The Awakening Page 16

  Elliot nodded.

  “What if I didn’t want to be close to you? What if I chose someone else?”

  Elliot’s eyes danced over mine as his brow pressed deep in thought. Getting ready to speak, he licked his lips again, then drew in the air in a slow and taunting manner. “You don’t feel this?” Inching closer, he had grazed my hair with his fingertips. “The electricity between us, the pull that nature has created.”

  “I…”

  “We’re mates, drawn together, each of us one half of a whole.”

  It was tempting to accept him right then, but I couldn’t just surrender myself to someone I barely knew. That didn’t mean I had enough willpower to resist, though.

  Elliot’s hand slid along my jawline as he leaned down and pressed his lips to mine. In that single touch, I felt a surge of magic rush through my veins and flood me with endless wild sensations. I shivered in his arms, letting him pull me closer until I was pressed against his chest. Again, he kissed me, this time with a passion that had been bottled up for too long. I couldn’t’ help but let myself fall into the moment and enjoy the feelings nature had given me. From deep in my core, to my bones, to my skin, I rippled with new possibilities.

  “I am every bit yours as you are mine,” he whispered.

  I couldn’t deny it, and there was no use fighting how he made me feel. So, even though I had Cole in the back of my mind, I couldn’t disagree.

  “I’ll take the backseat with princess,” Julian smiled to us as he passed by. I felt my cheeks blush as Julian eyed me with that satisfied, dimpled grin. It was like he was rooting for us to kiss the whole time, and we finally came through. “Can we make it to the airport tonight?”

  Elliot let me go to help Julian with the jammed backdoor that Dylan never cared to fix, and the sudden cool air that wrapped around me gave me the chills. Elliot and Julian were discussing the route back to Frostmoor as a lulling wind kept washing over us from the west, bringing a slight taste of the mist from earlier.

  “You are coming home with us, aren’t you?” Elliot’s voice lifted over the field.

  “No.” Elliot’s face grew serious until I explained. “Not yet. I want to go home and get cleaned up. I haven’t slept much, I fell in the mud last night, and I’m so exhausted from all the pain.”

  “And if you’d listened to me?” his brow arched as he neared me. “If you’d stayed with me last night…”

  “Then my friend would be a faerie, just another toy for Iliana to play with.”

  Elliot pressed his lips together. The winds came again, and he reached up and caught a strand of my hair in between his fingers. Brushing it back, he stepped closer to me.

  “You’re quite stubborn,” his eyes danced over mine. And as much as I stared back into his eyes and wished he’d kiss me again, I leaned back. I just couldn’t shake the thought of Cole.

  “I’ll be your lady, but I need some time before becoming yours.”

  Elliot’s brow pressed in thought. “Your heart belongs to the faerie.”

  “I’ve known him my whole life. I can’t just forget that part of me.”

  “You realize he’s the enemy, don’t you?”

  “Is Tristan your enemy? You seemed fine to shake his hand.”

  “That doesn’t mean I’d let him feed from me.”

  I backed away from Elliot and into the cool breeze once again. This time, I went right to the truck and got into the middle seat next to my brother.

  “Ready?” Dylan asked.

  “I’m ready to go home.”

  Elliot walked over to the truck and got in, shutting the door without a word. His silence drove me about as crazy as his scent, but I took it with my chin held high. We had a lot of work ahead of us, and that included a ceremony to receive our crowns on some distant island far, far away. I was going to work with him, but being his mate was another story. For now, we were safe, and the faeries were gone. And as Dylan drove us toward the hills, I finally slouched in and let myself relax.

  Author’s Note

  First of all, I want to thank you for picking up my book and giving it your precious time. I know we’re all busy but escaping to a magical world is one of my favorite ways to relax. Secondly, I’d love to hear your thoughts about this story. These characters mean so much to me, and as I continue to work on their stories, I want to know what you love most.

  For fans of this book, the Dragonborn series will have five more installments. The second book is set to release in January 2021, and it has the working title of The Crowning. I’ll have more information on my website at www.ellewolcott.com in December as I finish through the story. We’ll get to see Frostmoor in the second book, and we’ll learn more about Cole’s nature as he continues to pose a threat to Irene and her future.

  I do hope you come along with me as we venture through this universe and see more of the magic and the realms that exist within Irene’s life. I’ll keep you updated all the way on my twitter feed @author_elle and on my website as I pluck away at the keys.

  And as always, if you like the book, please leave a review on Kindle. As an independent author, I rely solely on my readers for feedback and support. I don’t have a team of people helping me out with marketing, editing, web design, or formatting. I handle all of these elements myself. It requires a lot of dedication, but it’s my passion. And the only thing I can trust to help me reach more readers, and enable me to write more books, are the reviews that come from previous readers.

  Thank you again for adding The Awakening to your library!