DERRICK POV
*today a love song in the background, in italian - CORALINE , Maneskin *
The moment I heard her say the word “mate,” everything else just... vanished.
The pain.
The monitors.
The sterile lights burning my eyes.
Gone.
It was like my soul snapped into place—like that one word had unlocked something ancient and sacred inside me. The fog lifted, and the world narrowed to three things: her voice, her scent, and the raw truth of our bond.
She felt it.
She felt me.
She felt us.
Finally.
I had waited too damn long. I’d been terrified that whatever s**t Reyes pumped into her system had messed with our bond. But we—Dalton and I—we’d been lucky bastards.
And judging by the way she was looking at me, she didn’t plan to be anything but ours.
I wanted to scream with joy. Jump l
