since my soul was flayed open by truth magic, I feel like myself.

Wild. Complicated. Flawed. Real.

The sound of his pursuit grows closer—not the careful stalking of a predator but the determined chase of someone who knows exactly what he wants. Heavy footfalls shake the earth, branches crack as they bend around his massive frame.

My heart pounds with excitement rather than fear. Every instinct screams that this is right—being pursued by someone strong enough to catch me, devoted enough to worship me, wild enough to match the fire burning beneath my skin.

A fallen log blocks my path. I leap over it with supernatural grace, landing in a crouch that sends thorns spiraling up my legs in response to the magic flooding my system.

Behind me, I hear wood splintering as he crashes through the obstacle instead of around it.

Fuck, that’s hot.

The thought makes fire spiral through my core. This beautiful, powerful man tearing through the forest to reach me. Choosing the direct path because nothing matters more than closing the distance between us.

I push harder, lungs burning with effort and anticipation. The forest streams past in a blur of green and gold, ancient magic recognizing its queen and clearing the way.

But he’s faster. Built for this kind of pursuit in ways that make my newly liberated nature sing with recognition.

Impact drives breath from my lungs as we crash into moss thick enough to cushion the fall. His massive frame cages me against earth that still holds the warmth of our magic, one arm curved beneath my head to protect my skull from roots while the other pins my hip to prevent escape.

“Caught you,” he growls against my throat, his weight pressing me into the earth in ways that make every nerve ending spark.

“That you did,” I breathe, and for the first time since the trials began, I feel completely present in my own body.

His hands bracket my wrists above my head, holding me gently but immovably while he studies my face. “You’re not afraid.”

“Should I be?”

“Of what I want to do to you? Maybe.” His smile turns wicked, revealing those sharp canines. “But you trust me to do it right.”

“Prove it,” I challenge, arching beneath him in blatant invitation.

The sound he makes is purely animal. His mouth finds the sensitive spot where my neck meets my shoulder, and he breathes me in deeply.

“You smell like earth magic and lightning, beautiful thing. Like everything I’ve been searching for.”

Sharp canines press against my pulse point, not breaking skin but marking territory with enough pressure to make my vision blur. The claiming bite sends lightning forking down my spine to pool molten between my thighs.

“Say it,” he demands, lifting his head to meet my eyes. “Tell me what you want.”

“You.” The word emerges without hesitation, carrying all the certainty I’ve been missing. “I want you, Orion. I want to feel claimed by someone who’s seen every dark truth about me and still thinks I’m worth protecting.”

“You’re precious to me,” he vows, voice breaking with emotion. “Sacred.”

Sacred flames flicker around his shoulders where they touch my skin—not dangerous but warming, responding to the depthof his feeling. Where they dance across my arms, pleasure blooms like flowers opening to sunlight.

---