He Signed My Freedom Now He Wants Me Back Chapter 52
Half a year later, I stood on the second-floor balcony of Moonleaf and watched Chloe water the flower boxes.
Elias had just come home from the treatment center, still carrying the scents of herbs and rain on his coat.
“What are you thinking about?” he asked.
“The first time we met in the bookstore.”
He smiled. “I was wondering why Evelyn Hart, after all these years, was still the kind of person you recognize at a single glance.”
“You’re getting better at saying nice things.”
Hearing us laugh, Chloe dropped her watering can and ran upstairs.
“What are you talking about?”
Elias bent down and lifted her into his arms.
“I’m asking Evelyn if she’d like to build an official home with us.”
Chloe immediately grabbed my sleeve.
“Would you?”
I looked at Elias.
He didn’t ask me in the name of mates, or fate, or pack duty. He simply took out an ordinary gold claim ring and knelt on one knee.
“Evelyn Hart, would you be willing to complete a claim ceremony with me, entirely of your own free will?”
Ember felt his sincerity and answered with a feeling that was warm and clear.
It was not inescapable destiny.
It was that I could still say no—and I was choosing to say yes.
“I would.”
Elias didn’t decide the date for us immediately. He went with me to the Registry, where our intentions were separately confirmed. The registrar explained, point by point, the bond-sense, emotional sharing, and release conditions of a completed claim, then had us each sign property and guardianship arrangements.