Chapter 49

S carlet glanced down the hallway as Leopol came down the stairs.

"Wulfric?" she asked.

He pointed up. "I put him in your room. He's fine. No need to worry. I'm just off to ask the cook to make him another beefsteak now."

Scarlet grinned and raced past him up the stairs, but Knox came down from the west tower where he'd probably been visiting his egg. She paused on the landing to ask, "Any movement?"

Knox shook his head. "No, but Lailant and Grandma say it's to be expected. It's just as well that we need to wait, since I have my hands full trying to convince the Feral Forest people to approve the treaty with the Growlers."

"Still giving you problems?"

He shrugged and glanced out the window, searching the skies for eagles. "No more than expected. Change takes time. I suspect it'll be a few months for the nation to approve it, but hopefully by the time we go into Glathen to finally get that economic treaty in place, both halves of the Feral Forest will present a united front."

Scarlet played with her dagger hilts and hummed. "Growlers and dragons going on a diplomatic mission into Glathen? You'd better take as many Robins and Hunters as possible too. They can be tricky."

Knox sighed and raked a hand over the scales on his head. "That's what everyone keeps telling me. I really do not want Eirwyn to go, but she's still insisting she'll be the best chance we have of convincing them to recognize us as a nation."

Scarlet turned to the steps that would take her up to Wulfric. "Well, she's usually right, so you might as well listen to her."

Knox groaned and continued down the stairs. "Don't say that too loud, or it'll go to her head. Oh and Scarlet, the Hunter's Guild Master is here. He said you asked to see him?"

Scarlet paused with her foot on stair. "Ah yes, so I did. We need to discuss how the Hunters, Robins, and Growlers can work together. Tell him I'll meet with him later."

Knox called out, "I'm proud of you, sis, for working with all of these people. I know it's not easy or what you want, but I appreciate it. Sometimes all this responsibility gets a bit much to handle by myself."

She looked back at him and smiled. "It's alright, I'll always have your back, little brother. But if you don't mind, all the responsibility can fuck off for a few hours. I need to see my mate."

Knox's laughter followed her up the stairs, but her mind had already turned toward seeing Wulfric. Her chest was tight with anticipation and nerves. She'd been separated from him for less than two days, but it was too much. She'd not told him how much she loved him or that she'd decided to stay with him when this was all over.

When she pushed the door to her room open, Wulfric sat up on the bed. Shaggy black and silver hair, big wolf ears and nose, the heat in her chest spread at the unfamiliar sight of him so domesticated, reading and—

She paused, then stumbled on a rug in shock. He wore glasses and held a book in one hand, the other tucked up behind his head. That bicep made her mouth water. His expression when he looked up and smiled at her? Her core clenched, and she shut the door behind her quickly.

"You wear glasses ?" Her voice was high in incredulity.

He chuckled and put the book down beside him on the bed. "The better to see you with, my dear."

She shook her head and sat on the settee to pull off her boots. She didn't want any barriers between them. "There are so many things I don't know about you," she muttered.

He threw back the coverlet and patted the bed. "Come closer, and I'll tell you all you want to know."

The confession she'd practice during the past two days of riding fled right out of her mind. She just lived in the moment and met his golden, glowing eyes. She laughed and shook her head. "First, are you healed? How are your wounds?"

He swung his feet to the side of the bed and began to unwrap his bandages. "I'm fine. I was waiting on you to take these off. I know how you love to play doctor."

She smirked as her boot dropped to the floor with a thump.

"I want to talk about something before you come over to play though," he said softly, his eyes calculating.

She tugged off her other boot and grunted, "Talk away." Now that she faced him, she couldn't quite bring herself to say those three simple words. Her parents had bandied them about over and over. Why was it so hard?

He swallowed hard and winced as he unwrapped another layer. "There may be a lot we don't know about each other yet, but there's only one thing I need to know about you," he said before taking a deep breath.

Her spine tingled. This sounded serious. She frowned as her other boot hit the floor. She sat up and met his gaze. His eyes glowed golden in the soft light through the window.

"Do you love me? Can you love me, a monster, a beast, a Growler?"

Scarlet sat back on the settee, drumming her fingers on her leg. So it was going to be that kind of talk then. Well, it was a good thing she'd already made up her mind. She pulled her dagger from her sheath and picked at her nails. "Well, there's a problem with your logic there, wolfie. You see, you're not a monster or a beast."

She looked at him from beneath her lashes. He blinked. "I'm not?"

She shook her head and looked into his eyes. Tossing the blade and catching it without looking, she said, "No, you're not. You're my mate, Wulfric, and there's no getting out of that or escaping it. I'm not about to walk away from you."

"What are you saying?" he demanded, setting the last of the gauze aside, his jaw clenching.

"I'm saying, I'm in it until the end. You almost died , Wulfric. Bella's a spirit, Leopol's a ghost. We're all going to die someday, and it got me thinking." She paused, rubbing at the sore spot where her antlers grew from her head. It didn't hurt nearly as much as it did before she'd met him.

She sighed and sat forward on the settee, settling her elbows on her knees and looking into his eyes across the room. She just had to spit it out. "If at the end of my hopefully long life I could've spent even one more day with you, would I do it? Hells yes, I would. I'd be a fool not to spend every day possible with you. And Grandma didn't raise a fool, regardless what she says otherwise."

Wulfric chuckled, and she stood, stepping toward him. He held his hand out, palm facing her. "Wait, does this mean you're still going to obsess over ending the curse?"

She frowned, reaching for the ties on her vest. She unlaced them as she asked, "What do you mean?"

He raked a hand down his haggard face, still too pale from healing. "We may be fated mates, but I fell in love with you , Scarlet. Not because it was destiny or the gods manipulating us, but because you're fucking amazing. Antlers, rabbit shifting, and all."

Her heart raced, and her nose twitched. "You love me?" She'd hoped, had been fairly sure, but to hear it said aloud. Her throat closed, and she swallowed hard.

His brows wrinkled, and he put the glasses on the side table, rubbing his eyes with a sigh. "Of course I fucking love you. Who wouldn't?"

She rolled her eyes. "Just about everyone else, dipshit. I'm a freak of nature."

He growled and pointed. "There. That right there is the problem. Will there ever be a time you can love yourself the way I love you?" He laid back against the bed, closing his eyes.

She frowned and tossed the blade again.

He sighed. "What happens if Bella can't reverse the curse? Yes, she'll have more resources here, more books to research and find a solution. But if you stay like this, will you be happy? Or will you always be chasing a way to change back into what you were before?"

She caught the blade and held it. Her breathing stopped too, her stomach twisting. Could she live with herself like this? Eirwyn had asked her that same question, but so much had changed since then.

It wasn't just about her though. "I'm not making it up when I say literally everyone thinks I'm a freak. You haven't seen them, but they avoid me, walk on the other side of the street."

"But my tribe didn't act like that, did they?"

She swallowed hard and lowered her hand. Why was she fighting this? It was like she was grasping at straws, trying to find reasons to stay apart when that wasn't what she wanted at all.

Still she powered ahead. "It's not the same as living there. I don't know if your tribe will accept me like this."

"You know they will. You're a warrior, and they respect that. It's more about who you are than what you are. Now stop avoiding the question. Can you accept yourself like this?" His gaze bored into her soul, and she couldn't escape any longer.

Her chest felt too tight, and she paced to the fireplace. She spun with hands wide, one still holding the dagger. "I can if you can," she finally said, her jaw tilting up in defiance.

Wulfric arched a brow and sat up once more. "What the hells have I been saying? Are you not listening? Gods."

He grumbled as he slowly swung his feet over the side of the bed. He crooked his fingers and said, "Come here, bunny. I'm still too weak to chase after you right now."

She sighed and pulled her vest off, tossing it and her dagger onto the settee as she walked past. She stood between his knees, and he put his hands on her hips.

He looked up, his golden eyes glowing and so full of emotion. "I love you, antlers, whiskers, tail and all."

He kissed her forehead and traced her antlers with his fingertips. "I love your bunny side, how soft and cuddly you are, how you need my protection sometimes, even though you'll deny it with every breath."

He kissed her bunny nose, then rose and kissed the base of her antlers. "I love your antlers, the beautiful doe who doesn't know whether to run or freeze in terror. I love how you stare down danger but use your amazing brain to know when it's smart to retreat."

Her chest swelled hearing the acceptance she craved. He kissed her cheeks, and her breath hitched.

"And I love the Growler side of you that you try to hide. I love the fierceness of your protection, your determination to do what's right, even if you don't want to, like saving a pathetic creature like me. Saving Bella when you could've killed her."

Scarlet snorted. "I can't kill a spirit."

He wiped the tear from her cheek and leaned back. "Hey, I wouldn't put it past you. You're a badass, the strongest and best Hunter in the land. If anyone could kill a spirit, it'd be you."

She smiled and shook her head as he kissed her cheek. "You're so good to me."

"Then stay with me," he said softly. "I'll be the best mate in the world. I'll protect you with all my breath for all my days. We can work side by side to protect the Growlers, or we can roam as Hunters together."

She paused, her hands settling on his shoulders. Something shifted within her chest, a knot dissipating that she didn't even know had been there. The trapped feeling eased and her brows rose in surprise.

"You'd do that? Give up the alpha position you deserve, the one you earned?"

He shrugged. "In a heartbeat, if that's what you wish. What matters to me is that we're together through it all, every day and night. Flying away on your brother's back was torture because it separated me from you. I never want to be apart from you again. We can rule an alpha tribe or be Hunters together or just live like hermits in the woods. As long as we're together."

She threw her arms around his neck and her body shook. He clutched her to his chest, and she buried her face in his neck, her body relaxing for the first time since she'd sent him with Knox. She couldn't let him go. Never again.

She squeezed her arms tighter and snorted into his ear. "If I'll have you? Well, that depends, doesn't it. Will you put up with me not knowing which type of animal I am at any time? I may go from scared to mad in the blink of an eye. I may scream or try to fight you."

"Ah, the spice of life. I'm looking forward to it, love," he said with a chuckle.

She leaned back and glared. "I'm serious. There's no one else like me, and I don't know if this will ever feel normal. Life with me will never be peaceful, Wulfric. Is that something you can do day in and day out?"

He leaned back and laughed. She frowned and put her hands on his hips, but he just pulled her closer, lifting them both until she was sitting on his lap sideways on the bed. He stroked her cheek and shushed her with a chuckle.

"Hush, I'm not laughing at you. I'm laughing because my life has never been predictable or calm. I went from the shop to the tavern to the army to the Growlers. I'm always managing people, solving disputes, and fixing problems. If you come at me swinging, well, that's a problem I can solve. Life with you won't be peaceful, but it will be an adventure. What do you say? Will you marry me?"

She leaned back, her eyes clear for the first time. She'd not felt like this in so long, well before the curses changed her life. It was as if the weight of the world had lifted from her shoulders. He brushed his thumb over her cheek as she smiled.

"That's dumb. We're already mated."

He shrugged. "Let me retain some of my humanity. I want to marry you, build a house and a community and a home for our babies."

She rolled her eyes and smiled. "Fine, we'll get married. But no darning socks."

He chuckled. "Deal."

"Now will you kiss me already?" She leaned forward as he chuckled.

The future was still unknown, but for the first time in months, she didn't feel the pressing need to go find a cure for her curses. And for the first time in years, she felt blissfully happy. Like Grandma had said, she was settled because she was finally accepted exactly as she was. She was home , exactly where she belonged—fighting the world by his side.

She could be a handful, but he was the indomitable Growler who refused to give up on her. Together, they'd faced challenges unlike any she'd experienced before. And if they faced the world side-by-side, she knew their love would be stronger than any magic an evil wizard might throw at them.

It was the last thought in her head before their lips met, sweeping her into animalistic pleasure to make her heart race.