Ss‘ POV


    Finished


    I watched her from across the estate terrace, the evening sun casting long shadows over the manicured hedges and stone pathways of my Whitmor estate.


    Freya’s hands flexed unconsciously at her sides as she spoke, lips pressed together with that stubborn set I knew all too well. My alpha senses hummed with tension; the faint scent of her nerves mingled with the faint musk of her wolf aura, an intoxicating mixture that both unsettled and drew me closer.


    “Since my mission is over,” she said, her voice low but clear, “I need to settle a few personal matters before returning to The, Capital. There’s work I still have to handle there.”


    I could feel the subtle pulse of her wolf, restrained yet restless. She was already nning her return to The Capital, already calcting the days, the schedule, the logistics. My instincts bristled at the thought. Every mile between us was a potential threat, every passing day a chance for danger–or for someone like Kade ckridge to insert himself between us.


    “How long will you stay in Ashbourne?” I asked, striving to keep my tone casual, though the tension in my chest tightened.


    About ten days,” she said. Her scent carried a soft hint of the freedom she’d cherish once the final goodbyes were said. Ten days. That was far too short, far too fleeting.


    I stepped closer, letting the air between us thicken with the unspoken. “Couldn’t you stay a few more days here?” I asked, my voice low, almost a growl of desire and possessiveness. I didn’t want her back in The Capital yet, not while Kade’s presence lingered like a shadow over her. Not before she was more… certain. More tethered to me.


    Freya’s eyes flickered briefly, and her lips pressed together. She was thinking, calcting, considering, as always. Finally, she spoke, her voice careful but firm. “I can stay a few more days for you,” she said, “but I won’t linger too long in Ashbourne. And


    when I return to The Capital, I won’t stay there for too long either. I need to go to the


    go to the bordends, search for any trace of my


    brother. We may be apart at times. If that’s uneptable to you, you should tell me now.”


    Her words struck me like a blow. She was offering me a choice but the very idea of choice filled me with a primal rage. Choice meant she could walk away. Choice meant that if her affection was not absolute, she could withdraw, retreat, vanish from my life. And I… I would never allow that.


    “Freya,” I said, my voice low and guttural, a predator’s growlcing the words, “I’ve fought tooth and w to be with you. I will not let the distance between us, the need to find your brother, or anything else, drive you away from me. You will not speak of walking away. Don’t even think it.”


    I lowered my head, brushing my lips lightly over the bandaged skin of her forearm, feeling the delicate warmth of her flesh beneath the cloth. That injury was mine as much as it was hers<b>; </b>she had taken the risk, bared herself to the world, to protect me. My wolf rumbled in my chest with the possessive need to shield her, to mark her as mine in every way possible.


    “And besides,” I murmured, letting the words curl around her senses like smoke, “if you’re going to the bordends, I’ll go with you.”


    She froze, eyes widening slightly. “You… you would apany me there?”


    “Yes,” I said, dark certainty threading every syble.


    Her brow furrowed. “But your work?”


    I smiled faintly, the kind of smile that had silenced more than one rival or challenger. “Freya, in this age, work follows us anywhere. The Whitmor holdings, the Coalition projects… none of it binds me to one ce. And the staff, the resources, the support? You think I’d let you risk a step alone?” My wolf growled, low and protective, at the mere thought of her walking that treacherous border without me..


    Her mind raced, I could smell it–calctions, ns, memories of the past five years spent searching for her brother. She’d already been to the borderlines multiple times, scrutinized every lead, followed every faint trace, yet she still believed he was out there, alive. Her wolf pulsed with the stubborn tenacity I hade to respect and fear.


    You understand, don’t you?” I said, a hand brushing against hers, resting over the delicate curve of her fingers. “I’ll go anywhere with you. I’ll fight, survive, and endure any threat. Because you <b>are </b>mine, Freya. And I will never let the world take


    12:25 AM <b>p </b><b>p </b>


    you from me.”


    Finished


    Her gaze softened for just a moment, the scent of relief mingled with caution drifting from her. Yet she remained vignt, wolf and human both, the duality I hade to know like a second heartbeat. “I appreciate that,” she said softly, “and I trust you. But the search… it won’t be easy. The bordends are unforgiving, and we may face challenges even together. I want you prepared.”


    I chuckled, a low, rumbling sound that carried the weight of an alpha’s confidence. “Prepared?” I said.


    <b>“</b><b>I’ll </b>go with you,” I repeated, voice low, but carrying an unmistakable promise. “But know this–wherever you go, whatever danger lies ahead, I will always be closer than it seems. I will always be the shadow at your back, the shield at your side. You are mine to protect, Freya Thorne. Do not doubt it for one second.”


    Her lips pressed together, her wolf scent mingling with mine in the evening air, a blend of challenge and acknowledgment. “Then we’ll face it together,” she said. “And… Ss, I trust you.”


    Her trust ignited something deep in me, a fire older than reason, older than loyalty. My wolf growled low in my chest, a protective, possessive sound meant only for her ears. I would endure, survive, and ovee every obstacle for her. Distance, time, enemies, the unforgiving terrain of the bordends–none of it mattered.


    Because she <b>was </b>mine.


    And the bordends, the world beyond these estate walls, was ours to conquer together.