“You don’t owe anybody anything,” she tells me. “All you need to do is be yourself. After all, that’s the man I fell in love with. Not once, but twice.”
“You’ve got good taste,” I tease, winking at her.
“Of course I do,” she says, giving herself kudos. “I’ve always been smarter than people have given me credit for.”
“I can’t deny that,” I say in agreement. “You’ve surprised a lot of people once you found your voice.”
“And that voice will never be hindered again,” she swears.
“I’ll beat anyone up who tries to suppress you,” I promise. “I may have a lot to atone for when it comes to you, but you’ll never have to worry about anyone stepping on you as long as I’m around.”
“When it comes to me and what happened to me, there’s nothing you need to find redemption for. You didn’t do those things tome, Harrison. The blame needs to be put on the shoulders of those who violated me, not you.”
“I still feel responsible, Zoey. I was your man, it was my duty and honor to keep you safe,” I contend.
“I didn’t give you a chance,” she reminds me. “I hid from the outside world before packing my things and running. I didn’t even tell you I was attending a party that Halloween. I was shocked and stunned to be invited seeing I was viewed as an outcast amongst my peers that I couldn’t see past that bewilderment to consider I was being set up. I thought, for once, I was seen and it was nice not to feel so invisible.”
“You were skittish back then, as if you were always waiting for a shoe to drop. It took me forever to get you to agree to a date with me,” I say, remembering how hard I worked to get her to give me a shot. Pulling my own teeth without Novocain would’ve been a more pleasant experience. She made me work for it, but I was determined to make her mine and won in the long run.
She shakes her head and closes her eyes. When she opens them back up, I see the myriad of emotions inside of them, misty eyes are peering back at me and it has me clenching my fists. I wish more than anything that I could bring her folks back from the dead and kill them all over again for making her shed a tear. “That’s because I wasn’t sure how my parents would react. I was forbidden to go on dates and was never allowed to go out without them escorting me. Which should’ve been my first clue something was up when they agreed that night to let me attend the party.”
“Fuck, Zoey, you’re so goddamn strong that I’m in awe of you. You climbed your way out from the depths of Hell and made it your bitch. I love you, baby.”
“I love you too,” she says, leaning forward and placing her forehead against mine. “I’m stronger now than I was back then and I’ll never be taken advantage of by those I trust because those are thesamepeople who have my back. The Kings and you have become my shield, and that feels amazing because I know I’ll never be slayed again.”
“Never,” I affirm. “We surround you on all sides, nobody will ever get past our barrier to get to you.”
“So you see it now, don’t you? My strength comes from you, Harrison. You hold me up when I fall and keep me steady on my feet.”
“Our love is epic,” I declare.
“Our love is powerful,” she amends.
“Just like you, Zoey.”
“No,” she denies, “just like us, working together as a team.”
“Together, we can conquer anything,” I state.
She lifts up her glass of sparkling cider and makes a toast, “To us. To our future. To our family.” As I clink my beer bottle to her tumbler, peace settles over me.
Things may still be up in the air where the Onyx Dragons are concerned, but as long as I have her by my side, nothing can defeat me.
We will be victorious.
She may think I’m her strength, but in all honesty, she’s mine.
My everything.
My life.
My forever.
My soulmate.
CHAPTER
ELEVEN
