Before I can respond, he kisses me. It’s soft and sweet and full of promise, and something inside my chest unfurls like a flower blooming in sunlight. When he pulls back, his smile is radiant.
“I have to go to Millbrook next week for some business. That gives you time to think about it. But Astra, I’ll wait for your answer. However long it takes.”
He gives me one more quick kiss before helping me down from the car. “I meant what I said. About everything.”
As he drives away, I stand there in the fading light, my fingers pressed to my lips. The knapsack, which is now empty, still feels impossibly heavy on my shoulders as I make my way back toward the settlement, my mind spinning.
Marriage. Love. A life outside the pack.
I’ve never been loved before, not really. My mother died when I was
