Chapter 41 Forever Love
Vuk Lasković
I had to leave the house before I lost the last thread of my control.
Maureen was in the kitchen, humming softly, wearing nothing but my black shirt from the night before. The sleeves were rolled to her elbows, the hem skimming the tops of her thighs. But what stopped me dead in the doorway was her hair—newly dyed, a rich, fiery red that caught the morning light like living flame. It spilled down her back in wet waves, still damp from the shower, contrasting sharply against her pale skin.
She reached up for a mug, the shirt riding higher, and I nearly growled aloud.
I kissed the top of her head, muttered a lie about pack business, and got out before I dragged her back to bed.
The mall was too bright, too loud, but I had a mission.
First, the jeweler.
The necklace stopped me cold: white gold chain, delicate yet strong. A heart-shaped diamond, flawless, suspended in open filigree. The saleswoman explained the Eternal Bond collection—how the setting held a hidden chamber for something personal. Hair, ashes, perfume… or blood.
“How secure?” I asked.
“Permanent,” she said. “Sealed for life.”
I pictured that diamond resting between Maureen’s breasts, my blood trapped inside, pulsing with her heartbeat.
“Do it.”
In the private alcove, I pricked my finger. One dark drop fell into the chamber. Sealed with a soft click. Forever.
Then the rest—indulgence, fantasy, torture.
Emerald silk that would cling to her curves like a lover’s hands. Black lace so sheer it was more suggestion than fabric. A midnight-blue dress with a thigh-high slit.
Each time I held something up and demanded opinions.
“Pale skin, long red hair—like fresh blood against snow,” I described. “Would this fall straight or hug here?” I traced the imagined line of her waist.
The saleswomen answered, blushing, while I pictured her in every piece. Pictured peeling them off even slower.
By the time I got home, arms loaded with bags, the house was silent.
“Maureen?”
Nothing.
A spike of cold fear. I dropped everything on the bed, followed the faint trail of wet footprints from the pool toward the woods.
Her scent was fresh, alone, but my mind raced to worst places.
I moved fast and silent through the trees, half-shifted, ready to kill.
The trail led to the hidden lake.
And there she was—waist-deep in water, fully clothed, red hair plastered to her back, arms outstretched toward a tiny, thrashing black kitten tangled in reeds.
“Maureen…”
“Vuk! Help! It’s stuck—the poor thing’s drowning—”
Relief crashed over me so hard I nearly staggered.
I waded in, jeans soaking instantly, scooped the hissing kitten against my chest with one arm and wrapped the other around her waist. Carried them both back to the house like they weighed nothing.
She was shivering hard by the time we reached the bathroom, laughing through chattering teeth, apologizing into my neck.
“You scared the hell out of me,” I said, voice rougher than I intended.
“I heard it crying—I couldn’t just leave it.”
I set the kitten in a towel nest by the fireplace, then turned to her.
“You’re freezing.”
“I’m f-fine—”
I stripped her with quick, efficient movements—wet shirt, leggings, underwear—ignoring her protests. Turned the shower scalding, pulled her under the spray with me fully clothed at first, then peeled off my own soaked things.
Warm water poured over us. I ran my hands over her chilled skin, warming her slowly—shoulders, arms, down her back, palms spreading heat.
She sighed, leaning into me, red hair darkening under the water, clinging to her breasts, her waist.
“Your hair,” I murmured, fingers threading through the wet strands. “When did you do this?”
“This morning,” she said, tilting her head back as I massaged shampoo into her scalp. “Wanted a change. Do you like it?”
I turned her to face me, water streaming down her body. The red was vivid against her skin, wild and fierce.
“Like it?” My voice dropped. “I’m trying not to fuck you against the tile right now.”
She laughed softly, hands sliding up my chest. “Good to know.”
We washed slowly—me rinsing her hair carefully, her stealing the soap to scrub lake water from my arms. But the teasing started, inevitable.
“You shouldn’t have gone in alone,” I said quietly, hands on her hips, thumbs stroking the curve of her waist. “What if I hadn’t come home early?”
She stilled, looking up at me. “I didn’t think—”
“That’s the problem.” I cupped her face, water dripping from my hair onto her cheeks. “You heard a creature in pain and you ran toward it. No hesitation. That’s who you are, and I love it. But little moon… what if I’d been hours longer? What if you’d gotten tangled too? Or hypothermic? Or—”
My throat tightened. I couldn’t say it.
She reached up, fingers tracing my jaw. “I’m stronger than I look, Vuk.”
“I know you are.” I pressed my forehead to hers. “But you’re also mine. And the thought of something happening to you when I’m not there to protect you—” I broke off, voice raw. “It guts me.”
Her eyes softened. She wrapped her arms around my neck, pressing close, skin to skin under the water.
“I’m sorry I scared you,” she whispered. “I didn’t think about the risk. I just… couldn’t let it suffer.”
I exhaled slowly, arms tightening around her. “I’d have done the same thing. Hell, I did do the same thing—charged in after you without a second thought.”
She smiled against my throat. “We’re both reckless when it comes to saving what we love.”
“Yeah,” I muttered. “We are.”
We stayed like that a long time, water running, steam rising, my hands stroking her back, her red hair tangled in my fingers.
Eventually we dried off, wrapped in towels, and went to check the kitten. Tiny black puffball, now dry and warm, drinking warmed milk from a dropper while Maureen cooed over it.
Only then did she wander into the bedroom and freeze.
Bags. Boxes. Tissue paper everywhere.
“Vuk…” She turned slowly. “What is all this?”
I leaned against the doorframe, arms crossed. “Went shopping.”
Her eyes went wide as she lifted the midnight dress, held it against herself. “This is… gorgeous.”
“Try it on later,” I said, voice low. “I want to watch you walk in it. Then slide my hand up that slit.”
She flushed, biting her lip.
The emerald silk next. “This is barely clothing.”
“Exactly.”
Black lace. She laughed, holding it up. “You definitely asked someone if this was meant to be torn off.”
“Got expert confirmation.”
Finally, the velvet box.
She opened it carefully. The heart diamond caught the light and blazed.
Her breath stopped.
“Vuk…”
I stepped close, took it from her fingers, turned her gently. Lifted the damp red hair from her neck, fastened the clasp. Let the pendant settle warm between her breasts.
“The saleswoman explained the collection,” I said against her ear. “You can seal something personal inside. Forever.”
She looked down, touched the diamond, then looked up at me with shining eyes.
“You put blood in it.”
“One drop,” I said quietly. “So part of me is always against your heart. Even when I’m not there.”
A tear slipped down her cheek. She didn’t wipe it away.
“You did all this today… for me?”
“I saw that necklace and knew it belonged on you. Pictured you in every piece. Couldn’t leave without them.”
She stepped into me, arms around my neck, towel slipping. Red hair tumbled over my hands as I held her.
“You impossible, terrifying male,” she whispered, voice trembling with emotion. “Who knows—if I asked for your soul tomorrow, you’d probably have it gift-wrapped.”
I cupped her face, thumbs brushing away tears, eyes locked on hers.
“Already yours, little moon,” I said, low and steady. “Signed, sealed, and delivered the first time you looked at me like I was worth saving.”
She kissed me then—soft, then deep, then desperate—until towels hit the floor, the kitten slept forgotten by the fire, and every beautiful thing I’d bought ended up scattered across the sheets while I showed her, slowly and thoroughly, just how perfectly everything looked on her.
Especially when she wasn’t wearing any of it at all.