He hadn’t wanted to be a burden, the crazy wolf in the hills that everyone tiptoed around, that his cousin would eventually have to silence. He hadn’t wanted to take anything from anyone or let anyone risk anything for him, but if he could fix the world by wishing, it’d be a very different place.
He would not get anything of what he wanted, but if he just let them help, maybe he could get exactly what he needed: a pack, a family, a mate.
“And this is freely your choice?” Malcolm asked.
Asher glared at him over Penn’s shoulder. “After the damn strong-arm routine, you’re gonna ask me if I freely made this decision?”
“I’m talking about alpha whammy, not good old-fashioned cousinly manipulation.”
No, Malcolm hadn’t needed to whammy him with dominance; the truth was brutal enough.
“Yes,” Asher said.
Malcolm nodded once and walked back to them, hand outstretched. For a second, Asher thought he was asking for a handshake, but then he caught sight of the paperclip dangling from the leather between Malcolm’s fingers.
Carefully, Asher took it and slotted it back over his head, feeling the paperclip settle against his breastbone. Such a tiny, ridiculous thing, but somehow, he felt more firmly pinned in place with it than by any spell, this time by his own decisions.
He met Penn’s eyes, and it was like pulling teeth to ask, “Do you need any help?”
Joy lit her eyes, but she bit her lip, trying to contain it.
His heart squeezed. He had done this, made her careful of him. She was trying to shrink herself so he wouldn’t spook.
He leaned in and kissed her, drinking her happiness.
Finally, he let her breathe as he ran his hand over her hair, unable to keep from touching it. She shivered under his touch, and he asked again, “Do you need any help?”
“Not to build it, but to pull it off? Absolutely. We’re gonna put all the witches and all the wolves we have together. We’re gonna need more juice than anyone’s ever summoned in millennia.”
So not only did he have to say yes, he had to help make this happen. Because of course.
“I’ll be here,” he said, grinding out the words.
Malcolm clapped a heavy hand on his shoulder. “Good.” He strode through the forest and away.
Asher gasped. “I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry I ever left.”
“I mean, I was going to say it’s okay, but it really wasn’t, but I don’t blame you.”
“You should blame me.”
“Honestly, seeing you get all self-sacrificing was kind of hot. I mean heartbreaking and horrible and don’t ever do that again, but...”
“Kind of hot?” Asher echoed, bemused. He wanted her endlessly. He would be thrilled to spend the rest of his life with his hand on any part of her he could reach. Judging by the way she was petting his shoulders, she felt something similar for him, and the knowledge rocked him.
“I love you,” he said again, unable to keep the words behind his teeth.
“I love that you love me,” Penn said. “You promised me home.”
He shook his head. “I shouldn’t have. I was in no position?—”
“No! You didn’t guarantee me a home. I know that. Nobody can. Just like I can’t guarantee that this is going to work and you’re going to be safe, and I’m going to have to live with that, too.”
The guilt was strong today. He hadn’t even considered how hard that would be for her.
“Baby, you don’t have to?—”
“But I do! Because living without you is infinitely worse. I would take this risk a thousand times.”
