Page 79 of Jesse
Jackson looked like he wanted to say more, but he hesitated.
“What?” I asked.
He rubbed a hand down his face. “When we recovered the body, we found a photo.”
“A photo?” Beck echoed, sitting up straighter. Oh right, Beck had still been unconscious when I spotted the killer muttering to the photo.
Jackson nodded grimly. “It was old, but I recognized one of the people in it. Adrian. Younger, maybe in his teens, but it was definitely him.”
“Adrian? The former lead alpha of Thronebane?” I had to confirm, although I already suspected.
Cooper stepped in then. “I reached out to Carter, the new Thornebane alpha. He confirmed the identity.”
Beck’s grip on my hand tightened.
“Aiden,” Cooper said slowly, “was Adrian’s half-brother. Same mother, different fathers. According to Carter, Aiden was always unstable. He hero-worshipped Adrian and followed him around like a shadow. But he was never officially part of the Thronebane pack. More like… a ghost on the edges.”
“Will they come after us?” Beck asked, voice tense. “For killing him?”
Jackson shook his head. “Carter said Aiden was a liability even when Adrian was alive. They won’t hold you responsible. In fact, Carter thanked us for ending it.”
I let out a breath I didn’t know I was holding. Relief mixed with the lingering tremor of adrenaline. It was over. The threat to Beck was gone.
When Jackson and Cooper left, followed shortly by Ethan with a reminder torest, I turned to Beck. He was quiet, watching me with something soft and unspoken in his eyes.
“What is it?” I asked, shifting slightly to face him.
He didn’t answer right away. Instead, he leaned down and pressed a kiss to my forehead. Then one to my nose. Then, finally, to my lips.
I kissed him back, slow and deep. Our mouths moved like we were rediscovering each other, like we hadn’t just lived through hell. His hand cupped my jaw, thumb brushing under my eye.
“I thought I lost you back there,” he whispered.
“You didn’t,” I said, kissing him again. “You never will.”
Beck hesitated again, searching my eyes. “Jesse… I want your mark.”
My breath caught. My wolf howled with joy in the back of my mind.
“Are you sure?” I asked, voice hoarse.
He nodded. “I want everyone to know I’m yours. I want to feel it, Jesse. I want it to be real.”
My heart beat like thunder. Carefully, I shifted to the side, gritting against the pain, and guided Beck closer. He tilted his head, exposing the curve of his neck, and my wolf surged forward at the sight.
I pressed my lips to his skin first, murmuring words only he was meant to hear. A promise. A vow. That I’d protect him until my last breath, love him even beyond that.
Then, I let my fangs drop.
Beck didn’t flinch when I bit down. He gasped, gripping my arm tight. The taste of him hit my tongue, rich with the bond that had always existed between us but now flared into something blinding and eternal.
I pulled back, licking over the mark to seal it. Beck was breathing hard, eyes wide and luminous.
“I love you,” I said, voice shaking.
“I love you too,” he whispered.
Then he leaned in, and our foreheads touched.
