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Except, my feet feel like lead as I take one step and then another. My mind races with unfounded anxiety.What if he rejects me again? What if I read this wrong?

I stop on the sidewalk, hold my moonstone charm in my hands and take a deep, cleansing breath.

I let the calm wash over me as I focus on the facts: he’s my Fated Mate, I never stopped loving him, and he’s Cleo’s father.

Encouraged, I stride toward his door and knock.

After a minute, he opens it and looks at me in surprise. He’s shirtless, wearing a pair of faded blue jeans. His hair is still damp from a shower and the stubble on his face is darker than normal.

The flutter in my core makes me warm, and I blush.

“Yelena! Please, come in,” he invites, standing aside so I can enter his house.

It’s sparsely furnished, but that’s being expected. He’s here temporarily, not forever.

He gestures for me to have a seat on the small couch while he disappears into the kitchen. I smile at him when he returns with two mugs of tea and sets them on the coffee table.

He joins me on the couch with a smile.

“Where’s Cleo?” he asks, leaning back against the cushions. The angle puts his muscular frame on display, and I have to force myself to look at his face instead of his abs.

“She’s at art class with Susan,” I say, reaching for my tea to hide my reaction to him.

“She’s so artistic. It’s great,” he says, giving me a warm smile. My nerves feel like they are going haywire, but I try to steel myself.

“Austin,” I say softly, reaching out to touch his knee. His hand immediately covers mine and sends shivers down my spine. I don’t know how to tell him what I want to say so I take a deep breath and blurt it out:

“Cleo is your daughter.”

He stills for a second, breathing shallow. I swallow hard.Is he upset? Oh my god, did I read this wrong?

"I already think of her as mine,” he says softly. “Because she’s yours, and I suspected that she was mine, but thank you for telling me.”

My heart catches in my throat as he smiles at me.

“I am overjoyed to know that she is also mine. She is an incredible child and one that I will love and protect for the rest of my days. You have my word on that, Yelena. For the rest of my days.”

Tears well in my eyes, and I look down at my hands which are knotted in my lap.

“I found out I was pregnant right after...after we broke up. I knew she was yours, that there was no one else. There could never be anyone else. You’re her father and…my mate," I confess.

His eyes flash and his body tenses at my words.

“Put your tea down,” he says.

I blink, baffled by the odd request, but I do as he asks. The second my mug touches the coffee table, he hauls me into his arms, lifting me until I’m straddling him.

“I love you,mate,” he growls, his silver eyes looking almost molten. “And I love our family. Both of you aremine.Forever.”

He pulls my head down, meeting my lips in a savage kiss.

I melt into his touch, my hands tangling in his damp hair as our lips and tongues collide. His hands grip my hips, pulling me even closer until there's no space left between us.

I can feel his rapid heartbeat and the heat of his skin through my thin shirt. My wolf howls inside, overjoyed to finally be back in our mate's arms.

When we break for air, panting, I press my forehead to his.

"I love you too," I whisper. "I never stopped, even when I had to leave. It’s always been you and it always will be."