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“A scouting party,” I guess.

“More than that.” She sits up. “They’re running from the radicals. The queen stayed back with the rest of the pod, waiting to hear if Wintermoon is safe.”

It takes real guts to send your people into strange water on nothing but faith. My father gave up his clan name for less.

Aya grips my knee. “They bowed to me,” she whispers. “When the lightning struck. Like I was royalty, Ezra.”

I drop the washcloth and wrap her up in my arms. I don’t have words for that.

“Can you imagine?” She wiggles loose. This is my Aya, the one who had her future planned out before I ever got a say in it. “A Mer queen coming to Wintermoon.”

“It does sound exciting,” I agree. “Now that I’ve finally stopped being stubborn and let you explain.”

She hums at that. I pull her close and bury my nose in her neck. She smells like warm bathwater and me now. The bond tugs low and sweet in my gut.

“Don’t do that again,” I tell her. “Try to run off. Please.”

She sighs. “I’m sorry, Ezra. I panicked. I didn’t want Aaron to⁠—”

“My dragon will not allow it.” I squeeze her tighter. “Don’t.”

“All right, Ezra. I hear you.” She pats my arm under the water. “I’ll try to behave.”

I laugh low against her skin. “I feel like you won’t truly get it until I burn some shit up.”

When she twists around, I smirk at her. She waits for the joke, but I’m not joking.

My mate has no idea how bad she’s broken me. I’d torch Wintermoon to ashes and carry her out of here if I had to. Every cabin and treaty in my way can go up in smoke without costing me a minute of sleep. I pray to Mother Fate she never makes me prove it.

She sinks into me and laces her fingers through mine. I hold her while the water cools around us. Before long she’s breathing slow and even.

I rest my chin on top of her damp head and close my eyes. Tomorrow I go back to House of Zorah to face Levi again. I can’t believe the things I do for my mate.

19

AYA

Iwake up grinning, pinned back against Ezra with his face buried in my neck and his breath warm on my claim mark. We’re still naked from last night with his woodsmoke scent all over my skin. I can hardly move under his weight, but I don’t even care.

I try to ease forward, but Ezra grumbles and drags me back where I was. Every solid inch of him grinds against my ass from behind and wakes my wolf. She’s smug about it. I stretch my arms up and arch into him on purpose. He groans low and locks me in tighter.

“Give me one more hour,” he mumbles, still mostly asleep. “Please, baby. We won’t get a minute to ourselves all day.”

He slides his hand up from my waist to cup my breast and squeezes until I make a sound I’ll never admit to. My toes curl under the sheet as his thumb drags over my nipple.

“I need to hunt for you,” he says. His lips brush my skin with every word.

I turn my head. His blue-green eyes are still sleepy, but he’s already watching me. He bites down on my claim mark, and I shiver. His growl rumbles everywhere our bodies touch. “I’m not letting you go, Aya.”

“Good thing I’m not going anywhere.” I wiggle back into him to make my point.

“You goddamn right you’re not.” He clamps his arm down around my waist. “After that little window incident, I’ll be your hovering mate until we get settled in on Ash Clan. Get used to it.”

I stiffen against him. Ezra catches the change in my scent and kisses the curve of my shoulder. “What’s wrong?”

“I’m nervous about Ash Clan,” I admit as I squeeze his arm. “About whether they’ll accept me as their luna.”

He nuzzles behind my ear. “Don’t worry about that. They fell in love with you during the courting visits. Ash Clan already considers you theirs.”