Almost two hours later, we arrived back at my apartment in Bond. We narrowly missed a sudden ice storm that would’ve left us stranded in the middle of nowhere. By the time I rolled out of Aidan’s truck, I wanted to kiss the ground and never get inside another vehicle as long as I lived.

It was odd being back at my place. My home seemed colder and smaller somehow. The lights inside my apartment were dark, and the parking space in front of my unit was conspicuously empty. Then I remembered; my jeep was still stranded by the side of the road on the way to the Silver Eclipse Café.

Aidan gripped my hand warmly and led me through the darkness of night towards my snow-covered front stoop. My boots crunched against the thickly packed snow; it was at least six inches deep. I shivered as I looked for my house key. Aidan bent down and kissed me softly behind my ear as I rustled through my pockets. The brush of his breath against my cheek warmed me from the inside. How was it possible I’d ever lived without him?

I felt the key at the bottom of my jacket pocket, and slipped it inside the lock. As I opened the door to my dark apartment, I expected to feel relief at finally being back home. Instead, the apartment seemed strange and empty to me. What had once been my safe place now seemed like a relic from my past. It even smelled different.

I flipped on the light switch and saw all my familiar belongings. They hadn’t changed; I had. Aidan drew his arm around my waist and pulled me close to his warm chest. I could already feel his hardness pressing into me. His sensual appetite for me was insatiable.

My cluttered office desk was set up in the hallway, next to the apartment’s small efficiency kitchen. Manilla file folders were stacked high, and yellow sticky notes littered my computer monitor. Before all of this happened with Aidan, I’d been working so hard on Chase’s pre-trial preparation. I’d even brought work home with me on the weekends. All those late nights of working to get ready for trial would be useless if I decided to abandon the case like Dominic had insisted.

And why would I stop working on the case because of Dominic? He could threaten me, but he didn’t own me.

Aidan’s hands massaged my tense shoulders, bringing heat to the surface of my skin. The apartment had already begun to warm from the oil heater in the kitchen, as well as the small wood-burning fireplace in the center of the living room. I’d barely used the fireplace since I moved in. It seemed like too much of a hassle to haul wood inside and stoke a fire. But Aidan made sure we had a roaring fire right after we arrived at the apartment. I liked him taking care of me, but I wanted him to know that I didn’t need it. There was an important difference, at least in my mind.

Aidan settled down across from me on the couch and held my hands gently on his lap. He stroked my fingertips tenderly as he spoke.

“We need to talk about where we’ll live. How long is your lease on this place? I’m assuming you can break it when you come to live with me.”

I shook my head. “Break my lease? Why would I do that?”

“Because we’re mated now. I took the oath. And after what happened at the cabin, I assumed you’d accepted. Was I wrong?” His eyes suddenly looked wounded, as if I’d hurt him somehow with my honesty.

“No, you’re not wrong. I’m just still so confused. Dominic said something about my transformation. What exactly did he mean by that?”

“I keep forgetting you don’t know anything about shifters. Some are born shifters, like me and my parents before me. We were born from Fae magic when the earth was created, or nearly then.”

“Fae?”

“Fairies,” he smiled, patting my hand softly.

“Like little magical winged creatures?” I winced. He couldn’t be serious.

“I would never describe Fae in such a way, myself. Especially not in their presence. They are powerful beings, with intense and useful magic. They have been around since the origins of the Earth, and some say they were the ones to transform the original shifters. We started out as one male and one female shifter for each species, and from there, our numbers grew.”

“Like Adam and Eve, but for shifters?”

“Yeah, I guess you could say that,” he laughed. “When a shifter takes the oath and mates with a being of a different kind, the mate transforms gradually. It’s complicated magic, which is why the Fae are relied upon for their expertise. It means that over time, the non-shifter mate will take on characteristics of the shifter.”

“I’ll become like you?”

“In a matter of speaking, yes. But it doesn’t happen overnight. It’s gradual, and you’ll hardly notice it until one day you wake up with abilities more powerful than you ever thought possible.”

“And what happens when I get old and die?”

“Once you’re transformed, your lifespan will increase exponentially. You might live five hundred years or more.”

“More? Is that how old you are?”

Aidan laughed. “No, I am much older than that already. Pure blooded wolf shifters can live for thousands of years.”

“Why have you never mated before?”

His eyes turned towards the ground. “The only way the mating of a shifter can be broken is through death. I loved someone once, a long time ago, who I thought would be my mate. We came so close, but then she died. Her death broke me and I never thought I’d love again. That’s why I’ve never taken a mate.”

“Oh,” I said softly. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know.”

“It’s okay. I was much younger then. I always wanted to have a big family, but after she died, I figured it wasn’t in the cards for me. Until now, that is.”

I gripped the edge of my sectional sofa. “Children? Babies? Slow down, Aidan. We just met a few days ago. I don’t even know your middle name yet.”

“It’s Gaius.”

“What?”

“My middle name. It’s Gaius. So now you know my middle name.”

I huffed. “You know what I meant. There’s just so much more I need to know before I make big decisions that I’m going to have to live with for the rest of my life. I hope you understand.”

His face fell and he nodded, looking dejected. “I understand. It’s a lot to think about in such a short period of time. But I feel that when you know, you know. Can’t you imagine how cute our babies would be with your good looks and my intellect?”

I smiled. I thought it might be the other way around – he was better looking than I was, and I had a feeling I was just as smart if not smarter than him. But I didn’t say it. I didn’t want to encourage him.

“When I chose you, Olivia, it was for life. As long as I live, I’ll have no other mate unless one of us dies. And I couldn’t take that, so please don’t die.”

“I hadn’t planned on it,” I looked at him tenderly.

“It’s my job to protect you, to love you, and to make sure all your needs are fulfilled. Will you let me do that for you? And if at some point in the future you don’t want me, then throw me out. But can’t you at least try?”

His pleading eyes met mine and locked in a penetrating gaze. There was something so mesmerizing and deep about the way he looked at me, as if he saw straight through to my soul.

“Why did you do it? Why did you mate yourself to me? Was it only because you thought Dominic would kill me?”

“Or worse.” His gaze broke from mine as a pained look stretched across his handsome face.

“Worse?” Dark images flashed through my brain, some too horrific to say aloud. I shook my head. “Thank you for saving me.”

“I’d do it again a thousand times over. I realized in that moment, there was nothing more important to me than you.”

“And now Dominic assumes I’ll do whatever you say, since I’m mated to you? He thinks you can control me.”

Aidan placed his hand gently on my knee. “I know you don’t understand our laws and our ways. They go back thousands of years. Dominic believes something from an older time. He doesn’t understand how things have changed.”

“Damn right they’ve changed,” I laughed. “I’m not going to be under anyone’s thumb. Not yours. Not anyone’s.” I paused. “No offense.”

Aidan laughed. “I wouldn’t expect less from you. We are true equals, Olivia, and now our fates are bound. If Dominic comes for you, he has to get through me first.”

“Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that,” I whispered.

We sat for a long while and looked at the fire. I laid my head against his warm, muscular chest and listened to the drum of his heartbeat. He felt like home in a way I couldn’t describe logically. He stroked my hair and kissed me softly on the crown of my head. I closed my eyes and enjoyed the sensation of his lips caressing me. After a moment, I finally spoke.

“I can’t give up the case, Aidan. I couldn’t live with myself if I did.”

“I know that,” Aidan said as he traced slow circles on my back. “I know your work is important to you. I respect that.”

I inhaled the scent of the two of us mixed together, and savored it. Aidan was an impossibly gorgeous man, more exquisite than I ever could’ve imagined. I’d be crazy to push him away. But I’d be crazy to move in with him and be his mate after such a short time. The choice made my head spin.

Aidan carried me upstairs and tucked me into bed under my soft cotton quilt, my favorite since childhood. He kissed my forehead softly, and swept his fingers across my eyelids to close them. I rolled over and quickly fell asleep, thoroughly exhausted from the events of the day. I slipped into a dream as I nestled in the cocoon of Aidan’s arms. He was so strong and warm, I couldn’t help but feel safe in his protection.