Page 45 of Bite for Sore Eyes

The guest room door soon closed with a soft click, leaving Lana alone with Torren beneath the warm covers. The silence felt intimate rather than awkward—two people who had just survived something terrifying together, and processing the weight of what Kelly and Emry had revealed.

Torren moved beside her, his large frame settling more comfortably against the pillows as his arm tightened around her waist. His fingers found her hair, threading through the black strands with a gentleness that seemed impossible from someone capable of fighting off rogue bears just an hour earlier.

"Lana," he said quietly. "I know you're scared. And I know we all thought you might die."

She turned her head to study his face—those striking blue eyes that seemed to see straight through to her soul, the strong jaw, the way his dark hair fell across his forehead in slightly unruly waves. There was something devastatingly honest about Torren when he dropped his Alpha mask, something that made her chest ache with how much she'd grown to love him in such an impossibly short time.

"But I'm not going anywhere," he continued, his thumb tracing gentle circles against her temple. "I'm never going anywhere. Whatever you decide, whether to complete the triad bond or not, I will always be here for you. I will always love you. That will never change."

Tears pricked at the corners of her eyes, hot and unexpected. Here was this powerful, magnificent man—this Alpha bear shifter who could command armies and protect entire territories—professing his undying love to a woman whose body might betray her at any moment. But she didn't doubt him for a second. The sincerity in his voice, the fierce protectiveness she'd witnessed when those rogue bears attacked—everything about Torren screamed permanence and devotion.

What she doubted was whether this mate bond completion would work the way Kelly and Emry theorized it might. What if their souls-and-bodies-aligning explanation was just another dead end? What if she completed the bond and still died within the year anyway?

Then what? I lose everything, and they lose me.

But even as the thought formed, another voice in her mind—stronger and more insistent—pushed back against the familiar spiral of fear and resignation. No matter what she ultimately decided about the triad bond, her choice to come to Nova Aurora had been the best decision she'd ever made. And if she could only love these men for a short while, if this was all the time they were granted together, then it would still be the greatest gift she'd ever received.

She looked up into Torren's eyes, those brilliant blue depths that had become her anchor. "I will always love you, Torren. Every day that I'm allowed to wake up, I will be grateful that I finally found you."

The words came from someplace deep and true inside her, from the part of her soul that had recognized him the moment their hands first touched. She reached up to cup his face and kissed him with everything she had—all her love, all her cautious hope, all her desperate gratitude for whatever time they might have together.

Torren responded immediately, his mouth moving against hers with a tenderness that made her heart race. This wasn't the hungry, desperate kissing from their intimate encounters. This was something deeper—a promise, a commitment, a soul-deep recognition that transcended physical desire.

The guest room door opened just as they broke apart, and Rath returned gloriously naked. His eyes immediately found theirs, and something in his expression shifted when he took in their emotional connection—not jealousy, but a kind of completion, as if seeing her with Torren somehow made his own feelings more real.

He climbed back into bed with them, the mattress dipping under his weight as he settled on her other side. The communicator he'd retrieved rested in his large hand, and Lana could see her own reflection in its dark screen. She turned to face Rath fully, her heart swelling with the same overwhelming love she'd just expressed to his co-Alpha.

"Rath, before I call my dad, before I make any decisions about completing the mate bond, I want you to know that I love you. That will never change. Every day I'm granted to be here with you will be the best day of my life, no matter the circumstances."

Rath's expression softened in a way she'd rarely seen—the Alpha mask slipping completely to reveal the man underneath who'd spent fifteen years carrying everyone else's burdens. His hand came up to cup her cheek, his thumb brushing across her skin with reverent gentleness.

"Lana," he said, his voice thick with emotion, "I love you so much. I will always be here for you, always protect you, and always cherish you every day of your life."

She leaned into his touch and kissed him then, pouring all her love and cautious hope into their connection just as she had with Torren. Rath's response was immediate and fierce—a claiming kiss that spoke of protection and promises that stretched beyond whatever time they might have.

When she finally broke away, breathless and overwhelmed by the intensity of loving two men so completely, she managed a shaky smile. "If you two wouldn't mind, could you let me talk to my dad alone?"

Both men nodded, though she could see the reluctance in their eyes—not because they didn't trust her decision, but because leaving her side after everything that had happened today went against every protective instinct they possessed. They climbed out of bed, their naked forms moving with that fluid Alpha grace.

"We'll go make you something to eat. Come find us when you're ready," Rath said softly.

"Take all the time you need," Torren added.

She smiled at them both, her heart full despite the uncertainty ahead. "Thank you."

After they left, Lana reached for Rath's communicator. The device was surprisingly intuitive—sleek and responsive like an advanced smartphone, but with technology that seemed decades ahead of anything from Earth. She dialed her father's number, marveling that the connection could somehow bridge galaxies, and laughed softly at the wonders of Nova Aurora technology.

Within two rings, her father's familiar voice filled the room. "Hello, who is this?"

"Hi, Dad. It's Lana. I'm calling from Rath's communicator."

"Oh, Lana!" The relief and joy in his voice made her chest tight with emotion. "I've waited days to hear your voice. How is everything going? Are you having fun?"

Lana tried not to cry. She missed him terribly—missed his steady presence, his quiet wisdom, his unconditional love that had anchored her through the worst two years of her life. She wished she could hug him right now, could feel his arms around her the way they had countless times when the world felt too big and uncertain.

"Yeah, Dad, it's going really great. Rath and Torren are incredible, and you would love them. They've taken me hiking and exploring, and yesterday, I got to ride on their bears' backs. It was the most fun I've ever had."

"That sounds like quite an adventure," he said, and she could practically hear his smile through the connection. "I'm so glad you're enjoying yourself." Then his tone shifted, taking on that paternal intuition that had always been able to read her like an open book. "But Lana, I can hear something is wrong in your voice. What's happening?"