I hope you guys know how much I love you. I was up until six in the morning finishing this bastard. Enjoy!

Mature content warning.

Varian

Varian had tried to contain himself for as long as he could, but after barely a day of working himself into a frenzy over the lack of news surrounding Auriana's disappearance, he had made the journey to Lunarfall himself. His son, advisers, and generals had all cautioned him against making such a rash move, but Varian could no longer stand by and do nothing while Auriana remained lost.

Admittedly, there wasn't much he could actually do in Lunarfall, either, but it gave Varian some small sense of comfort to have made the journey. While the Alliance garrison had successfully re-established contact with their troops in Tanaan Jungle, Auriana was still nowhere to be found. Despite carrying the heavy responsibility of establishing a base in the middle of the Iron Horde territory, Lieutenant Hafela had sent out a number of search parties to find the wayward mage, but not a single search had been successful to date.

Each failed search was like a dagger in Varian's heart, and he began to dread the sealed missives that arrived at his temporary quarters in Lunarfall each morning and evening. Every piece of parchment that he added to his growing pile was another piece of evidence suggesting that Auriana was dead, and Varian found himself falling into a sullen depression. He had barely slept or eaten in days, and while he had genuinely tried, he had mostly done a poor job of hiding his displeasure from those around him.

As it stood, Lieutenant Thorn typically bore the brunt of his outbursts, and today was no exception. After waking up to receive word of yet another failed attempt to locate Auriana, Varian's temper finally boiled over, and he stormed downstairs to give Thorn a piece of his mind.

Of course, he knew full well that it wasn't the Lieutenant's fault, but Varian desperately needed an outlet for his feelings, and right now she was the only person he had. In the beginning, she had attempted to placate him with words of reason and comfort, but lately had abandoned her strategy in favour of stony silence. The worgen were a strong people, and knew much of fury, but even their ferocity paled in comparison to the rage of Lo'Gosh.

That morning, the young worgen stood before Varian as he once again subjected her to a pointless tirade. She listened patiently as he rehashed the same tired arguments; showing her discomfort only in the way that she held her long ears flat against her head.

"Do you see her? Has she somehow magically returned while we've been talking?" Varian roared, stabbing a finger violently in Thorn's direction. "I don't care how many men you have out there, it obviously isn't enough! Whatever it takes, you will tear that jungle apart until you find her! I..."

He cut off abruptly as Lieutenant Thorn's ears suddenly pricked, and her level gaze shifted to a point over Varian's left shoulder.

"What is it?" he demanded, thrown by the abrupt change in the worgen's expression.

"Ah… Your Majesty… sir…" she stammered, speaking for the first time since Varian had started shouting, "You might want to turn around."

Varian froze, his breath catching in his throat as he fought down competing waves of wild hope and suffocating terror. He was almost too afraid to look around, afraid as he was of seeing Auriana's corpse brought before him, but in the end his desperation and curiosity won out over his fear. He turned slowly, and his heart stopped in his chest as his gaze fell upon his beloved young mage standing nervously in the doorway. Worryingly, her head was covered in bandages, and she looked as if she had been rolling around in a mud pit, but she was here, right in front of him, and she was alive.

His mouth opened and closed a few times wordlessly as he was rendered utterly speechless by her sudden presence, and his legs felt made of lead. Auriana, too, seemed similarly dumbstruck, and for what seemed like an eternity they simply stood, staring at one another without blinking.

Eventually, Varian recovered enough of himself to regain control of his traitorous limbs, and he crossed the room in four swift steps. He didn't care one whit that he was surrounded by half a dozen guards, nor that Lieutenant Thorn was watching. All that mattered was having Auriana back in his arms, and the moment he reached her side he pulled her close and held her as if he would never, ever let her go.

Surprisingly, she returned his embrace with equal intensity, pressing herself as close to him as physically possible and knotting her hands in the fur lining of his armour. She was trembling violently, and Varian closed his hand around the back of her neck so that he might feel her precious, fluttering pulse beneath his fingertips.

"I thought you were dead," he whispered raggedly, as he buried his face in her hair. "I… oh, Light, Auri, I thought you were dead."

He didn't know how long they actually stood there, but he felt as if he could hold Auriana for years before his need to touch her was fully satisfied. Eventually, however, a surreptitious cough from one of his guards pulled him back to reality and he was strongly reminded that they were not alone.

"Auriana… Commander… you… you smell awful," he said, stepping awkwardly away from her and blurting out the first thing that came to mind. "Where on earth have you been?"

"It's something of a long story, Your Majesty," she said carefully, shooting a nervous sideways glance at the guards, as if she too had just remembered that they were there. "I'd appreciate the opportunity to clean up before I make my report. Perhaps you could wait in my study while I complete my ablutions, and then we could talk?"

"Agreed, Commander," he said quickly, willing to give her just about anything within his power if it meant that he could get her alone.

Auriana nodded gratefully, and she stepped sideways to smile tiredly at Lieutenant Thorn. The worgen woman was standing to sharp attention, and she looked happier than Varian had ever seen her.

"I'll return to brief you after I've spoken to the King," Auriana said quietly. "If that's alright."

"Of course, ma'am," Thorn said, her relief clearly visible in every line of her face. "I hope it's not too forward… but… we… I… I'm glad that you're home safe."

"As am I," Auriana said lightly. "Thank you, Thorn."

"Please remain here," Varian ordered his guards, as he gently ushered Auriana from the room. "And see to it that the Commander and I are not disturbed under any circumstances."

Both his guardsmen and Lieutenant Thorn nodded sharply, and Varian made a mental note to offer them all a sincere apology before he returned to Stormwind. Right now, however, his immediate concern was to attend to the woman he loved, and he hovered anxiously on Auriana's heels as they made their way upstairs to the privacy of her chambers.

Varian locked the door behind him as he and Auriana walked into the small antechamber adjoining her bedroom. She moved immediately to rest up against the table in the middle of the room, and flinched as she touched a shaking hand to her side. It was a small gesture, but it was enough to cause something inside Varian to break, and all the pain and fear and rage that he had felt over the last week welled up uncontrollably within his heart.

"I thought you were dead, Auriana," he whispered bitterly. "I thought… do you have any idea what that's like for me?"

"I'm sorry," she said quickly, her face ashen. "I know how you must feel, I…"

"Do you? Do you really?" he demanded. "Because it seems to me that if you understood you would have made an effort to contact Lunarfall, to let me know you were still alive."

Varian swept across the room so that they were standing toe to toe; not sure if he wanted to kiss her, throttle her, or both. He loomed over her, taking her by the shoulders with a dangerous intensity, and she wilted slightly beneath the power of his gaze.

"I'm so sorry," she stammered, her eyes huge. "I didn't mean to make you angry, I…"

"Angry? Angry?" he repeated. "I... I'm not angry."

The vulnerability of her position suddenly hit Varian like a bolt of lightning, and his ears burned hot with shame. In a moment when she most needed his love, he had shown her nothing but his terror-born wrath, and he desperately fought to bite down the turbulent swell of his darker emotions.

"I was afraid," he admitted softly, tentatively opening his arms so that she might step into his embrace once more. "I thought I'd never see you again."

"I would have returned sooner," Auriana said quietly, pressing both her small hands against his chest. "But there were complications."

"You were injured," Varian observed, touching her bandaged forehead with great care.

"Yes, I was," she said thickly. "I was unconscious for several days. In truth, I would have been dead if not for the Horde. They saved my life."

"The Horde?" Varian demanded, his stomach twisting painfully at the thought of Auriana's death. "Were they holding you prisoner? After everything you've done for them?"

"I was there willingly," she said. "I promise you, they did me no harm."

"Willingly?" he repeated. "I… I don't understand."

"Please, Varian," she murmured. "I'm exhausted. I'm filthy, and I hurt. If you let me bathe, I will tell you everything, I promise."

A slight note of pleading had entered her voice, and Varian realised that he had failed her for the second time in as many minutes. Auriana had maintained an air of quiet confidence and poise in front of Thorn and the royal guards, but in the privacy of her own chambers, her facade had all but fallen away. Varian finally realised how pale and drawn she looked, and he could now see a noticeable slump in her shoulders.

"Of course," he mumbled, his protective instincts surging wildly. "I… of course. Here."

Varian placed a gentle hand against the small of her back, and carefully guided her towards her small bathchamber. Auriana stripped down to her underwear almost immediately, tossing her muddy boots and clothes into the corner of the room with obvious relish. She also removed the bandage wrapped around her head, and Varian winced as he noted the stark red wound along her hairline, as well as the line of black bruises along her ribs.

Auriana raised an eyebrow as she followed the line of his gaze, and she shook her head warningly.

"Don't," she said tiredly. "Please."

"I wasn't going to say anything…" Varian protested, knowing perfectly well that he was lying.

"Sure you weren't," Auriana said drily, a very small smile playing at the corner of her lips.

She turned away and began to fill her deep bathtub with scalding hot water, before gingerly removing her undergarments so that she stood slender and naked in the cool air. Her bare back was a mess of various small cuts and bruises, and Varian found himself once again struggling to contain his fury. While he was grateful beyond belief to have Auriana back alive, every bruise and cut upon her pale skin was a stinging reminder of his failure to keep her safe. He was no fool, and he knew that injuries were a necessary consequence of her chosen line of work, but at the same time he couldn't help but wonder if she would have suffered so badly if he had been there at her side.

Nevertheless, he chose to heed Auriana's earlier warning, and firmly bit his tongue. More as a means of distraction than anything else, he decided to remove some of his own clothing, and quickly pulled off his heavy armour and boots to reveal his pants and loose shirt beneath.

Once the water level was sufficiently high, Varian offered Auriana a hand so that she might clamber into the tub, before taking a seat of his own on a nearby bath stool. Auriana let out a long sigh as she lowered herself beneath the water, closing her eyes as she allowed the heat to soothe away her aches and pains. Heedless of his gaze, she lay down so she was fully submerged, her inky hair fanning out around her neck and shoulders like a shroud. In fact, her entire pose – eyes closed, hands folded across her belly – looked rather funereal, and Varian was rather relieved when she finally sat up and reached out to grasp a small glass bottle of hair cleanser that had been balanced on the edge of the tub.

"Let me," he offered, gently prising it from her hands and removing the stopper.

Auriana frowned slightly, but didn't resist, and soon she was putty beneath his hands as he slowly massaged her scalp with his thumbs and worked the tangles knotted throughout the length of her dark locks.

"Where'd you learn to wash women's hair?" she murmured vaguely. "You're better than the barbershop in the Trade District, that's for sure."

"What, you think my lustrous mane stays like this all on its own?" he teased gently, hoping to break some of the stiff tension that had arisen between them.

"Lustrous?" she repeated. "I'm sorry… did the great and powerful Varian Wrynn just suggest that he has womanly hair?"

"I don't think that's what I said," Varian grumbled, though he was secretly pleased to hear a sudden lightness in her voice.

"I think that's exactly what you said…"

"Hush," he said firmly, kissing her on the forehead. "You've got a bad head wound, you don't know what you heard…"

As Varian had hoped, his comment was enough to make Auriana laugh, and soon her brief snort of amusement had turned into a full-blown fit of giggles. Her slim shoulders shook uncontrollably, and her nose crinkled in the way that Varian absolutely adored.

After a while, however, her giggles began to sound strangely choked, and Varian realised that quiet tears were slowly tracking down her face. He ceased working on her hair immediately, and gently turned her by the chin so that he could better see her face. It may have been an old-fashioned sentiment, but Varian absolutely hated to see a woman cry, especially one he cared about, and it left him feeling unusually powerless.

"Auriana…" he murmured, gently cupping her cheek. "I… what's wrong? I'm sorry if I frightened you earlier, I wasn't thinking, I…"

"I'm sorry," she sniffled, rubbing her eyes. "I guess I'm more relieved to be home than I thought."

She gave him a shaky smile, and placed her small hand over his own.

"Sorry," she repeated. "I know you don't like watching me cry."

"Don't apologise," Varian said roughly. "I'm glad to have you back in Lunarfall, too. More than I could ever say."

"You misunderstand me," she whispered. "Lunarfall isn't home. You are."

Varian growled low in his throat, and the temptation to kiss her became overwhelming. He pulled her towards him, taking special care of her damaged ribs, and practically lifted her out of the tub as he embraced her passionately. Her breasts pressed against the thin cotton of his shirt, soaking it clean through, but Varian didn't care. The moment his lips met hers, the rest of the world fell away, and there was nothing but Auriana. There was no Alliance, no Horde, no war – just her, and the intoxicating press of her mouth on his.

"You're getting water everywhere," she mumbled, panting slightly as they broke apart.

Varian looked down, and realised that he had, in fact, splashed half the tub out all over the floor of the bathchamber, and cocked his head ruefully.

"Sorry," he said, though he rather felt that a wet floor was a small price to pay for a kiss like that. "But you should get out anyway. You're shivering."

Auriana nodded, and ducked her head back beneath the water to rinse the soap from her hair. With the aid of Varian's arm, she then gingerly stepped out of the tub, wincing slightly as her feet hit the floor. Varian frowned and placed a gentle hand on her shoulder, but she shrugged him off with a weary grin.

"I'm fine," she assured him. "Go sit down, I'm not the only one who looks exhausted."

"I haven't been sleeping very much lately," Varian admitted, reluctantly stepping out of the small bathchamber to take a seat on the edge of Auriana's bed.

"I figured as much," she said lightly.

Varian had made sure to leave the door open, and he watched Auriana like a hawk as she toweled herself dry and painfully shrugged her shoulders into a long silk nightgown. Now that she was back, he had no intention of letting her out of his sight; or at least not until he was completely satisfied that she would be alright. Varian knew that Auriana was extraordinarily fierce and strong, but she was not invincible, and there was only so much punishment one person could take before they broke.

Finally, she tied her nightgown loosely around her waist, before moving to lean her slender frame up against the thick oak of the bathchamber door.

"So," she said, crossing her arms over her chest. "Would you like to know what happened?"

"Please," Varian insisted.

He would have preferred that Auriana take a seat by his side, but he knew from experience that sitting with broken ribs could be very uncomfortable, and he couldn't begrudge her standing in the least.

"We sailed from Lunarfall without incident, and our allies in the Horde arrived as promised," she started. "I thought we would be able to land with little resistance... but they knew we were coming. They had boarding parties… and… artillery. Maybe I should have known… should have done something… but we weren't prepared to face that kind of machinery."

She paused briefly, and the sorrow behind her eyes tore at Varian's heartstrings. He knew how much Auriana absolutely hated to lose her men, and how she kept all their names and faces locked away in a vault deep within her heart. It pained him greatly to see her sadness, but he knew she was strong, and would have continued to fight on in their honour.

"Anyway," she said, shaking her head slightly, "When I realised my flagship was being targeted, I teleported my men away to the safety of the nearest destroyer. Unfortunately, I was too slow to save myself, and I was on board when it was hit. I fell down into the powder magazine."

"Never an excellent idea when your ship is on fire," Varian commented drily.

"No, it isn't," she replied, the corner of her mouth twitching. "I knew I had to leave, and so I cast a quick teleport. As you know, however, casting teleports under time pressure and with no particular destination can be… problematic."

Varian snorted, remembering back to his own disastrous trip to Tanaan Jungle.

"Failed teleports aren't all that bad," he pointed out. "I might have never gotten to know you otherwise."

"Tanaan with you would have been preferable," she said wryly. "This time, however, I ended up in the middle of the ocean. I had to remove my armour to keep from drowning, when some damn orc showed up and decided that he'd try to finish the job."

"That explains the pieces of armour that your men found," Varian realised.

"They recovered some of my armour?" Auriana asked, seeming genuinely surprised. "No wonder you thought I was dead."

Varian scowled darkly at the casual way with which she referred to her own possible demise, and was forced once again to bite back a pointed comment.

"Ah… in any case," she said quickly, clearly noticing the look in Varian's face, "I managed to kill him with my knife, but there was so much blood in the water that it attracted some local wildlife. I managed to explode my new shark friend and get myself to a piece of driftwood, but after that I was spent. I must have passed out, because I don't remember anything until I woke up on the shore."

"Hold on a second… you exploded a shark?" Varian repeated, raising an eyebrow.

"What was I supposed to do? Ask it very nicely to leave me alone?" she protested. "Besides… isn't that why you like me? Because I'm a woman capable of exploding my own sharks?"

Auriana smiled shyly, and Varian couldn't help but to smile back. Her absence may have put him through hell over the last few days, but it was immensely comforting to see that she had survived with both her wit and her love for him intact.

"The next thing I remember, I was waking up with Commander Zala'din and one of his tauren standing over me," she continued. "They took me with them into the jungle, and offered me healing. After I woke up, I joined Zala'din's war council… and then… then I… sort of… well… I think I may have… slightly… joined the Horde."

She wasn't quite able to meet his eyes as she spoke, and with good reason. Although Varian had better learned to work with the Horde in recent years, he still clung to a deep and abiding mistrust of the savage war band, which Auriana knew full well.

"What do you mean, you joined the Horde?" Varian asked warily. "How does one slightly join the Horde?"

"Well…" she said nervously, "Zal… Zala'din trusts me, but his lieutenants didn't. One of the orcs suggested that I wasn't strong enough to have a voice in the Horde, and that I could only prove myself by participating in a traditional orcish initiation duel."

"So all five foot of you fought all seven foot of him? Without magic, I assume?" Varian sighed, unable to hide his weary exasperation this time. "Auri…"

"What?" she protested, her eyes widening innocently. "I won."

"That's not really the point," he growled. "You really have to stop picking fights with orcs."

"Says Varian Wrynn..." Auriana quipped, rolling her eyes.

"Well… I'm admittedly not the best role model…" he agreed reluctantly, "But that doesn't make you any better."

For a split second, Auriana's eyes blazed definitely, but she at least had the good grace to look somewhat abashed as she conceded the argument with a shrug.

"If you didn't like that, you're definitely not going to like the next part of the story," she said quietly, her gaze flicking downwards once more.

"I don't like any of this," Varian pointed out, folding his arms across his chest and affixing her with a stern glare. "But we've made it this far. Continue."

"As I said, I won. I doubt I'll be making friends within the Horde any time soon, but my willingness to honour their traditions and my demonstrable strength as a warrior gave me some measure of acceptance within the war band," Auriana said seriously. "I decided that it was best if I joined them in their assault the following morning."

"You could have returned to Lunarfall at that point," Varian observed stiffly.

"I could have, yes," she admitted. "But if I had, I would not have been able to easily return to my troops in Tanaan without knowing where they were. It could have been weeks before we established a foothold, and we both know I'm best at the front. I made a deal with Zala'din – I would fight for him, if he would help me find the Alliance."

Varian nodded to show that he understood her reasoning, though it didn't make him feel any better. It was a petty thing, but some dark part of his subconscious was angered by the fact that she had prioritised fighting on with the Horde over returning to Lunarfall – and him.

"Afterwards," she added tentatively, "I fought alongside Zala'din and his troops as they engaged the Iron Horde. I helped them disrupt another artillery line, and then I ran into an old friend of ours."

"An old friend?" Varian repeated, thoroughly confused by her phrasing.

"Borak Crushfist. The orc who hunted us in Tanaan; the one who broke my leg and nearly killed us both," she explained. "I defeated him in single combat."

"Is that when you acquired your head wound?"

"No. He was the one who broke my ribs. I was… possibly… a little overconfident," she confessed, tightening her arms protectively around her chest. "I won, but I had expended a lot of magic. I didn't see the blow that hit my head. The next thing I remember was waking up in the infirmary of the Horde's base of operations in Tanaan, and now… I'm here."

"By some minor miracle, from the sounds of it," Varian muttered. "You're far too reckless."

He had been talking mostly to himself, but he had spoken loud enough for her to hear. The subject of Auriana's recklessness was something of a sore point between them, and he knew she would respond poorly to the comment. As expected, her eyes narrowed, and she straightened her spine defensively.

"Has it ever occurred to you to have faith in me?" she said, her voice suddenly cold. "I don't just stumble blindly around out there, you know. I survive because I am smart and I am strong."

"I won't have this argument again, Auriana," Varian said warningly. "My concern has nothing to do with your abilities, as you know perfectly well."

He rose swiftly to his feet, trying not to let his hands shake as he stared her down. No matter how many times he made the point, Auriana never seemed to have grasped the depths of his fears for her, nor the scope of her own recklessness, and it chilled him to the bone.

"Do you know what I see, every time I close my eyes?" he asked, his voice deathly quiet. "I see all the people I've lost – the people I failed to protect. My father… Bolvar… Tiffin… do you think I want to add your name to that list? Do you think I want to see your cold corpse alongside theirs?"

"Of course not," she said, her voice wavering almost as much as Varian's own. "But I stand by my decision. Choosing to stay and fight was the best course of action I had at the time."

"Be that as it may… you are an Alliance commander, Auriana, and a damn good one," he argued. "You are not expendable. I'm not the only one who would suffer from your loss… which is perhaps why I'm not the only one who has been tearing my hair out around here for the last five days."

For some reason, his last words seemed to have struck a nerve, and Auriana's aggressive posture withered instantly.

"Have you really been here all that time?" she whispered, all the colour draining from her face.

Varian frowned, genuinely confused by the question, and cocked his head slightly to one side.

"Where else would I be?" he asked. "You're everything to me. Everything."

"I don't know. I… you and I… we're still a secret…" she stammered, looking nervously down at her feet. "And whatever else we are, you're still my king. You can't come chasing after me every time I get myself into trouble."

"What's the point of having a secret if you're dead?" he countered. "I can't lose you, Auriana. I just… can't. I won't."

Varian squeezed his eyes tightly shut, and all but collapsed back into a seated position on the bed. He sensed rather than heard Auriana move, and a moment later he felt the press of her cool skin upon his cheeks as she gently took his face in her hands.

"Varian… there is nothing and no one, on this world or any other, that can stop me from coming home to you," she murmured. "No matter what happens… I will always find you, I promise."

She took a final step forwards and kissed him desperately, and any lingering tension between them vanished the moment her lips found his. Varian let out a low growl as leaned longingly into her kiss, brushing aside a wayward strand of her hair as he began to slowly and tenderly explore her mouth.

As always, Auriana's kisses left him feeling breathless and lightheaded, and Varian almost suspected that he might have been dreaming when her hand trailed down the hard planes of his stomach to slip the laces of his pants. He drew in a sharp breath as her soft fingers brushed against the length of his manhood, and he instinctively shifted his hips to press closer into her hand. He grew hard almost instantly, but the part of his mind not entirely driven to distraction by her touch vaguely remembered that an arduous encounter was perhaps not the best idea.

"Oh, Light, Auri… you… you are injured… we… we shouldn't," he groaned, entirely surprised by her boldness, but she cut him off with a finger to his lips.

"I don't care," she murmured, planting soft kisses along the line of his neck and making him shiver.

"My guards are downstairs," he pointed out, though he knew he had as much chance of resisting Auriana's kisses as he would have of spontaneously growing wings.

"I don't care…" she repeated determinedly, never having been the kind of woman to take no for an answer. "I need you."

Her teeth grazed the skin of Varian's neck and he surrendered utterly, clutching feverishly for her hips as she moved to straddle him. Having now fully freed Varian's hardened length from the confines of his breeches, Auriana placed her hands on his shoulders for leverage as she lifted herself and over his lap. She then carefully positioned her knees on either side of his thighs, before finally lowering her weight with tantalising slowness.

Varian gasped as Auriana took him fully within her; his sudden movement causing her nightgown to shift from her left shoulder and fall away to reveal the generous curve of her breast. Varian growled at the sight of her, marveling at the masterful arch of her body and the seemingly impossible luminosity of her dark blue eyes. Her skin was so soft as to put the silk of her nightgown to shame, and the powerful heat emanating from her core was enough to make him shudder uncontrollably with desire.

He cradled her close as she kissed him with breathtaking tenderness, and held her with the kind of reverence one might show a priceless artifact. Varian was a virile, libidinous man by nature, and he and Auriana had shared more than a few wild and lustful encounters. Today, however, was not about raw passion, but rather his deep and desperate need to possess Auriana entirely; to reassure himself that she was still alive, and still his.

Varian's eyes drank her in shamelessly, trying to commit every precious curve and plane to memory as she tormented him with every languorous movement of her hips. During his darker moments over the last few days, he had come to genuinely believe that she was dead, and the pain of her imagined loss had been staggering. Her love was sorely needed, and he couldn't get enough of the miraculous feel of her eager flesh pressed against his own, or the sensual way she sighed against his lips.

Gradually, Auriana began to increase her pace, raising and lowering her hips with a slowly burning sense of urgency. Each aching thrust was enough to make her moan, and her soft sounds of pleasure were like music to Varian's ears. He was more than happy to surrender full control, and simply buried his face in the curve of Auriana's neck as she made love to him with extraordinary sweetness.

At some point, Varian genuinely lost track of time, and his entire past, present, and future became Auriana. There was nothing in the whole world save for the two of them; nothing but the heady scent of her skin, the exquisite tightness of her sex, and the slow, fierce fire kindling deep in his belly. Auriana's breath now came in ragged gasps, and Varian knew her body well enough to know that she was rapidly approaching her release.

With a low growl, he began to meet Auriana thrust for thrust, wanting nothing more than to give his beautiful young mate the pleasure she deserved. He soon felt her back stiffen beneath his hands in response, and she sighed his name as a great shiver rolled down her spine. She clung to him desperately, and the feverish shaking of her body was more than enough to send him tumbling over the edge a moment after. So great was the strength with which he broke himself within her that Varian was forced to bite down hard on her shoulder to prevent himself from crying out, and for a single, perfect moment, everything was finally right with the world.

Varian held Auriana for a long time afterwards, and it was only with great reluctance that he finally loosened his needful grasp. Auriana seemed similarly loath to leave his embrace, and she lingered in his lap for quite a while before briefly disappearing back into the bath chamber. When she returned, her nightgown was no longer askew, and she had tied her damp tresses up into a loose braid. Varian, too, had made an attempt to tidy his appearance; retying his pants and smoothing down his tangled hair, and he hoped it would be enough to appear innocent before his guards.

Auriana returned to take a seat at his side, placing a gentle hand on his thigh and letting out a soft sigh. Her beautiful face had grown grave, though the uncomplicated joy of their lovemaking lingered somewhere deep within her eyes.

"You need to return to the front," Varian realised, struggling to keep his voice even.

"Yes. In truth, I only came back because I heard that there was an angry wolf terrifying my villagers," Auriana said quietly.

She gave him a sly sidelong glance, and a very faint smile crossed her face.

"Terrifying the villagers?" Varian scoffed. "Really?"

"You're quite scary when you get going, you know," she told him, though her voice was warm with affection. "There's a reason they call you Lo'Gosh."

"Oh?" he asked. "And why is that?"

"You're fierce… and strong… and you protect the people you love," she murmured, taking his hand in hers and punctuating each word with a soft kiss against his weathered knuckles. "Even… even the reckless, pigheaded ones."

Varian nodded in acceptance of her silent apology, and tightened his fingers around her small, pale hand. He had always marvelled at the way that they could say so much to one another in so few words; the bond between them now being nothing less than absolute. Auriana rested her head against his shoulder with a drawn out sigh, and for a long while they simply sat in silence and breathed one another in.

Their brief peace was not to last, however, and Varian felt Auriana's shoulders abruptly tense.

"It… it's worse than we thought," she said, her voice disturbingly ragged. "I felt it. I don't know what Gul'Dan is doing out there, but… it's bad, Varian."

"You sound afraid," he said, genuinely surprised. "You're never afraid of a fight."

"I'm afraid all the time," Auriana snorted. "I'm afraid of what will happen if we… if I lose this war. I'm afraid every time I see my soldiers step outside the walls of this garrison. I'm afraid for Azeroth… for Anduin… for you…"

"Be that as it may… what worries me is that you're never afraid for yourself," Varian said gently.

"I don't have time to be afraid for myself," she said wearily. "If I were, I don't think I'd be able to move. If I let myself think… I'd be back in Blackrock."

Varian's jaw tightened, and he placed his arm protectively around her shoulders.

"You don't have to win this war on your own," he told her gently. "After everything you've been through, after the Foundry… no one would think less of you if you walked away."

Auriana considered the question seriously, her forehead creasing slightly as she tried to find the right words.

"If I don't fight, who will?" she said slowly. "I fight because I can. I have the power to do what other people can't. If I didn't use that power… if our people came to harm because of my inaction… I don't think I could live with myself."

She shook her head, her brow still furrowed in deep concentration.

"You could have walked away, too, when you were Lo'Gosh. You could have chosen not to return to Stormwind and claim your throne. I know a part of you would have preferred Lo'Gosh's life, but you came back anyway," she reasoned. "You're not a king because of an accident of birth, you are a king because you chose to be one. To put your people ahead of yourself. You can't begrudge me for making the same choice."

"No. I suppose I can't," he agreed quietly.

"Azeroth… Azeroth needs us," she added, her keen eyes suddenly ablaze with determination. "Those who can fight must protect those who cannot."

Varian's chest swelled with a fierce pride, and he couldn't remember a time when he'd ever seen something more beautiful. He nodded his understanding, and he lifted Auriana's chin so that he might better see her face.

"If I could have any power in the world, I would have the ability to let you see yourself as I see you now," he murmured throatily. "Because I know you don't have the slightest idea how remarkable you are."

"Well, I don't know about that…" she said lightly, a soft blush spreading across her cheeks. "I was pretty pleased with myself when I exploded that shark."

Varian couldn't help but to let out a dry chuckle, and it was only then that he realised how infrequently he laughed when Auriana was away on Draenor. Her mere presence suffused him with the kind of energy he hadn't felt for years, and he had grown to despise the time they were forced to spend apart.

"Do me a favour?" he asked, rising to his feet and pulling her upright so that she stood with her head tucked in against her favourite spot in the crook of his shoulder.

"What kind of favour?"

"Come back to Stormwind tonight," he requested. "I know you have things to do here first, but… after..."

His voice was low and urgent, and he pressed his forehead longingly against hers. Having Auriana to himself for an afternoon was not at all enough, and he could not deny the powerful urge to keep her close for as long as possible. Varian quite simply needed her – needed to have her in his bed, needed to feel her curled up against his side, needed to watch her chest slowly rise and fall as she slept.

"Varian…"

"Please," he implored, pressing a kiss to the top of her head. "Just for the night. Don't make me beg."

Auriana let out another short sigh, and she lifted her head from Varian's chest to fix him with a penetrating stare. Her face softened as she pressed a hand to his heart, and she readily nodded her assent.

"I… of course," she murmured huskily. "I'm all yours, Varian. I'm always yours."