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00:00To find out whether the PAC leader who had raised me actually cared,
00:03I agreed to date the man he trusted most.
00:05One moment, Vincent stood outside the regional PAC council headquarters,
00:09his voice perfectly calm.
00:11Congratulations.
00:12That same night, he shoved my half-packed suitcase back against the wall
00:16and pinned me with glowing crimson eyes in the dim bedroom.
00:20You like men.
00:22And you had to choose Nolan?
00:24He kept advancing until the backs of my knees hit the bed.
00:28Even my voice shook.
00:31Vinicent had faced rogue attacks, border disputes,
00:34and hostile councils without raising his voice.
00:37I had never seen Redwood's alpha lose control over anything, especially me.
00:43The claws were not what frightened me most.
00:45It was the jealousy in his question, and the hope it forced me to admit.
00:49To understand why Redwood's calmest alpha lost control,
00:52I have to start with the day he began avoiding my touch.
00:55Ever since Vincent admitted, right in front of me,
00:58that he was attracted to men,
01:00I had felt like the way he looked at me was...
01:02off.
01:05I had spent years trusting Vincent's restraint.
01:09Seeing it break over the possibility of losing me changed every assumption I had made about him.
01:15More specifically, it had started after I turned 20 and finally achieved complete control over my Swifts.
01:25When I was younger, I could throw myself at him,
01:28and he weak and only complained that I was heavy for hauling me off his shoulders.
01:33Now, if I moved even a little too close,
01:36he immediately stepped back as though my shirt were lined with silver.
01:40Sometimes I deliberately drew out his nickname.
01:43Vince.
01:46Don't say my name like that.
01:49So I would switch to his full name.
01:53Vincent Ashford.
01:54Then he would give me a cold look.
01:57You only call me that when you've done something wrong.
02:00Vincent was the alpha of Redwood Pack.
02:03The current leader of every wolf in our territory.
02:07I suspected that taking over the pack had not only ruined his temper,
02:11but also damaged his hearing.
02:13What really bothered me, though,
02:15was seeing him walk out of the pack council housing beside another man.
02:19The stranger wore a perfectly tailored charcoal suit.
02:22He leaned close while speaking to Vincent,
02:24and Vincent did not move away.
02:26He even held the glass door open for him.
02:28I stared at their backs, my chest tight.
02:31One ridiculous thought filled my head.
02:33I wanted to lock Vincent inside the house on the hill and bolt every door,
02:37just so he could not go around attracting other men.
02:43The thought startled me as soon as it appeared.
02:46Apparently, I was sick too.
02:49And I had it worse than he did.
02:50That night, I walked into Vincent's bedroom without knocking,
02:54just as I always did.
02:57When I switched on the wall lamp,
02:59he was sitting against the headboard with half the buttons of his shirt undone,
03:03and his breathing noticeably uneven.
03:05He was gripping an old card that had been folded and unfolded
03:08so many times the creases had gone soft.
03:10A small ink-drawn heart showed at one corner.
03:13The second he heard the door, he flipped it over.
03:16We stared at each other.
03:20Why didn't you knock?
03:22My charging cable broke.
03:24I made up the excuse so quickly even I did not believe it.
03:28I need your spare.
03:31Second drawer.
03:33Get it yourself.
03:34I forced myself to walk over,
03:36though my eyes kept drifting to the card in his hand.
03:39The blank side faced me.
03:42All I could make out were a few faded words near the end.
03:45Always.
03:46Home.
03:48Someone had clearly written it for him.
03:53Anger hit me before I could reason with myself.
03:56Vincent caught me staring and locked the card inside the drawer.
04:02Seen enough?
04:03I wasn't looking at you.
04:06I snatched up the cable and slammed the drawer shut.
04:09What exactly is there to look at?
04:12He frowned.
04:14Evan.
04:15My nose burned.
04:17I turned and headed for the door.
04:19Have a nice life with your love letter, Vincent.
04:23The mattress shifted behind me, but I had already slammed the door.
04:31Vincent and I were not related by blood.
04:34My parents had both served on Redsfoot Packs Border Patrol.
04:36Eight years ago, a group of rogue wolves crossed the northern forest boundary.
04:43My parents stayed behind to help the children nearby escape.
04:47They never came home.
04:48Vincent had been 18.
04:49I had been 12.
04:51He was not pack leader yet, only Thomas Ashford's rebellious hair.
04:54An 18-year-old could not legally become guardian to a 12-year-old.
04:58So his parents, Thomas and Grace, were the ones who signed the papers.
05:03But Vincent was the one who insisted on bringing me into the Ashford home.
05:08He was also the one who handled most of the day-to-day work of raising me.
05:14That went on for eight years.
05:17You're coming home with us.
05:20I had stared at him through rain and tears.
05:23Too frightened to believe him.
05:26What if I become a burden?
05:28Then let me decide what I can carry.
05:32Eight years later, I was old enough to leave.
05:35The thought that Vincent might want someone else made me wonder whether I already should.
05:40By the time I became an adult and could shift reliably,
05:43the legal guardianship had long since ended.
05:46I could have moved out whenever I wanted.
05:48Vincent never brought it up,
05:49so I pretended not to notice and kept living in the house on the hill as if I had every
05:53right to be there.
05:55After learning that he liked men,
05:58leaving became the last thing on my mind.
06:02I went back to my room and threw the borrowed charging cable onto the couch.
06:10The more I thought about that card, the more miserable I became.
06:15I wanted to storm back into his room and snatch it away.
06:20I wanted to find out who had written something so sentimental that it could make Vincent,
06:24whose self-control was almost frightening, look the way he'd tonight.
06:29Then, I wanted to toss the card into the fireplace.
06:33Leaving was legally simple.
06:35Emotionally, it felt like giving up the only home I had known and making room for someone else to take
06:40my place beside him.
06:41I was jealous enough to qualify as some spiteful young wolf plotting to steal the pack leader's private property.
06:47At some point, I cried myself to sleep.
06:50Half awake, I felt someone pull the blanket up over my shoulder and press the lightest touch to my forehead.
06:56I caught the familiar scent of cedar and grabbed the person's sleeve without opening my eyes.
07:02Vince, Vince.
07:06He stayed there for a long time.
07:09Then, he gently worked his sleeve free from my hand.
07:15By the time I woke the next morning, Vincent had already set breakfast out on the long dining table.
07:21I kept my head down and focused on my eggs, determined not to look at him.
07:30Slow down.
07:36No one is going to take it from you.
07:41I don't need you taking care of me.
07:43I made sure the words came out sharp.
07:45Instead of getting angry, Vincent reached across the table and pinched my cheek.
07:50If I don't take care of you, who will?
07:55I've looked after you all these years, and now you're planning to turn into an ungrateful little wolf?
08:00The memory of him hiding someone else's love letter made me slap his hand away.
08:08I'm not a kid anymore.
08:10Stop making every decision for me.
08:13Still angry about last night?
08:18Who's angry?
08:19Why would I be angry?
08:21What does he mean?
08:22Could he have figured out what I'm thinking?
08:26Because I threw you out.
08:30To my surprise, he sounded completely serious.
08:34I'm sorry.
08:35I froze.
08:38This was the man who could silence an entire council table with one look.
08:42Yet he nudged the toe of my slipper with his shoe.
08:46I handled it badly.
08:48Inside, I was already feeling smug.
08:51You should have apologized last night.
08:53The window has closed.
08:54I don't accept.
08:56Vincent looked as though he had no idea what to do with me.
08:59What do you want, then?
09:01I pretended to think hard before looking at him cautiously.
09:06Until I graduate from college, you're not allowed to take a mate.
09:11He did not answer.
09:13His silence made my chest sink.
09:17Fine.
09:18Date someone if you have to.
09:20Just don't bring him here.
09:22He remained silent.
09:24Vincent refused both of my conditions.
09:26He said those two were off the table, but anything else was negotiable.
09:31I nearly bent my fork in half.
09:35Fine.
09:36He could refuse.
09:38If he ever brought a man back to the house on the hill, I would drag a chair outside his
09:42bedroom and personally supervise the pack leader's private life all night.
09:48It was not as though I had any dignity left in front of him.
09:51A few days later, he actually did bring someone home, and I lost my nerve immediately.
09:58It was the same man in the tailored suit I had seen outside the council building.
10:04He carried a briefcase and followed Vincent straight into the study.
10:08I could not even breathe properly on the same floor as them.
10:12I turned around, locked myself in my bedroom, and ignored Vincent when he knocked.
10:18A moment later, the spare key turned in the lock.
10:25What is it this time?
10:26I had expected an explanation.
10:28Instead, he started by scolding me.
10:35Get out.
10:37I don't want to see you.
10:42Say that again.
10:44My eyes were burning, but I refused to back down.
10:47Get out!
10:48Bring home whoever you want!
10:50Just stop acting like you get to control me!
10:53Vincent stared at me for several long seconds.
10:56Then he lowered the travel schedule he had apparently come to hand me.
11:00He did not explain anything.
11:03He simply closed the door behind him.
11:06That only made me angrier.
11:08I grabbed my coat.
11:10If Vincent refused to explain, I would ask the one person who knew him best.
11:16That night, I went to the private bar most PAC members used and drank one glass after another.
11:24Nolan Reed sat beside me.
11:27He and Vincent had grown up together.
11:30Now he served as Redwood PAC's VEDA, the PAC's official second-in-command, and remained Vincent's oldest friend.
11:41Nolan, do you think Vincent broke my brain somehow?
11:43He knows it upsets me, but he still brought another man home.
11:46I hate him.
11:47I seriously hate him.
11:49But I haven't seen him for a few hours, and I already miss him.
11:53Nolan looked at me like I had handed him a problem far above his pay grade.
11:57Put down the bottle.
11:59No.
12:00I hugged it to my chest.
12:02Then I remembered that Vincent liked this particular bourbon.
12:05So I pulled open Nolan's suit jacket and poured some into the inside pocket.
12:10Take this back to Vincent.
12:12You know a suit pocket isn't a travel flask, right?
12:16Feeling generous, I poured him a little more.
12:19You can have some too.
12:21But don't tell Vincent.
12:23He's possessive.
12:25Whenever I give him something, he never lets me share it with anyone else.
12:32Nolan stared at the bourbon dripping from his jacket and looked ready to resign.
12:38I had already collapsed across the bar with the empty bottle in my arms.
12:43The last thing I remembered was Nolan hauling me to my feet.
12:47You two absolutely deserve each other.
12:50As Nolan dragged me toward the exit, I heard him ask the bartender for the nearest hotel.
12:55Then everything went black.
12:58The obvious consequence of drinking too much was a pounding headache.
13:02What I did not understand was why my side ached too.
13:05The sweet smelled of bourbon, strong deadinfectant, and Nolan's cologne.
13:10With my head pounding, every smell blurred into the same nauseating mess.
13:14I turned my head and saw Nolan lying on the other side of a hotel suite bed.
13:19I was so startled, I rolled straight onto the carpet.
13:22I checked my clothes, my wrists, and the skin around my neck.
13:28Nothing was torn or marked.
13:30But Nolan reads suspicious injuries, and my missing memory kept me from trusting the obvious answer.
13:41Why are we in the same bed?
13:47What do you think?
13:48He pulled back the blanket.
13:50A mess of red marks covered the side of his neck and upper chest.
13:55They looked like scratches.
13:56Or kisses.
13:58Evan, you're not planning to avoid responsibility, are you?
14:02My brain went blank.
14:04On the first night of Vincent's trip, I had somehow ended up in bed with the man he trusted most.
14:10I'm sorry.
14:11I sat on the carpet, completely mortified.
14:14I honestly don't remember anything.
14:17I'm still alive.
14:19Stop looking like you're at my funeral.
14:23Can we not tell Vincent?
14:27Nolan looked amused.
14:29Don't you want to know how he'd react if you heard we were dating?
14:32I knew it was a terrible idea.
14:34I nodded anyway.
14:35We agreed to pretend we were seeing each other and test Vincent once, face to face, when he returned.
14:41Two days later, Vincent finished his meetings with the regional PAC council.
14:46Nolan insisted on taking me to meet him.
14:48The moment Vincent walked out the council center,
14:51Nolan took his document chase and slagily draped an arm over my shoulder.
14:55Vincent, Evan and I have started dating.
14:58You should hear it from us before someone else tells you.
15:01Vinifant's grip tightened visibly around the handle of his case.
15:04His gaze moved from Nolan's arm to my face and stayed there for only a second.
15:11Congratulations.
15:12The word came out smooth.
15:13Not a single crack.
15:15Nolan took my hand right in front of him.
15:17I froze.
15:19Too stunned even to pull away.
15:23Vinicis did not say a word on the drive home.
15:27I watched my reflection in the window and finally understood where all my irrational anger and hurt had been coming
15:32from.
15:34There was nothing wrong with my brain.
15:39I was in love with Vincent.
15:42And before I had even figured that out, I had woken up in bed with the person he trusted most.
15:48Vinicis and I had no chance now.
15:51I had to move out.
15:53Nolan left us at the front entrance of the house on the hill.
15:58I followed Vincent into the elevator, keeping several steps between us.
16:02We had not had a real conversation since the day I threw him out of my room.
16:05He hadn't reached out during his trip, not by text, call, or the PacMind link.
16:10I had only known when he was coming home because Nolan told me.
16:13I could not stand the silence.
16:18Worse, I now knew exactly why.
16:20I could not stand it.
16:22When we reached the house, I stopped him in the living room.
16:26Vincent?
16:27He paused but did not turn around.
16:29I want to move into the shared house on the south side of the forest with the other younger Pac
16:33members.
16:34I was waiting for him to say no.
16:36That way, at least, I could still fool myself.
16:40That's your decision.
16:42Then he walked into his bedroom and shut the door.
16:45I stood alone in the empty living room.
16:49Tears flooded my eyes.
16:53I had planned to apologize for throwing him out before his trip, but
16:57he clearly did not care whether I stayed or left.
17:01He liked men.
17:03He just
17:05didn't like me.
17:06I ran back to my room before I could start crying where he might see me.
17:11I shoved my clothes into the suitcase one piece at a time.
17:14I had no idea how long I had been packing when the door suddenly swung open.
17:18Vincent stood there, carrying the heavy scent of alcohol.
17:21He was clenching the application I had left on my desk for a room in the south side communal house.
17:26His claws had already punctured the edge of the paper.
17:32What are you doing?
17:33I instinctively moved to the other side of the bed.
17:35Vincent's eyes had turned completely crimson.
17:38This was not the calm authority he used during Pac business.
17:42This was a wolf on the verge of losing control.
17:45He strode to my suitcase and shoved it hard against the wall.
17:51You're moving out?
17:52Where?
17:53To Nolan?
17:58No.
18:00I tried to circle around the foot of the bed,
18:03but he stepped in front of the exit.
18:06You like men,
18:08and you had to choose Nolan?
18:11The sight of him made me retreat.
18:14Vincent,
18:16I was wrong.
18:19Calm down first.
18:22I stopped talking to you for a few days,
18:25and you decide to leave with someone else?
18:27Evan,
18:28did you really think I didn't care?
18:30He did not hurt me,
18:31but his body blocked every possible escape.
18:33His crimson eyes held a kind of jealousy and desperation I had never seen before.
18:38And you're moving out.
18:40You've lived here for eight years,
18:42and now you're packing because of Nolan?
18:46My eyes burned.
18:49It isn't because of him.
18:51Vincent leaned down,
18:53stopping when his face was only inches from mine.
18:57You told me not to take a mate,
18:59so I haven't dated anyone.
19:03You chased away every man who showed interest in me,
19:05and I kept pretending I didn't notice.
19:11I've tried to give you everything you asked for.
19:15Now you're with Nolan,
19:17and you're telling me you're leaving?
19:18Was I only the man who raised you until someone better came along?
19:24I stared at him.
19:26Hope returned before I could stop it.
19:29Are you jealous?
19:31Am I not allowed to be?
19:32I finally understood.
19:34I lifted my face and kissed him.
19:38His entire body went wartage.
19:40He immediately stepped half a step back.
19:43I caught his collar and kissed him again.
19:47I'm sorry.
19:49I won't move out.
19:52Tomorrow, I'll tell Nolan the act is over.
19:55I'll never use him to test you again.
19:58Do you understand what you're saying?
20:00Yes.
20:04You're sober?
20:06No one is pressuring you?
20:08No one.
20:12I wrapped my arms around his neck
20:14and finally said what I had been hiding from myself.
20:17I love you, Vincent.
20:20Not because you raised me.
20:22Not because you led the pack.
20:24I just love you.
20:29He closed his eyes and rested his forehead against my shoulder,
20:34as though he had to prove to himself that the words were real.
20:37Say it again.
20:39Evan loves Vincent very much.
20:45I thought hearing it would calm him completely.
20:48Then he kissed me again and I realized how wrong I was.
20:53This time, though, he stopped before every new step
20:56and asked me if I was sure.
20:58My answer never changed.
21:00Continue.
21:04When I woke the next morning,
21:06Vincent was carefully examining my wrist.
21:08The place where he had grabbed me was faintly red.
21:12He frowned as he spread ointment over it,
21:15looking as though I had suffered a serious injury.
21:19I'm sorry.
21:20It was the third time he had said it since waking up.
21:23You already apologized.
21:27I drank
21:28and I almost lost control.
21:32But you stopped.
21:33The furniture wasn't so lucky.
21:36Vincent did not laugh.
21:38He only lowered his head
21:40and brushed his lips over my fingertips.
21:42The suitcase that had been sitting half-packed beside the bed was gone,
21:45along with all the clothes I had thrown into it.
21:47I was secretly delighted when the doorbell rang.
21:50Nolan had arrived.
21:53The moment he stepped into the living room,
21:55he saw Vincent carrying me down the stairs.
21:58Nolan clutched his chest
21:59and arranged his face into an expression of profound betrayal.
22:02The grin he was trying to hide told me
22:04he was enjoying the situation far too much.
22:08You two got together behind my back?
22:11Evan,
22:13at the hotel,
22:14you said you'd take responsibility for me.
22:17It's been a few days
22:18and you're already sleeping with Vincent.
22:20What does that make me?
22:21I felt too guilty to meet his eyes.
22:24Vincent Ashburn set me on the sofa
22:27and poured Nolan a cup of tea
22:28that had already gone cold.
22:32Are you finished?
22:34Nolan paused with the cup halfway to his mouth.
22:36A second later,
22:38his usual infuriating grin returned.
22:40I played your boyfriend for days.
22:42I'm not allowed to mourn a little?
22:44I knew the dating part was fake.
22:46I'm asking about the hotel.
22:48Did you touch me or not?
22:49Nolan finally realized he was in danger
22:51and took a step backward.
22:52Evan,
22:53shouldn't you thank me first?
22:54Without that push,
22:55you might still be trying to figure out
22:57why you can't stay away from Vincent.
22:58Answer me.
23:01Of course I didn't touch you.
23:04Then why did my side hurt?
23:08You got drunk,
23:10climbed onto the bar,
23:10and gave a speech about
23:12how little you cared about Vincent.
23:13When you tried to get down,
23:15you missed your step
23:16and hit the arm of a couch.
23:17You refused to go home,
23:18so I booked the nearest suite
23:20and put you in bed.
23:21I slept on top of the blanket.
23:24And the marks on you?
23:26Washable stage makeup.
23:27The bar had a costume party
23:28that night
23:29and the backstage room
23:30was full of it.
23:31I started shaking with anger.
23:33Nolan immediately turned to Vincent.
23:36As Redwood packs Beta,
23:37I solved an eight-year
23:38romantic crisis for you.
23:39Don't you think I deserve a thank you?
23:41Nolan had not even processed the warning
23:42when Vincent started counting.
23:44You have three seconds.
23:46Three.
23:47You liar!
23:49Evan, I was helping you.
23:50Who helps people like that?
23:54Nolan covered his head
23:55and fled toward the door.
23:57On the way out,
23:58he stole the most expensive bottle of bourbon
24:01from Vincent's display cabinet
24:02and called it compensation
24:04for the emotional damage
24:05of being attacked.
24:08His method had been terrible,
24:10but nothing had happened between us.
24:12And Vincent loved me, too.
24:14No news could have been better.
24:19The hotel lie was over,
24:21but one mystery remained.
24:23The card Vincent had locked
24:25in his nightstand.
24:28After that day,
24:29Vincent and I quietly became a couple.
24:31The rest of the pack did not know yet.
24:35That night,
24:36I cropped into his bed as usual
24:37and waited for him to close his book
24:39before asking the question
24:40I had been holding in for days.
24:42That night,
24:43I barged into your room
24:44for a charging cable.
24:45Who wrote the card you hid?
24:47Do you really want to know?
24:50Yes.
24:52If someone else wrote it,
24:54would you be upset?
24:56I was already jealous,
24:59but I refused to admit it.
25:01Of course not.
25:02I'm not that petty.
25:04Vincent's smile vanished.
25:07So what happens in my life
25:09means nothing to you.
25:10Someone writes something like that to me
25:12and you don't care at all.
25:15I don't like that.
25:17A dangerous crimson glow
25:19flickered in his eyes.
25:20I leaned in and kissed him at once.
25:24Don't scare me.
25:27The bedpost still hasn't been repaired.
25:30Sorry.
25:31I just can't stand hearing you say
25:33you don't care
25:33and stop drawing out Vince on purpose.
25:36Why?
25:39After two seconds of silence,
25:41because every time you say it like that,
25:42I forget what I was about to refuse you.
25:44Heat rushed into my face.
25:45I pinched his side.
25:47You should stop talking.
25:50Once I was slightly less embarrassed,
25:52he reached into the bottom drawer of the nightstand
25:55and took out the old card.
25:59I had written it when I was 14.
26:01I had drawn a wolf so badly
26:03it looked like a fox.
26:05Beneath it,
26:06in crooked handwriting,
26:07were the words,
26:08Vince,
26:09you'll always be my home.
26:10I stared at the evidence
26:12of my teenage humiliation.
26:14You kept this all these years?
26:16There was never anyone else.
26:18Not once.
26:20Before you became an adult,
26:22I never let myself cross that line,
26:24even in my own mind.
26:25My ears grew hot.
26:26Then I remembered something else.
26:29What about the man in the suit
26:30you brought home?
26:32Cameron Price,
26:34the PAC's new attorney.
26:36I went to your room
26:37to tell you I was leaving the state
26:38with him for a border lawsuit.
26:42You told me to get out
26:43before I could explain.
26:45I felt guilty,
26:46but there was no chance
26:48I would surrender that easily.
26:49You didn't call,
26:50text,
26:51or use the PAC link
26:52after you left.
26:53You knew I was upset,
26:54and you deliberately refused
26:56to make it better.
26:57Vincent,
26:58you wanted to see me jealous.
27:01He bent his head
27:02and bit lightly at my ear.
27:06Yes.
27:08I admit,
27:09I am not an especially
27:10honorable PAC leader.
27:14The next morning,
27:16my legs still felt
27:17a little weak,
27:18so I pulled on
27:19one of Vince's shirts
27:20and went downstairs
27:21for coffee.
27:24He was frying bacon
27:26in the kitchen.
27:28I wrapped my arms
27:29around him behind
27:30and stole a kiss
27:31when he turned.
27:33A woman's voice
27:34came from the dining table.
27:35It looks like we came home
27:36at the wrong time.
27:37I spun around
27:38and found Thomas
27:39and Grace Ashford
27:40staring at us.
27:41Thomas had served
27:42as the previous alpha
27:43of Redwood PAC.
27:45Grace had served
27:46as Luna beside him,
27:47overseeing the PAC's
27:48internal affairs,
27:49medical care,
27:50and member support.
27:52Eight years ago,
27:53they had also become
27:54my legal guardians.
27:56I looked down
27:56at the shirt
27:57that very obviously
27:58belonged to Vincent
27:58and felt the well-behaved image
28:00I had maintained
28:00in front of them
28:01for eight years
28:02collapse on the spot.
28:04Good morning.
28:07Would you like to explain
28:08or should we guess?
28:10I invented the first excuse
28:11that came to mind.
28:13I spilled coffee
28:14on my clothes last night.
28:17and the coffee
28:18carried you
28:19into Vincent's bedroom?
28:23Dad, don't frighten him.
28:26We're together.
28:29The kitchen went silent.
28:31You know better than anyone
28:33how much Evan depended
28:34on you growing up.
28:35How do you know
28:36he hasn't confused
28:37safety with love?
28:38That isn't my question
28:39to answer.
28:40Vincent Ashford
28:40stepped away from me
28:42and did not touch me.
28:44Grace Ashford waited
28:45until he had crossed
28:46to the other side
28:47of the kitchen.
28:48That distance mattered.
28:50They were not judging
28:51whom I loved.
28:52They were making sure
28:53I still had room
28:54to say no.
28:56Evan,
28:57don't look at him
28:58for a moment.
28:59I only want to know
29:00one thing.
29:02Is this your choice?
29:05Yes.
29:06Not because he raised you?
29:08Not because you're afraid
29:09to leave this house?
29:10Neither.
29:12The guardianship ended
29:14when I became an adult.
29:15I can move out
29:16and I can support myself.
29:18I want to stay
29:19because I love him.
29:21Thomas looked back
29:21at Vincent.
29:24And you?
29:25Do you intend
29:25to choose him
29:26as your mate
29:26and treat him
29:27as your equal
29:27or do you still
29:28see him as a child
29:29who is never allowed
29:29to leave you?
29:30The man I intend
29:31to choose
29:31is my mate.
29:32My equal.
29:34Things did not
29:35become simple
29:36in a single morning
29:36but they listened
29:37to me.
29:38More importantly,
29:39they accepted
29:39that the decision
29:40was mine.
29:40I walked over
29:41and wrapped my arms
29:42around Vincent's neck.
29:44How long
29:45are you going to feel
29:46this way about me?
29:47In front of his parents,
29:49he kissed my forehead.
29:52For the rest of my life,
29:53I'll keep choosing you.
29:55I had imagined
29:56proposing many times.
29:57Vinitz had already
29:58created a trust
29:59large enough
29:59for me to live
30:00independently,
30:01so logically,
30:01I should have been
30:02the one buying the ring.
30:03He still got there first.
30:05He chose an old
30:06lookout tower
30:06on Redwood Pack's
30:07northern boundary.
30:09Eight years ago,
30:09on the night
30:10after the attack,
30:11Vincent had found me
30:12there hiding in the rain.
30:16He wrapped his coat
30:17around me
30:18and told me
30:18I could come home
30:19with his family.
30:19I did not have to learn
30:21how to be strong
30:21overnight.
30:24Now warm string lights
30:25hung over the wooden platform.
30:27Photographs from the past
30:28eight years
30:28lined the riling.
30:30Me at 12
30:30with an oversized backpack.
30:32The day I completed
30:33my first fully controlled shift.
30:34And finally,
30:35the two of us
30:35standing hand in hand
30:36without trying to hide.
30:39Vincent lowered himself
30:41onto one knee
30:41beneath the moonlight.
30:46He did not offer me
30:48the emblem of his authority.
30:50He held out
30:51a simple platinum ring.
30:54Eight years ago,
30:55I promised you
30:56a safe home.
30:57Now I'm asking
30:57whether you'll choose me
30:58and make a home with me.
31:00Evan Bennett,
31:01will you become
31:01my chosen mate?
31:02At 12,
31:03I had lost my parents
31:04and Vince had walked me
31:06out of that lookout tower.
31:07At 20,
31:08he did not demand
31:09that I stay.
31:10He placed the choice
31:11in my hands.
31:12I threw myself
31:13into his arms
31:13so hard
31:14he nearly dropped the ring.
31:16Yes,
31:17I love you,
31:18Vincent.
31:21From that moment on,
31:22I was no longer
31:23the child
31:23the Ashford family
31:24needed to protect.
31:25I was the mate
31:26Vincent had chosen
31:27as his equal.
31:28Neither of us
31:29had ever found
31:30a fated mate.
31:31What we had
31:32was chosen,
31:33not assigned
31:34by the moon goddess.
31:36The formal mate ceremony
31:38and marking
31:38would come later.
31:42Do you want the pack
31:43to know tonight?
31:45Yes,
31:46publicly.
31:47Vincent opened
31:47the pack mind link.
31:49Nolan answered first.
31:54Finally,
31:55do I get credit for this?
31:58Congratulations
31:59flooded the link.
32:00I looked at the man
32:01who had once said
32:02the same word
32:03without letting
32:04any emotion show.
32:07Say it again.
32:12congratulations to us.
32:15I kissed him
32:16beneath the moonlight.
32:18The home he had given me
32:19was no longer
32:20a place I could lose.
32:21It was the life
32:23we had chosen together.
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