Chapter 756 I’m in love with my husband every single day
Pete dragged in deep, ragged breaths, his gaze bouncing from Voren to Sera and then back to Nicole. Something broke loose inside him, a dam giving way all at once.
He yanked her into his arms so hard it almost knocked the air out of both of them, burying his face in her hair. His whole body sagged against hers like he had been holding himself upright for far too long. His shoulders shook. His fingers dug into the back of her shirt like he was afraid she might disappear if he loosened his grip even a little.
“You’re real. You’re actually real.” His voice cracked on the last word, thick and rough. “I thought I was losing my mind. I thought I was going crazy.”
Nicole’s heart ached for him even though she had braced herself for him to fall apart. Seeing him like this, raw and trembling, cracked something open inside her. Tears pricked at the corners of her eyes. She held him tighter, one hand sliding up into his hair, the other pressed flat against his back so she could feel the rapid thud of his heartbeat.
“I am real, Pete. I can be both a human and a wolf. Can you accept that?”
He went quiet, turning everything over in his mind. The pieces clicked into place one by one. The month she had vanished without a word. The dead ends that had nearly driven him insane. The sleepless nights staring at his phone, willing it to light up with her name.
The way his chest had felt hollow every morning when she still wasn’t there. Now it all made sense. A wave of gratitude washed over him so powerful it stung his eyes that she hadn’t let him marry a half truth. He pulled back just enough to look at her face, eyes red and shining.
“Yeah,” he nodded, his grip on her tightening like he might never let go. “I can. God, I can. But you have to keep my parents out of this. They’ll say you’re possessed and drag you straight to church for deliverance. My mom would have the whole congregation praying over you by lunchtime.”
The laughter burst out of all of them, Nicole, Voren, Seraphine, loud and sudden. The tension cracked wide open, spilling relief into the air until it was almost dizzying.
Nicole laughed so hard a tear finally slipped free and rolled down her cheek. Pete wiped it away with his thumb, still holding her like she was the only solid thing in the world.
“In that case,” Voren smiled, the corner of his mouth lifting, “welcome to the family.”
Seraphine pulled Nicole into a warm embrace the second Pete loosened his hold, wrapping her arms around her and holding her tight. “See? It wasn’t so hard.”
Nicole nodded against her shoulder, relief pouring over her like rain on parched earth, soaking into every dry and frightened place she had been carrying since the restoration of the mate bond. “You were right. I was so scared he would look at me different. I was so scared he would walk away.”
“But you have to remember to mark him, alright? Mate here too. I want to see if a human picks up any of our abilities through the mating and marking,” Seraphine pressed, her eyes alight with curiosity and something sharper underneath, something scientific and hungry.
Nicole’s cheeks flushed hot, a shy smile tugging at her lips even as her stomach flipped. “I’ll try to get it done.”
Seraphine wasn’t about to let the experiment slip through her fingers. She stepped back, hands still resting on Nicole’s arms. “I’ll help you.” She raised her voice toward Pete, clear and firm. “Pete, the two of you will have to mark each other.”
“What is that?” His brows knitted together in confusion. Voren tilted his head, pulling the collar of his shirt aside to show him the mark on his neck, the faint scar that looked almost like a bite.
“Nicole is a she wolf, so let her mark you first. Since we’ve never had a human in our world, we’re waiting to see how your body responds to her mark.”
Pete’s stomach tightened hard. Unease crawled up his spine and settled heavy in his chest. His eyes flicked to Nicole, then back to the mark on Voren’s neck. “Am I gonna die?”
Seraphine laughed, bright and genuine, the sound cutting through the leftover tension. “You’re hilarious. No, you won’t die. In our world there’s no such thing as weddings. This mark shows that a she wolf is claimed. It’s permanent. It means she’s yours and you’re hers.”
“Oh. I see.” Pete nodded slowly, then his expression softened, something tender and hopeful breaking through the fear. His hand found Nicole’s again and squeezed. “But my family would still want a wedding. A real one. White dress, church, the whole thing. My mom has been planning it since we started dating.”
“Sure,” Voren encouraged him, voice steady. “I married my wife in your world too, so a wedding is fine. We’ll be there. Front row if you want us.”
A long sigh of relief escaped Pete’s chest. His shoulders finally dropped, the weight of the unknown rolling off him at last. He looked at Nicole like she was the only person left on earth. “Then I can’t wait to experience this new world. As long as you’re in it with me, I’m good.”
After they retired to Nicole’s suite, the door closing behind them with a soft click, she reached out through the mind link, her thoughts warm and shaky with leftover emotion. “Thanks, Sera. I’ve never felt this at peace in a relationship like I do today. I feel like I can finally breathe.”
Seraphine’s reply came swift, threaded with quiet amusement. “Don’t thank me yet. I’m waiting for the end result.”
Once Seraphine retreated to her own suite with Voren, the moment she settled onto the bed he spread her legs and knelt between them. He rubbed her bump with both hands, pressing soft, lingering kisses against it, then lifted his eyes to hers. The look in them was soft and intense at the same time.
“Do you think a male human will react the same way a female one would?”
Seraphine shook her head, a shadow of worry crossing her face. She rested one hand over his where it still covered her stomach. “I have no idea. When the mate bond wasn’t there, humans have carried a werewolf pup without knowing, but that was limited to the human world. Everything stayed quiet. Contained.”
She went quiet, turning the problem over in her mind, her thumb tracing slow circles against his skin. “No human has ever carried a werewolf pup in our world, and I have no idea if Nicole’s future pup would be dominated by human DNA or ours. I also don’t know how a female human would react to seeing our wolf. I need to experiment with both sides. I need to know what we’re dealing with before this gets bigger than we can control.”
Seeing the fierce determination burning in her eyes, Voren reached up and brushed his thumb along her cheek, slow and careful. “Don’t worry. As long as it’s the moon goddess doing the pairing, we should be prepared for a new world order. Whatever comes, we face it together.”
Seraphine smiled, gratitude softening her whole face. The worry didn’t disappear completely, but it eased. “You’re always there every step of the way, V. I love you so much.”
“You know how my heart swells every time you say it.” Voren smiled, resting his head on her lap, turning his face so he could press another kiss to the curve of her stomach.
Seraphine stroked his hair gently, her heart so full it ached. She ran her fingers through the dark strands again and again, grounding herself in the simple feel of him. “Then I’ll say it all the time. I’ll scream it to the world that I’m in love with my husband every single day.”
Voren laughed softly and lifted his head, their gazes locking, the air between them electric. “Every day with you is like a dream, Sera. I want to savor every moment of it, and I will always love you. Wild or quiet. Pregnant or not. You’re it for me.”
Seraphine pulled him up and kissed him passionately, pressing him back onto the bed as she climbed on top of him. Her hands braced on either side of his head. “Now let me take care of you.”
Voren smirked, his eyes darkening with heat. “So sexy.”
Ever since her bump began to show, Seraphine loved being in charge, and Voren never stopped her. He found it irresistible. Her heightened energy made her wild, and he loved that too.
But the truth was, Voren would love his wife either way, wild or meek, sober or hyper. She was everything. He let her take what she needed, matching her intensity, grounding her when she needed it, giving her the control she craved.
The next day, Seraphine and Voren headed out for training, the morning air cool against their skin. They stopped dead at the sight of Nicole arriving with Pete. Fresh marks stood out clear on both their necks, still slightly red at the edges.
The pack members went rigid. Every head turned. Nostrils flared as they caught his scent, human and unmistakable under the new claim. A murmur rippled through the crowd, sharp with disbelief and something sharper underneath.
“A human among us? Is this right?”