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“Promise?” I asked, needing the reassurance.
“Always,” he said. He brought our hands up to his lips and a brushed a kiss over my knuckles. “You’re my mate, Tori. We’re in this together. Always.”
I couldn’t stop the smile that tugged at the corners of my lips as I looked up at him. Despite my heartache, I knew I could weather any storm as long as Ridge was by my side. Maybe, just maybe, we’d come out stronger on the other side.
“Thank you, Ridge.” I leaned my head against his shoulder as we walked. “For being here, for believing in me, and for loving me through all of this.”
“Forever, Tori.” He brushed a strand of hair from my face. “I’ll be here for you forever.”
As the last rays of sunlight crept under the horizon, Ridge pulled me up on my tiptoes and sealed the promise with a passionate kiss.
Chapter 38
Ridge
The scent of fresh paint and new leather tickled my nose as I carried another box into Tori’s tattoo studio. She’d painted an incredible mural on the back wall, and her intricate tattoo designs covered the other walls. As I set up one of the tattoo chairs and adjusted its position just right, I glanced over at Tori. She was busy unboxing supplies and humming under her breath, but her eyes held a pensiveness that had been there since last night.
I wiped my hands on my jeans as I walked over to her. “Everything all right?”
Tori looked up from the array of tattoo needles she was organizing. “Yeah, Ridge. Just still processing everything Jaxon told us about Mom.”
I understood her need to make sense of it all. “Take your time.”
“Thanks, Ridge.”
“Need any help with those?” I asked, gesturing to the needles.
“Actually, could you grab that shelf over there?” She pointed to a wooden shelf leaning against the wall. “I want to put these up so they’re easy to reach when I’m working.”
“Sure thing.” I moved toward the shelf, lifting it easily and maneuvering it near her workstation. With practiced precision, we secured it to the wall.
“Perfect.” Tori stepped back to admire our handiwork. “Now I have a place for all these little guys.”
“Looks great.” I took in the organized chaos of her tools and equipment. “You’ve really made this place your own.”
“I can’t believe it’s almost ready,” she said, bouncing on her feet. “Just a few more finishing touches, and we’ll be open for business.”
“Blackwood Creek is going to love having you here as an artist,” I said. “You’re incredibly talented, Tori.”
“Thanks, Ridge.” She squeezed my arm, warmth spreading through me at the contact. We stood there for a moment, taking in the studio’s progress.
As we worked together to set up the tattoo chairs, I filled Tori in on some recent developments. “We’ve come up with a plan to evacuate humans from town when the hunters make their move,” I said, tightening a bolt on one of the chairs. “It’s for their safety and also to ensure they don’t witness a bunch of wolves fighting silver-wielding maniacs.”
Tori stopped what she was doing and looked at me, a deep crease in her brow. “I guess that makes sense.”
“It’s the best option we have right now.” I moved on to another chair and bolted it to the ground. “On a more positive note, Eleanor arrived to train Lola. She could potentially help us with Zander’s condition.”
“Really? That’s great. I had no idea she’d be coming so soon.” Tori’s eyes lit up. “We should go check on them to see how it’s going.”
“Sure, let’s go find them,” I said, happy to have an excuse to check in on Eleanor. I wanted to be sure Lola was happy.
After Tori locked up the tattoo studio, and we strolled along the road, her arm hooked through my elbow. If not for the whole hunters’ attack hanging over our heads, it would have been a perfect day with my mate.
I dreamed of the day when she wore my mark. Every time I saw another shifter check her out, sniffing to see if she was claimed, was another day I was closer to swinging and throwing a punch. I didn’t want Tori to feel any more pressure, so I made sure she had no clue about how I really felt about the issue. I’d hoped to talk about the mating bond last night, but after Jaxon told her and Kyle about their mother, I could tell she felt fragile.
“It will be good to meet Eleanor, now that I’m in a calmer frame of mind,” Tori admitted as we walked to Lola’s place. “Everything was so crazy in Toronto, and I was fixated on you and what would happen if she wouldn’t help.”
She shuddered, the color draining from her face. I couldn’t remember much after the vampire’s bite, but Tori had been there with me through the entire ordeal.
