Page 71 of Claimed By Stone
"Why didn't you tell me?"
I just shrugged, unsure of what else to do while he continued to pace. “I’m sorry. My head was a mess. I didn’t know what to say.”
"It doesn't make sense. That's not how the mating bond works. It can't be manipulated. What we have is real."
"You think so."
He turned, and the look on his face nearly took my breath away. "Iknowso, with everything I am."
I let out a small sigh of relief. He felt just as strongly as I did.
I swallowed. “Do you think… going through with the handfasting is still wise? After everything?”
He stilled, the question hanging in the quiet. Then he crossed the room with slow, purposeful steps, knelt in front of me, and took my hand like it was something sacred.
“I meant every word I said,” he told me, voice rough with truth. “You’re already mine in every way that matters. The ceremony is just a thread to bind what already exists between us.”
I looked into his eyes, brown and glowing and filled with so much love I could hardly breathe. There was no hesitation in him. No doubt. Just this solid, unshakable belief inus.
And for a moment, I let myself believe it too.
I swallowed hard and forced the words out. “You said… If the time came, you’d lock me away. To protect your people.”
His body tensed. The pause was long, and when he looked at me, the firelight caught the devastation in his eyes. “Yes,” he said, the word cracking in his throat. “But only if I can be locked away with you. I won’t be parted from you. Not again.”
Tears welled up in my eyes—not from fear this time, but from the unbearable weight of beingwantedlike that, even if I was a ticking time bomb.
He pulled me closer, our foreheads touching, and the room felt like it held only us.
“Whatever comes,” he said, voice low and certain, “we’ll face it together. No more running. No more secrets.”
Our fingers twined together, resting against his chest like a quiet vow. I leaned into his kiss on my temple and let the warmth of him settle into my bones. I let his assuredness wash over me. With him by my side was the only way through any of this.
He turned to leave the room. “Where are you going?” I said instantly, my voice filled with panic.
“I will be right back. I am going to have a guard look for our visitor,” he said with more menace in his voice than she’d heard before.
“You’ll be back?”
“I will return in mere moments.”
He slipped out the door, and I tried to ignore the panic that threatened to overtake me again. I tried to take a breath, now knowing that whatever came, we would face it together.
That night, I curled into his chest, his warmth anchoring me. But even as sleep crept in, the visitor’s words returned like ghosts.You were meant for the other brother.You still have a job to do.I couldn't shake the feeling that this was all a mistake.
But he snored softly behind me, utterly at peace. I turned my face into his chest and let myself believe—just for tonight—that something this good, this tender, this real, can’t be built on lies.
I chose hope.
I chose him.
Chapter 30
Seraphina
Iwoke to warmth and silence, buried in furs and with the solid presence of Thavros wrapped around me. The air was thick with the scent of pine resin and embers, and his hand was splayed across my belly like he was trying to anchor me to the earth itself. For a few suspended breaths, I let myself believe that this peace was permanent. That no darkness would ever touch us again.
He woke with a low rumble in his chest, nuzzling behind my ear. "Good morning, little flame," he said as he pulled me close.
