Chapter 26 ALL OF YOU
The cottage was quiet after.
Rain still tapped at the roof, but it felt distant now. Like the world had agreed to give them these hours and not take them back.
Mia lay on her side, Alex’s arm under her head, his chest against her back. The blanket was pulled up to her waist. The bite on her neck throbbed with a dull, warm ache. Not pain. Proof.
She felt him.
Not just the bond. Not just the Alpha presence that had been in the back of her mind since the ceremony.
She felt him.
His breathing. His heartbeat. The way his hand rested on her hip like he was afraid she’d disappear if he let go.
“Okay?” Alex asked. Voice rough. Low.
Mia nodded before she even thought about it.
“Yeah,” Mia said. “Okay.”
Alex exhaled. Like he’d been holding it since Kyoto.
When he wanted to mark her earlier, she had hesitated. Her human side. The part of her that remembered being alone, that remembered what it felt like to have choices taken away. The wolf had wanted it. The bond had wanted it. But Mia had paused.
He saw it.
He stopped.
And that was why she didn’t hesitate now.
This had been her choice. Not the curse.
Just them.
“You didn’t have to wait,” Mia said quietly.
“I know,” Alex said. “I wanted to.”
Mia turned in his arms so she could see his face. His eyes were gold in the low light, but soft. Not hunting. Not claiming. Just looking at her like she was the only thing in the room that mattered.
“I was scared,” Mia said.
“I know,” Alex said.
“Not of you,” Mia said. “Of losing this. Of waking up and realizing I did it because I had to, not because I wanted to.”
Alex brushed a thumb over her cheek.
“And do you want to?” Alex asked.
Mia smiled. Small. Real.
“Yeah,” Mia said. “I do.”
Alex kissed her forehead.
“Good,” Alex said. “Because I want you. All of you. Human, wolf, everything in between.”
They didn’t talk much after that.
Words felt too small for what was in the room.
They fell asleep like that, tangled together, the bond between them steady and warm. No fear. No hesitation.
When morning came, the sun was trying to break through the clouds.
Mia woke up first.
Alex was still asleep, one arm thrown over her waist, his face relaxed in a way she rarely saw. No lines. No Alpha mask. Just a man who had finally let himself rest.
She didn’t wake him.
She slipped out of bed, pulled on one of his shirts that hung to her knees, and went to the kitchen.
Coffee.
She needed coffee.
She was grinding beans when Alex appeared in the doorway, hair messy, shirt hanging off one shoulder.
“You’re up early,” Alex said.
“You snore,” Mia said without looking at him.
Alex grinned. “I do not.”
“You do,” Mia said. “Like a bear.”
Alex walked up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist.
“Then I guess you’ll have to get used to it,” Alex said against her ear.
Mia leaned back into him.
“Guess I will,” Mia said.
They drank coffee on the porch. No pack. No phone. No Council. Just the two of them watching the mist rise off the lake.
“Ready to keep going?” Alex asked.
Mia raised an eyebrow. “Keep going where?”
“The tour,” Alex said. “We still have 22 hours. I figured we could hit Rome next. Unless you want to stay here.”
Mia thought about it.
She could stay here forever and be happy.
But that wasn’t real life.
And real life was waiting.
“Rome,” Mia said. “I’ve always wanted to see Rome.”
Alex smiled.
“Then Rome it is,” Alex said.
They packed in ten minutes. Not because they had much to pack, but because neither of them wanted to drag this out.
The jet was ready in an hour.
Fictional Rome was hot and loud and full of life. Scooters zipping past, people shouting in Italian, the smell of espresso and warm stone everywhere.
Alex held her hand the whole time.
Not because she needed protecting.
Because he wanted to.
They ate gelato on the Spanish Steps.
They got lost in the back streets of Trastevere.
They threw coins in the Trevi Fountain, Alex making her close her eyes and make a wish.
“What did you wish for?” Alex asked as they walked away.
Mia bumped her shoulder against his.
“If I tell you, it won’t come true,” Mia said.
Alex laughed.
“Then I guess I’ll just have to make sure it comes true anyway,” Alex said.
They ended the night on a rooftop, wine in hand, looking out over the city.
The Colosseum lit up in the distance.
Mia leaned against Alex, her head on his shoulder.
“You know,” Mia said, “I thought hating you would be easier.”
Alex chuckled.
“Yeah,” Alex said. “Me too.”
Mia looked up at him.
“I don’t hate you,” Mia said.
“I know,” Alex said.
“I love you,” Mia said.
Alex stopped breathing for a second.
Then he pulled her closer and kissed her hair.
“I love you too, Mia,” Alex said. “More than I thought I was capable of.”
The bond hummed between them, steady and sure.
The curse was quiet.
The world could wait.
For now, it was just them.
And that was enough.