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Relief flooded through me, so intense I felt lightheaded, and my bear growled his approval at Danny’s possessiveness.

His expression softened. "Though I reserve the right to hold it over your head when you're being an overprotective idiot."

I laughed, the sound catching in my throat. "That's fair."

Danny leaned forward, resting his forehead against mine. "We still need to talk about the other stuff. About you trying to sacrifice yourself. About this revenant. But right now, I'm too tired to fight anymore."

"Then let’s not," I murmured, gathering him against my chest. "Rest. We'll figure everything out later."

He sighed, nestling closer. "Promise me something?"

"Anything."

"No more pushing me away. No more noble self-sacrifice bullshit. We face this thing together or not at all."

I tightened my arms around him, breathing in his scent—still sweet but no longer fever-hot, now mingled with my own. "I promise, but the same works the other way. Stop charging into danger and start trusting me."

Danny nodded against my chest, seemingly satisfied. Within minutes, his breathing deepened as exhaustion claimed him once more. I held him close, my mate, my unexpected miracle, and made another silent promise—to protect him, to cherish him, and to never again mistake sacrifice for love.

Outside, somewhere in the darkness beyond our boundary, a revenant waited. But for now, in this moment, we were safe. We were together. And somehow, against all odds, that felt like enough.

Chapter fifteen

Danny

I made it downstairs to the kitchen the next morning after Bayer had gone to do important alpha I’m-in-charge stuff to find Em sitting on one of the bar stools with a coffee I immediately craved. Tia was in her playpen concentrating on chewing her toys, although I didn’t think that was anything to do with the wolf in her, more the fact that she was teething. Emery smirked.

“Okay,” I beckoned, knowing I was gonna get it with both barrels after the teasing he’d had from me.

"What?" Emery asked innocently, sliding a mug of coffee toward me. "I was just going to say good morning to my best friend who I haven't seen in nearly four days."

I grabbed the coffee like it was a lifeline. "Don't even start."

"Start what?" Emery's grin widened. "Congratulating you on your newly discovered omega status? Asking how it feels to be mated to a three-hundred-pound bear shifter? Wondering if you need an ice pack for your—"

"I will end you," I threatened, wincing as I eased onto a stool. "Right here in front of your child."

Emery chuckled, his eyes softening. "Seriously, though, how are you feeling?"

I took a long sip of coffee, buying myself time. "Physically? Like I ran a marathon in combat boots. Emotionally? Still processing."

"That's fair," Emery said, reaching across to squeeze my hand. "It's a lot to take in."

"You think?" I snorted. "Three days ago, I was human. Now I'm apparently an omega with a mating bite from the alpha bear I was furious with." I touched the mark on my neck, still sensitive beneath my fingers. "I remember you tried to warn me about Bayer before he went all cave-man upstairs. But did you expect this to happen to me?"

Emery had the grace to look sheepish. "I suspected you might be an omega, but I wasn't sure. It's so rare in humans—I didn't want to say anything until I was certain."

"How could you tell?"

"Little things. The way certain alphas responded to you. How you reacted to pack dynamics without even realizing it." He shrugged. "Plus, there was the way you looked at Bayer."

I nearly choked on my coffee. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means," Emery said gently, "that I recognized the signs. I went through something similar with Phoenix, remember?"

"Yeah, but that was different. You two were—" I stopped, memories of those early days flooding back. The tension, the arguments, the pull they'd both tried to deny. Em running to Gemma’s. "Okay, maybe not so different."

Tia squealed from her playpen, holding up a soggy stuffed wolf for our approval. I smiled at her, grateful for the momentary distraction.