16

He's not finished with you.

Henley

Despite Parker's protests, Will and Blaine continue their fighting lessens. And even as November fades to December, no matter how much time passes, I still suck at fighting. However, Blaine promises that I am improving.

It's been a whole month since we've heard anything from the phoenix. He hasn't been at school, he hasn't been spotted on pack lands—nothing. Not that it's stopped the wolf shifters from looking for him. Parker and the others go out on frequent patrols and I am under constant guard duty. I know that multiple wolves guard my house while I'm sleeping and nights when my dad is working, I stay at Parker's house.

I chuckle thinking about how Parker's parents put me on an entirely different floor on the opposite side of the house from Parker. Parker complains about it, but I think it's hilarious. It's not like Parker could sneak around in his house anyway—his parents have supernatural hearing.

I sit in the living room of Parker's house. The youngest of his siblings are asleep, so things are actually quiet for once. About the only time his house is quiet is when his siblings are asleep.

I sip at a cup of hot chocolate that Mrs. Thorne made for me. Parker sits beside me, finishing up some homework. He has been so busy lately that he's gotten behind in his schooling. His dad has him working so hard.

Parker's parents have already gone to bed, though I know they're listening. We have a very strict ‘curfew.' We are both to be in our respective bedrooms by eleven o'clock on weeknights. Parker complains that he hasn't had a bedtime since he was ten, but even he won't go against his parent's wishes. I know that he finds comfort in knowing I'm so close at night. He never did like that I stayed at home by myself so much.

I drink the last of my hot chocolate and get up to wash my mug. I put it on the drying rack and walk back into the living room where Parker is writing as fast as he can. I sit down beside him and grab the sock that I'm working on. When Parker's mom found out that I enjoy knitting, she requested a pair of socks—I've already made her two pairs since she asked. She loves them and wears them around the house all the time. Since she loves them so much, I've decided to make her a whole bunch of them. I'm hoping to give her quite a few for Christmas.

Parker glances from his book to me, his lips turning up in the corner.

"What?" I ask, raising an eyebrow.

He shakes his head. "You and your sock knitting."

I shrug, not knowing what to say. I know it's a weird hobby, but it helps my anxiety. And it helped me get through a lot of rough times when I lived in New York. Everything was so loud and I was so sick most of the time. It was a distraction. Even now, it's hard for me to just sit down and do nothing. I need to be doing something with my hands.

"Even though you have grandma hobbies, I still think you're the most attractive woman in the entire world." Parker shuts his book, putting it into his backpack.

I blink at the compliment. He said it so casually, but it's anything but casual.

"Parker, there is no way that you think I'm the most attractive woman in the world." I put my socks aside so I can turn to fully face him. "I know I'm your soulmate, but I'm not…" my voice trails off.

He puts his bag on the floor and looks at me, raising an eyebrow. "Not what? Attractive? I hope you weren't going to say that because that would be a bold faced lie."

I lick my lips. "I'm not attractive. I don't think I'm ugly or anything, but the way you talk about me..." I shake my head, not knowing how to completely my thoughts.

Parker scoots closer, grabbing ahold of my hands. "You are the most beautiful woman that I've ever met. And I truly know that there is nobody in the world more beautiful than you. Before you, if I had dreamt up my type, it would be you in the flesh. Fate knows what it's doing. Not only are you the perfect match for my soul, but I'm so attracted to you. The day we met, you took my breath away."

I chew on my lip, not knowing what to make of what Parker is saying. Has he always been such a romantic?

Parker chuckles. "I'm serious, Henley. When I looked into your green eyes for the first time, the entire world shifted. Looking back, I can't believe I didn't realize you were my soulmate on the very spot. Maybe part of me did know, but I refused to believe it without the magic."

I swallow hard. "What would you have done if the magic would've revealed me as your mate?"

"Kissed you."

I wrinkle my nose. "Then I'm glad the magic waited. I had just thrown up in a trashcan. That would've been the worst first kiss ever."

He shrugs. "Our first kiss was pretty tragic anyway." His tone is casual, but I can see the pain in his eyes. He truly feels bad for the way everything went down—not that I blame him. It was a pretty rough day for us.

The first time Parker kissed me, he freaked out and pushed me away. I ran off and then got hit by a truck. If I weren't a phoenix, I would be dead. But magic brought me back to life.

"But after that, I showed you my wings. I don't know when I would've showed you if that hadn't happened." I put my hand on his forearm, trying to get him to see the bright side. "And now we know that we're soulmates. Nobody can tear us apart."

He slowly grins. "Yeah. You're right. Not even a crazy phoenix who is trying to kidnap you."

I let my arm fall. "I thought he hasn't been spotted for an entire month."

Parker nods. "He hasn't. There hasn't even been a sign of him. He's definitely gone."

"But you don't think he's given up for good?"

"No." Parker's eyes flash gold for a second but when he blinks they're blue again. He focuses on me. "Henley, the guy is going to come back for you. It's not a matter of if, but when. It's the only reason I haven't put a stop to your little fight club that you have with Blaine and Will. You're lucky your bruises fade so fast. If they didn't, my wolf wouldn't be able to stand it. I can hardly stand it as is."

I do know that Parker struggles with me learning to fight. That's why I don't talk to him about it. He doesn't ask questions and I don't tell him anything that happens. It's an unspoken rule with us.

Parker clears his throat. "Will told me that you've improved a lot."

My eyes widen. "What? He always tells me how much I suck."

He chuckles. "He tells you that because you're stubborn. The more he tells you how bad you're doing, the harder you try. He told me that you're not far off from beating him at full strength. To improve that much in a month must mean you're strong—stronger than any of us thought possible."

"I guess there's a reason that phoenixes were so feared." I pull my knees up to my chest and hug them against me.

I still haven't forgotten the things we learned when we visited the dragon king. And I know that phoenixes were all hunted down for a reason.

Parker puts his hand on my knee, capturing my attention. "Henley, you shouldn't feel bad about what you are. And you shouldn't believe the things written in history books."

"Why not?" I ask. "It's what happened."

He shrugs. "Maybe. But history is written by the winners. There are two sides to every story. Dragon shifters were hunted down the same way phoenixes were. Only dragon shifters managed to win the war. We know that dragon shifters aren't power hungry—they never were. Other supernaturals hunted them out of fear. But if they didn't win the war, I'm certain history would've painted dragon shifters as monsters. And we'd believe it."

I think about his words.

He's right. History is one-sided. And if I've learned anything from humans, it's that they change history to fit whatever narrative they're trying to push. Maybe the same thing was done regarding phoenixes.

But then I think about the phoenix who is after me and I shiver.

What if history books were right?

"You know one other phoenix. That's hardly enough to know what phoenixes are like. For example, you're a good person," Parker says.

I look at him. "How do you know? Maybe I'm evil and my evil side just hasn't come out yet."

"I know because I know your soul. You're my soulmate, Henley. You're good." Parker looks at me with such trust in his eyes.

He's right. If I am to believe Parker when he says that a soulmate is just the other half of one's soul, then I have to believe that I'm good. Because there is nobody better than Parker. He does everything he can for his pack. He's doing his homework at ten o'clock at night because he doesn't have any more time. He gives his all to protect me and he works so hard for the good of the pack.

"Thank you." I look into his blue eyes, feeling such love. "That other phoenix may not be done with me, but I know that I'll be okay. You will protect me."

He nods. "I will protect you, Henley. I will do whatever it takes to ensure that you are safe, happy, and loved. I promise you this."

My heart swells at his promise.

I know that Parker adores me, that much is clear. I get the feeling that he and I would be married already if it weren't for my dad.

I lick my lips. "Parker, I will do the same for you. I will make sure that you're always safe, happy, and loved."

His smile grows bigger. "I know. And never doubt this—I feel so loved by you."

My heart races faster and I know he can hear it, but he doesn't comment on it.

I tuck a strand of hair behind my ear as I scoot closer to him. "I know that you and I don't talk a lot about the future out of respect for my dad, but I want you to know that I think about the future a lot. I imagine our future together. At first, the future always seemed so far off, but now I imagine a future in the not so distant future. And I know my dad might not be okay with it, but I would marry you now. I'm ready to start my life with you."

Parker freezes, his eyes wide as he looks at me. He cocks his head to the side as he waits.

Is he expecting me to say something else?

"You're serious?" he asks.

I nod. "Yes."

He wraps his arms around me and tugs me into his lap, squeezing me against his chest. "I want to marry you, Henley. I wanted to marry you the day I knew you were my soulmate. I just didn't tell you how I felt because I didn't want to freak you out. You're a supernatural, but in a lot of ways you think like a human does. If you knew that I've wanted to make you my wife, I thought you'd run from me."

His wife.

The thought gives me butterflies.

Parker clears his throat and shifts so he can pull something out of his pocket. "I've been carrying this around." He holds out a box. "Wolf shifters don't wear wedding rings because rings don't shift with us. But I know you don't shift. You could wear one if you wanted."

My jaw goes lax. "You bought me a ring?"

He nods. "I bought it about a week after I found out you were my mate."

Parker opens the box, showing me the ring. My breath gets caught in my throat as the light reflects off the diamond. I turn from the ring to him.

"You know, in these types of situations, there is usually a question involved."

He grins, lifting me from his lap. He sits me down on the couch beside him and then he stands up, getting down onto one knee.

"Henley Stone, will you marry me?"

I nod. "Absolutely, yes."

He pulls me into his arms and squeezes me against him. "I can't believe you said yes. I thought I'd be carrying around this ring for months, trying to convince you to say yes."

"You should've asked me the day you got the ring."

He grins, pulling back to look at me. "Is this real?"

I hold out my left hand toward him. "Yes, it's real."

He pulls the ring from the box and gently slides it onto my finger. My stomach muscles clench up at the touch and my heart feels as though it's going to beat its way out of my chest.

"It fits perfectly," Parker says, looking at my finger.

I wrap my arms around him and squeeze him. "Yes, but you have to tell our parents."

Parker grins. "My parents already know. You know they're listening from their room."

I nod. "But it's not your parents I'm worried about."

His grin slowly fades. "Your father is going to kill me."

I pat his chest with my left hand. The light reflects off the diamond. "Good luck."

He pulls me against him and kisses my forehead. "You'll be there with me, right?"

"Of course," I promise, even though I'm tempted to let him do it by himself.

"Life with you will never get boring, that's for sure."

Parker kisses me and I melt against him.

He's right—our life will be interesting. And beautiful. I can't wait to see what we become.