Luna. Chapter 101

(Lyra's POV)

"What?" I whispered, afraid of what he might say but needing to hear it anyway.

"My heart belongs to you. It always has, and it always will." His voice was steady, certain, like he was stating an immutable law of physics. "I could marry someone else, have a different life, try to build something with another person, but you would still be the love of my life. You and Asher are my home, my family, my everything that matters."

The words hit me like lightning, illuminating feelings I'd been trying to keep buried for years. The love I still felt for him, the longing that I'd convinced myself was just nostalgia, the hope I'd been afraid to acknowledge that maybe we really could find our way back to each other.

"You can't say things like that," I whispered, my voice shaking.

"Why not?"

"Because it makes me want things I'm not sure I'm brave enough to want." The admission felt like stepping off a cliff without knowing if there was solid ground below.

He reached out slowly, giving me time to pull away, and cupped my face in his hands with infinite gentleness. "What if you were brave enough?"

"I don't know."

"That's okay. We have time to figure it out."

He was close enough that I could see every detail of his face - the small scar on his chin from a childhood accident, the way his eyes crinkled slightly at the corners when he was being serious, the fullness of his lips that I'd dreamed about more times than I cared to admit.

My heart was racing, and I was pretty sure his was too. The air between us felt electric, charged with years of unresolved feelings and unspoken possibilities.

"Kael, I..."

"I love you," he said simply, like it was the most natural thing in the world. "I love everything about you. Your stubbornness when you've decided something needs to be done. Your strength when you're protecting the people you care about. The way you throw yourself completely into everything that matters to you. Your fierce loyalty, your quick mind, your terrible jokes that always make me laugh anyway."

I felt tears prick at my eyes. "Kael."

"I love the way you are with Asher - patient and nurturing but never letting him get away with nonsense. I love how you've created this family that's full of love and laughter and people who take care of each other. I love your determination to master your celestial wolf abilities even when everyone was telling you it was too dangerous."

"Stop."

"I love you," he repeated, his thumbs brushing away tears I hadn't realized were falling. "I love you, and I want to spend the rest of my life proving that to you. I want to be the partner you deserve, the father Asher needs, the man who makes you glad you took a chance on second chances."

We were leaning toward each other now, drawn together by a force that felt as natural and inevitable as gravity. His forehead touched mine, and I could feel his breath against my lips.

"What if I hurt you again?" I whispered.

"What if you don't?"

"What if we can't make it work?"

"What if we can?"

The questions hung between us, unanswered and maybe unanswerable. But for the first time in years, the possibilities seemed more compelling than the fears.

"I'm scared," I admitted.

"So am I."

"But I love you too. I never stopped loving you, even when I hated you, even when I was convinced we were completely over."

"Lyra."

We were going to kiss. I could feel it building between us, four years of separation and longing and unresolved feelings converging into this single moment. His hands were warm against my face, his eyes dark and intense, and I wanted this more than I'd wanted anything in years.