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An unexpected laugh escaped him, and Runa gave him a begrudging smile.

“Maybe you’re right.”

“Of course I’m right.” She waved him out of the bedroom and into Fee’s adjoining bathroom. “Go clean up, and I’ll be right here.”

With one more glance at Fee to make sure this wasn’t the exact moment she decided to emerge from her slumber, Theo hurried into the bathroom. He shucked off the jeans Daphne had tossed him when he’d arrived and turned on the shower.

He stepped under the water and let it wash away the days of worry and fear. Runa had noticed it, too; Fee was getting better. She was going to wake up. He could feel it in his bones. And he felt better, too, stronger, like just being next to her had healed him, too.

Rafe was right, they were inevitable. Fated. And denying it had almost killed them. He was done denying her. If Phoebe wouldn’t take him back, he would camp out in her front yard until she changed her mind. He would tie himself to her goddamn precious trees if he had to.

Fee was his.

And he wouldn’t leave here without her.

He felt a growl building in his chest. It had been days since he’d shifted and encountered those hunters. His wolf paced under his skin, waiting, desperate.

Theo shook himself. Right now, he needed to focus on getting Fee well again. Everything else would have to wait.

He got out of the shower and wrapped himself in one of Fee’s too-small, too-pink towels. He couldn’t bring himself to put on the same dirty jeans he’d been wearing, but he was sure he must have more clothes here. He was always shifting in and out of wolf form to get here, so he always needed a change.

He held the towel tighter, making sure it covered the most essential bits and went back into the bedroom. Runa was sitting beside Fee on the bed, humming a quiet song to her. She looked up when Theo walked in, a smirk appearing on her lips when she saw his state of undress.

“I have shorts around here somewhere,” he muttered.

“I’m sure you do.” She went back to looking at her daughter, the little tune developing words. The way she sat there, a gentle hand on Fee’s cheek, Theo thought maybe he’d misread Runa all this time. Maybe she was there for her daughter when it really mattered. He thought of how Daphne and Amethyst had come to get him and how Daphne had questioned him when he’d arrived. Maybe nymphs were more of a pack than he thought. They took care of their own just like wolves.

He found a pair of gym shorts and an old T-shirt slung over a chair in the corner. Further reminder of how interlocked their lives already were. He pulled them on and breathed in Fee’s honeysuckle scent. She’d been wearing his shirt. A smile broke out across his face.

The image of Fee tucked into her bed, wearing his shirt when he wasn’t here, sent his blood racing. She wanted him. She always had.

His gaze found her on the bed again, still asleep.

Wake up, Fee.

Runa slipped from the room and Theo resumed his vigil.

Chapter Thirty-Seven

Fee opened her eyes.

She was awake. Or at least she was pretty sure she was awake. She blinked a few times, her bedroom coming into focus. The ugly bedside lamp she’d found at a garage sale, her giant, potted money tree, her light blue ceiling⁠—

Wait, her ceiling was different…

Above her was a waterfall and a pool surrounded by trees and rocks and … a whole landscape was painted across her ceiling.

What on earth?

The mural wasn’t the craziest part. The craziest part was the man on the ladder beside her bed painting it.

Theo.

It hadn’t all been dreams. He was here. But for how long? How long had she been asleep? Her muscles were achy and weak, and her mouth tasted foul. Ugh. She needed to get up and brush her teeth. She attempted to roll over quietly, but as soon as she moved, Theo was jumping down from the ladder like someone had set off a fire alarm.

He kneeled on the side of the bed. “What is it? Fee?” He stared at her, unblinking. She stared back. “Fee! You’re awake!”

“Yes.” Her voice was raspy and rough. She cleared her throat. “Yes, I’m awake. How long⁠—”