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Despite those exact words running through her head whenever guilt assailed her, she didn’t care that it was a reasonable excuse for her to have bitten him.She’d taken his choice away.

She blinked and glanced around her surroundings.She leaned against a tall aspen tree and heard her harsh breathing sawing in and out of her chest.Her bones ached with exhaustion, and with what was left of her energy, she dug a burrow into the ground by the tree.It was deep enough she would be protected from anyone who stumbled upon the desolate area and she covered her tiny red fox body with dirt to keep herself warm.The moment she closed her eyes, sleep overtook her and she felt nothing.

***

Images flashed behind her closed eyelids.Brilliant colors of orange and red, green and blue, swirled around in her mind and she sucked in a deep breath when happiness flooded her cold form, unable to understand how she’d gone from sleep where she was surrounded by darkness to this amazing dream of nothing but colors.

Slow to come to awareness, she burrowed deeper into her hole, happy the dirt was enough of an insulator it finally warmed her body.She didn’t want to stretch in case her bones still ached, but instead, kept her eyes closed and savored the warmth she thought she would never feel.

In that moment, she almost wished she hadn’t managed to keep herself so warm.Jade had hoped, because she was unwilling to lie to herself at this point, that she would’ve perish during the harsh winter night on the mountain.

Knowing she had nowhere to go, she settled back and absorbed the warmth from the ground, hoping the pretty colors would come back as she fell asleep.But her eyes shot open the moment a purr rumbled through her body.She didn’t see anything in front of her and since she protected her back by butting it up against the tree, she had no idea where the odd sound had come from.

Jade.

Biting back a curse, she hoped Noah wasn’t close.If she kept quiet, he wouldn’t be able to find her.

She had been so out of it, her senses and her body failed her.A familiar arm wrapped around her fox form and pulled her close, and she wondered why she hadn’t scented him.

“Jade, baby, you’re gonna be fine.”

Why…did you come?

“Because I was a fucking idiot.I didn’t mean what I said after my transition.I was upset at myself for not telling you that I had been thinking about it anyway, about committing to you and being your mate.But whatever I wanted to say, I couldn’t get it out.I’m sorry, but I didn’t mean what I said.”

Jade felt her entire body shaking and Noah pressed her closer.

“It took me over six hours to find you.I was starting to panic when I caught your scent.”

I’m…sorry.

“Don’t…it’s not your fault.It’s mine.You are so weak now because you thought I rejected you.I’m not going to reject you, Jade.I want to be your mate and I want you to be mine.”

I want to be yours.

She paused for a moment.

I’m so tired, Noah.Can we go home?

“Of course, baby.Don’t worry, I’ll take care of everything.”

Wait.Are…you’re a red fox, right?

Noah chuckled, the reverberation sending happiness flooding through her body.

“No, I’m a tiger shifter.”

Jade’s mind couldn’t process that fact and so she stayed quiet.

“Are you okay with that?”

Of course.She was quick to reassure Noah that there was nothing, absolutely nothing, wrong with him, whatever animal he shifted into.I’m just…confused.

“I know.We’ll go home and get some sleep so you can recuperate.After, we have a shifter to question.”

Jade growled, low in her throat.

“That’s my girl.Relax and we’ll be home soon.”

Okay, Noah.I love you.