“So that’s the only copy in the entire world?” Wes asked, as he and Dakota sat around a campfire, perched on an upended tree trunk.

The air around them was cool, and the fire provided some much-needed warmth. Not that that was the reason they had started it. Orange embers flitted up toward the night sky, as a thick book turned to ash in the middle of the fire.

Two months had passed since Elias Campbell’s death, and he and Dakota had not spent that time idly.

“Summons and Spirits, Volume II, gone forever,” Dakota nodded.

The flames flickered, painting her face in warm tones of red and yellow, and Wes could hardly take his eyes off her. Not only was she gorgeous on the outside, he had seen the strength and perseverance inside her firsthand.

That made her a whole other level of beautiful to him.

“At least getting this one was easy,” Wes shrugged, inching closer to her. “No battles to the death, no demonic interventions… Kind of dull, really.”

Dakota gave him a small grin as she pulled her windbreaker more tightly around her.

“Maybe the next one will be more exciting,” she said. “Wouldn’t want this whole stopping demons gig to get boring for you,” she teased.

“Oh, it has its perks,” he replied, throwing an arm over her shoulders.

Rolling her eyes at him, she smiled, as they both turned to look at the fire. The covers of the book were still intact in places, but the insides were little more than ash. No one would be reading this particular tome ever again.

“You think it really spoke to her?” Wes asked, pointing his chin at the cinders.

The elderly collector they had visited earlier that day had certainly seemed to think so. A tiny woman with gray hair and a heavily lined face, Mrs. Lane pretty much shoved the book at them and told them to get it out of her house.

Usually, he and Dakota didn’t bring up the mystical nature of the items they sought to recover from people that procured pieces from her father’s collection, but the fear in the woman’s eyes as soon as they even mentioned the book had told them a lot.

Dakota had barely hinted at the thing being dangerous in a horror movie kind of way when Mrs. Lane had offered to return the book, not even asking anything in return. And Wes knew it had not been a cheap purchase for the woman.

“Entirely possible,” Dakota shrugged, leaning against him. “All kinds of entities can end up attaching themselves to items of power like this book. And no creature likes sitting on a shelf for all eternity.”

“Well, haunted or not, it’s the end of the line for Summons and Spirits,” Wes replied, taking a deep breath.

The smell of burning wood mingled with Dakota’s scent, filling up his lungs. It made him think of what home really was. Back in Pinedale, he and his fellow wolves often sat around a fire like this, just shooting the breeze.

While Wes would always look back on his time with the pack fondly, and while the wolves there would never stop being his brothers, he knew that it was with Dakota that he truly felt like he belonged. He knew he could do more than he did at Pinedale. He was an Alpha. Made to fight, to lead, to conquer. Together with Dakota, he could do all that, and be so much more than he ever thought he could be.

His wolf let out something akin to a purr deep in his chest, as if showing its agreement. Wes had never been more in sync with his animal side than after he and Dakota had admitted their feelings for each other.

Every day, he was glad to wake up next to her. And each night, having her in his arms made him the luckiest man in the world.

In a way, it was odd to be so sure that a person was the one for you, to the point of knowing your life would be lacking without them. But Wes wasn’t complaining, that was for sure. Listening to Dakota’s heart beat next to his, he watched the fire engulf the last pieces of the book.

Tomorrow, they would head off to Ohio, to talk to another collector, and hopefully get back another piece of Dakota’s father’s collection. And once they did, the world would be just a little bit safer. At least when it came to magic.

Sometimes, Wes’ mind would drift back to that moment when he plunged the crossbow bolt into Elias’ chest. That was a real human life he had taken, and he knew that was something that would stay with him forever.

But killing Elias had saved Dakota’s life. So it was a decision he couldn’t bring himself to regret. And each day he spent with Dakota, the weight on his shoulders became a little lighter.

“I went through the papers this morning, while you were still asleep,” Dakota said, snuggling closer to him. “Another deal that Elias brokered while using the book has fallen through. Whatever spells he used to get ahead, they’re all backfiring now, one by one.”

“And they still think he’s missing?” Wes asked.

“Inordinately wealthy man, looking forward to the collapse of his company? Yeah, they think he skipped the country, too embarrassed to face the music. And it’s not like they’ll ever find the body to prove otherwise.”

“No. No, they won’t,” Wes replied, staring at the flames.

“That’s twice you’ve saved my life now, by the way,” she nudged him. “And I’ve only returned the favor once.”

Looking down at her, Wes squeezed Dakota closer to his chest.

“I’m sure the opportunity will arise,” he smiled, kissing the top of her head.

“It better,” she joked. “I like things to be even.”

“You can always repay me for my heroics in other ways,” he wagged his brows at her.

“You’re incorrigible,” Dakota laughed. “But we did kind of promise to visit Gus and Mack again…” she trailed off, a glint in her eyes.

“You think we’ll get the time?” Wes asked, brushing a stray curl away from her cheek.

“We’ll make the time,” she replied.

Leaning in, Wes planted a soft kiss on her lips, fire crackling in the background as she wrapped herself around him. They would make the time, he was sure of that. The path he had been looking for was laid out before him now, and there was one thing both he and Dakota were certain of.

They were better together.