“I want the bond.” The words tumble out. “The mate bond. I’m not running. I’m choosing this. You. And I needed you to know that before we potentially die out there.”
He goes very still.
Something flickers in his chest. Not physical. Not visible. But Ifeelit. Like an echo. Like recognition flowing both ways instead of one.
It’s that bond. The mate thing that I’m just never going to be able to hide from.
Not that I want to.
“Mara—”
“Also, your timing is terrible. Like, objectively the worst. We just broke one bond, and now there’s an attack and—”
He kisses me.
Right there. In the middle of the command center. With Viktor shouting orders and alarms still blaring, and half of the Aurora Collective watching.
He cups my face and kisses me like I’m the last drink of water in the desert, and he’s dying of thirst.
When he pulls back, his eyes are burning. “You choose me.”
“Yeah. Unfortunately. My taste in men is apparently terrible.”
“The mate bond—”
“Is starting. I feel it. Like—” I press my hand to my chest. “Like something waking up. Recognizing you.”
“Yes.” His hand covers mine. “I feel it too. But Mara—it won’t complete. Not until we—” He stops. Clears his throat. “Not until we seal it. When we’re ready. When you’re certain.”
“I’m certain now.”
“You’re terrified, and we’re under attack. That is not the time for permanent decisions.”
“Actually, I think it’s the perfect time for permanent decisions,” I disagree.
“Mara.” He smiles at me.
I huff out a breath. “So we wait.”
“We wait.” His thumb traces my cheekbone. “But know this: I want this bond. Want you. When this is over, when we have time to do this properly—”
“We’ll seal it.”
“Yes.”
Something warm blooms in my chest. And I recognize it. It’s hope. Certainty.
“KAEL.” Viktor’s voice cuts through. “We need you. NOW.”
Reality crashes back.
The attack. The Syndicate. The fact that we’re standing in a command center while enemies are literally at the gates.
K doesn’t let go of me, turns away. “Where?”
“Breach on the south side. They’re using some kind of magical battering ram. We need your fire to counter it.”
“Go,” I tell him. “They need you.”
