Chapter 428

Gabriel laughs, low and pretty, and takes my wrist in his warm hand, tracing his fingers lovingly over my skin. A shiver passes through me and lovely sparks bloom in the air all around us, making us smile.

“Big demand to make of a King,” Gabriel murmurs, looking down at the soft flesh of my inner arm. “With nothing to offer in return.”

I laugh a little. “I already cleared you of Darkness today,” I say quietly. “What else do you want?”

“A kiss,” he answers, turning his pretty blue eyes back to me. My breath catches and my wolf yips excitedly in my soul, urging me forward.

Traitor, I growl at her, laughing inwardly.

He’s our mate too, she says, trotting around with her tail held high. Do it! Kiss him!

I smile at Gabriel. “One kiss. After the mark.” I nod decidedly at my arm.

He laughs again, throaty and sensual, and I have to admit…he is very sexy, when he’s not all consumed by darkness.

Do it, do it, my wolf chants. I give her a little smack on the rump, other ignoring her.

“She drives a hard bargain, my mate,” Gabriel murmurs, lowering his mouth to my arm. Gently, almost reverent, he presses a soft kiss there. And then he extends his fangs, and closes his eyes, and sinks them into my flesh, giving me his mark.

I groan, my head falling back on my neck – because it hurts like fucking hell – but it also – god, I can feel it, the bond ringing rich and true in our souls, the magic that floods over to me, his gift as much as my grandmother’s. I pant a little, my eyes pressed tight against the intensity of it, and as I try to balance the new fullness of my soul with the flash of pain that consumes my entire arm.

When it’s done, Gabriel lifts his face from my wrist and slips a hand behind my neck.

“The other half of the bargain now,” he murmurs and pulls me close, pressing his mouth to mine.

I moan a little at this too, tasting my blood on his lips, my wolf howling for want of him. Because it’s true – I do – I want him. I want to explore things with my most challenging mate, the only one who has ever truly stood up to me. I want to stay, and to help him get better, to help this entire land and all of it’s people.

I want him. I want him badly.

But…not nearly as much as I want Jacks.

I run my hands through his hair once, cupping the back of his head in my palm, and move my lips one last time against his before I pull away.

“Gabriel,” I whisper, smiling softly at him, regretting it but knowing what needs to be done.

He just looks back at me, his eyes half-lidded and stunned.

“Gabriel, I reject you,” I whisper, meaning it with every inch of my heart.

My wolf howls as she stands at the edge of the bridge between our souls, howling mournfully before she lowers her teeth to the edge of the bond and begins to tear it away.

Gabriel groans, reaching for me, his wolf howling horribly in pain as my wolf continues to destroy our bond. But even as pain races through me, even as I’m wracked with it, I hold on…

Hold on to just…one little piece, just like Luca did, at the end of his bond with me. One tiny piece to unite us forever. Because I can’t – I can’t bear to let him go completely. He is mine, after all, as complicated as he is, as horrible as he’s been.

Gabriel – my Atalaxian Prince, my mate. He’s mine.

He groans again, slumping against me as my wolf finishes, panting and in pain.

“I’m sorry,” I murmur, stroking a hand over his hair. “I have to go.”

A heavy, demanding knock comes at the door just as Jackson appears at my side to loom over us, angry and worried.

“Highness!” the voice commands. “Please, highness! Are you all right!?”

“It’s been three minutes,” Jackson growls.

Gabriel groans and pushes himself up straight, looking into my eyes one last time, devastated. Silently he nods, giving me permission to go.

I smile back at him even as I reach for Jackson’s hand. He pulls me shakily to my feet and sniffs my hair, starting back a step and frowning down at me. “Did you…”

“Let’s go, Jacks,” I say, exhausted and shaky after breaking the bond with my mate.

“Oh my god, Ariel,” Jackson murmurs, frustrated. He shakes his head even as he wraps me up in his arms. My eyes are on Gabriel for one last moment as Jackson and I tilt away to the Land of Darkness, leaving the Prince – now King – alone with the corpse of his uncle to face whatever fate awaits him. A fate of his own making, after all.

The Land of Darkness is surprisingly quiet when we arrive. I look around in surprise, searching for the soldiers I saw before. But the only thing I can see is the shadowy enclosure that still holds the God of Darkness – though it shudders once from the inside, clearly starting to weaken.

“Where…is everyone?” I whisper.

“Soldiers went away,” Jackson says, heaving an easy shrug, his eyes on me. Softly he pushes back my hair, inspecting my neck. “Well? Where is it?”

“Where’s what?” I ask, turning my head to look up at him.

Jackson just raises one eyebrow at me, willing me to remember.

“Oh,” I say, laughing and holding out my arm, which continues to ache, looking down at Gabriel’s mark still raw and bloody on my wrist. “Sorry, Jacks.”

He takes my arm in his hand and glances at my face once before returning his eyes to the wrist. “Did you want it?”

“I asked him for it.”

Jackson takes a deep breath and fixes his eyes on mine. “You know what I’m asking you, Ariel.”

I smile and pull my arm from his hands, letting it fall to my side as I reach my other arm up, cupping the soft skin of Jackson’s neck in my palm. “I wanted the magic, Jacks. I wanted to collect his mark, as my grandmother told me was my birthright. But the only mark I really want is yours. This one?” I glance down at the mark. “When it heals? It will already be faded. Yours I will carry forever.”

Jackson snarls, possessive, and pulls me close, looking intently down into my face. “Ariel,” he sighs, shaking his head as he stares at me like I’m the great mystery and frustration and love of his life. I beam back at him, sending all of my love down our bond in a heavy swell. “Can we go home, please?”

“Yes,” I say, smiling up into his face, blissfully happy even though we’re no where near out of trouble. “But, um…can you carry me?”

He looks at me with concern, his eyes scanning all over me, looking for a problem. “Why?”

“Because I just rejected my mate, Jacks,” I say, laughing and standing on my toes, reaching up, wanting him close. “And I’m all sick and exhausted.”

“Oh god, Ariel,” Jackson sighs, scooping me up into his arms and holding me close. “Of course I’ll carry you.” He presses a kiss to my forehead and nuzzling against me, warm and generous and kind as he always is, even if I now have a second mark that’s not his. My Jacks – always so good to me.

“I love you, Jacks,” I whisper, pressing a kiss to his shirt as I rest my head against his shoulder.

“I love you too, Ariel,” he replies, striding through the land of Darkness, clearly already knowing where he’s headed.

“Where are we going?” I ask with a little frown.

“To my tent,” he says with a sigh. “To get my backpack and my ATV. And then we’re out of here.”

I blink up at him, surprised and confused. “You have a tent?”