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"I understand."

"I know you do." His gaze moves between us, something almost approving in it now. "I haven't seen you bring anyone into this circle in seventeen years. That alone tells me more than anything either of you have said tonight."

The evening settles into something I didn't expect, Zoey slowly meeting more of the pack, answering questions with the same steady honesty she's shown since the moment Rebecca first stopped her in the trees. I watch her adapt to all of it, the impossible reality of shifters and pack hierarchy and centuries of careful secrecy, with a grace that surprises me more with every passing hour.

Rebecca pulls me aside near the end of the night, glancing back at where Zoey's deep in conversation with one of the younger pack members about the mountain's history. "You know what this means, right? Bringing her here."

"I know."

"Do you? Because the way you're watching her right now doesn’t seem like you’re just protecting out of obligation." Rebecca's voice softens, losing its earlier edge entirely. "I haven't seen you look at anyone like that since before your parents died, Kellan. Not once, in seventeen years."

I don't have a response ready for that, mostly because she's right and I've spent weeks trying not to examine exactly how right she might be. "It's complicated."

"Love usually is." Rebecca bumps my shoulder with hers, something warm and knowing in the gesture. "Don't waste this being scared of what it might cost. You've spent enough years already paying for a version of safety that never actually made you happy."

I watch Zoey across the fire, laughing at something one of the younger members said, completely unguarded, and I understand that Rebecca's right about more than she probably realizes.

I've spent years convinced that loving someone only ever ends in loss. Watching Zoey sit comfortably among my pack, accepted and unafraid despite everything she's learned tonight, I start to wonder if that conviction was ever entirely true.

By the time we head back toward the cabin, moon high overhead and the danger of tonight's attack still fresh enough to keep us both alert, Zoey slips her hand into mine without hesitation.

"Your pack is remarkable," she says quietly. "All of them. The way they protect each other, the way Everett carries that responsibility. I understand now why you'd do anything to keep them safe."

"They accepted you faster than I expected."

"Maybe they saw something in me worth trusting. Or maybe they just saw how you look at me, and decided that was enough."

I don't answer that directly, but I don't need to. The way I pull her closer as we walk says everything I'm still not entirely ready to put into words, and the fear that's kept me alone doesn't feel quite as absolute as it used to.

15

ZOEY

The fire in the next room has burned down to low coals, leaving the cabin bedroom lit only by the single lamp on the nightstand. Autumn cold presses against the windows. Kellan stands in front of me, gray eyes steady, the faded scars across his shoulders catching the soft light. We just said the words. I love you. Both of us. No more holding back.

I reach up and rest my palm against his bearded jaw. “I meant it. I’m done with the stage and the noise. I want this. You. A real life here.”

His hands settle on my waist, large and warm. “Seventeen years I kept everyone at a distance because I was afraid of losing them. You walked in and made me want something again. I love you, Zoey. I’m not going anywhere.”

We undress each other slowly. His shirt comes off first, revealing the hard lines of muscle and the map of old scars. I trace one that runs over his left shoulder. He lifts my sweater over my head, then unhooks my bra with careful fingers. When my breasts are bare he cups them, thumbs brushing over my nipples until they tighten. Heat pools low in my belly. I push his jeans down and free him. His cock is already hard, thick and heavy, the base beginning to swell with the knot that marks him as a wolf shifter. The sight of it makes my pulse quicken with want rather than fear.

“We’ll go as slow as you need,” he says, voice low.

“I need you,” I answer.

He lays me back on the bed and settles between my thighs. His mouth finds my breasts first, sucking one nipple while his fingers tease the other. Then he kisses lower, over my stomach, until his broad shoulders push my legs wider. His tongue is warm and deliberate. He licks through my folds, then focuses on my clit with slow, firm circles. Two thick fingers slide inside me, curling just right. I am already wet for him. The soft sounds of his mouth and the slide of his fingers fill the quiet room.

Pleasure builds in a steady wave. I thread my fingers through his dark hair and rock against his face. He sucks gently on my clit while his fingers stroke that sensitive place inside. The orgasm rolls through me, strong and deep. My thighs tremble around his head as I come, pulsing around his fingers. He keeps licking me through it until I am open and ready.

He rises over me, lips shiny with my wetness. I pull him down and kiss him, tasting myself on his tongue. His cock rests heavy against my thigh. I reach between us and guide the thick head to my entrance.

“Look at me,” he says.

I do. He pushes in slowly. The stretch is intense. Inch by inch his heavy shaft sinks into me, filling me completely. When the swelling knot at the base presses against my entrance he pauses, giving me time. I breathe out and nod. He sinks the rest of the way until he is fully seated, the knot locked just inside.

We stay joined, foreheads pressed together. “You feel like home,” he murmurs.

“So do you.”