13. Olivia #4
I was lying to Keith and keeping him separate from a part of my life that was very important to me.
I wanted to spend forever with him.
I couldn’t spend forever with him.
The push and pull of it all and the guilt I felt when he was so perfect in every way made the tears come even harder. I wanted to confess right then and there, but I couldn’t risk the entire existence of my people because my conscience was growing too heavy for my enhanced strength to bear.
“My life is like a fairy tale now, and it’s so amazing. I’m so happy! Thank you, Keith. I love you so much.”
I was repeating myself because I wasn’t a poet, so I didn’t have the words to profess all the emotions swirling inside me, but the look Keith gave me was a mix of caring and intensity that took my breath away.
“Fuck it.”
Now that was just about the last thing I expected to hear, but it knocked me out of the spiral growing in me, and I sputtered for a second.
“W-wha—”
A little squeak left me as Keith got down on one knee in front of me.
Wait, is this happening?
Sure enough, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a little blue jewelry box that looked comically tiny in his large palm.
“Olivia...”
Oh my god! This is happening!!!
“You are an incredible woman, and you’ve made the last year of my life better than I could ever hope to verbalize. You fill my days with smiles, my nights with laughter, and every weekend is a new adventure.
“But lately, I’ve realized that these weekend escapes from the world aren’t enough.
That the best memories I’ve made and experiences I’ve had over the past year have all been with you.
I count down the minutes until I see you again, and when we’re together, it’s never quite long enough before I have to see you go. ”
If I was crying before, I was a total sobbing mess now.
I pressed my hand over my mouth in an effort not to interrupt any of Keith’s speech.
Because every word that fell from his lips was like a balm to my tormented soul.
I wished everyone on the face of the earth could feel what it was like to be so cherished, because there was nothing else like it.
“That’s why I’m asking you to take my hand in marriage. I want to spend the rest of my life with you, from the boring moments doing laundry and loading the dishwasher, to yelling at the TV while eating an absurd amount of crab rangoon, to all the hikes, movies, and line dancing adventures.
“I know this might be soon, and it’s okay if it is for you, but I’ve been hiding this ring for six months and carrying it in my pocket for four. So, Olivia, I’m asking you, here in this chicken shop, will you marry me?”
I couldn’t even breathe, but somehow I managed to answer. “Yes! A million times yes!”
I threw myself at him, chicken completely forgotten, and held on as he stood.
He lifted me from my feet, and I wrapped my arms around his neck, holding on for dear life.
There was a very serious possibility of me ascending to the next plane of existence due to pure happiness.
I never knew it was possible to feel so much joy and excitement all at once.
If I weren’t a shifter, I might have worried about having an apoplexy.
“Yes!” I declared as I pressed a quick peck to one cheek. “Yes!” Another kiss to his other cheek. “Yes!” A kiss on his lips. On and on I continued, picking up speed and peppering his face with all my affection until my words bled into one delighted noise.
It was only after the muscles of my lips began to tire from being pursed that I noticed the employees in the chicken shop were all applauding us.
I blushed quite furiously. All right. We weren’t exactly alone.
Sure, it wasn’t some grand proposal in front of a palace, but as far as I was concerned, it fit us so perfectly.
“Thank you,” Keith murmured, his face bright red.
He wasn’t fond of social attention—he’d come out of his shell a lot since we’d first met—so the fact that he had proposed in front of others made me want to smother him with kisses all over again.
Maybe when we got home. “You’ve made me the happiest man in the world. ”
Slowly, he lowered me to the ground. My feet touching the floor quite literally brought me back down to earth. This was it. This was the branching path I had been trying to avoid for so long.
I had to choose. Keith or my family. The love of my life for my pack.
Unless...
Unless there was a third path I’d never considered possible. One I hadn’t wanted to entertain because not only was it dangerous, but it also felt like it would be littered in heartbreak. But now, as I stood at the branching path in front of me, I realized I had to try.
Our future together was worth it.
“On one condition.” God, I felt terrible about the confusion and apprehension that flashed across Keith’s face. He trusted me so implicitly, and I had been abusing that for the entire time we were together. If things worked out, I owed him so much.
“What’s that?”
“I need you to meet my family first.”