‘This is a surprise,’ I confirmed happily. The birds in my room switched their song to something more excitable as Wyn moved gracefully from the branches of the tree to my balconyand I hastily ran my fingers through my bedhead, biting colour into my lips.
‘A good one I hope.’
‘The very best.’
For a moment, I was transported back. Kneeling on my window seat, smiling at my sweetheart, the moon and stars dancing in the night sky behind him. It wasn’t so long since the first time he’d climbed the tree to watch the night pass by my side but at the same time it was forever ago. A month and a lifetime all at once. It was too easy and too quick, the way the world changed, and rarely for the better.
‘You could’ve come to the front door,’ I said, pulling the oversized Atlanta Braves jersey I loved to sleep in down over my thighs as I climbed out the window to join him.
‘And risk waking Ashley?’ He chuckled lightly and accepted the pillow I handed to him. ‘Besides, this is our tradition.’
Inching along the balcony until my bare legs were touching his denim clad-thighs, I rested my head on his shoulder, sighing with happiness when he draped an arm around me, both of us leaning back against my pillows. Sleep could wait. The warmth of his body and the soft humidity gave me a tender sense of security I hadn’t felt in forever.
‘Couldn’t let the universe steal all of our first day back together,’ Wyn said with a sigh that was almost a purr. ‘Wouldn’t be right.’
‘Agreed,’ I replied.
‘I spoke with my mom.’
His words hung heavy in the air.
‘And?’
I felt him shift at the side of me, tense for a second, before he sagged, touching his lips to the top of my head.
‘They didn’t believe me. Hard to explain how come I’m so certain there was a Were in Savannah when I wasn’t aroundand no one here is supposed to know we exist. This is witch territory, no pack members in the city limits.’
‘They couldn’t feel it?’ I asked, recoiling at the memory of its magic, the shockwaves that almost took me off my feet.
‘Magic, yes. A Were, no.’
A shiver of alarm threatened my peace.
‘Don’t worry,’ he said, my head nestled under his chin. ‘I said I’d look into it, Mom said OK. Doesn’t help us with your lone wolf though.’
But I was still anxious. The Weres had sensed magic rising here before I ever arrived. Catherine was gone but I wasn’t. If they came looking for the source, if they sent more of the pack to the city … I gripped his thigh, the solid muscle underneath his jeans yielding to my touch.
‘Should I be worried? Should I send Ashley out of town for safety? What about—’
‘Hey, Em, don’t.’ He brushed his thumb over my bottom lip. ‘I know there are a mountain of problems to figure out, but right now everything is OK. If it’s only for tonight, I want to forget about the rest of it and be with you.’
Days that turned into weeks and weeks that felt like decades had passed since we’d last been together like this. Things were more complicated now, perhaps they always would be, but when he carelessly raked his fingers through my hair, twisting the waves at the nape of my neck around his hand, I dissolved, all my worries and fears melting away for another day. There wasn’t a fraction of my being that understood how Emma Catherine’s prophecy could come to pass. Why would anyone choose to end existence when love this pure existed in the world? Surrendering to his touch, I lay my head against his chest and luxuriated in the steady sound of his heartbeat.
‘Can I ask you something?’
‘Anything.’
‘Do you feel different?’ I asked, leaning closer into him, running my hand up and down his arm, from shoulder to wrist, marvelling at the lines of his bicep and triceps, the turn of his forearm. ‘Since you phased with the pack?’
‘Yes,’ Wyn admitted. ‘Everything is amplified. I’m stronger, faster. I feel more tuned in, like I’m always on my third coffee, if that makes sense.’
‘It sounds familiar.’
He pressed another kiss to the top of my head and I let myself relax deeper into him.
‘It’s still new. I have a lot to learn, some parts of the phase start slow and get stronger over time, but the connection to the rest of the pack?’ His heart began to thud a little faster. ‘I always felt like I was on the outside of my family. Now I’m a part of something so much bigger and it’s overwhelming, in a good way. Do you know what I mean?’
‘Yes and no.’
