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It starts slow—his mouth on mine, one hand moving from my waist to my jaw, tilting me toward him with a patience that I know by now is deliberate and infuriating in the best possible way.

I get a hand in his shirt.

He makes a sound against my mouth that I file under reasons to continue.

Echo makes a small offended noise.

We both pull apart and look over at the sassy raccoon.

He’s sitting up now, looking between us with an expression that manages to be both deeply unimpressed and deeply uninterested. Then he hops over to me and holds up something shiny.

The diamond ring.

“Um, I’m not sure now’s a good time for stolen presents,” I tell him.

Nash snorts. “It’s not from him.”

I whip around to meet his gaze and note the way his dark eyes are dancing with some kind of mischief. I look from Nash to Echo, suspicious of both of them now. “What are you talking about?”

Echo presses the ring into my hands and darts away, disappearing into the spare bedroom.

I stare after him.

“You showed up when Nash did,” I call after him. “You know that, right?”

No answer. Obviously.

“Very suspicious timing,” I add.

Something crashes softly in the spare room.

Nash chuckles.

I look at the ring. Then at Nash.

“You told him to give this to me?” I ask.

“It was my mother’s,” he says simply, and my heart takes off at breakneck speed.

“What?” I breathe.

“She always wanted me to give it to my fated mate,” he says quietly.

My brain short-circuits as I try to process that.

“Are you…proposing to me?”

“I’m trying to.” He winces. “Probably screwing it up, though.”

I study him like I would any prisoner I was interrogating. But his heart rate, while a little excited, is steady. His eye contact is unwavering. He’s telling the truth. He wants this.

Fuck me.

“You want to marry me?” My voice is more like a squeak now.

“I want to claim you in every way I can, Mia Reyes. If you’ll have me.”

My wolf is calm. The human version of me, however, is falling apart. Racing heart. Roaring in my ears. Slight tremble in my hands.