He Signed My Freedom Now He Wants Me Back Chapter 53
I kept independent rights to Moonleaf and the Hart trust. Elias kept his current guardianship responsibilities toward Chloe. If I were ever to become her legal co-guardian, it would require separate confirmation from Chloe, Elias, and a child protection registrar.
There was no “if you love each other, you don’t need to be so clear about it.”
It was precisely because we were choosing to live together that we wrote down everyone’s boundaries plainly. A contract wasn’t proof of distrust. It was a guarantee that no one would ever need to trade endurance for the right to stay.
Three months later, the claim ceremony was held in Tidewatch’s seaside ceremonial garden.
A Registry officer confirmed both our intentions. Tidewatch members stood as witnesses, along with Chloe. Elias slipped the claim ring onto my hand first, then waited for my nod before leaving his mark at the side of my neck.
When the new bond formed, there was no tearing possessiveness, no Alpha command.
There was only the steadiness of two wolves drawing closer after each had been allowed to.
In the first few seconds of the bond, I felt Elias’s joy—but I also felt him immediately rein in the impulse to crowd me, waiting for me to adjust to the new connection.
Ember opened a small part of her senses to his wolf on her own, while still keeping a quiet space that belonged only to her. Our awarenesses didn’t melt into a single voice, and neither of us lost who we were.
Suddenly, I thought of the unfinished claim from before.