"I'm fine." His response came out sharper than necessary, and he immediately softened his tone. "I mean, I'm feeling muchbetter. I just... I needed to get out of the mansion. I needed fresh air and time with my mate without clan members interrupting every five minutes."
There was truth in that. The past week had been a constant stream of visitors—clan members checking on their Alpha's recovery, bringing gifts, sharing stories of the battle. It had been wonderful in many ways, but intensely public. They'd barely had a moment alone together since the night he'd marked her.
"I understand that," she said. "But you seem nervous about something. Is there something you're not telling me about where we're going?"
Rune's step faltered almost imperceptibly. "Just... trust me. We're almost there."
The landscape around them was beginning to look familiar in a way that made her stomach flutter with recognition. The distinctive red rock formations, the particular way the canyon walls curved, the scattered Joshua trees that dotted the desert floor…
"Rune," she said slowly, stopping in her tracks. "This is starting to look like?—"
"Like where you found the claim marker." He turned to face her, his blue eyes intense with an emotion she couldn't quite read. "Because that's exactly where we're going."
Her heart began to race. "Why? What's at the excavation site that's so important?"
Instead of answering, he reached for her hand, his thumb stroking across her knuckles in a gesture that was both comforting and possessive. "Do you remember what you told me about that day? About how something was pulling you toward that exact spot?"
"Of course I remember." The memory was burned into her mind—the inexplicable certainty that had driven her to trespass on his land, the way her instincts had guided her directly tothe buried claim marker. "I felt like I was being drawn there by something I couldn't understand."
"That was fate." His voice dropped to that low, commanding tone that never failed to send heat racing through her veins. "The same force that guided you to that marker is the same force that's been guiding us together across lifetimes. And there's something I need to show you."
Her breath caught. "Rune, what are you?—"
"Just a little further," he said, tugging gently on her hand. "Please. Trust me."
They resumed walking, but now every step felt charged with anticipation. The claim marker in her backpack seemed to weigh her down suddenly, as if it too recognized the significance of returning to its place of origin. She thought about how different the red rock was now—no longer glowing or humming with ancient magic, but simply a beautiful reminder of the moment her life had changed forever.
The mate bond between them had absorbed all that mystical energy, transforming it into something far more powerful. The unbreakable connection that now lived inside her, and in the dragon mark over her heart, and in the telepathic link that let her communicate with Rune without words.
"You know," she said, partly to distract herself from her growing nervousness, "I've been thinking about my future in archaeology. About what I want to do with my career now that I know the truth about dragons."
Rune glanced at her with interest. "And what have you decided?"
"I want to protect dragon history, not exploit it. Ben and I have already talked about shifting our focus entirely. Instead of hunting for artifacts to put in museums, we want to help hidden dragon communities safeguard their heritage from people like Elias."
The pride in his eyes made her chest warm. "That's exactly what I hoped you'd say. There are dozens of smaller dragon settlements throughout North America who could use that kind of protection. Your knowledge and instincts could help preserve centuries of history."
"Our knowledge," she corrected. "I'm not doing anything without my mate by my side."
His steps faltered as his eyes flashed with that molten gold. But instead of answering, he simply squeezed her hand and picked up the pace.
As they rounded the curve in the canyon wall, Maple saw it—the exact spot where she'd knelt in the dirt just two weeks ago and dug up the claim marker that had changed her entire world. The excavation site looked exactly the same, the small depression in the earth the only sign that anything had ever been disturbed.
But Rune wasn't looking at the dig site. His attention was focused on something else entirely, his body coiled with nervous energy that was completely unlike his usual commanding confidence.
"Rune," she said softly. "What are we doing here?"
Maple's heart hammered as she stared at the exact spot where she'd knelt in the dirt and unearthed the claim marker that had led her to everything—to him, to this impossible love, to a world she'd dreamed of since childhood.
"Are you finally going to have me arrested?" she teased, trying to lighten the charged atmosphere between them. "Because I should probably point out that?—"
"No," he interrupted, his deep voice rough with emotion. "But I am going to see if we can settle the damages of you trespassing and stealing my heart a different way."
Before she could process what he meant, before she could ask why his hands were trembling slightly, Rune dropped to one knee in the red desert dirt.
Her breath stopped completely as he reached into his pocket and withdrew a small velvet box, his movements deliberate despite the way his hands shook. The sun caught the dark fabric, and she could feel his emotions flooding through their completed bond—nerves and excitement and love so profound it made her knees weak.
"Rune," she whispered.
