Chapter 335: Perfect Embrace
Violet
The silence lasted three heartbeats.
Then Rowan moved.
He turned so fast the bed groaned beneath us, and before I could process what was happening, his arms were around me, his legs tangling with mine, and his whole body curling around me like he was trying to fold me into himself.
My face heated up as he buried his face in the curve of my neck, and the way his joy soared made me so glad to the point my eyes started to sting.
"Rowan—"
"I am very happy." His voice was muffled against my throat. "You have no idea how happy I am right now."
My heart stuttered.
His arms tightened, pulling me closer, and the way his legs locked around mine felt like he was terrified I might disappear if he loosened his hold even slightly.
Oh, Rowan...
My eyes watered.
I hugged him back.
"I love you too," he whispered against my neck. "Very much, Violet."
His words soaked into my skin and settled deep, filling spaces I hadn’t realized were still empty.
I hadn’t known until now just how happy it would make me to hear those words from him.
He raised his head slowly.
In the dim room, his eyes found mine. They were bright, almost glassy, and so full of raw, unguarded emotion that I was unable to breathe.
He looked at me like I had just handed him the world.
My face heated under the intensity of his gaze and I shifted my eyes away, suddenly unable to hold it. My cheeks burned and my pulse was so loud in my ears.
"I’m sorry," I murmured, my voice small. "For making you wait so long. I know it wasn’t fair, and I—"
"Violet."
"I was scared, and maybe even selfish. I didn’t know how to—"
"Violet."
"And I hope you’re not angry with me for—"
His hand found my chin and gently tilted my face back toward his.
"I am not angry," he said softly. "I was never angry. Just... worried."
His thumb traced along my jaw, slow and warm, and the tenderness in the gesture made my chest tighten.
"I am sorry, and I am not going anywhere," I whispered, sniffing. "I promise..."
Rowan paused, his expression shifting.
The overwhelming joy dimmed slightly, replaced by a quiet focus as his awareness turned inward. I felt him reaching through the bond, and finding what was no longer there.
He went very still.
"Violet... Did you...?"
I blinked, slightly caught off guard.
"Would it not be mean if I told you I loved you when I hadn’t made a choice?"
Rowan looked dazed.
I buried my face in the curve of his neck, pressing my forehead against his warm skin.
"I chose you, Rowan."
His chest expanded beneath me as he drew in a long, shuddering breath.
For a moment, he didn’t move at all.
Then his hand found the back of my head. His fingers slid through my hair, cradling my skull in his palm, and he pulled me tighter against him.
"Oh, Violet..." he murmured into my hair. "Are you okay?"
The bond between us pulsed. Not the frantic, desperate flaring of earlier, but a deep, steady glow that settled into my chest and spread outward until it reached every corner of me. Warm, full, and certain.
My eyes watered.
Even as the warmth between us deepened, I felt the other space in my chest. The place where Kael had lived. It was still slightly painful, but it was just... quiet now. Like a room where someone had been sitting for a long time and had just stepped out, leaving behind the faint impression of their presence in the cushion, the lingering warmth of where they had been.
I would carry that quiet space for a while.
Rowan continued stroking my hair, and each pass of his hand felt so comforting.
"I feel so silly now," he quietly admitted. "I was so scared you had chosen him when I saw you walking together earlier."
"I know. I’m sorry."
"Stop apologizing... The decision must not have been an easy one to make..."
It wasn’t...
I thought of Tow, and Ila. Ana and Corin too. Along with a few others back in Fresna. I wonder what their reaction would be, and Kael...
I hoped he would be well.
I tightened my hold on Rowan.
"How do you feel, Violet? Are you in pain? The impact from rejecting him—"
"Rowan."
He paused.
"Thank you for worrying about me, but I am fine... and with me being a Lycan, there is no rejection pain. Even for him," I whispered. "All that is left is... the emotional wound."
Neither of us spoke for a while.
The room was dark and quiet. The cold pressed against the windows but couldn’t reach us here, wrapped together in our warmth.
And his made me whole despite the lingering hurt.
"Please, don’t worry, Rowan..."
"I am not." He turned, laying on our sides.
I could finally look at his face again.
His hand came to rest on my cheek. "Thank you for choosing me."
"Stop. This isn’t something you should be thanking me for. I should be the one thanking you. For waiting. I feel terrible for making you wait so long—"
He pulled me flush against his chest. "It is fine, Violet."
"I—"
Rowan kissed me, his thumb tracing the line of my jaw as he tilted my head gently to fit us together.
His lips moved against mine with a tenderness that made my chest ache in the best way. Soft, warm presses that lingered and retreated and returned, each one deeper than the last. His breath mingled with mine in the narrow space between us, and my heart swelled so full it hurt.
His tongue brushed my lower lip with a gentle sweep that sent warmth flooding down my spine and into my limbs until my whole body felt heavy and liquid.
I melted into him, and when he finally pulled back, his lips lingered against mine for one more breath. Then another. Like he couldn’t quite convince himself to stop.
"Rowan..."
"Sleep," he murmured, "You need rest."
"I’m not tired."
He paused, and I could hear the worry in his voice. "I really think you do after the day went..."
I wanted to argue, but he was already shifting, tucking me against his chest and pulling the blanket higher around us. His arm settled across my waist.
"Sleep, Violet," he whispered into my hair. "I will be here when you wake up."
My eyes felt a bit heavy, and it felt odd. I wasn’t sleepy before this, or maybe I hadn’t been fully aware of it. But as the steady beat of his heart filled my ears, I felt more sleepy.
I closed my eyes, and for the first time in a very long time, I fell asleep without the worries that had plagued me for years of how I would survive the following day.
But I thought of him one last time.
