“Why?”
“We’re both birds. I’m a raven, and you’re a beautiful hummingbird, tiny but fierce. Plus... Basilinna means queen. Which you are.”
She rolled her eyes but I caught the pleased flush on her cheeks. “That’s the cheesiest thing you’ve ever said.”
“I’m just getting started,” I warned, then reached into my pocket. “Speaking of queens...”
I dropped to both knees beside her chair, pulling out the ring box I’d been carrying for days. Her eyes went wide as I opened it, revealing the sapphire surrounded by diamonds.
“This was my grandmother’s. She was the strongest Luna our pack ever had. Ran the pack alongside my grandfather for thirty years, the traditional Alpha tenure. Raised seven kids, and still managed to terrify grown wolves with just a look. It belongs to someone equally strong.”
Lina stared at the ring, her hands trembling slightly. “Knox...”
“I’m not asking you to marry me tomorrow,” I said quickly, not wanting her to panic. “This is a promise ring. A promise that I’m serious about you, about us, about our family. That I’ll court you properly, earn your trust back, prove myself worthy of you and our pups. However long it takes.”
“You hurt me so badly,” she whispered, and I could hear the pain she’d been carrying for years.
“I know. And I’ll spend the rest of my life making up for it if you let me. I’ll work for this every single day. Please, Lina. Just... consider it. Consider us.”
She took the ring from the box, studying it in the light. The silence stretched between us, and I held my breath, waiting for her verdict.
“You left me,” she said finally, still looking at the ring. “You said terrible things to me and rejected me, Knox. Do you know what that did to me? How long I wondered what I’d done wrong?”
“Nothing,” I said fiercely. “You did nothing wrong. It was all me, all my fear and stupidity.”
“And now you want to give me a ring?” She looked up at me, eyes shining with unshed tears. “Want to play family after all this time?”
“I want to earn the right to be your family,” I corrected. “I know I don’t deserve it now. Maybe I never will. But I want to try.”
She set the ring on the table between us, and my heart sank. Then she leaned forward slightly, just enough that I could smell her shampoo, feel the warmth radiating from her skin.
“I’m going to make you work for it,” she warned, her voice low. “Every single day. You’ll have to earn this.”
“I’m ready,” I breathed, hope blooming in my chest as she picked up the ring again.
“Good.” She slipped it onto her right hand, not her ring finger, but wearing it nonetheless. Progress. Small, careful progress, but I’d take it.
She stared at the ring on her hand for a moment, then at me still on my knees. The air between us shifted, charged with possibility.
“It’s beautiful,” she admitted softly.
I leaned forward slightly, drawn to her like gravity. “Not as beautiful as you.”
“Still cheesy,” she murmured, but she was leaning toward me too, the space between us shrinking.
“You love it,” I challenged.
“Maybe,” she conceded, her hand coming up to cup my jaw. “Maybe I missed it.”
“What else did you miss?” I asked, my voice rasping lower than I meant it to, already knowing the answer.
Her thumb dragged slowly over my cheekbone. “I’m not telling you that. Your ego’s big enough.”
“My ego’s been thoroughly crushed, thanks,” I said, eyes dropping to her mouth. “I could use some rebuilding.”
“Poor Alpha,” she whispered, her tone teasing, but her other hand slid into my hair, curling at the roots. She leaned in until her lips barely brushed mine, her breath hot and quick. “Whatever shall we do about that?”
Then she kissed me like she meant to brand her mouth on mine, her tongue thrusting between my lips like she remembered exactly how I tasted and wanted it again. We barely made it to the table. I kicked a chair out of the way and slammed her up against the wood, fingers yanking her dress up her thighs until I saw what I was after.
