After six weeks or so of hanging around the house and gathering strength, recovering, and getting to a new kind of normal, Miles woke me up from an afternoon nap with a serious expression on his face. Of course, he'd crawled into bed over me, nuzzling behind my ear and letting me feel his weight, so I woke up smiling and rolling my eyes. "What do you want?"

At least he wasn't dirty and sweaty. Miles bumped his nose against mine as I wiggled to lay on my back, looking up at him, and he lazily ground his hips down against mine. "There's something we haven't done yet."

I snorted and put my hand over his mouth so he wouldn't finish that sentence. "There are a couple of things we haven't done yet, and unless it's your birthday, I'm not going to even consider it."

Miles grinned, his eyes sparking gold, and his cock hardened against my hip. "That's not what I was talking about, but that's good to know. Today's my birthday, you know."

"It is not," I said under my breath. "I already asked Mercy."

His eyebrows drew together with irritation, and he glanced over his shoulder like he expected to find her there, ready to spoil his fun a second time. Finally Miles sighed and rested his forehead against mine. "There's something else. Something more serious."

I tensed. Maybe he wanted to move back to the packhouse, to give up my house and make our home together in his space. I still didn't know how I felt about that, or how to negotiate a compromise. I didn't think I could give up the warmth and natural light and comfort of my house, especially not after they'd done so much work on it. I'd finally found some peace.

I eyed him and slowly untangled myself so I could sit up against the headboard, away from the pleasant distraction of his body. "Yeah?"

Miles didn't move, though he pushed up on his elbows so his chest didn't crush my legs. "Just know that you can say 'no' and I won't be offended."

Well, that wasn't a good sign. I folded my arms over my chest and quirked an eyebrow. "Go on."

The corner of his mouth twitched, then he grew serious. "Before I got to you, that little shit witch managed to... sever our bond. He wanted to separate you from Smith and me, and when he did so... he removed the soul-mate bond."

My breath caught and I couldn't look away from him. Was that what was missing? Was that the missing tooth that had been driving me crazy?

"I felt it like you died," he said quietly, reaching up to stroke my cheek. "I thought you were gone and he'd killed you and I would never look into your batshit crazy green eyes again."

"I wouldn't be batshit crazy if you didn't drive me there," I whispered, even as my vision blurred. I couldn't imagine it, even after thinking he might have died the half dozen times he'd been poisoned. At least there had been something I could do to help him when he was in trouble. I healed him, saved his life. He wouldn't have been able to do the same for me.

"Regardless of how you get there," he said, stretched to brush his lips to mine. "I find it adorable. Especially when you start trying to hex me."

And his hand drifted down my shoulder to my hip and then started to tug the sheets down so he could peek at what I wore underneath.

I caught his face in my hands to try and make him focus. "Focus, man. What did you need to ask me about the bond?"

Miles sighed. "The bond is missing. It won't regrow on its own. But the djinn told me, when he was about to fix you, that he could resurrect the bond. Re-establish it. He offered to do it then, but I wasn't entirely sure that you would... want that. So I told him to wait."

"You what?" I blinked.

"I told him to wait," he said. His gaze searched my face and his palm rested heavy on my thigh. "I wanted to be sure. I didn't want to force you into anything. Since the last time anyone tried to make you do something you didn't want to do, you ended up nearly destroying a warehouse. So if you're not sure about being with me, you can still leave and it won't hurt you."

"But it would hurt you," I said. Since apparently he didn't get it.

"I know," he said. "Like having my heart ripped out of my chest and shit on by an Ebola rhino. Every second. Over and over. But that was preferable to making you feel like you were trapped."

I wanted to shake him to try and knock some sense into him. "But knowing that you're hurting would hurt me, you dumb wolf."

"So you want to stay?"

"Yes," I muttered. "Although half the time I don't know why."

"Good enough for me." He leaned up to kiss me again, and took his time as his hand slid under the sheets and then under my shorts and into my panties.

I tried to frown at him sternly, but he grinned and stroked between my thighs until I sighed and let him drag me into the center of the bed so he could loom over me and start ripping off my clothes. Miles's one track mind had him yanking off my shorts and panties as he kicked off his jeans, already growling in anticipation. "We have to be quick, babe."

I crossed my legs and arched an eyebrow at him. "I beg your pardon? You wake me up from my nap and make all kinds of promises, and now you expect to just hop on and enjoy the ride?"

His grin spread until his teeth glinted white and pointy against his beard. "Well, I was going to get you off and then enjoy the ride, except I didn't think you wanted me calling you that. Hmm, baby?" His fingers teased between my closed thighs as he tried to wheedle his way into my business. "I'll wear you right out and you can go back to your nap."

My hands tugged on his shirt and he moved so I could pull it off, his eyes like he knew what to expect. I nudged his shoulder and Miles went to his back, stretching mightily, and stroked his hard cock as I went to my knees beside him. I patted his chest as I straddled his hips, holding myself over his cock despite how he grabbed my hips to pull me down, and frowned with mock sternness as I raked my nails through his chest hair. "And what if I don't want things to be quick?"

He groaned and squeezed my thighs, trying to force me down against him. "I have a meeting. I told Todd I wouldn't be long."

I dipped lower to slide against the hard line of his cock, a flood of lust making my body slick and welcoming, and I braced my hands on his shoulders so I could grind against him.

"That's it, baby," he murmured, his hands sliding to the small of my back. "Let me watch you."

It turned out after that first time I tied him up, Miles loved to lay back and enjoy as I used him. He put up with it for as long as he could before the wolf or his beast nature took over and he lost control, but usually that was more than enough time for me to enjoy myself -- sometimes twice. My hips rolled and I let my head fall back, the tickle of my hair against my skin making me shiver, and Miles grumbled in appreciation.

His voice went all husky and demanding. "Touch your breasts, baby."

He couldn't resist giving orders, no matter the situation. But the static building low in my stomach spiked at the command, the gruff demand, because I liked that, too. I didn't mind experimenting with him, didn't mind surrendering control. Even though it occasionally went to his head.

Still, though. My palms slid up my ribs and he groaned, hips punching up, and he smacked my hip. "Now. Do it now, Deirdre."

I closed my eyes and took my time, still rocking against him, until I teased my nipples and sighed and arched my back. He always made me feel good -- free. At ease with myself and him and the world in general. So free that I didn't mind riding him until I came hard enough my whole body went weak and he watched me and talked dirty and told me what to do.

How could he have even questioned whether I'd want the mate bond put back in place?

I moved faster against him as my muscles tensed and sparks filled my vision. So close. So close.

Miles growled and his fingers bit into my hips, and he lifted me just as I sucked in a breath and froze, and he plunged me down onto his cock hard enough to drive through the orgasm that seized me. I moaned and he snarled and before I could breathe or think, Miles kept moving me and then the waves of pleasure just kept coming, crashing into me, driving through me with every time he bottomed out and filled me all the way up.

His hips punched up to meet me and I squeezed my breasts, my whole brain short-circuiting as his thumb pressed hard against my clit, right above where he entered me. My nails gouged into his shoulders as I held on for dear life, unable to keep myself together, and as my body clenched around him, Miles grumbled and moved his hips in short, sharp jerks until his warmth flooded into me and he groaned as the tendons stood out in his neck.

I collapsed against his chest, still rocking my hips slightly, and closed my eyes as I tried to catch my breath.

Miles chuckled and stroked my back. "I love to watch you get all red and helpless."

"I'm not helpless," I said, patting his cheek a little roughly. I didn't bother to open my eyes. "And don't you have somewhere to be?"

"Todd can wait. It's good for him. Builds character."

I smiled against his shoulder and slid my arms around him. "Mmmhmm." Maybe we could nap together, which never really entailed much sleep, unfortunately.

But Miles's hands drifted lower until he squeezed my ass, fingers digging in to separate my cheeks and tease deep until I clenched my thighs together and he started to grin. "So about my birthday..."

I laughed and shoved a pillow over his face, trying to roll away, but he wrapped his arms and legs around me and nibbled on my shoulder. He never did end up going to his meeting.

The djinn couldn't explain how he intended to reconnect the mate bond, though he made a valiant effort at demonstrating how it might be done. Witch magic and djinn magic didn't translate well together, though, and he might as well have been speaking Ancient Greek for all I understood of the process.

He didn't need to set a protective circle or prepare charms or wards, and he didn't light any candles or otherwise refer to any sort of spirit or power. Miles and I stood together in my garden under the full moon as the pack stood by warily, and most of my attention remained on the djinn as he breathed and closed his eyes. What on earth was Iskander doing?

When my attention strayed too much from him, Miles squeezed my hands and tugged me closer to his chest. "Focus, witch."

I frowned and craned my neck to watch as Iskander lifted his arms. "I want to see."

"You're completely nuts," he sighed, and abruptly crushed me to his chest, arms strong and tense around me. As if the bond required us to be plastered together like peanut butter and jelly. "Don't distract him."

"Then stop talking, or you’ll distract him." I didn't want to pout but I damn well wanted to see the djinn do his magic.

I finally settled for resting my head on Miles's shoulder and turning him a bit so I could still watch Iskander, even though Miles grumbled and complained. I knew he wouldn't say it, but he was nervous -- not just about how the bond would be repaired and what the risks were, but what would happen if it couldn’t be fixed. It didn't matter how many times I told him that I'd stay with him regardless of the bond -- something about the wolf didn't trust that. He needed the connection to be resurrected, and though he didn't know how to say it, Mercy guessed that he still felt like I was dead and gone deep inside. Which explained a lot about why he continuously checked on me during the day, regardless of where I was and what he was doing -- he needed to reassure himself and the wolf side that I was still alive and unharmed.

It got damn annoying, despite being just a little bit cute. And that was how we ended up standing in the open in my garden with a soft breeze that smelled a little bit like snow, under a full moon, with all of his pack standing around -- ready to attack Iskander, no doubt, if anything went wrong.

Static crackled in the air and Miles tensed; I looked down to see a blue-green mist rising from the grass around us. It felt strange and different, not entirely unlike Smith's power although far less intrusive and alien. Iskander moved his hand and the power grew, though it didn't offer any threats or seek to leech away my own magic. I frowned and studied the sparkles that rose around us like fireflies. Miles's arms tightened around me.

I took a breath to ask when the hell something would happen, or how I would know when the bond was back, but Iskander spoke a few words in a coughing language that just felt old. The fireflies coalesced around us in a net, tightening until they clung to us, and warmth spread through me. I sighed, closing my eyes. It felt like the best nap in a hammock in a cool but sunny day. It felt like a hug from my mother and warm chocolate chip cookies, right from the oven, with cold milk to dip.

Miles made a surprised sound, a bit disbelieving, and I wondered what he felt. What memories and feelings the magic created for him. Even as I wondered, I looked up and found him watching me. I couldn't swallow the knot in my throat. Maybe I was his memory, his best feeling. He kissed my forehead and held me closer.

The magic shifted and Iskander shouted something. The whole world tilted as his power started to drag us closer together, and everything went upside down and sideways and backward at the same time. The only thing I could see was Miles -- his eyes, the fall of hair across his forehead, the soft curls of his beard. Miles. He became my world, my universe. And it still felt right. I still felt whole and free, just... more. Stronger. Better. Shared and open and ready to give as much as I received.

Tears flooded my eyes as I watched him and the sense of peace and well-being overwhelmed me. Finally. He was what had been missing. He was my family, my center, my peaceful place. I'd waited for him for a long time, and we'd finally found each other.

From the look on his face, he felt the same way, and damn me if a tear didn't escape and fall from his lashes. He growled something that I didn't hear and I leaned into him.

Iskander murmured something under his breath and the magic tightened still more, and then.... Something snapped into place. Something filled the odd missing-tooth-hole I'd been worrying over. I sucked in a breath as the strange and sudden disorientation returned and I saw double, staring down at my own face, and gripped double handfuls of Miles's shirt just to stay upright. Holy shit.

I stared at him and also at myself, seeing me through his eyes, and it would not have been a lie to say that he saw me in an entirely different light than I saw myself. And that made my heart break and expand at the same time. He saw only beauty and competence and confidence and strength, all mixed up, and he saw love. Love. Not my flaws or the wrinkles in my forehead from squinting too much or the slightly over-grown eyebrows that drew down when he made me mad. He thought it was cute. Adorable. Sexy.

Shivers ran through me from head to toe. I wondered what he saw when I looked at him, if he could see the insanely frustrating and infatuating and overwhelmingly supportive man he was to me. If he could also see love when he looked through my eyes.

The blue-green sparkles floated away into the night though a few clung to my hair, and Iskander said, "It is done."

I leaned against Miles as my knees weakened and some of the double-vision threw me off balance. He held me easily, his eyes closed, and stroked my hair over and over. I took a shaky breath. "Is it like this all the time?"

"In the beginning," he murmured. Miles finally exhaled a long-held breath, squeezed me tight, and started to relax. "But you're back. You're with me again. I can feel you, feel the bond. Thank God."

My cheek rested against his chest so I could hear his heart beating. I didn't know what the djinn or the rest of the pack did, but I couldn't do more than just lean against Miles and wonder at the magic that brought us together. Not the magic that bound us together -- I knew what that looked like. But for the world to bring us together, to put us on a collision path, was a special kind of magic. An unbelievable, amazing kind of luck.

My arms slid around his waist and Miles grumbled, trying to hold me closer still. "Are you okay? It's -- okay?"

"Yeah," I said. "Just need a second to remember how to walk and think and see the right way."

"I'm glad," he said, voice gruff. Like maybe he was fighting off some emotions of his own. "Take as long as you need. I'll be here."

I knew it was truth all the way to my bones. He'd wait for as long as I needed, for whatever I needed. He'd be my rock and my soft place to land. He'd be my strength when I was weak. And I would do the same for him. I would help him carry the burdens he carried for his pack, and I would be strong for his family because they'd become MY family.

Miles leaned down to kiss my neck and behind my ear, his lips brushing my ear as he murmured, "I didn't believe in magic before I met you, Deirdre. And now it's like my entire world is magic and endless possibilities. You've given me the world and more, and I will do the same for you if it takes me the rest of my life."

I smiled and slid my fingers into his hair until he growled and almost purred. I whispered, "I don't need the world, Miles. I just need you."

"You've already got me, witch." He grumbled more and then hoisted me up into his arms, ready to carry me inside. "And you're going to get me again a few times yet tonight."

A laugh bubbled up and I tugged on his beard, since he also liked that a little more than he'd admit, and Miles said to the pack, "It worked. Many thanks to Iskander for his help." He nodded to the djinn as the pack cleared, then Miles started toward the house. "Now I'm going to celebrate with my mate. You all can do whatever the fuck you want out here, have a party or whatever, but if anyone disturbs us for the next twenty-four hours, I'll kick your fucking ass. Got it?"

The pack roared and cheered as I blushed until my head ached, and I managed to wave to Iskander in thanks before Miles kicked open the door so he could carry me upstairs. He didn't pause under we were in my room -- in our room -- on the third floor, and then he only shoved Cricket off the bed so he could put me down. The cat grumped and hissed, and Miles stared at him for a long time before Cricket turned and stalked off so Miles could shut the door.

I pushed up on my elbows to frown at where the cat had gone. "What was that about?"

"We've come to an understanding," he said. Miles started stripping off his clothes and mine. "He helped me figure out how to get you back and I've fed him a few thousand times his weight in caviar and fresh tuna, so we're even."

"Wait -- he did what? Can you -- Did you talk to him?"

Miles shrugged and focused on unbuckling my belt. "Sort of. Not words. Pictures. But he's a smart ass. Just like his mama."

I stared at the door, flummoxed. Who knew Cricket could talk to Miles? What on earth were they saying to each other?

"Oh, no," Miles said. He stood over the bed and put his fists on his hips. "Don't you get all wrapped up in your head."

"You're just jealous I'm thinking about Cricket," I said.

He leaned down and caught my ankle, dragging me to the edge of the bed, and my vision suddenly doubled so I could see myself through his eyes once more. And I somehow caught an echo of his thoughts, all the things he saw and planned to do the second I was naked. I laughed, a nervous flutter of sound, and started to squirm. Miles growled. "You won't be thinking about him for long, witch."

I stretched and let him tear off my shirt and jeans. There would be plenty of time to figure out how he communicated with my cat, and with that crazy double-vision and the way I heard his thoughts, maybe I could talk to Cricket, too.

And maybe Miles and I would have a hell of a night figuring out how to stay sane as we got lost in each other's thoughts and feelings and visions as we tangled in bed. I shivered and held onto the headboard as his eyes flashed gold and he gripped under my knees. We had a lifetime to figure it out, and a whole world to explore if we ever wanted to leave home.

Although from the look in his eyes, he didn't even want to leave the bedroom ever again. I closed my eyes and smiled. Sounded like a perfectly solid plan to me. Then he pounced and I started laughing, holding on for dear life. For love, for happiness... forever.