ELRETH
Tangled together on the lounge in the Great Room, Elreth almost groaned with sheer satisfaction. Her body hummed and yet she felt more relaxed than she had in weeks.
Her mate was back. He was awake and in love and… the cloud that had followed him since he'd lost his mother had blown away.
She knew it would return, but in that moment, for those minutes they'd had… he was back and her heart celebrated.
He'd slumped over her, his face buried in her neck, his arms braced on the lounge below her to stop himself from suffocating her. But she loved his weight on her and pulled him down, clutched his shoulders and held him there.
Neither of them spoke.
She wasn't sure if Aaryn dozed or only found peace, but she could feel the tension easing out of him as his breath slowed, then eased, right alongside hers.