Page 108 of The Fated Hunter Wolf

"You went feral.”

"I went feral because my wolf tried to kill me." I watched her reflection's eyes widen. "He tried to claw his way out and find his mate, but we were completely at odds with each other. I was trapped inside my own head while my wolf tore through Orion and Blackwood territories trying to get to you but being lost to the world."

"Rhys—"

"I deserved it." I moved closer, slow. "I deserved every second of that hell. Because that's what I put you through. And when I finally clawed my way back to consciousness, when I woke up in Orion, you know what the first thing I felt was?"

She shook her head.

"Relief that you were alive. And this…" I pressed a hand to my chest. "This fuckingachewhere the bond used to be. Like someone had cut out part of my soul."

"That's what severing a bond does," she said quietly.

"Yeah. And I did it to both of us." I stopped a few feet behind her. Close enough to feel her warmth, far enough that she could breathe. "I was scared, Sable. Scared of giving you that much power over me. Of being weak, after my weakness had sent Wyatt and Nash on a suicide mission.”

She turned to face me. "Being bonded means being willing to be vulnerable that way."

"I know that now." I held her gaze. “But I didn’t trust my own judgement, let alone a fated bond that I couldn’t explain. And that failure—that's on me. Not my trauma. Not my past.Me."

Sable's eyes searched my face. Looking for the lie. The excuse. The hedge.

"I'm not asking you to forget," I said. "And I'm not asking you to trust me completely, not yet. But I'm asking you to believe that I've changed. That I understand now what I didn't then."

"What do you understand?"

"That this bond will bring us life." I reached out slowly, telegraphing the movement, and brushed my fingers against her wrist. Her pulse jumped under my touch. "That losing my brothers will always hurt, but it doesn’t mean giving up on forever. That you…" I swallowed. “I almost lost you because my head was too far up my ass to see who you really were."

She didn't pull away from my touch. "And if I seal the bond with you tonight? If I give you everything—my wolf, my trust, my heart—what happens next time you’re confused?"

"Then I come to you." Simple. Final. "I tell you what’s going on. I let you help me through it. I don't run." I cupped her face in my hands. "I'm standing here promising you that I will never reject you in any way, ever again. That I will never make you doubt your worth. That I will spend every day proving I'm worthy of being your mate." I caught her hand properly now, laced our fingers together. "And if I break that promise, you have my permission to rip my throat out."

A wet laugh escaped her. "Don't tempt me."

"I mean it, Sable. This is it. My one chance. I know that." I brought her hand to my chest, pressed it against my heart. "And I'm not going to waste it."

She was crying now, tears tracking down her face in the blue light from the city below. “I’m…” She didn’t finish her thought. I saw her struggling to get the words out, and this was my chance to show I understood.

"You’re scared. But I’m not. I know what life without you feels like now. And I'd rather face every fear, every broken part of myself, than go back to that."

She closed her eyes, leaning into my touch.

"Sable, I mean it. Every word."

For a long time we just stood there, her hand on my chest, my hand on her face, breathing each other in. The bond hummed. Waiting for us.

"Okay," she whispered finally.

"Okay?"

"Okay, seal the bond with me tonight." She opened her eyes, and they were clear now. Determined. "But Rhys? If you ever make me feel like that again?—"

"You'll kill me. I know."

"No." Her jaw set. "I'll leave. And I'll take half your territory with me."

I barked out a surprised laugh. "Deal."

She didn't smile. Didn't move into me for comfort. Just stood there, holding my gaze, making sure I understood she meant every word.