Page 61 of The Bull's Head

“Stronger? I’m a constant source of tears.”

“Do you think crying makes you weak?” He kissed Byk’s head. “Damon once told Alp that he should not mistake Cece’s tears for weakness. It was to give her emotions an outlet before she killed someone. Being upset is not a crime. Neither is being afraid. If you didn’t cry, I would be far more worried. You were held for years, and nothing, not even a mate, can take that away. It’s your choice, but I would like you to talk to one of the therapists who have been helping the others.”

Byk wanted that. He wasn’t foolish enough to think it would all go away, especially seeing as they’d done something to his brain. There wasn’t any way to determine how long those effects would last.

“What’s going to happen to me?”

Teddy squeezed tighter. “I don’t know. I wish to the Maker I had an answer, but I can tell you one thing with absolute certainty: no matter what, I will be by your side.”

And Byk believed that, but…. “I can’t let you suffer with me. I never should have mated with you.”

Saying the words aloud was harder than if he had simply ripped his heart from his chest. It made breathing difficult to think that he could have walked away from Teddy.

“I know you’re upset and anxious, and I’m going to remember that. I won’t take it personally, and so you know, you can’t push me away so easily. Even if we hadn’t mated, I wouldn’t walk away from you.” He kissed Byk’s temple. “I love you, and I have since my bear first laid eyes on you.”

“Do you think if our animals weren’t part of us, it would be different?”

Teddy tightened his grip. “If it wasn’t for my bear, I would still have fallen in love with you. Yes, it would have taken me longer, because I’m pretty inept socially, but you? You’re like a magnet pulling me in your direction.”

He still would have fallen in love? “I would love you too.”

“I know. I’m awesome,” he teased.

“You are. I wish I had known you when I was younger.”

“Want to hear the truth? I wish I had known you my whole life, because I had years without you, and I can’t wait to make them up.”

Byk’s heart thumped a bit harder and heat rushed into his cheeks. “We should sleep.”

“Yes, we should. Can I hold you?”

“I’d be heartbroken if you didn’t.”

They lay down and pulled the blanket up. As soon as Teddy wrapped his arms around Byk, peace settled over him. He loved the feel of warm breath on the back of his neck, of strength and dominance in Teddy’s grip.

“That’s not sleeping,” Teddy murmured.

“Sorry. It’s just… I’ve waited my whole life to have someone as a mate. And now that I have you? Like you said, I wish we had known each other longer.”

“We’ll make up for it. I see trips in our future. Think of places you’d like to go, and we’ll make it happen.”

Byk sighed. “Do you want to know the dream I’ve had for my entire life?”

“I do,” Teddy answered solemnly.

“You have to promise me you’re not going to laugh.”

“At you? Never.” He trailed his fingers over Byk’s stomach. “Tell me your dream.”

“As I said before, I wanted to go to school to learn to bake. I loved the idea of making things people would enjoy, to make their days a bit brighter with nothing more than a sweet treat. My teacher used to show me all kinds of things, but I wanted to know everything, you know?”

“Who says you can’t still do that?”

“What?”

“It’s not like you’re no longer capable. You have training, a background, and you like making people smile. What’s stopping you from fulfilling your dream?”

Beside the fact that he might die? “Nothing, I guess.”

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