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I taste the pride on his tongue, feel the victory in every slide of his lips. I almost forget where I am for a moment, but when he pulls back and starts to get to his feet, reaching out for my hand, reality comes slamming back in laser-focus.
My heart pounds, my palms turning clammy. Still, I allow him to pull me up to stand with him. Madd slips a key on my wrist, wraps his arms securely around my body, and shuffles us closer to the other edge of the platform.
“Look down,” he says.
I do, and my stomach flip-flops, curling in on itself. It’s not just the height that gets me, though. It’s the big inflatable landing pad below. I’d thought it was just a safety measure, but now that I’m up here, understanding is starting to dawn on me.
My final challenge.
I whip my head back around to gape at Madd in alarm.
“The climb, the height, that was Iver’s fear,” he murmurs, his thumbs stroking against my spine in soothing circles. “This one’s yours.”
I swallow hard past the lump in my throat. “Fear of falling.”
He nods, stepping back and taking my hand again. “I’m right here with you, babe,” he says, eyes rounded in earnestness. “Do it or don’t do it, it’s entirely up to you. But if you do, we’ll do it together.”
It’s strange- being up here should shake me more than it does. But with Madd by my side, even my deepest fears seem to wither away to dust, because I’m reminded of what’s truly important.Us.
He took this climb with me, made sure he was here supporting me every step of the way. He gave me an out, but it’s like he knew I needed to do this; that I needed to overcome this piece of our past so we can move on with our future. Maddox Kessler, the boy that was broken after I fell from this lift, is now standing beside me, helping me put my own pieces back together. Because it’s always beenhim. It’s always beenus.
“You and me?” I ask, tightening my grip on his hand.
“Me and you,” he agrees.
Without warning, Madd yanks me in to kiss me again, the wind whipping my hair as his lips crash against mine. When I first came back to town, his kisses tasted like poison. Now, they taste like sweet rapture, laced with unspoken promises for the rest of our lives together. I’ve lived here, and I’ve lived in Denver, but I’ve never felt more at home than I do when I’m in Madd’s arms. For me, home isn’t a place. It’s him.
He licks his lips as he pulls back, grinning at me as he takes my hand again and urges me closer to the edge of the platform.
“Mayhem, baby,” Madd drawls.
I grin back at him, take a deep breath… and we jump.
41
Sloane and I enter the old ballroom at the lodge to a chorus of cheers, the entire squad here to celebrate her induction as a leader. After passing her initiation with flying colors and sleeping the latter half of the day away to recover, she’s ready to let loose tonight. I am, too, but tonight’s not about me- I’m just the lucky asshole who gets to walk in with the woman of the hour on my arm.
She’s dressed to the fuckin’ nines, looking good enough to eat, and my wolf immediately bristles from all the male attention aimed her way as we move deeper into the room. The smile on her face lights it up, those cute-as-fuck dimples sinking into either cheek. She slaps high-fives with people as we pass, soaking up every minute of congratulatory praise, as she should. She earned it today.
I wasn’t sure if she’d jump. None of us were, which is why we decided that we’d give her an out, should she choose to take it. The initiation is just for fun anyways; none of the tasks have any real merit in determining whether someone has what it takes to be a squad leader. All she needs for that is the blood running through her veins as the child of an alpha. Being a squad leader is her birthright, and nothing can take that away from her, especially not some stupid initiation created by a bunch of bored teenagers years ago.
Still, she jumped. And I’m so damn proud of her for taking that leap of faith today to face her fear, put the past behind her, and just fucking go for it.
Sloane Masters never ceases to amaze me.
Her pale yellow sundress swishes around her thighs as we make our way to one of the cocktail tables brimming with liquor bottles, the buttery color of the chiffon contrasting with her tan skin in a way that makes it take on a golden glow. She’s so fucking beautiful. It almost hurts to look at her, like staring into the sun. Yet I can’t look away.
Nobody can. I’d be jealous if I didn’t know beyond a shadow of a doubt that Sloane only has eyes for me, the same way I only have eyes for her. You can’t fake the kind of soul-deep connection the two of us share.
“Drink?” I ask her as we approach one of the makeshift bars set up throughout the room, glad to see that Avery came through with my request. Among the array of liquor set out upon it, there are several bottles of chardonnay. I pick one up, waggling my brows as I present it to Sloane.
I don’t know shit about wine, but I distinctly remember her trying to order a glass of chardonnay at the bar by the squad complex once. At the time, I was still hating her for ghosting me, but that doesn’t mean I wasn’t paying attention.
Sloane’s eyes light up when they land on the bottle, pinging up to meet my own. “How’d you know?” she asks excitedly, stepping closer and placing her palms flat against my chest, grinning up at me.
I shrug a shoulder, playing it cool. “Lucky guess.”
I drop a kiss on her forehead, then get to work popping the cork and pouring some into a plastic cup for her. Sloane takes it from me eagerly, sipping the chardonnay and licking her lips. “Delicious,” she confirms.
