Mated to the Warrior Beast
Chapter 255 255: EPILOGUE Part 5 (Tarkyn & Harth)

~ HARTH ~

Harth's heart sang when they finally made it through the overgrown ravine and into the small wood that hugged up to the lagoon. They'd been looking forward to it for weeks. Tarkyn had been so busy trying to help Elreth and Sasha bring the two peoples to a place of true unity—and aiding Zev and others like him with finding productive ways to channel their rage—at times she'd missed him.

Of course, she'd been busy too. There were so many new mate pairs, so many new offspring… both peoples had been a little overwhelmed. After a couple months of struggling to find a purpose, she'd discovered that the mate pairs all seemed to have different bonds—some purely Chimeran, others purely Anima, and some combined—which was, she thought, what had happened for her and Tarkyn.

She'd helped take other mate pairs through some of the exercises she and Tarkyn had done to explore their bonds—even assisting non-wolves in figuring out if they could link in the mind with their wolf partners.

It was very rewarding, and the work made her happy. But then she had their daughter.

She loved Gahlya as much as she loved Tarkyn, though it was as if she had grown a second heart to do it. She adored her daughter, and couldn't wait to see what would come in her future.

But Harth needed a rest.

She'd been a little concerned back at the Tree City that Tarkyn might give in to their daughter's pleading and let her come with them. Harth had almost cried with relief when he'd stayed strong.

She needed this. She needed him.

"Come on, Tarkyn!" she said a little breathlessly, hurrying forward towards the brighter sunlight to the east.

She had to pause and breathe for a moment once she broke through the treeline, and the lagoon and waterfall were revealed.

Tarkyn stopped at her back, one hand on her waist, but she could feel him just breathing it all in as well, and she wondered if she'd ever felt happier.

Just ahead of them the grass began to give way, fading into the rich, brown soil of the banks of the lagoon, punctuated by flat boulders and sandy areas scattered with small but beautiful trees, all of which leaned towards the water as if to trail their branches through it.

Harth couldn't look at this place without memories crowding her mind—over there was the spot where they'd made love in the grass, and she'd laughed when she found a little bug crawling on Tarkyn's ass.

There was the lagoon, where they'd marked each other.

Tarkyn's hand slid up to her shoulder and he rubbed her scar, so she knew he was thinking about that too.

Over there was the place they'd cooked countless lunches, sitting in the sun and even napping lazily.

And there was the trail up to the cave.

She almost dove for it—but at the last minute, she decided differently.

Dumping her pack off her back, letting it fall to the dirt, she reached down to grab the hem of her shirt and yanked it up and off, over her head, without even undoing the buttons.

"Harth—"

But she was already working on the buttons of her leathers. She just threw a heated look over her shoulder at Tarkyn.

He still took her breath away.

In the dimming, evening light, as the sun dropped below the mountains and the light began to diffuse, he was beautiful—his skin golden, his eyes bright and fixed on hers, his shoulders broad and stronger.

She reached out to tug at his shirt. "Get rid of your bag and join me for a swim?" she said.

"It's going to be cold!"

"Says the man who threw me under the waterfall at night. I think you'll survive." Then she shucked off her leathers and stepped out of them, standing naked in front of him.

With a growl of approval, Tarkyn threw the strap that crossed his chest up and over his head, letting the bag drop and working furiously at his belt buckle, tugging at his shirt, clearly frantic to get skin to skin.

Harth laughed and ran from him to the water, shrieking when she entered it and the splashes hit her body—freezing cold. The lagoon was fed by the waterfall, which came from the mountains above.

But even as she jolted to a halt, rethinking her plan, Tarkyn hit her back, laughing as he picked her up off her feet and threw both of them into the deeper water.

They both came up gasping, flicking wet hair from their eyes.

"You!" Harth gasped.

She was turning back towards the shore, but then she froze.

Tarkyn stood in front of her, wiping water from his face with one hand, pushing the tendrils of hair back that had been tugged out of the tie at the back, the other relaxed at his side. But his stomach muscles were clenched against the cold.

He stood, waist-height in the water, streams of it trailing down his chest and arms, his eyes bright, beaming at her and he looked like… like a water god rising from the depths.

He caught her staring and raised an eyebrow—which only made him look even more handsome so that Harth—all irritation for his antics forgotten—found her breath coming even faster than the cold had made it.

Her belly tingled and spiraled as he stepped towards her, his strong body working against the drag of the water, then let himself sink into it with her despite the cold, catching her where she tread water and pulling her into his chest.

She immediately wrapped her legs around his waist and plastered herself to his chest—his beautiful skin seeming hot, stretched over the marble of his muscles, as he cupped her ass and held her to him.

"I'm so glad we made it," he rumbled, his chest vibrating against hers, his deep voice a gruff flutter in her ear.

Harth took a deep breath. "Me too."

Then, still gripping him tightly, she pulled back far enough to meet his eyes. "I love you, Tarkyn. So much. You still make my stomach flutter."

He gave a guttural growl, and one of his hands drew up her body to cup her breast, kneading at it as his eyes flashed with the fire building between them.

He kissed her then, deep and insistent, his tongue a slick demand.

Harth forgot the cold. When a growl so deep it seemed to ripple the water rolled in his chest, she just kissed him deeper and held him tighter.

Her male.

Her mate.

Her beautiful man.

When he entered her, she cried his name.

When he leaned her back and played her nipple with his teeth, she called for him.

And when they crashed over the wave of pleasure together, for Harth it was with a howl of triumph.

She was loved. She loved in return. And no matter how difficult life might become for them, she knew they could face anything together.

*****

YOU DID IT! I can't believe you did it. I am sooooo grateful--and to say "thank you" I want to invite you to a very special LIVE Author Q & A on Sunday, 12 March at 1pm Pacific / 4pm Eastern! (That's USA date and time!) Come enjoy a ton of giveaways, behind the scenes extras, and a good laugh! We're talking about ALL THINGS ANIMA! I can't wait to see you there!

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Thank you for being with me on this very difficult journey. And I hope you love where we ended!