"It seems Abernathy and his men were as clueless as the rest of the world." He gave Declan a rough, unsympathetic shake. The male was still moaning pitifully, blood streaming from his broken nose. I hoped Ellie crushed his balls. "I'm going to give this sack of shit to Adtovar, then I'll start arranging to get you two back to Washington."
"Thank you, Cullen," I extended my hand in the human gesture of greeting and gratitude, gripping his hand firmly.
He gave Declan another shake, smirking with dark satisfaction. "My pleasure."
Cullen walked off, dragging a stumbling Declan behind him. I watched for a moment, savoring the sight of his defeat, then turned to pull Ellie into my arms with a grateful groan. She slipped her arms around my waist, holding tightly, her face pressed against my chest.
I pulled back just enough to look at her face, really look at her, and something in my chest cracked wide open, like ice breaking under heat. "Goddess, you're amazing. You're so fucking amazing, Ellie. My mate..." The word came out reverent, awed, like a prayer. "My fierce, brilliant mate."
Her eyes widened, her lips parting in surprise, her breath catching. "What did you just say?"
For a second, I wasn't sure which part she meant, which word had caught her attention. Then I saw the way she gazed at me, the way her expression softened despite the residual chaos still raging around us, despite the smoke and bodies and the smell of death, and I knew.
"My mate," I said again, more firmly this time, my hands cupping her face, feeling the warmth of her skin against my palms. "You're my mate, Ellie."
"What does that mean?" she whispered, her voice trembling slightly, her eyes searching mine with an intensitythat made my heart stutter. "Being your mate, what does that mean, Rickon?"
I swallowed hard, trying to find the right words, the ones that would make her understand the magnitude of what I was saying, what I was offering her. "It means everything," I said roughly, my thumbs stroking her cheekbones. "It means you're mine and I'm yours, in every way that matters. It means I would burn the universe to ash to keep you safe. That I would die for you without hesitation, that every breath I take is better because you exist."
Her breath hitched, tears gathering in her eyes, making them shine like stars.
"It means," I continued, my voice dropping lower, more intimate, "that when I look at you, I see my future. My home. The other half of my soul that I didn't even realize was missing until I found you." I pressed my forehead against hers, closing my eyes, breathing her in. "Among my people, a mate bond is sacred. It's permanent. It's choosing someone above all others, for all time. It's a connection that goes deeper than blood, deeper than anything else in this world or any other."
"Rickon," she breathed, and I heard the emotion thick in her voice, felt it in the way she trembled against me.
"You don't have to say anything right now," I told her quickly, opening my eyes to meet hers again. I needed her to understand that I wasn't demanding anything, wasn't pressuring her despite the urgency thrumming through my veins.
She surged up on her toes and kissed me.
"My mate," she whispered against my lips, the words barely audible but hitting me with the force of a supernova. "You're my mate too, Rickon."
Everything inside me went still, then ignited. My soul howled in triumph, in recognition, in absolute certainty.
"Say it again," I growled, my hands tightening on her waist, pulling her flush against me.
"My mate," she repeated, stronger this time, her eyes blazing with the same fierce certainty I felt burning through my veins. "Mine."
I crushed my mouth to hers, pouring everything I felt into that kiss. All the fear I'd carried watching her walk into danger, all the pride at seeing her stand her ground, all the overwhelming love that had been building in my chest since the moment I'd met her. Her lips were soft and warm beneath mine, yielding and demanding all at once, and she tasted like hope and home and forever.
She made a soft sound against my mouth, her fingers tangling in my hair, pulling me closer even though there was no space left between us. The kiss deepened, became something more primal, more claiming. This wasn't the tentative exploration of new lovers, this was recognition, soul-deep and absolute. This was two halves finally becoming whole.
Around us, the hangar settled into controlled chaos. Warriors securing prisoners, Cullen barking orders, but none of it mattered. Not in this moment. In this moment, there was only her, only us.
My mate.
Mine.
Forever.
Chapter 17
Ellie
I stood before the Senate Oversight Committee, my hands clasped behind my back, hoping I projected the confidence of someone who had just saved the nation. Every reckless message, every inflammatory post, every diplomatic disaster that Declan orchestrated while masquerading as me, with Alliance help, I'd reframed as an elaborate counterintelligence operation designed to flush out a terrorist cell operating within the government. The one thing we didn't think anyone would buy was that he'd replaced me with a doppelganger, so I took responsibility for every word that came out of Declan's mouth while he pretended to be me.
"The statements were calculated," I explained, my voice steady despite the weight of a dozen skeptical gazes. "Each one designed to force the enemy's hand, to make him reveal himself."
The committee members exchanged uncertain glances, Declan was known as a philanthropist billionaire after all, but the dossier Xytol compiled, complete with carefully fabricated metadata and communication intercepts, corroborated my story.
