I Gave The Prince To My Sister And Found My True Mate Chapter 23
On the way to Northwatch, we stayed at a roadside motel.
There was no royal banquet, no extravagant wedding décor.
The room held only a single warm yellow lamp, and outside the window, military vehicles were parked in neat rows.
Caleb took a small paper bag from the pocket of his coat.
Inside were a few caramel candies, crushed from being squeezed.
“I bought them on the road.” He handed them to me. “These were your favorite when you were little.”
I took the bag, and tears fell onto it, one drop at a time.
“Caleb.”
“I’m here.”
“Will you always treat me this well?”
He lowered his head and looked seriously into my eyes.
“Audrey, I swear on my wolf, my honor as a soldier, and the rest of my life.”
“From this day forward, I acknowledge only one chosen mate—only you. As long as you do not ask me to leave, I will never betray you.”
“If I break this oath, I will surrender my command, leave the Pack’s protection, and never appear before you again.”
This was not a bond forced on us by fate, nor a royal bargain.
This was Caleb placing everything he could lose into a promise, leaving its acceptance or rejection to me alone.
I threw myself into his arms, crying too hard to speak.
He stiffened for a moment, then slowly tightened his arms around me, as if he meant to pull me out of every cold memory my past had ever left.
“Audrey, don’t be afraid.”
He patted my back awkwardly, and even his deep voice trembled faintly.
“You have me now.”
Outside the window, the north wind swept over the highway and through the pine forest.
But I had never felt as safe as I did in that moment.