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My wolf rose up hard beneath my skin.
You swore, he said.
I know.
On the ridge. When she was bleeding for us and you thought you’d die. You swore.
I know.
I’d sworn it with silver in my blood and her hands pressed to my side. If we made it off this ridge alive, I’d tell her. Everything.
We’d made it. And every excuse I’d hidden behind was gone. Her grandmother. The Order. The Crown. No one was ordering her anywhere. No one was hunting her.
Ruby Mays was free to choose anything she wanted.
Which meant it was time to reveal the truth.
“Ruby,” I said. “Sit down. Please. There’s something I need to tell you.”
Wariness flickered across her face. Assessment coming through. She sat in my father’s chair by the fire, and she pulled my mother’s quilt onto her lap.
“What is it?” She looked up at me and waited.
I didn’t sit. I couldn’t with all the nerves dancing inside. While I stood before the hearth with the fire at my back, I tried to figure out where to begin.
I took a breath. “I yearned for you before you ever walked through the door.”
She stared at me, lips parting, not uttering a word.
“My wolf knew the moment he caught your scent on the wind. Two days before you knocked. And he knew.” I held her gaze. “Wolves recognize their mates. It only happens once, if it happens at all. Most never find theirs. My wolf recognized you on a path through the forest, walking toward us with a knife in your sleeve and orders to kill me.”
Ruby didn’t move. She barely breathed.
The fire crackled. Outside, somewhere along the river, a wolf howled once for the dead and went quiet.
“I blamed the silver at first.” The words came easier now that I’d freed them from their cage. “I told myself it was confusion, poison, anything but what it was. Then you walked through my door, and I knew it wasn’t. And I’ve known every minute since. When I caught you in my arms and held you against me. When my teeth grazed your throat. When I held your body against mine in the loft.” My voice roughened. “I fought it as long as I could.” I shook my head. “No more. I’m done fighting it. You’re the one for me, Ruby. The only one.” I breathed out. “My mate.”
The fire crackled. Ruby blinked in rapid succession.
“Your mate.” She said the word slowly, as if testing its weight. “Wolves don’t mate with humans…” She tipped her head. “Do they?”
“Not that I’ve heard of before.” A deep inhale before I let it out. “And yet, I know this is true.” I lowered my gaze to the floor. “I should have told you before.”
“Why didn’t you?” Her voice was barely a whisper.
“Because I told myself you had enough to carry.” I closed my eyes briefly. “That wasn’t right. It was me deciding what was best for you.” I lifted my eyes to meet hers. “Then on the ridge today, I realized you could die without ever knowing how I feel. And I could die without ever telling you.”
Her eyes shone bright. She pressed her lips together as if trying to contain her emotions.
“So here’s all of it, laid bare.” I kneeled beside her and took her hand in mine. “When a wolf marks his mate, it binds us, for life. For me, there won’t be anyone else but you, ever. That’s mine to carry, not yours. You’ve already done so much for me, for my pack.” I motioned between us with my free hand. “You don’t have to accept this bond. Or stay in this house, or in this territory, or with this pack. You’re free, Ruby. Truly free to do whatever you want.” I gestured toward the door. “If you want to walk out that door and go anywhere in the world, I’ll make sure you get there safely, and I’ll never ask you for one single thing.”
A lump formed in my throat. “But I’d be lying if I told you I didn’t hope you’d stay.”
I swallowed. “Because I love you, Ruby. I’ve fallen in love with you a bit more every hour of every day.”
She closed her eyes for a few heartbeats, then reopened them and gazed into my eyes. Her eyes were lined with tears.
With her free hand, she caressed my cheek. “We only met days ago,” she said softly.
