Chapter 17
Wolf shifters never back away from a fight.
Henley
On nights when I am able to fly with others is my favorite. The magic of being in the air, sounded by people like me, is an amazing feeling. The only thing that eclipses it is the feeling of my mate bond with Parker.
Before I married him, I thought I knew love.
I thought it would never get better than it had in those blissful few months of us dating and being engaged.
But I was so wrong. I know Parker now. I know his thoughts.
His feelings. He shares them with me through our mate bond, as I do with him.
And the intensity of his love for me nearly takes my breath away.
So, the only thing better than taking flight with the others is knowing he’ll be waiting for me when I’m done. Knowing that we don’t have to go to separate rooms at night any longer. Because he’s mine, and I’m his.
Waking up in Parker’s arms is not something that will ever get old.
I love the slow, lazy mornings—not that we get many of those these days.
I love just being held by him and feeling so safe.
I know that nobody can hurt me as long as I’m with him.
And because of my magic, I know nobody can hurt him either.
Now, if I can just figure out how to protect the rest of my people.
I can’t ask the dragon king to stay indefinitely.
He’ll eventually need to go home. And maybe a few dragons could stay and patrol the island, but for how long?
How many days, weeks, or months will it take for us to grow complacent enough to drop our guard?
It will only take one time to ruin everything.
One time, and my people could be wiped out of existence.
Parker kisses me on my cheek. “It’s too early for you to be thinking such dark things.”
“Maybe, but it doesn’t make them any less true.” I put my head on his shoulder, and he tugs me tighter against him.
In his arms, I can almost forget about the world outside. In here, it’s just us. But then I think about the crown sitting on my dresser—the same crown that Uncle Ferno insists that I wear. I can’t just think about us, not anymore. I’m a princess—one day to be a queen. It’s my duty to protect them.
“I can understand duty,” Parker says softly. “I was raised to be an alpha, remember?”
My stomach clenches with my guilt. Parker should be back home with his pack. Instead, he’s here. And he might never get to go home—at least not permanently. He’ll likely never get to become the alpha he trained to be.
“None of that.” Parker nudges my chin so that I’m looking into his blue eyes that I love so much.
“You aren’t allowed to feel guilty for this.
Giving up the pack is something I will gladly do, Henley.
Because you are my world. Any of my siblings can take my place as alpha—only you can lead the phoenixes. ”
He’s right, but it doesn’t make me feel any better about it.
“You can feel me through our mate bond. You know that I don’t regret anything about this. I will gladly walk away from my pack because I’ve met something—somebody—that I love more.” He kisses me gently. “I love you more than anything, Henley.”
My heart swells. “I love you, too.”
“Besides, I didn’t leave all my pack. Blaine is moving here permanently because of Keagan, no matter what we do,” Parker says. “And Will decided the moment he heard you were to be queen that he was staying. I think he’s more loyal to you than he is to me. You’re his alpha now.”
I roll my eyes. “Yeah, right.”
“He loves you.” Parker pushes a piece of hair out of my face. “He’s treated you like his luna since the moment you died in front of him and were reborn in ashes.”
Parker’s pain from the memory is so sharp that it causes my heart to ache.
That day was hard on him, but I didn’t understand it until the very same thing happened to him. The time I almost lost him was one of the most horrible days of my life. I hope I never have to see it happen again. I’m not sure I would survive the experience.
Parker tightens his arm around me. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to make you think of that night.”
I shake my head. “It’s okay. We got a second chance that night, and I intend to never take it for granted.”
No matter what we face, I know that we can take it. Parker’s love for me isn’t fickle—it’s the stuff soulmates are made of.
Will is right—it was good for Parker and me to fall in love on our own without the mate bond in place.
I fell hard and fast for him, but it was never easy.
Now, I can appreciate the longing. I can appreciate everything that led us to where we are now.
Because now I know that, even if mate bonds weren’t a thing for wolf shifters, Parker would still be willing to leave his pack for me.
He would do anything for me, just as I would do anything for him.
If he asked me to, I’d walk away from my duty as queen.
I’d run away with him, like my parents did all those years ago.
“We’re staying here,” Parker growls the promise. “Because this is where you are safe. Your parents died because they left. We will not make the same mistake.”
“They left to protect everybody.” I look up at him through my lashes.
“Yes,” he agrees. “But they shouldn’t have. They ran because they were scared—but you won’t do that. Maybe that’s why fate chose you to be my mate. Because wolf shifters never back away from a fight. We never let fear dictate our actions.”
My heart races. “Thank you. I don’t know what I would do without you.”
“You’ll never have to find out,” he promises, kissing me on the top of my head.
He pulls me against him, and I rest my head on his chest. We lie like that for a long time before we get up for breakfast. He just holds me, and we just soak in the moments we have together.
They’re so precious. I know, without a doubt, this is what I was born for.
And all the suffering I had to do to meet Parker was completely worth it.