I groaned when Xavier growled possessively and kissed me back hard. I wrapped my arms around his neck, my heart pounding hard in my chest with a hard thump, thump, thump.

Xavier growled again and lifted me off the floor, and I wrapped my legs around his waist. His lips didn't break contact with mine while he walked to the bed and laid me down on it. Slowly, he started to move his hands down my side, leaving a trail of sparks in its wake.

I groaned against his lips, my heart pounding in my chest. I was on cloud nine while he pulled his lips off of mine and started to leave hot and heavy kisses against my skin while he went down my neck. A moan escaped my lips when he found the area that he would mark with his lips, and he started to tease the area around it.

It grew harder and harder for me to breathe, and the urge for him to mark me was strong. However, the warning that Ingford gave me rang in my mind, and I placed my hands over his hands, stopping him from pulling my shorts down. "We can't," I breathed out, and Xavier stiffened against me and stopped in his attack against my skin.

Slowly, Xavier started to back away from me, reminding me of the time he had done that when we had first shared a steamy kiss. He was about to get off of me but stopped when I said, 'no,' and placed my arms around his neck and legs around his waist.

He stopped moving and stared at me with guarded eyes, and again, I was brought back to that night.

"Goddess," I said with a breathless chuckle and lifted myself up until I was able to place my head into the corner where his neck meets his shoulder. "Haven't we done this already?" I asked, breathless.

Xavier didn't say a word. He didn't move, and he didn't relax from his tense state. His arms were on either side of the pillow, and he stayed in that position with me hanging off of him.

Slowly, I moved my head until I looked at the male I was hanging off of and placed a single kiss on his lips, and he kissed me back gently. "Are you going to leave if I let you go?" I asked, my voice barely above a whisper.

Xavier shook his head, and I knew that this male wouldn't leave. He stayed still while I let go and watched me with eyes that were guarded and filled with pain.

I sighed and moved a hand across his cheek, studying the male on top of me. I bit back a smile when he closed his eyes and moved his head closer to my hand, happy that he was here and wanted me just as much as I wanted him.

"You have no idea how much I want just say let's do everything and let you claim me as yours," I whispered, and he opened his blue eyes and studied me. I bit back a smile when I saw his eyes turn darker and smelt his arousal. "But, I can't."

He furrowed his brows and stayed silent. He studied me with his dark blue eyes, and I knew that he was curious about what I meant. However, he didn't say a word and waited for me to tell him what I meant.

"Will you leave?" I asked, and he instantly shook his head, no. I breathed a sigh of relief and nodded my head, happy. "Good." I cleared my throat and licked my lips before I started to sit up, and Xavier moved out of my way until I could. "I can't because I have to go back with the Guardsmen for awhile."

"Why?" Xavier asked. He furrowed his brows and cocked his head, and I swore that I forgot how to breathe while I looked at the male before me. "For how long?"

"Ummmm..." I licked my lips and cleared my throat, my face turning red. I had no idea why I felt like this, but I did. I was sure it was because a mate bond had formed between us, but I didn't know that it would hit me this hard.

Xavier raised an eyebrow, and something flashed through his clear blue eyes. "Well?" he asked, and I cleared my throat again.

"For your second question, I don't know," I replied. I shrugged and grimaced. "I hope that I will be back in a year, but I can't see the future. I can seek the truth about the future, but I can't see it."

Xavier's lip flickered up in a small smile of amusement. "What about the first question?" he asked. "Why do you have to leave?" To leave me... He wanted to add, but he didn't.

I sighed and closed my eyes, focusing on the powers that filled my veins. "Remember the conversation in the van?" I asked, opening my eyes and saw him nod. "That's part of the truth. I'm not just descended from only them but from two others."

Xavier raised an eyebrow.

I turned my arms until the markings showed against my skin, and Xavier looked at them. I let him take my hands in his warm grasp and watched him trace the four marks. "I'm descended from Shilan the Vengeful, Fia the Kind, Tula the TruthSeeker, and Ingford the Chosen."

Xavier nodded his head. "Will you come back?" he asked, finally. He moved his thumb across the marks and watched them disappear, leaving my skin as it had been.

"Of course," I said, nodding my head. "I told you that I would come back to the one that has my heart."

"Say it," Xavier said softly. He pulled me to his side and laid down, and I laid down beside him. He studied me with his blue eyes, and my heart leaped into my throat. "Say it," he said again, his voice barely above a whisper.

"You could say please," I retorted, and an amused smile flickered on to his lips.

"Please," he whispered, studying me. "Say it."

I placed a gentle kiss on his lips, and he responded instantly. "I love you," I whispered against his lips. I placed another kiss on his lips and then pulled away until I was looking up at him. "I love you, Xavier Peter Langham, and I have loved you for a while now."

Xavier nodded his head satisfied and slammed his lips on mine. He didn't tell me that he loved me, but he was a man of few words as it was. He didn't need to tell me that he loved me because I already knew.

I knew from the way that he held me close to him, and I knew from the way he respected my boundaries, something that even Camen didn't. I didn't need him to tell me out loud, for actions spoke louder than words, and his actions proved it to me.

And so, while he tucked me closer to his side, and we both fell asleep, I could hear it. I could hear how much he loved me and how much I had meant to him. I could hear how much I had changed him during the time we knew each other and helped him become a better man and a better Alpha.

***

I woke up super early, knowing that it was time for me to go. Slowly and silently, I pulled myself from my mate's grasp, and I was grateful that he let me go, even though I knew that he didn't want to.

I understood because as much as I knew that I had to leave, I didn't want to. I didn't want to leave his side and prayed that I wouldn't feel as bad as I had when I was with Camen.

I shook my head and sighed before I started to get ready to go, grateful that one of the Guardsmen had left me some new clothes while we were sleeping. I had a feeling that they had taken a picture too, but I was going to yell at them later.

After I finished getting ready, I went to the window and opened it. I was about to go through the window when a 'Cassandra' stopped me from moving. I turned to the bed, my body halfway out of the window and saw blue orbs staring at me in the dark.

Xavier got out of bed and walked over to me. His steps were silent and so sure of himself, that I wondered what he was planning on doing. He stopped in front of me and knelt until he was level with me and placed a gentle kiss on my lips.

I kissed him back but didn't move from my position. "What was that for?" I asked, my voice barely above a whisper when he pulled away. I raised an eyebrow and cocked my head, studying the male before me.

"Something for you to remember me by," he whispered, tucking a strand of brown hair behind my ear. He placed a soft kiss on my forehead, and I closed my eyes against his warmth. "I love you," he whispered against my forehead, and my heart skipped a beat before it started to pound faster in my chest.

"I love you, too," I whispered, trying but failing to keep the grin off of my face. I grabbed the back of his neck and pulled him into another slow and long kiss before I let go, and he backed away, watching me with his blue eyes. "I will see you soon," I said.

Xavier's lips curved into a small smile, and he nodded his head. "I'll see you soon," he said.

I nodded my head and hopped out of the window, landing on the ground in wolf form. I started to run towards the border with my group by my side, all of them in wolf as well. I lifted my nose to the air and howled happily, letting the world know that my mate loved me just as much as I loved him.

I stopped howling and looked forward, weaving through the trees, my group at my back and my side.

When I reached the other side of the border, I stopped and lifted my nose back in the air. I howled, sending my mate a promise.

A promise that I would be back to the man that had my heart and that I would never leave his side once I was back for good.