Page 71 of Mate Night Snack
Emmett's face went white. "What?"
"The mate bond. I need you to sever it."
"Why?"
"Because I'm dangerous." The words tumbled out in a rush. "Look what happened today. Ashwin got past every defensewe had because of me. He used my own abilities against me, corrupted them, nearly turned me into one of his weapons. I'm the one who walked into his trap. I'm the one who let his words get under my skin. I'm the one who ran straight into danger instead of thinking clearly." She could feel tears building behind her eyes. "And now my abilities are compromised. I can't trust my visions, can't rely on the one thing that made me useful to this community."
"You don't have to be useful. You just have to be you."
"That's not enough anymore." The tears came then, hot and bitter. "Don't you see? Everything I touch turns to chaos. The missing girls, the rogue pack, the threat to this town... it all comes back to me. If you break the bond, if you let me go, maybe Ashwin will follow me away from here. Maybe Hollow Oak can finally have peace."
"Absolutely not."
The finality in his voice stopped her mid-sob. She looked up to find his eyes blazing with something fierce and uncompromising.
"I'm not breaking our bond," he said. "Not today, not ever. And I'm sure as hell not letting you sacrifice yourself because some twisted monster filled your head with lies."
"They weren't all lies."
"The parts that matter were." He reached for her then, gentle but inexorable, pulling her into his arms despite her half-hearted attempts to resist. "You want to know the truth about those three wolves? They knew the risks. They chose to follow me because they believed in something better than Ashwin's version of strength. And they'd make the same choice again if it meant saving an innocent life."
"You don't know that."
"I do know it. Because I knew them. Fought beside them. Mourned them." His arms tightened around her. "And you knowwhat else I know? They'd hate the idea that their sacrifice was being used to break apart something beautiful. They'd hate that Ashwin was using their memory as a weapon against love."
Katniss cried then, really cried, letting out all the fear and pain and confusion that had been building since the moment Ashwin spoke her name in the garden. Emmett held her through it all, his presence steady and warm and utterly unshakeable.
"I'm scared," she whispered against his chest.
"I know."
"I don't know if I can trust myself anymore. My judgment, my abilities, any of it."
"Then trust me." His voice was quiet but certain. "Trust us."
"What if I can't? What if the shadow magic changed something fundamental about who I am?"
"Then we'll figure it out. All of it. The compromised visions, the trust issues, whatever comes next." He pulled back just enough to look at her face.
Through the bond, she could feel his love wrapping around her like armor, steady and sure and completely unconditional. It didn't erase the doubts or heal the damage, but it gave her something to hold onto in the darkness.
Maybe that was enough.
Maybe that was everything.
"Okay." She leaned into his warmth, letting herself believe, just for this moment, that love might be stronger than fear. "But I might need reminding from time to time."
"I can do that," he said, pressing a kiss on her forehead. "For as long as you need."
Outside, storm clouds were gathering on the horizon, and Katniss knew their troubles were far from over. But here in Miriam's room, wrapped in Emmett's arms and surrounded by the lingering traces of protective magic, she felt something she'd thought was lost forever.
Hope.
It was fragile, uncertain, still shadowed by doubt and fear.
But it was real.
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