Chapter 33
CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
My phone shakes in my hands, anxiety coursing through me.
I pause, leaning my head back against the leather seat, and breathe.
I press in Wayne’s clutch, and gradually pull out, the sun welcoming me.
I don’t soar today; I don’t hit the gas.
I’m not fleeing. Each curve comes unhurriedly, as if I’m floating to the cabin.
My tires crunch beneath gravel and the brakes squeal to a stop.
I don’t even shut the car door. The second my shoes hit the dirt, I’m running, heart forward and thoughts left behind.
Gravel bites beneath my soles as the trail climbs, Kova bursts ahead of me as if she’s been waiting her whole life for this.
She spins on a whim as if the invisible line between us pulls her back, her fur brushes my knee as her pace matches mine again.
The valley opens all at once. Wide, endless, and alive.
Freshly planted daffodils and Indian paintbrushes line a path, red and yellow heads lifting toward the lukewarm evening sun like witnesses.
I laugh breathlessly as my eyes sting. Not from the run, but from the knowing.
Nyx stands at the cabin, one shoulder against the worn wooden beam, arms crossed like he’s trying to look calm.
The mountain air tugs at this hair, the earth itself seeming to lean toward him.
I don’t slow down. I sprint up the path until I’m a few feet away and halt before him.
“Nyx?” I breathe.
“Yeah, Angry Bones?” He grins, but the way he says it sounds like a man who’s found a wild coyote on his porch.
I catch my breath and straighten. “If I take my bullet proof vest off for you…” I trail off, looking to the pines with my hands planted on my hips. A heartbeat passes before I can finish. “Do you promise not to pull the trigger?”
Something raw slips from his throat. It takes him all of two strides to slam into me.
I fist my hands into his jacket as his mouth claims mine.
It’s like coming home after years of war.
His lips carry the strange contradiction that is Nyx— strength wrapped in impossible gentleness.
It steals the ache from my bones, the noise from my thoughts and the fear from my chest all at once.
Every brush of his lips quiets another corner of the world until there’s nothing left but the steady rhythm of his breathing and the warmth spreading throughout my body.
It feels like a promise more than a thousand spoken words.
He pulls back just long enough to press his forehead to mine, his chest heaving beneath my fists. “I’ve been waiting on that for a very long time,” Nyx breathes.
Before I can speak, he reaches into his pocket and slips out a folded paper.
“The deed,” he says quietly, a grin spreading under his mustache.
I tilt my head, pulling away. “Huh?”
He grins wide. “Howler’s Mountain. It’s yours.”
I whirl in his arms, searching for the for-sale post. It’s gone. My hands tremble as he slips the piece of paper into them.
The land. The valley. The cabin. It’s mine. A low sound slips from me, half a laugh, half a sob. “How did you?—”
He pulls me back to him, silencing me with a soft brush of his lips. “Scott’s apology to you. I’m just the delivery man.”
Kova bumps my leg hard, whining. I look down as she freezes, her hackles lifting.
Across the stream, Torin stands with his pack, their heads held low, eyeing us cautiously. His ashy fur bristles as he steps forward, eyes locking onto mine. We stand there, frozen in time. I turn to him, lacing my fingers through Nyx’s and privately smile at the alpha wolf.
Torin lifts his muzzle and howls. Not a warning. No thunder or lightning crackling within him. But a glorious song. It rolls across the valley like an old hymn, something ancient and holy. The pack joins in, voices weaving together, blessing the land and the moment. Blessing me.
Nyx laughs, joy breaking free as he scoops me up and spins me, kissing me breathlessly, as the song fades into the mountains surrounding us. He sets me down gently, then pulls me into his lap as he sinks into the old rocking chair on the porch. I giggle as it creaks from our weight.
But my breath hitches as Kova takes off, chasing after Torin and the others. Their tails are high, noses cautious as she fearlessly bolts to the alpha. The white wolf is there, blocking her pack. But she doesn’t back down, only snarling viciously at him.
“Kova!” I begin to move.
“Look.” Nyx whispers, pulling me back.
Torin rushes forward circling Kova, his tongue lolled to the side. The stubborn female raises every hair on her body, challenging him.
And just like that, they’re gone in a blur, sprinting across the valley together, playing like the world belongs to them.
“Does all this mean I get my one chance, Angry Bones?” he asks, brushing a strand of hair behind my ear.
“I’ll give you more than a chance—I’ll give you my tomorrow.” I murmur, running my fingers through his hair, pulling him into me. I kiss him with the breath I’ve been holding for years.
As I pull away dizzily, Nyx wraps his arms tightly around me, his strength solid and certain. “I’ll take it.”
We sink into the rocking rhythm of the chair, looking out to the land that now holds my name.
But it seems to hold more than that now.
I lean into his chest, the steady beat of his heart beneath my ear.
I close my eyes and whisper a thank you.
To God. To the land. To the love that waited without demanding. For my tomorrow.