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I recoiled, steering my gaze to where Callan unexpectedly leaned against the far wall, wearing a half-smile. “You need to seal the bite with your tongue.”

I frowned, not understanding, before my gaze returned to Scar’s neck. Blood trailed from her wound, and without another thought I did as instructed: sealing it with a lap of my tongue. She whimpered at the contact, and, incredibly, her wound healed over, my saliva both the venom and the antidote.

Incredible.

I stared at her neck, where only a bruise remained. “Hey,” I whispered into her hair. “Are you okay?” My stomach did a somersault at the thought of her leaving the cell and never returning. Even if that’s what I had asked her, it was not what I wanted. Not now. I wanted her to stay with me. I needed to be sure she was okay.

She clung to me, her arms draped around my neck and her cheek in the crook of my shoulder. “Yeah,” she whispered.

It seemed ridiculous. One of the most intimate moments of our existence had happened in a cell, under a vampire’s house, and with my hands in chains.

“Are you sure?” I asked again, to be doubly sure.

She finally pulled away, and I dared myself to look at my fated mate, my breath caught in my chest. My worry dissolved immediately when her expression told me everything I needed to know in a heartbeat. She was okay.

“I’m so sorry,” I whispered, still afraid she would run the first chance she got.

“It’s okay, I wanted to,” she said shakily. “I did it for us.” Her forehead dipped until it rested on mine, her eyes boring holes through my fucking skull. She cupped my head with her hands, and the warmth of her palms hit my skin. “You would never hurt me, Reid. Not before, not now. I know this in my heart.”

“I can’t promise that,” I countered, because, in all honesty, I really didn’t know how this worked. The feed, the aftercare. I had no fucking clue.

“You already proved it,” she affirmed, like there was no doubt in her mind.

“Yeah, but Colt —” Her finger on my lips silenced my words.

She stared down at me, her auburn hair shining red in the dim light of the cell. “If there is no you, there is no us, and I could not live with that.”

“Scar.” Words evaporated on my tongue, and all I could do was stare at the woman I loved in awe. How could she be so selfless? She had put me before her, in the most unimaginable way possible. I couldn’t fathom it.

I would spend the rest of my existence making her life worth it.

She continued, not releasing my face. “We deserve to be happy, and everyone’s version of happiness looks different. This is ours, and I know we can make it work.”

“You’re sure about this?”

“I’ve never been more certain in my life.” She lifted a brow, her voice lowering. “Besides, that was… wow.”

Again, I found myself lost for words.

“How do you feel?” she asked, giving me a subtle once over.

It took a moment to register her question.

The ache in my gums had subsided, returning me to the dampness that clung to the cell’s walls. My sight had also shifted from muted color to vibrant contrast again. What stunned me the most was that I had the woman I loved on my lap, whispering to me that the most hideous thing I’d ever done in my life was something she liked. “I’m doing okay,” I answered honestly, still bemused by the thought.

She took a moment to search my face.

“Un-cuff him,” she demanded without tearing her gaze from me.

I broke from our connection, veering a worried glance at Callan.

Was this a good idea? Could I cope with this new instinct inside me?

It lingered not on the surface, but deeper. Sitting quietly for now. But I knew what it would feel like when it roused, wanting more. The hungry pull towing me toward my fated mate’s blood like a lion would its prey. I would be more than ready when the time came again.

A quick nod and Callan pulled a key from his pocket. My hands released from the handcuffs moments later.

“Well controlled,” he said, giving me a knowing look. A look that held so much more weight to it than any human could know. Because the power of that bloodlust had been unrivaled to anything I’d ever had to control before.