"I love you," he gasped against my throat, his voice thick with emotion. His knot pulsed again, another spurt of release flooding my depths. "I love you so much, Lily. I never thought—I never imagined?—"
"I love you too," I whispered, stroking his hair as his knot continued to throb inside me. “My Thane. My mate." He held me close as his knot slowly released, his release trickling from my vent as he softened inside me. But even as he slipped from my body, he didn't let go—just gathered me in his arms and held me like I was the most precious thing in the world.
The heat stirred one more time—a final, gentle wave that washed through me like a whisper. Thane felt it through the bond and met it with renewed tenderness, sliding back inside me with a soft groan. This last time was slow and sweet—unhurried lovemaking in the golden light of his garden. He thrust deep and steady, his softer ridges creating gentle friction as they stroked my sensitive walls. When we came together—soft, synchronized releases that pulsed through the bond—it felt like completion. Like a circle closing.
That's when I felt it.
The heat... was gone. Not just banked, not just simmering—actually, truly gone. The fever that had burned through my blood for days finally released its grip, leaving behind a bone-deep satisfaction and an overwhelming sense of peace.
"The heat broke," I whispered, wonder in my voice.
Thane pulled back to look at my face, and his smile was radiant. "You're satisfied?"
"Completely." I pressed a kiss to his lips. Through the bond, I felt his joy—and beneath it, a new confidence. He had been what I needed. He had been enough. More than enough.
We stayed in his garden for a long time afterward, curled together on the soft moss, surrounded by the warm golden light of his plants. I felt exhausted in the best possible way—wrung out and satisfied, every nerve ending humming with contentment.
The nesting urge had finally faded with the heat, but I still found myself arranging the soft fronds around us, creating a little cocoon of comfort. My omega instincts felt satisfied now—not the desperate, driving need of the past few days, but a gentle contentment that came from being properly mated, properly claimed, properly loved.
Thane watched me with soft eyes, occasionally handing me particularly soft flowers or interesting plants to add to my arrangement. When I wove a chain of golden blossoms into a circle, he took it from my hands and placed it gently on my head like a crown.
"My Queen," he said softly, and the reverence in his voice made my heart swell.
"Tell me about the garden," I said, settling back against his chest. "How did you grow all of this underwater?"
His eyes lit up—the first time I'd seen him speak with true confidence about something. "Some of it grows naturally inunderwater caves, adapted to the dark and the salt. But most of it I had to cultivate myself. There are bioluminescent algae that can feed the plants light, and certain minerals in the water that mimic sunlight." His voice grew animated as he explained. "That golden flower there—I spent fifty years perfecting its bloom. And the amber moss we're lying on took nearly a century to cultivate to this softness."
I looked around the garden with new eyes, seeing not just beauty but centuries of patient work. "You created all of this. For your future mate."
"For you," he corrected quietly. "I didn't know it was you, not specifically. But some part of me knew you were out there. And I wanted to have something beautiful to show you. Something that was just mine—something that would make you smile."
Tears pricked at my eyes. "It does make me smile. It's the most beautiful thing I've ever seen."
"Thank you," I said finally, settling more firmly against his chest. "For the garden. For the gentleness. For being exactly what I needed."
"Thank you for choosing me," he replied, pressing a kiss to my hair. "For making me feel like I belong. Like I'm worthy of being your mate."
"You've always been worthy," I said firmly. "You just needed to see it for yourself." Through the bond, I could feel the others stirring—Kaelan's steady presence, Riven's fierce protectiveness, Vale's musical warmth. They could feel that the heat had broken. They could feel my satisfaction, my contentment, my love.
"They're coming," I said, sensing their approach through the pack bonds.
"They want to be with you," Thane said, no jealousy in his voice—only acceptance and love. "We all do. Now and forever."
They found us in the garden—Kaelan first, his dark eyes warm with satisfaction as he took in the golden glowsurrounding us. He pressed a kiss to my forehead, then to Thane's, acknowledging what his youngest packmate had accomplished. "The heat is satisfied," he observed, his hand stroking through my tangled hair. "You made it through."
"We made it through," I corrected, looking at each of them in turn. "All of us together."
Riven came next, his scarred face soft with something that might have been tenderness. His hand found my ankle, his thumb stroking possessive circles on my scales. "You smell like all of us now. Every inch of you carries our scent."
"Good," I said firmly. "That's exactly how it should be."
Vale arrived last, his silver scales catching the golden light of Thane's garden in a way that made him seem to glow. He hummed a soft note of contentment, and I felt it resonate through the bond—a melody of satisfaction and love that harmonized with the warmth of Thane's garden. "Rest now," he said, settling beside us. "You've earned it."
They arranged themselves around me—Kaelan at my back, his presence solid and grounding; Riven at my side, his hand never leaving my scales; Vale curled near my tail, his fingers tracing idle patterns; and Thane still holding me close against his chest, his heart beating steady beneath my ear. Four mates. Four bonds. Four pieces of my heart, all finally in place.
"I love you," I said, not to any one of them but to all of them at once, feeling the words resonate through all four bonds. "All of you. So much it hurts."
Four voices answered as one: "We love you too."
