Trinity

The Path

Her skin was soft and warm as Mansk ran his fingers up and down her back as they lay in the grove. He was content to stay in this position for as long as possible, with his mate nuzzling into him and her fingers tracing swirling shapes on his chest.

I love you.

He finally said them to her. The relief he felt from those simple words was almost overwhelming. What he had wanted to say for so long was pushed down. To feel her love for him, that deep-seated love that seemingly laid roots within her soul... Hearing her say them back to him, he felt whole.

Although he wasn't aware of it before, he knew now that a piece of his soul left him when she died. A piece of him that he could now feel, living, breathing, and thriving on her love, on her presence. It returned the moment she echoed his words of devotion. And it wanted more.

It wanted him.

Mansk could feel the beginnings of desperation attempting to claw through him and push him to seek out his other mate. He knew instantly that Quaritch's claim on him was next and despite being thoroughly sated, the images that ran through his head brought forth a throaty purr. One that drew out hers; the sound gently lifted the claws of desperation from his mind and tucked them away.

Tenderly, he guided their lips together and he relished in the way she sank into him. Completely opposite of what they just did, every touch since then has been gentle and loving. The feral need to claim was gone. He felt anxious about the future, though. Less about telling Quaritch and more about telling her who she was.

The idea made his stomach twist into knots, but he didn't want to know what would happen if she found out on her own. If she knew her mate hid that from her.

Concern

Mansk pulled back and looked into his mate's eyes. He could feel her emotions and couldn't understand why she was now filled with worry for him. Oh fuck.

"Talk to me," she offers at his realization. He could feel her emotions, which meant she could feel his. Dumbass

"It's not that easy," he was already so tired of this. Keeping her out of the loop about who and what she was made him want to scream. She deserved to know who she was, why Ardmore was after her and what could happen. "So, we can feel each other's emotions?"

"I think it's more complicated than emotions, not quite thoughts but it's deeper than just emotions." Her pensive expression forced his eyes to narrow.

"You think?" She laughs and lightly pushes at him.

"Wasn't aware that was a part of the bond. Regular claiming bonds don't work like this. As much as I'd like to pretend I'm an expert, when it comes to this? I'm not. Just been rawdogging it and hoping it works out." Mansk shook his head. Yeah, that sounded exactly like something Tenera would do. Brute force it until that stopped working and then make it work out of spite. She still looked at him questioningly, and despite trying to force the anxious feelings about the future down, he couldn't hide it from her.

"I want to tell you, but I can't. I need you to trust me when I say I will tell you when the time is right."

"Yawne, you're my mate. We are part of a Trinity, and we just took the first steps in binding our souls together forever. To say I trust you is an understatement."

Under normal circumstances, her words would have pulled laughter from him, but he was stuck on what she called him. Yawne, beloved. His eyes close as she pulls their foreheads together. He's come to realize just how intimate that action feels to him.