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"Dimitri," Jude snaps.
"Let it ride," Dillon says, his voice soft.
I eye him suspiciously.
"If it were Jules, hell wouldn't even compare." Dillon meets my gaze, his expression somber. "For what it's worth, I'm fucking sorry. I thought she was a mom worried about her missing kid. Had I known the truth, I wouldn't have told her a goddamn thing. It's on me that I missed it."
"It's not on you," Snow says from the door.
We all turn as the nursing assistant wheels her back into the room.
"Thank you," Snow says, smiling at the young woman. "They can help me back into the bed."
The nursing assistant nods and then scurries from the room.
"Come here, little one," I murmur, rising to my feet to scoop Snow up. I cradle her close to my chest, pressing my lips to her temple as I carry her back to the bed and settle her into it, placing the blanket across her lap.
"It's not on you," she repeats to Dillon once she's settled. "Delilah's a good actress. She fooled my dad into believing she loved him. She tricks everyone into thinking she's this great person. No one knows that she's heartless and cruel. She hides it well. Don't blame yourself for not seeing it. No one ever sees it."
"You did," Dillon reminds her.
"She never pretended with me," Snow whispers. "She hated me from the moment she met me."
I slip my hand into hers, offering her my strength.
She tips her head up to me, smiling gratefully.
"She was jealous of you, Magic," I murmur. "You're everything she isn't, and she knew it the moment she met you. She knew she could never compete with you. How does anyone compete with perfection?"
"Dimitri," she whispers, her expression going soft.
"It's true."
She stares at me in awe, as if I'm the perfect one here. And I feel her doing it again. Changing me. Making me better. The rage flows out of me, unable to withstand the magic she weaves over me. Unable to withstand her power. And somehow, she seems to glow even brighter, as if every shadow she fends off feeds the flame that burns within her.
I realize then what I didn't before. The dark isn't capable of hardening her or quenching her flame. Light glows brightest in the dark. It always has. It always will. And so will she.
"Hi, babies," Snow says hours later, reaching out her hands to pet each of the dogs from her spot on the bed. She smiles brightly, as excited as they are to be reunited. They're her family, her best friends. She adores them as much as they adore her.
"We should make vet appointments for them," I say, crawling onto the bed with her. "We need to get them their shots and checkups and all of that stuff. Sloth may have arthritis. And Quack definitely has allergies."
Snow turns to smile at me. "Thank you," she says.
"For what?"
"For accepting them," she whispers, curling up on her side to face me. "For not expecting them to change or be anything other than themselves. For loving them."
"How can I not when they love you so fiercely?" I ask. They won me over the minute they risked themselves to defend her. They're the most unlikely band of heroes—a ragtag band of strays with their own issues and quirks—but they're her heroes. "They'll always have a home with us, Snow."
"Even Bear?" she asks, worrying her bottom lip between her teeth.
"Even Bear," I promise. I don't care if he bites me every damn day. We're keeping him. "We'll have to see how he does when we have kids. He may have to go through aggression training so our kids are safe with him, but we're keeping him."
"You want kids?" she asks, her eyes wide.
"Want them?" I prowl over her, forcing her to roll onto her back. "No, little one," I breathe against her lips. "I need you to give me babies."
"Oh," she whispers, reaching for me.
"Nu-uh," I groan, grabbing her hands before she can get them on my dick. "None of that right now. The doctor said you have to take it easy for a few days. You have a concussion."
She scrunches up her nose at me. "Well, you're no fun."
I kiss her nose and then roll off her, chuckling. "Blame him, not me. He made the damn rules. I'm just trying to follow them."
"Well, that has to be a first," she says.
I tickle her side, making her scream with laughter.
Bear jumps up on the bed.
"Shit," I groan, quickly sitting up.
The dog looks at Snow, then looks at me.
"She's happy, Bear. It means I'm doing good. You can ease up now."
Bear sniffs, making Snow giggle.
"Face it, Dimitri," she says. "He's just not that into…"
We both stare in shock as he trots across the bed to me and curls up against my side with his head on my knee.
