Jax strummed the chords for Piper’s Fight Song on his guitar, humming the words. He kept a spare guitar in his truck because he never knew when inspiration would strike. Grabbing the paper he found, he wrote down the song, line for line, finally adding the final verse. The ending that had been missing since he started writing it. It was complete now.
Glancing up as Snickers wandered in, he put the pencil down and called him over. When he was near, Jax softly petted his fur as Snickers leaned into him, then scratched his ears.
“Now that’s more like it,” he told the dog. “This is how it’s always going to be. Me and you, we both love the same woman. But we’re both going to have to share. You need to get used to that now, pup.”
Smiling as Snickers snuggled in tighter, he glanced up, watching Piper come to stand in the doorway. Snickers obviously knew she was there, too, because he stiffened, growling at Jax before rushing to stand by her. Shaking his head, he watched as Piper leaned down to pet him.
“I’m determined to win him over,” he told her.
Looking up with a smile, she straightened up and nodded. “If anyone can, it would be you. I mean, you managed to win me back over, and I never thought that would happen.”
“True,” he replied, heart leaping at her words.
“Seth did a great job on the planters,” she said, making her way into the turret where he was settled on the window seat, and sitting near him.
“That he did. He’s great at what he does.”
“There was a new ending to the song,” she said softly, nodding to the paper.
“I couldn’t finish it before. Not without you.”
Smiling turning a little on the mushy side, she asked softly, “Will you play it for me again?”
Nodding, he took a deep breath and briefly closed his eyes as he began playing the song. Opening them again, he locked gazes with Piper, putting every bit of the emotion he felt into the words as he sang them. When he strummed the last chord, she had tears in her eyes she was trying to blink back.
“That song is so fucking perfect,” she said, voice hitching. Clearing her throat, she blew out a breath. “It’s beautiful. I really do think you should release that. It would be a huge hit.”
Propping the guitar against the other window seat, he turned to face her more fully. “I’m thinking I will. It’s complete now, and I want the world to know our story. To know the love we have for each other.” Lips quirking, he shot her a look. “But I refuse to sell it to Nickelback.”
“You were doing so well until you said that last part,” she said with a laugh as she smacked his chest. “You should be so lucky for Nickelback to want to record one of your songs. So what’s the name of the song?”
Brow furrowing, he shrugged. “I don’t know. I’ve been calling it Piper’s Fight Song lately.”
“Fight Song?” she asked, voice puzzled.
“I knew it touched you after I played it for you that first time. I decided I’d use it to win you back, and stand outside your window singing it if I had to.”
“And you think that would have worked?” she asked with a laugh. “Well, you can’t call it that. You need something more relatable. What about Key to My Heart?”
“Key to My Heart?” he asked thoughtfully.
“Because of that line. And because it means something to us. You used to tell me I had the key to your heart all the time.”
“Because it’s true. It always has been.”
“I know,” she replied softly. “And I know it will always be true, moving forward.”
“Is that what we’re doing? Moving forward?” he asked, watching her intently as his heart leapt in his chest.
Hell yes, that’s what we’re doing, his eagle shouted in his chest as he danced around.
Calm down. It’s not official until she says the words. She’s only given hints so far, he told his bird.
Piper took a deep breath and looked him in his eyes. “You know I never got over you. And all those old feelings came back when I saw you again. I realized the other day that despite everything, and the time that went by, I never stopped loving you. But I’ve been scared, Jax. I understand why you broke it off with me like you did. I get that you thought there wasn’t another choice. But I was still scared. What would stop you from doing it again?”
“Piper—”
“No, let me finish,” she said, holding up a hand, violet eyes bright. “It hasn’t been very long since we found each other again, so it’s hard to comprehend how completely I trust you again already. But I do. I know you want me. I know you love me. I know it’s forever for you, and you won’t let me go again.” She glanced down before looking at him again, eyes intense. “I feel the same way, Jax. I love you. So much it’s hard to breathe through it sometimes. And I don’t want to go back to Seattle. I want to stay here and make a life with you. I want to have our forever again.”
A rush of emotions washed through Jax, and he swayed in his seat, dizzy with relief. “Fuck, Piper. You have no idea what those words do to me. What they mean to me. I hoped, wished, prayed, to hear them again, but I wasn’t sure I ever would. Those words from your lips are life.”
Lunging forward, he captured her lips with his, kissing her with every bit of the emotion and intensity he felt. When he pulled back, their chests were heaving and her gorgeous eyes were dazed.
Cupping her cheek in his hand, he waited for her eyes to clear before saying, “I’m never letting you go again, Pippy. I will never let you down. I will give all of myself, every particle of my being, to make you happy. Everything I have, everything I am, is yours. I love you so much. I wish you could get in my thoughts so you could know just how much I love you.”
Leaning into his touch, she grabbed his other hand and put it over her heart. “I already know. I can feel it in here. And I know because I feel the exact same way.”
Taking a deep breath, trying to dispel some of the dizzying relief he felt, he blew the breath back out. Time to go all in. “I told you what a mate is. What one means to a shifter when they find them. What I didn’t tell you is that we claim our mates. And I want to claim you. It would solidify our bond, make us permanent in every way. But when I say permanent, I mean it. It’s irreversible. So if this is something you’d be willing to let me do, be positive you want me forever.”
“I will always want you forever,” she replied softly. “How is it done? How do you claim me?”
“I’d mark you with a talon.”
“Wait, you do it while you’re in eagle form?” she asked, startled.
“No,” he replied, chuckling. “I can partially shift. Not many shifters can, but eagles do.” He held his hand up and focused his energy, watching as his fingers sharpened to talons.
Gasping, her eyes went wide, and she reached out her fingers, tentatively touching a talon softly. “That is so cool.”
“Right?” he said with a smile, letting his hand go back to normal. “I’d mark you somewhere, usually on the shoulder or back. You can pick where. I won’t lie, it’ll hurt a bit. I have to go deep to make sure it sticks, make sure it scars and leaves a claiming mark. But then my scent would be a part of you. My mark will be stamped on your skin. Every shifter who ever saw you would know you’re mine in an instant.”
“I like the idea of that. I like the idea of wearing your mark on my skin, and I’d wear it with pride,” she said breathlessly before pulling back with a frown. “But how will people know you’re mine? I need those bitches out there to know you’re taken.”
“You dig your nails in pretty good when we’re making love,” he said with a laugh. “You drew blood last night. A few more nights in the bedroom, and I’m sure you’ll mark me up good and permanent.”
“Oh, shut up,” she replied, smacking him in the chest with a laugh. Smile fading, she searched his eyes as she nodded. “The answer is, yes. I want you to claim me. I want to be yours in every way possible.”
Heart leaping, he crushed her to his chest, barely able to comprehend the emotions crashing into him, the intensity knocking the breath from his body. Not so long ago, he thought she was lost to him forever. He thought he’d never hold her in his arms again, never have her by his side, never get to love her like she deserved to be loved again.
He’d been miserable, and his eagle had been broken, wings crippled from the loss of his mate, almost dead in Jax’s chest. But now his eagle was flying high, and Jax was happier than he thought he would ever be again.
He would love her with everything in him. He’d make sure she never regretted giving him a second chance, and he’d devote his life to making her understand just what she meant to him. To making her as happy as she made him.
Pressing his lips to hers, he murmured, “I love you. Always.”
“And I love you. Always.”