Page 38 of The Wolf’s Appetite (The Lycans #8)

LENNOX

I moved in with Aisling months ago. And the cottage felt like ours now. A home.

The last few months had been spent settling in and trying to achieve normalcy. It was getting easier, at least for Aisling. But for me, I was always on alert. I was ready to go after the threat that hung over our lives.

I drank my beer and relaxed on the couch, looking around the tiny cottage that felt too small but always felt like this was where I belonged. My boots sat by the front door, and her pretty, floral shawl was tossed over the back of the couch.

I was at the estate daily, which is where I stored nearly all my weapons, but it would be foolish not to have weapons here at a moment’s notice. We’d made space for each other without thinking about it .

Aisling grabbed us another round of beers for us. I brought in more wood I’d chopped earlier and added a few logs to the fireplace, stoking the flames until it filled the entire room with warmth. And then I searched for a movie for us to watch as we unwound from the day’s events.

Aisling was a horror fan, me an action lover. But I gave her whatever she wanted, so horror-themed it was for tonight.

I watched my mate as she added the tea bags and brought the steaming mugs over to where I sat. She glanced up at me, smiling in a way that still punched through my chest like nothing else could.

“Ye’re always staring,” she teased.

“Ye make it hard no’ tae, lass. Ye’re just so fooking pretty.”

She shook her head, but her smile didn’t fade. “Mr. Praise King over here,” she breathed, her cheeks pink and pretty. We didn’t talk about the danger much anymore unless she sensed my unease and asked. I never lied, never sugar-coated it. But at home… this was our time. And it was sacred.

I took the mugs and placed them on the coffee table in front of us. Aisling sat beside me, and I pulled her in close, kissing the top of her head and inhaling her sweet scent. Then I hit play, and we relaxed in silence as we watched the slasher flick.

After a while, she said, “This is what I always wanted.”

I lifted a brow and looked down at her. “What, being chased by a masked man intent on killing ye?” I teased as that exact scene played out on the TV.

She laughed and playfully nudged me in the side.

“Smartass,” she laughed. “No, a life that I always knew I deserved, and a mate who supported, protected, and loved me above all else.”

My chest swelled. “Always, lass.” I tipped her chin up, so she’d meet my eyes. “Ye deserve the world, darlin’. And I intend to spend the rest of my life giving it tae ye.” My words were a vow not just from my human side but from deep in the very soul of my Lycan.

After the movie, we went to bed with the sound of the wind in the trees and the first fall of snow blanketing the ground. I held my girl, knowing that whatever waited in the shadows… I was ready.

But right here, right now, there was only this—her sleeping in my arms, tucked away safely in our home, and our future right in front of us for the taking.

The End.