Page 221 of Darling Wildfire
I watched them and a wave of peace swept over me. I looked back at Vetticus, hanging broken and bleeding—a barely breathing corpse. All the years of planning, hustling, and the torment of knowing he was still out there—all came down to now. Everything seemed more clear than it ever had before. I always wondered who I’d be once the smoke cleared and the blood that was owed was paid in full.
Who am I if not a hunter?
That was the question I asked myself, worried I’d get in too deep and lose any shred of humanity I had left. I worried I wouldn’t know what to do with myself once the hunt was over. Who was I without Vetticus driving my every breath? Even in the darkest moments, I’d never been his. I’d sat in wait, collecting my shadows and my pain and honing it all into a storm of vengeance. I’d bent to his will—all so I could get me and my men out alive. But in the end, it was always my game.
Powerful under the guise of being powerless.
Kaelin.
She’d wanted me to put the past to bed and come home to her. To give all of me to her. It should have felt strange, it should have felt wrong, to give instead of take. I wasn’t sure if I could really love someone or not, but I knew I would damn well try.
For her. For Graham. For the life I’d built.
The thought of her had me tossing the knife at my feet and heading towards the door.
“Where are you going?” Nyx asked, tearing his face away from Atlasmomentarily.
“To find Kaelin,” I said.
“What about him?”
“He’s the Devil’s problem now.”
Who am I if not a hunter?
I suddenly wasn’t afraid to find out.
115
THERON
I didn’t care that I was tracking blood in the house. I didn’t care that I was running on fumes after the fight or how much pain I was in. I didn’t care about anything but finding Kaelin. My body protested every step as I hurried up the stairs. I knew I was going to have to rest soon, but I had something I needed to do first.
I threw open the bedroom door and heard the shower running. I slipped inside, not even bothering to remove my clothes. She turned and gasped, only to inhale sharply when I grabbed her neck and forced her back against the tile wall. Blood ran in rivulets down my body, turning the shower red but she’d turned her wide green eyes on me and I knew—she was mine—forever.
“What are you doing?” She breathed.
“You told me you wanted all of me,” I rumbled. “My mind—” I brought my hand up and pushed a stray lock of wet hair off her cheek. “My body—” My fingers tightened around her neck. “And my soul.” I brushed my lips over hers, nothing more than a skate of breath. “But you forgot something, darlin’.”
“I did?” She asked, sounding breathless.
“You did,” I growled low, feeling my cock already painfully hard in my jeans.
“What did I forget?” She whispered, barely audible over the shower. I took her hand and placed it over my heart, a dark smirk pulled at my lips.
“This,” I said. “As dark and tattered as it may be—this heart is yours.”
Her fingers curled against my chest, digging into my skin.
“Did you come home to me?” She whispered.
“I’m home, baby girl, and everything I am belongs to you.”
“I want to hear you say it” she murmured.
My hand slipped up to grip under her jaw and I pulled her towards me.
“I love you,” I rasped, my lips brushing hers. “Relentlessly. Completely. Ferociously. You set fire to my soul and call me home from the shadows—my darling wildfire.”
