*Bram*
Lyra fits in my arms like she’s always belonged there. The early light slips in through the broken shutters, brushing across her face and making her look ethereal. She’s my mate. The words stir something deep in me, an instinct I’d always thought I could keep under control. Now, it’s like my whole body is wired to her.
She turns over, murmuring in her sleep, and for a moment I think she’ll wake. Instead, she nestles closer, tucking her cold toes against my shin. I smile to myself. The abandoned house creaks and groans around us, the old boards settling. Somewhere outside, a bird calls, but nothing could pull me from this moment, with the knowledge of what we are to each other now.
We linger longer than we should, wrapped in that fragile morning bubble, but eventually hunger an
