**Paige’s POV **


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    The inside of the tent is nothing like the memory burned into me from our teens. Back then, the tent had been cramped and cold, the ground hard beneath the sleeping bag, and it had smelt slightly damp and mouldy. We’d been so young, both of us fumbling and overwhelmed, and afterward I’d been left with only silence when he disappeared.


    This is warmth andfort, a bedyered with pillows and nkets,nterns hanging from the poles, flowers tucked into little jars. It smells faintly of the forest and something rich and musky that’s all Ryder.


    He taps something on his phone before cing it down on a side table. Soft music I recognise starts to spill out. A song from when we were younger. He really has thought of everything to make this night perfect.


    My throat tightens as Christina Perri’s voice fills the tent. “It’s beautiful, Ryder.”


    He steps in behind me, his hand warm on the small of my back. “I wish I could have given this to you that night. This is what you deserved. Thank you for loving me then, when I was such a mess. You saw past my temper and reputation. You didn’t care that I had nothing to give you apart from myself. I knew back then, and every day since, that I’d never want anyone else.”


    Tears prick my eyes again, but this time I let them fall, turning to face him. “You were going through a lot. I never judged you. You were enough for me then, and you still are now. I admit I was <i>so </i>angry with you for a while, but…”


    He cuts me off gently, pressing a finger to my lips. “No buts, I was a coward then. I thought I


    had to walk away to protect you. I thought if I kept you out of my world, you’d be safe. But I


    was wrong. I lost years I’ll never get back, and I’ll never forgive myself for that. But I’m here


    now. I’m not leaving again.”


    The rawness in his voice almost shreds me. I reach up and cup his jaw, his rough stubble


    prickling my hand. “I believe <i>you</i>.”


    For a long moment we just stand there, breathing each other in, the air thick with everything unsaid. Then he lowers his mouth to mine again, deeper this time, his hands sliding to my waist, pulling me to him.


    < Chapter 68


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    The kiss is slow and sweet, but it sets me on fire. It’s not about possession or hunger. It’s about love, steady and pure. When his lips finally trail down to my throat, I gasp, clutching at


    his shoulders.


    “Ryder…” My voice trembles with more than just desire. It trembles with the weight of everything we’ve gone through to finally be here.


    He lifts his head, eyes zing with his wolf. “Tell me if you want me to stop.”


    I shake my head. “Don’t you dare.”


    Ryderughs softly before guiding me back towards the bed. I sit on the edge, looking up at him as he pulls his shirt over his head, the fabric stretching over his broad shoulders before falling away. My breath catches. Every line of his chest is sculpted, powerful without being over the top. I could spend the whole night here, like this, studying every muscle. He looks


    like he belongs in the military as one of their well–trained soldiers, a man built to protect, but


    the softness in his eyes shows a whole different side to him.


    I reach out without thinking, my fingers brushing across his stomach before sliding upward, following the ridges of muscle. He’s warm and solid, and his skin is so soft beneath my


    touch. My chest tightens with something deeper than desire. Ryder stills, his breath catching


    as though my touch has frozen him in ce, and when I finally meet his gaze again, the hunger in his eyes steals every thought from my head except how much I want him, right


    now.


    He steps closer, positioning himself between my knees until I have to tilt my head back to


    keep eye contact. His hand lifts to my face, his thumb stroking my cheek. There’s adoration


    in the way he looks at me, with desire simmering beneath it, but his touch is gentle, almost hesitant, as if he’s giving me the chance to pull away. Instead, I lean into him, my hand


    pressing <i>over </i>his heart, feeling its steady beat.


    “Paige,” he breathes as I trail my hand lower.


    I grip the waistband of his jeans, and his eyes darken, something wild and primal shing there. I keep my eyes on his as I pop the button, slowly lowering the zip, and then push the fabric from his hips to free him. He’s hard and ready, and I lick my lips as my hand wraps


    around him.


    “f**k, Paige,” he hisses as I lean forward and run my tongue from base to tip before sucking the head into my mouth.


    < Chapter 69


    More Rewards <b>> </b>


    I moan at the salty taste of him as his hand tightens in my hair. I can tell how much he’s holding back, feel the restraint in every movement, how he’s forcing himself to be gentle with me. For tonight, his tenderness is enough, but I know it isn’t the whole of him.


    Beneath the control there’s a hunger he hasn’t let himself explore yet, an edge I can sense just waiting to break free. I can’t wait to coax it out of him, to show him it’s safe to want it, safe to take it, safe to lose himself in how rough he really needs to be. If it’s true what they


    believe, that their Moon Goddess only matches perfect partners, then I can handle whatever


    he needs from me, he won’t break me. I trust him.


    Ryder pulls my head back, and I release him with a pop. “Enough, this night is about you, not


    me,” he says, his voice rough.


    I shake my head. “No, Rye, it’s about us.”


    He pulls me to my feet, and his mouth ims mine again, with no gentleness now, only heat


    and urgency. His hands roam my body, pulling at my clothes until I’m wearing only my


    underwear.


    He kicks off his shoes, and steps out of his jeans before moving to stand behind me. His


    fingers fumble with my bra sp before it releases and falls away. He moves the hair from my neck, kissing over the ce I think he ns to mark me. A shiver runs down my spine, and everywhere he touches, sparks ignite beneath my skin. I arch back into him, desperate for more, for everything he’s been holding back.


    “You are beautiful, Paige.” He whispers against my skin between kisses. “I’m so blessed to


    have been chosen as yours. You are everything I could ever dream of, perfect in every way.”


    When he finally presses me down onto the bed, we are bothpletely naked. His weight presses on top of me as his mouth finds mine again. Slowly he works his way down my body, each kiss, nip and swipe of his tongue driving me wild with need until finally, his tongue finds my centre. He licks and sucks like he’s done this a million times, like he knows exactly what I


    need from him.


    My fingers tangle in his hair as my releasees hard and fast, my body turning so hypersensitive to him that even his breath on me sends ripples of aftershocks over me. When I finallye back to earth, I open my eyes to find him kneeling between my legs,


    watching me with part satisfaction and part awe.


    “Please, Rye. I need you.” I breathe.


    <Chapter 68


    More Rewards


    My body hums with need, my nerves alive, but there’s also a deep ache that is more than just desire. It’s the bond pulling us together, demanding to be sealed.


    When Ryder finally moves over me, his arms tremble as his eyes meet mine. Then he fills me with one slow, iming thrust. My gasp quickly turns into a cry of relief. His groan rumbles low in his chest, and his lips brush mine as he begins to move, each stroke powerful and


    all–consuming.


    I cling to him, nails dragging across his shoulders, every movement building heat until I’m trembling and breathless beneath him. His pace quickens, our bodies moving together in rhythm, every thrust driving me closer to the edge.


    “Ryder,” I whimper, my voice breaking. “Don’t stop.”


    “I couldn’t,” he growls against my throat, teeth grazing the sensitive skin there. “Even if I tried.


    <i>” </i>


    The scrape of his fangs sends a shiver racing through me, anticipation mixing with the pleasure already flooding my veins. I know what’sing, and I want it, I need it.


    “Do it,” I beg, tilting my head back to bare my throat for him. “Mark me, Rye. Please.”


    A sound tears from him, a half growl, half groan, as if my words break something inside him. His thrusts turn almost feral, hard and deep, driving me higher until I’m spiralling. And then, when I’m on the brink of breaking apart, his mouth closes over my throat and his fangs sink


    into my skin.


    The bite is sharp and electric, but instead of pain it brings a surge of heat that explodes outward, flooding my body with fire and light. The bond ms into ce, an unbreakable connection snapping tight between us. It’s more than pleasure; it’spletion, as though some missing part of me has finally been restored. I feel him, not just his body, but his soul


    bound to mine.


    My release crashes through me in the same moment, wave after wave of ecstasy tearing me apart and then knitting me back together with him. Ryder follows, his growl muffled against my throat as he spills into me, the bond pulsing intensely with every pulse of his body inside mine. I scream out in bliss as a second orgasm hits me before thest can fade. I feel like every <i>one </i>of my nerves sparks to life at once in an explosion of pleasure that almost makes


    me pass out.