The door swung open with a soft hiss of pressurized air.
I stepped inside and lost the ability to speak.
The room was huge. Not closet sized, not bunker sized, but actual living space sized. And it was... cozy. Warm. Filled with everything I could possibly need.
One wall was lined with bookshelves, stacked with familiar titles. My favorites. Romances and mysteries and fantasies and those spicy books I pretended I didn’t read. A comfortable leather couch faced a large television mounted on the opposite wall. There were toys scattered in one corner, a play area for the kids with soft mats and building blocks and stuffed animals.
A bed occupied another section of the room, queen sized with fluffy pillows and soft blankets. A small kitchenette had a mini fridge, a microwave, and shelves stocked with enough food to last weeks.
And there, gleaming on the counter like a beacon of hope, was a coffee machine. Not just any coffee machine. The fancy kind. The kind that cost more than my first car.
I squeaked and ran to it, my hands hovering over the sleek surface like it was a holy relic.
“You did this for us?” I asked, turning to look at Knox.
He was leaning against the doorframe, arms crossed, watching me with a soft smile on his face.
“Yes. Just in case you ever need to hide.” He pushed off the frame and walked toward me, his expression growing more serious. “If anything happens, I want you to come here with the kids. You have enough food and entertainment to last until I kill everyone who threatens you and come find you. There’s even a panic button.” He pointed to a red button on the wall near the door. “Press that, and I’ll know immediately. I’ll come faster than you can blink.”
My heart swelled with emotion. This man. This ridiculous, overprotective, wonderful man. He had built an entire underground sanctuary just to keep us safe. Had thought of everything. Books for me. Toys for the kids. Coffee because he knew I couldn’t function without it.
“I love it,” I said, my voice thick. “But I wish you would be here with us. If something happens, I don’t want to be hiding while you’re out there fighting.”
Knox shook his head. “I can’t hide. I need to secure all of you first. That’s my first and foremost priority. Getting you and the kids to safety. Once I know you’re protected, then I can deal with whatever threat is out there.”
“But what if something happens to you?”
He closed the distance between us and cupped my face in his hands. “Nothing is going to happen to me. I’m going to kill anyone who tries to hurt my family, and then I’m going to come back to you. That’s a promise.”
Tears pricked at my eyes. The emotion was overwhelming. The love I felt for this man, the gratitude, the fierce protectiveness that mirrored his own.
“I love you,” I whispered.
“I love you too.” He pressed his forehead against mine. “More than anything in this world.”
“Even more than this panic room?”
He laughed, the sound rumbling through his chest. “Even more than the panic room. Though it was a close call.”
I smacked his arm. He caught my hand and brought it to his lips, pressing a kiss to my knuckles.
We stood like that for a moment, just breathing each other in. Then Knox pulled back slightly, a new light entering his eyes.
“Actually, there’s one more thing.”
He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small velvet box. My heart stuttered.
“Knox...”
“Relax, we’re already married,” he said with a crooked smile. “This is something else.”
He opened the box.
Inside, nestled on dark velvet, lay a delicate silver chain with a small pendant. The pendant was shaped like a crescent moon, and in its curve sat a tiny wolf, carved with such detail I couldmake out the individual strands of fur. At the center of the wolf’s chest was a small gemstone that caught the light and sparkled with an inner fire.
“It’s beautiful,” I breathed.
“It’s enchanted,” Knox said. “Well, sort of. The stone is connected to another one.” He reached under his shirt and pulled out a matching chain. His pendant was different in shape, a full moon with a wolf howling at its center, but the gemstone was identical. “When you touch yours, mine warms up. And when I touch mine, yours does the same. Don’t ask mehow.”
