Just… love.
We stand there for a minute, comfortable silence stretching between us.
The cult is long gone, disbanded and scattered to places where they can’t hurt anyone again.Night Grove Falls and the pack are flourishing.
So are we.
“You’re thinking too hard,” Roxie teases gently.
“Sorry,” I murmur.“Just… appreciating things.”
Her hand slides over mine, fingers lacing.“Good.You should.”
We watch the trees together as the world wakes slowly.
“We should get back in there,” Roxie sighs.
We turn as the porch door bursts open.
“Daddy!”
A blur of curly dark hair and bright blue eyes launches at me.I bend in time to scoop her up, spinning her once as she shrieks with laughter.
“Good morning, little wolf,” I say, kissing her forehead.
“I’m sticky!”she announces proudly.
“That… tracks.”
Roxie covers her mouth to hide a laugh.
Our girl squirms in my arms, pointedly sniffing the air.“You smell like Mommy.”
“Always,” I say quietly.
She doesn’t understand the mating bond yet—what it means, why my world settles only when Roxie is near—but someday she will.
“Come on,” Roxie says warmly.“Bath time before you glue yourself to the furniture.”
Our daughter gasps.“NO BATH!”
“Yes, bath,” I counter.
Her wolfish little growl is terribly unthreatening.My chest aches from how much I love her.
I set her down, and she sprints back inside, feet pounding across the floor.
Roxie lingers.
Her hand curls into my shirt, tugging me down for a soft kiss.Familiar.Sweet.Still able to stop my heart in my chest.
“I love you,” she whispers.
Every time, every single time, it still hits.
“I love you, too,” I breathe.“More every day.”
Her smile is the calm after the storm.