Chapter 33 #3
He rolled onto his side, facing me, his free hand coming up to brush a strand of hair from my face. His touch was gentle, tentative, giving me every opportunity to pull away. I didn't.
"I'm grateful too," he said softly. "For your courage. For your honesty. For giving us a chance even when every instinct told you to run."
"My instincts aren't always right." I hummed softly.
"Neither are mine. But I think..." He paused, that analytical mind working even now.
"I think we can figure it out together. The right instincts, the wrong ones, all of it.
That's what a pack is supposed to be. That's what partnership is supposed to be.
Not perfection, just... commitment to the process. "
Partnership. The word settled over me like a blanket, warm and weighted. Not just romance, not just courtship, but partnership. A joining of equals, each bringing their own strengths and weaknesses, their own fears and hopes.
"I want that," I whispered. "I want to figure it out. With you. With all of you."
His smile was soft, almost awed. "Good. Because we want that too. So much, Daphne. More than you know." Another meteor streaked overhead, bright and brilliant, and this time neither of us looked away from each other.
"Tell me about the constellations," I said eventually, my voice a little rough.
"Show me what you see when you look up." So he did.
For the next hour, he traced patterns in the sky with his words, painting pictures of ancient myths and modern science, of distant suns and cosmic distances I couldn't quite comprehend.
He showed me Cassiopeia, the vain queen, and Cepheus, her husband.
He pointed out the Summer Triangle and explained how to use it to find the Milky Way.
He told me about light-years and how the stars we were seeing might not even exist anymore, their light having traveled millions of years just to reach our eyes.
And through it all, he held my hand. Never once letting go.
When the temperature dropped and I shivered despite my layers, he produced the promised hot chocolate, rich and warm, with a hint of cinnamon I hadn't expected.
We sat up to drink it, our shoulders touching, the blanket pulled around us both, and talked about everything and nothing.
His childhood fascination with space. My grandmother's garden, where I'd first learned to love growing things.
The pack's plans for the property. My hopes for expanding my business.
It was easy in a way I hadn't expected. Comfortable. Like we'd been doing this for years instead of hours.
"It's late," Micah said eventually, glancing at his watch.
"Almost two. I should get you home." I didn't want to go.
Didn't want this night to end, this bubble of warmth and connection and starlight to pop.
But I nodded, because he was right, and because I was learning that some things were worth waiting for.
We packed up together, moving in silent coordination, and the drive back to my cabin was quiet but not uncomfortable.
His hand found mine on the console between us, and I watched the dark trees slip past the window, feeling something settle in my chest.
Peace, maybe. Or the beginning of it. At my door, he walked me up the porch steps and stood there in the soft glow of my porch light, looking at me like I was something precious. Something worth waiting for.
"Thank you," I said. "For tonight. For the stars. For... everything." I told him, my chest fluttering and content. This had been a wonderful night…something I never thought I would do till these Alpha’s showed up in my life.
"Thank you for coming. For trusting me with your time." He reached out, tucking that same strand of hair behind my ear. "Daphne?"
"Yes?" I whispered feeling my heart skip a beat at the look in his eyes.
"I know you're still figuring things out. We all are. But I want you to know—" He paused, that careful precision with words even now. "Whatever you need, whatever pace feels right, we'll match it. You're worth waiting for. Worth being patient for. I hope you're starting to believe that."
The tears that pricked my eyes weren't sad ones. They were the overwhelmed, grateful kind that came from being seen and accepted and cherished exactly as you were.
"I'm starting to," I whispered. "You're all helping me start to." He smiled—that rare, full smile—and leaned in to press a kiss to my cheek, close to the side of my lips. Soft and brief and impossibly tender.
"Goodnight, Daphne. Sweet dreams." He whispered pulling back and looking at me with such raw emotion I felt like I would cry.
"Goodnight, Micah." I watched him drive away, the taillights disappearing down the dark road, and stood on my porch for a long time after.
The stars were still out, still wheeling overhead in their ancient patterns, and somewhere up there, meteors were still falling, brief and brilliant and beautiful.
I'd made a wish on one of them. A secret wish, just for me…and standing there in the quiet dark, wrapped in the lingering warmth of the evening, I let myself believe it might actually come true.