Her smirk brightens the room. “Because I finally see you as more than a murder-hungry-asshole and twice now, I’ve run into your arms like I need you more than life itself?”
“That helps, yes.” I hold her tighter as a soft chuckle escapes me.
“Seriously, though.” Her head shakes, and it seems to be in amazement as her prism-like eyes stare up at me. “It’s almost indescribable. I feelyou. The bond, the tether, therightness of being right here in your arms. It’s…home. Unlike anything I’ve ever known. I don’t understand it, but I know I can trust it.”
I swear the floor shifts beneath me.
Her words hit harder than any blow I’ve ever taken. They strip me open and fill me all at once. I don’t trust my voice—not when every instinct inside me is howling to mark her, claim her, sink my teeth into her skin and announce to the world that she’s mine.
But it’s not the time. Rowan’s close, but I refuse to push her even a breath faster than she wants to go.
So, I hold her like she’s something holy, something I was never meant to touch, and yet somehow get to.
I press a slow kiss to the top of her head. “I’ll always be your home,” I whisper against her hair. “Whenever you need me. However you need me.”
And for the first time since she disappeared, I feel steady again.
She glances over my shoulder, scanning the room for something—or someone—until her gaze lands back on me. “That wolf shifter book Iris gave me didn’t really go into details of what being mates really entails. I’d like to ask some questions if that’s okay.”
She’s giving us the opportunity to teach her, my wolf practically purrs.
He’s been quiet since we found her—coiled and watchful—but I know that’s not disinterest. It’s restraint. Instinct clawing against control.
“Anything you want to know,” I say, taking her hand, “I’ll tell you.”
We sit on the bed together, but she pauses before speaking again, a crease between her brows. “Where’s Archie?”
“Sleeping on the chair.” I nod toward the corner. The ferret is curled in a tiny ball, unmoving except for the slow rise and fall of his small body as he breathes.
She smiles softly. There’s no uncertainty about her any longer. Just a woman ready to understand something that had previously terrified her since the day she was told it existed.
Rowan places a hand over her heart briefly. “Is it normal to feel you even when you’re not touching me? It wasn’t like this before, but now, it’s almost like you’re inside my head. Not speaking. More like a presence there.”
A warmth blooms low in my chest, matching the bond’s pulse—a physical echo of her recognition.
“Yeah,” I murmur. “That’s our connection settling and strengthening. It was strained while you were gone—stretched, but not broken. Now that we’re together again, it’s anchoring itself. What you’re feeling now? That’s a preview. And it isn’t even close to what it will be like when the bond is complete.”
Her eyes widen slightly, searching my face with a curious gaze. “Like when we have sex?”
She’s not holding back tonight. If she were anyone else, I might be the uncomfortable one.
I shake my head, then shrug. “Sex strengthens the bond, yes. But it’s the bite that completes it. We could be fully bound without ever having sex, if that’s what you needed.”
She lets out a harsh laugh. “Let’s not gothatfar. I’m a woman with needs after all.”
Thank the gods for that.
Then she lifts a brow. “Just not constantly. And I do have some control over my hormones, thank you very much.”
I take that as Rowan-language for:Don’t even think about ittonight.
Heat colors her cheeks—not embarrassment, but something hopeful. “So, the pull I feel? Wanting to be close to you? That’s normal, too?”
“Normal,” I murmur, leaning down until our foreheads touch, “and mutual. I assure you.”
Her breath shivers against my lips. “I used to think the bond would make me feel trapped. Like I’d lose myself inside it.”
“And now?”
