"Forever," I echoed, letting the word settle into my bones, feeling the rightness of it. "I like the sound of that." Thane pressed closer, burying his face in my neck, his arms wrapping around me tight, a deep purr rumbling through his chest.
"I love you," he said, the words muffled against my skin, his body warm and solid against mine. "I know we haven't said it.I know maybe it's too soon. But I love you, Lily. I've loved you since the first moment I saw you, and I'll love you until the ocean dries up and the stars burn out." My heart clenched, swelling with an emotion so big it threatened to crack my ribs. I turned in his arms, cupping his face in my hands, feeling the warmth of his skin beneath my palms.
"I love you too," I said, and the words came easily, naturally, like they'd been waiting inside me all along, like they'd always been true. "I love all of you. I didn't know I could feel this way…didn't know my heart had room for four people. But it does. You're all in there, taking up every corner, filling every empty space."
"Lily," Kaelan breathed, and when I looked at him, his dark eyes were bright with emotion, his careful composure finally cracking, vulnerability written across every line of his ancient face.
"I love you," I told him, reaching out to touch his face, cupping his jaw in my palm. "I love how you take care of everyone, how you carry the weight of the pack on your shoulders and never complain. I love how you look at me like I'm something precious, something worth protecting." A low growl rumbled from his chest—not threatening, but filled with fierce emotion, his hand coming up to cover mine where it rested on his face.
I turned to Riven, seeing the vulnerability beneath his fierce exterior, the way his golden eyes had gone molten with intensity. "I love you. I love your scars and your hunger and the violence you'd unleash to keep me safe. I love that you're learning to be gentle, even when it doesn't come naturally." He made a sound deep in his throat—a possessive, claiming growl—and leaned forward to press his forehead against mine, his breath hot against my lips.
To Vale, whose silver eyes were shimmering with emotion: "I love you. I love your voice and your beauty and the way you see poetry in everything. I love that you've written songs about me, that you want to turn us into something that will last forever." He responded with a soft rumble, something musical even in that wordless sound, his hand coming up to stroke through my hair.
Finally, back to Thane, still holding me close, his golden-brown eyes glowing with warmth: "I love you. I love your tenderness and the way you feel everything so deeply. I love that you're not afraid to be soft in a world that rewards hardness." A deep purr vibrated through him, and he pulled me tighter, pressing his face into my hair.
For a long moment, no one spoke. The only sounds were the distant rush of water somewhere below us, the gentle lap of waves against stone, and the low rumbles of contentment from the four alphas surrounding me. Then Kaelan pulled me into his arms, crushing me against his chest, and the others followed, and we were a tangle of bodies and fierce, clinging love.
"Tonight," Kaelan said finally, his voice rough but steady, his arms tight around me, a growl of determination vibrating through his words. "Tonight, we make you ours. Completely. Permanently. And nothing—nothing—will ever separate us again."
"Tonight," I agreed, feeling the word settle into my bones like a promise, like a vow, like the beginning of forever.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
LILY
The time came faster than I expected.
One moment we were tangled together in the nest, warm and content and savoring the last hours of my humanity. The next, Kaelan was pulling back, his dark eyes serious, his jaw set with determination.
"It's time," he said quietly, his voice carrying the weight of centuries, his hand finding mine and squeezing tight. "The sun has set above. If we wait much longer, your heat will advance too far." My heart stuttered in my chest. This was it. The moment I'd been waiting for, the moment I'd chosen. The moment that would change everything.
"I'm ready," I said, and my voice didn't waver. "Tell me what to do."
Kaelan nodded, something like pride flickering in his dark eyes. He released my hand and moved to the edge of the nest, reaching for something I hadn't noticed before, a small chest tucked into a crevice in the rock wall. When he opened it, the glow from inside painted his face in strange, shifting colors.
"The potion," Vale explained softly, moving to kneel beside me, his silver eyes warm with concern even as his hand found my shoulder in a steadying grip. "The sea witch made it for us when we went to her."
"What did it cost?" I asked, remembering what they'd told me about the price they'd paid for the breathing potions and blockers—their happiest memories, given willingly for my sake. "What did you give her for this?"
Kaelan returned with a small vial clutched in his hand, his dark eyes holding mine steadily. "Nothing you need to worry about."
"Kaelan—"
"It doesn't matter," he interrupted, his voice firm but gentle, his jaw set with determination. "What matters is that we have it. What matters is that after tonight, you'll be ours forever."
I looked between them, searching their faces for answers, but they all wore the same expression—closed off, protective, unwilling to share whatever price they'd paid.
"We'd do it again," Thane said softly, his golden-brown eyes warm as he pressed closer to my side, his hand finding mine and squeezing. "Whatever it cost, we'd pay it a thousand times over for you."
Riven growled low in his throat from his position at the entrance of the nest, his golden eyes fierce with conviction. "A million times. There's nothing we wouldn't give."
I wanted to press, wanted to demand answers, but the look on Kaelan's face told me I wouldn't get them. Not tonight. Maybe not ever. Whatever they'd sacrificed for this potion, they intended to carry that burden alone. The liquid inside the vial was unlike anything I'd ever seen, dark and luminous at the same time, swirling with colors that seemed to shift and change as I watched. Blues and greens and silvers, all moving together like a tiny ocean trapped in glass.
"Once you drink this, there's no going back," Kaelan said, his voice low and serious, his dark eyes holding mine with fierce intensity. "Your body will begin to change immediately. It will hurt, Lily. I won't lie to you about that. The transformation is not gentle."
"I know," I said, reaching for the vial, feeling the cool glass against my palm. "You told me. I'm not afraid."
"You should be," Riven said, his rough voice carrying a note of something I couldn't quite identify, his golden eyes burning as he watched me. "Fear is what keeps prey alive."
