Page 264 of Knot What I Expected

Inside me.

The matebond that has been growing since the first moment I recognized her scent suddenly tears wide open.

Heat rushes through me.

Fire.

A bite of pain.

But mostly, it’s her.

Gabby.

Mine.

Her emotions crash into mine so fast I almost lose my fucking breath.

Need.

Relief.

Joy.

Fear too, because of course there’s fear. My Honey Girl has spent years learning that giving someone power over her means getting hurt.

But she gives this to me, anyway.

Her trust.

Her body.

Her future.

Herself.

And the Wolf inside me doesn’t rage.

Monster goes still. For the first time since I was eighteen fucking years old, there is absolute silence inside my head.

Not because he’s gone. Because he’s home.

My eyes burn.

Fuck.

I wrap an arm around Gabby’s middle and pull her more tightly against me, careful of the place where my teeth marked her.

Mine.

But that word means something different now.

She isn’t something I own. She’s the woman who chose me. And with that choice comes a responsibility so fucking sacred it settles into my bones.

Protect.

Provide.

Love.