Tristan’s own eyes were wet now, tears sliding down his cheeks as he held me. “You rejected him at the altar because of those messages?”
“I rejected him because you reminded me of my strength,” I sobbed uncontrollably, gripping his shirt like a lifeline.
“Because you saw something in me that I’d forgotten was there. When they asked if I took him as my husband, I opened my mouth to say ‘I do‘ like I’d been programmed to. But your words were in my head. ‘You’re stronger than you know.‘ And instead, I said ‘No.‘”
“Oh, baby,” he breathed, pulling me against his chest so tight I could barely breathe, but I didn’t care. “I had no idea. I just… I felt like I needed to tell you that. Like it was important. Like something was pushing me to reach out.”
“The Moon Goddess sent you that feeling,” I said, my voice muffled against his shirt, wet with both our tears. “She knew I needed to hear it right then. She knew I needed you. She was already bringing us together, even then. She saved me through you.”
We held each other in the darkness, both of us crying now, overwhelmed by the realization of how connected we’d been even before
we knew it.
How the Moon Goddess had been working to bring us together, to save me from a life that would have destroyed me, to give us both
the love we deserved.
“I’m so glad you got out,” Tristan said fiercely, pulling back to cup my face in his hands, his thumbs wiping away my tears.
“So glad you found the strength to walk away. So glad you’re here with me now, carrying our babies, about to become my wife in front
of everyone we love.”
“Because of you,” I said, covering his hands with mine. “It was because of you.”
‘Because of us,” he corrected, kissing my forehead, my nose, my cheeks, my lips. “Because we were meant to find each other. Because
the Moon Goddess knew we belonged together.”
I pulled back to look at him, seeing the love and awe in his expression, the wetness on his cheeks. “We’re mates,” I said softly.
“True mates. Even before we knew it, we were connected. Our souls recognized each other even when we didn’t understand it yet. You reached out to me on the most important day of my life, and you didn’t even know why.”
“Forever connected,” he agreed, kissing me softly, tasting the salt of our combined tears. “In this life and every life after. Across time
and space and whatever comes next.”
The mating ceremony was in six days, during the full moon. It was the werewolf version of our wedding, a sacred ritual that would
bind our souls together permanently, make our bond visible to every wolf who looked at us.
My human friends wouldn’t understand the significance, which was why we didn’t talk about it much around them. To Kiara and my
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Chapter 376
…
human coworkers, Saturday’s ceremony was the main event, the real wedding.
But to us, to the werewolf community, to Orion and Derek and every wolf in both our packs, the mating ceremony was everything.
It was the moment when our bond would become unbreakable, when our souls would recognize each other across time and space.
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“I can’t wait to be officially mated to you,” Tristan said, reading my thoughts as he often did, our bond already so strong even without the ceremony. “To have everyone know that you’re mine and I’m yours. To feel our souls bind together under the full moon.”
“Six more days,” I said, settling back against him, exhausted from crying but feeling lighter somehow, like a weight had been lifted. This time, I’ll be saying I do and meaning it with every fiber of my being.”
“Six more days,” he agreed, his hand returning to its place on my belly. “And this time, you’ll be walking toward your future, not away
from your past.”
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Sara Lili is a daring romance writer who turns icy landscapes into scenes of fiery passion. She loves crafting hot love stories while embracing the chill of Iceland’s breathtaking cold.
