Page 55 of Promise & Artem

“Hey, you saved my life, beautiful. Don’t be sorry. I’m not. We can replace things. We can’t replace each other.”

Brierley walked over and hugged them both. “My sweet boy and his mate, I’m so happy you’re both safe. If you want to go look at the cabin, you can come back here and stay the night.”

Artem looked at her and she smiled with a nod.

“Thanks, Mom.”

“Of course. I’ll make up the bed in your old bedroom.”

Axtyn walked with them over to the ruined remnants of the cabin. One firetruck was standing by with a few males watching. Axtyn handed them sports drinks he’d brought along and thanked them for their help.

The baro was standing nearby, and Promise had a chance to thank them for helping Artem.

Isolde gave her a hug. “I’m so glad you’re both okay.”

“I am too, trust me.”

“It’s over, right? The bad guy is dead?”

“He is,” Artem said.

“Good freaking riddance,” she said.

Promise agreed one hundred percent.

Artem lifted his hand in front of Promise where a ring sparkled in the floodlights from the firetruck.

She looked at him. “Are you…just handing this to me?”

“I already asked you to marry me.”

“I was a wolf!”

“It still counts.”

She let out a low, grumbling growl.

Isolde and their friends took a step back.

Artem grinned and dropped to one knee. “I’m kidding! Beautiful, you are the most precious thing in my life. I love you with every fiber of my being and I can’t imagine my life without you in it. I was adrift and angry and worried about my future. Now I have you, and I can’t wait to see what the future brings. Will you be my wife?”

“Yes!”

Their friends clapped and cheered as he slipped the ring on her finger then rose to his feet and kissed her.

He swung her in a little circle, and she laughed.

“This is a great ending to a terribly shitty night,” she said as he set her on her feet.

“The good news is we can move into the other cabin right away, as soon as we go shopping for new furniture,” he said.

“I can’t wait,” she said. Her voice lowered as she said, “The first thing we need is a big, comfy bed.”

“You got it, beautiful. You can have whatever you want, I saved all my winnings from the fights in a fireproof box under my bed.”

“I just need you.”

Artem wasn’t much of a traveler. Living at a campground his whole life and having the mountains and woods as a playground meant his childhood had been filled with vacations involving tents and campfires with friends and family. Aside from occasionally traveling for work to pick up supplies and of course the fighting he’d participated in, he was pretty much a homebody.

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