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It struck me how similar the two of us were. The odds of either of us finding our mates in a world as hard and as cruel as this one were so slim. It almost felt too good to be true that fate, with the shit hand it had dealt us, would bring the two of us together.
“Night?” she asked again.
“I never thought I would know happiness like this,” I said. When I spoke, my voice was thick with emotion. I tried to swallow it down, but it wouldn’t budge. “You have changed my entire world, Bryn. And I know that I was an asshole to you for a long time, but I hope you can forgive me and let me show you over and over that I can be a wolf who’s worthy of you.”
Tears filled her eyes and slipped out. She was better at this than I was. She could tap into this vulnerable side of herself so quickly without letting it destroy her. And she could smile so easily, even after all that Troy had put her through. She was so incredibly strong, and my love for her swelled.
“You have nothing to prove, Night,” she told me through her tears. “I can feel you in each beat of my heart, in my soul, and I know that I am complete.” She moved my hand to her chest, and I felt her heart beating hard and fast, in sync with mine. “You’ve given me a family and a place where I belong. You are my everything, and I wouldn’t want it any other way.”
Hearing her say these things, I closed my eyes, a tear slipping down my own cheek. I didn’t feel ashamed of it, not when I had my soulmate there to comfort me, kiss me, and hold me. Bryn had chosen me, she made me feel special and wanted. I could never want for anything as long as I had her by my side.
And I would be dead in the ground before I let another soul take her away from me.
17
BRYN
I woke up the next morning feeling better than I had since, well, ever. Not just since the day that Troy kidnapped me—better than I had felt ever in my entire life. I felt this fullness that I had never known before, a kind of peace that blanketed over me and held me close.
Before, when I closed my eyes, I had no senses beyond what I could immediately see, feel, taste, hear, and smell, but now there was somehow so much more. Every time Night breathed, his arm would brush mine, and even that small touch would send pleasure rippling over me.
Is this what it’s like to have a soulmate?
My wolf answered with a purr. I knew that meant yes.
I sat up in bed, marveling at the ease with which I moved. My wounds were all healed, and it looked like all traces of Night’s wounds had largely disappeared too, aside from a new scar here or there.
Carefully, so as not to wake him, I slipped out of bed and padded over to the mirror. I shifted my hair over my shoulder to cover the Alpha wound, and my hair tingled over the spot where Night bit me. I had to know if it was still there, but I wasn’t ready to look right away.
I closed my eyes, took a few deep breaths, and then opened them, flipping my hair off of my neck. I almost gasped. All I saw on the right side of my neck was the shape of Night’s teeth imprinted there. There was no trace of an Alpha wound or of the beatings Troy had put me through. Only Night’s mark, which made me hot all over, remained.
I glanced at the reflection of the bed in the mirror, and watched the rise and fall of Night’s sleeping form. As lust shot through me, so, too, did my relief. The relief almost overshadowed my desire to wake him with a few bites to the place where I’d left my own mark on him. I couldn’t be happier that the Alpha wound was gone. I had been so afraid that whenever I looked at my shoulder, I would be reminded of the awful things that Tavi and I had gone through. I sent a quick thanks up to the heavens that I wouldn’t wear the reminder forever, that I was free of any mark from Troy.
“Checking yourself out in the mirror?”
Night’s voice made me jump. I looked at his reflection in the mirror, and saw he had a sexy, sleepy grin on his face.
“I can’t blame you,” he said. “You are incredibly beautiful.”
I giggled. “You don’t have to flirt with me, Night Shepherd. You already have me.”
“True. You’re wearing the mark to prove it.”
I blushed even as I laughed harder. I loved that I would forever bear the mark of his teeth in my skin, that any wolf who looked at me would know that I was his and he was mine.
I went to the bed and sat at the foot of it. “Can we talk about all of the stuff that’s going on?”
“Of course,” he said. “I think there’s a lot to talk about.”
“I know that I’m only going to be Alpha temporarily, but I don’t know what that means for the Wargs or for you.”
He sat up and scooted closer to me so he could reach my back. He ran his fingers up and down my spine, making me shiver. “While you’re busy being a much better Alpha to the Kings than Troy or Gregor could ever be, I’ll be preparing to become Alpha after you.”
I nodded. “Of course you’ll want to be Alpha of both packs. I guess that means you’ll combine them into one.”
“That’s right. It’s the best way to ensure that the war between us stops.”
“That makes sense…but aren’t you worried about integrating them? I mean, the Kings are going to hate that, and I’m sure a lot of Wargs will be resistant, too.”
