Nikolai
She’s curled up on the leather couch in my office, wearing one of my shirts like she was born for it. Her legs are tucked beneath her, hair still mussed from where I pulled it earlier, and she’s looking through the laptop I gave her like she hasn’t just ruined me in the library.
I sit across from her, watching. The way her brow furrows when she’s focused. The way her lips twitch when she’s reading something that interests her. The way she fits here, in this space that was never meant for anyone but me.
I didn’t plan on keeping her this long.
I planned on fucking her. On chasing her again, maybe. On indulging the part of me that’s always been more feral than human.
But she’s still here. Still bright. Still brilliant. And the idea of letting her go tastes like ash in my mouth.
I clear my throat, and she looks up. There’s no fear in her eyes. No suspicion. Just curiosity, and something softer beneath it. Something that makes my chest tighten.
“I’ve been thinking,” I say.
She arches a brow. “That sounds dangerous.”
I smirk. “Maybe. But I want to be very clear.”
Her expression shifts. “About?”
“About you being here. Being with me.”
She closes the laptop slowly and places it on the table in front of her. “Okay…”
“Because I’ve made an example of the men who tried to hurt you,” I say. “Because there’s no more threat, at least not immediately. And because I trust that you’ll only run when you want me to catch you.”
She watches me for a long moment, like she’s weighing that trust against all the darkness I’ve shown her. I let her. She deserves that much.
“Okay,” she says finally. “So what do you want from me?”
“Just that. You. All of you. Forever. Not just when I’m chasing you. Not just when my cock is in you. I want you to be mine in every way.”
Her lips part slightly, surprised. “Really?”
I nod. “It’s time we show the world who you belong to, belong with. Here with me, at home.”
She smiles at that. Not a bright, beaming thing. Something quieter. Sadder. Like the word ‘home’ has always been slippery for her, and this is the first time it’s settled in her bones.
I reach for her hand. “So, do you still want to be mine?”
Her fingers lace through mine. “I think I wanted it the moment you chased me through the woods like I was the only thing that ever mattered.”
I lean in, press my mouth to her knuckles. “You are.”
She exhales, leaning her head back. “What if I’m not built for this world?”
“You don’t need to be. That’s what I’m for.”
I stand and offer my other hand. She takes it without hesitation and I pull her up and into me.
“Let’s go down for dinner and tell my brothers the news,” I murmur.
And just like that, she’s walking out the door beside me,not as a prisoner, not as prey, but as my other half.