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His mouth dropped. He hesitated, hope warring with caution, before he said, “You… you remember?”
Evangeline nodded. The giddy feeling from when she woke up? It manifested in a bubble of laughter that had Maddox crouching low, then pushing off of the carpeted floor. He landed in the bed easily, barely jostling her. She giggled, her laugh turning into more of a surprised shriek as Maddox’s arm wrapped around her, tugging her into his warm embrace.
“Angie, you remember!”
She wiggled until she was facing him. “Some… more this morning, too. I wasn’t kidding when I told you that last night. I mean, some things are more vivid than others, and I know I’m still missing a lot. That day, though? I remember that day because it was the day you told me I was your mate.”
Maddox winced. “I don’t know why I ever bother pretending to be a human. The first time, you called me out on being a shifter. This time, I barely lasted a couple of days before my wolf took control.”
“You’re a Para, Maddox. I don’t ever want you to be something you’re not. Even when you stole me, I understood why you thought you had to, even when I thought you were crazy for thinking I was your mate.”
“You are my mate.”
“I know.” Evangeline slipped a hand between their bodies, caressing the bite on her shoulder. It was halfway healed; with their bond finally intact again, Maddox must have taken the pain from Evangeline, lending her his increased healing properties. Come to think of it, her ankle was feeling better, too. “Now everyone else will, too.”
Maddox eyed her closely, his eyes gleaming with a mixture of possessiveness and concern. “How are you feeling?”
“Great,” admitted Evangeline. Laughter bubbled up and out of her again. “For the first time in a long, long time, I feel great.”
It wouldn’t be easy. There was the fact that E
vangeline still wasn’t completely whole, a possessive witch out there somewhere, and Maddox had technically gone against the Claws Clause by taking the subject of their mating into his own paws.
Then, of course, there was Adam.
She had to do something about Adam.
For now, she was safe and she was loved, and the man who risked everything—including his own life—because he loved her even more than that was holding her close. Evangeline ducked her head, brushing her lips over the tattoo over his left pec.
That had been the best day of his life, he told her, then the worst.
Together, they had hit the highest of highs and the lowest of lows. It wouldn’t be easy, but the best things never were. She had a hard road ahead of her as she continued to recover that lost year.
But at least she would have her mate by her side. And Maddox had been right. If she never recovered their time together, that was fine. They had each other now. With the future ahead of them, they had all the time in the world to make new memories.
Better memories.
Together.
As if he thought that she was a dream he might wake up from, Maddox was hesitant to let her out of his sight. They showered together, and while Evangeline was interested in a repeat of last night when he hoisted her up so that she wasn’t putting weight on her still tender ankle, Maddox refused. He flat-out told her that he could sense how sore she was between her legs. Angry at himself that he’d been rougher than he meant to, he swore he wouldn’t take her again until she felt better.
She couldn’t lie. As a wolf shifter, he would know. Besides, her poor pussy was aching—but it was a delicious ache.
God, she missed him. With so many of her memories slowly returning, with the knowledge that she’d been dreaming of Maddox all of this time, Evangeline finally understood that he was what had been missing all along.
She still couldn’t understand how she could have forgotten the love of her life. It made no sense to her, especially since Maddox assured her that the only reason it took him as long as it did to find her again was because he believed she was dead.
As soon as Maddox claimed her last night, the bond snapped back into place. Just like she hoped—just like she suspected—her vulnerability as Maddox gave her his claiming bite had opened her up to him. He’d been calling for her with his end of the bond since the beginning. Once Evangeline dropped her guard, tentatively reaching back, the mate bond connected. There was no going back now.
With fuzzy memories becoming clearer and clearer, she only felt relief. In the end, Maddox had told her the truth right after she woke up to the reality that he had whisked her away.
It really was her choice.
Once they were showered and dressed—Evangeline marveling with delight as she went through a wardrobe she hadn’t seen in years—Maddox insisted on leaving the house behind. It was closing in on two days since Adam threatened to return with the warrant. Just because he hadn’t yet, Maddox argued, didn’t mean he gave up.
Evangeline thought she knew Adam very well. Whether or not he knew about Maddox, that she’d actually been married when the car crashed… it didn’t matter. Adam still thought of her as his girlfriend. No way was he going to let this go.
Maddox had a point. The laws were very clear. By taking her, he broke one of the biggest ones of all. Ordinance 7304 was a human’s only assurance that they couldn’t be forced into a lifelong bond with someone because they lacked the magic to protect themselves. So what if she was ready to accept Maddox as her mate? According to the Claws Clause, he could be facing death if anyone caught them together and he admitted that he did steal her away.
