Page 121 of My Undead Love Life

Luck let out a quiet, awkward huff of laughter. It cracked strangely in the tense room.

Keith looked back at me again. “…and you still want me?”

My heart cracked. I stepped forward immediately and grabbed his face gently. “Always.”

His eyes closed for half a second. “I don’t know how to do this,” he admitted quietly.

“Neither do I.”

“I dreamed about finding you,” he whispered. “A thousand times. I thought about what I’d say. What I’d do. I thought I’d hold you and never let go.” His gaze flicked briefly toward the others. “I didn’t imagine this part.”

Tears burned my eyes again. “I know.”

“I’m not mad that you survived,” he said, voice rough. “I need you to know that. I’m not mad that they loved you while I couldn’t get to you.”

A tear slipped down my cheek.

“But it hurts,” he admitted.

“I know.”

“And I’m probably going to be weird about it for a while.”

A broken laugh escaped me. “That’s fair.”

Keith’s thumb brushed the tear from my cheek. Then, his eyes moved past me to Mad, Luck, and Oxi. “You love her?”

Mad answered first with zero hesitation. “Yes.”

Oxi’s voice came next, quieter but firm. “Yes.”

Luck swallowed. “Yeah. I do.”

Keith absorbed that and nodded once, almost to himself. “Then, don’t make her choose while she’s shaking and possibly bleeding.”

Mad’s expression shifted slightly. “Wasn’t planning to.”

“Good.” Keith looked back at me.

I released the breath that had lodged itself in my throat.

We settled into the room, but nothing felt settled. The dead leopards were still outside the door. Frank and Jan were dead in the office down the hall. Another leopard was somewhere in the storm.

Keith sat close to me, his shoulder pressed against mine, his hand wrapped around mine like he was afraid I’d vanish if he let go. Mad stood by the door, quiet and watchful. Oxi sat on the floor with his cane sword across his knees, eyes lowered. Luck hovered near the window, pretending to watch outside while clearly listening to every breath.

I looked at the four men in front of me. My heart swelled.

I had thought seeing Keith again would put the pieces of my broken heart back where they belonged. Instead, it made me realize the pieces had changed shape while he was gone—but I still had a perfect spot for him.

Keith leaned closer, his voice low enough that only I could hear. “We’ll figure it out, wildflower.”

I looked at him through fresh tears. “You promise you still want to?”

His expression broke open, soft and pained and certain. “Of course I do.”

And this time, when I kissed him, it didn’t feel desperate.

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