Chapter 96 - Remember, you are mine.

EMMA

The fire crackles in the night. Through the voices around me, I can hear the wood break and pulverize into ash. It captures my attention in a mesmerizing way. I relate to the crumbling wood more than I expected. How many times have I been burned until nothing was left? How many times have the flames consumed me?

A prickle runs over the back of my neck and I reach up to rub it away. I look around the square where people laugh, eat and drink. After everything they can still find new things to be happy about. I think that is the key right? Finding the light at the end of a tunnel. Otherwise, life will always be a dark and miserable place.

I find myself looking again if I can spot the familiar face of Hadrian somewhere. I thought I saw him talking to my brother earlier, but now he’s gone.

I move to sit closer to the fire until the heat is almost unbearable on my shins. The flames are bright and the smoke stings in my eyes. It enters my airways together with oxygen until my throat starts to feel sore. Dex hands me another beer as he talks with Carter and Ben. I thank him but turn my focus back on the fire.

I watch how it dances and grows. I watch it crawl and consume more wood. The fire consumes my attention and I don’t notice when someone throws a big log of wood on the fire.

Ashes and embers fly in the air. They fly high and spread wide. I don’t go out of the way quick enough and the embers land on my dress, exposed arms and legs. The burning cinders sear on my skin and I shriek when my brain registers the pain.

“What the fuck man,” Dex shouts at Carter as he waves the embers away.

I jump up and back away from the fire. Tears prick in my eyes at the sting.

Hands grab my shoulders. “Emma, are you okay?” Dex asks and I can see his concern through the blur.

I swallow the pain and wipe away the tears with my hand. “Yeah, I’m fine.”

“We should get you some ointment for your burns.”

I look around and notice people coughing and dusting the ash from their clothes. Nobody seems to have been as close as me to the fire as I don’t spot any injuries.

“I can do it, you should check up on the others.”

“Are you sure, we can just—“

“I’m sure, the burns are not so bad,” I say with a wave and a forced smile. I run to the house to show that I’m not really injured. The reality is that I’m dying on the inside. I want to crawl out of my skin to escape the burns.

The house is dark and empty. I groan when I’m alone. The burns hurt so bad, but I also know that they will heal. I’m pretty sure that I’ll wake up in the morning without a trace of an injury.

I place my hands against the wall and join my head against the cold surface. I bite my lip and close my eyes. I try to think of happier things to distract myself from the pain.

“Are you hurt, my mate?” Hadrian's voice travels over my skin. I’ve dreamed so many times about Hadrian in the past five months. I’m not surprised that he’s the first thing that my brain comes up with.

“Yes.” I sob in truth, I can’t lie to him.

His warmth appears on my back. It moves through the fabric of my dress and I moan at the wave of comfort. Everything feels better in that instant.

“Do you want me to make you feel better?” His lips grace the skin below my ear and down the length of my neck. It leaves shivers behind and I moan again.

The burning knot in my stomach is waking up. It makes me sensitive to every touch.

“Please,” I whine and I’m so desperate for his touch. I’m shaking with need.

“Good girl.” Hadrian groans out his own desperation and pushes his body further against mine.

His hardness presses against my back. His arms wrap around my front and pull me flush against him. For a moment his warmth makes the burns worse before taking the pain away.

Every inch of the length of my body is pressed against him. He moves a hand to my throat and angles my head towards him.

Fireworks explode on my lips and tongue when he kisses me. Every touch of his tongue tingles in my mouth. The fireworks flow through me and ignite more fire in my stomach. The kiss is deep like neither can get close enough.

A desperate need settles between my legs. I need to be filled, I need Hadrian to relieve the need. I lift my arm and my fingers tangle in his hair. My fingers ache with happiness at the touch of the familiar black strands. My nails scrape over the back of his head and a loud groan rumbles from his chest.

His scent is deep and overwhelming. My subconscious has done a great job recreating the memory. The scent of cedar, sandalwood and bergamot lure me in even more. It tempts me to never leave.

A hand runs over my thigh and leaves a scorching trail. His rough fingers dig deep into my flesh. They tease along the line of my panties.

His other hand exerts a little pressure around my neck. It doesn’t allow me to move away. His rigid posture keeps me trapped against him. It makes my body quiver even more.

Hadrian turns me around until my back hits the wall. I’m torn away from his mouth and my eyes flutter open. One hand is placed beside my head and the other is curving over my backside.

I blink again and see his dark amber eyes. He leans down to suck a way down my jaw.

My hands grip the fabric of his shirt. Over his shoulder, I can see the bonfire through the window. The light of the flames dances around and casts a soft orange glow inside.

My heart picks up speed when I realize that this isn’t a dream. My eyes flutter when Hadrian kisses down my throat and sucks on a sensitive spot below my ear.

All I want is to continue where this is going. I want to feel something again. The past five months have been dull and colorless. Nothing compared to the bright intensity I feel around Hadrian. I want that back, but I can’t.

I push at his unmovable shoulders. “Stop, we can’t.”

Hadrian growls loud and for a second I think he won’t stop. He lingers and doesn’t allow an inch between us. “You want this.”

I do. My body is screaming for it. For him. My heart pounds in happiness. “We can’t.”

I didn’t stay here in Aldea to live a happy life. I’m here for a mission. I can’t let myself be consumed again. “You need to leave.”

Hadrian analyzes my sincerity with a scowl pulling at his features. “You’re my mate.”

A lump lodges in my throat. “I’m not.” That fact changed the moment he looked at Gaia and saw in her his true mate. “I don’t have a mark, I don’t have a wolf, I don’t live in your world anymore.”

“What about your note?”

I push harder at his shoulders when he doesn’t move. I dig my nails hard in his shirt. “I can’t do this.” I wrote that note when I believed that I would never see him again.

I look away from him, but Hadrian lifts my chin. “You said you wanted us to love each other unconditionally.” His voice is soft and sincere now, it hurts even more.

I hold his stare and look deep into his burning amber eyes. They hold more life than when he first arrived. “Don’t you see that we can’t?”

I grit my teeth and feel tears threatening to rise. “There are always going to be conditions.” Anger burns in my chest and flows like acid. “We live in two different worlds, we’re not meant to stay in the other.”

Hadrian moves his arm around my back. My chest presses against his ribs. He cages me in and fights the words I speak.

My cheek presses against his chest and my head rests against his throat. “You need to go back, the kingdom needs you to rule one day.”

Hadrian presses his lips against my hair. “I need you more.”

I shake my head and look up. “Your father cannot keep destroying this world we both share.”

I need him to understand how important this is. Our lives are not ours. We owe it to the world. We have a chance to make it better. “I have no space for romance in my life right now. People are dying, lives are in danger, people are suffering. I cannot justify it to myself.”

Hadrian stares at me for what could be for an eternity. “I’ll give you space, but—“ He leans down and he runs his nose down my jaw. His warm breath tickles against my ear. “Remember, you are mine. It doesn’t matter in what world we live,”

His voice is laden with seriousness. The claim is non-negotiable. It is not a request, but an order. The command comes from the future Alpha King and a part of me feels the power of his demand. “I’ll break their neck if they get to what’s mine.”

Alex would have scoffed, she would call it toxic. She would do the opposite and kiss the first guy she sees. A part of me understands that, but a part of me wants to surrender to his dominance. It revels in his masculinity and the power he exudes.

His chest rumbles, giving more depth to his voice. “If you need a man, then you come to me.”