Page 45 of Kael (Monsters & Mates #2)

I’ve lived in war. I’ve walked through blood, followed orders that tasted like ash, and stood at the edge of a thousand choices that weren’t mine to make.

But this? This stillness—this moment in a too-small bed, with Sonny’s heart beating steadily against mine—is the most terrifying and beautiful thing I’ve ever known.

His breath is warm on my skin. His body tucked against mine like he belongs there. Because he does. Every inch of him. Loud-mouthed, sharp-tongued, reckless, and brave—he’s mine.

Fated. Claimed.

Loved.

Even if I haven’t said the word aloud again yet. I will. I will, a hundred times. When the world stops trying to eat us alive.

I shift slightly, careful not to wake him. He made a sound earlier, something soft and content. He gets that way after orgasms—limp and smug and impossibly vulnerable. I love that version of him.

I love all versions of him.

My hand drifts to his chest, brushing over his heartbeat, and my own markings glow faintly in response.

They’re not supposed to glow without power being summoned. But that’s Sonny. He breaks the rules just by existing.

The room is dark, but our bond is light in my mind. I can feel the echo of his exhaustion, the way he still worries even in sleep. About Varek. About Dawson. Even the prince I don’t think he quite hates anymore. About whether we’ll have to fight for our lives again tomorrow.

He doesn’t know it yet, but I’d burn the world for him. I already tried to die for him. And he… he brought me back.

I press my forehead to his temple and just breathe him in. He smells like salt and energy and a life I didn’t think I was ever allowed to have.

When I first saw him, I felt the bond like a blade—sharp and terrifying. It would’ve been easier to ignore it again. To walk away like I did when the lightning struck my heart and changed my destiny.

But nothing worth protecting has ever been easy.

He shifts in his sleep, murmuring something unintelligible before curling closer around me.

My arms tighten around him instinctively. Always. For the first time in years, I don’t feel like a weapon waiting to be used. I feel like something more.

A protector.

A partner.

A mate.

And in this moment, with the whole world waiting on our next move—I let myself have one perfect, quiet truth.

I am loved, and I love him. There’s nothing more important for me than that.