It was finally over. Sage would be safe, and we could be together.
If… if she wanted to be.
I’d never be able to erase the shock on her face once she learned who I really was from my memory. Maybe it was in my imagination, but I swore I could have picked up a hint of disgust, too.
Sage was a good girl. Like, a real good girl. Certainly not the kind who’d ever want to become a mafia queen.
For all I knew, she could give me a heartfelt thank you and then bum a ride to Cindralis and wash her hands of this whole “mate” business, and honestly, I wouldn’t blame her.
As we left the city, my adrenaline finally wearing off and making way for the full extent of the pain, my mind cleared enough that I realized I was meeting her at the same rest stop where we’d kissed. Where she’d all but admitted to me that she’d wanted a taste of a real mate bond before going back to the one forced upon her by that narcissistic bloodsucker.
I snorted to myself. “Hey, can you turn on some music?”
“Sure thing, boss. Any preferences?”
I exhaled, watching the night air suck up the cloud of smoke. “Anything but jazz.”
* * *
My heart was beating so fast as we approached the rest stop, I thought I might pass out. The injuries I’d sustained in the fight definitely weren’t helping.
Pretty sure I’d cracked a rib or two. And I was probably concussed.
The parking lot was nearly empty, but I found the twins’ bubblegum pink Fairy at the far end, the color too bright to hide in the shadows from the surrounding trees.
And people thought my car was tacky?
The grunt pulled to a stop right beside it, and I willed myself to calm down. To not rush and hurt Sage in my excitement. Not like last time when I’d been in a full rut.
Slow, steady, and safe.
I opened the door, and before I could even step out, her slim figure tackled me back into the car, planting kisses on my face in between the words she half spoke, half sobbed.
“Ronan! Oh Hecara, I was so scared for you! Why did you do that? And why didn’t you tell me who you really were? I’m so happy! I’m so mad at you!”
All I could do was hold on, chuckling and kissing her back. Fuck, she smelled so good. Felt so right in my arms. “I’m so sorry my dumb ass made that deal. That my dumb ass couldn’t figure it out until it was too late. I’ll spend the rest of my life making it up to you, I promise.”
Both exhausted, we finally just collapsed, breathing each other in and letting the mate bond finally start to connect and settle.
Green apples.
Mine.
Fuck. If I died right now, I wouldn’t even be mad. I’d never felt better in my whole Ravaric-damned life. I had a mate, and she was perfect.
“Just promise me you’ll never make a demon deal again,” she whimpered.
“Don’t think I can,” I chuckled, nuzzling the side of her head.
That was what demons gave up when they found their mates—once we officially claimed each other, she’d be the official owner of my soul.
I couldn’t wait.
We stayed like that for who knew how long, the grunt and other hunters giving us some much needed privacy to just be together.
I rubbed my hands up and down her arms, like if I stopped touching her she might disappear. She meanwhile buried her face into my neck, taking greedy gulps of my scent as her body calmed, nuzzling me like I was her favorite drug and she’d just taken a hit.
Paradise, greater than any I’d ever known.
