“I told him I want you. I love the pack, but I don’t want to live for it. I want to be in the city. I want to help when I can, but the whole beta thing? That’s not me. It crushes something in me. So I turned it down.”
My jaw dropped. “You… turned it down?”
He smiled shyly. “I did.”
He stepped closer and crouched in front of me, like he was proposing-but with less pressure and more desperate affection. “Lucien offered me something else. A new role. Pack Integration Officer. I’ll help younger wolves and estranged members transition into human life. Help them find jobs, apartments, therapists, whatever they need. Host meetings between packs, keep things calm. Keep magic quiet.”
I swallowed. “That sounds perfect for you.”
He nodded. “Lucien thought so too. Said I’m better at connecting people than commanding them. And I think I know how to save the pack’s magic, but I’ll tell you all about that later.”
I gave a choked laugh.
“And,” Roman added, “he gave us his blessing. He said he’s seen how we look at each other-and that we crushed that game show.”
That made me laugh, real and full. “We did crush it.”
“I’m serious, Maggie.” His voice turned softer, like it was just the two of us again. “I meant what I said. I want you. Not as a roommate. Not as a fake anything. Just as you and me.”
My throat tightened. I stared down at him, heart racing like it might burst free.
“I love you,” I whispered. “I think I’ve loved you this whole time, but I didn’t realize it until I thought I had lost you.”
Roman stood and reached out, brushing my sweaty hair off my forehead. “You’re not losing me. I’ve never been more certain of anything in my life. I want you, Maggie James… if you’ll have me.”
I didn’t say anything. I reached up and kissed him.
It wasn’t the nervous, testing kiss of two people trying something out. It was solid. Fierce. A thousand unspoken words wrapped in the press of our mouths.
I love you. I choose you. I’m done running.
He wrapped his arms around me, grounding me even as the studio spun. He kissed me like I was everything.
Somewhere in the background, the entire class clapped. A couple of women actually cheered. Someone sniffled and muttered, “That’s better than The Bachelor.”
I laughed against his lips and pressed my forehead to his. “This can’t be real life.”
“It is,” Roman said. “And I’m not going anywhere.”
In his arms, in front of a crowd of sweaty strangers and a punching bag that had taken the brunt of my heartbreak, I felt something I hadn’t felt in a long time.
Safe.
Not because he saved me. But because he saw me. Because he stayed.
And I would never let go.
Roman
The air had that cool, clean bite that came after a long day and made me want to breathe a little deeper. The grass along the border was still damp under my boots. Somewhere beneath it all, the wards hummed-a low, steady vibration, like they were listening.
The tracker sat in my hand, its soft blue glow brushing over my knuckles. Numbers flickered across the display, a quiet pulse against my palm.
It wasn’t officially the gathering yet. Just me and Maggie, walking the perimeter in a silence that didn’t need to be filled. Every now and then, she’d say something just to mess with me-some jab about the “Kumbaya” name Lucien had slapped on tonight like this was a summer camp retreat instead of a last-ditch effort to save our magic.
I rolled my eyes. “If you say it too many times, I’ll make him print matching T-shirts.”
She grinned. “Do they come with marshmallows and a sing-along?”
My mouth twitched. “Absolutely not.”
We kept walking, our shoulders brushing every now and then. It wasn’t intentional, but each time it happened, the tracker’s numbers spiked sharply, like the damn thing was trying to prove a point.
“Is it working yet?” she asked, nodding toward the device.
I glanced down. Another spike. The glow brightened for a beat, holding steady until she stepped closer, her arm brushing mine again.
I tried to play it off, tucking the tracker closer to my side. “Maybe.”
“Maybe?” She arched an eyebrow. “That’s very scientific.”
I shrugged, aiming for casual. “I don’t want to jinx it.”
Her smile was still there, teasing at the corners. I glanced at the tracker, then back at her. “Although… we could test it further.”
Before she could ask how, I slid an arm around her waist and pulled her in, fitting her against me like she’d always belonged there. The tracker’s glow brightened in my peripheral vision, but I didn’t care about the numbers anymore.
I kissed her slowly, unhurriedly. Not a question, not a claim-just something real. The world went quiet except for the faint hum of the wards and the steady rhythm of her breathing against me.
The tension I carried in my shoulders, my jaw, my chest-gone. My mind wasn’t a scattered mess of what-ifs and pack politics. Just her. The shape of her mouth, the warmth of her body, the way the night didn’t feel so heavy with her in it.
Connected. At peace. Regulated in a way I couldn’t fake, no matter how hard I’d tried before.
When I finally pulled back, I kept her close, my forehead resting against hers.
“Pretty sure it’s working,” I said quietly.
I heard him before I saw him. Lucien’s boots crunched through the damp grass, his stride loose like he was just out for a midnight stroll. But when he stepped into the glow of the tracker, his eyes sharpened, zeroing in on the numbers.
He stopped beside me, folding his arms. “Well? Are we winning, or am I here to drink away my disappointment?”
I tilted the display toward him. “It’s been holding steady in the high range since she got here.”
The numbers pulsed bright and sure, like they’d finally decided to show up for work.
Lucien’s gaze flicked between the tracker and Maggie, then back to me. His usual smug mask cracked, giving way to something I’d only seen a handful of times-pure, unfiltered giddiness.
“You’ve done it, cousin,” he said, voice warm and almost reverent.
Before I could step back, he pulled me into a hug. Not the half-assed, back-thumping kind men gave when they were trying to look like they didn’t care. It was full-on, arms-wrapped, borderline clingy. I froze, my brain short-circuiting, then awkwardly patted him on the back like he was an overly affectionate golden retriever.
He pulled away grinning, already turning toward the tree line like the wards might light up in neon just to confirm it. “Do you feel that? The shift? It’s alive again. Oh, this is going to work.”
I glanced at Maggie. She was watching us with an amused, knowing little smile that made my chest feel too tight. And yeah, I felt it too.
The rest of the pack came in slowly, two or three at a time, the crunch of boots or paws and low murmurs carrying across the clearing. I recognized some faces instantly-wolves I’d grown up with, run patrols with, fought beside. Others I hadn’t interacted with in years, pulled back to the border tonight either out of curiosity or because Lucien had made it very clear they didn’t have a choice.
Some hung at the edges, arms crossed, assessing. A few were already talking in low, tentative tones, eyes darting to the wards like they were waiting to see fireworks.
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