Page 93 of Wolf's Providence

Her scent reached me first.

Instantly, I settled, like the calm after the storm. As I weaved through the trees, I saw her, wrapped in a blanket on the porch of Nell’s cabin, her eyes scanning the shadows. She looked tired and vulnerable, waiting in the pale gray of morning. When her gaze found mine, she stilled but didn’t move even as my wolf closed the distance. Willow waited, her look steady and strong as she watched me approach. When I stopped at the foot of the steps to the cabin, she got up and reached out her hand, burying her fingers in my fur.

“Caleb.” Her voice was soft, and there was an edge of something else there—something I didn’t want to admit that I’d put there. A tremor of worry. “Could have used you for my feet last night,” she murmured, stroking her fingers through my fur. “I’ve got your sweatpants. Eamon found them in the trees.”

After walking inside, she came back with them, and I could smell the warmth of the cabin. Shifting, I took them from her, pulling them on hurriedly, eager to talk to her. As I took the first step onto the porch, I hesitated.

No. Enough was enough.

I swallowed hard and climbed the steps with determination. This wasn’t like last time, when I hadn’t wanted to enter acabin I knew. This time, my hesitation stemmed from the good memories this place held. Nell shouting at me, calling me a good-for-nothing son-of-an-alpha after catching me stealing her freshly baked apple pie. Or the time Eamon had knocked over her newly planted flowerpots because we were racing each other blindfolded.

Willow stopped me, her hand resting lightly on my bare chest. “You don’t need to come in if it’s too hard. I can come out.”

Goddess, this woman. It was freezing, and even then, she was willing to do what made me comfortable.

I knew then I would give her whatever she wanted for the rest of her life.

Taking her fingers gently, I kissed the fingertips. “Willow.” I took a breath, the words on my tongue almost foreign for how raw they felt. “I’m sorry. I was wrong in how I spoke to you. How I’ve acted.” My head dipped down as I glanced at her abdomen. “For what I’ve done.”

When I looked up, a frown was already forming as her eyes searched my face, like she was bracing herself for something she wasn’t sure I’d say. Reaching up, I smoothed my thumb over her brow.

“I’m still fucking furious at you for coming up this mountain and putting yourself in danger,” I told her, my hands clasping her cheeks as I tilted her head back to look at me. “And you will nevereverdo something so reckless again.” I saw her about to fight back and softly kissed her brow. “But I should never have spoken to you and treated you as I did. Fear ruled my tongue. I’m sorry.”

I noticed a bruise on her temple, and I softly brushed my thumb over it. “I hate to see you hurt, and I hate when I am the one that hurt you.”

Her hand knocked mine away gently. “I fell coming up the mountain. Ask Eamon, I’m sure it will make him laugh for a longtime,” she grumbled. Willow reached up, her hand cupping my cheek. “You never hurt me, Caleb. I trust you.”

And she did. I knew it in my soul.

“I thought keeping you safe meant keeping you out,” I admitted, feeling the weight of my words. “But you were right; all I did was make it worse.” Her eyebrows shot up in surprise. “I need you to know…I don’t want to do this alone anymore. I don’t want to keep you out.” I couldn’t remember the last time I felt so nervous. “I’m not perfect—Luna knows that better than anyone—but I want to be, for you.”

Willow was watching me, her expression unreadable as she held my gaze. For a moment, a flare of panic made me think she was about to turn away, that maybe I had ruined things beyond what I could ever hope to repair. But then she took a breath, letting it out slowly as she reached for me, her fingers resting lightly on my arm.

“You don’t have to be perfect, Caleb. I’m not expecting that.” Her voice was steady, and it held a note of something firm, unwavering. “But I need you totrustme. To be willing to let me in. And that means…you can’t just disappear when it gets hard.” Her eyes held mine, almost daring me to challenge her.

Even though I had realized it up on the peak, hearing her say it, I knew she was right. I nodded, running a hand over the back of my neck, feeling the weight of her words settle like stones in my chest. My hope that we would be okay was fading, but I had to keep going.

“I know,” I managed, my voice low. “And I won’t. Being with you…it scares me, I won’t lie. Really fucking terrifies me, not because of what’s out there—I will handle any threat that comes at you—but because of what I might find insidemyself.” I wanted to close the distance, but I knew I had to finish this. “But I realized one thing tonight. Maybe…maybe with you, I don’t have to be afraid.”

Willow took a step closer, her fingers finding mine, slipping between them until our hands were intertwined. That small gesture, one that should have felt simple but didn’t, made me realize how much I’d been missing.

“Really?” she said softly, her gaze steady and warm. “I don’t want you to be scared of being with me. I want you to tell me if you’re struggling with anything. I’m human. You’re a shifter. We’re not supposed to work. But I think we do, and if you really want to, then I think we can make it work together. And if we get shit for it, well, we can face that together too. Every part of it.” She looked up at me hopefully. “Deal?”

The corners of my mouth lifted into a real smile, one that felt like a release. “Deal.” The word came out as solid as I felt.

Willow’s gaze softened, her lips parted, and for a heartbeat, neither of us moved. Her hand tightened in mine, and without a word, she pulled me closer, her warmth drawing me in like always. I reached up, brushing a strand of hair away from her face, my thumb lingering against her cheek, feeling the softness of her skin, the warmth of her breath.

Slowly, I leaned down, our faces so close I could see every shade of green in her eyes and could feel the faint flutter of her heartbeat between us. The bond between us thrummed with a low energy that I could feel wrapping itself around my heart as our lips met.

The kiss started gentle, tentative, but it deepened as I felt her respond, her hand sliding to the back of my neck, pulling me closer. The air around us seemed to still, and I lost myself in the feeling of her mouth on mine, a heady mixture of tenderness and unspoken promise. It wasn’t just a kiss—it was an anchor, a pledge, and a release all at once.

When we finally pulled back, my forehead rested against hers, our breaths mingling in the quiet. She smiled up at me, and I felt the last of the tension between us dissolve.

“There,” she whispered, her hand still warm in mine. “Now, you’re stuck with me.”

I couldn’t help but smile, a real one, and pull her close again, wrapping my arm around her and holding her close. “Exactly where I want to be.”

As we stood there, I felt a grounding peace settle over me. For the first time, I knew I’d found a place—not in a territory or a duty, but right here, with her—and the unwavering presence of her strength beside me was what I’d been missing for so long.

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