This isn’t possessiveness,she realized.This is devotion. This is what I’ve been searching for my entire life without even knowing it.
“I care about you so fiercely it scares me,” she admitted. “I can’t imagine a life without you in it now. But after today—” She hesitated, old insecurities rising. “I don’t think your pride wants me around. The attack proved that.”
His expression darkened, alpha authority bleeding through his vulnerability. “That wasn’t my pride rejecting you. That was an orchestrated attack from an enemy. I have a strong suspicion Damian sent those rogues to scare you away from me so he could position himself as your savior.”
Fury blazed through her at the thought of such calculated manipulation. “That bastard could never be half the man you are. If his plan was to scare me away, it backfired spectacularly. It only made me realize how much I want you.”
She leaned forward then, capturing his lips in a kiss that tasted of salt and promises and the kind of forever she’d never believed in before. When they broke apart, she pressed her forehead against his.
“I want to see where this future takes us,” she whispered. “I want the mate bond, and I want you. Forever if possible.”
FOURTEEN
LEANDER
Leander’s world tilted on its axis as Camille’s words echoed through the library’s golden silence.
She’s choosing the mate bond. She’s choosing me. She wants forever.
The disbelief crashed through him like a tidal wave, drowning twelve years of carefully constructed emotional barriers in an instant. Her forehead remained pressed against his, their breaths mingling in the intimate space between them, and he could feel the tremor in her hands where they still gripped his fingers. She was here, kneeling before him in the chair where he’d expected to sit alone with his ghosts, offering him everything he’d convinced himself he could never have.
I thought she would run.The admission blazed through his consciousness with brutal honesty.I thought when she found me here she would ask to leave. I thought she finally saw what everyone else sees—a dangerous man who destroys everything he touches.
But she hadn’t recoiled when he’d laid his soul bare, hadn’t flinched when he’d confessed to taking Martin’s life with his father’s bronze letter opener. Instead, she’d called his actions right, necessary, the only choice a man could make in thatimpossible moment. The validation hit him like lightning, searing away years of guilt and self-recrimination that had festered in the dark corners of his heart.
Only my mother ever said that to me before,he realized, wonder threading through his thoughts.Everyone else whispered about alternatives, about what I could have done differently. But Camille sees the truth.
His lion purred with satisfaction deep in his chest, recognizing the acceptance that had eluded them both for so long. This woman—his mate—understood the primal necessity of protection, even when it required violence. She didn’t see him as a monster but as a man who’d made an impossible choice and lived with the consequences.
“Camille,” he breathed, her name a prayer on his lips.
The weight of her decision settled over him like a benediction, and for the first time in twelve years, the future stretched ahead bright with possibility instead of shadowed by isolation.
But even as euphoria flooded his system, his protective instincts demanded honesty. She deserved to know exactly what she was choosing, what completing their bond would mean for both of them.
“You need to understand,” he said, his voice roughening with the gravity of what he was about to reveal. “Choosing the mate bond—accepting my mark—it can’t be undone once it’s complete. It will change you in ways you can’t stop or reverse.”
Her blue eyes searched his face, curiosity replacing any trace of fear. “What do you mean?”
Leander’s hands moved to frame her face, his thumbs tracing the delicate line of her cheekbones as he spoke. “Once the bond is complete, you’ll feel my emotions as if they were your own. When I’m angry, you’ll taste that rage on your tongue. When I’mcontent, that peace will settle in your bones. And I’ll experience yours the same way.”
Her lips parted slightly, but she didn’t pull away.
“More than that,” he continued, his alpha nature demanding complete transparency, “we’ll be able to communicate telepathically. You’ll hear my thoughts when I direct them to you, and I’ll hear yours. We’ll be so intimately connected that even when we’re apart, it will feel like we’re together. Distance becomes meaningless when our souls are intertwined.”
He watched her absorb this information, prepared for her hesitation or second thoughts. Instead, a slow smile spread across her features, transforming her from beautiful to radiant.
“I’m not afraid of that closeness,” she said with quiet certainty. “Sure, I wouldn’t want that with any other person. But with you, it feels like the next natural step—something I’ve always hoped I’d have with my future husband. Real love and connection I was deprived of my entire life.”
She’s not just accepting what I am and the bond that comes with it—she’s embracing it.
A smile broke across his face, broader and more genuine than any expression he’d worn in years. Joy, pure and uncomplicated, flooded his system as his lion roared with triumphant satisfaction.
“I cannot wait a moment longer then,” he declared, alpha authority bleeding through his voice as he rose from the chair, bringing her up with him. His hands remained cupped around her face, holding her gaze as the promise of their future blazed between them. “I want to mark you now, Camille. I want to make you mine in every way that matters.”
The air in the library seemed to shimmer with promise, and Leander knew he would remember this moment—the scent of old books, the dappled afternoon light through the windows, the absolute certainty in her blue eyes—for the rest of his life.
Mine. Finally.
