Chapter 213

Chapter 213
“It’s good for me,” I said softly, surprising myself with the honesty. “Seeing you like this.”
Her smile wavered. “You mean happy?”
I nodded once. “And safe.”
Something flickered in her eyes – pain, maybe, or guilt – but before she could speak, I offered my hand.
“Dance with me.”
She froze. “You don’t dance like this.”
“Maybe I should start.”
For a moment, she just stared at me. Then, slowly, she placed her hand in mine.
The contact hit like lightning — not painful, but alive. The mate bond hummed between us, an invisible current that had never really dimmed.
I often hoped that it would. There was a time when I would have done anything to be rid of the bond. The way that my body reacted to Ellie was impossible to ignore. It used to make me angry, aggressive with her.
The feeling was beyond my ability to control or ignore and that felt like a slap in the face. Now, it was something I couldn’t help but crave. She’d been so distant for so long, it hurt to feel the strain on the bond.
I drew her gently onto the dance floor, my other hand settling carefully at her waist. She was warm under my palm, and I felt her heartbeat thrum through the space between us.
We moved slowly, the crowd blurring around us.
Ellie’s gaze stayed fixed somewhere over my shoulder, her expression unreadable.
“I didn’t think you’d want this,” she said softly.
“Want what?” I asked softly.
Ellie’s grip shifted slightly, holding me just a little more firmly. “Want to make a show of being together like this.”
“I didn’t,” I admitted. “I’m not making a show. I don’t really give a damn who’s watching right now. But 1 realized I wasn’t ready to leave yet.”
She didn’t answer.
I hesitated, searching for words. “The reveal helped more than I expected,” I said finally. “The pack’s calmer now. They understand why you were gone. Some even said makes sense that the goddess was protecting you, keeping you safe until the time was right.”
“That’s what Alaric says too.”
“They believe it,” I said. “It’s… comforting, in a way. To think there was purpose in all of it.”
Ellie’s hand tightened slightly in mine. “And for you?”
I looked down at her then, her grey-blue eyes boring into mine. Her intense look
didn’t deter me from answering, if anything it compelled me to be honest.
So much had happened between us. So much had changed. wanted to change too,
to be a better person. That meant no more lying, to her or to myself.
Chuter 201
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“It made me realize how close I came to losing you for good”
The words hung heavily between us. It was an admission I hadn’t quite let myself make out loud. I know that she was aware of the lengths I went to in the search for her, I know that she knows how her leaving has impacted me.
But admitting it out loud is different.
“I drove you away. I put you in danger because of my damned pride. I thought you would never forgive me, I wouldn’t blame you if you didn’t. But, you wanted me here on your day. To celebrate you. Why?”
Her breath caught, but she said nothing.
I drew her a little closer, not enough to startle her – just enough to feel her warmth against me, to let the rhythm of our breathing align.
“You don’t have to answer. Just know that this means something to me,” I said softly, speaking against her hair as I held her close. “Being invited back into your life, in whatever way you’ll have me, means something to me.”
Ellie wasn’t stiff in my arms, as I expected. She nearly melted into my embrace.
The bond was practically humming between us, a steady current of electricity that made my skin tingle wherever we touched. I wanted to lean into the feeling, but I knew that for now, this was more than I could hope for. Ellie was in my arms, her hands on my back. Her head was leaning against my chest.
It was the most contact we’d had in longer than I could remember. I wouldn’t ruin it by saying anything more.
I’d danced a thousand times before in the name of politics, but never like this. Never with someone who felt like the beginning and end of me at once.
Lance was right. I would’ve regretted not asking.
I just hadn’t realized how much it would hurt when she didn’t pull away.
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