“That’s the wrong direction,” I said, pointing the other way.
He kept going.
We broke through the tree line into a moonlit meadow. Silver grass swayed in the breeze. The quiet was a stark contrast after the noise of the compound.
Feral stopped and dropped to his belly.
I slid off, my shoes sinking into soft grass.
He shifted.
Acorn hopped to the ground and scampered toward the tree line.A squirrel knows when to become a tree.He hurried into the woods and disappeared.
I turned to ask Feral what we were doing here only to find him down on one bended knee, looking up at me with so much hope it made my chest ache.
My brain stuttered to a halt.
“Marry me,” he croaked.
“We’re already married.”
“Yes.” He took my hand. “But that was arranged.”
I waited, my heartbeat loud in my ears.
“This is real.” He stroked my knuckles. “I want to do it again. Properly this time. With words I chose instead of words someone handed me.”
All logic fled my mind. We were legally bound. The ceremony had been completed. There was no practical reason to repeat it.
Except there was.
I looked at him for a long moment. He didn’t rush me, just stayed on one knee in the moonlit grass with my hand in his.
“You picked flowers,” I said.
“I forgot to add water the first time.”
“You learned.”
“I’ll keep learning.” He paused. “If you’ll have me.”
“Yes.”
He stood, sweeping me up and spinning me around while I laughed into his shoulder. When he set me down, we were both grinning.
“Vows,” he said. “Real ones this time.”
I nodded.
I went first because I was a researcher and I’d been collecting evidence for weeks and I was prepared.
“I vow to investigate you as thoroughly as I investigate everything else.” My voice came out steady. “To share what I find. To tell you when your plans have variable errors and when they’re sound. To be the other anchor when the structure requires more than one.”
I paused, a smile pulling at my mouth. “And to always add water to the flowers.”
His expression softened in a way that made my heart spasm.
“I vow to hunt beside you,” he said. “To carry you up stairs you’re perfectly capable of climbing yourself. To learn what you like before you have to ask. To be the male who runs to you when his wolf won’t settle. To always pick the right bread and ensure your tea is at the right temperature. And to choose you again every day regardless of what a ceremony says.”
