I could deny it. Could claim he was delirious. Could buy more time.
But there’s no point. We both know the truth.
“Yes.” The word comes out firm. Clear. “You’re my mate.”
His expression shifts. Something vulnerable and powerful at once.
“I was confused for so long,” I continue. “Everything got muddled with Chance’s death. With the guilt and the grief and the anger. I didn’t know how to separate what I felt for you from everything else.” I step closer. “But now I know. My wolf knows. You’re mine.”
“What about Chance?” He asks it gently. “How does this—us—affect that?”
The question deserves honesty. Complete honesty.
“Chance is dead.” The words are painful but true. “But I’m alive. You didn’t pull the trigger, and you didn’t send him into danger knowing it would kill him specifically. You operated under orders to fight a battle you believed in, just as Chance did. You were both soldiers following commands from leadership you trusted.” I reach up. Touch his face. “War is the real enemyhere. And the evil men who put good men into battle for their own ends. Those men killed Chance, not you.”
He closes his eyes. Breathes like I’ve lifted a weight he’s been carrying.
“I forgive you,” I say quietly. “For whatever part you played. For the order you gave that led to his death. I forgive you because you’re not the monster I thought you were. You’re a good man who made terrible choices in service of what you believed was right. And you’re trying to be better now.”
When he opens his eyes, they’re shining with emotion. “You’re sure.”
“I’m sure.”
“I knew from the beginning,” he says. “Before we even met. I was being transported to Aurora in a convoy. We were moving through the mountains, and I felt like we were being watched. Then I saw a wolf. Gray and silver. Watching us from the ridge.” He cups my face. “It was you. I didn’t know it then. But my dragon did. He recognized you even from that distance.”
The memory surfaces. The day I’d seen him in the Aurora convoy. Watched the dragon prisoner they were transporting. Felt something pull at me when I looked at him.
“I remember,” I whisper. “I felt it too. I just fought it. It’s been so complicated, you know? Not just Chance, but…” My lips twitch wryly. “You’re a dragon. It was… unexpected.”
“Species doesn’t matter—dragon, wolf, human. When two souls are meant to be, they know.” His thumbs brush my cheekbones. “You’re mine. I’m yours. Nothing else matters.”
The certainty in his voice breaks something open in my chest. All the resistance. All the denial. It floods out and leaves only truth.
“Kiss me,” I whisper.
He does. Gentle at first. Like he’s still afraid I’ll pull away. But I don’t. I press closer. Deepen the kiss. Pour everything I’ve been holding back into it.
His hands slide into my hair. Mine find his shoulders. The kiss turns hungry. Desperate. Weeks of denial and restraint burning away. We’re breathless when we break apart.
“Come with me,” I say. Take his hand. Lead him toward my sleeping area.
We move slowly now, the urgency shifting to something deeper. More deliberate. My heart is in my throat, because I know. I know… This isn’t just sex. This is claiming. Mating. Forever.
By the bed, we undress each other. Careful. Taking time. His shirt first. He towers over me as I run my hands over his chest. The healed wounds. The scars. Proof of what he survived.
He pulls my shirt over my head. Unhooks my bra. His hands cup my breasts. Thumbs brushing my nipples until they harden.
We remove the rest. Stand bare before each other. Taking in what we’re about to claim.
“There’s still time to change your mind,” he says. “Once we do this, once we exchange marks—”
“Jericho… my love,” I feel my eyes moisten. “You know this is just a formality, right? Even if we don’t do this, I’m yours. Will always be yours.” I pull him toward the bed. “Mark me. I want people to see it.”
“And you’ll mark me?”
“Yes.” I nod. We’re both ready. Both done fighting what we’ve known since the beginning.
We move onto the bed. He lays me back gently. Follows me down. His weight settles over me. Familiar and right.
