I didn't say yes to Kael right away. The word was there, sitting on my tongue, ready to fall. But I'd spent twenty-two years saying yes to the wrong things. Yes to Damon's leftovers. Yes to my parents' disappointment. Yes to standing behind Luna and pretending it didn't bother me. So I held it back.
Kael didn't push. He just kept showing up. Every Tuesday and Thursday, he walked Rory to the workshop. Every Saturday, he broughtcoffee—always a little milk, never sugar. He changed the rosemary water without being asked. He swept the floor when I was too deep in a stitch to notice the mess. He never said, "I've waited long enough." He never used his feelings like a weapon.
One evening, an old she-wolf brought in her late mate's travel trunk. Water damage. Cracked leather. Clasps rusted shut.
