Not yet ready to go to bed, I lounge on a settee with my feet up on a table and a glass of amber liquor nestled in one hand. A knock on the door causes me to frown. Who could be calling at this time of night?

Opening the door with a flourish, I am shocked to be confronted by a figure in a voluminous, midnight blue cloak. I breathe a sigh of relief, recognising Elissa's features half-hidden within the shadowy depths of the raised hood.

She does not say a word and the emotions dancing in her eyes are difficult to interpret. I hover with indecision, for I really should turn her away. Instead, I surreptitiously check that the corridor is empty before ushering her inside and resolutely closing the door.

"I will be in a lot of trouble if you are discovered in my chambers."

Elissa just stands there and bites her lip. I know that it means that she is nervous, but it always makes me want to kiss her.

"Here, let me take your cloak." Unclasping it, my knuckles whiten on the material as I espy what lies beneath.

Allowing the outer garment to fall from her shoulders and pool on the floor by her feet, I take a step back. My gaze slowly burns its way down her body, barely hidden in a flimsy concoction of pale pink silk and white lace.

Hmmm, my kitten looks edible. The tiger's presence is prominent in my mind and I am sure that my eyes must be swirled with hazel when they return to her face.

She strokes my arm. "Say something. Do you like it? Do I please you?" She fiddles with the rose pink, satin ribbon around her waist and mutters under her breath, "God how corny! I wrapped myself up like a gift."

I hear her, for all my senses are focused upon her. I try to reassure her. "Elissa, I like it very, very much. I want nothing more than to peel it from you. Alas, that cannot be tonight."

My hand clenches in a fist to stop myself from reaching out to her. A few tears bead, making her eyes glitter even more than normal. She hastily wipes them away, as if I might not notice. I hate to see her upset and know that it must have taken courage to come here tonight.

"Elissa please do not cry. We will be together soon. I need to abide by my oath to my parents. If not for that promise, then this night would take a different turn."

Just a few more moons.

"Aren, please will you just hold me? Nothing more," she implores, and I am helpless but to obey.

I scoop her into my arms and carry her bridal style through to my bed chamber. I gently lay her on my bed, something I have dreamed of, just not quite like this. Lying beside her, I brush away fresh tears and tenderly kiss her eyelids, before enfolding her in my arms.

Once she is calm, I prop myself up on one elbow and look down on her. The sight of her hair fanned out over my pillow stirs something within me. By the gods, she is so beautiful.

My heart swells with love and I place an innocent kiss upon her soft lips. Thinking that one more will not hurt, I linger and am soon pulled in by their drugging effect.

Breathless, I pull away, my control teetering dangerously. The tiger growls and urges, Let me feel skin on skin.

Struggling with my shirt, I end up getting impatient and rip it open, sending buttons flying. I cast the annoying item of clothing aside and I bend over my beloved once more.

It is not enough though, so easing back, my hands slide up her body, taking the flimsy material with them. Moulding my body with hers once more, my skin almost sighs with relief at the contact. My lips nestle in the crook of her neck.

"Aren, please."

"Tell me, what do you need, kitten?" My voice comes out like a purr.

"We need to stop."

Frustrated, I pull away. Logically I know that I should stop, but I do not want to. Rolling onto my back, I drape an arm over my face and cover my eyes.

"Do you trust me?" Her voice sounds close to my ear.

I make a non-committal rumble. She lifts my arm away from my eyes and places it against the headrest. Then she lifts my other arm to join it and secures both wrists to the bed-frame with the pretty ribbon which once adorned her waist.

I tense up, not sure I like the confinement and the eagle rebels. My mate should not tether me. I should be free.

These flimsy bonds cannot hold me, the tiger scoffs.

The tiger is right, I could easily break free. I wonder if this is some game.

"What are you doing?"

Elissa gently strokes my face. "If you start to lose control, feel the ribbon and remember the binds of your oath to your parents."

That was a foolish oath to make. The tiger sulks

Be silent. Pushing its presence aside, I surrender to the delicious torture as Elissa explores, her fingers and lips moving across my body.

Almost at breaking point, I snap the ribbon and pull Elissa to me, kissing her with urgency. The friction between us causes me to soar like an eagle until I am consumed by the fiery sun. Slowly drifting down from rapture, I whisper her name again and again like a prayer against her skin.

......................

I wake and a massive grin spreads across my face as I recall last night. I fell asleep with Elissa in my arms and am not sure that I have ever rested so well. Never has another made me feel the way she does. Maybe, just maybe there is a way for me to cope until next summer.

Stretching my arms out, my fingers brush against something silken. I bring it to my face and inhale; her scent is still clinging to the material and my grin, if possible, grows even wider.

While I would like to languish in bed and daydream, my desire to see her is greater. I am also ravenously hungry. Jumping out of bed, I hastily get ready for the day.

I notice a folded parchment on the table beside my bed and one of the red roses I gave Elissa is laid upon it. Wondering what surprise she has in store for me now, I unfold it.

The first line is certainly pleasing: To my darling Aren. I cannot believe how quickly and thoroughly I have fallen in love with you.

Then the words stop making any sense: That is why this letter is so difficult to write. I have had so many attempts. How can I possibly tell you that I am leaving?

I read the rest in a dazed state. Some nonsense about bringing danger to Arcadia and having to do the right thing. I am shaking by the time I am finished, barely able to see through a film of tears.

Maybe it is not too late to stop her. The eagle croons.

I run to her room, knocking aside several people who get in my way. Crashing open the door, it is obvious that the bed has not been slept in. Desperately looking around, I find that some of her clothes are missing. Upon the dressing table are two more folded parchments, one bearing my father's name and the other Sirius's.

She is gone! My perfect world comes crashing down.

A red mist descends and I send the contents of the dressing table crashing to floor, with an almost inhuman cry of grief and anger.

Protect. The eagle rings insistently in my head and I rush from the room, barging past Tabbi who no doubt has come to see what all the noise is about.

Driven by urgency, I take the stairs two at a time and run outside, where a blanket of snow is covering the ground. My panic rises; there are no tracks. Which way? Which way do I go?

I will take to the skies and scout, the eagle reassures.

Before the transformation can ripple through me, steel like arms wrap around my chest, pinning my arms to my side. I struggle like a wild thing, but several more men overpower me. They carry me like a criminal through the castle to my parent's chambers.

The men holding my legs, gingerly lower my feet to the ground, one sporting a bloody nose where I kicked him in the face. The restraining arms remain firm as I struggle to free myself.

"Aren, stop!"

I still, for father's command is difficult to disobey. Outraged at my treatment, I demand, "What is the meaning of this?"

"The Watcher warned me that you were in danger and must be apprehended." Father has Elissa's letter grasped tightly in one hand and his face is solemn. "I am so sorry, my son."

"Father, please," I beg, tears filling my eyes. "She is out there all alone in this weather. I must find her. Please."

"Aren, I will send men out to track her. You however, are forbidden from running after her. Last time almost broke your mother. I will have you confined to your room if necessary."

...............

😢