17 Varian Mating was such a normal thing in the fae world; it was expected. Anticipated. I hadn’t given much thought to mating before. I knew that when my time came, it would simply happen. I hadn’t worried about it. I just never thought it would happen outside of Wyth and with a non-fae woman. Any reservation I had about Layla, any doubt I had of her helping me or trusting her flew out the window. Right now, all that mattered was that she was here with me, unharmed and looking especially sexy even with her messy hair and dirty clothes. Afraid of going too fast and scaring her, I gently tugged at her hands, pulling her to me. “Surrender to me,” I whispered. Layla let out a short gasp, but didn’t fight it anymore. When I pulled at her again, she came to me. I dropped one of her hands

