Chapter 42 Vulnerability

• A SOLEMN QUESTION asked under the growing, eerie glow of the Blood Moon. It wasn't just a question, but a promise, a gamble, and a desperate plea all rolled into one. Selene looked into his golden eyes and saw not just the powerful Alpha, but the man who had faced his deepest fears for her. She saw their shared past, the anger and the forced closeness, melting into something real, something profound.
• "Yes, Waldemar," Selene whispered, her voice barely a breath, but firm and true. "With my whole soul." She reached up, placing her hands on his cheeks, pulling his head down for a kiss that was both tender and fiercely desperate. It was a kiss of raw honesty, of fears confessed and loves found, a silent pact made in the face of an unknown future. It held the weight of everything they had been through, and everything they were about to face.
• The kiss deepened, a slow burn that quickly flared into consuming heat. It wasn't just desire, though that was powerfully there, a raw, primal need that hummed through their Moonbind. It was connection, understanding, and a desperate need to feel each other, truly, completely, before the world might shatter around them. Waldemar's arms tightened around her, crushing her against him as if he could absorb her into his very being, keep her safe from the trials to come. Selene's hands threaded into his hair, pulling him closer, anchoring herself to him.