Page 18 of Furever Bound (Hollow Oak Mates #7)
MADDOX
T he power returned to Hollow Oak just as dawn broke over the mountains, sending Grimjaw retreating into shadow with the frustrated howl of something whose hunting time had ended.
Maddox watched the creature dissolve into mist through The Griddle & Grind's windows, but his relief was tempered by understanding that daylight offered only temporary reprieve, not permanent solution.
"It'll be back tonight," Emmett observed, lowering his crossbow as the immediate threat dissipated. "Stronger, more substantial, with another day's worth of social media engagement feeding it power."
"Unless we implement narrative restructuring before then," Maddox replied, though his attention remained focused on Sera's pale face as she processed everything she'd learned about supernatural reality, mate bonds, and her own pivotal role in their community crisis.
"Narrative restructuring requires community consensus," Maeve pointed out. "Which means full Council approval for integration, not just emergency protection protocols and it can’t happen in 24 hours."
Sera looked up from her contemplation of the empty mug Twyla had provided, her hazel eyes reflecting complicated emotions that protective tenderness.
"I need some air," she said quietly. "Some space to process everything that's happened. Alone."
The request to be alone struck his possessive instincts, especially when the mating process required intimacy and connection rather than solitary reflection. But forcing proximity before she was ready could damage trust they'd spent days building.
"The inn's compromised," he said instead, offering practical considerations rather than emotional demands. "Elena's federal colleagues will be monitoring it for intelligence gathering. You'll need somewhere else to stay."
"She can use the guest room at my place," Twyla offered with maternal warmth that suggested she understood the complexity of supernatural relationship development. "Protected space, private enough for thinking, close enough for safety."
"Actually," Sera said, her voice carrying the kind of determined decision-making that meant she'd reached conclusions during her quiet contemplation, "I'd like to stay with you, Maddox. If the offer stands."
The simple statement sent satisfaction racing through his wolf with intensity.
"The offer stands," he said, careful to keep his voice level despite the way his entire nervous system responded to her acceptance. "But you should understand what you're agreeing to."
"I'm agreeing to trust someone who's been honest with me about impossible things," she replied, meeting his gaze. "I'm agreeing to belong somewhere, even if that somewhere includes shapeshifters and manifestation crises and federal investigators who want to weaponize my abilities."
"And the mate bond?" The question escaped before he could consider whether this was the appropriate time or place for such personal discussion.
"And the mate bond," she confirmed, color rising in her cheeks. "I felt the connection from the beginning, even before I understood what it meant. My body recognized you before my mind caught up. I just need help… understanding."
The admission that she'd experienced mate recognition as strongly as he had sent possessive satisfaction flooding through his system, though his rational mind recognized that acceptance and understanding were just the beginning of what they needed to build together.
"Sera," he began, then stopped as his phone buzzed with an urgent message from Varric.
"Emergency Council meeting in one hour," he read aloud. "Elena's federal colleagues are demanding access to manifestation site and documentation of all supernatural residents involved in crisis response."
"They want to study the entire community," Sera said. "Not just me. Elena's documentation probably includes evidence of supernatural defensive measures, organized community response to folklore manifestation."
"Which means our secrecy is already compromised," Maeve observed grimly. "The question is whether we can contain the exposure or need to consider more drastic measures."
The euphemistic language didn't disguise implications that made Maddox's protective instincts rage against any threat to his mate or their community. Federal interest in supernatural individuals rarely ended well for those being studied.
"There might be another option," Sera said slowly, her expression reflecting the kind of focused problem-solving that had made her successful at content creation. "What if we give them what they want, but control how they get it?"
"Meaning?" Emmett asked with the tactical attention of someone evaluating battlefield strategy.
"Meaning I cooperate with their research, provide documentation of my abilities, but on terms that protect this community," she explained, her voice growing more confident as the plan developed. "Full transparency about my psychic gifts in exchange for guaranteed non-interference with Hollow Oak."
"You'd sacrifice your privacy to protect our secrecy?" Maddox asked, horror and admiration warring in his chest at her willingness to accept such personal cost.
"I'd accept responsibility for consequences of my actions," she corrected with the kind of mature determination that proved she understood exactly what she was offering.
"The federal interest is my fault. The manifestation crisis is my fault.
The exposure risk is my fault. I should be the one who fixes it. "
"Not alone," he said firmly. "If you're dealing with federal investigators, you're doing it with community support and legal protection. And you're doing it as my mate, which means they have to go through me to reach you."
"Is that how supernatural law works?" she asked with genuine curiosity that suggested she was already adapting to their world's political realities.
"That's how I work," he replied, taking her hand in his with possessive certainty that made her skin warm under his fingers. "Whatever happens with Elena's colleagues, whatever the Council decides about narrative restructuring, whatever Grimjaw becomes when night falls again—we face it together."
Sera squeezed his hand in response, the mate bond hummed with recognition that transcended rational decision-making. They had found each other, accepted each other, and committed to protecting what they were building together.
Now they just had to survive the consequences of supernatural revelation long enough to discover what came next.