One Night

Chapter 147

Audrey

Edwin cradled me in his armas as he made love to me. I laid on my back, legs resting over his waist, as he gently thrust into me on his side. His lips trailed warm paths across my neck, fangs nipping at the exposed skin.

I arched my back languidly, a soft moan escaping me as the movement gave his next thrust deeper access. His member, warm and thick, throbbed at the sensation.

Edwin chuckled lowly, his eyes fixed on my parted lips.

“What is it?” I managed through my whimpers as he gently worked himself into me, inch by glorious inch. I ground my hips against him, my low belly aching as he swooped his fingers in slow circles across my **t.

He shook his head and propped himself up on one elbow, pressing another kiss to my temple as he caged himself around me. “Your fangs dropped a little.”

I ran my tongue along the too-sharp canine and winced as it pr**ked my tongue like a needle. He was right; where there had once been slightly smooth canine teeth were now two razor-sharp fangs.

Edwin, noticing my cringe, traced his thumb along my lower lip! 1 opened my mouth a little more, and he dipped his head, tongue flicking across my own-licking away the little bead of blood that had squeezed out.

He pushed a little deeper into me then, and I felt full to the brim as he positioned himself between my trembling thighs. He gripped my thighs, gently pushing them down and back, that stretch in my hamstrings eliciting another moan.

“Another thing to get used to,” he huffed as he began working in deep, steady strokes, “is not biting yourself with those fangs.”

I hardly had the breath left in me to laugh as he picked up his pace, flesh clapping against flesh beneath the sheets. In fact, ás I raked my nails down his back, I heard him suck in a sharp breath

“Sorry.” I whispered, retracting my claws. “I didn’t mean to

He shook his head, dark hair falling into his eyes, and sketched a playful nip at my earlobe. “I like it,” he purred, his voice low and husky. “Scratch me all you want

Eyes wide, I pushed back against the pillow to look at him. I saw nothing but lusty mischief in those gray and gold depths.

And so, grinning, I extended my claws and raked them down his spine, reveling in the sound of his howls as he thrust himself into me,

We didn’t stop making love until the sun

came up.

Only then did we finally collapse in a sweaty, sated heap, limbs tangled beneath and around the white sheets. Edwin was already tracing lazy patterns on my skin with the tip of his finger, and I shivered contentedly, my new body still tingling from reaching our peak together.

“That was different,” 1 murmured, voice h**rse. “Coming with you..”

A light flickered in those eyes. “I’ve always heard that climaxing with your mate is an… out of body experience,” he all but growled. “I’ve never experienced it myself, of course. Before now.”

I let out a soft sound that was almost like a purr in response. Whoever said that had certainly been right-I was still coming back to earth, coming back to this new, foreign body of mine.

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Chapter 147

“I still can’t believe it,” whispered, lifting my hand and turning it this way and that in the golden light of the morning sun. “That I’m….. a werewolf,”

Edwin propped himself up on one elbow and pressed his hand against mine. I marveled at how perfectly they fit together, how my fingers-longer and more slender now-fit so perfectly against his.

“I have a question,” he said, looking at me. “You don’t have to answer if you’re not ready.”

“Hit me.”

He swallowed hard, and there was that same bashful look that he had given me last night. “Do you accept the fated mate bond?”

At his words, I felt a surge of warmth flow through me. “How could I not?” I whispered. “Your scent is enough to drive me mad. You keep me up at night, for Goddess’ sake.”

I paused, remembering all the nights I had woken up over the past months, heart racing, with the phantom scent of him. lingering in my mind. And the disappointment when I would reach for him and he wasn’t there.

I wanted to try something then, so tentatively, I sent the image out to him through our m**al bond-all those sleepless nights, bundled up into one. His breath caught, and he shivered at the feeling before pressing a kiss to my temple.

“I think a part of me always knew you were special to me. Even before I knew what it meant,” I added once he had settled.

Edwin’s eyes softened, a smile playing on his lips. He brought our joined hands to his mouth, pressing a gentle kiss to my knuckles. “I felt it too, from the beginning,” he admitted.

I felt something warm and pleasant shiver across our bond then, sent from him to me. My body tingled as the sensation of what I could only describe as a little ball of flame radiated through my chest.

I already knew the answer, but I tilted my head to look at him and murmured. “Tell me again. What it was like for you you… realized.”

when

He pursed his lips for a moment as if the memory pained him. And I knew why it did-it pained me, too, partially because I could feel that pain and fear rippling through our bond. But I waited for his response anyway, wanting to hear it from his

mouth.

“Tonight, when you fell, I followed your scent down to the river, he finally said. “The closer I got, the more certain I became that you were my mate. It was like… like a compass in my chest, pulling me toward you.”

His expression darkened, guilt clouding his features. The grip on my hand tightened slightly. “But I failed you. I didn’t save you from that fall. When I pulled you onto the shore and you weren’t breathing… when the EMTs said you were dead..”

His voice broke, and he quickly looked away, a muscle ticking in his square jaw. “I’ve never felt so heartbroken in my life,” he whispered. “I wanted to curl up there and die with you. The entire city probably heard my howl.”

I cupped his face in my hands, forcing him to look at me again. My thumbs wiped across his cheeks, his stubbled jaw. “You did save me,” I whispered. “In that moment, when I was in the void of death, I felt a thread tugging at my heart. It was like… like a lifeline in an endless sea of darkness.”

I took a deep breath, remembering the strange, floating sensation. Somehow I knew that that was not something I could share through our bond. Not for lack of wanting, but… I literally couldn’t. Death did not lightly share its secrets.

“So I followed II continued, “and it led me back to you. Your scent, your voice… It brought me back. It was like… like coming home after being lost for so long.”

His breath caught, but he remained silent.

“If you hadn’t given

that kiss of life, I never would have felt that thread. Never would have known that if I just followed it,

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Chapter 147

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I would find you at the other end. I would still be floating in that void, lonely for all eternity.” I paused, licking my lips. “You brought me back, Edwin. You saved me, even if you think you d

Edwin pulled me closer, burying his face in the crook of my nee

“The EMTS must have been terrified of me when I showed them away,” he admitted, his voice m***d against my skin. “I couldn’t let you go. I would have ripped them all to shreds if they didn’t move.”

We lay in silence for a few moments, just basking in each other’s warmth. I raked my fingers through his dark hair, feeling the silky strands. The rising sun gleamed through the open window, that cool autumn breeze nipping at my bare skin. It was the most perfect moming

But then I remembered something that had been nagging at me a dark cloud hanging over me. Over us.

“I’m sorry.” I said softly, my hand stilling in his hair. “For rejecting you at the party. I was scared and thought I was making the right decision, even though it went against everything I felt and wanted”

Edwin tensed slightly, his arms tightening around me. “When Fiona announced our engagement…”

“It all became too real” I whispered.

He looked up at me then. “I never wanted any of it. I never wanted her to make that announcement. I didn’t even know she would

“I know.

“But linle did you know,” he said, and there was a hint of amusement in his voice then, “that you were my fated mate all along” A wry smile touched his face.

I chuckled softly, though it was laced with a bit of regret. “Ironic, isn’t it? All that pain we could have avoided if we’d only known.

Edwin’s expression grew serious again, his hand coming up to cup my cheek. “If you had asked, I would have your hand and run away with you. Even with everyone looking. Even with Fioul.”

His voice trailed off, but I knew what he was implying: the… threats she had made. The threats that had kept us apart, even when our wolves were gnashing at the bit to get to each other without us even realizing it.

I kissed his cheek gently and tucked myself down into his arms, my eyelids growing heavy. “We’re together now,” I murmured. “That’s what matters. We found each other in the end.”

“You’re right,” he agreed, nuzzling down with me and pulling the covers over us. “And we don’t need to run. Fiona would be an idiot to try and harm a male’s fated mate. I’ve never hit a woman, but for you… I’d rip her to pieces if she tried anything.”

The fierceness in his voice caused my wolf to howl in approval. I tucked myself closer to him, whispering the words he had said to me all those weeks ago:

“My shield.”

Edwin’s arms tightened around me protectively, and I felt him press a kiss to the top of my head.

As the sun continued to rise, warming the rumpled sheets, I felt my eyelids finally falling shut.

It was there, in the warmth of the morning sun, in the afterglow of a night spent together, that I fell asleep listening to my mate’s heartbeat.