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At the door, I paused and turned back. “Ash?”

“Yeah?”

“Thanks, man. I mean it.”

A soft smile hinted on Ash’s face. “I think Mom would’ve loved Mia.”

My eyes stung. “Me, too.”

Before I got all sappy, I tucked the cell in my jeans and left, jogging down the stairs to my truck.

I sped down the road, ignoring the speed limit.

Once in Mia’s drive, I sat there for a moment while my heart stopped launching from my chest. For fifteen years, I dreamed of telling her. And now that hunter forced my hand. I would’ve told her eventually, I just wished it were under better circumstances.

I took the key from the ignition and got out of the truck. I still couldn’t believe I kissed her today. I hadn’t planned to, it just happened. The stars aligned, so I seized that moment with both hands. And it was fucking worth it. Everything I’d hoped it would be and more. The mate connection between us zapped through my blood, racing around my body. I sensed she felt it too by the way her eyes flew open with a gasp.

Hopefully, she recalled our connection when I showed her who I really was. She already knew my wolf, and soon she’d know the real me. After that, I’d tell her everything. The night would end in one of two ways: an unbreakable bond or my ass out on the street.

Of course, I hoped for the former. I’d waited fifteen years to tell her how I felt, to show her my true self. Surely, it was about time the universe cut me some slack.

As I strode to the porch, I inhaled a deep breath, sifting through the scents in the night air, searching for the hunter. He wasn’t here. Time might be on our side for once.

My heart wouldn’t calm the fuck down. Her laugh, her smile, the way she looked at me like she knew. Not just that she was my mate, but I sensed deep down she knew about me.My wolf. Even if she didn’t admit it to herself, once she saw my eyes tonight, she’d piece it all together.

When I reached the veranda, Mia flung open the door, her eyes wide and frantic. “I left you like a thousand messages.”

“I know.” Reaching her, I cupped her cheeks between my hands. “Are you okay?”

Jesus. My scent was all over her. My damn wolf must’ve licked her entire face. Bastard.

She relaxed in my embrace and exhaled a long breath. “Yes. No. I don’t know. I’m kind of freaked out.”

I bent so we were eye level. “I’m here.”

Her brows pinched as she stared into my eyes, but she didn’t say anything.

“May I come in?”

She nodded. I lowered my hands, following her inside, locking the door behind me. That wouldn’t stop the hunter. That psycho would blow up the joint to get to me. Or another Whitcome.

I followed Mia into the kitchen. She leaned against the counter while I stood there all awkward, hands shoved in my jean pockets.

“I think someone was here tonight, in the forest. Noah, what the hell is going on?”

“There’s a hunter in Woodland Falls. The guy is dangerous.”

She tilted her head slightly, studying me. “I didn’t think hunters came here. Even if they did, why would they hurt people?”

My pulse raced, and my wolf paced back and forth ready to take over.Calm the fuck down. This is my time.I sent the mental command, but the stubborn bastard didn’t obey as usual.

This conversation was harder than I expected.

I dragged a chair from the dining table, but before I sat, a picture frame hanging on the living room wall caught my attention. I gravitated to it. Encased in a simple thin wooden frame was a black and white sketch of a wolf in a yard. I recognized it immediately. The tool shed of horrors at the far side, the empty vegetable patch, the tire swing hanging from a tree. Pressure squeezed my chest as I brushed my finger along the frame. This sketch was the first time Mia met me in wolf form. The moment I found my mate.

Mia came up beside me.

I turned to her. “Who drew this?”