Page 19 of Alaska Lights

My biceps and thighs burn, the ache of the dying muscle protesting. The strength fades at the perfect moment, and I drop what’s left of the plane onto the ground. Sweat pours down my face, and weakness reminds me of its grip on me by how much I wobble to the pilot’s side.

Ripping the belt from him, his body crumbles into my arms. “I got you. You’re alright. You have to be alright.” I carry him from the scrap metal and lay him on the ground, yanking off my coat to tuck it under his head.

I press my ear against his chest, his scent woven into his clothes. God, he smells like honey.

I fucking love honey.

“Let me see you.” I push his dark curly hair out of his face, showing me beauty I have never seen in my two hundred years.

Blood cakes the side of his face from a deep laceration on his scalp. His collarbone seems broken, along with both of his legs.

“Honeybee, can you hear me? I need you to wake up, okay? Wake up.”

He doesn’t move.

“Alaska!” Soren shouts for me. “Are you okay? Call out!”

“I’m here! I’m over here!” I wave my arms, hoping he can see me.

He’s at my side in a brisk second, carrying the wind with him that almost takes my hat off.

“Whoa. What happened?” He looks around, noticing the plane. “He survived that?” Soren whistles under his breath. “He’s lucky.”

“Not that lucky. I found him dangling off the cliff. I had to drag the plane from the edge.”

He grips my bicep. “And you did? How do you feel?”

It’s on the tip of my tongue to tell Soren this man is my fated. For some reason, I can’t.

“Exhausted, but I’m fine. I’m not letting him die. We can’t let him die.” I use my claw to cut across my wrist, the blood flowing slower than it usually does. It’s darker too.

I hope I’m still good enough to heal him.

Soren grabs my wrist to stop me when he notices the difference in my blood. “Let me do it.”

A low, threatening growl has my irises burning bright scarlet.

He lifts his hands in the air in surrender. “Okay. Okay. I understand.”

No. He doesn’t. He can’t. Not until he meets his mate.

I press my wrist against his mouth, allowing just enough blood to heal him, and then pull away.

With his lips tinted red, my cock hardens for the first time, not only in decades, but for him.

He’s the most beautiful person I’ve ever seen.

What do I do?

“Honeybee.”

“Open your eyes for me.”

“You’re okay. I want you to know you’re safe.”

A voice beckons me from the darkness. I slowly blink my eyes open. There are no harsh lights. A dark room fills my blurry vision, and my eyes land on a hulking figure standing next to the bed.

I wince when I tilt my head back to get a good look at him, pain shooting through my skull.