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Now it felt like prophecy. Because as she stood there, Rafe’s arms still around her, the heat of that kiss still burning softly on her lips, she wasn’t freaking out. Instead, she felt wanted, and it felt amazing.

“I’m not going to apologize,” Rafe said, his voice low and rough.

“I didn’t ask you to,” Billie Ann replied, her voice soft but steady as their eyes met. His golden gaze held hers like a tether, and for a moment, the world stopped.

Rafe didn’t pull away completely, just enough to look at her. His hand came up, callused fingers gently brushing a loose strand of hair from her cheek, the touch so tender it made her breath catch.

“Did Davey ever talk to you about our ways?” he asked, his eyes scanning hers, like the answer meant everything. “The ways of Shifters?”

She nodded, suddenly shy, a flush rising to her cheeks. “Yes. He did.”

A smile tugged at the corner of Rafe’s mouth, but it wasn’t teasing. It was full of something deeper. Something raw. “Then you probably know we don’t tiptoe around things. We don’t take years to decide how we feel. Weknow.It hits like lightning, and once it does, there’s no going back.”

Her heart beat harder, her mouth going dry as her brain tried to process what was happening.

Rafe leaned in slightly, his forehead nearly brushing hers. “The second I saw you, Billie Ann, I knew. Before you even spoke a word, something inside me said,There she is.My instincts, my soul, my Jaguar recognized you before my brain had a chance to catch up.”

She stared at him, caught in the intensity of his gaze, in the certainty of his voice. Her hands curled slightly against his chest, trying to hold onto something that already felt bigger than both of them.

“I know it’s fast,” he murmured, “and I won’t rush you. I won’t ask for anything you’re not ready to give. But I need you to know this… you’re not just some passing moment to me, Billie Ann. You’reit.”

“I’m human, Rafe.” The words came out before she could think them through, almost like a warning.

“I know,” he said softly, brushing his thumb across her cheek. “And it doesn’t matter. Not to me. Does it matter to you that I’m a Shifter?”

“No,” Billie Ann said without hesitation, her brows drawn tight. “It doesn’t... but what if you find your Mate?”

“I have,” Rafe replied simply, his golden eyes locked onto hers, unflinching.

She blinked. Once. Twice. Her brain scrambled for understanding, for logic, for something to make this moment make sense, but all she found washim, standing there so sure, so steady, while her world tilted on its axis.

Billie Ann wasn’t a dumb woman. She’d been through enough to sharpen her instincts and her doubts. But this? This was something else entirely. She stared at him, trying to force him to see her point, to grasp the magnitude of what he was saying.

“If you found your Mate,” she started slowly, her voice hushed, still not grasping what he had just exposed, “then it wouldn’t matter how much you likedme.A Mate trumps everything. That’s how it works, right? That’s what Davey taught me. Shifter bonds are forever.”

Her words hung in the air, heavy with fear and doubt, but also laced with something softer… something almost hopeful.

And then it hit her like a punch to the chest. Her breath caught as her eyes widened. “Oh.”

Rafe’s smile curled, warm and amused, and then he chuckled at her stunned expression. “There it is,” he murmured, clearly pleased with her dawning realization. “I don’t pull punches,Billie Ann. I don’t play games. You’re mine. From the first second I saw you, Iknew.”

Her lips parted, breath trembling as she tried to keep up with the avalanche of emotion inside her.

“But,” he continued, his voice lowering, roughening with something tender and raw, “I also know this might be too much for you. If you feel nothing for me, if this is one-sided, I will walk away. I’ll make sure you’re safe, that the bar’s settled, and that you have what you need. Then I’ll be gone. You’ll never hear from me again.”

Her heart clenched so hard it hurt. Rafe was giving her a choice. An escape. Even though it was clearly the last thing he wanted to do. She looked up at him, really looked, and saw the storm he was holding back.

Her voice cracked when she spoke. “I do feel something. I’ve felt it since that first night. I just… didn’t trust it. I didn’t trustmyself.” She pressed a hand to her chest, her eyes bright with unshed tears. “I lost the one person who ever really cared about me, and I didn’t think I’d ever be seen like that again. Then you walked in. And it terrified me.”

Rafe stepped closer, his hand wrapping gently around hers. “Does it still?”

“A little,” she whispered. “But not enough to push you away.”

Rafe’s smile returned, slow and warm, the kind of smile that could melt defenses she didn’t even know she had. “Good. Because I’m not going anywhere.”

Billie Ann narrowed her eyes, the corners of her mouth twitching. “But you just said you’d leave if I didn’t feel anything.”

“I lied,” he said without an ounce of shame, his grin widening.