Now, in the first breaths of spring, it’s quiet. The only sound is the gurgle of water tumbling over smooth stones and the wind rustling in the tall grass. We haven’t had rain in a while, so the water level remains low and the ground is dry.
The most important detail, however, is that the bluebells are already in full bloom. It’s a small miracle, and one that makes me wonder if the very earth beneath our feet has conspired to help me with what I hope to accomplish this evening.
After all, bluebells are Alina’s favorite flower. At least, they were in seventh grade when I once overheard her saying to the teacher that her favorite time of year is when the pretty blue flowers blossom to life and carpet the forest floor for as far as the eye can see. I have kept that detail tucked away safely ever since then, even before I had any inkling that she was my Mate.
The fireflies are also out in full force, pulling their weight in adding to the ambience of the pleasant evening. They twinkle and flash like stars, darting lazily between the leaves.
Alina walks beside me, close enough that her shoulder brushes mine every few steps. Her braid swings gently behind her, loose and golden in the late afternoon sun. She’s let herself relax a little out here. I can tell from the way her fingers aren’t clenched, and when I notice that the delicate creases at the corners of her eyes have softened.
“I didn’t know the bluebells started blooming,” Alina whispers, almost to herself. “They’re my favorite.”
Instead of murmuring I know, I pull her close and press a kiss to the top of her head.
I stop walking when we reach the bend where the river curls around a small outcrop of mossy boulders. This used to be the place I’d always come to when I need clarity. Or courage.
It’s the place where our Mating bond first snapped into place, all those years ago.
“Let’s sit,” I say.
She arches a brow. “You sure you don’t want me to carry you?”
I smirk and lower myself onto the ground anyway. “I’d rather die with dignity.”
She laughs. The sound of it is like sunlight. I could live off it like a yearning plant.
We sit in silence for a moment, side by side, letting the river speak for us. I can feel the bond humming gently between us now, no longer frayed or strained. It’s whole and undeniably alive.
Alina stares out at the water. “Noah asked me if we’re staying here.”
My heart skips. “And what did you tell him?”
“I told him yes.” She glances sideways at me, shrugging as if it should’ve been obvious to me. “He seems happy. Your mother taught him how to make honey cakes yesterday, and Cal let him ride his back in wolf form around the yard.”
I snort at the image in my mind. “Bet he loved that.”
“He did. It’s strange. He fits in here so well, like he’s always belonged.” She pauses. “And maybe I do, too.”
I reach into my coat pocket. My fingers close around the object hidden there, small, carved, and familiar. I worked on it every day this past week when she went to bathe or sleep. As my body slowly repaired itself using the gift of her strength, I smoothed the edges, shaped the wolf from cedar, and burned the Greenbriar crest into the belly.
It takes a few grunts and some stiff maneuvering, but I manage to kneel.
She turns sharply toward me. “Rowan, what are you…?”
“I’m asking you,” I say, holding the token out between us. “To be my Mate.”
Her mouth opens, then closes again.
“You are my Mate, Rowan.”
“I know.”
“The ceremony…”
“I don’t just want to be bonded by instinct or in pain,” I forge ahead. “But fully and officially, as tradition demands. I want you to be my Luna. Rule beside me as my queen. You’re already everything to me, Alina. All I’m asking is for the chance to prove it out in the open in front of the pack.”
She stares at the carved wolf in my hand like it’s a shard of starlight I’ve stolen from the sky.
“And what about the prophecy?” she whispers.
I exhale, eyes never leaving hers. “Kseniya told me it has already come to pass.”
That makes her blink.
“She told me something I never thought I’d hear.” I smile faintly. “She said she was wrong. “
“The wise woman is never wrong.”
“She said the ruin she saw wasn’t the ruin of me. It was the ruin of my heart and soul, the very ruination that I caused by rejecting you. Not only that, but the ruination that came later when I fooled myself into believing that a Greenbriar Alpha must lead alone. That strength can’t come from love, and that I’d be fine without you. It was a twisted, tricky prophecy, and she apologized for not taking the time to understand it more deeply.”
Alina’s lips tremble. Her eyes shine.
I take her hand and place the token in her palm, folding her fingers gently around it.
“Anyway, I don’t care what destiny says anymore. All I know is that I’m yours. And I want you to be mine, in every way.”
For a long moment, all I hear is the river, the wind, and the thud of my own heart.
And then she leans in.
She kisses me, soft and slow and sure. Her answer doesn’t come in words.
It doesn’t have to. I already know. She’s saying yes.
Alina
I kiss him without hesitation.
I don’t mean to, really. What I mean to do is telling him yes, of course, you limping, beautiful idiot and then drag him back to the house where he can continue resting.
But the side of me that loves him so much it makes me sick wins.
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.