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“What does that mean?”

The back end of the Jeep is still open, and I set her down inside. It’s a tight, awkward fit, especially while I’m still half-shifted, but if I slide her right to the edge, I might just be able to…

“Ewan,” she says impatiently, reminding me she’s still waiting for an answer.

“I’ve been sleeping outside. Well, my dragon has.”

“Andwherehave you been sleeping outside?”

“Near your parents’ house,” I admit. “It was as close as I could get to you while still giving you some space.”

Her eyes widen a little at the confession, right before she throws her arms around my neck and drags me down for a long, hot kiss. My hands fumble with the snap of the denim shorts she’s wearing, tangle in the hem of her t-shirt, and she helps me wriggle them off of her until she’s just as bare as I am.

I pull her to the edge and wedge myself between her thighs. Kenna curls her hand around my cock, bringing me right up to her entrance, but I pause before driving into her.

“I love you, Kenna.”

She already said it first, when she was pouring her beautiful heart out to me, when she had enough courage to bring us over that last hurdle together. And even if she’s not ready to say it again, I want her to know how I feel.

Kenna is mine. Mine to love. Mine to keep.

Those emerald green eyes are staring up at me in disbelief, coated with a sheen of silver tears.

“Talk to me, ember.”

She blinks her tears away, and I lean in to kiss the one that escapes from the corner of her eye. “You… love me?”

“I do.”

“I love you, too.”

I slide deep into her, and the very last pieces of me stitch themselves back together. Patched, but whole, and all belonging to my bold, brilliant ember. My impossible, incomparable mate.

Epilogue

Blair - Yule, Six months later

I don’t remember the last time I had a holiday where I could actually relax, enjoy the company of my closest friends, and not have the worry of work or the sharp tug of grief draining all the joy from the day. But that’s precisely what I’ve been gifted with this yuletide.

Elias and Nora are hosting this year. Their lovely home is decorated and sparkling with the cheer of the season, and the festive coziness of it all sits on my shoulders like a warm blanket.

It feels like luxury, to have so much peace after so many years of going without.

We’re a small group, just Elias and Nora, Kenna and I, Elias’s longtime housekeeper Marta and her wife Maud, Elias’s head of security, Travis, and one more to round out the party.

Ruthie was a last-minute addition to the guest list when I stopped by the Bureau to meet with Cleo and found out she didn’t have anywhere to go for the holiday.

She’s currently sitting at the side of the large living room, leaning over a chessboard. Travis is seated across the board from her, and although I don’t know the demi-fae all that well, I’m fairly certain it’s not a normal occurrence for him to have such a soft, awed expression on his face that he does whenever he glances over at Ruthie.

I catch Elias’s eye and he shrugs, obviously having noticed the two of them as well.

Turning away to give them some privacy, I come face to face with my mate.

Kenna has two glasses of wine in her hands, and is wearing a delectable little green dress I can’t wait to peel off her later.

“Here you go,” she says, handing one over.

I take it, then wrap my free hand around the small of her back and tug her closer. She comes to me easy, with a small laugh and a glimmer in her eyes that matches the splendor of the holiday around us.