She is staring at me.
"Keer. Are you telling me your wolf just married me."
"More than married."
"MORE THAN—"
"It's biological, Mel. Permanent. A wolf only bonds once. After tonight I can't—" My voice has gone rough. "There won't be anyone else. Ever. Can't father pups with anyone but you. The wolf chose. It's done."
She is silent.
I brace.
This is where she pulls back. This is where the panic hits. This is where she realizes the size of the thing she just stepped into without being warned.
I have to accept whatever she decides.
I will accept it and I will hold still while she decides because I am still inside her and there is nowhere for either of us to go.
"Keer."
"Yeah."
"Are you okay with this?"
I freeze.
"What?"
"You keep saying the wolf chose. The wolf bit me. The wolf locked us. The wolf, the wolf, the wolf." Her hand finds my face. "What about you, Keer? What about the man? Did you choose this? Or did the wolf choose for you?"
I—I don’t—.
"Mel."
"Because it sounds like you're saying the wolf did this and you're just along for the ride. And I need to know if that's true. Because if it is—" Her thumb traces my cheekbone. "If it is, we have a different conversation."
I close my eye.
The answer comes without thought.
"The wolf chose first. By a breath. The wolf reached you before I did." A long pause. "But I would have. Melori. I would have. Maybe not tonight. Maybe not for months. But I would have. The wolf just—got there ahead of me."
Her smile grows.
"Okay."
"Okay?"
"That's what I needed to know."
A beat. Her hand still on my face.
"Then tell me one more thing."
"Anything."
"If you could undo it. If the wolf hadn't gotten there first and you had a choice—would you?"
