My chest tightens, dragging me right back to that moment. I close my eyes, take a slow breath, then look at her. “You died in my arms.” She stills.
“That’s when everything changed. I stopped fighting my wolf and let him take over. I felt it too. The pain… then nothing.”
The air stills between us.
“And when I opened my eyes again,” I continue, voice low and steady, “I saw you take down two warriors with precision.”
She turns her head slightly, looking at me now.
“We weren’t brought back for revenge. We were brought back because what happened to us wasn’t supposed to happen. But that doesn’t mean we get to make the same mistakes. If we follow the same path… we die again.”
Silence settles deeper.
“You were there,” she says quietly. “The whole time.”
“You weren’t fighting alone. You just didn’t see me.”
Her gaze shifts, something clicking into place. “And the pack?”
My jaw tightens. “They let it happen. My family. The elders. All of them.” The water stills around us. “If this pack stands the same way it did before, I’ll tear it down myself.”
She turns fully in my arms. “You won’t.”
I go still. “Don’t tell me what I…”
“You won’t,” she repeats, softer now. “Because I’ll stop you before it gets that far. Not for them… for you.” Her hand rests over mine. “That pack… the Silver Moon Pack… it’s still yours. Your wolves. Your blood. You love them.”
The tension lingers.
“And that’s exactly what got us killed.”
Her breath catches.
“I let it go. I trusted them. I didn’t act when I should have.” My gaze locks onto hers. “I’m not doing that again.”
My hand comes up, steady against her jaw. “I’m not holding back this time.”
A pause.
“If it comes down to you… or them…” I don’t hesitate.
“I choose you. Every time.”
It’s not uncertainty.
It’s alignment.
When the water begins to cool, I help her out, wrapping her in a thick towel before drying myself. We return to the bedroom where I change the sheets one-handed, unwilling to let go of her completely.
Once we’re settled in bed, her body curved against mine, I feel her tension return slightly.
She shifts to look up at me, and my breath catches. Her eyes flare silver in the dim light, her wolf close to the surface, awakened fully by our bond.
“What happens now?” she asks, her voice small in the darkness.
“Now we rest,” I answer, stroking her hair. “Tomorrow will come soon enough. There is much to discuss.”
“There’s something you’re not telling me,” she says softly.
