Lyra POV
The Whispering Spring glowed under the twilight, its crystal waters catching the first stars like scattered diamonds, the cedar canopy above us weaving a cocoon of shadows and golden light.
Jaxon’s arms were still around me, his warmth anchoring me to this sacred place, his confession—I love you, Lyra—echoing in my heart like a melody I’d always known but only now understood.
The world beyond the grove—Darius, Calista, Fiona, the tangled mess of our lives—felt distant, insignificant, as if the spring’s gentle murmur could wash it all away. Here, it was just us, and the air between us crackled with a need that had been building since the forest, since the moment I chose him over my destined mate.
I pulled back slightly, my hands resting on his chest, feeling the steady thump
