I absently rub the throbbing behind my breastbone and climb into my nest, graceful for once because the stiffness in my leg is gone. My body is strong. The heat in my veins is powering me, charging me like streaks of purple lightning in an electrical storm. I’m a force. I can sway nature; I know it in my bones.

I kneel in my soft pile and smile at my mate. “Come on, now.”

His eyes flash gold. He crosses the room in a blur, jerking to a halt inches from the foot of the bed. Why did he stop?

I pat the soft pillow next to me.

His shoulders...