Valeria's POV
The Oracle's words still reverberated in my mind long after she disappeared, leaving a void in the room—and in my chest. As her energy faded, the gravity of her revelations filled the air, thick with something intangible. And amid the tumult of it all, there was Adrian, steady as a rock, his gaze locked on me with an intensity that seemed to pierce right through every wall I'd spent centuries building.
The office walls closed in around us, silent sentries to our isolation, protecting us from a world that had never truly been mine. Now, in the silence, with Adrian's presence wrapped around me, that world and all its dangers fell away. It was just us, our breathing in sync, our hearts beating in unison, and the weight of everything we'd just learned crystallizing into a single, undeniable truth: this bond between us was unbreakable.
Adrian stepped closer, his fingers brushing my cheek, and I could see the pulse of light beneath his skin—the very mark that mirrored my own, claiming me just as I'd claimed him. His fingers trailed along my face with a reverence that made my breath hitch, and his eyes held mine, heavy with unspoken promises.
"Are you okay?" he murmured, his voice a low, velvet timbre that resonated in my bones.
I didn't answer immediately, feeling the weight of everything I was and everything I'd become collide within me. The bond we shared—new and ancient all at once—pulled at me, grounding me even as it set my every nerve on fire.
"I thought I knew my strengths, my weaknesses," I whispered, reaching up to trace the mark that now burned across his chest. "But with you… it's like the universe itself has shifted. The bond, Adrian—it's something I never could've foreseen."
His gaze didn't waver, only deepening as he pulled me closer. "Then let it be unbreakable," he said fiercely, his hand moving to my waist as if he feared I might slip away. "Whatever comes, no one can touch what's between us. Not Talon. Not anyone."
The certainty in his voice was a balm to the rawness I felt, but it was the touch of his lips against my forehead that undid me. I sank into him, letting the scent of him, warm and familiar, overwhelm my senses. He held me tighter, one hand in my hair, the other pressed firmly against the small of my back, grounding me in his strength.
"Promise me," I whispered, pulling back to look up at him, my voice barely a breath. "Whatever happens, don't let go. Ever."
He cradled my face, his thumb brushing over my cheek with such tenderness that my heart skipped a beat. "I swear to you, Valeria. Nothing, no one will ever make me let go."
And then his lips were on mine, fierce and claiming, and I melted into him, our kiss an electric clash of everything we'd been holding back. His touch was rough, passionate, like he needed to feel every part of me to truly believe I was his. My fingers tangled in his hair, pulling him closer, unwilling to let even an inch of space exist between us.
His hands moved to my waist, lifting me effortlessly onto the edge of my desk, and I wrapped my legs around him, pulling him closer as I felt the hum of our bond surge between us, sparking against my skin. His kisses deepened, growing more urgent, each one more desperate than the last, as if he couldn't get enough of me, and a shiver ran down my spine as his mouth moved to my neck, leaving a trail of heat wherever he touched.
I felt his hands slide over the mark on my skin, and an unexplainable wave of energy surged through us, binding us tighter. It was as if the bond itself were urging us closer, consuming us in its fire.
"Adrian," I whispered, my voice barely audible as I pulled back just enough to look into his eyes, seeing the same need, the same raw desire mirrored there.
He leaned in, his voice a fierce murmur against my skin, "You're mine, Valeria. In every way."
And I knew it was true, knew that he was just as much mine as I was his. I ran my hands over the planes of his chest, feeling his heartbeat thrumming beneath my fingers, a reminder that he was here, with me, against all odds. I pulled him closer, our breaths mingling as his hand moved to the small of my back, pressing me against him.
I could feel his own mark against my skin, the heat of it searing through me, binding us together in a way that defied explanation. The world outside faded, and for this moment, it was just us, caught in a tide of passion and something deeper—something that went beyond mere want and into the very core of who we were.
"Adrian," I breathed, my voice laced with urgency, and he responded in kind, his movements fierce and unyielding, as if he needed to prove to himself, and to me, that nothing could ever sever what we'd become.
His lips met mine again, and I surrendered to the storm between us, letting him consume me, letting every touch, every kiss, every whispered promise brand me as his. And as I held onto him, feeling the intensity of his love and his need, I knew without a doubt that I'd never let him go either.