“I made the wrong choice.” The words scrape my throat raw with honesty. “And I’m here to fix it.”
That makes her turn.
Her eyes meet mine, guarded and wary. The hurt is visible beneath the anger, a wounded vulnerability she’s trying to armoragainst. But she’s listening. My dragon recognizes that small victory, urging me forward.
“I’m sorry,” I say, moving closer by one step, then another. “For walking away. For letting your mother’s words matter more than yours.”
Her chin lifts. “She convinced you I was too young—”
“She didn’t have to convince me,” I interrupt, the truth pouring from me now that I’ve stopped fighting it. “I already believed I wasn’t good enough.”
Another step closer. The scent of her intensifies, making my head swim, my dragon purring at her proximity. “But Caleb and Dorian… they made me see something I’ve been denying.”
“Really? And what was that?” She’s keeping her distance, but I can hear the curiosity ramp up.
My heart hammers against my ribs as I prepare to say the words out loud for the first time.
“You’re my mate, Ember. My dragon recognized you in those mountains, and I’ve been fighting it because I was terrified.”
Her breath catches, eyes widening, pupils dilating. “Mate?”
I nod, inhaling slowly to steady the intensity of my emotion.
“The pull. The need. The fact that thinking of you in danger makes me physically ill. That’s not just attraction. It’s a bond forming.”
“I feel it too,” she whispers, and the admission sends a shock wave through me. “Thought I was going crazy.”
“You’re not crazy.” I’m close enough now to touch her, though I don’t. Not yet. I can never think straight when I touch her. “And I’m done pretending this isn’t real.”
She sets down the weapon she’s been loading, the metal clicking against the surface. Her hands are steady, her gaze direct. Outside, the distant sound of Aurora activity carries through the high windows, a reminder of the world continuing beyond this moment.
“The mission tomorrow,” she says. “I’m still going.”
“I know.” The words no longer feel like surrender.
Ember studies me, suspicious of my easy acceptance. “And you’re not going to try to stop me?”
“I’m going to trust you,” I say, the words both foreign and right. “Even though every instinct screams to lock you somewhere safe.”
“Luke—” she starts.
“I won’t do that,” I cut her off. “In fact, I won’t even go with you, if you’d prefer it.”
“What do you mean?” She frowns. “You don’t want to be involved?”
I take a breath, making an offer that costs me more than she knows.
“I can provide support from HQ. Command and control. Let the strike team handle field operations. You’d be independent.”
Her eyebrows rise fractionally.
“If you’d rather I wasn’t there, I’d stay back,” I say, the mere thought making my dragon writhe.
“Your head would probably explode watching from a monitor,” she says, the barest hint of a smile touching her lips.
I return it, relief coursing through me. “Probably. But I’m willing to try. If it means trusting you to handle yourself.”
She studies me, assessing. She knows exactly what this offer costs me… to stand back while she faces danger. Hell, to stand back, regardless. I’ve always been in the thick of things when needed.
