Chapter 29 A peaceful oasis;
Elly, grumbling to herself, had found the way to Eva's mountain house. She got out of the vehicle and slammed the door hard.
"You're also at fault, why are you going to that man's house anyway? Look at what he did to you! Why are you still thinking about him?" she muttered to herself.
Then, as she approached the mountain house steps, she saw Grandmother Agnes's piercing gaze. The old woman had her arms crossed over her chest. Through clenched teeth, she growled, "Where is the ancient Rose witch? And where are you coming from, Eleanor!"
Elly, with a forced smile, said, "Well, Grandmother, we can talk but let's not catch cold, come on, let's go inside."
Finally, they went inside. While Elly warmed her hands by the fireplace, Grandmother Agnes was looking at her with hostile eyes. "What have you done?" she said angrily.
Elly knew that Grandmother had figured something out, but she didn't know exactly what she knew. "Well, we went for a little walk, Eva saw a friend from town, she's with him now, she'll come back around evening," she said.
Grandmother sharpened her gaze even more. "Let me guess, Eva's friend is about 200 years old, a wolf?" she said.
Elly was surprised. "Yes, but how do you know?" she said.
The old woman opened her arm and the guardian seal on it had literally branched out and completely wrapped around her wrist. "The midnight seal has been repaired. It seems the young witch convinced the ancient alpha to trust her again," she said.
Elly excitedly grabbed Grandmother's wrist. A huge smile had formed on her face. "What do you say, do you think they'll perform the union ritual on Christmas night?" she asked.
There was still doubt in Grandmother's eyes. "Let's hope so, little one," she said.
Meanwhile, Eva and Kael were lying naked in the oasis at the waterfall cave. Eva had her eyes closed, her body leaning against Kael's chest, relaxed by the effect of the water's ebb and flow on her skin. Kael was listening to Eva's heartbeat from her tiny body lying on his chest. He was watching her, stroking her hair.
Eva suddenly turned to him with excitement. "I saw us in my past memories," she said.
Kael listened to her with a smile. "What were we doing?"
"You were chasing me in the forest," she said.
Kael smiled and moved a little closer to her, lightly biting her earlobe. "What happened after excited me," he said.
Eva laughed. "We kissed," she said.
"Hmm, would you like to repeat it, little one?" Kael murmured with a raspy chuckle.
Eva was laughing at his lustful, shameless wolf behavior. "I saw Master Arion," she said. "It was the day you were accepted as alpha."
"Yes, there were two of you left, who was the other one, was he from your pack?" she said.
Kael's eyes turned to the stone manor. "Yes, one of those lying there now, my loyal friend Rai," he said.
Eva turned to him excitedly. "I still don't remember why I put them to sleep," she said.
Kael's face had darkened. Eva understood that he was uncomfortable with this subject. "Okay, okay, I'm not asking you to tell me. I'll learn it myself over time, the way you want, but there's something I'm curious about," she said.
"Ask," Kael said, kissing her forehead.
"When we unite the midnight seal, will they wake up?" Eva asked.
"Yes," Kael said. "The curse will be broken, you and I will become one. And the curse will be lifted, my pack will awaken. And yours..." he said but couldn't continue.
"If they had lived, my Rose women's powers would have returned too," Eva said.
Kael nodded as if to say yes. "But your guardians' power has started to awaken. That little guardian will also be powerful now," he said.
Eva's eyes had sparkled. Because she didn't fully remember the past, she didn't know the guardians' powers. But Elly was the only friend she was attached to in this life. She really wanted her to have powers.
"So, after the ritual, are we like married?" she said with a slight embarrassment on her face.
Kael loved watching her in this shy state. He wrapped his arms around her naked waist and pulled her even closer to him. Eva could feel Kael's hardened manhood against her back. Kael, like a sly, shameless wolf, licked from the nape of her neck to her earlobe and whispered in Eva's ear. "You were always my mate, now you will be my mate again. And I'm impatient for what comes next," he said.
His hand slid from her waist down, fingers tracing the curve of her hip, then moving between her thighs. Eva gasped, her body arching instinctively toward his touch. The water around them rippled with their movements, creating gentle waves that lapped against their heated skin.
"Kael..." she breathed, turning in his arms to face him.
His amber eyes blazed with desire as he looked down at her. "Say you're mine," he growled, his voice rough with need.
"I'm yours," Eva whispered, her hands sliding up his chest, feeling the hard muscles beneath her palms, the seal over his heart pulsing with purple light.
Kael captured her lips in a searing kiss, deep and demanding. His tongue explored her mouth, claiming every inch as his hands roamed her body. He lifted her easily, positioning her so she straddled his lap, their bodies aligned perfectly. The water made her skin slippery, heightening every sensation.
Eva's fingers tangled in his reddish-brown hair as she kissed him back with equal fervor. She could feel his hardness pressing against her core, hot and insistent even in the cool water. A moan escaped her throat as Kael's mouth left hers to trail burning kisses down her neck, his teeth grazing her sensitive skin.
"Not yet, little one," he murmured against her collarbone, even as his body screamed to take her. "Christmas night. I want our union to be complete, to break the curse forever."
Eva whimpered in frustration, her body aching for him. "You're cruel," she gasped.
"No," Kael said, lifting his head to look at her, his eyes soft with love despite the desire burning in them. "I'm patient. Because when I finally make you mine completely, under the blood moon, with the seal uniting us forever..." His hand cupped her face tenderly. "It will be worth every moment of waiting."
Eva pressed her forehead to his, both of them breathing heavily, hearts pounding in unison. The seal on her chest glowed brighter, responding to their closeness, to the love and desire flowing between them.
"I love you," she whispered. "In this life and the one before. I've always loved you."
Kael's expression softened impossibly, his thumb stroking her cheek. "And I you, Rose's daughter. My light. My everything."
They stayed like that, wrapped in each other's arms in the sacred water, as the outside world continued on without them. For now, this moment was theirs alone, a promise of the forever that awaited them on Christmas night.