Chapter Nine

Aric smiled at the new bed of flowers in the landscaping of the coven house. Three months living here, and Sadey had put her stamp on every piece of this place. The music of laughter floated out of the open windows and reached for him on the front porch.

This was his favorite part of his fire shifts—when he got to come home to her and to his coven.

His old life felt a million years ago now.

Aric pushed open the door and paused in the entryway just long enough to set his gear bag down. Dawn was an hour away, but the boys were still riled up, joking with each other and playing the music too loud. Quietly, Aric padded into the living area and leaned against the doorframe there. Dawn and the girls were here tonight, which made the human food smell of steak make sense. Sadey always insisted on cooking for the feeders before they left so they wouldn't feel faint on the way back to their lives.

The coven had complained half-heartedly at first about cooking in the kitchen and filling the house with the stink of food, but Sadey wouldn't be budged, and Aric was glad. The feeders were happier for the tradition they were creating now. Dawn and Sadey were cracking up over something at the table as his mate forked a bite of salad. She had her blond tresses up in a messy bun and wore an easy smile that said she was comfortable with everyone here. Her charcoal gray cable-knit sweater dropped from one shoulder and exposed the claiming mark he'd given her.

Some of the coven were on the couch watching a television show, two were playing chess in the corner, and two of them were sitting at the table with the girls, teasing them. Garret was standing over the old jukebox the boys had ordered for the house, and after he punched in the number he wanted, Sadey groaned out, "Garret! We've heard this song three thousand times tonight."

"And we'll hear it three thousand more because it's that good," he said with a wink at Dawn.

These were Aric's favorite nights, when everyone was happy.

" Hey you. "

Aric blinked slowly and smiled at his mate. Sadey looked so pretty under the chandelier above the kitchen table, an easy greeting grin on her full lips, her eyes crinkling as the grin reached them.

She really loved him.

Sure, he could tell from the fact that she'd switched her work hours and sleep schedule around to coincide with his. He could tell from the way she snuggled him in her sleep in the dark of their room during the daylight hours. But this—the way she looked at him with her heart in her eyes—said she was happy to be in love with him.

He twitched his chin toward the hallway, and her smile deepened. She squeezed Dawn's shoulder as she passed and made her way to him.

"I missed you," she murmured as she snuggled into his arms. And then she rested her cheek against his chest and went to purring like she always did when he came home after a shift.

He lifted her chin, brought her gaze to his so she would see how much he meant his next words. "I missed you, too." And then he leaned down and kissed her, his hands sliding down her neck and arms until he reached her waist.

She was always so reactive to his touch, and then she was reaching again. " Love, love, I love him, love him. I love Aric. "

He chuckled and nipped at her lip. His mate was a loyal creature who loved with her whole heart, and she'd somehow chosen him. He was so damn lucky to have landed in Winterset. So damn lucky to have landed in Sadey's arms.

"Get a room," Garret called across the couch.

Fine by him. Aric waved goodnight to his coven and hugged his mate tightly as he walked her backward down the hallway.

Sadey wrapped her legs around his waist. "Night, vamps," she called over his shoulder.

"Night." The coven's murmurs bounced down the hallway after them as Aric maneuvered them down the stairs to the basement rooms.

"Tell me about your day, mister," she murmured, resting her chin on his shoulder.

Aric kicked open the door to their bedroom and closed it with his hip, then murmured, "It was an easy one. No calls. The town was quiet tonight. And Chief Lang pulled me in his office at the end of my shift."

"What for?" she asked as he settled her onto the wood floor.

Aric shook his head, still barely able to believe it himself. "He said I was an asset to the truck and he'd made the right decision in hiring me."

Sadey's beaming smile stunned him into stillness. "So are you still the King of the Asheville Coven?" she asked innocently.

He could see it clear as day what she wanted him to say. He'd balked before tonight, but now it felt right. "No. Now I'm the King of the Winterset Coven."

"So we're staying. Officially, this is home?"

The excitement in her voice was catching, and he laughed. With a nod, he murmured, "We're home."

The notes of Garret's favorite country song floated down through the ceiling. Aric held Sadey as gently as she deserved and rocked them side-to-side in a slow dance. Resting his cheek against her hair, he murmured, "Before I met you, I was so angry. I couldn't get over Arabella stealing the sunlight from me. I couldn't be the king I wanted to be because of my unhappiness with her betrayal."

Sadey clutched his shirt and sighed, relaxing against him as they slow-danced. "And now?"

He leaned back and searched her gorgeous eyes. Slowly, he pressed his hand over her chest where her content purr rattled on. "And now I think I was supposed to find you when I did because you banished the dark parts of my life right when I thought I would be lost."

She was flowers in the garden and secret smiles. She was love, happiness, and echoing laughter. Somehow, she'd come in and become the glue for his coven—the glue for the pieces of himself Aric thought he had lost.

After everything, she had chased the shadows away, and now he didn't have to mourn his old life or the things he'd had to give up.

Because Sadey—his fiercely beautiful, playful, tender-hearted Sadey—had turned out to be his sunlight.