“It’s okay to want things from me,” she said softly.
“I know.”
“No. I don’t think you do.” Her fingers curled slightly in his fur. “Wanting isn’t the same as taking. You can tell me you want me to stay, and I can still leave.”
His throat tightened, but he nodded.
“You can tell me you want me in your bed, and I can still sleep somewhere else.”
“Yes.”
“You can tell me you want me as your mate...” Her voice faltered, and she swallowed hard. “And I can still say no.”
“Yes.”
The word hurt, but he said it anyway. She nodded slowly.
“Then that’s what I need from you. Not less wanting, but trusting me enough to let me decide what to do with it.”
“I can do that.”
“Good.” She took a deep breath. “But I also need to tell you something, and I need you to not decide what it means before I finish saying it.”
His heart stopped.
“All right,” he managed.
“Permanence frightens me.”
The words hung between them like smoke, curling in the warm air of the cave.
“Not you. Never you. But forever still sounds too much like no way out. I know a mate claim isn’t ownership, but some part of me hearspermanentand thinkstrapped.” She made a helpless gesture with her free hand. “It’s like standing at the edge of a cliff. Even when you know the ground is solid. Even when you know you won’t fall.”
“You still feel the drop,” he said quietly.
“Yes.” She exhaled, a shaky rush of breath. “Exactly that.”
The fire crackled. Somewhere in the distance, he heard the faint echo of voices—other clan members going about their evening, living their lives in easy rhythm with one another.
“What do you want now?” he asked eventually. “Not tomorrow. Not forever. Just right now.”
For a long moment she said nothing, then she leaned into him, just a little.
“I want to stay here.”
A knot inside him loosened.
“With me?”
“Yes.”
“In my bed?”
A tiny smile appeared.
“Definitely.”
He allowed himself one slow breath.
