75. Clara
Clara
The rest of the pack is asleep when the clock strikes midnight on the final night of my heat. I’ve been waiting.
Baked bread floods the room, rich and warm, and an alpha, whole, and naked, stands before me. The others stir, but I only have eyes for him. For Finian.
He kneels before me. “Darlin’?”
I nod. I’m more than ready for my pack to be complete.
He leans forward, tucking a strand of hair behind my ear. “I will always love you—in this life and the next,” he murmurs against my temple, sounding both here and far away.
He takes my hand, presses a kiss to it, then bites.
His bond is unlike any of the others. I always felt as though we were already connected, but this…
this is something else. It feels both intangible and solid, as if it’s made of air and stone at once.
His feelings are strong and steady, old and bright.
Instead of something new forming, it’s as though a part of me has simply woken up.
His love is timeless, his soul tethered to mine across years, centuries. Maybe even across time and space.
The midnight minute passes, and I don’t panic as he fades. He’s still here. We’ll have time. Maybe more than I think.
The bite on my hand glimmers silver in the low light, and I fall asleep dreaming of him watching over me.