Page 77 of A Reign of Malice
JULIAN
Between Sloane’s fierce loyalty, Asher’s wisdom, and the voices of the pack echoing with belief instead of suspicion, I finally feel like I can breathe. Like I belong. For the first time in two centuries, I feel whole.
The energy inside the sanctuary is unlike anything I’ve ever experienced. It hums in the stone, ripples through every word spoken, every footstep taken. These wolves—our wolves—they’ve endured fear and uncertainty, but they haven’t lost their strength. If anything, they’ve grown wiser in their silence.
And somehow, they’ve made room for me amongst them.
Aeson spent years convincing me I wasn’t meant to lead. That I was too soft. Too impulsive. Too unworthy.
But now, I see how wrong he was.
I want this. The responsibility. The challenge. The honor. I want to be the alpha who protects this pack. I want to be the mate who makes Sloane proud. I want everything I thought I’d never have while locked in darkness, bones aching and soul unraveling.
My wolf stirs within me, no longer silent or fractured,but alive and powerful. Ever since we left for the god realm, his strength has returned in full, surging through my blood like wildfire. He wants to run desperately, but we have more pressing things to attend to first.
I need Sloane to know how much I appreciate her and believe in her as the Alpha Queen. Not for the first time, I made it seem as though I was questioning her abilities, but that’s the furthest thing from the truth. Fear is a powerful beast, and I can’t let it rule my emotions any longer. I’m finally free, and I won’t be trapped again. Especially not by my own thoughts.
Sloane and I are shown to a small, closed-off alcove carved into the stone. A blanket hangs from the entryway, giving a semblance of privacy.
“We should make rounds with the pack members,” Sloane says as soon as we’re alone. She’s pacing the room, her arms crossed while her light blue gown floats around her ankles and her crown shimmers even in the dim light. “The pack needs to see us. It’ll show strength. Unity. They’ve had too much chaos already?—”
“Sloane,” I cut in gently.
She pauses, blinking, clearly expecting a strategy question or logistical problem. “What? Did I forget something?”
I step closer, the firelight showcasing the tension in her shoulders. My fingers brush her hand then trail upward until they rest at her jaw.
“No,” I murmur, holding her gaze. “But I did.”
Her brow furrows slightly until I lean in and press my lips to hers.
It’s slow at first. Just a whisper of contact, but then she exhales and melts into me like a dying star collapsing into gravity, and suddenly there’s nothing else.
I pull her into my arms and hold her. Her body curvesagainst mine, her hands tangling in my shirt and her heart beating wildly against my chest, matching mine, like two beats of the same song.
Everything else fades.
The war. The fear. The consequences of tomorrow.
All that matters is this.
Her.
Us.
And the bond between us that not even gods could sever now that I’ve found her.
Sloane slides her fingers up my chest, curling them around the collar of my shirt as she presses her mouth more firmly to mine. There’s hunger in the kiss now, and not just the physical kind, but one born of grief, of longing, of stolen time we can’t get back.
I deepen the kiss, cupping her face with both hands as I pour every ounce of my devotion into her. My thumb glides over her cheek, catching the edge of a tear that takes us both by surprise.
“I thought I would never find you,” she whispers, her lips brushing mine as she speaks. “I don’t want this to ever end.”
“It doesn’t have to,” I say, my forehead resting against hers. “Not for any reason. No one—not Aeson, not fate, not even the gods themselves—can take this from us.”
Her eyes close, and when she breathes, it’s like she’s pulling me into her lungs. Like I’m the air she needs just to keep standing. I kiss her again, softer now, more worshipping than desperate. She sighs against me, her fingers tangling in my hair, holding us both together.
We lose time in each other. Touch, taste, breath, me and her, we’re all that exists.
