Page 12 of Before the Bond Breaks
His smirk widened. “Promise?”
The bar was dimly lit, and the air was heavy with enchantments. The bartender, a witch, leaned against the counter, wiping down glasses. His eyes caught mine, with a faint flicker of recognition there.
“What’ll it be?” he asked as Talon and I slid onto the bar stools in front of him.
I ordered a whiskey sour, while Talon ordered a beer. Then, I pulled a picture of Jessica up on my phone and showed it to the bartender. “Have you seen her around? It would have been about two weeks.”
The witch frowned, thinking. “Yeah, I saw her once or twice. Sat in the back. Didn’t talk much.”
My throat closed, but I forced myself to stay still, to let Talon carry the questions. “What about shifters?”
The bartender shook his head. “Until you walked in just now, I thought the rumors about shifters were just a myth.”
Something about the way he said it prickled against my skin, but Talon only nodded, as if satisfied. I knew better. Talon would have picked up on my subtle reaction and the uneasiness rolling off the bartender.
This kind of thing was Candra’s specialty because her magic could tell if someone was telling the truth. Our mother called it the truth sense.
We finished our drinks in silence, but Talon’s gaze kept sliding back to me. When he took my hand and tugged me toward the small dance floor, I didn’t resist.
The music was slow and sultry. Talon drew me close, placing my arms on his shoulders before wrapping his around my waist. Heat coiled low in my stomach. It was familiar. I remembered how Talon always made my body heat and tingle at the same time. Even before we were picked to be the first mated pair between the shifters and Valkyries. Thinking about that time made me wonder if theNornshad set this in motion before Freya and the Prime turned the goddess’s guards into shifters.
“You’re tense,” he murmured. His breath brushed my ear, sending a shiver down my spine.
“Because you’re impossible.”
He only chuckled, the sound rough. His lips brushed my temple first, then lower, grazing the line of my cheek. When I turned toward him, his mouth caught mine.
The kiss wasn’t gentle. It was hot, consuming, his wolf's spirit surging against me until my knees went weak. After a moment, Ilet myself drown in it, in him, in the truth I’d been running from for centuries.
Our tongues tangled together as Talon tightened his hold on me, fusing our bodies closer. Every part of me ached for his touch. I barely remembered that we were in a public place.
When we finally broke apart, both of us were breathing hard. His forehead rested against mine, his voice a whisper meant for me alone. “I’ve waited way too long for that.”
I slid my hands down his chest, then snaked them around his waist and hugged him tight. Being in his arms was like coming home. “Me too. I’m sorry I made you wait.”
Talon released me and took my hand. “Let’s get out of here.”
I laughed as he tugged me off the dance floor and out of the bar. We walked hand in hand toward the apartment. Studying his profile, I wanted to kiss him again and so much more. I wanted things I never allowed myself because I could barely stand the thought of anyone touching me except for Talon.
About a block from the bar, two men stepped out from an alleyway, blocking our path. Glaring at them, I opened my senses. Corrupted magic and dark energy rolled off them.
Eitrborn. Balder’s pets. How nice.
I wasn’t sure why it surprised me that these monsters looked just as human as Talon and I did. The one in front of me had blond hair that was pulled back into a low ponytail. He had a scar above his right eye. The othereitrborn’s head was shaved, and he had piercings in his brows and bottom lip. Both their eyes were dark brown, the color so dark the irises almost blendedwith their pupils. And they wore black cargo pants and black shirts.
They charged toward us, and we shot forward, meeting them in the middle. Talon slammed his fist into Baldy’s chest with bone-cracking force. At the same time, I kicked out, slamming my foot into Blondy’s knee. He screamed and fell to the ground.
Before he could recover, I manifested my blade in my hand on instinct, silver gleam catching the streetlight as I slashed across the creature’s chest. Black blood spilled from the wound, hissing where it hit the pavement.
Note to self: Don’t touch the black blood.
Blondy snarled and locked gazes with me. I smirked as I closed the gap between us and stabbed him in the heart. The light in his eyes dimmed, and his body slumped. I pulled my blade from his chest and blasted him with fire magic. The flames lasted only a few seconds, but they did their job of turning the corrupted shifter into dust.
I twirled around to see Talon do the same to Baldy. Then a portal opened inside the alley and a third eitrborn stepped out. Talon was on him instantly. He struck with a punch to the chest while putting a healthy dose of magic into the hit. The beast slammed into the wall. I threw a fireball at him.
Silence fell around us, and we waited for more of the monsters to show. My chest heaved, and the blade in my hand dripped with black blood. Talon’s amber eyes met mine, glowing faintly in the shadows.
The heat between us hadn’t cooled. If anything, the fight had stoked it higher, burning away the walls I’d tried to keep up.
