18. Graham
Eighteen
Graham
Ever since the day Elsie told me she loved me in the Den...
I haven't looked back.
Sure, I handled everything exactly backward.
I bit her before I explained.
Claimed her before I asked.
Introduced her to the supernatural world by letting her witness a full-on Shifter brawl.
If there were a handbook titled How Not to Meet Your Fated Mate, I'd have written every chapter.
Somehow...
Some way...
She fell in love with me, anyway.
Not because I'm a Bear.
Not because I won some television singing competition.
Not because of the Clan or the Den or fate itself.
She loves me because I'm Graham.
The man who brings her coffee before she realizes she's tired.
The man who alphabetized the occult section at Moon & Mug because I couldn't stand watching customers put the spell books back wherever they felt like.
The man who brings her pastries before dinner and pretends not to notice when she gets chocolate on my shirt.
My Honey.
This wonderful, beautiful woman who believes in magic with her whole heart.
Who somehow smiled at the impossible instead of running from it.
Who lights up every room she walks into.
Just looking at her sends a thrill running through my blood.
Christ.
She shines brighter than the morning sun.
Tonight, she's done it again.
After closing the shop, she transformed Moon & Mug into something even more magical than usual.
Candles flicker from every tabletop.
Tiny fairy lights are strung through the bookshelves, casting a warm golden glow across the cozy little café.
The smell of fresh espresso mingles with cinnamon rolls and vanilla.
Every chair is occupied.
Some people have guitars.
Others clutch journals or sketchbooks.
A poet nervously flips through handwritten pages while another musician quietly tunes a mandolin in the corner.
When Elsie first floated the idea...
“Poetry, music, local artists... just a place where creative people can belong.”
I'd watched her get that look.
The one where inspiration grabbed hold and refused to let go.
Now she's standing near the coffee bar greeting everyone by name, laughing with customers who've already become regulars.
She belongs here.
Moon & Mug isn't just a business anymore.
It's becoming a home.
And she built it.
Christ.
I'm so damn proud of her.
Lucien warned me once that finding your mate would rearrange your priorities.
I thought he meant emotionally.
Turns out, he meant everything.
I don't care about awards anymore.
Or record sales.
Or sold-out arenas.
None of them compare to watching my mate smile across her little bookstore.
Yeah, Luc was right.
A mate changes you.
She becomes home.
I adjust the guitar strap across my shoulder and glance over at the ring gleaming on her left hand from across the shop.
Then I smile.
Just this morning, I put it on Elsie's finger.
Nothing extravagant.
Nothing flashy.
Just a quiet moment before opening the shop.
Coffee.
Sunrise.
A question I'd already known the answer to.
She cried.
I teared up.
The Bear looked entirely too pleased with himself.
Now I have one more surprise.
The microphone squeals softly as I adjust it.
The chatter fades.
Every face turns toward me.
Except I'm only looking for one.
I find her almost immediately.
Crystal-blue eyes meet mine curiously from across the room.
She's tucked herself beside one of the bookshelves, apron still tied around her waist, a fresh mug of tea warming her hands.
The second she catches me looking...
She smiles.
There it is.
The smile that can stop my heart and restart it all in the same beat.
I grin back before dipping my head toward the microphone.
“So...”
A few people laugh quietly.
“I've written a lot of songs over the years.”
I glance toward Elsie again.
“But this one...”
I can't stop smiling.
“This one's for my Honey.”
A chorus of soft “awws” ripples through the café.
Her cheeks immediately turn pink.
I love that I can fluster her.
“Because...” I continue, never taking my eyes off her, “... she makes everything better.”
She presses a hand over her heart.
The room falls silent.
I let my fingers settle over the strings.
One slow breath.
Then another.
The first chord fills Moon & Mug.
Warm.
Gentle.
Comfortable.
Like coming home.
I begin to sing.
Every word is for her.
The room disappears.
The audience disappears.
It's just me...
And my mate.
Halfway through the first verse, I see it.
Her eyes glisten.
She knows.
Not the song itself.
I've kept this one hidden.
No.
She knows this isn't just another performance.
This is a piece of my heart I've never let anyone hear.
The words I'd been writing since the day she walked into my life.
I watch her lips part ever so slightly.
She remembers.
The fox.
The bite.
The lake.
Every impossible moment that somehow led us here.
By the chorus, tears spill down her cheeks.
She laughs as she wipes them away, embarrassed, but she can't stop smiling.
Neither can I.
Maybe she'll finally understand.
Forever didn't begin with the ring I slipped onto her finger this morning.
It didn't begin the day she told me she loved me.
Or even the day fate brought us together.
Forever started the instant I looked across Moon & Mug and saw a curvy blonde surrounded by books and crystals, smiling at customers like kindness was the easiest thing in the world.
Before I knew her name...
Before she knew mine...
Some part of me already belonged to her.
The song comes to its final chord.
Silence settles over the café.
No one moves.
No one speaks.
I look only at Elsie.
Then, without the microphone, quietly enough that it feels like the words are meant for only her...
“You didn't steal my heart, love.”
My voice catches.
“It was always yours.”
A tear slips down her cheek as I smile.
“I've just been keeping it safe until we found each other.”
The room erupts into applause.
But all I hear...
Is the sound of my Honey laughing through happy tears as she makes her way across the café toward me.
Toward our forever.