Page 45 of Corrupted Tyrant

Not peace, not yet. But something close.

Optimism.

And a burning question: What happens next?

Chapter Thirty-Two

Courage

The drive back to the hotel is a blur, my mind still reeling. Candy is silent in the passenger seat, her gaze distant, her hands clasped tightly in her lap.

I reach over, covering her fingers with my own. “Hey,” I murmur, giving a gentle squeeze. “You with me?”

She blinks, turning to face me with a shaky exhale. “Yeah. I just… I can’t believe it’s really over.”

“Believe it, love. Those bastards are going away for a long time. They can’t hurt you, or anyone else, ever again.”

A tear slips down her cheek, catching on her lip. “My mind knows that. Even if they release whatever shit they’ve recorded, I can handle it. But my body? It still hasn’t received the message to stand down.”

Rage flashes through me, threatening to shift me into warrior form again. That she’s had to live with this fear, constantly looking over her shoulder, for so long… it kills me. It makes me want to go back to that park and tear Raskins and Blackwell limb from fucking limb.

But that’s not what she needs from me right now. She needs my strength, my steadiness, my unwavering belief in her and in us. I take a deep breath and slowly exhale, forcing the adrenaline-induced fire that preceded the shift to dissipate in my body.

I pull into the hotel lot, cutting the engine and turning to face her fully. Fury heads to the hotel, giving us privacy. Cupping her face in my hands, I brush my thumbs gently over her cheekbones, catching the tears that fall.

“You beat them, babe,” I remind her fiercely. “You stood your ground. You faced them down. On your own. Fury and I were in the background, but the hard part? You did that by yourself.”

She takes a shuddering breath, leaning into my touch. “I couldn’t have done it without you,” she murmurs. “You and Fury… knowing you had my back, that you were there, ready to catch me if I fell… it meant everything.”

“And I always will be,” I vow, my voice rough with conviction. “No matter what, Candy. I will always be there to fight for you, to believe in you.”

“What happens now?” A note of uncertainty threads through her words.

“Now,” I say, smiling. “Now, we go upstairs, and we hold each other. And in the morning, we face whatever comes. Together. As a team. As partners.”

As mates, I say to myself, still unsure if she’ll accept me as that.

Chapter Thirty-Three

Candy

“I’m a grown woman, I really don’t need to be babied.” I have no idea why I’m complaining, I’m loving this. Who wouldn’t enjoy having her handsome wolven warrior on his knees by the side of the hotel tub washing her with such loving devotion?

“That’s just the point. Of course, you don’t need to be babied. I want to do it.”

When he went to get ice, he must have gone to the hotel’s 24-hour gift shop to buy bubble bath. The tub is overflowing with bubbles that smell divine. It reminds me of the honeysuckle bush behind one of the apartments we lived in when I was a kid.

“I want to take care of you, Candy. Today was one of the hardest days of your life. I want to erase all memory of it. I want this to be a day you remember for entirely other reasons.”

His sky-blue eyes pierce to my very soul as he rises onto his knees and grips my hands in his.

“Wolven don’t do things this way, but I’ve seen enough movies…” He clears his throat as he eases closer. “I’ve fallen deeply in love with you, Candy. You’re beautiful, yeah, but that’s not the point, not really. It’s who you are, down to your very soul. I…”

Is he about to ask me to marry him? A thrill is racing through my body as I try to still my heart. But when he stops talking, mouth gaping like a fish out of water, I wonder if I’ve read this whole situation wrong.

“I… Shit. I’m fucking this up so badly. There’s so much in my heart and it’s just not coming out right.”

“Take your time. I think I’m going to like what you have to say.” My smile is indulgent as I lift out of the water, showing him a glimpse of my breasts as I give him a grazing kiss, then settle back under the bubbles.

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