I smiled across at her. “You are worth everything to me, Ellie. I don't regret it. Not for a second."
She searched my face, her eyes bright and uncertain. Through the bond, I felt confusion tangling with gratitude, and beneath it all, guilt she couldn't quite name. She thought she'd stolen something from me. Taken my home, my pack, my future.
She didn't understand yet.
"Daska," she whispered. "Your pack—"
"Will be fine without me." I squeezed her hand. "They have Rivik. They have each other. And I have you."
"But you—"
"I chose this." My voice came out rougher than I intended, and I had to stop, had to breathe through the sudden tightness in my chest. "Whichever path you chose, Ellie, mine was always going to lead away from the pack. I knew that the moment I agreed to be your mate. I knew what it would cost, and I chose it anyway. It wasn’t a hard decision."
She shook her head, and I pulled her into my arms, looking down at her.
"You are my home now," I said quietly. "Wherever you go, that's where I belong."
Her breath caught, and this time the tears did come, sliding silently down her cheeks. I reached out and brushed them away with my thumb, my heart aching at the sight of them.
"I didn't ask you to do that," she whispered.
"I know." I pulled her close, wrapping my arms around her and holding her tight. "You didn't have to. You’ll never have to ask."
She buried her face against my chest, her hands fisting in my shirt, and through the bond I felt everything she couldn't say. Gratitude and grief and a desperate, terrified hope that maybe, just maybe, we could make this work.
I held her until her breathing steadied, until the trembling stopped, until the bond settled into something warm and sure between us. When she finally pulled back, her eyes were red but dry, and her smile was small but real.
"Good?"
"Good." She nodded, more firmly this time. "Let's go, before the others catch us up and see me carrying on like this."
We walked for another hour before I heard it. Another large animal was nearby, I was sure of it. A prickle of awareness that crawled up my spine and set every instinct I had screaming.
I stopped abruptly, my hand shooting out to catch Ellie's arm.
"What—" she started, but I shook my head, cutting her off.
Behind us, Dev tensed. "What is it?"
I didn't answer. I was already scanning the treeline, my eyes moving over every shadow, every flicker of movement. The forest had gone too quiet. No birds. No insects. Just the wind and the distant rustle of something moving through the underbrush.
Something big.
"Stay behind me," I said quietly.
"Daska?"
"Behind me. Now."
Ellie moved without argument, her hand finding the back of my shirt. Through the bond, I felt her fear spike, sharp and cold, but she stayed silent. Trusted me.
Nathan moved to my side, his eyes darting between the trees. "What the hell is out there?"
Ellie didn’t bother to translate. His meaning was obvious.
I didn't know. Couldn't tell yet. But the scent was… familiar.
The underbrush rustled again, closer this time, and I shifted my weight, ready to fight or run depending on what came through those trees.
