Dawn broke over the city as we drove back to Alexander"s territory. My fingers traced the mark on my palm—still tingling, still new.

"You"re quiet," Alexander said, eyes on the road but attention on me.


"Processing." I smiled faintly. "Three hundred years of fearing something, then discovering it"s nothing like you imagined."

The connection between us hummed—not intrusive, not controlling. Just… present. I could sense his exhaustion, his relief, his lingering concern.

"Victor got away," I said finally.


"He"ll be back." Alexander"s jaw tightened. "Men like him always are."

"We"ll be ready."


The city gave way to forests as we approached pack territory. My stomach knotted. "Your pack might not welcome this."

Alexander took my hand, our marks touching. Warmth spread up my arm. "They"ll adapt. Or leave."

His certainty both impressed and terrified me.

The pack house buzzed with tension when we arrived. Jackson met us at the door, eyes widening at our joined hands.

"It"s done?" he asked.

Alexander nodded. "Not traditionally."

Whispers erupted as we entered. I felt their stares—some curious, some hostile, some afraid.

"What exactly did you do?" An older wolf stepped forward, challenge in his stance.

"Created something new," Alexander replied simply. "Equal marking. Equal choice."

"Impossible," the elder scoffed. "Marking is about dominance."

"Only because that"s all anyone"s tried." I met his gaze steadily. "Sometimes traditions exist simply because no one questioned them."

A younger wolf pushed forward. "Can you feel each other"s thoughts?"

"Emotions, not thoughts," Alexander explained. "Presence, not control."

"Show us," someone demanded.

Alexander looked at me, eyebrow raised. I nodded slightly.

We placed our marked palms together. The connection flared visibly—silver-blue light dancing between our skin. Not painful. Not controlling. Beautiful.

Gasps rippled through the room.

"The prophecy," Jackson murmured. "Blood and moon entwined."

"But not as anyone expected," I added.

Later that night, my phone buzzed. Lillian.

"Tell me you"re not actually mated to a dog," she said without preamble.

I laughed despite myself. "Not exactly. It"s… different."

"Different how?"

"Equal," I said simply.

Silence stretched between us. "Are you happy?" she finally asked.

The question caught me off guard. When had anyone last asked about my happiness?

"Yes," I realized. "I am."

"Then I"ll try not to hate him too much," she sighed dramatically. "But if he hurts you—"

"He can"t without hurting himself," I explained. "That"s the point."

After we hung up, I found Alexander on the balcony, staring at the stars.

"Your friend approves?" he asked.

"Conditionally." I joined him at the railing. "Your pack?"

"Mixed reactions. The younger ones are intrigued. The elders…" He shrugged. "Change is hard."

"I know something about that." Three centuries of it, in fact.

He turned to me, suddenly serious. "We have unresolved issues."

"Just a few." I smiled wryly. "A vengeful vampire, supernatural politics, global financial recovery…"

"I meant us." His amber eyes held mine. "I"ll age. You won"t."

The elephant in the room. The wolf would grow old while the vampire remained frozen.

"I"ve thought about that," I admitted. "I don"t have answers."

"We"ll figure it out." He took my hand. "Together."

"One day at a time?"

"For as many as we get."

A week later, Alexander drove me to a secluded property at the edge of pack territory.

"Where are we going?" I asked.

"Surprise."

The house that appeared through the trees took my breath away. Modern glass and steel blended with natural stone. Secure. Beautiful. Balanced.

"What is this?" I whispered.

"Home," he said simply. "If you want it."

He led me inside. One wing housed a state-of-the-art tech lab—servers, security systems, everything I"d need for my work. The other wing was living space—warm, comfortable, with windows facing both sunrise and sunset.

"You built this for me?" My voice caught.

"For us," he corrected. "Space to be together. Space to be apart. No cages."

I walked to the windows, touching the glass. "You understand me better than anyone has in three centuries."

"The mark helps," he smiled.

"It"s not the mark." I turned to him. "It"s you."

He approached slowly, as if still afraid I might run. Old habits die hard for both of us.

"I have questions," I admitted. "About the future. About how this works long-term."

"So do I." He took my hands. "But I know one thing for certain."

"What"s that?"

"Whatever comes—Victor, the supernatural community, time itself—we face it together. Equal partners."

I leaned into him, feeling our connection pulse with shared emotion. "I"ve existed for three hundred years," I whispered against his chest. "But I"ve never truly lived until now."

His arms tightened around me. "How does forever sound?"

"Like a beginning," I answered. "Not an end."

Outside, the moon rose over our new home. Inside, for the first time in centuries, I wasn"t planning my next escape.

I was home.

For now, that was enough. Tomorrow would bring its challenges—Victor"s inevitable return, the supernatural world"s adjustment to our new bond, the question of Alexander"s mortality against my eternal life.

But tonight, I chose to simply be. With him. Equal. Connected. Free.

The rest we would face together.