There’s a satisfaction that runs bone deep.
My wolf will keep speaking to me, even if the Grandmothers will now be silent. I reach for them, testing our connection, but feel nothing. Not even their disappointment with me over this choice. It’s just…quiet.
Which I guess is a relief.
My entire life I had this internalized sense of judgement. Maybe human kids have the idea of Santa Claus always watching. Or the Boogie Man. But I had the Grandmothers. Oma was always lecturing about not shaming myself with them. That they’d know if I broke a rule, and they’d tell her, so I could be properly punished.
Now they’re no longer in my head. No longer watching over my shoulder.
I’m…free.
I’m free!
I throw my arms around Noah, nearly strangling him in a wild hug. All the pressure to perform, to be a conduit for the pack’s visions, to survive in a toxic environment is gone.
It’s just me and Noah.
And soon, we’ll have Oriana and Liora. We’ll be a pack of four until Noah and I have pups of our own. We love each other. We’ll find our way.
I push away the nagging anxieties about whether we can safely get Liora and Oriana out without my Sight to guide us.
Or if Noah will lose his job. What Brick Blackthroat will do with us. Or worse, what the Adalwulfs will do if they ever find me. Kill me, most likely. If they find out I’ve lost the Sight, then I’m not only worth nothing to them, but I’ve taken their greatest asset from them. Such a loss would be punishable by death.
But with Noah, it feels like I can face the most insurmountable problems and come out on top. Look at the miracles that have already happened–I’m out of that prison tower! I won’t be magically bound to Aiden Adalwulf.
He eases out of me, and I release his neck. “One minute.” Noah holds up a finger as he slides off the bed then returns a moment later with a warm washcloth. He cleans between my legs then lays more kisses along my skin, traveling from my mons up to my throat.
I love you. He shows me the “ILY” sign, but this time his middle and index fingers are crossed.
I shape my fingers into the same sign.
“It means, I really love you,” he explains. “The R is for really.”
“I really love you,” I whisper as I wave my IRLY hand in front of his face.
He grins and holds up his finger again, this time going to the bedroom door and cracking it, even though he’s naked. He bends down and picks up a tray from the floor outside.
There’s a tray with a red rose in a vase, a bottle of Moet champagne on ice with two flutes, and a charcuterie board with cheeses, meats, and fresh bread.
I gasp. “What’s that?”
He shows me a note. “Congratulations, Noah. You punched above your weight.” It’s signed by Billy and the whole pack.
“‘Punched above your weight.’ What does that mean?”
“It means I mated someone far, far above me.” He leans in and kisses me.
“That’s not true,” I protest.
“Oh, starlight, it is.” He looks smug.
“Which one is Billy?”
“The wolf who noticed me mooning over you when I first saw you. He’s my direct boss and an asshole. And we all tease him because he definitely mated someone better than him. And he knows it.”
I can’t help my smile. Noah seems to know these wolves so well, and they also seem to have accepted him even though he’s not pack. It warms my heart. “Do you think we’re still prisoners?”
Noah sets the tray down on the bedside table and pours the champagne. “Probably. But I think Brick might be willing to help us.” Or Sully, he adds in ASL.
