Returning his attention to Chloe, he caught a glimpse of the large screen that was showing clips of Daniel Drayton’s life, and scrolling at the top and bottom were the familiar alpha-numerical IDs of his brothers and sisters that he’d tattooed on his legs so they’d always be remembered.
Shock momentarily froze him before his eyes flew to the balcony. The others had noticed too. The general, Kong, Lark, Leo – all of them were on their feet, standing at attention, their hand at theirforehead in a crisp salute. Hot tears gathered in Erik’s eyes. Chloe sang this piece, not just for the friend she’d lost, but for him, the other Beasts, and those of them who hadn’t lived long enough to taste freedom. He couldn’t think of a better way to honor them.
Erik hadn’t planned on going out there, possibly drawing attention with his scarred face. He thought, after Chloe and the others took their bows, he might send Bruce out with the flowers he’d gotten for her – he knew she’d get a kick out of that – but when the performance was over, the audience on their feet, applauding, his feet were moving, bringing him closer to her. He didn’t care who saw him. Chloe was all that mattered. All he saw. They may as well have been alone.
He took her into his arms, and she smiled up at him. “You are amazing,” he breathed.
She raised her hand, cupping his cheek lovingly, and he turned his face into it to kiss her palm. “I love you so much, Chloe. Marry me.”
The words just came out. Unplanned. Unrehearsed. He didn’t even have a ring, but it felt like the perfect moment. Like the stars had aligned, just for them.
Her face was luminous. “Yes.”
Bruce let out a lowwoofof approval, and she laughed softly before repeating. “Yes. I’ll marry you, Erik.”
Chapter Thirty
“You don’t have todo this,” Chloe told Erik for what felt like the hundredth time. He was lying on a gurney prepped for surgery, and she was by his side, holding his hand. “I love you just the way you are.”
He gently squeezed her fingers. “I know you do, and that love is the most precious gift I’ve ever received, but I need to do this for me.”
She nodded rapidly, her chin quivering as her eyes welled with tears. “Come back to me, Erik.”
“Always.” His mouth quirked with a smile. “This time, I’m the one with a protection detail. They’ll make sure nothing goes wrong.”
Lark and Kong were dressed to go into the operating room with him, wearing scrubs, some sort of paper smock, gloves, caps covering their hair, and booties on their feet. They shouldn’t have looked intimidating, but somehow, they did.
“We won’t let anything happen to him,” Lark promised, while Kong let out a deep rumble of agreement.
“It’s time,” Paige announced. She was a nurse, and she’d be assisting Doctor Fernandez. Erik had plenty of people in his corner watching over him.
Leaning down, Chloe kissed him as a tear spilled over. “I’ll be right here. Waiting.”
As they wheeled him into the OR with his escort on either side, Chloe called out, “I love you!”
“I love you, too! See you soon.”
The doors closed behind him, and Chloe hugged her arms around herself.
“He’s going to be fine,” Jayla said, coming to stand beside her. “He heals way faster than I do.” She had graduated to a cane to help with mobility as her spine continued to recover. The doctors were optimistic that within another week or two, she’d be able to discard that as well. The fetal cell procedure had worked a miracle.
Jayla motioned to a chair with a look of inquiry, and nodding, Chloe took a seat. Jayla settled into the one next to her and placed the cane between her knees. “How’s Bruce?”
“All my worrying was upsetting him, so Leo took him outside to play fetch.”
Jayla chuckled a bit. “Knowing Leo, they’ll both be exhausted after and need a nap.”
Chloe nodded, but her eyes were on the doors again as she imagined what was happening right now in that operating room.
“So, I heard Doctor Dietrich is Erik’s mom.”
Another absent nod. Was Erik already asleep?
“Well, I’m a bit miffed. Here’s the juiciest bit of gossip to hit Black Bay in like forever, and does Kong tell me? Noooo, he tells Lynx. Lynx! I’m supposed to be Black Bay’s gossip queen, and she gets to spread the story of the year!”
Chloe dragged her attention away from the door and her imaginings of what was happening inside to shoot Jayla a confused frown. “What?”
The other woman waved away the question and leaned in slightly. “So are you going to invite her to the wedding?”
