Chapter 48 Anything But Jazz #2
“Sure thing, boss. Any preferences?”
I exhaled, watching the night air suck up the cloud of smoke. “Anything but jazz.”
* * *
My heart was beating so fast as we approached the rest stop, I thought I might pass out. The injuries I’d sustained in the fight definitely weren’t helping.
Pretty sure I’d cracked a rib or two. And I was probably concussed.
The parking lot was nearly empty, but I found the twins’ bubblegum pink Fairy at the far end, the color too bright to hide in the shadows from the surrounding trees.
And people thought my car was tacky?
The grunt pulled to a stop right beside it, and I willed myself to calm down. To not rush and hurt Sage in my excitement. Not like last time when I’d been in a full rut.
Slow, steady, and safe.
I opened the door, and before I could even step out, her slim figure tackled me back into the car, planting kisses on my face in between the words she half spoke, half sobbed.
“Ronan! Oh Hecara, I was so scared for you! Why did you do that? And why didn’t you tell me who you really were? I’m so happy! I’m so mad at you!”
All I could do was hold on, chuckling and kissing her back. Fuck, she smelled so good. Felt so right in my arms. “I’m so sorry my dumb ass made that deal. That my dumb ass couldn’t figure it out until it was too late. I’ll spend the rest of my life making it up to you, I promise.”
Both exhausted, we finally just collapsed, breathing each other in and letting the mate bond finally start to connect and settle.
Green apples.
Mine.
Fuck. If I died right now, I wouldn’t even be mad. I’d never felt better in my whole Ravaric-damned life. I had a mate, and she was perfect.
“Just promise me you’ll never make a demon deal again,” she whimpered.
“Don’t think I can,” I chuckled, nuzzling the side of her head.
That was what demons gave up when they found their mates—once we officially claimed each other, she’d be the official owner of my soul.
I couldn’t wait.
We stayed like that for who knew how long, the grunt and other hunters giving us some much needed privacy to just be together.
I rubbed my hands up and down her arms, like if I stopped touching her she might disappear. She meanwhile buried her face into my neck, taking greedy gulps of my scent as her body calmed, nuzzling me like I was her favorite drug and she’d just taken a hit.
Paradise, greater than any I’d ever known.
Until I hear a familiar howl.
Fucking werewolves.
Two mongrels padded up to the car, so large they had to duck to stick their dumb faces in.
Sage turned around, smiling. “You were brilliant back there! Garrick, right?”
The alpha nodded his furry head.
“And who’s your friend?”
“Rudy,” I said, answering for him, since he couldn’t exactly talk. “Good to see you, thank you for helping. Now please, kindly fuck off.”
The werewolves chuffed a laugh, scampering off to join the others wherever they were waiting.
All I wanted to do was continue holding and touching her, but it would just delay the ugly, inevitable conversation we needed to have.
“So,” I started, unsure how to frame everything. I’d practiced my speech a hundred times on the way here tonight, but somehow I’d retained none of it.
“You’re an Oniguro,” Sage said, filling in the blanks for me.
“Yeah,” I replied, making space for her legs between mine in the cramped back seat. “And I had to promise to reclaim my inheritance for my dad’s help in getting you back.”
“Yeah, Draven might have mentioned something about that.”
My face contorted in annoyance and confusion, wondering how the fuck Draven knew who I really was.
Well, at least he’d never told Garrick about my true identity, so even if he was a creep, he thankfully knew how to keep a secret.
“And that means I have to live in Ignareth, and that my life isn’t exactly going to be… you know. Above board.”
Her body stilled, and I braced myself for rejection.
“Okay.”
“I’m going to do things differently from my dad once I take over, though. So if you wanted to live in Cindralis until things got safer or better, I’d understand.”
“I said okay.”
“Because I also don’t want you to see that side of me, either. The side that has to resort to violence to solve problems because that’s what gets the best results from the people I’m dealing with.”
“Ronan, it’s fine. I’m—”
“And you can stay in my house! I’ll update the appliances, and you can use my other car, and—”
“Ronan!”
I stopped, my heart beating so wildly it was causing Sage’s chest to jump from the force of it.
“I already said okay, dammit,” she laughed.
“It’s not ideal, but honestly, after everything I’ve gone through, just having you here is like…
coming up for air after being under water.
Like feeling the sun on your skin after months of rain.
Nothing has ever felt so right and wonderful in my life.
I choose you, Ronan. Today, tomorrow, and forever. ”
Fuck. I didn’t think I’d cried since my mom’s funeral, but my eyes stung with tears as I gasped, squeezing Sage so tightly I might have cracked another rib.
“Everything in my life is yours. Every decision I make is to honor you. Ravaric himself couldn’t keep me from you, Sage. My mate.”
She lifted herself up slightly, a smile growing on her face. “My mate.”
She then lowered her lips to mine. A soft, sweet kiss—cognizant that we weren’t alone, but a promise for what lay ahead. A preview of the connections we would make and the love we would share once we were by ourselves.
Cracked ribs be damned.