Brooks:
Hattie lay against my chest, her breathing slowly evening out, her fingers tracing lazy patterns along my side. My own breath was still unsteady, my heart still hammering from what just happened. From what she was. From what she meant to me now.
My marked mate.
The word echoed in my mind, wrapping around me like an unbreakable chain. I had never thought much about fate before, never been the kind of guy to dwell on what was meant to be. I just lived my life, taking things as they came. But now? Now I understood.
Hattie was meant for me.
I tightened my arms around her, pressing a kiss to the top of her head. She sighed contentedly, but I could still feel the tension lingering in her body. She was safe here, with me, but that didn’t mean we weren’t still in danger.
Ca
